The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

The night was deep and the dew was heavy.

Because of the appearance of the Tatar scouts, the Ming soldiers who were lying in ambush there were no longer sleepy and were waiting for the war to begin.

Zhu Houzhao sat behind a rock, looking rather bored. He seemed to be trying to relieve his tension in some way, so he chatted with Tang Yin in a casual manner.

"Mr. Tang, what will happen in the future? How many years will the Ming Dynasty last?" Zhu Houzhao asked curiously.

Tang Yin stammered and dared not reply.

Qian Ning smiled and said, "Father, the Ming Dynasty will surely last for thousands of generations."

Zhu Houzhao said irritably, "What dynasty lasts for a thousand generations? Even the Han and Tang dynasties only lasted a few hundred years in the end, didn't they? Mr. Tang, just tell the truth."

"Your Majesty, I dare not speak presumptuously on such matters," Tang Yin replied tactfully.

Although he had heard the "correct answer" from Zhu Yi, how could he tell the emperor that?

Zhu Houzhao then asked with a smile, "So, to whom will I pass the throne in the future?"

Qian Ning quickly replied, "Long live the Emperor! There is no need to pass the throne to someone else."

"Shut up!" Zhu Houzhao said, somewhat annoyed. "Do you think I'm a turtle? I don't believe anyone can live for thousands of years, and I don't like taking elixirs. Mr. Tang, just say it directly."

Tang Yin said, "Your subject dares not speak recklessly."

Upon hearing this, Qian Ning became somewhat anxious and said, "Mr. Tang, His Majesty is asking you a question, so just answer truthfully. Why are you being so evasive? Is there something bad that you don't want to say?"

Tang Yin thought to himself, "If I tell the emperor that according to historical developments, he only has less than six years left to live, will he kill me on the spot?"

"Please don't make things difficult for Mr. Tang. The questions I asked were somewhat inappropriate."

Zhu Houzhao seemed to know how to be considerate of others.

Qian Ning said, "If not that, what should we ask?"

Zhu Houzhao said irritably, "How about I ask you when you're going to die?"

"Huh?" Qian Ning was instantly embarrassed.

"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. It is better not to ask too many questions about things. Now that Mr. Tang has been able to predict the movements of the Tatars and has even made muskets and cannons for me, isn't that enough?" Zhu Houzhao said, seemingly with a hidden meaning.

Qian Ning felt as if a huge rock had hit him in the heart.

He instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

What does the emperor mean by saying that?

Could it be that His Majesty already knows I lied to him about building cannons? But why did His Majesty...

Zhu Houzhao didn't delve into the issue further. He asked, "Mr. Tang, could you tell me what the future will be like? For example, how will people live in the future? Will it be different from now?"

Tang Yin thought to himself, "I think I can say this, right?"

He composed himself and said, "Your Majesty, I am not sure if what I say is accurate, but in my view, people in the future will live in magnificent palaces and pavilions. There will be a constant flow of carriages and horses, many of which are made of iron shells and can move on their own without being pulled by horses. The night will be as bright as day, and there will be light everywhere without the need for lamps."

"Haha..." Qian Ning probably thought he had heard a joke and burst out laughing.

Zhu Houzhao frowned and sized up Qian Ning before saying, "You mean, people in the future will live in a place like paradise?"

Tang Yin thought to himself, "I've never seen it either. I only heard about it from that kid Zhu Yi. How do I know if he's lying to me?"

Qian Ning said, "How could that be? Those magnificent palaces...wouldn't they have collapsed?"

Tang Yin sighed and said, "I am merely reporting to Your Majesty what I have seen. I have no idea how they constructed those magnificent palaces or how they made those iron-shelled carriages. But in my view, the world is always moving forward, and even if something does happen, it will be in the distant future."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao felt a surge of longing and exclaimed, "Now that you've mentioned it, I'd like to go and see for myself!"

The momentary silence suggested that Zhu Houzhao was immersed in that idyllic life.

At this moment, Zhang Zhong came to report: "Your Majesty, the main force of the Tartars has reached the mouth of the valley."

"It's not even dawn yet."

Zhu Houzhao looked up to the east, but it wasn't even dawn yet, and there was absolutely no sign of daylight.

Qian Ning gritted his teeth and said, "The Tartars are trying to launch a surprise attack on our camp under cover of night. These treacherous officials deserve to be punished!"

Zhu Houzhao sighed, "They were just serving their own masters! But it's strange, how come his children and grandchildren weren't wiped out by Batu Mongke? Or has he already submitted to Batu Mongke?"

Qian Ning said, "Need I say more? Those children and grandchildren are now just Batumonke's dogs."

"Pass down the order to have all sides prepare for action. When they reach the designated location, watch for the signal fireworks in the sky, and fire all cannons at once. Then use the divine muskets and cannons to block their path! Where are my new muskets?" Zhu Houzhao remembered that he was also going to charge into battle. It was definitely not appropriate for him to go up and fight with a sword. Naturally, he had to be equipped with more practical weapons.

……

……

Direction of Taniguchi.

Zhu Yi was also observing with binoculars.

Two or three hundred meters away, the Tatar cavalry began to enter the Malan Valley, a place later known as Malanyu.

The valley here is formed by numerous mountain ranges, winding and twisting through the valley.

The Doyan Guard led his sons and grandsons to their troops and stormed the pass overnight, aiming to catch the Ming army off guard. Historically, both Chen Qian and Tan Mao died in hasty battles.

In the Ming Dynasty, if soldiers and officers closed their gates and refused to come out when the Tatars invaded, allowing the Tatars to capture and plunder them, this was a capital offense.

"Your Highness Zhu, the Tartars have arrived; it's time to charge in."

The person in charge of coordinating the local forces next to Zhu Yi was Chen Qian.

Zhu Yi couldn't help but glance at Chen Qian.

First of all, this form of address is very strange... What "Your Highness Zhu"... If you don't know how to address me, then don't use random terms of address.

As for your courage, it is indeed commendable, but the problem is that in history, your impulsiveness has almost turned you into a corpse, and even your corpse was captured by the Tatars. In the end, the Ming Dynasty had to spend a lot of money to ransom your remains.

Zhu Yi said, "General Chen, let me ask you, what do you think His Majesty's purpose is in setting up this ambush here? Is it to alert us as soon as possible?"

Chen Qian said urgently, "It is precisely because His Majesty is inside that we cannot allow him to take any risks. As long as we drive back the Tatars, wouldn't we achieve our goal?"

His psychology was immediately exposed.

The purpose of this battle is not to kill as many enemies as possible, but simply to repel them.

You're supposed to be timid, yet you still dare to take the initiative.

You call yourself brave, but all you did was drive the enemy back.

Zhu Yi also understood that most of the generals of the Ming Dynasty's border army had the same hesitant and indecisive personality as Chen Qian, which was why the Ming Dynasty's border army had never prospered.

Zhu Yi said, "We must proceed according to plan. Their vanguard has only just entered the valley, and the terrain below is relatively wide. We have fewer men, so we can't form an ambush at all. We need to send more of their troops into the valley."

"Rumble rumble rumble..."

As they were speaking, the heavy sound of Tatar horses' hooves approached.

It is also because the sounds of birds, beasts and insects are not obvious at the turn of spring and summer, so the sound of horses' hooves can be quite loud as dawn approaches.

The soldiers guarding the valley entrance then realized that the Tatars had not come lightly armed; their troops were all elite cavalry.

Chen Qian also realized that rushing down like this was very dangerous.

After all, the Ming Dynasty didn't prepare many cavalry for ambushes; even if they did, they were only for pursuit.

If, as he envisioned, they led their troops directly down to attack, claiming they could hold the valley entrance, the Tatar cavalry could easily break out of formation and even launch a counterattack. In that case, the Ming forces ambushed would likely suffer heavy losses.