Great Ming Dynasty! I am Zhu Biao's invincible second brother!

Zhu Mu pressed down on the battlements, gathered his inner energy, and his voice echoed throughout the entire north city wall:

"Soldiers! Fellow countrymen!"

"My name is Zhu Mu, and my father is Zhu Yuanzhang, the Prince of Wu!"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire city was shocked! Countless people whispered among themselves, and a huge uproar erupted.

"Quiet down!"

Zhu Mu shouted sharply, his voice like thunder, instantly silencing all other noises.

"I know what you're afraid of! You're afraid of the 600,000 troops outside the city, and the slaughter that will follow if the city falls!"

"I'm telling you, you're right to be afraid! Chen Youliang is a narrow-minded and cruel man!"

"Once he sets foot in Hongdu City, your parents, wives, and children will all die under a hail of blades! Your homes will be reduced to scorched earth! Surrender? That will only lead to certain death!"

"but!"

He abruptly changed the subject, his voice becoming increasingly loud.

"I, Zhu Yuanzhang's son, did not leave! I stayed! My father, our commander-in-chief, is leading the army back day and night! He has not abandoned us, nor has he abandoned Hongdu!"

He drew his long sword from his waist, the tip pointing directly out of the city, his gaze like lightning, sweeping over every face below.

"I, Zhu Mu, will fight alongside you all, leading from the front! As long as the walls stand, I will stand! If the city falls, I, Zhu Mu, will die before you all!"

"Take up your weapons! Defend your homes! For your parents, wives, and children! Follow me, fight to the last man! Hongdu will never fall!"

His words, like oil poured on a raging fire, instantly ignited the last spark of hope in the hearts of the soldiers and civilians throughout the city.

"Your Highness, Second Young Master!"

"I swear to live and die with the Second Young Master!"

"Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

A thunderous roar erupted, and the soldiers' eyes shifted from fear to resolve, from numbness to fervor.

An unprecedented surge of high morale, like a lion awakening, roared through Hongdu City!

Just then, a rider galloped out from Chen Youliang's army outside the city and came to the city gate, shouting arrogantly to persuade them to surrender.

Zhu Mu sneered, picked up a powerful bow, and shouted towards the city walls:

"Who goes there? State your name!"

The general looked up at the sound, saw it was a young man, and couldn't help but sneer:

"I am a colonel under General Zhang Dingbian of the Chen Han dynasty! You brats on the city walls, open the gates and surrender now, or you will be spared!"

"baby?"

Zhu Mu laughed loudly, and his laughter echoed across the fields.

"Go back and tell Chen Youliang, you mudfish in that ditch! I am Zhu Mu, the second son of the King of Wu! I am here, and Hongdu is here! You cannot conquer this city! Within a year, my father will surely crush you all and utterly destroy his false Han dynasty!"

He drew back the bowstring, the arrow pointing sharply at the captain, his voice suddenly turning cold:

"We are all Han Chinese, and we should unite as one to drive out the barbarian Yuan! From this day forward until my father's triumphant return, each of you has the opportunity to surrender!"

"You choose to fight amongst yourselves here, bloodshed splattered every step of the way, or you choose to surrender and join my father in building a great empire, devoting your strength to killing the Tartars! The choice is yours!"

Enraged by being lectured like this by a mere youth, the captain flew into a rage and began to hurl insults:

"You ignorant brat! You don't know your place! Your peasant father from Haozhou, and your big-footed wife..."

He hadn't finished his tirade—

"call out!"

A sharp whistling sound tore through the air.

The captain's cursing stopped abruptly. He looked down in disbelief at the arrow that had pierced his throat.

He opened his mouth, and blood gushed out. He then fell headlong from his warhorse and died.

On the city wall, Zhu Mu slowly lowered his longbow, his face ashen.

"They are still not afraid enough."

"War is indeed not something that can be resolved by reason alone."

A deathly silence reigned above and below the city walls.

Immediately, thunderous cheers erupted again, lasting for a long time!

The atmosphere inside Chen Youliang's central command tent was somber.

The retreating soldiers embellished their account of what they had seen from the city wall, especially Zhu Mu's remarks, which they described in great detail.

"Zhu Yuanzhang's son? A mere thirteen-year-old child?"

Chen Youliang sat on the commander's seat, a sinister look flashing across his face, which quickly turned into extreme disdain and arrogance.

He sneered, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world:

"What nonsense! Zhu Yuanzhang himself didn't dare to confront me directly, yet he sent some greenhorn to his death? He thinks this will boost morale? What a fool's dream!"

He slammed his hand on the command desk, and the generals in the tent fell silent.

"Pass on my orders!"

Chen Youliang abruptly stood up, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"All troops, attack the city! Capture that brat and bring him to me. I want him to witness firsthand how Hongdu City will be razed to the ground!"

He held up one finger and said in a chilling tone:

"Ten days! I only need ten days to take Hongdu!"

"Waaaaah—waaaah—!"

The mournful, somber sound of the horn rang out, and Chen Youliang's war machine began to slowly turn.

Countless soldiers, carrying ladders and pushing battering rams, launched the first wave of fierce attacks on the walls of Hongdu, like moving dark clouds.

"Beat the drums! Release the arrows!"

On the city wall, Zhu Mu's gaze was calm as ice, without the slightest hint of panic.

He handed over the command duties to the experienced Zhu Wenzheng, while he himself stood like a statue beside the war drum, holding a steel spear nearly two zhang long. His very presence was the strongest reassurance.

"Kill them—!"

The shouts of battle were deafening, and countless Chen soldiers swarmed toward the base of the city wall like ants.

"put!"

At Zhu Wenzheng's command, arrows rained down from the city wall.

The dense barrage of arrows emitted a sharp "whoosh" sound, momentarily obscuring the sky.

The Chen soldiers at the forefront fell in droves, like wheat being harvested by a sickle, but those behind them were fearless, stepping over the corpses of their comrades and continuing their frantic charge forward.

"Rolling stones! Ramming logs! Ready!"

Soon, the tall siege ladder was slammed onto the city wall with a loud bang.

Countless fierce enemy soldiers, with steel knives in their mouths, climbed upwards using both hands and feet.

"Smash it!"

Huge rolling stones and logs were pushed down by the city's defenders, crashing into the siege ladders with a whooshing sound.

Amidst piercing screams, enemy soldiers on the siege ladders fell like dumplings, smashing the ladders to pieces.

Boiling molten gold and kerosene were poured down basin after basin, instantly turning the area beneath the city walls into a scene of wailing hell.

However, the enemy forces were simply too numerous.

One ladder was destroyed, but three or four more were immediately erected.

Soon, fearless enemy soldiers broke through the blockade of arrows and rolling stones, roaring as they leaped onto the city wall!

"Clang!"

The crisp sound of metal clashing exploded in Zhu Mu's ears.

Just as a Chen army captain leaped onto the city wall and cleaved a defender in two with a single stroke, about to unleash a massacre, a silver spear flashed out like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair, arriving in an instant!

The spear in Zhu Mu's hand seemed to come alive, its tip drawing an arc almost imperceptible to the naked eye. It struck first, piercing the captain's gaping mouth with perfect accuracy and penetrating the back of his head!

The captain's ferocious smile froze instantly, and he collapsed, his body convulsing.