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

Chaghan Temur sighed: "For so many years, I have been dealing with Zhu Di. We have had our share of victories and defeats, and many people have died on both sides."

The hatred was originally very deep.

However, as time went by, much of the hatred faded away.

It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu sent troops to kill the king of the Yuezhi.

Furthermore, they retrieved the head of the Yuezhi king and made it into a wine vessel.

The Xiongnu Chanyu then used that wine vessel to drink.

This led to a deep-seated hatred between the Xiongnu and the Yuezhi.

Later, Emperor Wu of Han wanted to fight the Xiongnu, so he sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions. Their mission was to find the Yuezhi and then join forces with them to attack the Xiongnu from both sides.

However, time heals all wounds. By the time Zhang Qian met the King of the Yuezhi, they had already migrated.

They've settled into a peaceful life and don't want to cause any more trouble over past grudges.

Now, we also need to re-examine our situation.

As your father, I am greatly ostracized in court. If the new emperor says something he shouldn't, it's like Qin Er Shi (Hu Hai), who only knows how to indulge in singing and dancing all night long.

Hao Hai Dayu selected some young and beautiful women for him to fill his harem.

The emperor spent his days indulging in debauchery with them, leaving state affairs to the treacherous minister Hao Hai Dayu.

Hao Haida was very wary of his father and was quite unfriendly towards him.

He has spoken ill of his father to the Emperor on numerous occasions, not to mention that your brother suffered a defeat in the Gansu region.

If we don't seek change, we're probably headed for disaster.

Chaghan Timur shook his head and sighed repeatedly as he spoke.

Just then, Wang Baobao walked in from outside the tent, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Godfather!"

Wang Baobao was handsome and brave, and Chaghan Temur liked him very much.

Now, in the army, if Chaghan Temur is not present, Wang Baobao has the final say.

However, there is no general in the world who is invincible.

Wang Baobao suffered a defeat in the Gansu area, so there is now much criticism of him from the court.

Chaghan Temur nodded slightly: "Yao Guangxiao wrote a letter proposing to join forces with us to launch a pincer attack on Zhengding, then raid the capital. After the success, we will divide the territory equally. What are your thoughts on this?"

Wang Baobao also understood that because of his own actions, the Yuan army suffered setbacks in the Gansu area, and therefore, the ministers in the court, including the emperor, were very dissatisfied with him.

Therefore, he desperately needs a victory to turn the situation around.

Therefore, he suggested: "Your subject believes that we can agree to Zhu Di's request, abandon our past hatred, and work together to fight against Zhu Yunwen."

If we win, we will become the founding heroes of Zhu Di's dynasty.

If the Yuan Dynasty treats us kindly, we will stay in the Yuan Dynasty and continue to serve as officials; otherwise, we can become ministers under Zhu Di.

Anyway, no matter where you work, you'll get promoted and make money; it's all the same.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuemin's cheeks turned bright red with anger.

She sneered and looked at Wang Baobao: "Brother, I really didn't expect you to have degenerated to this extent. Don't you even have the most basic moral bottom line of being a subject?"

Zhu Di raised an army against the Ming Dynasty, which was a rebellion and a plot to overthrow the Ming Dynasty. How many people have successfully rebelled throughout history?

Even if he succeeds in his rebellion, we must not collude with him. We must remember that Zhu Di was ruthless and extremely vicious.

He's two-faced, saying one thing and doing another. He appears very friendly on the surface, but he's actually using us.

Once we conquer the Ming Dynasty, he will turn on us and deal with us.

We fought Zhu Di for so many years and killed so many of their people.

Can he say that he can easily let go of his hatred?

That's absolutely impossible.

However, at present, its power is relatively weak, so it needs to unite all possible forces to deal with the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di was extremely cunning. When he was out of power, he feigned madness to lull the court into a false sense of security.

To make his act of madness more convincing, he smeared excrement and urine on his face and body, picked up bricks and started gnawing on them, even going so far as to bite his mouth until it bled and his teeth fell out. People like him are masters of disguise.

Zhu Di was extremely despicable; he actually sent Yao Guangxiao to contact the pirates and form an alliance with Chen Zuyi.

Who were those pirates?

They are all ruthless demon kings who kill without blinking an eye.

They commit murder and arson, abduct men and women, and plunder property; they never do anything worthwhile.

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

Chen Zuyi's net worth has increased exponentially, which precisely demonstrates the immense harm he has caused to the imperial court and the people.

Zhu Di used every means at his disposal to seize the throne.

Yao Guangxiao contacted the pirates, but only to use them. After they captured the capital, they would deal with Chen Zuyi.

Think about it, if Yao Guangxiao can treat Chen Zuyi like that, how will he treat us in the future?

After all, there wasn't that deep animosity between Chen Zuyi and Zhu Di.

Chaghan Temur originally intended to join forces with Zhu Di to oppose Zhu Yunwen.

However, he felt that what Wang Yuemin said wasn't entirely unreasonable.

It would be a huge loss if I were to be used as a pawn by Zhu Di in the future.

Therefore, he hesitated.

Wang Baobao listened to Wang Yuemin's words, but did not take them seriously.

He waved his hand and said, "Since ancient times, alliances have always been formed by mutual benefit."

For example, during the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao led an army of 83 south, and Sun Quan of Eastern Wu allied with Liu Bei to fight against Cao Cao.

After defeating Cao Cao, the Sun and Liu families would then divide the spoils of victory.

This time, Zhu Di made it very clear that if they could defeat Zhu Yunwen and divide the country equally, they would share the territory with us.

Your subject believes this is an excellent opportunity. Even if we cannot divide the world equally, if we can leave the land north of the Yellow River to us, that would be a great victory.”

Wang Yuemin sneered and said, "Brother, I think you're being too optimistic. Not only will Zhu Di not leave us the land north of the Yellow River, but he won't even give us Beiping."

Don't be so naive as to think about such a good thing.

Historically, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu once joined forces to attack the Qin state. After capturing Xianyang, Fan Zeng advised Xiang Yu to immediately send troops to destroy Liu Bang.

He instructed Xiang Yu to launch the attack at dawn the next morning.

At that time, Xiang Yu had an army of 40 stationed at Hongmen, while Liu Bang had an army of 10 stationed at Ba Shang.

If Xiang Yu had listened to Fan Zeng's advice, then Liu Bang would have been finished.

It was only because Xiang Bo remembered Zhang Liang's past kindness to him and didn't want Zhang Liang to suffer the same fate as Liu Bang that he did.

Therefore, Xiang Bo rode his horse and rushed to Liu Bang's camp overnight to report the news to Zhang Liang.

After learning of this news, Zhang Liang took Xiang Bo to see Liu Bang.

The next day, Xiang Yu hosted a banquet for Liu Bang at Hongmen. Liu Bang was a master of acting, so he apologized and said a lot of flattering things, thus escaping that calamity.

Think about it, Yao Guangxiao is even more cunning than Fan Zeng.

Zhu Di was not Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu was too young and sentimental.

Zhu Di is cunning and treacherous; it would be strange if he didn't devour us whole by then.

Therefore, I firmly oppose any alliance with Zhu Di.

The brother and sister, Wang Baobao and Wang Yuemin, held their own opinions and were deadlocked.

Finally, Chaghan Temur waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this for now. Let me think it over."

at night.

Wang Yuemin was lost in thought in her tent.

She wondered where Zhu Yunwen was now, whether he was in the military camp in Suzhou.

I wonder how Zhu Yunwen has been doing lately.

Since Wang Yuemin returned, her mind has been filled with memories of her meeting Zhu Yunwen, day and night.

She was wondering whether Zhu Yunwen had feelings for her.

Have you ever liked yourself?

Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, she couldn't help but sigh at how good Zhao Ling'er's skin was—fair, delicate, smooth, and radiant.

Meanwhile, on this grassland, exposed to the wind and sun, and leading troops into battle all day long, his skin became somewhat rough.

What's most commendable is that Zhao Ling'er possesses an innate aristocratic air befitting a woman from the Central Plains, while she herself appears somewhat fierce.

Perhaps this is the difference between Han and Mongol women and women from the Central Plains.

Just as Wang Yuemin was lost in thought, a white carrier pigeon flew in from outside and landed on her shoulder.

Wang Yuemin felt a surge of excitement. She held the carrier pigeon in her hands and took a letter from its leg.

She opened it and saw that it was a letter from Zhu Yunwen.

The letter essentially stated that Zhu Di had led an army of 200,000 to besiege Zhengding, and that veteran generals Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying were on the verge of collapse.

The imperial court summoned him to provide support.

He and Chang Yuchun, leading 3500 men, have now arrived outside Zhen Ding City.

Wang Yuemin read the letter several times, feeling extremely anxious.

She thought to herself, "Zhu Di has an army of 200,000. What good is it to send such a small force?"

So she left a note on the table, and then immediately gathered her 5000 men and rushed to Zhengding overnight.

Zhen Ding City is located fifty li outside its east gate.

Zhu Yunwen's military camp.

Zhu Yunwen faced the sand table, simulating the various possible scenarios that might occur if he were to fight Zhu Di.

Suddenly, a fierce wind arose outside the tent, accompanied by lightning and thunder, followed by a torrential downpour.

About an hour later, Chang Yuchun walked in from outside.

Zhu Yuntong looked up and saw Chang Yuchun wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, his face covered in rainwater, but with a happy expression.

Zhu Yunwen quickly grabbed a towel and handed it to Chang Yuchun.

Chang Yuchun wiped the rain off his face with a towel.

"Grandfather, why are you dressed like that?"

Chang Yuchun laughed and said, "I saw that it was raining outside, so I went outside to take a look around."

I noticed the Hutuo River has swelled dramatically; its waters are like a hundred thousand soldiers!

"What does Grandfather mean?" Zhu Yunwen seemed to understand.

Chang Yuchun approached the sand table and gestured on it with his hands: "Zhu Di's army camp is stationed north of Zhen Ding City."

However, the area is low-lying and covered in forest, making it a perfect place to escape the summer heat.

I doubt he expected such a heavy rain to suddenly fall on this sweltering day.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's eyes lit up: "Grandfather means to use water attack?"

"Exactly! I'll immediately send a thousand soldiers carrying sandbags to block up all the water in the Hutuo River."

If the river rises a bit more, around midnight tonight...

If we breach the banks of the Hutuo River, we can flood Zhu Di's army camp.

If this succeeds, Zhu Di and his soldiers will be like turtles in water.

Zhu Yunwen nodded in approval.

The two then carefully studied the military strategy.

night.

In the city of Zhen Ding.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, showing no sign of stopping.

Geng Bingwen said to Guo Ying, "This heavy rain has solved our city's water problem."

The city of Zhen Ding is situated on high ground, so there is no need to worry about it being flooded when it rains.

Guo Ying nodded and said, "We need to have the soldiers prepare more basins, buckets, jars and the like to collect more rainwater for later use, because Zhen Ding City is located on high ground, so it is difficult to dig wells and get water."

The two were discussing matters in the hall when suddenly the cry of a crane came from the courtyard.

Immediately afterwards, someone jumped off the angel's back.

When the man removed his rain gear, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying glanced at him and saw that the man was not Zhu Yunwen, but who else could he be?

After entering, Zhu Yunwen bowed and said, "Greetings, two venerable generals!"

At this moment, Geng Bingwen walked up to Zhu Yunwen and grasped his hand: "Prince Wu, where have you come from?"

Zhu Yunwen wiped the rain off his face with his hand: "I've come to discuss military strategies with the two old generals."

"What are your plans?"

"At midnight tonight, we will launch a pincer attack on Zhu Di," Zhu Yunwen said firmly.

"Should we launch the attack tonight? But it's raining so hard outside!"

Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly: "Opportunities are fleeting. It is precisely because of the rain that this is the best time for us to deploy our troops."

Geng Bingwen glanced at Guo Ying, and Guo Ying glanced at Geng Bingwen in return.

Geng Bingwen asked, "King Wu, what do you mean by that?"

So Zhu Yunwen explained the military strategy that he and Chang Yuchun had discussed to the two of them.

Upon hearing this, the two men slapped the table in admiration.

Geng Bingwen stroked his beard and laughed heartily: "It seems that the King of Wu intends to emulate Guan Yu's flooding of the seven armies."

"I'm old, my mind doesn't work as fast as yours."

Geng Bingwen was known as a general skilled in defense. He devoted all his energy to defense and never seemed to think about going out of the city to launch an attack.

"This was not my own strategy, but rather a reminder from my grandfather, who had extensive combat experience."

Make the arrangements immediately; I need to return to the barracks.

Geng Bingwen explained to Zhu Yunwen in detail his troop deployment and firepower arrangement in Zhengding City.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen sighed in admiration, thinking to himself, "No wonder people say Geng Bingwen is a general skilled in defense; he truly is capable."

Otherwise, Zhu Di's 200,000-strong army would have captured Zhengding City long ago.

Zhu Di's military camp.

Zhu Di stood with his hands behind his back, looking out of the tent at the torrential rain, completely at a loss.

His original plan was that if he couldn't take Jinan by himself, he would take advantage of the victory and lead an army of 200,000 to capture Zhen Ding City in one fell swoop, and then cross the Yellow River to march straight to the capital.

However, unexpectedly, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying held firm in the city, with the sign of truce hanging high.

No matter how the Northern Army challenged him, Geng Bingwen resolutely refused to leave the city to fight them.

Left with no other option, Zhu Di ordered a fierce attack on Zhengding City, but after several attempts, he was unable to breach the city.

How much grain and horse feed would an army of 200,000 consume every day?

This made Zhu Di so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters.

He was waiting for the right opportunity:

First, wait for Chen Zuyi's pirates to be able to attack Zhen Ding from behind;

Secondly, they planned to wait for Chaghan Temur of the Northern Yuan to join forces with them to attack Zhengding.

If Chaghan Temur were to lead another 100,000 troops to reinforce him, he would have a total force of 300,000.

Then we can launch a fierce attack and take Zhen Ding City.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu walked in from outside the tent and bowed, saying, "Reporting to Father, the rain is too heavy. Should we move our camp?"

Zhu Di stretched out his right hand, palm up, touched it with some rainwater, and then flicked it lightly: "What's the rush? The rain comes down fast and goes fast."

Relocating a camp is no easy task.

Moving camp too easily can easily demoralize the troops.

Those soldiers who didn't know the truth thought we had been defeated and retreated.

Do you still remember the Battle of Fei River?

It was simply because of the retreat, and then someone in the army shouted, "Fu Jian's army has been defeated!"

Fu Jian's army was thrown into chaos.

The Jin army crossed the Fei River and swarmed forward, defeating Fu Jian's million-strong army.

Therefore, moving camps must be done with caution. Moreover, with the rain so heavy now, and our camps stretching for dozens of miles, it's also inconvenient to relay orders.

"Father, please grant me 30,000 troops. Tonight, A-Cheng will lead them to attack the city. I predict the city will be unprepared, and we will achieve a complete victory!"

Upon hearing this, General Zhang Yu immediately waved his hand: "Second Young Master, you mustn't! We can't risk the lives of our soldiers. With such heavy rain, if they get soaked all night, forget about attacking the city!"

I'm afraid at least half of them will fall ill.

"Then aren't we treating human life like dirt?"

Zhu Gaoxu remained unconvinced: "It is precisely because of the rain that the city must have been unprepared, which gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

At this moment, Zhu Neng sneered: "Second Young Master, the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Do you even know who the general defending Zhen Ding City is?"

"Aren't they those two old geezers, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying?"

"You're right. Although Geng Bingwen is old, he is known as a general who excels at defense. His specialty is defense."

You want to ambush him? That's easier said than done; it's no joke!

Zhu Gaoxu spread his hands: "This won't work, that won't work, are we just going to leave our 200,000 troops here and not move forward?"

Are Geng Bingwen and his group even more capable than Tie Xuan?

"In terms of offense, Geng Bingwen is not as good as Tie Xuan; "

In terms of defense, Tie Xuan is not as good as Geng Bingwen; they each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Zhu Di returned to the document room and sat down.

At this moment, he also regretted not bringing Yao Guangxiao along.

He left Yao Guangxiao and Zhu Gaochi to guard Beiping, because Beiping was their base of operations and very important, and they could not afford to lose it.

Zhu Di looked at everyone and asked, "What should we do next?"

Upon hearing this, the generals shook their heads and sighed, unable to come up with a good solution.

It's a real dilemma.

At this moment, Zhu Gao ran in from outside: "Father, your letter."

Zhu Di was taken aback and asked, "Who wrote the letter?"

"Strategist Yao Guangxiao."

Zhu Di was even more shocked, and he had a bad feeling: "Quickly bring me the letter to see."

Zhu Di opened the letter and read it. It turned out that Yao Guangxiao had written in the letter:

First, the Northern Yuan may not cooperate with us. Chaghan Temur has not responded yet, and things may have changed.

Secondly, I have observed the weather and it is certain that there will be heavy rain near Zhen Ding in the coming days. I request Your Majesty to move the army to higher ground to prevent the Southern army from using water to attack.

A single sentence reminded Zhu Di.

Zhu Di's expression also changed.

Seeing the Prince of Yan's flustered behavior, Zhang Yu asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, what has happened?"

Zhu Di had the letter circulated among the people.

Sweat beaded on Zhu Di's forehead.

He wiped the sweat from his brow: "Am I destined to repeat Yu Jin's mistake?"

Zhu Gaoxu said, "Father, am I right?"

The strategist and I agree: move camp immediately.

"All right."

Just as Zhu Di was about to issue the order to move the camp, another soldier rushed in and reported to him in a panic: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Hutuo River has breached its banks, and the river water is rushing down from above!"

Our military camp is about to be completely flooded.

"What?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's eyes rolled upwards in alarm, and he fainted.

"Your Majesty!"

"Father, what's wrong?"

"Quickly, save the king!"

"Quickly, fetch the physician!"

"..."

The entire military camp was in complete chaos.

When Zhu Gaochi stepped out of his tent, he saw the river surging with white waves, and the Yan soldiers were terrified.

Many soldiers and horses were swept away by the river.

While ordering his men to rescue the Prince of Yan, Zhu Gaoxu climbed to a high place and shouted, "Everyone, don't panic, don't be chaotic. Follow me up the mountain to cut tree branches and weave them into a bamboo raft."

Suddenly, three cannon shots rang out, and troops arrived from all directions.

Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying led tens of thousands of troops out of Zhen Ding City to attack.

Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun led 3500 soldiers down the hillside from the eastern flank.

King Yuemin of the north led 5000 Mongol cavalry in a charge.

From the northeast, Tie Xuan led several thousand troops to attack, completely surrounding Zhu Di's army.

Zhu Gaosui saw Wang Yuemin and shouted, "Don't get me wrong, we are the Yan army."

Aren't your Northern Yuan army allies with us?

Shouldn't they join forces with us to attack Zhen Ding?

Wang Yuemin also saw Zhu Gaosui.

She drew her long whip and cursed, "You little brat Zhu Gaosui, who's in cahoots with you?"

"Today, I'm going to skin you alive and tear your tendons out of you!"

As Wang Yuemin spoke, she lashed out with the whip.

Zhu Gaosui was furious and fought with her.

Zhu Gaoxu climbed to a high place, mounted his warhorse, and shouted loudly, "Everyone, don't panic! Don't be chaotic!"

"Follow me and charge out!"

However, water and fire are merciless. The river swept away tens of thousands of soldiers. Who would listen to him then?

After a night of fierce fighting, Zhu Di's side lost 20,000 to 30,000 men.

He led his remaining troops back to Beiping.

Zhu Yunwen and Geng Bingwen captured more than 10,000 prisoners. Those who died were gone. The Southern army won a great victory and was overjoyed. The soldiers were jubilant.

The siege of Zhending was suddenly lifted.

Geng Bingwen was in high spirits and hosted a banquet for everyone.

He took Chang Yuchun and Tie Xuan's hands: "You are the pillars of the imperial court."

Chang Yuchun laughed and said, "Old Geng, your scorched earth policy is quite good. It's enough to give Zhu Di a hard time."

Geng Bingwen waved his hand: "I can't do it anymore. You're a war god of your generation, and Tie Xuan is a rising star. I can't compare to you."

Especially Zhu Yunwen, who strategized within the command tent and won battles a thousand miles away—truly a brilliant military commander!

Zhu Yunwen quickly replied, "General, you flatter me. I am far from worthy of your praise."