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

Zhu Yunwen looked up at the sky: "This is very likely. Zhu Di was prepared for a rainy day, and Yao Guangxiao is shrewd and capable of any trick."

Because you have stationed your troops outside Zhengding City, guarding the Hutuo River, forming a pincer movement with the city's interior, this is a very strong defensive system.

So they used this honey trap to force you out of Zhen Ding City.

Xu Huizu thought Zhu Yunzhu's analysis made sense, and then asked, "How did you end up here? Where are you going?"

We are preparing to go and support Zhen Ding, just in case.

"What?" Xu Huizu said, "I just came out of the city. There's no fighting going on where we are right now."

"No, that would be best. The pirates have landed in Yangzhou and are besieging it."

I have already sent my maternal grandfather, Chang Yuchun, with troops to Yangzhou.

We've learned that Chen Zuyi has besieged Yangzhou without attacking or withdrawing his troops. Why do you think he's doing this?

Xu Huizu, a renowned general, thought for a moment upon hearing this and said, "Could it be that Chen Zuyi is intentionally trying to contain and disperse your forces?"

Zhu Yuntong nodded heavily: "That's what I think too."

An agreement has been reached between Chen Zuyi and Zhu Di.

That time, Yao Guangxiao was on Chen Zuyi's boat.

If Chen Zuyi and Zhu Di joined forces and were able to capture the capital, Yao Guangxiao agreed to cede 100 cities along the southeastern coast to the pirates.

Xu Huizu was shocked upon hearing this: "Is that so? It seems that Zhu Di was willing to use any means necessary to seize the throne, even lowering himself to contact pirates."

"You bet it is. It's a terrible thing."

"So, what should we do next?" Xu Huizu felt the situation was very serious.

"This is not a good situation."

Do you think Zhen Ding City can still be defended?

Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment: "I'm afraid it's dangerous."

"Could it be that Zhu Di and his forces could launch a military campaign so quickly?"

"It's probably faster than you think."

"I originally planned to go to Jinan to ask Tie Xuan for help, but I don't know if it will be too late."

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "Tie Xuan is indeed an outstanding general."

However, firstly, it's too late to solve the immediate problem, and secondly, there probably isn't enough time.

Furthermore, Tie Xuan has already been demoted because of his previous support for Zhen Ding, so asking him for help again might be a bit difficult.

Upon hearing this, Xu Huizu thought to himself, "Isn't that right?"

What is Tie Xuan trying to achieve?

Besides, he's just a grain supervisor right now. Supervising the supply of grain to Jinan is his job. Asking him to send troops to help us defend Zhending is just making things difficult for him.

The city of Zhen Ding already had 10 troops, which was no small number.

Xu Huizu and Zhu Yuntong discussed the matter again.

As Zhu Yunwen had predicted, no sooner had Xu Huizu left Zhengding than Zhu Di personally led an army of 20 from Beiping to attack again.

At the same time, Prince Zhu Bai of Xiang personally led 5 naval troops down the Hutuo River.

Zhen Ding City.

General's Mansion?

Li Jinglong was drunk and was sleeping on the couch.

A soldier rushed in from outside, shouting, "General, something terrible has happened!"

The Yan army is attacking.

Li Jinglong sat up groggily and asked, "What did you say?"

The soldier pointed north: "Zhu Di is attacking again!"

"Nonsense! You must have seen wrong!"

Zhu Di just wrote me a letter, his words were so earnest, he almost knelt before me. How dare he lead his troops here?

"Oh dear, General, it's absolutely true! You should go up to the city wall and see for yourself!"

"Is this really true?" Li Jinglong felt a splitting headache.

He disembarked, donned his armor, and climbed to the top of the city wall.

He held onto the cave entrance and looked down, and was also greatly surprised.

Outside the north gate, the Yan army surged forth in overwhelming numbers, covering the mountains and plains with fluttering banners and an imposing force.

Li Jinglong was also dumbfounded.

He couldn't understand how the Yan army came. They appeared and disappeared without a trace, arriving as if nothing had happened, without any prior warning.

He withdrew Xu Hui's 10,000 troops into the city. Since he had not set up any defenses, he was completely unaware of the arrival of Zhu Di's army.

It seems that Li Guang's approach is not working either.

At this moment, another soldier ran up to him and reported: "General, we have spotted hundreds of warships sailing downstream at the head of the Hutuo River."

Li Jinglong's head was buzzing as he asked, "Where did these warships come from?"

"It was Zhu Bai, the Prince of Xiang, who led his army here."

"What? Zhu Bai is here too?"

"yes!"

Li Jinglong began to regret it again, because Xu Huizu had reminded him to guard the Hutuo River, but he hadn't listened.

He felt it was unnecessary. Why guard the Hutuo River? Our Zhen Ding City is situated on high ground, and the water of the Hutuo River won't reach Zhen Ding.

If the Yan army comes, they will breach the Hutuo River dike.

They will only drown themselves.

He never imagined that the Jingzhou navy would come down from the Hutuo River.

A gust of wind blew by, and Li Jinglong became much more awake.

He rallied his spirits: "Don't panic! Zhu Di is nothing to fear. He has come from afar and his troops must be exhausted. Watch me capture him today."

He gave Wang Zuo the 10,000 troops that he had previously assigned to Xu Huizu, and ordered him to guard the Hutuo River to prevent the Jingzhou navy from coming down.

Wang Zuo frowned: "General, the Jingzhou navy numbers in the tens of thousands. How can my 1 men possibly stop their warships? Those warships are all equipped with cannons; they are extremely powerful!"

"This—," Li Jinglong thought to himself, "100,000 troops in Zhen Ding City isn't that many. I gave you 10,000, and you still have 90,000 left. General Wang, please hold on for a bit. I'll come to your aid once I'm free."

"General, you'd better hurry. If it takes too long, I might not be able to hold on." Hearing this, Wang Zuo had no choice but to obey the order and go.

"Don't worry, we're brothers, aren't we?"

Wang Zuo thought to himself, "You talk a good game, but why don't you give me more troops?"

Li Jinglong left 10,000 troops to defend the city, and then personally led 80,000 troops out of the city to confront Zhu Di's army.

Zhu Di was dressed in armor and rode a tall black horse.

He shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand and asked, "Is that my cousin Li Jinglong over there?"

Li Jinglong was the son of Li Wenzhong, who was Zhu Di's nephew. Therefore, Li Jinglong was Zhu Di's cousin.

Li Jinglong pointed at Zhu Di and said, "Don't try to get close to me!"

Now that you are a rebel against the court, let's forget about kinship.

Zhu Di laughed heartily: "Back then, I had a very close relationship with your father, Li Wenzhong."

"For your deceased father's sake, I'll at least give you some face."

Don't give me that crap, it's all pointless.

Zhu Di nodded: "Did you receive the letter I wrote to you?"

"Of course I received it, but you are two-faced, saying one thing and doing another."

You were so polite in your letter, but before I knew it, you led your troops to the gates of Zhen Ding City. What is the reason for this?

"You're such a despicable person!" Li Jinglong was furious at the thought.

Zhu Di was not angry: "You don't need to be angry. People often say that all's fair in war, and that war is all about deception. Whatever method I use, as long as it can defeat you, it's a good method."

Li Jinglong was furious: "Zhu Di, dismount and surrender immediately, or I will spare your life. If you delay, it will be too late to regret it!"

Zhu Di laughed loudly, looking up at the sky: "You? Who dares to fight me?"

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Gaosui spurred his horse forward, shouting, "Father, watch me capture him!"

Li Jinglong wielded a halberd and engaged Zhu Gaosui in battle.

Both sides' soldiers were observing the enemy's formation from behind, and they were all cheering for their own generals.

To be honest, Li Jinglong was quite capable; Zhu Gaosui was no match for him.

The two fought for more than ten rounds before Zhu Gaosui was defeated.

Zhu Di's face turned ashen with rage, and he cursed, "What a useless piece of trash!"

Upon seeing this, Zhu Neng, one of Li Jinglong's generals, spurred his horse and brandished his sword to meet Li Jinglong in battle.

Zhu Neng was also a formidable general, ranking alongside Zhang Yu and Qiu Fu as one of Zhu Di's top generals.

Li Jinglong thought to himself, "I've been boasting so much in front of the Emperor, I'm going to show them my power today, otherwise, wouldn't they look down on me?"

So he fought with increasing courage and determination.

As expected, he fought to a draw with Zhu Neng, which is already quite good.

Zhu Neng was also the bravest soldier in the army.

Zhu Di was worried that Zhu Neng might be in danger, so he quickly sounded the retreat.

Zhu Neng heard the sound of the gong and knew that Zhu Di was calling him back.

Zhu Neng stepped down and said to Zhu Di, "Li Jinglong is indeed formidable; let's retreat."

Zhu Di led his troops to retreat towards Zhengcunba.

Li Jinglong laughed heartily: "Everyone says Zhu Di is so capable, but after seeing him today, he's nothing special."

Trying to run? No way! Chase after them!

Li Jinglong led his troops in hot pursuit, killing hundreds of Yan soldiers and capturing more than a thousand others, obtaining a considerable amount of gongs, drums, tents, spears, knives, and utensils.

Li Jinglong was overjoyed, thinking that Geng Bingwen was just a coward who would only hide in Zhengding City and get beaten. Traitors like Judy should be dealt a heavy blow.

If you really want to fight them, they're scared too!

Before he knew it, Li Jinglong had chased after the enemy for over a hundred miles. One of his generals said to him, "General Li, let's stop while we're ahead. We should still focus on Zhen Ding City. If Zhen Ding falls, we'll be in big trouble."

Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong angrily retorted, "We should press our advantage, take advantage of the victory, and march all the way to Beiping to completely eliminate Zhu Di and eliminate any future troubles. How can we give up halfway?"

They reported the victory to the imperial court and requested reinforcements.

Therefore, Li Jinglong sent a letter to Zhu Yunwen by carrier pigeon.

Upon receiving the good news, Zhu Yunwen was overjoyed. It seemed that like father, like son; Li Jinglong was indeed capable of great things.

He hurriedly went to court, summoned civil and military officials, and discussed the matter.

At the same time, in order to show his achievements, he specially called over Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying, meaning to let them see and learn how Li Jinglong fought.

Zhu Yunwen had the victory report circulated among the people.

Qi Tai was overjoyed because Li Jinglong had won the battle, and he also deserved credit, after all, he was the Minister of War.

Qi Tai cleared his throat: "Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune. Li Jinglong has inherited his father's legacy and is loyal and courageous to the Ming Dynasty."

Your Majesty should bestow upon him great rewards.

Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying, who were listening nearby, thought to themselves, "Last time, we killed over 1 enemy soldiers and captured over 1 prisoners at the gates of Zhengding, yet His Majesty dismissed us from our posts."

Now, Li Jinglong has only killed a few hundred people and captured 1000 prisoners. What is there to be proud of?

Upon hearing Qi Tai's words, Zhu Yunwen nodded, his eyes shining: "I only regret that I didn't use Li Jinglong last time. If I had used Li Jinglong earlier, Zhu Di would probably have been captured long ago."

In fact, Zhu Yunwen said this intentionally to Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying, thinking that you two old geezers only know how to defend the city, don't you know how to take the initiative to attack?

Geng Bingwen naturally understood Zhu Yunwen's implied meaning and asked, "Your Majesty, where has Li Jinglong's army reached?"

"He is currently pursuing Zhu Di's army and is heading towards Zhengcunba."

He planned to take Beiping in one fell swoop and eliminate future troubles; his courage is truly commendable. Zhu Yunwen seemed somewhat excited as he said this.

Geng Bingwen shook his head: "Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but this is very dangerous."

Beiping was well-defended, with a deep moat.

Zhu Di fought against the Northern Yuan for many years, but the Northern Yuan couldn't take it. Could Li Jinglong possibly take Beiping?

In my humble opinion, that may not be the case.

If he fails to capture Beiping but loses Zhengding instead, it would truly be a case of losing more than he gains.

Zhu Yunwen listened but disagreed: "Old General, you are too cautious."

Zhu Di's army was a rebel army, a motley crew, and their hearts were not united, so their fighting strength was not that great.

Look at Li Jinglong, who only used 80,000 troops to defeat Zhu Di's 200,000-strong army and killed and captured thousands of Yan soldiers.

Li Jinglong is now requesting the court to send reinforcements. What are your thoughts on this?

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Geng Bingwen thought to himself that Li Jinglong was Zhu Yunwen's cousin, and the two cousins ​​had a close relationship. Geng Bingwen, on the other hand, was an outsider, and his official position had already been revoked. He should be at home enjoying his retirement.

The reason His Majesty summoned him and Guo Ying today was to humiliate them in person.

Geng Bingwen wanted to continue speaking, but Guo Ying tugged at his sleeve.

So you mean, just stop talking, why risk getting into trouble?

"Cough, cough," Guo Ying coughed for a while, "Your Majesty is wise, and Li Jinglong is mighty."

He's not as straightforward as Geng Bingwen, so what's the point of saying all that?

Can the emperor listen to me?

Don't anger the emperor, or he might kill your entire family in a fit of rage.

They're like a phoenix that's lost its feathers, no better than a chicken now.

Zhu Yunwen, radiant and full of vigor, asked Qi Tai, "My dear minister, as the Minister of War, do you think it's feasible to increase the number of troops? If so, how many would be appropriate?"

Qi Tai stroked his beard and shook his head, saying, "In my humble opinion, we can definitely increase the number of troops. Moreover, the more troops the better."

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to the imperial son-in-law, Mei Yin.

Mei Yin had been training troops outside and rarely attended court, but Zhu Yunwen had invited him here today.

When Zhu Yuanzhang passed away, he left behind an army of 40 men, which he entrusted to Mei Yin.

Mei Yin held military power and enjoyed the deep trust of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yunwen also valued him highly, but deep down he also harbored some apprehension towards him.

However, Mei Yin deeply resented Zhu Yunwen's vigorous efforts to reduce the power of the princes.

He once advised Zhu Yunwen that reducing the power of the princes was not inherently wrong, but it should not be done too hastily, as doing so would incite a mutiny.

If the various vassal kings were to unite against the imperial court, it would be a very dangerous situation, and they might even be able to overthrow the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhu Yunwen wouldn't listen.

Under the vigorous praise and encouragement of Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, he turned his attention to Zhu Di.

The interests of Zhu Di's group were threatened. Under the persuasion of his generals Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng, and his strategist Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Di decided to take a gamble and confront the court.

Qi Tai's original plan was to appoint Zhang Bing as the Provincial Treasurer of Beiping, and Xie Gui and Zhang Xin as the Military Commanders of Beiping.

However, due to Zhang Xin's betrayal, Zhang Yu and Xie Gui have now been detained.

Furthermore, Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan were stationed in the areas of Kaiping, Linqing, and Shanhaiguan, but these three were too arrogant and were captured by Zhu Di using a strategy of luring the enemy deep into their territory.

Now, Zhu Di not only possessed Beiping, but also occupied Kaiping, Linqing, and the Shanhaiguan area, wielding considerable power and influence.

Moreover, he also contacted Zhu Bai, the Prince of Xiang.

Zhu Bai led his army to support Zhu Di and attacked Zhengding.

Mei Yin couldn't stand Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng's behavior; their despicable acts disgusted him.

At this moment, seeing that Zhu Yunwen had asked him, he could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb.

He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that General Geng Bingwen's words are reasonable. I urge Your Majesty to issue an edict immediately, ordering Li Jinglong to stop the pursuit and return to Zhengding City. Defending Zhengding City is the greatest victory."

By holding Zhen Ding and guarding the Yellow River, Zhu Di was kept in control north of the Yellow River.

As long as he cannot cross the Yellow River, and his army's morale declines over time, His Majesty will only need to issue an edict and send a messenger to persuade the entire Yan army to surrender.

If the capital were truly lost, and Zhu Di led his army across the Yellow River, then the capital would be in danger.

Upon hearing Mei Yin's words, Zhu Yunwen frowned.

He placed his hand on the dragon throne: "Li Jinglong said it was very clear in the letter that they had won a great victory, the situation was excellent, and it was time to press their advantage."

To everyone's surprise, Mei Yin sneered: "Your Majesty, Li Jinglong only killed a few hundred Yan soldiers and captured a thousand prisoners. This is hardly a great victory."

If I remember correctly, last time General Geng and Zhu Yunwen killed tens of thousands of Yan soldiers and captured more than 1 prisoners, yet His Majesty considered it a minor victory. Isn't that right?

"This—." Zhu Yunwen was speechless after being choked by his words.

Qi Tai sneered and continued, "Your Highness is mistaken. We have all read history. Take the Battle of Changping for example. Bai Qi led the Qin army to defeat Zhao Kuo's army and massacred more than 40 Zhao soldiers. If we had followed Bai Qi's wishes and pursued the victory, we could have taken the Zhao capital, Handan, in one fell swoop and eliminated future troubles."

However, Fan Ju worried that Bai Qi's achievements were too great and that his position would surpass his own in the future. Therefore, he advised King Zhaoxiang of Qin to withdraw his troops, saying that the soldiers were exhausted and needed to rest, thus missing a good opportunity.

Later, the Qin army attacked Handan several more times, but failed to capture it, and paid a heavy price for it.

Currently, our situation is excellent. Li Jinglong is loyal to the court and is incredibly brave.

As Li Jinglong said, we should seize this opportunity to take Beiping in one fell swoop and eliminate future troubles. How can we give up halfway?

If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to attack Beiping again in the future.

Upon hearing this, Mei Yin shook her head again: "First of all, Li Jinglong is no match for Bai Qi."

Secondly, Bai Qi massacred over 400,000 Zhao soldiers, while Li Jinlong has only killed a few hundred Yan soldiers so far, which is nothing compared to Bai Qi's massacre.

For Zhu Di, several hundred soldiers were nothing, so this could not be considered a major victory, but rather a minor skirmish.

Secondly, Beijing was different from Handan. Beijing had been developed by Zhu Di for many years, and its city defenses were very strong, with a wide and deep moat.

If you want to besiege Beiping, it will be very difficult to take it without hundreds of thousands of troops.

If Beiping were so easy to take, the Northern Yuan army would have captured it long ago.

Furthermore, the Jingzhou navy is already approaching Zhengding, and the situation is extremely critical. As far as I know, Zhu Bai possesses hundreds of warships, equipped with cannons of immense power.

Li Jinglong only gave Wang Zuo 1 men. Could that stop them?

If we can't stop it, wouldn't Zhen Ding be in danger?

Therefore, my best strategy is for Li Jinglong to withdraw and calm down, drive away the Jingzhou navy, and first ensure invincibility before waiting for the enemy to become vulnerable.

Qi Tai squinted at Mei Yin: "Prince Consort, what exactly do you mean by that?"

Are you suggesting that you intend to amass military power and remain neutral?

Upon hearing this, Mei Yin immediately became furious: "You and I were both important ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor by him. You were a civil official, and I was a military one."

Logically speaking, I should have the final say in matters of the military.

However, since His Majesty has appointed you as Minister of War, I must also consider your opinions.

What you're saying is utter nonsense!

If you think I'm using my military power for personal gain, then fine, I'll hand over my command now, and you can do whatever you want with me.

"you!"

Mei Yin, also known for his fiery temper, took off his military tally and held it in his hand, saying, "Your Majesty, some people suspect that I am using my military power for personal gain and have ulterior motives. I request that Your Majesty withdraw the tally and find someone else to command it."

Zhu Yunwen never expected things to develop this way.

He quickly smoothed things over, smiling and saying, "Your Highness, you don't need to doubt it. Minister Qi didn't mean it that way either."

"Your Majesty, I have been unwell recently and have been taking medicine."

If I continue to command the troops, it will indeed cause delays.

Therefore, Your Majesty, please reclaim the military tally and appoint someone else to command it.

As for how you intend to handle and deploy the 40 troops, that's up to you.

Seeing that the situation was at a standstill, Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to say, "Prince Consort, since you are unwell, then, alright, we will temporarily confiscate your military tally and return it to you after you recover."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The eunuch Wang Yue took the military tally and handed it to Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself that throughout history, whoever held military power had the right to speak.

Why was Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, so weak? It was because he no longer held real power.

If I can control these 40 troops, who will dare to disrespect me?

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen also had his own selfish motives.

He took the military tally with trembling hands, feeling much more at ease.

He always felt that Mei Yin was not on his side, and seemed to look down on him, thinking that he was too young and inexperienced. No matter what decisions he made, Mei Yin would not approve.

This is probably why Mei Yin often doesn't attend court.