Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

Pigsy responded to every word Zhu Gaoxu said, maximizing the emotional value of the conversation.

Pigsy was genuinely shocked. Time travel? That involves the laws of time!

In the world of Journey to the West, he had never heard of many people who could easily reverse time and travel freely through the river of time. This guy's identity was probably even more outrageous than he imagined.

After a while, the two chatted happily, and the gloom on Zhu Gaoxu's face had long since disappeared.

"Second Brother, about what we were just talking about..." Zhu Gaoxi asked tentatively after the two finished their conversation.

"It's no big deal, I don't mind. Zhanji is my nephew, and I'm his second uncle. How could I hold a grudge against him?" Zhu Gaoxu replied cheerfully.

The protagonist and Zhu Di exchanged a glance, both thinking that he had finally let go of the matter.

"Second brother, you can think like that..."

"Second son, if you can think like this, then your father will..."

Before the two could finish speaking, Zhu Gaochi immediately added:

"Fourth brother, you set a time, and we'll go there sometime."

Zhu Di didn't react for a moment: "Second Prince, didn't you say you didn't mind?"

"Yes, Dad, I don't mind."

"Then why did you say you wanted to go to the Xuande era?"

"I don't mind, can't we go over there and have some fun?"

"..." Zhu Di opened his mouth, but was speechless. "Fine, pretend I didn't ask!"

Zhu Gaoxu grinned, and the gloom on his face finally dissipated.

Pigsy muttered to himself, "He still wants to go, doesn't he...?"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a scout reported from ahead: "Reporting, the road ahead is narrow, the main road winds through forests and hills, and smaller paths crisscross; the main force may not be able to pass!"

"Marshal, thank you for your help."

"Brother, this is a problem."

"It's alright, leave it to me, Old Pig!"

Pigsy held his nine-toothed rake horizontally, urging the lion beneath him to move forward.

The official roads in Annam are mostly hilly along the river, with dense forests and narrow paths. Many sections are blocked by fallen trees and rocks, making it difficult for troops to march.

Pigsy used his supernatural powers to grow bigger, swung his rake, and with two whooshing blows, trees felled and rocks shattered, clearing a wide road through the forest.

With Zhu Bajie leading the way, and the army now almost entirely composed of cavalry, their speed was naturally even faster.

The protagonist also continuously replenishes the army with rhinoceroses and elephants along the way, and now there are more than five thousand of these giant beasts alone. Why is it said that they are basically all cavalry?

Because elephants and rhinoceroses can carry more than one or two people, during marches, several people would ride on one of these giant beasts while the rest followed on foot, and then the riders would be rotated after a while.

There were less than 10,000 cavalrymen left, and the rest were left to guard outposts along the way.

Wherever the army passed, a portion of Ming troops were always left behind to guard and control the area. As a result, Zhu Di's forces had decreased from 80,000 to around 40,000. However, the main force remained intact, and with the addition of the beast legion and the protagonist's elixirs, each of them was worth more than ten.

Zhu Di looked up and gazed ahead. Xinfu County had already come into view at the edge of the horizon; the small town nestled in the valley lay quietly like a chess piece, embraced by low hills.

We should arrive in about half an hour.

Xinfu County is a small town on a river valley plain, surrounded by low hills. The official road is wide, and the town has only about three thousand soldiers, with only a few hundred cavalry.

This small force was no match for the Ming army's 40,000 main force. Moreover, they had two formidable weapons, Zhu Bajie and Zhu Gaoxi, in command.

Zhu Di didn't even intend to let his fourth son take action; the Beast Battalion could easily pacify Xinfu County.

When the Ming army set out from Yingtianfu, it numbered 80,000. Among them, 50,000 were land troops personally led by Zhu Di, and 30,000 were naval troops commanded by Guo Liang.

According to the original plan, the navy would sail south along the coast to coordinate with the army in a two-pronged attack on Annam.

However, after the protagonist announced the Investiture of the Gods plan, Zhu Di immediately gave Guo Liang a new order: the navy no longer needed to participate in the Annam war, but instead should go north along the coast to reorganize its military equipment and prepare to directly attack small maritime countries such as Japan.

On the Annam side, the land forces and the beast corps are sufficient. Including the 40,000 detachments that Mu Sheng brought from Yunnan, the total force for this expedition to Annam has actually reached 120,000, not counting the local troops of the Yunnan and Guizhou chieftains.

Currently, due to the division of troops and the presence of those left behind during the campaigns, Zhu Di still has approximately 40,000 troops. However, their strength mainly comes from their beast-fighting legion and the elixirs given by the protagonist, which are worth more than ten of them.

Therefore, the military force of Xinfu County is no different from that of an ant.

Zhu Di, riding on the back of a tiger, descended from the clouds, pointed forward, and said in a resounding voice, "Send down the order: the entire army must accelerate and achieve a swift victory. Strive to meet Mu Sheng at Baihe River this afternoon."

"Understood!" Zhang Fu accepted the order, urging his lion to relay the command to the rear. The heavy hooves shook the ground slightly, and the entire army surged forward like a torrent of steel towards Xinfu County.

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of Xinfu County.

The sight at the entrance left them speechless, for the city gates were wide open!

In fact, when the Ming army was still three miles away from the city, the city walls were already in complete chaos.

The Annamite spies fled back and gave an embellished account of the Ming army's situation.

What emperor riding a fierce tiger, immortals riding on clouds, golden-armored marshals taller than mountains, and countless rhinoceroses and elephants? At first, he thought he had misheard, so he sent out several more groups, but each time they heard something more outrageous and frightening than the last.

The Annamese garrison commander of Xinfu County was named Ruan Tong. He was originally a subordinate general under Hu Ji Mao and had been stationed in this small place for three years.

He didn't have many soldiers to begin with, just over three thousand, and most of them were local young men who had been forcibly conscripted. They had hardly ever had any proper training, let alone fought any battles.

Upon hearing the news from his scouts, Ruan Tong paced anxiously in the city.

If we surrender, we fear retaliation from our commander; if we don't surrender, it's a sure path to death.

He thought it over and over, and finally made up his mind—let's give in!

The heavenly army has arrived, what's the point of struggling? Jian Ding's perverse actions have long been unpopular, and the people below no longer want to serve him.

With the Ming army arriving, things might get a little easier.

Thus, when the Ming army arrived at the gate of Xinfu County, this was the scene they saw: the city gate was wide open, and the Annamite flags on the city walls had been taken down.

On the small earthen slope in front of the city gate, a dozen long tables were lined up in a row, with household registers, grain and fodder ledgers, city defense maps, and a pile of official seals covered with red silk.

The Annamese garrison commander, Nguyen Thong, removed his armor, wearing only a blue cloth robe. Holding the surrender document, he led several subordinates and a few elderly local gentry to kneel outside the city, their heads bowed low, not daring to breathe loudly.

Behind him were more than a dozen people bound hand and foot, who were the rebel leaders in the city who were unwilling to surrender and were trying to organize resistance.

Ming scouts spotted them from afar and immediately reported: "Report! The garrison of Xinfu County has all abandoned their weapons and left the city, lining up outside the city gates to surrender!"

Zhu Di, riding on the tiger's back, raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

He turned to look at Zhu Gaoxi, only to see the fourth prince lying calmly on the cloud chair, as if he had expected this to happen.

"These Annamese are too weak. They surrendered before even reaching the city walls." Zhu Gaoxu was somewhat disappointed. He had wanted to fight a fierce battle, but the other side simply opened the gates and surrendered. How could they possibly continue the war?

"Second son, say less. Subduing the enemy without fighting is the best strategy." Zhu Di glanced at him, then said to Zhang Fu, "Pass down the order to accept the surrender. But do not let your guard down; if there is any unrest within the city, suppress it immediately."