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

On this day, Zhu Yunwen, Zhao Ning'er, and Chang Yuchun arrived in Shandong.

Shandong has never been a very peaceful place, with thieves frequently appearing.

Zhu Yunwen repeatedly warned Chang Yuchun to be extremely careful.

Chang Yuchun laughed heartily: "Grandson, don't worry, with your grandfather here, there's nothing to worry about."

Zhao Ning'er looked at the sky; it was clear and blue. She laughed and said, "Yun Tong, aren't you a little too timid? It's perfectly open and bright, where would a thief come from?"

Zhu Yunwen looked around: "You can't say that. It's better to be careful."

"Alright, what you say makes sense," Zhao Ning'er gently stroked her temples. "You made a great contribution during your mission to Beiping this time."

Not only did they repel the Northern Yuan army, but they also successfully appointed Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Zhang Xin to their posts.

I bet that once you return to the capital, Zhu Yunwen will reinstate you to your original position and bestow upon you great rewards.

Zhu Yunwen gave a wry smile: "You're overthinking it. I should be thankful that the Emperor won't blame me."

Zhao Ning'er raised her eyebrows: "Why? You haven't done anything wrong, why would he treat you like that?"

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and said with a wry smile, "You are so naive. Does the Emperor need a reason to declare someone guilty?"

night.

There was no moon, and it was pitch black outside, with only a slight breeze.

In the wilderness, Zhu Yunwen and his group set up tents.

Zhao Ning'er came to Zhu Yunwen's tent and talked with him.

There's a saying that goes, "A beauty looks better under the lamp."

By the light of the lamp, Zhu Yunwen observed that Zhao Ning'er was tall and graceful, with a curvaceous figure, fair skin, white teeth and red lips, and bright, lively eyes. She exuded a faint, sweet fragrance that was refreshing and pleasant.

Zhao Ning'er nestled in Zhu Yunwen's arms and murmured, "Yunwen, let's get married after we return to the capital."

Upon hearing her words, Zhu Yunwen frowned and gently pushed her away: "We're still young. I haven't even established my career yet. Why are we in such a hurry to get married?"

Zhao Ning'er retorted angrily, "What do you mean 'little'?"

Look at Zhu Gaochi, he's the same age as you, and his children are already running. Aren't we falling behind?

Zhu Yuntong thought to himself that in his predecessor's memories, men were only of legal marriage age at the age of twenty-two, and he had just turned twenty.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen laughed and said, "Why are you comparing this instead of your own abilities?"

Zhao Ling'er sat up and tidied her hair: "Then you're wrong."

As far as I know, Zhu Gaochi's appointment as heir apparent was largely due to his son.

Zhu Zhanji was lively and intelligent, and was deeply loved by Zhu Di.

In other words, Zhu Di wanted to pass the throne to Zhu Zhanji in the future, so the only option was to pass the throne to Zhu Gaochi first.

"She's good at having children, and she gave birth to a fine son. Isn't that a skill?"

Zhu Yunwen laughed heartily upon hearing this, and placed his hands on Zhao Ning'er's shoulders: "You do have such a point, but I am now a deposed prince, a commoner. How could I be worthy of a rich young lady like you?"

Zhao Ning'er looked at Zhu Yunwen with her beautiful eyes and asked, "Do you think I'm such a materialistic person?"

I don't care about anything else, as long as I can be with you.

Let's find a quiet place to settle down, like in Sichuan.

I heard that the area is blessed with beautiful mountains and clear waters, a veritable paradise.

Let's build a few thatched houses, then dig a vegetable garden, and live a life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

Let's have a bunch of kids again.

During the day, you work in the fields, and I stay home teaching them to read and write. Isn't that great?

Zhu Yunwen was amused by her words.

He stood up, crossed his arms, and paced back and forth inside the tent: "Shu? Have you ever heard people say that the road to Shu is difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven? The road to Shu is not easy to travel, and there are often jackals, tigers, and leopards on the road, as well as miasma."

You're thinking way ahead!

Having one child isn't enough, you have to have a bunch!

Zhao Ning'er laughed and punched his chest with her small fist: "How can a child manage alone? It's too lonely."

Having more children would be the best gift for them.

Zhu Yunwen was speechless. He thought to himself that women's minds are different from men's. She always thinks about the children. Doesn't she think about me? Doesn't it cost money to have so many children?

If that were the case, wouldn't it have exhausted me to death?

At this moment, Zhu Yunwen seemed to realize that there were shadowy figures moving outside the tent, but he thought he was seeing things.

A soldier rushed in from outside, shouting in a panic, "King Wu, something terrible has happened!"

Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er were both taken aback.

Zhu Yunwen asked, "What happened?"

"We've spotted a group of people approaching not far away!" the sergeant said, pointing eastward.

"Oh, what kind of people could be here?"

Approximately how many people are there?

"It's too dark outside, so I can't see very well."

Zhu Yunwen immediately became alert: "Then quickly go and inform your maternal grandfather, and tell him to prepare to meet the enemy!"

"promise!"

The soldier agreed and turned to run towards Chang Yuchun's tent.

Before long, Chang Yuchun, fully armed, rode a horse, carrying a long steel spear, and assembled his men, ready for battle.

Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er also mounted their horses and stood beside Chang Yuchun.

A moment later, the group arrived in front of Chang Yuchun and Zhu Yuntong.

The two sides were only a few hundred meters apart. The crowd raised torches, illuminating the area as if it were daytime, and they could clearly see the outlines of each other's faces.

At the front of the opposing team was a chestnut horse, its entire body a deep reddish-brown. A tall, incredibly ugly young man sat atop its back.

The man's hairstyle was also unique; the hair on both sides was shaved off, but the middle was left unshaved, like an isolated island. The man wielded a long knife and looked very imposing!

Zhu Yunwen looked behind the man by the light of the torch and saw that there were about several thousand men.

Those people were dressed in different clothes, and it was clear at a glance that they were not regular soldiers of the imperial court, but rather looked like legendary pirates.

Some rode horses, some walked, and the weapons they carried were also different: some wielded long swords, some wielded short swords, some wielded spears, and some wielded tridents. They were all bare-chested and baring their teeth and claws.

However, what surprised Zhu Yunwen and the others even more was that many bloody human heads were hanging from the necks of those men and horses, a sight that sent chills down their spines.

Zhu Yunwen steadied himself, spurred his horse forward two steps, and called out loudly, "Who are you people over there?"

The man slung his broadsword over his shoulder and shouted, "I am Chen Shiliang, and my father is the famous Chen Zuyi."

Zhu Yunwen was taken aback when he heard this.

Because Chen Zuyi was the biggest pirate in the Ming Dynasty, and had previously been entrenched in the Malacca area.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was alive, he offered a reward of 50 taels of silver for the capture of Chen Zuyi. Unexpectedly, they appeared in Shandong.

These pirates were ruthless thieves who plundered and committed all sorts of evil deeds; they were all cold-blooded killers.

It is said that their army has reached tens of thousands of men, and they have captured more than fifty cities.

Zhu Yunwen asked loudly, "What do you want to do?"

"What are you doing?"

"Leave all your horses behind, and all your soldiers surrender, and I will spare your lives. Otherwise, you will regret it," Chen Shiliang said sternly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ning'er became furious and pointed her finger, saying, "In broad daylight, how dare you block the road and rob the imperial army? Aren't you afraid of the law?"

Chen Shiliang sneered: "This is what we do, we don't care about the law."

At this moment, Zhu Yunwen rode over on horseback, brandishing his spear, intending to duel with Chen Shiliang.

In reality, his kung fu skills weren't that great, but he went all out in front of everyone.

Just as he was about to go into battle, Chang Yuchun stopped him: "Yun Tong, Ning'er, you two step aside and watch me fight him."

Chang Yuchun gently patted the rump of the black horse, and the horse took a few steps forward.

Seeing that Chang Yuchun resembled a golden-armored god, Chen Shiliang felt a bit of fear and asked, "Who are you?"

My name is Chang Yuchun.

To everyone's surprise, Chen Shiliang didn't believe it at all: "Are you kidding me?"

Chang Yuchun died thirty years ago.

"Oh, I see. You think Chang Yuchun's name is big enough, so you're impersonating him to scare me, isn't that right?"

Chang Yuchun stroked his beard and said, "Do I need to impersonate myself?"

If you dismount now and beg for mercy on your knees, I might spare your life.

How could Chen Shiliang afford to lose face in front of everyone?

"Old man, prepare to die!" he shouted, rushing forward to fight Chang Yuchun.

This guy is really strong; most people wouldn't be a match for him.

But how can he be compared to Chang Yuchun?

Chang Yuchun was a war god who never lost a battle.

After five or six rounds, Chen Shiliang realized he had been too hasty.

He secretly groaned, wondering if the big, dark-skinned man in front of him was really Chang Yuchun.

Does this mean that people can come back to life after they die?

Thinking of this, he feinted and jumped out of the circle.

He took a long breath and gave a thumbs up: "Chang Yuchun, I'll assume you're Chang Yuchun. You're really amazing."

"But do you dare to fight my giant squid?"

Chang Yuchun had no idea what he was talking about, and sneered, "What's there to be afraid of?"

"Alright, then I'll show you."

Chen Shiliang then put his right thumb and forefinger in his mouth and whistled.

A moment later, a gigantic monster emerged from behind them.

The monster was over twenty meters tall, had dozens of claws, and its gait shook the earth, emitting strange howls.

Its shape resembled that of a squid from the sea, yet somehow it ended up on land.

In its presence, a person is like an ant.

Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er felt a chill run down their spines after reading it.

If you thought the unicorn you saw in the Northern Yuan army last time was enormous, compared to this giant squid, it was nothing.

Zhu Yunwen said to Chang Yuchun, "Grandfather, let's run! That monster is too big."

Chang Yuchun had never seen such a monster since the start of the battle, and his expression changed. He quickly turned his horse around and said to his five hundred soldiers, "Retreat immediately!"

The giant squid followed behind and gave chase.

With each step it takes, it covers more than ten meters.

Those Ming soldiers who were slow to run were grabbed by the giant squid's claws and thrown into the air. How could they possibly survive a fall?

Unfortunately, Zhao Ning'er was not good at riding horses, and coupled with her panic, she fell behind.

Zhu Yunwen turned around and saw that Zhao Ning'er had been grabbed by one of the giant squid's claws and was about to be thrown out.

Just then, Chen Shiliang shouted at the giant squid, "Don't hurt her! That girl is quite pretty."

The giant squid seemed to understand him, and then gently placed her next to Chen Shiliang.

Chen Shiliang ordered his soldiers to tie Zhao Ning'er up.

Zhao Ning'er shouted loudly, "Let me go!"

Chen Shiliang let out a sinister laugh: "Wait till I capture you and take you back to be my bandit queen!"

At that moment, Zhu Yunwen saw that Zhao Ning'er had been captured. He disregarded everything, rode his horse back with a long spear in his hand, and rushed back to rescue Zhao Ning'er.

"Yunhu is in danger, come back quickly!" Chang Yuchun shouted.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Ning'er was terrified and cried out, "Yun Tong, run! Don't worry about me!"

Zhu Yunwen refused to listen, and perhaps the giant squid was also careless, as Zhu Yunwen stabbed it in the leg.

The giant squid, writhing in pain, stretched out its long claws and swung Zhu Yunwen up again, slamming him down in front of Chen Shiliang.

Chen Shiliang immediately ordered his men to tie up Zhu Yunwen as well.

Chang Yuchun tried to come to the rescue, but the giant squid's tentacles danced in the air.

He couldn't get close to her either.

Left with no other option, he spurred his horse and led his soldiers to flee.

Chen Shiliang won a great victory, and they carried Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er away on horseback.

The following morning.

On the shore of the Yellow Sea.

Dozens of large ships are moored on the shore of the Yellow Sea.

It turns out that these large ships were intercepted by Chen Zuyi.

Many pirates and sailors stood on the river fishing and drying their nets.

These people are often extremely good swimmers; they can stay in the water for three days and three nights without any problems.

Chen Zuyi has now become a powerful figure, commanding tens of thousands of pirates who pose a direct threat to the Ming Dynasty.

They frequently landed from the sea, plundered cities, and adopted a "kill all, loot all, burn all" policy.

Chen Shiliang was even more hateful. He often cut off the heads of ordinary people, hung them on the necks of his horses, and returned to his father to claim that he had killed Ming Dynasty soldiers.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zuyi was even more pleased and rewarded him with more gold, silver, and beautiful women.

Chen Shiliang grew increasingly audacious, committing arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of atrocities.

At this moment, Zhao Ning'er had already been taken away to an unknown location.

Chen Shiliang ordered his men to escort Zhu Yunwen into the cabin of a large ship.

The large ship was very stable on the river, and Zhu Yunwen walked on it as if he were walking on land.