Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 205: Upon learning the truth, Empress Ma shed tears.

"Chongba, next time the fourth brother will definitely get a really bad beating from Jinglong, right?"

Inside the Kunning Palace, Empress Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked him this question.

In her view, what she asked was basically the truth, and it would actually happen.

After all, Jinglong was known to later generations as the God of War of the Ming Dynasty, and Chongba had clearly stated before that Jinglong had made great contributions during the Jingnan Campaign after the fourth prince became emperor.

These alone are enough to show just how strong Jinglong's abilities are.

My fourth son is very capable and has been stationed in the northern frontier for many years. He has learned a lot of skills from his father-in-law, Tiande, which are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

But he was also no match for Jinglong, the great war god of the Ming Dynasty.

After all, even someone as powerful as Tiande had never heard Chongba mention a similar title.

The bigger the fourth brother's words at this point, the worse he will be beaten next.

From this perspective, it actually has a rather comical effect.

After all, based on various picture books and some history she knew,

In general warfare, if either side utters a statement like "ten defeats, ten victories," that side is destined to win.

But when it came to their own fourth child, the situation changed.

After the fourth brother confidently uttered those words, he was immediately and soundly defeated by Jinglong.

The contrast between these two situations makes it hard not to feel some strange emotions.

Zhu Yuanzhang unconsciously glanced around the room again to make sure there was no feather duster before continuing:

"Girl, this time Jinglong didn't beat Lao Si. Instead, he was utterly thrashed by Lao Si."

what?
Empress Ma was taken aback when she heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

This is... not quite what she expected.

Isn't Jinglong supposed to be the God of War of the Ming Dynasty? How come he was defeated by his own fourth son at this time?
This is not common sense!
If he is a god of war, shouldn't he be the kind who wins every battle?

Figures like Bai Qi, Han Xin, and Li Jing truly fought for decades and rarely suffered a defeat, often achieving miraculous victories against overwhelming odds.

Especially Li Jing, the later stories of conquering kingdoms became particularly tedious and boring.

How come when Jinglong, the great war god of the Ming Dynasty, was defeated by the fourth prince?
The Great Ming War God shouldn't be like this!
Moreover, Jinglong is leading an army of 500,000 on this expedition.

Five hundred thousand! Just thinking about that number puts immense pressure on anyone.

It's obvious that the imperial court is serious.

From any perspective, Jinglong, the great war god of the Ming Dynasty, should not have been defeated.

"Girl, let me explain slowly to you, you'll understand in a moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang secretly harbored a wicked plan, intending to give his sister a big surprise.

Empress Ma nodded, trying her best to suppress her doubts and waiting for Chongba to continue.

"When Jinglong heard that the fourth prince was leading troops to aid Yongping, he led his army straight to the walls of Beiping in October of the first year of Jianwen's reign."

Upon crossing the Lugou Bridge and finding no soldiers guarding it, he exclaimed with delight: "Without guards at this bridge, I think Zhu Di is powerless."

At this time, Gao Chi made meticulous arrangements within Beiping City and fought desperately to defend it.

Li Jinglong's orders were lax and his command was inappropriate, resulting in several failed attacks on the city.

Southern Army Commander Qu Neng once led more than a thousand elite cavalrymen to break into Zhangye Gate, but reinforcements failed to arrive, so he had to stop the attack. Furthermore, because Li Jinglong was greedy for merit, he asked Qu Neng to wait for the main force to attack together, thus missing the opportunity.

The Yan army was thus given a respite and poured water on the city walls overnight. The water froze due to the cold weather, and by the next day, the Southern army was unable to scale the walls to attack.

Wu Gao was cowardly and dared not fight, so he retreated to Shanhaiguan. After the fourth brother rescued Yongping, he led his troops straight to Daning.

At that time, Da Ning was guarded by Zhu Quan, the seventeenth prince.

When the fourth brother arrived there, he tearfully told the seventeenth brother that he had been forced into a corner and asked the seventeenth brother to help him petition the court to pardon his death sentence.

The seventeenth brother believed it to be true and welcomed the fourth brother inside. During this process, the fourth brother's men took the opportunity to frequently meet with the officers under the seventeenth brother's command.

And right under Old Seventeen's nose, they emptied Old Seventeen's pockets.

After quietly emptying the seventeenth brother's savings, the fourth brother bid farewell to the seventeenth brother and prepared to go back.

The seventeenth prince and his wife led a group of people to see them off outside the city. It was at this time that the troops originally under the command of Prince Ning rebelled and captured the seventeenth prince and his wife.

They were taken along and brought back to Beiping.

This time, the strength of the troops under our fourth son's command has increased dramatically.

Empress Ma blinked, then blinked again.

A sense of confusion kept arising in my heart.

No... how could this be?

This is completely different from what I expected!

This is completely inconsistent with Jinglong's title as the Great Ming War God.

How could Jinglong have lost so quickly?

Judging from his actions in this battle, he was not at all like the war god of the Ming Dynasty.

Confused about this matter, Empress Ma didn't have much time to pay attention to how many sons her son, Chongba, had given birth to, and how he had even produced the seventeenth prince.

Even more unexpectedly, the fourth brother had used all sorts of trickery to betray his seventeenth brother, and what exactly this Da Ning was, and when it was established.

At this moment, her mind was entirely focused on Li Jinglong's defeat.

Could it be... that Jinglong is feigning weakness to lull the Fourth Prince and the garrison in Beiping into a false sense of security?

So how can they turn defeat into victory in the future?

Or perhaps, when Jinglong was about to fight the fourth brother, he didn't use his full strength; it was all an act.

Only after joining forces with the fourth brother did he truly unleash his abilities and help him conquer the world.

I can't figure it out; I really can't understand it.

Empress Ma had always considered herself quite intelligent. But this time, however, she was caught in a deep state of confusion and bewilderment.
"On the nineteenth day of the tenth month of the first year of Jianwen, the Yan army was reorganized in Huizhou and divided into five armies."

On October 21, the Yan army entered Songting. On November 5, the Yan army crossed the Baihe River and defeated more than 10,000 troops of Chen Hui, a scout under Li Jinglong.

On that day, they engaged in a battle with Li Jinglong's army at Zhengcunba.

The Yan army launched attacks from both sides, breaking through seven camps of the Southern army in succession, and Li Jinglong suffered a great defeat.

That night, seeing that the battle was going badly, Li Jinglong ordered all the troops in Zhengcunba to retreat lightly equipped.

The baggage of hundreds of thousands of people was left to the Yan army.

However, Li Jinglong left in a hurry and did not notify the Southern army besieging Beiping. As a result, the Yan army easily defeated the Southern army under the city of Beiping and obtained their supplies.

Li Jinglong led his troops back to Dezhou, ending the Battle of Zhengcunba, in which the Southern army lost more than 100,000 men…

Empress Ma sniffed, as if she wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat.

Faced with this situation, she genuinely didn't know what to say.

"Since Li Jinglong planned to attack Yan again in the spring of next year, the fourth brother decided to attack Datong in Shanxi to keep the southern army busy."

On December 19th, the fourth prince led his troops to attack Datong. On December 24th, the Yan army arrived at Guangchang, and the defending general Yang Zong surrendered.

On the first day of the first month of the second year of Jianwen's reign, the Yan army arrived in Weizhou, and the Ming army's garrison commanders Wang Zhong and Li Yuan surrendered.

On the second day of the second month, the Yan army attacked Datong. Because Datong was the fiefdom of the Prince of Dai and its military position was extremely important, Li Jinglong had no choice but to come to its aid.

After Li Jinglong left Zijing Pass, the Yan army returned to Beiping from Juyong Pass.

The Southern army made a wasted trip in the freezing cold, suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment, and its morale was severely damaged.

On February 28th of the second year of the Jianwen reign, Li Jinglong wrote to Zhu Di, requesting a temporary ceasefire. The Prince of Yan replied, demanding the return of Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and others.

Some say that Li Jinglong had second thoughts from then on.

Besides causing the Southern army to make a wasted month's journey, the Yan army unexpectedly encountered a surrendered army from Mongolia during this campaign against Datong and incorporated them into its ranks.

Furthermore, Baoding Prefecture surrendered to Yan in February of the second year of the Jianwen reign…

Empress Ma breathed a slight sigh of relief; she had finally guessed some of the details about Li Jinglong's battle against her fourth son.

That is to say, Jinglong did indeed follow the fourth prince and made great contributions under his command, thus earning the title of the God of War of the Ming Dynasty.

Empress Ma also offered a certain explanation for Li Jinglong's drastic change in behavior.

Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but oranges grown south of the Huai River become bitter oranges; perhaps this is the case with Jinglong.

In April of the second year of the Jianwen reign, Li Jinglong led an expedition from Dezhou, Shandong, while Guo Ying, Wu Jie, and others led an expedition from Zhengding to launch a northern expedition against the Yan army. Their target was the Baigou River, and their forces increased to 600,000. The Yan army also set out.

On April 20, the Yan army crossed the Yuma River and stationed themselves at Sujiaqiao.

On April 24, the Yan army and the Southern army fought a major battle.

Before Ping Bao'er, he had followed the fourth brother to the border, and was familiar with the fourth brother's tactics and how to set up ambushes.

After the Yan army arrived, Ping Bao'er's ambush was sprung, and he charged forward with his spear; Qu Neng and his son also joined the attack, and the Yan army suffered a defeat.

At that time, Guo Ying's Southern Army also arrived on the battlefield. Guo Ying laid landmines on the Yan Army's inevitable retreat route, causing heavy losses to the Yan Army during their retreat..."

The Pingbao'er that Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned was his youngest adopted son, Ping'an. Upon hearing this, Empress Ma nodded, finally displaying a hint of the demeanor of the Great Ming War God.

The next day, the Yan army and the Southern army clashed again.

Qu Neng and Ping Bao'er circled around to the rear of the Yan army and successfully attacked their rear guard.

Seeing the situation was bad, the fourth brother braved arrows and stones to order Qiu Fu to charge Li Jinglong's central army, but the attack failed.

The fourth prince led his troops to attack, and the two sides fought fiercely. Arrows rained down, and the fourth prince changed horses three times, used up three quiver of arrows, and even broke his sword. He was almost injured by Ping Bao'er and Qu Neng.

Left with no other choice, he went to the riverbank, raised his whip, and pretended to call for reinforcements.

Seeing this, Li Jinglong became suspicious and slowed his attack. Zhu Gaoxu also came to the rescue at this time, and the battle temporarily eased...

Empress Ma nodded to herself. Although her fourth son had suffered a loss, Jinglong was finally starting to stand up and was becoming more and more like the God of War of the Ming Dynasty.

"Soon after, Qu Neng led his troops into battle again, shouting to destroy Yan, and the situation became unfavorable for the Yan army once more."

Just when the battle was at its most critical, a whirlwind swept through and tore off Li Jinglong's command flag, throwing the Southern army into chaos.

The fourth brother seized the opportunity, circled around to Li Jinglong's rear, and set fire to the area. The Southern army suffered a great defeat, and Qu Neng and his son were killed in battle by Gao Xu.

Guo Ying and others retreated westward, while Li Jinglong retreated southward, abandoning all their baggage. More than 100,000 people surrendered, and Li Jinglong withdrew to Dezhou.

On April 27, the Yan army attacked Dezhou.

On the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, Li Jinglong fled to Jinan.

On the ninth day, the Yan army entered Dezhou and acquired a large amount of grain reserves.

On May 15th, the Yan army attacked Jinan. Li Jinglong's remaining 100,000 troops were completely ineffective and suffered a major defeat.

Li Jinglong fled, and the Yan army besieged Jinan. In October, the court summoned Li Jinglong back to Nanjing.

Li Jinglong completely lost his 600,000-strong army.

Huang Zicheng, Lian Zining, Ye Xixian, and others submitted a memorial requesting that he be executed immediately, but Zhu Yunwen refused to listen.

Huang Zicheng deeply regretted recommending Li Jinglong…

Empress Ma: ? ? ? !!!
That's it? ? ?

Empress Ma, who had just mustered some energy and was preparing to listen to how Li Jinglong would display his great power, suddenly widened her eyes and looked completely bewildered.

No... is this the demeanor of the Great Ming Dynasty's God of War?
Could this person also be called the Great Ming War God?

"Did Chongba and Jinglong fight any other battles behind him?"

Empress Ma couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuanzhang and ask.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and shook his head: "There weren't many battles fought after that."

Empress Ma, who already had some other forced explanations in mind, paused for a moment.

"Then why do you still say that Chongba was the fourth prince's number one contributor to the Jingnan Campaign, and that he made great contributions?"

After these words were spoken, Empress Ma vaguely sensed something...

"That's because when the fourth brother's troops besieged Yingtian, Jinglong helped the fourth brother open the gate and let his troops into the city."

Of course, there are others as well.

Girl, think about it. With so many troops, if it weren't for Li Jinglong leading the fight against Lao Si, sending them away again and again, wasting all those initial opportunities, allowing Lao Si to keep winning, becoming stronger and stronger, and gaining more and more prestige.

This caused many people who were initially wavering to gradually change their minds and begin to change their attitudes toward the Fourth Prince's rebellion, realizing that the imperial court was not invincible.

Not to mention that later the city gates were opened and the fourth brother was allowed to enter the city.

Simply by leading such a large army and facing the repeated betrayals of the Fourth Prince, can't he be considered the greatest hero of the Jingnan Campaign?

After thinking about what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Empress Ma realized that what her husband, Chongba, had said made some sense.

"Chongba, are you saying that Jinglong deliberately lost to the Fourth Prince, which is why he suffered defeat after defeat?"

Before this, Empress Ma had already had some doubts about the matter.

Now that I've heard what my husband Chongba said, I'm even more convinced that it's true.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Sister, the possibility of this happening is probably not very high."

He didn't intentionally hold back; that's just his skill level.

It's fair to say he played very seriously in these situations and generally performed to his expected level.

Ah? ?

Empress Ma was stunned once again.

"Then why do you still say that later generations called him the God of War of the Ming Dynasty?"

Empress Ma looked puzzled.

Zhu Yuanzhang quietly took a few steps back, creating some distance between himself and his sister, before speaking:

"This 'Great Ming War God' is a term used in a humorous way by later generations."

It's not that he's a great fighter, but rather that he's utterly incapable of fighting.

Leading such a large army, Sun Tzu suffered defeat after defeat, which is why later generations of enthusiasts bestowed upon him this title.

Ah? ? ?
Empress Ma was stunned once again. So this was the God of War of the Ming Dynasty!
I knew something was off!

After standing there for three or four breaths, Empress Ma suddenly stood up.

"You are so good, Zhu Chongba!"

As she spoke, she took a few steps and pulled out a feather duster from behind a chair not far away.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been smiling smugly, was stunned when he saw this scene.

Didn't we agree that the feather duster wouldn't be here?

Why is it still here?
Why did this girl store the feather duster so securely?!
"Girl! Girl! We were wrong, girl..."

As Zhu Yuanzhang dodged, he shouted and begged for mercy repeatedly, filling the Kunning Palace with a joyful atmosphere...

……

"Uncle Wang, shouldn't we... restrain the warriors and stop them from provoking the Ming Dynasty?"

On Kyushu Island in Japan, Emperor Chōkei looked at an old Japanese man in front of him and spoke, his tone filled with inquiry and some worry.

Emperor Chōkei was called Emperor, but in reality he was just a puppet.

The power in Kyushu is all held by the General of the Western Expedition's office.

And the old devil Huai Liang was a general in the General of the Western Expedition.

Even Emperor Chōkei was cautious and dared not say much when facing Prince Kaneyoshi.

Why are you saying these things to me? What are you afraid of?

Prince Kaneyoshi was extremely dissatisfied with what Emperor Chōkei had said, and was somewhat displeased.

Even if the other party is the Emperor, he will not show any politeness.

"General, the Ming emperor himself has some dissatisfaction with our situation..."

The discontent he was referring to was from a few years ago when the Ming Dynasty sent envoys with an imperial edict to announce the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the expulsion of the Yuan Dynasty, and the change of masters on the land of China.

We must make these people submit to the Ming Dynasty from now on.

His uncle, Prince Kaneyoshi, did not choose to submit to this situation.

Instead, they beheaded the Ming Dynasty envoy.

After this incident, the Ming Dynasty was furious and seemed ready to launch a military campaign to punish the Ming and demonstrate its national power.

Later, they backed down, and the Ming emperor did not actually send troops across the sea. On the surface, the matter seemed to have passed.

However, Emperor Chōkei knew that letting this matter pass would not be so easy.

The Ming Dynasty will definitely hold a grudge.

“Now, those traitors like Ashikaga Yoshimitsu of the Northern Court are going further and further astray.”

They then extended their reach to Kyushu, setting up the Kyushu Tantai and having Imagawa Ryosuke lead his men to make things difficult for us.

If we continue to let our warriors harass the Ming Dynasty and plunder its coastal riches, and truly anger the Ming Dynasty, causing them to send troops to cooperate with those traitors in the north to attack us, what should we do then?

Despite the immense pressure from Prince Kaneyoshi, he finally voiced all his concerns and considerations.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chōkei refrained from showing any mockery.

"You're too timid! Don't worry, there's nothing serious about the Ming Dynasty."

When we killed the Ming Dynasty's envoy, the Ming emperor's actions were all bark and no bite. We simply pulled some strings here and got away with it.

No matter how many people our warriors kill or how much wealth they plunder, the Ming emperor wouldn't dare do anything to us!

Prince Kaneyoshi spoke with particular confidence...

……

"Chongba, this...this fourth prince has done a very bad job since becoming emperor?"

(End of this chapter)