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

Zhu Yunwen shook his head: "I don't think the accounts can be calculated like this."

The people of the world are the measure in our hearts. Whoever starts a war first, bringing disaster to the people...

These are all things we cannot allow, whether it's the Northern Yuan or Zhu Di.

Now, Zhu Di has occupied Beiping and also controls Kaiping, Linqing, and Shanhaiguan, making him extremely arrogant.

Moreover, their collusion with pirates is unacceptable.

Those pirates were ruthless killers who preyed on the people. They would seize any opportunity to land, kill, loot, and burn everything, committing countless atrocities. That Zhu Di would associate with them was truly intolerable.

Zhao Ling'er asked, "Yun Teng, how many troops do you plan to take to support Zhengding?"

Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment: "The court has given us a total of 3500 men, so I will take 3500 men with me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling'er frowned and asked, "Zhu Di has an army of 20, and you're only taking 3500 men? Can that solve the problem?"

Zhu Yunwen crossed his arms and paced back and forth in the tent, slowly saying, "The quality of an army is more important than its quantity."

How many battles in history have seen smaller forces defeat larger ones?

During the Three Kingdoms period, three famous and crucial battles took place.

These are the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Red Cliffs, and the Battle of Yiling.

These three battles share two common characteristics:

First, whoever starts the war first will lose;

Secondly, both were examples of winning with fewer troops.

Let's first talk about the Battle of Guandu. At that time, Yuan Shao occupied Hebei and had an army of one million.

Cao Cao only had 70,000 elite troops, a huge disparity in strength.

When Yuan Shao's army attacked, many people advised Cao Cao to surrender.

Cao Cao knew that Yuan Shao was an incompetent fool and looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, so he resolutely refused to surrender.

Many ministers in the court were secretly colluding with Yuan Shao, their aim being to secure a way out for themselves.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao faced off at Guandu.

Just then, Xu You came to join Cao Cao, and Cao Cao adopted Xu You's plan, burning down the grain granary at Wuchao.

Yuan Shao lost his army's supplies and was ultimately defeated by Cao Cao.

From then on, Yuan Shao never recovered.

Cao Cao gradually unified the north.

The Battle of Red Cliffs was a war initiated by Cao Cao to conquer Eastern Wu.

Cao Cao commanded an army of 830,000, which he claimed was a million.

Sun Quan had only tens of thousands of troops.

When Cao Cao's army marched south, Zhang Zhao and other civil officials advised Sun Quan to simply surrender to Cao Cao.

However, Grand Commander Zhou Yu and Lu Su firmly opposed surrendering to Cao Cao.

They supported uniting with Liu Bei to fight against Cao Cao's army.

Ultimately, in the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu's fire reduced Cao Cao's 83-strong army to ashes.

This laid the foundation for the Three Kingdoms period of Eastern Wu.

Guan Yu carelessly lost Jingzhou, and Lü Meng crossed the river in disguise, seized Jingzhou, and killed Guan Yu and his son Guan Ping. Liu Bei was extremely grieved and indignant.

Therefore, Liu Bei led 700,000 Shu troops to attack Eastern Wu.

At the beginning, the Shu army advanced with unstoppable momentum, and the Eastern Wu army suffered repeated defeats. It seemed that Liu Bei's Shu army was about to reach Jiankang.

In a moment of desperation, Sun Quan appointed Lu Xun as Grand Commander.

Lu Xun appeared to be a scholar, but in reality, he was a Confucian general.

After taking office, he made a rational analysis of the current situation and adopted a strategy of luring the enemy deep into his territory.

They dragged the Shu army into the summer heat, when they finally moved to a dense forest.

Lu Xun saw that the opportunity had finally come and immediately adopted a fire attack strategy. A great fire burned Liu Bei's 700,000 Shu army to pieces, leaving almost no one alive.

Overwhelmed with shame and remorse, Liu Bei died in Baidi City.

From then on, the Shu Kingdom lost its strength to contend for the world.

Looking back at these three battles, we can conclude that the number of soldiers is not the sole factor determining the outcome of a war; rather, employing appropriate strategies and methods is the key to victory.

This time, Zhu Di raised an unjust army, even though he raised the banner of "Purge the court of corrupt officials and eliminate the villains."

However, his ambition was obvious; he came for his own selfish desires.

This is unpopular.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zhao Ling'er looked worried: "Then I'll go with you."

Zhu Yunwen shook his head: "No, this rescue is definitely very dangerous. It's safer for you to stay here."

After discussion, Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun led 3500 cavalrymen to Zhengding.

Zhao Ling'er and Chang Sheng were stationed in Suzhou and continued their drills.

On the evening of the third day, Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun's army arrived at the east gate of Zhengding City and set up camp fifty li away.

The saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun rode their warhorses to survey the terrain.

They climbed to a high place and looked around. They saw that to the north of Zhen Ding City, there were Yan army camps everywhere, stretching for dozens of miles.

Zhu Yunwen said to Chang Yuchun, "Everyone says Geng Bingwen is a general skilled in defense, but this time he couldn't withstand Zhu Di?"

Chang Yuchun stroked his beard and looked ahead: "I admit that Geng Bingwen is skilled at defending the city; he is indeed quite capable."

but,

Firstly, Zhu Di's military strength was more than twice that of him;

Secondly, Zhu Di had just acquired the areas of Kaiping, Linqing and Shanhaiguan, and his military strength and morale were at their peak.

Thirdly, Geng Bingwen's methods of defending the city were somewhat outdated. He only knew how to build deep trenches and high walls and hold the line without fighting, which was not going to work.

Modern playing styles are vastly different from those of the past. We must keep up with the times and learn the latest techniques. If we always stick to the old ways, how can we avoid being left behind?

Zhu Yunwen thought Chang Yuchun was right. No wonder Chang Yuchun was an invincible general and a war god. This was by no means a coincidence.

His operational concepts were clearly far ahead of those of Geng Bingwen and his men.

Chang Yuchun pointed to the Yan army's camp and said, "Zhu Di's army is too numerous. If we fight them head-on..."

"That definitely won't work. Even if we fight until we're all wiped out, we still won't be a match for them."

"Grandfather, that's what I think too."

Chang Yuchun continued, "A general cannot only know how to be ruthless and fight the enemy to the death."

Everything in heaven and earth can be utilized.

The reason why Eastern Wu was able to win the Battle of Red Cliffs and the Battle of Yiling was that they made full use of fire attacks.

Water and fire are merciless.

Back then, Guan Yu was able to flood the seven armies and capture Yu Jin alive. Wasn't it because of the use of water?

A river called the Xietuo River flows through this area, passing through the city of Zhengding. It is 587 km long and has a drainage area of ​​nearly 3 km².

This river originates in the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi, flows through several cities, and finally empties into the Ziya River.

Zhu Yongtong looked around and saw the river, which looked like a jade belt winding through the river.

However, what troubled Zhu Yunwen was that there was no heavy rain at this time, and the river water had not risen, so it was currently impossible to use the river water.

After returning to his tent, Zhu Yunwen took out paper and pen, wrote three letters, and sent them out by carrier pigeon.

These three letters were addressed to Geng Bingwen, Wang Yuemin, and Tie Xuan, respectively.

Recently, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying have been hiding in Zhengding City and are in a state of utter distress.

To Geng Bingwen's surprise, Zhu Di's generals Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, and Zhu Gaoxu were all fearless and extremely brave in battle.

Zhu Gaochi, in particular, was the bravest of the three armies.

Geng Bingwen thought to himself, "No wonder people call Zhu Gaoxu a little tyrant."

In Geng Bingwen's view, Zhu Gaochi's bravery in battle surpassed that of Xiang Yu.

Everyone says that Xiang Yu rode his black steed Wuzhui, wielded his Overlord Spear, and possessed unparalleled strength, making him invincible under heaven.

However, in Geng Bingwen's view, he had fought a lifetime of battles and had never encountered a general as brave as Zhu Gaoxu.

That was truly a ferocious tiger.

Guo Ying's illness has relapsed, and she is bedridden and unable to get up.

Geng Bingwen also had to send someone to brew medicine for him and take care of him every day.

This made Geng Bingwen so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters.

This time, the policy of garrisoning Zhen Ding and implementing a scorched-earth policy was first proposed by him.

If anything goes wrong, he will be in deep trouble, and his lifelong reputation will be ruined.

Now, the city has run out of food and water.

The city of Zhengding was completely surrounded by Zhu Di's army, and not even a bird could fly out.

The imperial reinforcements have yet to appear.

Geng Bingwen could understand; wasn't it too difficult to get the imperial court to send troops to support him now?

There were hardly any capable generals in the court, except for Xu Huizu, who was considered quite good. Geng Bingwen could also see this; he knew that Zhu Yunwen didn't trust Xu Huizu, after all, Xu Huizu was related to Zhu Di.

Geng Bingwen came to visit Guo Ying again.

Guo Ying's face was pale, and her eyes were dull and lifeless.

When he saw Geng Bingwen arrive, he forced himself to sit up.

Geng Bingwen quickly helped him up and asked, "Old Guo, how are you feeling now?"

"Cough, cough," Guo Ying coughed twice. "It's an old ailment. I shouldn't die anytime soon."

"If you ask me, your illness is a result of neglect. When it first appeared, you didn't pay attention to it, and as time went on, it got worse and worse, making it very difficult to cure."

Guo Ying naturally understood that Geng Bingwen was blaming him on the surface, but in reality, he was concerned about him.

He gave a wry smile: "I've already made a profit. Back then, when Crown Prince Zhu Biao returned from his inspection tour of Shaanxi, he contracted typhoid fever and died, didn't he?"

And I've lived for so many years, isn't that a bonus?

"It's such a pity the Crown Prince died. What use is a useless person like me?"

Geng Bingwen laughed and said, "You have a pretty good attitude."

"What's the situation like outside?"

Geng Bingwen then explained the situation of both sides to him.

Guo Ying sighed: "Old Geng, how can I put it? In the end, we're still lucky."

Think about it, when the late emperor was alive, there were many generals who were more capable than us, such as Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, and Fu Youde.

However, they did not die on the battlefield, but rather under Old Zhu's butcher's knife.

Isn't this tragic?

Therefore, our weaknesses also have their advantages.

If we were as strong as them, we'd probably be dead long ago.

Geng Bingwen patted him on the shoulder: "What you said makes some sense. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and the nail that sticks out gets rotted first."

Old Zhu was worried about Lan Yu because he was too powerful.

However, the situation of the imperial court is also difficult now.

With all those formidable generals gone, can the two of us shoulder the responsibility?

Zhu Di had Yao Guangxiao to advise him in civil affairs, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng to lead military campaigns, and that kid Zhu Gaoxu—he was truly a tiger!

"I really can't understand how His Majesty could have released him back to Beiping in the first place."

Guo Ying sighed: "Now that things have come to this, why are you still saying all that?"

His Majesty has made far too many mistakes.

Don't we know what that bastard Zhang Xin is all about?

Even if we were sent to the Beiping Military Command, such a thing wouldn't happen.

And then there's Song Zhong, who was originally a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Can he become a general?

He doesn't know anything!

Geng Bingwen nodded: "You're right. In the end, His Majesty is still too inexperienced and can't outmaneuver Zhu Di."

Let's not talk about that anymore.

What we need to consider is how to protect Zhen Ding City.

His Majesty has made it clear: if we lose Zhen Ding, we will come back with our heads.

Guo Ying then asked, "Have we sent out our request for help yet?"

"We've sent them out, but so far, we haven't seen a single reinforcement." Geng Bingwen spread his hands.

Guo Ying leaned back against the pillow: "Our current situation is exactly the same as Xiang Yu's northward expedition to rescue Zhao back then."

All the vassal states stood by and watched, and which of the generals in the court was not afraid of Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi?

Therefore, they would hide on the sidelines and watch us laugh.

Qi Tai was originally a civil official, yet His Majesty appointed him as Minister of War.

This civil official is good at writing and composing poems, but if you ask him to command a battle, isn't that like an outsider directing an expert?

Isn't that nonsense?

I really don't know what His Majesty is thinking.

Geng Bingwen sighed deeply: "I'm old, almost 70. Even if I died now, I wouldn't have any regrets. I've lived enough."

Even if I were allowed to continue living, I probably wouldn't live much longer.

However, just as geese leave their calls in flight and people leave their names behind, I do not want to disappoint the court's expectations, nor do I want to ruin my lifelong reputation.

Therefore, we must persevere in this battle.

Guo Ying was very worried: "Although Zhen Ding City is still relatively strong, how much food and money does our 100,000-strong army consume every day?"

How can we survive without food and water?

Just then, a soldier ran up, holding a carrier pigeon: "General, a message has arrived."

Geng Bingwen was surprised and reached out, saying, "Give me the letter, let me see it!"

"promise!"

The soldier took the letter down and handed it to Geng Bingwen.

Geng Bingwen opened the letter and read it. It turned out that the letter was written by Zhu Yunwen. The letter said that we have led 3500 people to support you. You must not slack off, cheer up, and let us work together to find a way to defeat Zhu Di.

After reading it, Geng Bingwen's eyes lit up.

He handed the letter back to Guo Ying: "So it seems that the King of Wu is quite good, very brave, truly a newborn calf unafraid of tigers."

Guo Ying nodded, her face showing worry: "King Wu is indeed very good, but what problem can he solve with only 3500 men? It's just a drop in the ocean."

Geng Bingwen, his face flushed, paced back and forth in the hall: "I don't think so. Zhu Yunwen is wise and brave, and Chang Yuchun is fierce and invincible. Maybe they can bring us a glimmer of hope."

Just then, a loud cry of a crane came from the sky above Zhen Ding.

Before long, a huge crane landed in the middle of the courtyard.

It turned out that Zhu Yunwen had sent angels to deliver food and water to Geng Bingwen and his men.

Although it's not much, it can solve many problems.

The Southern Army soldiers were greatly encouraged; they seemed to see a glimmer of hope before dawn.

Guo Ying also perked up. He forced himself to get off the bed, put on his military uniform, and went up to the city wall to join the soldiers.

The saying goes, "A general is the courage of his soldiers, and soldiers are the might of their generals."

When the soldiers of the Southern Army saw that Guo Ying had recovered from her illness and was not as sick as rumored, they all cheered up.

Chaghan Temur's large tent.

This large tent was extremely tall, spacious, and luxurious.

Only someone of such high status as Chaghan Temur was worthy of owning such a large tent.

Chaghan Temur stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the tent, deep in thought.

Because he's not having an easy time either.

Four years ago, the people of the North Yuan were fighting amongst themselves, and Enke was killed.

The legitimate royal families of the Oirat Mongols and Eastern Mongols gathered together to discuss and decided to make Borjigin Elbeg, the second son of the Tianyuan Emperor Togus Temur, emperor.

However, to Chaghan Temur's surprise, this Elbeg was a complete failure as emperor, accomplishing nothing and achieving nothing.

Moreover, he was ruthless, lecherous, and had great trust in Haohai Dayu.

Hao Hai Dayu was a notorious villain, committing all sorts of evil deeds, and he especially enjoyed tattling to the emperor.

Chaghan Temur knew that he had already told the emperor that he was raising an army to maintain his power and intentionally avoiding battles so that he could continue to hold military power.

Recently, Wang Baobao also suffered a defeat in the Gansu area, which gave people even more reason to criticize him.

This time, Yao Guangxiao sent a letter to Chaghan Temur, suggesting that he join forces with Zhu Di to attack Zhu Yunwen.

This surprised Chaghan Temur.

Because he had always been fighting against Zhu Di, how could he have imagined that Zhu Di would suddenly want to join forces with him?

Therefore, he hesitated.

Just as he was lost in thought, Wang Yuemin walked in from outside the tent.

"Father, why did you send me a message by carrier pigeon, asking me to come back?" Wang Yuemin asked, looking travel-worn.

Chaghan Temur returned safely and was very happy: "I was so worried about your safety while you were away from me."

"Tell your father quickly, what did you do on your trip to Beiping and Jinan?"

Wang Yuemin then briefly recounted what had happened.

After hearing this, Chaghan Temur frowned and said, "Girl, you handled this matter rather poorly."

First of all, Zhu Yunwen is our enemy. He is Zhu Yunwen's younger brother, and he is in league with the Ming court. How could you associate with him?

"Father, you are wrong. Zhu Yunwen and the Ming court are not in cahoots," Wang Yuemin corrected Chaghan Temur's statement.

"Oh, he's not with Zhu Yunwen, so is he with Zhu Di?"

"No, that's not it. He's independent; he cares about the people of the world. He's a prince who keeps their suffering in mind."

"Completely different from those feudal lords and warlords." Wang Yuemin walked to the table, poured himself a bowl of tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Oh dear, girl, don't be fooled by those superficial appearances!"

Regardless, he and Zhu Yunwen were brothers, and he helped the court fight against Zhu Di and also helped the court combat pirates.

In short, he is our enemy, so why risk your life to save him?

Wang Yuemin thought for a moment, then mustered her courage and said, "Father, to be honest, I've fallen for him."

Chaghan Temur was stunned: "Zhu Yuntong is a member of the Ming imperial family. He is the son of Zhu Biao and Lady Chang, and he is our mortal enemy. How could you fall in love with him?"

"I just love him, and I won't marry anyone else but him," Wang Yuemin said, raising her head.

"Didn't I hear he already has a fiancée named Zhao Ling'er?"

"Yes, he does have a Zhao Ling'er, and I am willing to serve him alone with Zhao Ling'er!" Wang Yuemin said frankly and earnestly.

"Nonsense! Absolutely nonsense!"

How could a princess of my Great Yuan Dynasty become someone else's concubine?

"I cannot agree to this." Chaghan Temur felt ashamed and very angry when he heard her say this.

To everyone's surprise, Wang Yuemin said, "Even if you disagree, it won't work."

Why?

"Because we've already consummated our marriage, and the deed is done, it can't be changed," Wang Yuemin lied.

Upon hearing this, Chaghan Temur became so angry that his beard twitched and he pointed at her, saying, "Girl, you've really made me furious! How could you do something like this? You're just playing the fool!"

The marriage of one's children should be decided by the parents. How could you so easily sleep with him on your own?

Oh dear, you've completely embarrassed me.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuemin burst into tears: "You and my brother only know how to fight all day long, and you never care about my marriage."

I'm not getting any younger. Men should marry when they're of age, and women should marry when they're of age. Shouldn't I find someone I like?

When Chaghan Temur saw Wang Yuemin crying, his heart softened, and he felt guilty: "Girl, what you said makes sense. I've been busy with military affairs all day, and I've indeed neglected your matter."

However, our Great Yuan Dynasty has plenty of princes and ministers. You can choose a handsome and virtuous son from among their sons to be your husband. Wouldn't that be better?

Wang Yuemin was very stubborn: "I'll say it again, in this life, I will not marry anyone but Zhu Yunwen."

Chaghan Temur also knew Wang Yuemin's temperament; he was extremely stubborn and had a fierce personality.

If pushed too far, and Wang Yuemin does something foolish, it will be too late for him to regret it.

"Alright, alright, let's put that aside for now. Your father has another important matter to discuss with you."

Wang Yuemin gradually stopped crying: "What is it?"

"Yao Guangxiao sent us a letter, hoping that we would unite with Zhu Di to deal with Zhu Yunwen."

If we conquer the Ming Dynasty and Zhu Di becomes emperor, we can share the empire equally with our Yuan Dynasty.

"Do you think you can agree to this?" Chaghan Temur said, handing Yao Guangxiao's letter to Wang Yuemin.

Wang Yuemin took the letter, read it, and then sneered: "Yao Guangxiao's greatest skill is deceiving and exploiting others."

do you know?

Not only did he write you a letter, he also went to negotiate with Chen Zuyi, which I happened to witness.

He said that if Chen Zuyi could help Zhu Di capture the capital, he would give Chen Zuyi 100 cities along the southeast coast.

Do you think this could be true?