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

Military training ground.

Outside, the sun hung high in the sky, scorching the earth, and cicadas chirped incessantly in the treetops.

The group arrived at the military training ground.

There were about a thousand old, weak and disabled soldiers on the training ground.

Because it was too hot, they gathered in small groups under the shade of the trees.

Qi Tai glanced around and saw that some soldiers were still wounded, with bandages wrapped around their arms and heads, and were using crutches.

They were all pale and emaciated.

The horses on the training field were all weak and very thin.

After looking at it, Qi Tai couldn't help but frown, thinking to himself, how could an army like this possibly have any fighting power?

And the number of people doesn't match up.

So he asked Zhu Yunwen, "General Who Conquers the Barbarians, are all your troops here?"

Zhu Yunwen laughed and said, "Yes, this is all we have. Things might have been a little better off otherwise."

In the last battle with the pirates, we lost many brothers.

We sent people to the capital to request the imperial court to provide us with food, medicine, and other supplies.

However, for some unknown reason, the imperial court did not distribute them.

This resulted in many soldiers' injuries going out of control, and some even lost their lives.

Without food, their condition is naturally poor.

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Qi Tai became suspicious. Did they really only have that many men?

Therefore, it seems a bit unfair to bestow the title of General Who Conquers the Barbarians upon Zhu Yunwen.

I disagreed with the distribution of that batch of food and medicine. It seems they are indeed short of supplies here. It seems a bit unreasonable for me to do this.

Qi Tai nodded: "Alright then, I'll have the imperial court send you a batch of grain and medicine as compensation, hoping they recover soon!"

"Thank you, Lord Qi," Zhu Yunwen said, "but we are short of fodder for our horses."

"Alright, I'll send you some more alfalfa."

Alfalfa is an excellent forage.

It turned out that most of the soldiers on the drill field were actually local people who had been transferred to impersonate soldiers, and each of them was given two large steamed buns as a reward.

Those weak horses were brought from the local people, so Qi Tai saw them in such a pitiful state.

These were all Zhao Ling'er's ideas.

Qi Tai kept shaking his hands and then shook his head.

Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ling'er couldn't help but chuckle to themselves upon seeing this.

Qi Tai sighed: "I came here with the intention of conscripting a group of troops from here to take back, but now it seems that there is no need to conscript them."

Zhao Ling'er smiled and said, "Lord Qi, why don't you send some more strong and capable men over to replace these old, weak, and disabled soldiers?"

Otherwise, wouldn't the imperial court's conferment of the title of General Who Conquers the Barbarians on Zhu Yunwen be nothing more than empty words?

Qi Tai thought to himself, "What use are these old, weak, and disabled soldiers to me? They're just a burden."

This is definitely unacceptable. Last time Zhao Ling'er went back, she saw very clearly that the imperial court had 100,000 troops training.

If, at this point, the court were to claim that it had no troops, it would be impossible to explain, given that he was the Minister of War, in charge of the nation's military forces.

Qi Tai thought for a moment and said, "How about this, since your forces are too weak, after I return, I will report to the Emperor and see if we can transfer 2000 cavalry to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling'er was overjoyed: "Lord Qi, there are no jokes in the army. You are the Minister of War, surely you're not joking?"

Qi Tai stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "How could that be?"

You were also fighting against pirates.

Zhu Di has started a rebellion in the north. We must not make any more mistakes in our southeastern coastal areas. Otherwise, we will be attacked from both sides. How can we survive?

Therefore, this aspect also needs to be taken seriously.

Zhao Ling'er praised, "Lord Qi truly lives up to his title as Minister of War; his consideration of issues is remarkably comprehensive."

You're absolutely right.

We must strike the pirates hard and drive them back to Malacca.

Qi Tai nodded: "Chen Zuyi and his son Chen Shiliang have captured more than 50 of our cities."

You must find a way to take those 50-odd cities back for us.

Zhao Ling'er crossed her arms and laughed, "We also want to take back the lost cities, but we have too few troops and our firepower is not good enough."

Chen Zuyi and his son Chen Shiliang commanded tens of thousands of pirates; moreover, they possessed a navy, warships, and cannons.

How could our small force possibly be a match for them?

"Alright, I will apply to the imperial court again to equip you with ten cannons and five hundred cannonballs to enhance your firepower."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling'er was overjoyed: "Lord Qi is mighty!"

"Now, the situation is extremely unfavorable to the court. Zhu Di is plotting a rebellion. I heard that he sent Yao Guangxiao to contact the pirates and they have reached an agreement."

Zhu Di might also try to contact the Northern Yuan.

Zhu Su then contacted various regional princes and learned that he had already arrived at the residence of Zhu Bai, the Prince of Xiang in Jingzhou.

Zhu Yunwen frowned: "Wasn't Zhu Su already deposed? Wasn't he exiled?"

"Yes, but unexpectedly, Zhu Su was very cunning. He found someone who looked very much like himself to take his place and go to the place of exile."

He himself hid in Beiping (Beijing).

After inspecting the troops, Qi Tai returned to the main tent, and everyone continued drinking until nightfall.

The next day, Qi Tai returned to the capital.

He reported to Zhu Yunwen about his trip to the Suzhou military camp and what he had seen and heard.

As expected, Zhu Yunwen agreed to send Zhu Yunwen an additional 2000 cavalrymen, along with a large amount of grain, fodder, and other supplies.

Zhu Yunwen was also very pleased, because this meant they now had seven or eight thousand men.

This is quite a force. Back in the day, Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu started with 10,000 cavalry.

He used his 10,000 cavalry to roam the grasslands, and had no rivals.

Chang Yuchun once said that if he were given 10,000 cavalrymen, he could conquer the world.

Chang Yuchun was an invincible war god, and his words were not empty boasts.

Chang Sheng was responsible for training every day, working day and night without daring to slack off in the slightest.

Kaiping.

Commander Song Zhong summoned Xu Kai and Geng Huan to discuss how to attack Beiping.

The three of them discussed it for a long time, but still couldn't reach an agreement.

At that moment, a soldier delivered a letter.

Song Zhong opened the letter and read it. It turned out to be from Chaghan Temur. The letter said that Zhu Di had rebelled and that they also hated him.

Three days later, on the night of the same day, you will send troops from the Kaiping, Linqing and Shanhaiguan areas, passing through Duanya Valley, while we will send troops from the northern desert to attack Beiping from both sides.

The three of them discussed whether or not this project could be done.

Xu Kai said angrily, "That Zhang Xin is a real scoundrel; he actually betrayed us and joined Zhu Di."

Otherwise, Zhu Di wouldn't have had such audacity.

Song Zhong waved his hand: "Everyone has their own ambitions, let's not talk about that."

Now that we have this opportunity, if we join forces with the Northern Yuan to attack Beiping, we should have a very good chance of winning.

Geng Huan shook his head: "The Northern Yuan is also our enemy."

Can Chaghan Temur's words be trusted?

Song Zhong smiled and said, "There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies in this world."

Times change.

We can use the Northern Yuan's power to take over Beiping first, and then we can attack the Northern Yuan.

"If you think that way, Chaghan Temur probably thinks the same way."

If both sides in the alliance have their own agendas, can this battle be won?

According to the scouts, General Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying have already stationed themselves in Zhengding. We can send someone to contact them; that would increase our chances of victory.

Song Zhong waved his hand: "No need."

Everyone knows that the veteran general Geng Bingwen is a master of defense. He's good at defending the city, but if you ask him to launch an attack, he probably doesn't have the guts.

In addition, the combined forces of the three parties are nearly 10.

We have made an agreement with the Northern Yuan to attack Beiping from both sides, and victory is assured.

Why should we inform Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying, and let them share in our credit?

Everyone thought about it and realized that this made sense.

Three days later, on the evening of the same day.

The night was dark and the wind was high.

Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan left a small number of troops stationed in the Kaiping, Linqing, and Shanhaiguan areas, and gathered 70,000 to 80,000 troops to march towards Beiping.

Soon, their army arrived at a place called Cliff Valley.

The terrain here is extremely dangerous, with cliffs on both sides and a narrow path through the middle.

Song Zhong reined in his warhorse, looked up, and began to have some doubts.

Geng Huan said, "This place is easy to ambush."

If Zhu Di left an ambush here, how should we deal with it?

Song Zhong disagreed: "I've noticed you're getting more and more timid. Have you been scared out of your wits by Zhu Di?"

Was Zhu Di really as powerful as you say?

Wasn't he utterly thrashed by Tie Xuan in Jinan?

What does Tie Xuan know about military strategy? He's just an official who escorts grain supplies.

Are we generals inferior to him?

"Governor, you can't say that."

"Cheol-hyun is indeed exceptional; he has many strengths that we cannot match."

Song Zhong waved his hand: "Don't think too much. The army has already arrived. How can we return empty-handed?"

Order the troops to proceed quickly!

"promise!"

In this way, seventy to eighty thousand men entered the Broken Cliff Valley one after another.

As soon as they reached the middle of the valley, or heard three cannon shots, ambushes sprang up on both sides of the cliff valley, banners flying everywhere.

Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan were also panicked, not knowing what had happened.

A tall, imposing figure appeared on the hillside.

Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan looked up and saw that the person was not Zhu Di, but who was it?

Behind Zhu Di stood Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaosui, Zhang Yu, Zhang Xin, Zhu Neng, and others.

Zhu Di laughed heartily: "Generals Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan, I have been waiting here for a long time."

Why don't you dismount and surrender? What are you waiting for?

Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan were taken aback; they couldn't fathom how Zhu Di could be here.

It turned out that the letter was fake; it was written by Yao Guangxiao, at Zhu Di's request, impersonating Chaghan Temur's handwriting.

Prior to this, Zhu Di and Chaghan Temur had occasionally exchanged letters.

Unexpectedly, these three simpletons fell for it.

Geng Huan said, "If we had spoken to General Geng and Guo Ying, at least we would have had reinforcements to rescue us. Now we're trapped in a desperate situation."

Song Zhong also regretted it, but what good was regret?

He pointed his spear at Zhu Di: "The court has treated you well, bestowing upon you the title of king. Do you intend to rebel?"

Zhu Di sneered: "Zhu Yunwen is incompetent and tyrannical. Since he ascended the throne, he has not done a single important thing."

I have fought against the Northern Yuan for many years. I have worked hard, if not meritorious. However, as soon as he ascended the throne, he turned his attention to me and insisted on reducing my fiefdom. I do not know what mistake I have made.

"Therefore, I, in accordance with the will of the people, launched the Jingnan Campaign to purge the court of corrupt officials and punish the villains. This is the inevitable trend of the world."

"Pah!" Song Zhong spat at Zhu Di. "You clearly want to seize the throne for your own selfish interests, yet you speak so grandly."

Do you think everyone in the world is a fool who can't see through your schemes and ambitions?

"Zhang Xin has already pledged allegiance to me, and I treat him with great favor."

You three might as well surrender to me; I will certainly not treat you unfairly.

If you hesitate, it will be too late to regret it.

At this moment, Zhang Xin stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan, you three have been ambushed!"

Dismount and surrender!

"The King of Yan is benevolent and righteous. If you surrender to him, you will have a bright future and will surely enjoy high positions and generous salaries."

Song Zhong cursed, "Zhang Xin, you fickle scoundrel, you traitor! Zhu Di gave you a prostitute, and you've already gone too far, haven't you?"

Zhang Xin's face turned red and then white as he was scolded.

At this point, Zhu Gaoxu grew impatient: "Father, why waste time arguing with them? They're all spineless cowards, they won't learn their lesson until they're faced with a death sentence!"

Zhu Di remained silent.

Zhu Di was a very greedy man, but he knew that these three were unruly and difficult to tame.

"Draw your bows and fire your arrows! Use rolling logs and thunderstones to attack them!" With Zhu Gaoxu's command, the entire valley instantly erupted in excitement.

The troops brought by Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan were routed, suffering heavy casualties.

Song Zhong shouted, "Retreat! Retreat now!"

But it's not that easy.

They ran back, only to find that the entrance was blocked by huge rocks, and they couldn't get out at all.

After a flurry of rolling logs and stones, Zhu Gaochi, in high spirits, led a contingent of men charging down the hillside.

After about two hours of fighting, Song Zhong, Xu Kai, and Geng Huan's side had suffered several thousand casualties.

Song Zhong was also hit in the left arm by an arrow.

Finally, forced into a corner, the three had no choice but to dismount and surrender.

Zhu Di was overjoyed and incorporated their troops into his army.

In this way, the entire area of ​​Kaiping, Linqing, and Shanhaiguan came under Zhu Di's control.

When the news reached the capital, it shocked the entire court and the public.

Zhu Yunwen convened an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Zhu Yuanzhang left Zhu Yunwen with many civil officials, such as Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru.

However, there were very few capable military generals; generals such as Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, and Fu Youde were killed one after another.

Of all the officials in the court, only Xu Huizu and Tie Xuan were decent. However, Tie Xuan was to guard Jinan, and Zhu Yunwen was very wary of Xu Huizu because of his kinship with Zhu Di.

In other words, the current situation in the imperial court is that some civil officials are commanding military generals in battle.

How could a civil official understand warfare? These are clearly two different professions.