Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Dian Wei died a truly unjust death!"

The middle-aged man with a bushy beard shook his head.

"It was really bad luck for him to have a lord like Cao Cao who was so good at finding wives."

Zhang Xiu of Wancheng had clearly surrendered, but Cao Cao insisted on taking Zhang Xiu's aunt, Zou Shi, as his own.

It should be noted that Zhang Xiu was raised by his uncle, General Zhang Ji, and regarded Zhang Ji as his father and Zou as his mother.

At this time, Zhang Ji had only been dead for a year, and Zou was still observing mourning for her deceased husband.

For Zhang Xiu, it was a great humiliation that Zou Shi was forcibly taken as a concubine by Cao Cao; it would be strange if he did not rebel!

I believe that if any of you here encountered such a situation, none of you would be able to swallow your anger.

With Dian Wei guarding Cao Cao's central command tent, it would have been virtually impossible for the rebels to storm the tent and assassinate Cao Cao in a short period of time.

Compared to Zhang Xiu's forces, Cao Cao's army still held an absolute advantage. If they could not achieve a swift victory, they might very well fail.

This is somewhat similar to our current situation.

The assassination of Zhu Houyu must also be swift and decisive; time is of the essence for us.

To deal with Dian Wei, Zhang Xiu and his strategist Jia Xu devised a targeted plan.

Although external martial arts masters possess incredible brute strength, they cannot withstand the blows of swords, spears, and halberds with their bare hands. Their invincibility in battle relies on the heavy armor they wear, which offers astonishing defensive capabilities.

However, putting on heavy armor is very complicated and takes a lot of time, so if something happens suddenly, there won't be enough time to put it on.

Dian Wei served as a guard in Cao Cao's central army, but he didn't stand guard in heavy armor all night.

No one would do this unless it was on the battlefield, and Cao Cao would never treat his generals so cruelly.

The so-called "supreme guards" were simply those who set up their tents next to Cao Cao's central command tent so they could respond immediately to any trouble.

At night, Dian Wei also undressed to sleep.

Therefore, Zhang Xiu set the time for the attack at midnight.

But that alone is far from enough.

It takes some time from launching a rebellion to storming the central command tent. If Dian Wei had noticed something was wrong immediately and put on his heavy armor before the rebels entered, they would have been much more difficult to deal with.

Jia Xu then devised a second scheme, inviting Dian Wei to a banquet. During the banquet, he used every means to flatter Dian Wei, getting him thoroughly drunk.

When a person is drunk, their head will feel dizzy, their reactions will slow down, and their senses will become dulled.

After hearing the noise, it takes longer for him to react, and he has less time to put on his heavy armor.

In addition, while hosting a banquet for Dian Wei, Zhang Xiu also sent Hu Che'er to infiltrate the camp and steal Dian Wei's double iron halberds without anyone noticing.

As for why they didn't steal Dian Wei's heavy armor along with it, it's because the heavy armor was too big and too conspicuous, making it impossible to take it out of the camp.

Although external martial arts masters possess brute strength, their destructive power is limited even with the strongest fists and feet. To unleash their full combat potential, they cannot do without a suitable heavy weapon.

Without those twin iron halberds weighing eighty pounds each, Dian Wei's brute strength was no match for ordinary weapons, and his combat power was reduced by more than half.

That night, Dian Wei was awakened from his drunken dream by the shouts of battle. He searched everywhere for his twin iron halberds but could not find them. By this time, the rebel army had already reached the gate of the camp, and he had no time to put on his armor.

In order to buy Cao Cao time to escape, Dian Wei had no choice but to take off his shirt, pick up the sword of an ordinary foot soldier, and rush to the camp gate to defend it to the death.

Ultimately, this master of external martial arts, after killing dozens of rebel soldiers, was worn down and killed by a group of ordinary soldiers.

"That's right!"

Li Dali laughed.

"Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu have already demonstrated to us how to deal with masters of external martial arts."

We have six masters of internal martial arts who are no less skilled than the enemy in single combat, unlike the ordinary soldiers under Zhang Xiu.

Moreover, Zhu Houyu would not wear heavy armor when traveling in the capital.

Before taking action, we need to weaken him in two main ways.

One approach is to try to keep him away from that 27-pound double-handed sword.

Secondly, we need to get him drunk so he'll be slow to react and won't have time to react when we make our move.

. . .

Jingxing Pass, the temporary garrison of Zhen Ding Guard.

"My lord, everyone in the central army camp has been questioned."

A guard reported to Pan Bingyi, the commander of the Zhen Ding Guard.

"No one knows who entered the adults' tent."

"Never mind, let's go down!"

Pan Bingyi waved his hand and picked up the letter again to read it.

I found this sealed letter by my bedside this morning.

Pan Bingyi remembered clearly that there was no letter on his bedside table when he went to bed last night.

Clearly, someone had broken into his tent in the middle of the night!

The infiltration of the camp of a dignified third-rank commander is no small matter!

But what surprised Pan Bingyi even more was the contents of the letter!

Zhang Yin, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, colluded with the Mongols!

Zhang Yin's "battles" with the Mongols were all staged, used to fabricate military achievements and deceive the imperial court into giving him rewards and supplies.

Moreover, Zhang Yin also privately built a large mountain stronghold in a place called Heimuya in Pingding Prefecture, where he raised thousands of private soldiers, manufactured a large number of private weapons, stockpiled grain and fodder, and plotted a rebellion!

Since being transferred by the Ministry of War to assist in the defense of Jingxing Pass, Pan Bingyi has frequently heard battle reports about the Taiyuan Left Guard.

After Jinang and Anda's 100,000-strong army swept into northern Shanxi, the vast majority of Ming troops defended their cities.

The orders issued by Fan Jizu, the governor of Xuanfu and Shanxi, to the various Ming armies were also to hold their ground and await reinforcements.

Pan Bingyi had long understood the true intention that the governor had not explicitly stated: to defend the city and important passes, and once Jinang and Anda had plundered enough outside the city, they would naturally withdraw their troops.

For the three guards of Taiyuan, as long as they held Taiyuan City, they would not be punished in any way, and there was absolutely no need for them to risk going out of the city to fight the Mongol army in the open field.

However, Zhang Yin, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, did something that surprised everyone!

After Anda led his army into Pingding Prefecture, Zhang Yin actually volunteered to the governor-general to lead the Taiyuan Left Guard into Pingding Prefecture to provide reinforcements.

Moreover, they clashed with Anda's Tumed cavalry multiple times, taking more than 300 heads. Although the soldiers of Taiyuan Left Guard suffered more than 1,000 casualties, their morale remained high.

When Anda led his troops away from Pingding Prefecture to join forces with the Jinang tribe at the foot of Taiyuan City, Zhang Yin continued to harass and raid them.

The governor specially forwarded the battle report of Taiyuan Left Guard to the various Ming armies in Shanxi. It is said that the memorial to the court requesting a reward for Zhang Yin has already been sent to the capital.

When Pan Bingyi talked about Zhang Yin with the commanders of Dingzhou Guard and Baoding Right Guard, who were also transferred to Jingxing Pass for defense, they all gave him a thumbs up and praised him.

As a fellow commander of the Ming Dynasty's garrison, how could he not know the capabilities of his garrison soldiers?

Defending the city was one thing, but leading troops out to fight the Mongol cavalry in open battle was something Pan Bingyi knew he wouldn't dare to do.

But the letter that suddenly appeared on his bedside table completely overturned this whole thing!

Was Zhang Yin really colluding with the Mongols, putting on a charade?