The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Under the heavy darkness, visibility was poor for soldiers on both sides in the battle.

However, the Ming Dynasty held a completely proactive strategic position.

Zhu Houzhao appeared very excited. Since he couldn't lead his men to charge directly into battle, he shouted a few times along with the soldiers' battle cries. He then realized that there wasn't much he could do. He first pulled the trigger of his flintlock musket and fired a shot, but he didn't even know if it hit the target.

He doesn't know how to load gunpowder.

Qian Ning seemed to want to show his loyalty to the emperor by trying to help Zhu Houzhao reload the musket, but Zhu Houzhao simply threw the musket to him instead.

"Bring me ignition sources; I want to set off firecrackers!"

Zhu Houzhao probably felt that firing muskets wasn't enough, so he wanted to fire cannons instead.

Amidst the cacophony of noise, Qian Ning tried to dissuade them, but his shouts didn't carry far.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao seemed to be living in his own world. He couldn't listen to what others said or shouted, and only did things his own way.

When someone handed a torch to Zhu Houzhao, he immediately pushed aside a gunner not far away and went over to light the fuse of the newly installed cannon. As the fuse burned out, it produced a huge roar like a mountain collapsing.

Zhu Houzhao had never lit a cannon himself before, and this time he was so shocked that he staggered backward and fell to the ground, even dropping the torch from his hand.

My head was buzzing, and apart from the tinnitus, there seemed to be no other sound in my ears.

"His Majesty……"

At this moment, Zhang Zhong and Qian Ning were not thinking about fighting bravely against the enemy; they were both thinking about how to protect the emperor.

The two men helped Zhu Houzhao up from the ground, but no one paid attention to the helmet that was now disheveled and covering his eyes.

Zhu Houzhao straightened his helmet with both hands, his mind filled with only one thought... "I'm not dead yet."

He never considered that the sound pressure generated by the firing of the cannon was too great; he thought the other side had used some kind of attack.

When he saw a group of soldiers in front of him still methodically changing ammunition and preparing to fire, he realized that he might be making a fuss over nothing; basically, nothing had happened.

"Handguns! Handguns!"

Zhu Houzhao shouted.

But when he realized he couldn't even hear himself shouting, he thought he had gone deaf.

However, he also learned to be clever and realized that setting off firecrackers was not something a pampered person like him could do; firing muskets was simpler and more direct.

Qian Ning shouted, "Your Majesty, these firearms are at risk of exploding. Let others take the lead. You should personally oversee the operation."

"What did you say?" Zhu Houzhao stared wide-eyed at Qian Ning.

Qian Ning didn't notice anything unusual about Zhu Houzhao at this moment. He was still confused. Was it because I didn't speak loud enough?

Or is it that my kind old father is being arrogant today, ignoring everything I say?

Before Qian Ning could offer any further explanation, even more intense shouts of battle erupted from the surrounding area from the Ming soldiers.

However, fires broke out everywhere in the valley below, and in the firelight, the Ming soldiers discovered that the Tatars had begun a full-scale retreat northward.

"Follow them and kill!"

This time, Zhu Houzhao neither lit the cannons nor intended to use muskets. Instead, he raised the sword hanging at his waist, like a naive young man who was not afraid of death and wanted to personally lead his troops forward.

Qian Ning didn't react in time, and even his pulling and tugging couldn't stop the emperor in the slightest.

When the generals saw that the emperor had taken the initiative to lead the troops into battle, they were all as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood. The large army began to charge into the valley along the few mountain paths of the low hills.

……

……

Arrows continued to fly across the battlefield.

But Zhu Houzhao was no longer concerned with fear; he was among the first to lead his men into the valley.

At this time, the local cavalry of Jizhou stationed on the southern front also rushed over. After the two groups of men joined forces, they began to pursue northward.

After Zhu Houzhao went to the battlefield, the first thing he did was to find something alive to kill. He looked around and, although the visibility was not very good, he could still see fallen Doyan cavalrymen lying on the ground.

Without saying a word, Zhu Houzhao picked up his sword and went forward, stabbing the cavalryman in the back of the head with a single stroke, causing blood to gush out instantly.

The emperor had never seen anything like this before. Thinking and doing are two different things. He was so shocked that he collapsed to the ground, unable to recover for a long time.

Escorted by two soldiers carrying shields, Qian Ning stumbled and crawled to Zhu Houzhao's side. While arranging for men to shield Zhu Houzhao from any stray arrows, he loudly proclaimed, "Congratulations, Father Emperor, on personally slaying the barbarians!"

Zhu Houzhao felt his stomach churning, but the surge of courage countered his fear.

He got up from the ground, drew his sword, and tried to cut off the man's head with it.

Qian Ning said, "Let me do it."

Zhu Houzhao gave it a try and found that the job was not suitable for him, so he even threw his sword to Qian Ning, meaning that he should handle it himself.

Zhu Houzhao was about to mount his horse and continue the chase, but he found that he had no suitable weapon. He looked around and found that the Imperial Guards were following him. He immediately went up and drew out the Embroidered Spring Blade of one of the Imperial Guards. He held it in his hand and seemed to find it very suitable. Then he took the knife and was about to climb onto his horse.

But then he discovered that mounting a horse with weapons in hand was not so easy.

He immediately thought of how, even when he went hunting in the past, someone would help him mount his horse before they would respectfully hand him his weapons.

This instantly annoyed Zhu Houzhao, who always prided himself on his skill in archery and horsemanship. Fortunately, Zhang Zhong was quick-witted and swift, and immediately went over and lay down on the ground to serve as a horse stool for Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao didn't stand on ceremony and immediately stepped on Zhang Zhong to mount his horse.

Qian Ning, with great effort and the cooperation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, managed to behead the cavalryman from the Duoyan tribe for Zhu Houzhao. When he saw Zhu Houzhao about to charge forward on horseback, he was instantly terrified.

"Father, it's dangerous! You mustn't take the risk!"

Qian Ning hadn't expected that this emperor, who had never been on the battlefield before, would be so reckless once he was there.

Although many of the things Zhu Houzhao did seemed ridiculous, as if he couldn't accomplish anything.

But even Qian Ning had to admit that it was extremely difficult for a new recruit like him to not be so scared that he wet his pants on his first time on the battlefield, and even to bravely forge ahead in everything.

Moreover, this was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

Qian Ning rushed over and grabbed Zhu Houzhao's horse reins, seemingly trying to stop the emperor from charging forward with the cavalry.

It was this action of his that caused the emperor to miss his footing.

Enraged, Zhu Houzhao kicked wildly with great force, knocking Qian Ning to the ground.

"Don't get in my way!"

Zhu Houzhao shouted loudly, then beckoned to the cavalrymen beside him, "Follow me and charge into battle!"

After entering the valley, the noise level dropped, and his tinnitus from the previous shock had subsided considerably. He was able to hear his own voice again and instantly felt sharp and alert, ready to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Ming army.

"Yes, sir!"

Whether they knew Zhu Houzhao or not, everyone around felt invigorated.

Following such a brave and fearless general into battle gives one a great sense of security.

Subsequently, right under the noses of Zhang Zhong and Qian Ning, and without any effective obstruction, Zhu Houzhao actually led his cavalry to pursue them towards the northwest entrance of Malan Valley.