Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 219 Yu Qian: A general is not subject to the orders of his sovereign when he is away from home
Zhu Qizhen's heart trembled.

Damn, you didn't poison me, did you? It would be bad for you to poison me now. Your son is still in Dunhuang. In the Ming Dynasty, fewer and fewer people recognize him as the emperor.

"Okay, I'll go see Concubine Xian." He stood up.

The witch queen reached out and grabbed him, raised her slender neck, bit her lips lightly, and said nothing. Zhu Qizhen reached out and pinched her beautiful face, and smiled: "Are you still jealous? The virtuous concubine is pregnant now, I have to go and see, the harem is also full of twists and turns, just like the court, I am worried that someone will harm her."

"Go, go ahead." The Demon Queen snorted, "What excuses are you looking for?"

She sat down on the mat pitifully, huddled up and hugged herself tightly. She thought the fake emperor would stay with her for a while, but when she looked up again, she saw the fake emperor's back going away.

"Be careful or I'll poison you to death one day." She suddenly felt a little aggrieved.

With tears in her eyes, she buried her head between her legs, her hair hanging down, her beautiful figure trembling slightly, her delicate feet together, her toes as white as jade, cute and delicate.

Zhu Qizhen came to Changchun Palace.

The virtuous concubine was half lying on the cushion, wearing a loose long dress, with a dignified and elegant posture, black hair like a waterfall, and skin as white as jade. When she saw Zhu Qizhen coming in, she was about to get up.

"Don't move." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and sat down beside her.

He held the virtuous concubine's hands and asked with concern: "How do you feel today? Did the child take your place?"

The virtuous concubine glared: "It's only been a month, how could you kick someone?"

"Well, my son is a genius." Zhu Qizhen said proudly.

He slowly lay on her legs, leaning close to her belly and pretending to listen. Concubine Xian smiled gently and pressed her hands gently on his forehead: "The Queen Mother came today and brought many supplements."

"From now on, let someone taste the food before you eat it." Zhu Qizhen said, "And it must be made by a palace maid you trust."

Xianfei was slightly startled, then nodded without asking any more questions. Even if Zhu Qizhen didn't tell her, she would have done the same thing. This was her first child, and she was more careful than anyone else.

……

Frontier, Datong City.

Yu Qian led one of the armies to arrive, and the city suddenly became lively. The troops were divided into three routes: the upper route was led by Yu Qian himself, and went out of Datong; the middle route was led by Yang Guifang, and went out of Yanghe City; the lower route was led by Shi Heng, and went out of Xuanfu.

On the tower of Datong City, Yu Qian looked out over the Great Wall.

"The last time I came here was with Emperor Taizong." He sighed, "Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and I'm old now."

Guo Deng was annoyed: "I was there that time too. I won't admit I'm old."

Wang Yue stood behind the two men, not daring to speak, but his eyes were full of passion. Yu Qian smiled and was silent for a while, then suddenly raised his arm and slammed it down: "Let's go!"

With a loud bang, the city gate fell.

The army marched out of the city gate with the sound of deafening footsteps. Iron hooves crushed the morning dew, and the battle flags fluttered in the wind, winding out like a fire dragon, pointing straight to the sky. The sun poured down from the gaps in the clouds, covering this surging torrent with a layer of golden armor, and the soldiers were in high spirits.

The sound of horse hooves, the friction of armor, and the deep and determined shouts of the soldiers gathered together and echoed in the vast frontier land. The dust was flying, covering the sky, but it could not cover up the soaring morale.

"Old Guo, we're relying on you for support from the rear." Yu Qian smiled.

"How about we switch?" Guo Deng rolled his eyes.

Yu Qian laughed loudly and walked down the tower. His heroic voice was heard: "In this great Ming Dynasty, who else but me can be the one to conquer the Wolf and the Lair?"

On this day, he led an army of 200,000 out of the pass and marched to the grassland.

After the army entered the grassland, just as he expected, the main force of the Wala army hid, and even the grassland tribes could not be seen along the way. They all retreated to the northern desert.

The Ming army marched northward without encountering any resistance. One day, when they reached a river, Yu Qian ordered the army to stop. Sitting on horseback, he looked at the beautiful river and recalled the past.

"General, is this the Yinma River?" asked Wang Yue on the side.

"Yes." Yu Qian looked at her dimly, "It was originally called Luqu River, and Emperor Taizong changed its name to Yinma River."

Wang Yue certainly knew about this period of history. It was during the reign of Emperor Taizong, when the army went on an expedition to the northern desert with Qiu Fu as the commander-in-chief. However, they encountered an ambush and were completely annihilated at the Luqu River.

Emperor Taizong was furious and led his army to fight. When the army arrived at the Luqu River, the remains of the Ming army were still there. Emperor Taizong ordered the army to collect the remains of his comrades and bury them by the river. After paying homage, Emperor Taizong was silent for a long time and said, "From now on, this river will be renamed Yinma River."

"Our ancestors are buried here." Yu Qian dismounted, "Since we are here, of course we have to pay homage to them."

Soon, the whole army lined up at the riverside, looking at the newly cleaned graves. Yu Qian stood at the front, bowed, and said in a deep voice: "The drums of war have stopped, but the loyal souls will never die; the swords and horses, the heroic spirits will live forever; the six roads weep, the earth sheds tears; my comrades pay their respects, and the lonely loyalty will be comforted."

The entire army was in silence, standing still like a mountain.

After the sacrifice, Yu Qian ordered the army to set up camp at Yinma River.

night.

The desert was still cold, and numerous bonfires were lit in the camp. The surrounding wilderness was swallowed up by the night, leaving only the occasional howl of wolves or the sound of wind.

In the central army tent, Yu Qian and Wang Yue gathered around the fire, looking at the map. Yu Qian frowned, "This is too slow. I have an idea. We should send out a cavalry unit and march lightly."

"This..." Wang Yue said, "According to intelligence, Yesen is quite powerful. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Oirat, there are also heavy cavalry from the Golden Horde in the north. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate for us to divide our forces, right?"

Yu Qian shook his head: "If we continue like this, we may be trapped in Mobei for several months without finding any trace of the enemy. When we are tired, they will rush over. We must learn from Yang Guifang's fighting style last time, and quickly intersperse and make the enemy unable to figure us out. When they are in chaos, our chance will come."

Wang Yue's eyes flashed with brilliance, and he said, "Please give me your orders, sir."

"Hahaha, you kid." Yu Qian nodded, "Be smart when you lead the army out."

After Wang Yue left, Yu Qian sat alone by the fire. He stayed there for a while and took out a letter from his sleeve. It was a new letter from Dunhuang, and he hadn't opened it since he got it.

He was very surprised that someone in Datong City actually sent a message to the one in Dunhuang. This showed that some people in the current army were on the side of the one in Dunhuang.

"Are you trying to persuade me?" He opened the letter.

He read it carefully, his face solemn, and whispered to himself: "What a general who has to obey the orders of his master when he is away from home."

After a long sigh, he threw the letter into the fire, and in the blink of an eye, it burned to ashes.

……

Somewhere in Mobei, the Wala camp.

In the central army tent, Yesen sat in the main seat, his eyes swept across the generals below, and said in a deep voice: "The Ming army of 500,000 troops has penetrated deep into Mobei. Hahahaha, may the Eternal Heaven bless us, as long as we destroy them in one battle, we can go straight to the Central Plains."

Boyan echoed loudly: "It's Yu Qian who came, not Zhu Di! Hahaha, Zhu Di died a long time ago. The only person in the Ming Dynasty who is still capable of fighting is that devilish emperor Zhu Di."

All the generals and soldiers echoed, seemingly not taking the Ming army seriously. Yesen raised his wine glass and said, "But we can't take it lightly. We should hide like before and wait for them for a few months. Hehehe, this is Mobei, our home, they can't find us at all. When their food and grass are almost used up, we will attack."

After some encouragement, the soldiers were in high spirits.

After they dispersed, Yesen only left three people, one was Bayan, and the other two were from the Golden Horde. One of them was called Ulukhei, the commander of the Golden Horde this time. The other one was very special, and Yesen called him Rakshasa in his heart because he looked different from them, very tall and strong, very white, with brown hair and brown eyes.

If Zhu Qizhen were here, he would definitely be surprised: Damn, isn’t this a Mao Zedong?
This man named Ivan led an army of 30,000 soldiers who were as tall and strong as he was, and Yesen had high hopes for them.

"The Ming army has come a long way, so we don't need to hide, right? We can defeat them in one fell swoop with a surprise attack." Wuluhei said confidently.

Yesen shook his head and said, "If it was someone else leading the army, we could do this, but it was Yu Qian who came! You don't understand, but I do. Back then, when I led the army to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, it was this man who stopped us."

"That's right!" Boyan said, "Yu Qian is the best commander in the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Di. We cannot underestimate him."

Wuluhei and Ivan looked at each other and nodded. After spending some time together, they believed in Yesen.

……

Ming Dynasty, Beijing.

Zhu Qizhen was in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, looking at the memorial sent back from Northern Xinjiang, with a frown on his face. Standing below were several of his trusted ministers, including Xu Youzhen, Li Xian, Ke Qian, and Shi Biao.

"Your Majesty, we can't find the main force of the enemy." Xu Youzhen looked worried. "If this continues, our food supply will become a problem."

Zhu Qizhen smiled, put down the memorial and said, "This is also expected. Don't worry, this is just the beginning. I believe in Yu Qian, Yang Guifang, Shi Heng and others. This is the most luxurious lineup of our Ming Dynasty."

Xu Youzhen took a deep breath and said, "Master Yu has 500,000 troops under his command. If he cannot win as soon as possible, I will be worried."

"Employ people with confidence, and don't employ people you don't trust." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, "It's time now, I have no choice but to support the front."

After he appeased them, all the ministers withdrew, except Shi Biao who stayed.

"Is there any unusual movement in Northwest Dunhuang?" Zhu Qizhen frowned, "Is it so difficult to assassinate that fake emperor?"

Shi Biao knelt down suddenly. "The false emperor is heavily guarded and he rarely comes out now, so it is indeed difficult to have a chance. However, the special forces team we trained has already infiltrated Dunhuang."

"I also know that you are having a hard time." Zhu Qizhen said.

"Your Majesty, the western part of the Guanxi region is increasingly out of control." Shi Biao said, "The Timurid Empire in the Western Regions was at war with Chagatai, and the western part of the Guanxi region took the opportunity to send troops and occupied dozens of cities."

Zhu Qizhen snorted coldly: "The territory is getting bigger and bigger."

Shi Biao nodded: "The current pseudo-emperor already has the strength of a local lord."

"He has capable people around him." Zhu Qizhen said, "He has integrated the various tribes in Guanxi in just a few years."

Shi Biao's eyes flashed coldly, and he said, "Your Majesty, Ding Xiu has also planted a lot of forces there. He saw that the powerful tribes in Guanxi have all surrendered to the false emperor, so he let the tribes that secretly rely on us also surrender to the false emperor. When the critical moment comes, they will turn against us and strike back."

Zhu Qizhen nodded slowly: "Well, my request to Guanxi is to stabilize it first. After we have dealt with Mobei, we will no longer need Guanxi, and we can deal with them later."

He gave some instructions and Shi Biao retreated.

(End of this chapter)