The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

early morning.

In the desolate Malan Valley, the cavalry of the Duoyan Guard were slowly entering the valley in batches.

The reason they did not rush to march was not because they were not in a hurry to attack the Ming army camps and defensive fortresses, but because they did not want to alert the enemy.

In the eyes of the Doyan Guard cavalry, they were the wolves lurking in the shadows waiting to prey on the Ming army, while the Ming army was the lamb to the slaughter.

Even so, the thunderous sound of hundreds or even thousands of hooves still echoed within the unique terrain of the valley, the sound almost striking the hearts of every Ming soldier.

In the past, the Ming border troops would either charge out to fight to the death or hide in the earthen fortress and do nothing. The Ming border troops were always on the defensive and were strategically passive when the barbarians invaded. Never before had they taken the initiative to ambush the enemy, and even joined forces with the emperor...

After the third batch of Doyan cavalry entered the valley, there seemed to be very few cavalrymen who had not yet entered the valley.

Now that they have broken through the pass, their only goal is to seize the resources of the Ming Dynasty and maximize the benefits of this southward invasion.

The main trigger for their southward invasion was the failure of the leader of the Doyan Guard to request the Ming Dynasty to increase rewards for his sons and grandsons. In other words, he was so angry that he resorted to force when persuasion failed, trying to force the appeasement faction in the Ming Dynasty to submit.

Historically, this method of using one's children and grandchildren as a means of tribute has experienced twists and turns, but it ultimately ended with the granting of permission to pay tribute.

In the customs between the Ming Dynasty and the many foreign tribes on the border, paying tribute was equivalent to exchanging a small amount of tribute for a large amount of bestowed titles from the Ming Dynasty. This was not much different from the annual tribute system of the Song Dynasty, only it sounded better in name.

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Malan Valley is a low mountain and hilly area with a very fragmented terrain and scattered peaks and ridges.

This resulted in very few passable roads, and the Ming Dynasty's passes were located in these places. Originally, there were Xifengkou, Songtingguan, and Nianyuguan, which were the most dangerous sections of the eastern part of the Ming capital and the main defense line of the central route of Jizhou Town.

Once the Tatars cross the Malan Valley, they can enter the Zunhua Basin to the south, and beyond that, it's all flat land. They could even invade the capital, or plunder Yongping Prefecture and other places to the east. The Ming Dynasty has no natural defenses on the plains.

If it were to fight the Doyan Guard cavalry on the plains, regardless of the outcome, the Doyan Guard cavalry would not choose to engage the Ming army in a direct confrontation.

The main purpose of the Doyan Guard cavalry's southward march was to plunder people, livestock, and property.

Therefore, Malan Valley became the last reliable defensive position for the Ming cavalry in preparation for the southward advance of the Duoyan Guard cavalry.

From the perspective of the Duoyan Guard cavalry, it was perfectly reasonable for the Ming Dynasty to set up a military camp in the southern part of the Malan Valley to block the attack, which was why they could confidently send a large number of cavalry into the valley.

As the Duoyan Guard cavalry approached step by step, Zhu Houzhao's heart was in his throat.

He had made all sorts of grand pronouncements before, but when he was actually there, facing a bloody battle that was about to break out, he still found it difficult to remain calm. Tension, excitement, and fear were all mixed together in his heart.

"Has there been any movement at the valley entrance?"

Zhu Houzhao asked a question.

Zhang Zhong had long since disappeared, and Qian Ning was not by his side either.

For the first time, he discovered that, before the great battle, no one obeyed his orders.

After giving instructions from a short distance away, Tang Yin crouched down and came to Zhu Houzhao's side, reminding him, "Your Majesty, the Tatars in the east seem to have discovered something; some of them are shooting arrows up the mountain."

Zhu Houzhao said, "No wonder they seem to have stopped. No, they're testing us. Don't give the signal first."

Because the Duoyan Guard cavalry had not yet fully entered the pre-arranged ambush area, Zhu Houzhao, who wanted to maximize his gains, chose to remain patient.

Sure enough, not long after, the Doyan Guard cavalry chose to advance once again.

Even Tang Yin had to admire the courage, judgment, and patience of this seemingly foolish and playful emperor.

If it were an ordinary person, and they realized that the enemy might have discovered their movements, and they were in a position of geographical advantage, why wouldn't they choose to attack?

However, Zhu Houzhao was able to astutely judge that the enemy was merely probing and had not actually discovered that the Ming Dynasty had a large number of ambushes.

Alternatively, even if the Tatars discovered some movement, they would only assume that Ming scouts were checking the situation. Only after confirming that no large number of Ming troops had come out to ambush them would they feel more at ease and continue their southward march, and their pace would noticeably increase.

This was probably because the enemy feared that the Ming army would be prepared after learning the news, and thus planned to catch the Ming army off guard.

"They're here! They're here!"

At some inappropriate time, Qian Ning finally reappeared before the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao looked towards the northwest and said with some worry, "I wonder if my son Zaiyi is ready."

Qian Ning said, "Father, why are you worried about the young prince? Our side is where the main battle is taking place."

Zhu Houzhao shook his head slightly and sighed, "Once the Tartars discover a large number of ambushes and are subjected to heavy artillery fire, they will definitely retreat north in panic. The valley entrance is like a funnel, tight on the outside and wide on the inside. At that time, Zaiyi may not be able to hold the valley entrance. The Tartars will definitely charge desperately, and we may even be caught in a pincer attack."

Tang Yin listened from the side, thinking to himself.

The emperor actually cares so much about his stepson?

Therefore, it seems that the emperor did not adopt a son on a whim; this matter appears to have been carefully considered.

But this doesn't seem to make sense...

After all, there wasn't much of a deep emotional bond between the little prince and the emperor, so why would the emperor suddenly be so "merciful" and concerned about his son's safety?

"Father, it's time to order the cannons to fire!" Qian Ning said anxiously as he saw that the main force of the Tatars had already passed the main ambush site.

Zhu Houzhao said, "Wait a little longer."

Qian Ning said, "If we let them pass, they'll find another way to escape."

Zhu Houzhao looked at Tang Yin and asked, "What do you think, sir?"

Tang Yin was uneasy, but he was experienced in life and not as impulsive as Qian Ning.

He said, "Let more people pass through. With Ming troops stationed in front and ambushes behind, they will either panic and run away or have to retreat from the front... and then they will be bombarded by artillery again. In this way, when they retreat to the valley entrance, the pressure on His Highness will be much less."

"Sir, you understand me well." Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with Tang Yin's answer.

What he wanted was never just an ambush to kill a few people.

His goal was to severely damage or even annihilate the Duoyan Guard cavalry!

The perspective of an emperor is clearly different from that of an ordinary general.

No general could resist taking action for long when faced with readily available credit, because in the Ming Dynasty, no general was willing to push the barbarian army to the brink of defeat.

Driven by the fear of being cornered beasts, their main objective was to kill a few, drive away the Tatars, and then return to claim their credit, receive rewards, and wait for promotions and titles.

"Issue my military order: fire signal flares into the valley first! Dazzle them," Zhu Houzhao ordered.

Qian Ning said, "Father, how can we keep it from the Tartars noticing? What if they escape?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "I just want to confuse them about the Ming army's tactics, so that some of them think the Ming have set up an ambush, while others think it's just the Ming guerrillas bluffing. I want to create internal discord and put them in a dilemma! In a major battle, disrupting the enemy's morale is the priority."