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

As Zhu Yunwen was speaking, Wang Yuemin suddenly threw herself into his arms, hugged him tightly, and kissed him on the neck.

Wang Yuemin was not only beautiful, but also had a hot figure. Her full, white breasts clung tightly to Zhu Yunwen's body: "Why don't we consummate our marriage tonight? If we miss tonight, who knows when we'll get another chance?"

Zhu Yunwen smelled her fragrance and felt a flutter in his heart.

However, he managed to control his excitement.

After a moment, he calmed down, gently pushed him away, and said, "No, we can't do that."

"What does it matter? I'm a girl and I'm not afraid, so what are you, a grown man, afraid of?" Wang Yuemin said dismissively.

Zhu Yunwen knew that Mongolian women were known for their fiery and passionate nature.

"There's no way we can be together. You should find a good man to marry."

"You Mongols have many warriors, princes, and nobles. Given your status, appearance, and abilities, wouldn't it be easy for you to choose?"

Why bother saying all that?

Do you have a problem in that area?

Zhu Yuntong felt a little embarrassed: "Don't overthink it, go back and rest early."

the next morning.

Wang Yuemin indeed bid farewell to everyone and returned to Beiyuan.

Although she was so reluctant to leave, she had no choice; her father summoned her back, and she dared not disobey.

Zhu Yunwen looked at her silently.

Zhao Ling'er nudged him with her elbow and said deliberately, "They're leaving, aren't you going to see them off?"

Zhu Yunwen said casually, "All good things must come to an end. Let her go!"

Zhao Ling'er looked at him and asked, "Did he go to your room last night?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen immediately tensed up: "How did you know?"

"I arrived just as she went in."

I heard everything you said.

Zhu Yunwen thought back and realized that he hadn't said anything too outrageous.

He couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking how lucky he was to have controlled himself; otherwise, if the volcano had erupted, he would have been in deep trouble.

Zhu Yunwen watched Wang Yuemin leave with Fu Bao, feeling a deep emptiness in his heart.

To be honest, he also thought Wang Yue was a very kind person. She had saved him and Zhao Ning'er several times. Where could he find such a good person?

Although she can be quite sharp-tongued at times,

However, she really had nothing to say to herself, as this wasn't the first time someone had saved her, and each time it had been at the risk of her life.

Zhu Yunwen sighed, thinking how wonderful it would be if the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan could live in harmony.

Why must we fight and kill each other like this, where it's either you or me who dies?

After Wang Yuemin left, Zhu Yuntong and the others also bid farewell to Tie Xuan and returned to Suzhou.

Zhu Yuntong and the others had important matters to attend to, so Tie Xuan couldn't persuade them to stay.

Beiping.

The Prince of Yan's Mansion.

Zhu Di sat in the center with a stern face.

Zhu Gaochi reported the defeat at the Yanjin Ferry on the Yellow River to Zhu Di.

Zhu Gaosui and Zhang Yu knelt on the ground, too frightened to lift their heads.

"Snapped!"

Zhu Di slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Zhu Gaosui, what were my instructions to you before I left?"

Zhu Gaosui trembled with fear: "Father...Father ordered me to lead troops across the Yellow River to support Zhu Yunwen and fight against the pirates."

"Supporting Zhu Yunwen is just a pretext, don't you understand?"

I warned you to be extremely careful, but you ignored my words and didn't take them to heart at all.

You always say that your father doesn't give you opportunities, that your military talents can't be fully utilized. This time, your father is appointing you as the commander-in-chief to lead troops from the Yanjin Ferry on the Yellow River. This expedition is crucial to our overall situation.

If you can successfully cross the Yellow River and get behind Jinan, we can attack from both sides and take Jinan.

However, you suffered heavy losses, which dampened the morale of our army.

"Help! Someone, come here!"

At this moment, two armored warriors entered from outside, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, please give your orders!"

"Drag this rebellious son out and behead him!" Zhu Di pointed at Zhu Gaosui.

"This—." The two armored warriors were also stunned when they heard this, thinking to themselves, "Your Highness, are you telling the truth or not? This is your own son."

The two armored warriors froze on the spot, not daring to make a move.

Zhu Di became even angrier: "What? Didn't you hear what I said clearly?"

I'll say it again: cut off Zhu Yunwen's head!

"promise!"

The two armored warriors heard it very clearly this time.

They approached Zhu Gaosui and said, "Third Young Master, we're sorry."

When Zhu Gaosui saw that Zhu Di was about to kill him, he quickly knelt forward and crawled two steps: "Father, I have something to report."

Zhu Di, his face ashen, stared at him and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"I do bear the primary responsibility for this matter, but Zhu Yunwen also bears a great deal of responsibility."

He said he was acting on Zhu Yunwen's orders to negotiate with us and to have us lead our troops back to Beiping.

I believed it to be true, so I didn't take any precautions. Unexpectedly, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying crossed the Yellow River to attack us, and that's how we suffered a loss.

Therefore, I believe this matter cannot be entirely blamed on me.

Zhu Di was so angry that he pointed at his son and said, "You unfilial son, you are so clever and cunning. Are you the commander-in-chief or is he the commander-in-chief?"

You have no brains yourself, how can you blame others?

Zhu Yunwen told you to withdraw the defenses, so did you?

A general must first ensure his own invincibility, and then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable; this is the bare minimum.

Even if he agrees to a hundred of our conditions, we can't just withdraw our defenses.

This is utterly unreasonable!

Stop arguing, drag him out and kill him!

Seeing that Zhu Di was truly anxious, the two armored warriors pushed Zhu Gaosui out.

At this moment, Zhang Yu spoke.

Zhang Yu was not only a general under Zhu Di, but also Zhu Di's father-in-law.

His daughter, Zhang, married Zhu Di and was deeply favored by him.

But personal relationships are personal relationships, and business is business.

"Your Majesty, please do not act yet. I am also responsible for this matter. It was I who agreed to withdraw the defenses. Otherwise, the Third Prince would not have suffered such a great loss. If you must punish someone, punish me instead." Zhang Yu said with a look of shame.

In reality, how could Zhu Di possibly be willing to kill his own son?

He was just putting on an act, mainly for Zhang Yu's benefit.

He thought to himself that Zhu Gaosui was too young and ignorant. "You have been a general for many years. I have put you under his command. Don't you understand what I mean?"

How could you make such a basic mistake? You actually let Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying take advantage of you.

However, out of consideration for face, Zhu Di could not say these words to his face.

Zhu Di emerged from behind the documents and came to Zhang Yu's side, helping him up with both hands: "General Zhang, as I just said, Zhu Gaosui is the commander-in-chief, and you are the deputy commander-in-chief."

He should bear the primary responsibility.

However, Gao Sui was indeed too young and lacked combat experience.

Therefore, I asked you to accompany him to the Yanjin Ferry on the Yellow River in the hope that you would help him as much as possible. I never expected that this time, you would fall into Geng Bingwen's trap.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu's face flushed red and then turned pale.

He clasped his hands together and said, "Your Majesty, I do indeed bear an inescapable responsibility."

I also believe that Zhu Yunwen came to make peace with us in a sincere manner.

Later, we learned that Guo Ying and his men's surprise attack on us was a personal act, and Zhu Yunwen was indeed unaware of it.

Zhu Di waved his hand: "That matter is in the past, there's no point in talking about it now."

However, we must learn from our mistakes and not repeat them next time.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Please spare the Third Prince."

Zhu Di shouted at the two armored warriors outside the door, "Push him back."

Zhu Gaosui felt as if he had just returned from the brink of death.

He was stunned.

He really thought his father was going to kill him, and he was so scared he almost lost his mind.

Zhu Gaosui approached Zhu Di and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Father, for sparing my life!"

Zhu Di's face was ashen: "Why are you thanking me? It was General Zhang who pleaded for you; aren't you going to thank him?"

Zhu Gaosui kowtowed to Zhang Yu again: "Thank you, General Zhang!"

Zhang Yu quickly helped Zhu Gaosui up: "Young General, please rise!"

Actually, this was a play performed by Zhu Di.

This way, Zhang Yu will be even more loyal to him.

Since ancient times, employing people has never been a simple matter.

For example, Liu Bei threw his child to win people's hearts.

Back then, at Changban Slope, Liu Bei was being chased by Cao Cao's army in a frantic rush, like a dog with its tail between its legs, or a fish that had escaped the net.

Liu Bei abandoned his two wives and son A Dou amidst the chaos of battle.

Zhao Yun charged into Cao Cao's camp alone.

He rescued A Dou all by himself.

Zhao Yun killed dozens of Cao Cao's generals, but he himself was also wounded in several places.

After returning to Liu Bei's camp, he handed A Dou, whom he was carrying, to Liu Bei with both hands.

Liu Bei threw A Dou to the ground, saying, "For this brat, I almost lost one of my great generals!"

This moved Zhao Yun to tears, and he knelt before Liu Bei.

From that time on, he swore to be loyal to Liu Bei to the death.

Zhu Di was a man skilled in political maneuvering, and today, he is also putting on a show.

After dealing with this matter, Zhu Di convened another meeting to address the current situation.

Yao Guangxiao was Zhu Di's chief strategist.

He stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, the current situation has both advantages and disadvantages for us."

After listening, Zhu Di nodded: "Go ahead and tell me."

"This time, we split our forces into two groups. One group planned to cross the Yellow River at Yanjin to create an opening and attack the capital under the pretext of supporting Zhu Yunwen's attack on the pirates. This was originally a surprise attack, but it was unexpectedly thwarted by Zhu Yunwen."

Veteran generals Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying seized the opportunity to cross the Yellow River and capture our army's camp, causing heavy losses to our army.

Therefore, the morale of our troops is currently low;

Secondly, we spent several days in Jinan negotiating with Tie Xuan, but made no progress.

Tie Xuan, together with Zhu Yuntong, Chang Yuchun, and others, repelled the pirates of our ally Chen Zuyi.

Tie Xuan held Jinan firmly, preventing our army from breaking through Jinan and crossing the Yellow River;

Third, with the deposition of King Zhu Su of Zhou, we lost a key ally, a devastating loss.

We could have launched a two-pronged attack:

One army marched out from Beiping;

Another force marched from the Central Plains.

Now the only option is to send troops from Beiping.

This is similar to the plan Zhuge Liang devised for Liu Bei: one army would march from Yizhou and another from Jingzhou to attack Wei.

The only difference is that they are deploying troops to the north, while we are attacking to the south.

Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun suddenly appeared; they are formidable rivals.

By this time, the imperial court already knew that we were about to raise an army, which meant that we had lost the initiative.

It would be too difficult to win by surprise now.

We also have a downside: the North Yuan issue has not yet been resolved.

If we send troops to attack the capital, and the Northern Yuan attacks our rear, we will be attacked from both sides and may lose our base in Beiping. If that happens, we will be in great danger.

There was also Commander-in-Chief Song Zhong, who stationed troops in Kaiping, and Xu Kai, who stationed troops in Linqing.

Geng Huan has stationed troops around Shanhaiguan, watching us intently. Each of them commands tens of thousands of soldiers, forming a pincer movement against us and posing a threat.

Zhu Di found Yao Guangxiao's analysis very reasonable and couldn't sit still any longer.

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the hall: "Sidao, what you said makes sense."

Could you analyze this for us again? What advantages do we have?

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and continued, "Our current advantages are:"

First, we have well-trained troops and ample supplies. Although we are still somewhat behind the imperial army in terms of strength, after several years of accumulation, we are no longer what we used to be and our strength has greatly increased.

Secondly, Beiping was a fortified city with high walls and a moat. It had been reinforced many times, making it difficult for either the Northern Yuan or the imperial army to enter Beiping.

As long as we raise the drawbridge and hold Beiping, we can wear them down. When they run out of food and retreat, we can take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack and win a complete victory.

Thirdly, Zhang Xin, as a former subordinate of the King, has defected to us. He has already detained Xie Gui, seized military power in the Beiping Military Command, and placed the Provincial Governor Zhang Bing under house arrest.

Another advantage is that the three brothers Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui were rescued from the capital, which relieves Your Majesty of any worries about the rear.

Zhu Gaoxu was a rare and fierce general.

Zhu Gaochi's bravery is no less than that of Xiang Yu back in the day.

Zhu Gaoxu was also present, and when he heard Yao Guangxiao praising him like this, he looked smug.

He smirked and said, "Among the Southern Army, apart from Chang Yuchun, the rest are mediocre and not worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di glared at him and said, "Don't be arrogant. You must know that there are always people better than you, and there are always experts beyond experts."

Besides, war is not just about fighting and killing; it's also about human relationships and social interactions.

"What's the use of just blindly working hard?"

Zhu Gaoxu was reprimanded by Zhu Di and dared not speak again.

Yao Guangxiao kept fiddling with the string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hands, then said, "Your Majesty, if you want to achieve victory..."

First, we need to raise a banner, so that we have a legitimate reason for our actions.

We can't exactly say we're going to overthrow Zhu Yunwen, can we? That would be open rebellion.

In that case, we will lose the support of the people.

During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, the Rebellion of the Seven States occurred. Liu Bi, King of Wu, and Liu Wu, King of Chu, allied with seven other states to attack Chang'an, their rallying cry being "Purge the court of corrupt officials and execute Chao Cuo."

We can emulate them and launch a campaign called "Purge the court of corrupt officials and eliminate the villains," thus portraying our military actions as a righteous army upholding the court and national unity.

"Excellent!" Zhu Di exclaimed excitedly. "Your words on military strategy are worth more than ten thousand soldiers!"

The saying goes, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world."

I have been pondering this question for a long time.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zhu Yunwen is now the emperor, and his claim to the throne is legitimate.

However, we are somewhat in the wrong to lead our troops to attack the capital.

I couldn't come up with a solution, but your words today solved the problem.

"Go back and draft a proclamation for me, proclaim it to the world, and let the people know that we are not rebelling, but that we are a righteous army."

Throughout history, it has always been important to have a legitimate reason for launching an attack; if the reason is not right, then the words will not be proper.

Although Zhu Di was Zhu Yuanzhang's son, he was also in the wrong.

He was also afraid of people finding fault with him.

Yao Guangxiao gave him this idea, which could solve his problem.

"Secondly, we can send people to contact other kings and unite all forces that can be united."

We can even use pirates, let alone vassal kings?

We've also sent envoys to the Northern Yuan to negotiate with them. Wouldn't it be better if we could reach an agreement?

Whether they were pirates, the Northern Yuan, or other vassal kings,

"Once Your Majesty becomes emperor, you can deal with them one by one."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed in admiration.

"Guangxiao, you are truly my Zhang Liang! You strategize within the tent and win battles a thousand miles away."

Immediately afterwards, Yao Guangxiao said, "What we urgently need to do now is to deal with Song Zhong, Geng Huan, and Xu Kai, and incorporate their armies into our ranks."

Eliminating the threat to our rear will essentially secure our entire rear area if we can resolve their issue.

Zhu Di nodded heavily: "You're right. These three guys are like three wolves, sleeping next to my bed. They could bite us at any time."

But how should we deal with them?

Yao Guangxiao pondered for a moment and said, "It's not too difficult. Although each of them has tens of thousands of soldiers, they are all brave but reckless."

"Those who only know how to fight and kill are not difficult to deal with."

After listening to Yao Guangxiao's analysis, Zhu Di felt his thinking became clearer.

While recruiting and training soldiers, they also further fortified Beiping's defenses, digging the moat deeper and wider.

The shallow water is more than 3 meters deep, while the deep water reaches more than 50 meters deep.