The fierce grandson of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 149 Lan Yu Attacks Qingzhou

Inside the tent.

Upon hearing his nephew's words, Chang Mao immediately sat up straight, his lips moved slightly, and he raised his fierce eyes, saying, "Nephew, please speak freely!"

Zhu Xiong Ying spoke in a low voice, pacing back and forth, "My uncle is my maternal grandfather's eldest son, always brave and fearless! He was born to be on the battlefield, brandishing his sword, cutting down generals and capturing flags!"

"If I were in the uncle's position, seeing others go and make contributions while I could only stay behind, I wouldn't feel good either!"

Upon hearing this, Chang Mao, a grown man of seven feet tall, who was usually arrogant and rude, now looked aggrieved and sighed, "Who says otherwise? I'm not afraid of hardship, and I'm not after credit for it. I just don't want people to say that the son of the Prince of Kaiping only knows how to hide in the back like a coward, living off the protection of his ancestors!"

"If this gets back to the capital, Xu Laosan and the others will laugh at us!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiong Ying was not surprised.

His uncle was extremely concerned about his image and had a very strong sense of self-esteem!

During the Northern Expedition in history, because he was arrogant and complacent, he often looked down on his father-in-law Feng Sheng, which led to frequent conflicts!

Later, in their struggle for credit, they almost caused a major disaster.

He had warned me about this before, back in Beijing!

In reality, we still need to offer some serious advice!

Who else could it be but his maternal uncle?

It has to be his nephew who treats it!

And the conflict was resolved early on!

Zhu Xiong Ying was not in a hurry and waited for her uncle to finish complaining.

Then, his little face suddenly turned serious, and he said fiercely, "Uncle, if anyone dares to make fun of you like that, we'll be the first to object!"

"In Xiong Ying's eyes, you have never relied on your maternal grandfather's reputation! We've heard from our Imperial Grandfather that you fought alongside Uncle Mu in Yunnan back then, and you were brave and fearless, achieving many great feats! A few years ago, at the martial arts training ground in the capital, when our Imperial Grandfather was inspecting the army, you single-handedly defeated twelve Imperial Guards. Who wouldn't praise you as a tiger father with no dog son?"

The former story, however, is recorded in the "Records of Exemplary Figures of the Qing Dynasty": "In the first month of spring in the fifteenth year—Duan Shi, the chieftain of Dali, occupied the old city of Piluoge in Nanzhao and refused to submit. Ying ordered Chang Mao to take a side road around the back of Diancang Mountain, climb the cliffs and trees to the top, and raise banners to disrupt them—"

Indeed, my uncle Changmao has participated in many battles over the past ten years!

However, due to constraints such as age and seniority, and with the protection of Zhu Yuanzhang, who deliberately kept him out of danger, he was repeatedly recalled to the capital midway through his journey.

Consequently, his battle record was far less illustrious than that of his maternal uncle, Lan Yu!

Then, Zhu Xiong Ying paused, changed the subject, and said, "As for this time, in Xiong Ying's opinion, Grandpa Feng's decision not to let you go, Uncle, wasn't because he looked down on your abilities, but because he had deeper considerations!"

"Firstly, a surprise attack on Qingzhou was inherently dangerous. I suppose Grandpa Feng was worried that you, Uncle, might venture deep into enemy territory and suffer some mishap, leaving us unable to explain to Grandpa and Grandma, let alone to our maternal grandfather in the afterlife."

"Secondly, having you accompany us to protect us is also the Emperor's wish, so Grandpa Feng dares not disobey!"

Feng Sheng has many shortcomings, mainly in his private morality.

For example, he is greedy for money and profit, lax in military discipline, ineffective in managing his subordinates, narrow-minded, lacks shrewdness, and has no sense of responsibility!

But to say that he harbored any ill intentions towards his own son-in-law is impossible!

Now, standing on Feng Sheng's side, he said a few nice words to comfort his uncle!

The original intention was to prevent the relationship between the father-in-law and son-in-law from becoming too strained, lest they both suffer losses in the future and become a laughing stock for outsiders!

Uncle Guan seemed to be deep in thought, but the resentment on his face had not yet disappeared.

Zhu Xiong Ying continued, "We understand Uncle's intentions! But when it comes to the true demeanor of a great general, like Grandpa back then, it's not just about charging into battle; it's about controlling your temper and, at crucial moments, striking the enemy with deadly precision!"

"Therefore, Uncle must think this through and adjust his mindset!"

"Furthermore, this Northern Expedition to defeat Nahachu is not something that can be accomplished in a single battle! Even if my uncle had captured Qingzhou, we would still have to conquer Daming and fight Jinshan—we must continue fighting until the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty are defeated and the Beihai Pass is captured, so that the enemies beyond the Great Wall would never dare to invade again!"

"At that time, Xiong Ying will immediately recommend his uncle to the Emperor to serve as the vanguard general, leading the army into battle, just like his maternal grandfather did, sweeping across the grasslands and establishing unparalleled achievements!"

"I ask you, who will dare to speak ill of my uncle in the future?"

Zhu Xiong Ying spoke repeatedly, her words filled with a desire to protect him, and she even made a series of grand promises.

Chang Mao, like Lan Yu, is essentially a person of strong emotions.

His spirits lifted, his face brightened, and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming with gratitude, "I've lived for thirty years, and he's still my good nephew! He understands me best!"

"We'll wait for that day, just like you said, to become a man like your father, protecting the safety of our great Ming Dynasty! And even more so, to protect you, my nephew!"

"Don't worry, nephew, we'll stay calm and watch over you closely, never leaving your side. If anyone dares to lay a finger on you, we'll chop off their head first!"

Seeing his uncle's simple and fierce appearance.

While feeling sentimental, Zhu Xiong Ying couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "We know our uncle is the most reliable!"

"For the next two days, we'll be in Beiping, so let's patiently wait for good news from Uncle!"

"When you have free time, follow your fourth uncle and learn his methods of training soldiers!"

Chang Mao is now focused on leading an army beyond the Great Wall on his own in the future, so as to establish greater achievements and surpass his father Chang Yuchun!

Therefore, he wouldn't listen to anything his nephew said afterward.

Subconsciously, I couldn't help but nod in agreement.

the other side.

Lan Yu led his cavalry on a swift journey for several hours, and finally arrived at Xifengkou at Shenshi (3-5 PM) on this day.

During the rest period, they had a brief conversation with the garrison commander to learn about the military situation at the front. They did not stop for long, but instead rushed to the Black Pine Forest area west of Daning overnight.

The following afternoon, seeing that everyone and everything was exhausted.

Lan Yu then ordered his troops to stop and rest, eat some dry rations, and conserve their energy. He also forbade them from lighting any fires to avoid revealing their whereabouts.

-

During this time, he summoned his generals to his side, took out a map, and carefully studied the route.

Two incense sticks later, the scouts who had gone to scout ahead arrived on horseback. They dismounted, knelt on one knee, and said, "General, we have cleared out three waves of Yuan scouts along the way, leaving no survivors!"

"And within fifty miles ahead, there is only a small enemy garrison—"

After listening, Lan Yu put down the map in his hand, stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "Has there been any movement in the Qingzhou area?"

The scout remained in position, shaking his head and saying, "Reporting to the general! Not at the moment!"

"Furthermore, according to the captured prisoners, the enemy believed that the heavy snow would block the roads and that it would be impossible for our troops to come over. Therefore, they were completely unprepared in Qingzhou City and even drank and made merry—"

Upon hearing this news...

Lan Yu's heart immediately settled.

Heaven is truly helping the Ming Dynasty!

He turned to his left and right and shouted, "Pass down the order: the entire army, finish your rations, and set off immediately!"

"Let's slaughter this Yuan garrison first, to prevent them from alerting us!"

"Continuing along the established route towards Gyeongju, we must arrive at the city walls by dawn tomorrow!"

""

"promise!"