Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

Chen Shiliang has arrived.

He urged from outside, "Are you finished talking?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuemin said to Zhao Ning'er, "Don't worry, wait for my good news tomorrow morning, and I'll come back to pick you up."

Zhao Ning'er nodded: "I understand."

Chen Shiliang led Wang Yuemin to a cabin to rest.

The cabin was fairly clean.

Chen Shiliang thought the woman was also very beautiful.

However, he knew this woman was too formidable.

Therefore, they dared not make a move against Wang Yuemin.

It was around midnight.

Wang Yuemin vaguely heard what sounded like people talking in the cabin.

She stood up and listened intently. One of the voices sounded like Chen Zuyi, while the other voice sounded rather old, but she couldn't place it.

So she stopped sleeping and crept up to him.

Under the cover of night, she quietly crept to the outside of Chen Zuyi's cabin and peered inside through the cracks in the window.

The cabin was brightly lit.

Chen Zuyi sat in the center, and to his left sat a tall monk.

The monk was old, tall, thin, and had a long beard.

The monk was none other than Yao Guangxiao.

Wang Yuemin was secretly alarmed when she saw this, wondering how this big monk could appear here.

Chen Zuyi was holding a list in his hand, looking at it carefully, and nodding repeatedly.

Yao Guangxiao said, "Commander Chen, our Prince of Yan greatly admires you."

The reason I was sent here with these gifts is simply to express my goodwill and hope that our two families can cooperate to fight against the imperial court.

A generous reward will be given upon completion of the task!

Chen Zuyi smiled slightly: "I have also heard of the Prince of Yan's great name. I know he is an outstanding prince who gradually grew stronger in the process of resisting the Northern Yuan."

At this point, you have already acquired the strength to rival the imperial court.

Of course, in my opinion, the Ming Dynasty should have rightfully belonged to Zhu Di.

But I can't understand why Emperor Zhu passed the throne to his grandson.

"What you say is absolutely right. Our Prince Yan is wise and brave, and has made great contributions to the court. After the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, he should have inherited the throne, but Zhu Yongwen got the benefit instead."

Chen Zuyi tapped the table lightly with the middle finger of his right hand: "However, if all we get after this is done is some money and valuables, that probably won't be enough."

Yao Guangxiao listened and pondered for a moment: "So, what does Commander Chen mean?"

Then Chen Zuyi took out another map.

He gestured on the map and said, "If the Prince of Yan is sincere, then after we jointly take the capital..."

Everything north of the capital belongs to him;

Everything south of the capital belongs to me! Let's draw a line down the border.

If he can agree to this condition, then we'll cooperate!

Upon hearing this, Yao Guangxiao thought to himself, "You truly are a thief! What a huge appetite you have! You want to swallow half of the Ming Dynasty's territory!"

Yao Guangxiao was furious inside, but he remained calm on the surface: "Isn't your request a bit too much?"

How can your current military strength compare to that of the Prince of Yan?

The King of Yan commands an army of hundreds of thousands; with your help, that would be even better.

Even without your help, we could still take over the country.

Your strength is far inferior to that of our Prince of Yan. How can you share the spoils of victory equally?

This is clearly unreasonable. Even if I were willing to agree, I doubt the Prince of Yan and his generals would agree.

Chen Zuyi believed that Yao Guangxiao's words made sense.

Even though he was a pirate, he still had to be reasonable.

"Okay, I'll make one last concession."

"If we join forces and capture the capital, we'll occupy the southeastern coastal region. You'll have to give me at least 100 cities. What do you think of those conditions?"

"Alright, I can agree to this condition." Yao Guangxiao nodded in agreement.

Chen Zuyi was delighted to hear this.

He looked at Yao Guangxiao and asked, "But you are not the Prince of Yan, so can you represent him?"

Yao Guangxiao stroked his beard and smiled, "Since the Prince of Yan has sent this humble monk here, I can make this decision."

Chen Zuyi slapped his thigh: "Okay, it's settled then."

Wang Yuemin heard everything clearly outside the window and thought to herself, "I never expected that the Prince of Yan would actually collude with pirates."

Yao Guangxiao, as the chief strategist under the Prince of Yan, came in person, which suggests that this was also Yao Guangxiao's idea.

Yao Guangxiao kept fiddling with the string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand: "Our only difficulty now lies in Jinan. As long as we can take Jinan, our army can march straight into the capital."

However, Tie Xuan was very cunning, and despite our several attacks, we failed to capture Jinan.

Chen Zuyi stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the cabin: "You're right, we've dealt with Tie Xuan a few times, and we haven't gained any advantage."

That person is definitely not someone to mess with.

"We agreed on a time to attack from both sides:"

We'll attack from the north gate, while you attack his rear. If we press on with one powerful attack, even if he's incredibly strong, he won't be able to defend both ends simultaneously and won't be a match for us!"

Chen Zuyi looked troubled upon hearing this: "Great monk, your idea is not bad."

However, we are currently at a stalemate with Zhu Yongtang.

He is at war with us.

We set a trap, originally intending to capture Zhu Yuntong and Chang Yuchun, but unexpectedly we captured Zhao Ning'er instead.

Upon hearing this, Yao Guangxiao's eyebrows shot up immediately: "The Zhao Ning'er you're talking about, could she be Zhu Yongtang's fiancée?"

"If it's not her, then who is it?" Chen Zuyi said irritably.

"Now that we've formed an alliance, could you hand Zhao Ning'er over to us?"

"This—," Chen Zuyi paused, "to tell you the truth, Zhu Yunwen sent an envoy to discuss this matter with us today. They promised to give us a lot of money and horses in exchange for our release of Zhao Ning'er."

"Oh, who is that envoy?" Yao Guangxiao was surprised to hear this.

"She is Minmin Temur, the daughter of Chaghan Temur."

"The Northern Yuan and the Ming court were irreconcilable enemies, so how did she become Zhu Yunwen's envoy?"

Chen Zuyi scratched his head: "I'm also puzzled by this."

Logically speaking, that makes sense; I don't know how they ended up together.

"Could you please bring Minmin Timur out? This humble monk wishes to speak with her."

"This—." Chen Zuyi hesitated.

Just then, there was a loud bang, and the cabin door opened.

Wang Yuemin strode in from outside, head held high: "Great monk, I'm here. What do you need me for?"

Chen Zuyi and Yao Guangxiao were both taken aback when Wang Yuemin suddenly entered from outside.

They wondered if the woman had overheard their conversation.

Chen Zuyi looked somewhat embarrassed.

However, regardless of the circumstances, Wang Yuemin is now an envoy, so the proper etiquette for an envoy must still be observed.

He ordered someone to bring over a chair and invited Wang Yuemin to sit down.

Wang Yuemin didn't stand on ceremony and sat down.

"Great monk, what do you want with Zhao Ning'er?" Wang Yuemin asked, her eyes burning.

Yao Guangxiao's heart skipped a beat, realizing that the woman had overheard his conversation with Chen Zuyi.

However, Yao Guangxiao was, after all, a seasoned veteran.

Although he was somewhat flustered inside, it was not outwardly apparent.

He smiled slightly, using the smile to mask his inner unease: "Oh, it's nothing. I heard that Miss Zhao is here, and I'd like to invite her to visit Beiping District. I'll send her back in a few days."

Wang Yuemin sneered: "Is this matter really as simple as you say? I'm afraid it's not like that."

Are you trying to use Zhao Ning'er to blackmail Zhu Yunwen?

People often say that monks are compassionate and kind, they sweep the floor without harming ants, cherish moths and cover lamps with gauze, and are free from worldly desires and concerns.

"You're devoted to Buddhism, with Buddha in your heart, but I've noticed you like to meddle in everything."

Yao Guangxiao clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, Princess, you are absolutely right."

I was originally chanting scriptures in the temple, but fortunately, the Prince of Yan personally invited me to come out of the mountains several times.

I have refused many times, but the Prince of Yan has been adamant in his refusal.

Therefore, the Prince of Yan built a temple in the city of Beiping so that poor monks could chant scriptures there.

Occasionally, he would talk to me about some issues, but that was all.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuemin thought to herself that this great monk was really talking nonsense. He was clearly too obsessed with fame and fortune, impure in his six senses, and attached to the mortal world, coveting fame and fortune, yet he described himself as so noble.

However, Wang Yuemin thought there was no need to point it out in public: "I think I just heard that the senior monk wanted to see me. What did he want to discuss?"

"You are a princess of the Northern Yuan, and your father is Chaghan Temur, who commands a large army."

"So, can we form an alliance?" Yao Guangxiao asked bluntly, not hiding his opinion.

Wang Yuemin sneered: "Cooperation is fine, but if we conquer the Ming Dynasty and all the land belongs to our Northern Yuan, restoring the name of our Great Yuan, then we will fully assist you. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Guangxiao thought to himself, "This girl is really something. She conquered the imperial court and handed it over to your Great Yuan. What use are you to us then?"

Isn't this a joke?

Yao Guangxiao coughed and said, "Princess, if there are other conditions, this humble monk can make the decision."

However, your request is excessive.

This humble monk cannot agree.

"Then there's no need for cooperation!"

And, to tell you the truth.

"You can't take Zhao Ning'er away either," Wang Yuemin said, then turned to Chen Zuyi and said, "Commander Chen, can you give me an answer now?"

"Can you hand Zhao Ning'er over to me now?"

To be honest, if Yao Guangxiao hadn't come, Chen Zuyi had planned to hand Zhao Ning'er over to Wang Yuemin to take back, but Yao Guangxiao's arrival interfered.

He asked Chen Zuyi to hand Zhao Ning'er over to him so he could take her back to Beiping, which put Chen Zuyi in a difficult position.

Chen Zuyi thought to himself that if he wanted to cooperate with the Prince of Yan, he would have to show some sincerity.

If we can't even agree to Yao Guangxiao's request, what else is there to talk about?

After all, the benefits Zhu Yuantong promised were incomparable to the 100 cities along the southeast coast.

At this moment, Yao Guangxiao gave Chen Zuyi a meaningful look, meaning that Zhao Ning'er should not be handed over to him to take away.

Chen Zuyi forced a smile and said, "After discussing this matter, we all agree that we cannot hand Miss Zhao over to you to take back."

There was a loud clanging sound.

Wang Yuemin drew her Seven-Star Sword: "You surnamed Chen, say that again!"

Wang Yuemin was originally a vanguard officer of the Northern Yuan, and also had a fiery temper.

When she heard Chen Zuyi say he was unwilling to release Zhao Ning'er, she immediately flew into a rage, drew her Seven Star Sword from her waist, and prepared to fight him to the death.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Chen Shiliang led dozens of pirates and rushed in from the outside, surrounding Wang Yuemin.

Just then, Fu Bao suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started howling at Chen Shiliang.

Knowing how ruthless this beast was, Chen Shiliang took several steps back.

Chen Zuyi was also very nervous.

Because he was too close to Wang Yuemin, if he was pushed too far, Wang Yuemin might send Fubao to bite him, and then it would be a loss for him.

He yelled at Chen Shiliang, "What are you doing? No matter what, Wang Yuemin is an envoy, and we should treat him with courtesy. Get out of here right now!"

"Father, this woman is too domineering. She actually dared to brandish knives and guns in front of you."

Chen Zuyi waved his hand and said, "You can leave now. This is none of your business."

Seeing that his father had spoken, Chen Shiliang had no choice but to lead his men back outside the cabin.

At this moment, Wang Yuemin also put away the Seven Star Sword: "Commander Chen, Zhu Yunwen has treated you very well. He promised to give you so much wealth and warhorses this time, but you refused to release Zhao Ning'er. So, what do you want?"

Chen Zuyi looked at Yao Guangxiao and said, "Here's what we'll do. You can take back the list that Zhu Yunwen gave you for now. We won't release Zhao Ning'er either."

Wang Yuemin raised her eyebrows. If it were up to her fiery temper, she would fight him to the death.

However, after all, it's on someone else's small piece of land.

She doesn't even consider her own safety; she has to consider Zhao Ning'er's safety too. If pushed too far, these pirates are ruthless killers, capable of anything.

Wang Yuemin held back for a moment, then said to Chen Zuyi, "Please allow me to say goodbye to Zhao Ning'er, then I will take my leave."

Chen Zuyi nodded in agreement.

Wang Yuemin then said to Yao Guangxiao, "Great monk, don't spend all your time scheming against others. You'll only end up hurting yourself without even realizing it."

Yao Guangxiao stood up, clasped his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, Princess, you are truly a heroine among women."

And so, when Wang Yuemin saw Zhao Ning'er again, he told her what had happened.

Zhao Ning'er was also taken aback when she heard this.

She never expected that Zhu Di would actually join forces with pirates like Chen Zuyi to fight against the imperial court.

"Princess, you should go back first, don't worry about me."

"Please remain calm and patient here."

"Once I get back, we'll find a way to rescue you."

"When you get back, tell Zhu Yunwen not to act rashly and absolutely not to fight these pirates. They have too many men, and the disparity in strength between the two sides is too great," Zhao Ning'er repeatedly instructed.

"I understand, don't worry."