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

"What's wrong? Why the rush?" Zhao Ning'er asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, just picking up some daily necessities!" Zhu Yunwen didn't mention that he had come back to visit Old Zhu.

Because Old Zhu had given him a prior instruction not to tell anyone about this.

Zhao Ning'er asked with concern, "Yun Tong, what do you think His Majesty is up to this time?"

He said he would execute you in three days, but then he released you.

What exactly is going on?

What's the secret behind it?

"The reason is simple: because there was an invasion from foreign enemies, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it, so he sent my grandfather and me to meet the enemy."

Isn't this a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ning'er understood: "This must be Qi Tai's plan. He's very cunning."

You'd better be careful in the future.

Zhu Yunwen nodded: "I know. Because of the time constraints, I won't tell my mother. I'll head back to the military camp immediately."

Zhao Ning'er stepped forward and took his hand: "Yun Tong, I want to go with you."

Zhu Yunwen shook his head vigorously, "That won't do! I'm going to fight, not to play. It's too dangerous there, you can't go!"

"No," Zhao Ning'er pouted, "I'm even more worried when I'm not by your side. I can't even sleep. If you take me with you, maybe I can do something for you."

Zhu Yunwen shook his head again: "This time is different from the last trip to Beiping. No matter what, the generals in Beiping are family, and they haven't openly broken with the court yet. On the surface, we still have to be mindful of things."

However, those pirates were ruthless killers, and they didn't care about such things.

Haven't you already witnessed their methods before?

Therefore, for your safety, you cannot go!

Zhao Ning'er said, "I must stay with you. Although those people are vicious, we are not to be trifled with either. I'm not afraid!"

Zhu Yunwen knew Zhao Ning'er's temperament; she was incredibly stubborn.

Finally, Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to compromise: "Alright then, you need to explain this to your father and get his approval!"

Just then, someone coughed outside the door and walked in.

Zhao Ning'er and Zhu Yuntong glanced around and saw that the person who walked in was not Zhao Sili, but who else could it be?

"Father, you've come." Zhao Ning'er stepped forward and helped her father up with both hands.

Zhu Yunwen bowed and said, "Greetings, Father-in-law!"

Zhao Sili nodded: "I heard everything you just said."

This time, the Emperor and Qi Tai were indeed harboring malicious intentions.

It's like throwing a drop in the ocean, or like an egg hitting a rock, for you and your grandfather to lead such a small force to attack so many pirates.

As a sixth-rank military officer in the imperial court, I am of low status and my words carry little weight. Without the emperor's decree, I cannot mobilize troops on my own.

"Alright then, I'll organize two hundred retainers and some servants to accompany you on your journey to fight those pirates."

Hearing Zhao Sili's words, Zhu Yunwen was deeply moved, thinking that he had truly found a good father-in-law for him, who was incredibly kind to him.

"It's good, but doing it is too dangerous."

Those servants and slaves are untrained; how could they possibly be combat-ready?

Zhao Ning'er raised her chin: "You're wrong about that. My father practices martial arts every day and often gathers all the servants together for training."

Although they were merely household servants, their combat abilities were no less than those of the soldiers.

"Really?" Zhu Yunwen was secretly impressed when he heard him say that. It seemed that his father-in-law was a thoughtful person.

Zhu Yuntong explained the address of their garrison to Zhao Sili, and, fearing that he might make a mistake, drew a sketch for him.

Zhao Sili looked at the sketch and nodded.

Then, Zhu Yunwen said to Zhao Ning'er, "Let's go first."

After tidying herself up, Zhao Ning'er asked, "How did you get back? Did you ride a horse?"

"Go inside the courtyard and you'll see."

Zhao Ning'er, carrying a bag, followed Zhu Yunwen into the courtyard and glanced around.

A white crane was standing in the courtyard.

Oh my, that crane is so beautiful.

"A crane!" Zhao Ning'er screamed.

Zhu Yunwen introduced it to Zhao Ning'er, saying, "It's called Angel."

"That's a beautiful name!"

The crane was very affectionate towards Zhao Ning'er, lowering its head and pressing its face against hers.

Zhao Ning'er gently stroked its head and asked Zhu Yunwen, "Where did you get this crane?"

"I can't explain it either."

Last night, I was resting in my tent when it suddenly crawled in from outside, grabbed my clothes, and woke me up.

Then I followed it outside the tent.

It crouched down, so I climbed on top, and then it brought me here.

Zhao Ning'er found it very amazing when she heard it.

At this moment, the crane lay down on the ground again, lowering its posture.

Zhu Yunwen first carried Zhao Ning'er up onto the horse, and then he rode on it himself.

The crane's back was very broad.

Zhao Sili, who was watching from the side, also found it quite amazing.

The crane cried out, spread its wings, and slowly rose into the air.

At first, Zhao Ning'er was a little scared, but later she felt more and more at ease.

Zhu Yunwen hugged her from behind, and she nestled in his arms, feeling his warmth.

This was probably the happiest moment for Zhao Ling'er.

She said to Zhu Yunwen, "I feel like we're a match made in heaven. Why don't we just stop fighting and settle down somewhere peaceful, away from the court and the complicated capital? What do you say?"

Zhu Yuntong laughed: "Are you kidding me? My maternal grandfather is still waiting for me there. How could I leave him alone?"

Besides, Chen Zuyi is not someone to be trifled with.

His current strength is comparable to that of those feudal lords.

Moreover, they have boats; if they win, they fight; if they lose, they board the boats and escape.

Zhao Ning'er thought Zhu Yunwen's words made sense: "Alright then, this time, I'll risk my life to accompany you."

A moment later, Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er arrived at Chang Yuchun's military camp.

Chang Yuchun was looking for Zhu Yunwen. He asked many soldiers, but they all said they didn't know, which made him so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters.

By this time, it was already getting light.

Chang Yuchun saw Zhu Yuntong and Zhao Ning'er return riding a crane.

Chang Yuchun finally felt relieved: "Yun Tong, where have you been? Why are you only coming back now?"

Zhu Yunwen only said that he went back and brought Zhao Ning'er over, without mentioning that he had already met with Old Zhu.

When Chang Yuchun saw the crane, he was also very curious. In his memory, it seemed like he had seen it somewhere before.

Zhu Yunwen then gave a brief introduction to the origin of the crane.

Chang Yuchun said happily, "That's great! With this crane, it will be much easier for us to transport grain and fodder in the future."

Zhu Yunwen listened and agreed.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen ordered people to make a large net bag, which could be tied to the two legs of the crane to carry both people and goods.

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "This is good. Now this crane will become their means of transportation."

Chang Yuchun stroked his beard and said, "According to the scouts, we have spotted traces of Chen Zuyi's pirates not far ahead."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen began to feel puzzled. He thought to himself that he had written a letter to Tie Xian, asking Tie Xian to impersonate Chen Zuyi's pirate, which wasn't for real.

Unexpectedly, this actually attracted Chen Zuyi's pirates.

If they were to lead these 1000 men to fight against tens of thousands of pirates, it would be a tough battle. They had already witnessed the ferocity of those pirates.

Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er were both very surprised.

"Where are Chen Zuyi's pirates located?"

"They are afraid of the iron strings and have already reached the mouth of Donglai," Chang Yuchun said.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "Donglai Port, isn't that where Emperor Yang of Sui built his warships?"

But is that area of ​​water suitable for mooring?

"Grandfather, what's your battle plan?"

Chang Yuchun waved his hand and said, "In my opinion, while they are still undecided, we should lead our troops and charge straight over there!"

"If we launch a full-scale attack and win the first battle, they'll be terrified and surrender!"

"That's not appropriate." Zhu Yunwen shook his head.

He thought to himself that his grandfather truly lived up to his reputation as a war god, completely disregarding those pirates. However, doing so was far too risky.

If anything goes wrong, the entire army will be wiped out, and then I will have no way to explain myself to the court.

Zhu Yunwen and Qi Tai and their ilk will surely use this as a pretext to punish themselves.

"Grandfather, I don't think this is a proper thing to do."

"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with it?"

Zhu Yunwen gazed eastward: "Firstly, the journey is quite long. As the saying goes, even a spent arrow cannot pierce thin silk, which illustrates this point."

By the time our soldiers arrived at Donglai Port, they were exhausted and had no ability to fight.

Secondly, our food supplies are also running low.

Zhao Ning'er agreed with Zhu Yunwen's suggestion: "Grandfather, although I don't know much about military matters, I think Yunwen makes a good point."

Didn't Tie Xian say that?

First make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable.

In warfare, we should learn from Cheng Bushi, not Li Guang.

Chang Yuchun smiled: "Actually, I admire Li Guang quite a bit; he was a talented general."

He once repelled thousands of Xiongnu troops with only 100 men, and he shot and killed three Xiongnu eagle archers, scaring them so much they fled in terror.

"You're absolutely right. Li Guang's personal abilities were indeed outstanding, but his battle record wasn't good. Therefore, he never received a title of nobility throughout his life."

Chang Yuchun was also very familiar with this period of history.

On one occasion, Emperor Wu of Han dispatched four generals—Li Guang, Wei Qing, Gongsun Ao, and Gongsun He—to attack the Xiongnu, assigning each of them 10,000 troops to attack the Xiongnu along four separate routes.

However, in the end, Gongsun He circled around the desert but failed to find the Xiongnu army and returned empty-handed.

Gongsun Ao lost 7000 soldiers and fled back;

Wei Qing led his troops straight to Longcheng, capturing 700 Xiongnu people.

Although he captured a small number of people, his achievements were the greatest among the four armies.

Li Guang's 10,000-strong army was completely wiped out.

Of course, the reason why Li Guang's entire army was wiped out was because his reputation was too great, which attracted the attention of the Xiongnu Chanyu.

Therefore, the Xiongnu Chanyu mobilized a large army to besiege Li Guang.

Ultimately, Li Guang suffered a crushing defeat due to the overwhelming force of the Xiongnu.

It was probably for this reason that Li Guang tied down the main force of the Xiongnu, which allowed Wei Qing to successfully capture Longcheng.

Regardless, Li Guang's entire army was wiped out, and he himself was captured.

Later, he escaped from the Xiongnu army and paid money to redeem himself from the death penalty.

Chang Yuchun was also very clear about this history.

However, he felt that it wasn't that Li Guang lacked ability, but rather that Li Guang was unlucky and had bad luck.

Cheng Bushi's approach to warfare was different; his army established a well-organized system for setting up camp wherever they went.

Security will be heightened, and the sentry posts are extremely tight.

Li Guang was undisciplined and lax in his duties, with almost no one standing guard or keeping watch.

Because of this matter, Cheng Bushi had reminded Li Guang several times.

However, Li Guang disagreed, and it was precisely for this reason that many soldiers were willing to follow him.

Following Li Guang is very relaxing and carefree, while following Ji Bushi is extremely tiring.

It is undeniable that Cheng Bushi was an undefeated general; he had never lost a battle.

Today, Zhu Yunwen mentioned Li Guang, which led to a debate between the grandfather and grandson.

Zhu Yunwen made no attempt to conceal his views: "We should learn from Ji Bushi and Tie Xian in our military campaigns, proceeding steadily and cautiously, step by step, so that we can be invincible and wait for the enemy to become vulnerable."

Seize the opportunity and strike when the time is right.

Chang Yuchun was holding a rag and wiping his eighteen-foot steel spear.

"Your combat thinking and philosophy are somewhat similar to Xu Da's; he said the same thing."

However, I, your maternal grandfather, am an adventurous person.

I often led a small force through the enemy's vast army.

The army I lead is like a sharp dagger, capable of slicing the enemy army into pieces, and then defeating them one by one. This is my usual tactic, and it almost always works.

Zhu Yunwen was very impressed.

He thought to himself, "People often say that a bad soldier is just one bad soldier, but a bad general makes a bad army."

Chang Yuchun's army was so powerful because Chang Yuchun himself was incredibly brave.

This is similar to how Xiang Yu led twenty-eight horsemen to fight back and forth in Liu Bang's camp, yet few of them were injured.

Xiang Yu's martial prowess was almost unmatched.

If we could turn back time several decades, Chang Yuchun might be comparable to Xiang Yu. Now, Chang Yuchun is old, and while age is no barrier, his strength and vitality remain.

"Yun-hu, tell me, how should we fight this battle?"

Zhu Yunwen had not yet had a chance to answer.

Just then, Zhao Sili arrived with two hundred of his servants.

Chang Yuchun, Zhu Yuntong, and Zhao Ning'er came out of the tent to greet them.

Zhu Yunwen glanced around and saw that the two hundred servants Zhao Sili had brought were all excellent.

They were full of energy, like tigers descending from the mountain or dragons emerging from the water, each one spirited and high-spirited.

After exchanging greetings, everyone took their seats according to their status as hosts and guests.

Chang Yuchun was pleased to see that reinforcements had arrived, although there weren't many.

"General Zhao, you've come at the right time. What are your thoughts on this battle?"

Zhao Sili humbly replied, "General Chang is the invincible war god of our Great Ming Dynasty. How dare I presume to teach him a lesson?"

Chang Yuchun laughed and said, "General Zhao, you don't need to be so modest. The reason you are able to sit in the position of military commander is because of your outstanding martial arts skills and outstanding military achievements. If you were an ordinary person, how could you possibly sit in this position? So, you don't need to be modest."

There are no outsiders here. Feel free to share your thoughts, and we can discuss them together.