Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

"Wait a minute!"

Zhu Gaoxu had just reached the door when Yao Guangxiao called him back.

Zhu Gaochi turned to look at him: "Is there anything else you need, strategist?"

Yao Guangxiao smiled slightly: "The Second Young Master's bravery is truly admirable."

Zhu Gaoxu looked pleased with himself when Yao Guangxiao praised him.

"However, please calm down, Your Majesty."

The time is not yet ripe; we cannot openly break with the imperial court now.

"Now that the imperial court has sent someone, we might as well listen to what he has to say before making any plans. That would be the best course of action," Yao Guangxiao said.

Zhu Di was also a person who readily accepted good advice.

He found Yao Guangxiao's words to be reasonable, so he immediately waved his hand, and Zhu Gaoxu withdrew.

Thirty li south of Beiping.

Beside the ancient road.

The wind was blowing hard, and sand and dust flew around, blinding everyone, making the sky a chaotic mess.

Zhu Yunwen, Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin stood in the wind, riding four horses.

Zhu Di, along with his three sons, Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Neng, and others, went thirty li to greet him and knelt to receive the imperial edict.

Zhu Yunwen took out the imperial edict from his bosom and read it aloud: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Prince Yan, Zhu Di, has made great contributions in guarding Beiping and resisting the Northern Yuan."

Recently, the Northern Yuan has been extremely rampant. In order to strengthen the forces in Beiping, I hereby appoint Zhang Bing as the Provincial Treasurer of Beiping, and Xie Gui and Zhang Xin as the Commander-in-Chief of the Beiping Military Region, to jointly resist the Northern Yuan. This is my decree!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di thought to himself, "You, Zhu Yunwen, are playing this trick on me. You're not trying to strengthen our power at all; you're clearly trying to take away my authority."

For a moment, Zhu Di was so angry that he refused to accept the imperial edict.

Yao Guangxiao tugged at his sleeve from behind, and Zhu Di finally snapped out of his daze: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness!"

Zhu Gaochi smiled, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui stared wide-eyed at Zhu Yunwen, wishing they could devour him.

Zhu Yunwen pretended not to see it and continued to chat and laugh.

After receiving the imperial edict, Zhu Di stood up and took Zhu Yunwen's hand, saying, "Good nephew, you must be tired from your journey."

"Nephew, it's not hard work. It's your fourth uncle who's working hard guarding Beiping," Zhu Yunwen said with a smile.

"Was the journey peaceful?"

"Fortunately, I only encountered two petty thieves, but I've already dealt with them."

What happened last time...

Zhu Di waved his hand and said, "Stop talking about it. I already know about that matter. It's not your fault. You've met a formidable enemy. Who in the world can be a match for Chang Yuchun?"

But wasn't it said that he had been dead for many years?

How did it come back to life?

Zhu Yunwen chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "Fourth Uncle, actually, my maternal grandfather didn't die at all. He just got tired of officialdom, so he retired to the mountains."

"I see. I'll have to have a good talk with him when I get the chance."

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "You'll be able to see him soon."

Zhu Yunwen pointed at Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin: "Fourth Uncle, the three of them have arrived. Can we proceed with the handover procedures?"

"Once things are settled here, my nephew can go back and report."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di glanced at Yao Guangxiao.

Yao Guangxiao shook his head slightly, indicating that he could not accept the court's appointment.

"Oh, Yunwen, there's no rush. You've come all this way, so stay here and enjoy yourself for a few more days. Later, I'll have Zhu Gaochi accompany you to travel around and see the sights. The scenery beyond the Great Wall is quite different from that in the Central Plains." Zhu Di pointed to the endless sandstorm.

Although Zhu Yunwen was also anxious, he knew that this matter could not be rushed: "Alright, I was just thinking of looking around, then I'll have to trouble you, brother."

Zhu Gaochi was the same age as him, but Zhu Gaochi was born a month earlier.

"I have ordered a banquet to be prepared in the city. Please come with me."

"Thank you, Fourth Uncle."

Seeing that Zhu Di was temporarily unwilling to complete the handover procedures, Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin looked at each other, at a loss for words.

There's a saying: "When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders."

Beiping City.

Gao Yuntong discovered that the city walls here were tall and the defenses were strong, with a wide moat surrounding the city.

He thought to himself that Zhu Di was indeed no ordinary person. Back then, Beiping had low city walls and only a few thousand soldiers. The Northern Yuan army could come and go as it pleased.

Later, Zhu Di was sent by the old Zhu to garrison Beiping, and then everything changed.

Since Zhu Di arrived in Beiping, he has been preparing for war by strengthening the city's defenses and actively building up his forces. In the end, he managed to contain the activities of the Northern Yuan north of Beiping.

However, what puzzled Zhu Yunwen was that, apart from a few old, weak, and disabled soldiers, there were no strong and capable men to be seen on the city wall.

"what!"

With a piercing scream, a head was severed and rolled a long distance on the ground.

Immediately, the head was hung on the city wall, and blood dripped continuously in the wind.

General Zhang Yu shouted, "This man was an envoy of the imperial court. He spoke rudely upon arriving here. He has now been executed as a warning."

Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin, witnessing this, were all terrified and fell silent.

Zhu Yunwen looked up, his expression calm and composed, offering neither comment nor affirmation.

Inside the main hall.

The banquet is all ready.

Zhu Di sat facing east in the center.

Zhu Yunwen, Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin sat on the left, while Zhang Yu, Yao Guangxiao, Deng Yong, and Zhu Neng sat on the right.

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu stood behind Zhu Di.

In front of each of them was a square table laden with wine and meat.

Zhu Di raised his wine cup with a broad smile: "Gentlemen, I am very happy to be able to gather with you all today. Come, please raise your wine cups and drink this wine to the brim."

When Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin entered the city, they saw that Zhu Di dared to kill even the imperial envoys, and they wondered if he was about to rebel.

So, will the three of them be able to take up their posts smoothly once they arrive?

Don't let yourself fail to become an official and end up with your head chopped off.

The three of them were filled with anxiety and trepidation.

Zhu Yunwen took the lead in raising his glass: "To Fourth Uncle!"

"To your Majesty!"

Everyone drank the wine.

Zhu Di put down his wine cup: "Gentlemen, my life is miserable."

Everyone thought Zhu Di would have some profound insights, but to everyone's surprise, he started with this one sentence.

Zhu Yunwen asked with a smile, "I wonder what troubles you, Fourth Uncle?"

Do you know what Beiping was like back then?

Broken walls and ruins, utterly dilapidated. The iron hooves of the Northern Yuan could trample them at will.

My father was very anxious and found me, asking me to come and guard Beiping.

They gave me only a few thousand old, weak, and disabled soldiers, and a few hundred weak horses.

Conditions were that harsh back then.

You should know that the Northern Yuan had hundreds of thousands of elite troops.

However, there was no other way; my father had entrusted me with this heavy responsibility.

As the Buddhist saying goes: If I don't go to hell, who will?

As the son of my father, what else is there for me to say?

Driven by a moment of youthful impulsiveness, he arrived in Beiping.

However, once I clashed with the Northern Yuan army, I realized how formidable their strength was.

We almost got wiped out by them.

"I am at my wit's end; it's too late for regrets now."