Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 221 The Pseudo-Emperor is excited: Are you pregnant too?

In the northern desert, the Ming army camp was like an isolated island, camped all alone in this vast land.

All around, the night was as dark as ink, pouring down heavily, swallowing up the sky and the horizon, leaving only chaos and the unknown. The cold north wind whistled past, and the tents were densely packed and arranged in an orderly manner. Each one was tightly closed, with only a faint light occasionally shining through the gaps.

Patrols were holding torches, moving back and forth. The sound of footsteps, the clashing of armor, and occasional unknown noises in the distance echoed in this silent yet dangerous camp. There was an indescribable sense of oppression in the air.

The Chinese military tent.

Yu Qian threw a pot of wine to Wang Yue, who looked sad, and said, "You are allowed to have a couple of sips."

Wang Yue raised the wine pot and drank several gulps. His pale face finally turned red, and he seemed to be alive. Yu Qian sat down beside him, spread his hands and smiled: "Do you know why I first joined the Northern Expedition?"

"Why?" Wang Yue asked curiously.

"Because I wrote an article scolding Emperor Taizong, asking him to curb his warmongering spirit and rest and recuperate with the people," said Yu Qian.

Wang Yue was horrified: "You... dare to scold Emperor Taizong?"

Yu Qian shrugged and laughed, "In fact, I was drunk. Alcohol makes cowards brave. It was the Crown Prince at that time who interceded for me, fearing that Emperor Taizong would kill me. Later, Emperor Taizong did not kill me, saying that I was a bookworm, so let's go to the Northern Expedition together, and brought me to the battlefield."

"So, General, you are the scholar who was forced to go to the battlefield." Wang Yue smiled.

Yu Qian seemed to be lost in memories, his eyes dim:

"The Emperor's grandson, the late Emperor, also went to the battlefield with him. I remember clearly that he was in the vanguard camp at that time."

"When the battle started, the vanguard camp charged forward under the enemy's arrows, and fell one after another. General Fan Zhong was worried and asked Emperor Taizong to withdraw the vanguard camp. Emperor Taizong asked calmly, "Are you afraid of death?"

"Fan Zhong was anxious and said that the crown prince was in the vanguard camp. Emperor Taizong remained calm and said only one sentence: only the Zhu family members died in the battle, and no one escaped back."

"Later, Fan Zhong dug out the injured grandson from the pile of dead bodies."

After Wang Yue heard this, his cloudy eyes became sharp, his expression no longer numb and sad, and he said, "The late emperor also experienced this in the past."

"The late emperor loved to play, but he was trained by Emperor Taizong and is capable of fighting!" Yu Qian stood up and said, "Wang Yue, although many of your brothers died in this battle, you still won, a tragic victory. This also sounded a wake-up call for us, that is, the fighting power of the Oirat is still strong."

Wang Yue nodded, his eyes burning with fighting spirit: "I will definitely avenge my dead brothers!"

Yu Qian laughed out loud: "Yesen is still the same. He wants to hide and attack us when our food and grass are almost used up. So, we can't be impatient in this battle! We have to use strategy!"

"General, are you prepared?" Wang Yue asked excitedly.

"Your Majesty has been prepared for this." Yu Qian sighed, "Our Majesty is actually good at fighting, but he is not like Emperor Taizong, who likes to lead the army in person. In fact, he is more like Emperor Taizu."

……

Another Ming army camp several hundred miles away.

Yang Guifang was holding a torch and looking at the map. He was studying the route of advance and looking for where Yesen's main force would hide. Although he was at the center of the court in recent years, he always paid attention to Mobei, especially the map of Mobei.

In his home, maps of all sizes filled the entire room, some of which were handed down from the Han and Tang dynasties. Whenever he had free time, he would look at them. He already knew the terrain of Mobei by heart.

"General!" Zhu Yong walked in and bowed, "The spy is back."

"What's the news?" Yang Guifang asked.

Zhu Yong looked excited and said, "Following the route you pointed out, we did find something, but we still didn't find Yesen's main force. But we did see some grassland herdsmen. According to the information they provided, Yesen separated from Alazhiyuan this time, and Yesen led his tribe to hide in the desert, which is... this area."

He pointed at the map, and Yang Guifang held up a torch to shine it, humming, "Yesen is really good at hiding. This area is the least familiar to us, and even the local herdsmen rarely go in. This place is backed by the Evil Mountain, right?"

As he looked at it, he paused, pointed at a place and said, "Zhu Yong, you will personally lead 10,000 elite infantrymen to guard this place, along with the long spear soldiers you trained and a Shenji Battalion."

"Here? What's so special about it?" Zhu Yong wondered.

"There is a small path in the Evil Mountain. Going over it leads to the desert where Yesen is hiding." Yang Guifang said, "I suspect Yesen will attack us from here."

Zhu Yong was surprised: "General, how do you know there is a trail on the Evil Mountain? Local people don't climb the Evil Mountain."

Yang Guifang smiled slightly: "During the Tang Dynasty, when Li Jing conquered Jie Li Khan, he climbed this trail and appeared behind Jie Li. Originally, I also planned to use this trail, but unfortunately, after more than 700 years, the mountain has become a desert."

"I'll go right away!" Zhu Yong bowed and left quickly.

……

Under the evil mountain.

Zhu Yonggao sat on his horse, looking at the path at the foot of the mountain, and sighed: "The deputy commander is really amazing. There is really a path, but this is a dangerous obstacle. Will Yesen send people to attack from here?" In any case, he arranged an ambush first. What if the Wala army really came? The Shenji Camp was placed in front, and the three thousand spear soldiers were behind. If the enemy came down the path, because the place was small, while the enemy could not set up a formation, the Shenji Camp would be used to greet them first. When they risked their lives to rush up, the spear soldiers would be used to block the gap.

Zhu Yong personally trained the lance soldiers, and he spent a lot of effort on them. The lance is about 18 feet long, and the lance head is nearly 1 foot long. The lance handle is often made of very hard and tough wood, which can bear great force and is not easy to break. The lance head is made of fine iron and has an extremely sharp blade.

The long spear can directly penetrate the warhorse.

"Ang's horse lance is unparalleled, and any man on his left and right can defeat a hundred of them. People of his time compared him to Xiang Ji"; Li Shimin said to Yuchi Jingde: "If you follow me with lance, what can even a million of people do to me"; "Shubao is good at using horse lance, and he can defeat the enemy's stronghold with a few troops. He can be said to be brave"; "Cunxiao always faced a powerful enemy with heavy armor, a bow and a lance... tens of thousands of people were frightened away. He was comparable to Zhang Liao and Gan Ning of ancient times".

Gao Aocao, a famous general in the Northern Dynasties, Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, and Li Cunxiao, the most powerful general in the Five Dynasties, all used the extremely powerful horse lance as their regular weapon, making them brave enough to be unmatched by thousands of men.

It takes three years to train a spear, and the success rate is still low. Zhu Yong suffered a lot for these 3,000 spear soldiers, and even used up all the money he had saved to marry a wife.

"It really came in handy this time." Zhu Yong looked at the evil mountain path, "If the enemy army comes down from above, my thousands of spear soldiers will block it here, and with the cooperation of the Shenji Battalion, no one will be able to get through."

……

Beijing, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen received the first battle report from Mobei. Wang Yue destroyed 30,000 Wala cavalry, but his own side also suffered heavy losses. After reading it, he laughed out loud: "A victory! Let these guys be vigilant and don't underestimate the enemy."

Xu Youzhen was worried: "The army has been deep in the northern desert for a month and has not yet found the main force of the enemy. The loss is huge!"

Chen Xun, the Minister of Finance, bowed and said, "It is now time to fight. Your Majesty, I have already made the calculations. Even if I have to sacrifice all the grain stored in the three provinces of Jiangnan in the past few years, I will still strongly support the war in Mobei."

"I have also agreed with Lord Chen." Duke of Jing Chen Mao bowed and said, "Send troops to collect and transport grain at any time."

Zhu Qizhen praised: "Very good! We will support them from the rear, and we will win this battle!"

Xu Youzhen frowned slightly and interrupted, "Not only food and grass, but also medicinal herbs need to be prepared."

After discussing for a long time, they received their respective tasks and left the hall. Zhu Qizhen left behind two of his trusted ministers, Xu Youzhen and Shi Biao. Shi Biao glared at Xu Youzhen and said, "Old Xu, why do you keep throwing cold water on me lately?"

"That's what I mean." Zhu Qizhen said, "We need confidence, but we also need someone to pour cold water on us from time to time to keep everyone sober."

Shi Biao was shocked: "So it was your arrangement, Your Majesty. I really admire you..."

"Don't come here!" Zhu Qizhen interrupted and asked, "Is there no movement from the Junshan Society recently?"

Shi Biao pondered for a moment and said, "There is no movement in the Duke of Ying's mansion. The Duke of Ying is staying indoors. The Jinyiwei and Chao Xiaotian's Yulong Gang have not made any new discoveries for the time being."

Zhu Qizhen frowned: "This shouldn't happen. A war has broken out in Mobei. How can they be so quiet?"

"Perhaps they are acting more covertly." Xu Youzhen said, "You Jinyiwei and Yulong Gang should spread your forces more widely, especially in some remote courtyards."

"Yes." Shi Biao nodded.

Zhu Qizhen seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment of silence, he said, "I suspect that the other party deliberately threw out the Duke of Ying to attract our attention. Keep an eye on him. If there is still no news, we will arrest the Duke of Ying."

"Your Majesty, please think twice." Xu Youzhen said hurriedly, "Duke Ying is the grandfather of Concubine Xian. Concubine Xian is pregnant now. It would be bad if it affects the prince."

Zhu Qizhen patted his head and said, "Then put him under house arrest first!"

As the three were discussing, the chief eunuch Cao Jixiang rushed in and reported, "Your Majesty, Consort De is ill, and the imperial physician has come."

"Let's go!" Zhu Qizhen hurried out of the hall.

He rushed to Yonghe Palace and saw the imperial physician checking Concubine De's pulse. After a while, the imperial physician stood up and bowed to Zhu Qizhen with an excited look: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, Concubine De is pregnant."

"Ah?" Zhu Qizhen was overjoyed, "De Fei is also pregnant."

The imperial physician nodded affirmatively: "However, Her Majesty, Concubine De is in a weak condition and needs to be more cautious. Your Majesty, I will prescribe a prescription to nourish Her Majesty and stabilize the fetus."

Zhu Qizhen ordered the maid to do the matching, and he went behind the curtain and shouted to Concubine De: "My beloved, you are pregnant."

De Fei had just heard it, tears flashed in her eyes: "Your Majesty, I am also pregnant with your child."

Zhu Qizhen was secretly happy.

Now that both Consort Xian and Consort De were pregnant, they would definitely have a son. In the future, the throne could be passed on to their sons.

"My beloved concubine..." Zhu Qizhen stretched out his hands and embraced Concubine De.

"Your Majesty, I am going to be a mother." Defei cried with joy.

(End of this chapter)