Ming Dynasty: Charge, Emperor Yongle!

In the stillness of the night, the grassland is filled with twinkling stars.

Bayanbolege is nestled among low hills and mountains, with springs flowing through it and lush vegetation.

The Ming army camp was surrounded by makeshift barricades made of pack carts, with guards every ten steps and sentries every five steps, protecting the central command tent.

"The Yuan dynasty mobilized at least five thousand-man squads."

"Geng Bingwen truly deserves to be called the greatest defensive general of the Ming Dynasty."

"A mere few thousand remnants of the defeated army managed to hold off an enemy cavalry force that outnumbered them by several times over, relying solely on the terrain."

Not far away, under the cover of night, Zhu Di gazed at Bayanbolege and exclaimed in admiration.

"Zhu Silang".

"When should we take action?"

Huo Li Huo Zhen stared intently at Zhu Di.

"No rush."

Zhu Di waved his hand and said calmly, "Kokuo has 30,000 cavalry. The reason he has surrounded Geng Bingwen without attacking is that he wants us to come to his aid."

"We only brought three thousand men with us this time. If we rashly send troops, I'm afraid we won't be able to save Geng Bingwen, and we'll even get ourselves into trouble."

"Can...."

Huo Li Huo Zhen's eyes showed hesitation.

"I know you are worried about Geng Bingwen."

"Haste makes waste; let the whole army dismount and rest on the spot."

"We'll make plans tomorrow morning."

Zhu Di waved his hand and issued a military order.

"Yes."

Huo Li Huo Zhen immediately turned around and went down to make the arrangements.

Before they arrived, Xu Da personally instructed them to obey the young man before them in everything, so they naturally dared not disobey Zhu Di's orders.

..................

Twenty miles away, the Yuan army's main tent.

"Your Majesty."

He Zongzhe, the fiercest general of the Northern Yuan, stormed in, furious, and cursed, "This Geng Bingwen is a complete coward!"

"No matter how we provoke them, they will always stay in Bayanboleg and never leave our side."

"I'm so angry!"

"Have some tea."

Wang Baobao gestured casually.

"Eh!"

He Zongzhe sheathed his scimitar, picked up the copper bowl, but was burned by the freshly brewed butter tea.

"Ahem!"

"Drink slowly."

Wang Baobao glanced at him and gave him a reminder.

"Okay."

He Zongzhe sipped the tea slowly, the chill in his body gradually dispelled by the butter tea.

"Your Majesty."

"Why not just send those thousand-man squads from the right wing up there?"

"It's been 7 days. This can't go on any longer."

Grand Commandant Nairbuhua made a suggestion.

"How can that be!"

"The princess and the prince are still in his hands."

Upon hearing this, He Zongzhe quickly interrupted.

"this..."

Nai'er Buhua glanced at Xu Da out of the corner of her eye, not daring to continue speaking.

In the Battle of Tuci River, no one knew that Lan Yu would divide his troops in advance and send people to find the Yuan army's camp. They captured Princess Zhu Yunqimuge of Qi, Princess Boyalunhaibie (Princess Fuli) of Qi, and Prince Burigude. This is one of the reasons why Wang Baobao was always wary of Geng Bingwen and dared not kill him.

"Yes, it's been 7 days."

Where is Xu Da?

Wang Baobao's attention was always focused on Xu Da, the commander of the Ming army.

"what?"

He Zongzhe opened his mouth, completely baffled by Xu Da's persistence.

"Your Majesty."

"Our scouts were repeatedly ambushed by the Ming army."

"We don't even know the situation fifty miles away now."

When Nai'er Buhua mentioned this, her rough face was full of helplessness and bitterness.

They are the descendants of the Eternal Heaven and the offspring of Genghis Khan. They should have been the masters of the grasslands, but now they cannot even defeat the Ming army. How lamentable!

The blame lies with Zhu Yuanzhang for winning over the hearts of the people, leading to a large number of Yuan nobles and officials joining the Ming Dynasty and being rewarded, willingly serving the Ming Dynasty.

"Xu Da is a thief; that's how the King deals with Li Wenzhong."

He Zongzhe, impulsive by nature, cursed and swore.

"Nai'er doesn't spend money."

Wang Baobao, who had been sitting upright on a low stool, suddenly stood up, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.

"Your Majesty."

He Zongzhe responded immediately, his face solemn.

"Tomorrow morning, send five thousand-man squads up from the right wing. If Xu Da doesn't come out by then, bring me the heads of Lan Yu and Geng Bingwen."

Wang Baobao's tone was stern, revealing his formidable nature.

"Yes."

He Zongzhe led his men away from the main tent.

After he left, Wang Baobao stood in front of the map, gazing at the areas under the control of the Northern Yuan, including the southern and northern deserts and the Hexi Corridor. They seemed vast and boundless, but in reality, they were sparsely populated and far less developed than the Central Plains under the control of the Ming Dynasty. As one side grew stronger and the other weakened, the gap between their strengths would widen.

"Your Majesty."

Naha replied: He intends to send troops to Liaodong to contain the Ming army.

Nai'er Buhua reported some news.

"Good, good indeed, you are truly a fine Grand Commandant of our Great Yuan."

Wang Baobao was so angry he laughed.

Although the Northern Yuan lost Dadu, Shangdu, Yingchang and other places in succession, its main force still remained.

Most of the fourteen pastoral areas of the Yuan Dynasty were still effectively controlled by the Northern Yuan. With no shortage of military horses, a continuous stream of Mongol cavalry would emerge.

The Ming Dynasty did not fully control Liaodong, and only had Liaoduwei with a force of 20,000 to 30,000 men. It needed to rely on sea transport (to transport grain from Dengzhou and Laizhou in Shandong) to maintain its supplies. In contrast, the Northern Yuan Grand Commandant Nahachu had more than 200,000 elite troops under his command and held Jinshan (the area around Shuangliao in present-day Jilin).

The Ming army deployed its main force, 150,000 men, in three routes to attack Karakorum, where defenses from Shanhaiguan to Juyongguan were weak.

At this time, if Naghach launches a major offensive, he can roam freely south of the Yanshan Mountains and conquer Dadu with ease.

As a result, Nahachu wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty's Liaoduwei, which posed no threat to the Northern Yuan at the moment, which was extremely ridiculous!

"Your Majesty."

"Should we send a letter to Nahachu, asking him to support us?"

"Nai'er Buhua asked."

"No need."

Wang Baobao coldly replied, "If Nahachu wanted to, he wouldn't have sent troops to Liaodong."

"It's better to rely on yourself than on others. Send a message to the barbarian Hara Zhang with a flying eagle, telling him that there's no need to fight Li Wenzhong head-on; just keep the Ming army on the eastern route occupied."

"Once our army defeats Xu Da on the front line, the Ming army's eastern and western routes will be completely routed."

"Yes."

Nai'er Buhua got up and walked outside.

.............

At 9 PM, the night was deep.

"Princess, run!"

Two figures stumbled and ran across the grassland like headless flies.

"superior!"

"Catch them."

Zhu Neng, who was waiting on the side, gave the order directly. They were originally responsible for scouting the Yuan cavalry, but they did not expect to have an unexpected gain.

Twenty elite Ming soldiers, as agile as cheetahs, suddenly charged out in the darkness, startling the two fleeing men.

"Princess, be careful!"

Zhang Yu stopped Tan Yuan, the junior officer. The two men had fierce eyes and their punches were brutal, all using deadly techniques from the military.

Xiaoqi Qiufu drew his long sword from his waist and approached another Yuan girl with a ferocious expression.

"stop."

"This is the legitimate daughter of the Great Yuan Qi King, Princess Fuli: Boyalun Haibie."

"Let's see who dares to touch him."

Zhang Yu blocked the attack while shouting loudly.

"Don't move."

Zhu Neng quickly ordered a halt.

Seeing so many Ming soldiers, Zhang Yu and Boyalun Haibie ceased their resistance and surrendered.