Please call me the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty

"Three thousand men?"

That probably won't work. Didn't they say they brought 1 cavalry?

"How can your three thousand men possibly be a match for them?" Zhu Youxiao looked worried.

In his anxiety, he coughed violently again.

"Brother, you don't need to worry. Three thousand men are enough," Zhu Youjian said confidently.

"Alright then, we'll do as you say."

So Zhu Youjian went to the military training ground, mustered 3000 cavalrymen, and headed straight for Shanhaiguan.

Shanhaiguan.

The terrain here is high and majestic.

Shanhaiguan can be described as the most formidable pass under heaven.

As the saying goes, "One man can hold the pass against ten thousand."

This is also one of the main reasons why the Later Jin army was never able to enter the Central Plains.

They were unable to cross the Shanhaiguan Pass and enter the Central Plains.

After Zhu Youjian arrived at Shanhaiguan, Gao Di, the general of Shanhaiguan, came out to greet him.

"Prince Xin, you've finally arrived."

Seeing that he was covered in dust and dirt, Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "General Gao, you've had a hard time."

"This humble general has not suffered any hardship. May I ask how many troops Prince Xin has brought?" Gao Di looked behind Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian pointed with his riding whip: "Do you see that? Three thousand cavalry!"

"Huh?" Gao Di grinned upon hearing this. "Prince Xin, three thousand cavalrymen are probably a bit too few."

How many troops are there at Shanhaiguan now?

"One thousand cavalry, one thousand infantry."

"Why are there so few? Where are the other troops?"

"King Xin, you may not know this."

The emperor did not concern himself with matters concerning the border regions, leaving them all to Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian said that there was no war recently, so why keep so many people here? Was it a waste of the imperial court's food?

So they transferred all our troops away, saying they were going to suppress the bandits.

They left us with only two thousand men.

In the past two days, we have been fighting against the Later Jin army. Those Qing dogs are really too powerful, and we have suffered hundreds more casualties.

The army is currently short of personnel, medicine, and food.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian thought to himself that Wei Zhongxian was really going too far, sending only two thousand men to guard such a large and formidable pass.

Fortunately, Daishan only brought 10,000 troops. If he had brought 50,000 troops, how could he have resisted?

"You need not worry. Now that I have arrived, open the gate immediately. I am going to confront Daishan."

"Huh?" Gao Yi immediately grabbed the reins of Zhu Youjian's horse upon hearing this.

"Your Highness, you absolutely mustn't!"

"Why not?"

"Daishan had 10,000 cavalrymen, did you know that? The Qing army was extremely powerful."

They were skilled in field battles, riding horses and shooting arrows.

"We should hold Shanhaiguan Pass and wait for the main force to arrive."

Zhu Youjian laughed and said, "You're overthinking it. Where would you find a large force?"

You can just open the door as you like.

I have some medicine with me; have someone take it to treat the wounded.

"Thank you, Prince Xin!" After ordering his men to remove the medicines, Gao Di reluctantly accompanied Zhu Youjian to open the gates of Shanhaiguan.

Zhu Youjian took the lead and rushed out of Shanhaiguan.

Three thousand cavalrymen followed closely behind.

The two armies faced each other, lined up in a row.

Zhu Youjian spurred his horse forward a few steps, stood with his spear held high, showing no fear.

The general coming from the opposite direction was Dai Shan.

To Daišan's left was his third son, Saharin, and to his right was his fierce general, Mangultai.

Mangultai was the banner lord of the Plain Blue Banner. He was violent and extremely brave in battle.

Dai Shan was tall with a long beard, wearing armor and holding a large sword; he was quite imposing.

He glanced at Zhu Youjian and pointed, "Who's that young general over there?"

Li Ruolian recognized them and introduced them to Zhu Youjian one by one.

Zhu Youjian took one look and realized, oh, that's Daishan.

This is one of Nurhaci's four great beile!

"I am Prince Xin, Zhu Youjian."

"Oh, so you are Prince Xin. I have heard of your great name for a long time, but I did not expect you to be so young."

What brings you here today?

"Are you here to die?" Dai Shan asked politely, but his face was full of contempt.

Zhu Youjian raised his voice: "Daishan, why have you crossed my border?"

Dai Shan pointed to Shanhaiguan with his finger: "This beautiful land belongs to our Later Jin."

This matter can be traced back hundreds of years, when the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were ceded to the Khitan in the north.

Therefore, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun did not belong to your Central Plains Dynasty at all.

Isn't it only right and proper for us to take back what belongs to us?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian recalled that humiliating period of history: Shi Jing, a general of the Later Tang Dynasty, launched a coup in 936 AD, overthrowing Li Congke, the last emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, and thus establishing the Later Jin Dynasty.

Shi Jingtang was worried about the instability of his regime and sought ways to consolidate it.

He sought help from the Khitan, and in order to gain their military support, the two sides eventually reached an agreement.

Shi Jingtang actually ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Khitan.

He revered the Khitan ruler Yelü Deguang as his father and called himself the "Son Emperor".

At the time, there was no indication of when it would be recovered.

Moreover, Shi Jingtang's annual tribute of 30 bolts of cloth to the Khitan was an utter disgrace.

This place was originally the front line for the Central Plains dynasties to defend against nomadic tribes.

In this way, the territory of the Liao Dynasty expanded to the Great Wall.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun became a thorn in the side of the Central Plains dynasties.

From then on, the Khitans came and went as they pleased, frequently harassing the border.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were never recovered until the early Song Dynasty.

Until the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted a phased strategic approach, first conquering Shandong and Henan, and then capturing Dadu (Beijing), the capital of the Yuan dynasty.

Finally, in 1368, the Ming Dynasty was destroyed and the Ming Dynasty was established.

Zhu Youjian never expected that Daishan would be so shameless, actually claiming that Shanhaiguan and Beiping belonged to their Later Jin.

Zhu Youjian was amused by his words, thinking to himself, "Is there anyone in this world as shameless as you?"

"Where do you get the idea that this beautiful land belongs to you?"

"King Xin, I think you have also read the history books. Since the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were ceded to the nomadic peoples in the north, how can you ask for them back?"

Your Central Plains dynasty went back on its word, received benefits from others, and now you're reneging on your promise.

"These Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun originally belonged to the Central Plains dynasty. After the Khitans invaded and occupied them, they refused to return them."

My ancestors drove the Yuan people away and recovered the territory from them; this is called returning something to its rightful owner.

"This land originally belonged to us. You should hand over Shanhaiguan now."

Li Ruolian, who was listening nearby, couldn't stand it anymore and said to Zhu Youjian, "Prince Xin, what's the point of reasoning with these shameless people?"

We need to teach them a lesson.

Li Ruolian spurred her horse forward, shouting, "Who's not afraid of death? Come and die! What nonsense are you spouting?"

Mangultai saw this and the fire rushed upwards.

He spurred his horse and charged straight at Li Ruolian, spear in hand.