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

After handing over the military tally, Mei Yin left Fengtian Hall.

Geng Bingwen shook his head and sighed repeatedly, thinking that His Majesty had lost another trusted minister. Mei Yin was the late Emperor's trusted minister, loyal and devoted, and had outstanding military talent.

Otherwise, the late emperor would not have entrusted him with the command of an army of 40.

At this moment, Zhu Yunwen turned his gaze to Guo Ying and asked, "General, Li Jinglong has requested the court to send reinforcements to pursue the enemy while they are ahead. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Ahem, ahem," Guo Ying coughed twice. "Your Majesty is wise. In my humble opinion, Li Jinglong is absolutely right. Last time, we made this mistake in Zhengding, and I deeply regret it. If we had pressed our advantage then, Zhu Di might already be our prisoner."

Beiping has been occupied by us.

Now that Li Jinglong has this opportunity, Your Majesty need not doubt. This humble general suggests entrusting him with an army of 40.

Li Jinglong is utterly loyal to the court and has no disloyalty whatsoever; Your Majesty can rest assured of this.

Geng Bingwen was taken aback by Guo Ying's words. He stared at her with wide eyes, thinking, "Have you lost your mind?"

Can such a big matter be handled so carelessly? Those 40 troops are the lifeblood of the imperial court. What if something goes wrong?

Li Jinglong only won a minor victory. It might have been a ruse by Zhu Di to make his troops arrogant, or it could have been a plan to lure the enemy deep into his territory. Zhu Di still had considerable strength.

Besides, Zhu Di had Yao Guangxiao to advise him, and he was full of cunning schemes. How could you come up with such a terrible idea?

However, Guo Ying's words had already been spoken and could not be taken back.

Zhu Yunwen nodded: "Alright! Let's do it as General Guo said."

"Qi Aiqing, you are the Minister of War. Why don't you personally lead the troops there?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tai grinned, thinking to himself, "I am indeed the Minister of War, but I am just a scholar, powerless and weak. How could I possibly go to the battlefield? Isn't that a joke?"

"Your Majesty, I am good at giving you advice, but commanding troops is not my forte. I beg Your Majesty to send someone else."

Zhu Yunwen glanced at them and thought to himself, "You've failed at this crucial moment. There aren't many capable generals left in the court. Sheng Yong and Tie Xuan are stationed in Jinan."

Xu Huizu and Li Jinglong were in Zhengding.

With Zhu Yunwen and Chang Yuchun stationed in Suzhou, who else could be used?

"How about I personally lead the expedition?" Zhu Yunwen finally said.

The civil and military officials panicked upon hearing this: "Absolutely not! Your Majesty's body is of utmost importance, how can you move it lightly?"

"What if something goes wrong? That would be terrible!"

"Throughout history, haven't there been many emperors who personally led their armies into battle?"

Back then, Ying Bu, the King of Jiujiang, rebelled. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, personally led an expedition and finally defeated Ying Bu.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao conquered almost all of his empire himself, and he often led his troops into battle in person.

Then there's Liu Bei, whose first act after ascending the throne was to personally lead an expedition against Eastern Wu.

During the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of Sui personally led an expedition to pacify the Southern Chen Dynasty.

Then, they pacified the Western Regions. Why can't I follow their example? Zhu Yunwen said deliberately.

At this moment, Huang Zicheng shook his head and slowly said, "Your Majesty, it is true that the people you just mentioned were personally led by the Emperor, but the endings were not good."

When Ying Bu rebelled, Liu Bang's health was already failing, and he originally intended to send Liu Ying to lead the campaign.

However, Empress Lü stubbornly opposed it, leaving Liu Bang with no choice but to personally lead the expedition.

He won the battle, but was struck by a stray arrow and died soon after.

In the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao led an army of 83 to attack Eastern Wu, but his army was burned to ashes by Zhou Yu's great fire.

He was as frantic as a dog with its tail between its legs, and as hurried as a fish that had escaped the net. When he passed through Huarong Road, it was only because Guan Yu remembered their past friendship that he let him go.

Otherwise, he would have lost his life;

When Liu Bei personally led an expedition to avenge Guan Yu, Zhao Yun earnestly advised him, saying that attacking Wei was for the public good, while attacking Wu was for personal reasons; the nation and its people should take precedence.

However, Liu Bei wouldn't listen and insisted on attacking Eastern Wu.

He thought that Eastern Wu was an easy target, but he was wrong.

Eastern Wu was not a pushover, nor was it easy to bully. As a result, in the Battle of Yiling, Lu Xun's fire almost wiped out 70 Shu troops.

Liu Bei arrived at Baidi City, and soon after, he also died.

As for Emperor Yang of Sui, his personal campaign against the Southern Chen was not his achievement.

Those were Gao Jiong's grades.

He led his army to attack the Western Regions. When they passed through the Dadouba Valley, a heavy snow fell, and seven or eight out of ten soldiers froze to death. Even his sister, Yang Lihua, died on the way.

Emperor Yang of Sui was ambitious and fond of military exploits. Not long after, he personally led an expedition against Goguryeo, which wasted resources and caused immense suffering to the people.

If he hadn't attacked Goguryeo, the Sui Dynasty probably wouldn't have perished after only two generations.

Therefore, Your Majesty should not emulate them, but rather learn from Sun Quan and Li Shimin.

Zhu Yunwen was very disappointed upon hearing this, his brows furrowed, and he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Huang Zicheng also intended to show off his knowledge in front of the civil and military officials, and continued: "Sun Quan hardly ever went to the battlefield, but he was good at recognizing and employing people."

He first appointed Zhou Yu as Grand Commander, and Zhou Yu commanded the Battle of Red Cliffs, defeating Cao Cao.

He then appointed Lu Su, Lü Meng, and Lu Xun as Grand Commanders. Each of them was more virtuous than the last, and they commanded troops in battle at crucial moments and achieved victory.

Li Shimin was skilled in both literature and martial arts; he could conquer the world on horseback and govern it on foot.

He promoted Li Jing, Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin, and Qin Qiong to the rank of general, and rarely went into battle himself.

Li Jing was a war god of his generation who almost conquered half of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin once criticized Cao Cao, saying that whenever there was a battle, he had to personally command the troops, and he had no capable generals to lead the army independently.

In fact, Zhu Yunwen was just talking; how could he possibly lead the army in person?

Since everyone pleaded for his life, he went along with it: "Alright, since everyone disagrees with my personal command of the expedition, then I will remain in the capital."

"Guo Ying, you'll have to make the difficult decision to lead 40 troops to support Li Jinglong."

"Cough, cough," Guo Ying coughed twice. "Your Majesty, look at me, I'm practically a dead man, constantly on my medicine bottle. How can I possibly fight on the battlefield?"

"General, I know you are not in good health, but look at all the officials in the court, if I don't invite you, who will I invite?"

"Once you return, I will have the imperial physician examine you."

Guo Ying thought to herself, "I should know when to stop. I shouldn't be ungrateful and anger the Emperor."

If he were to issue another decree to have his entire family executed, that would be a bad deal.

He had already seen through Zhu Yunwen's seemingly kind exterior, but also his ruthless heart.

"Very well then. If I unfortunately die of illness on this expedition, please take good care of my family, Your Majesty." Guo Ying cried as she said this.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "We haven't even set out on the expedition yet, and you're already saying such ominous things."

Zhu Yunwen waved his hand: "You don't need to worry, just go ahead and do your best. I will take care of things at home for you."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty." Guo Ying kowtowed on the ground.

the next day.

Zhu Yunwen specially prepared a luxurious carriage for him.

Guo Ying, with his back hunched, boarded the carriage and led his 40-strong army on a grand and imposing departure.

After Guo Ying's army arrived at Zhengcunba, together with Li Jinglong's army, they numbered around 50, all of whom came under Li Jinglong's command.

Li Jinglong was overjoyed, needless to say.

He thought to himself, "I can finally make a name for myself in one battle. Zhu Di, you just wait for me!"

This time, he changed his attitude and was very polite to Guo Ying, personally helping her out of the car: "General, you must have had a long and bumpy journey to come here in person."

Guo Ying felt disgusted when she saw his arrogant attitude. She thought to herself, "You little brat, your head is full of sorghum flowers and your belly is full of dung. Do you think I don't know you?"

Don't try to act all high and mighty in front of me. When I went to fight on the battlefield, you were still nowhere to be found.

However, out of consideration for his feelings, he couldn't say that.

"General Li, you are young and promising, wise and brave. You are truly a pillar of the court. It is a blessing for the court to have such a loyal minister as you."

Hearing Guo Ying's effusive praise, Li Jinglong's face lit up with pride: "General Guo, which battle do you think was fought more brilliantly, mine or yours?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Ying thought to himself, "What the hell are you showing off in front of me for?"

If it weren't for your dead, cheap old man, I would have killed you with a single blow from my cane.

Guo Ying smiled slightly: "Of course, it's because you, Commander Li, fought a brilliant battle. How could Lao Geng and I dare to compare ourselves to you?"

Li Jinglong laughed heartily: "Just you wait and see this time!"

I defeated Zhu Di in a single battle!

"General's courage is commendable; I look forward to seeing what happens next."

Therefore, Li Jinglong concentrated all his forces and launched a fierce attack on Zhengcunba.

But unexpectedly, Zhengcunba was not so easy to conquer.

It turned out that Zhu Di and his men had already reinforced the city's defenses and set up their formations beforehand.

Although Li Jinglong had the advantage in troop strength, he was unable to capture the city quickly enough. The battle lasted for a day and a night, with many casualties on both sides, but Zhengcunba was still not captured.

Li Jinglong felt his face burning; he had made a boast but hadn't kept it.

Li Jinglong was so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters.

He thought to himself, if more than 40 men couldn't take Zhengcunba, wouldn't that make him a laughingstock to the world?

Wouldn't the emperor hold him accountable?

What should we do?

At this moment, a scout came to report to him: "General, we have discovered that Zhu Di has sent out all his troops this time, and there are only 10,000 men in Beiping City."

Zhu Gaochi and Yao Guangxiao remained in Beiping.

"Really?" Li Jinglong's eyes lit up when he heard this, thinking that this was a golden opportunity.

Beiping only has 1 troops. If he leads nearly 50 troops to launch a fierce attack, he can take Beiping overnight.

If Zhu Di loses his base, he will be like a stray dog, and it won't be long before his supplies run out. At that time, it will be easy for me to deal with him.

Thinking of this, Li Jinglong said to Guo Ying, "General Guo, I plan to leave 1 troops for you to hold back Zhu Di's main force here. Then, I will lead 47 troops to bypass the main force and launch a surprise attack on Beiping. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Ying thought to himself that although Beiping did not have many troops, the city was well-fortified and not so easy to attack.

He knew Li Jinglong's temper; he was stubborn and wouldn't listen to anyone's advice. Why should he spoil his mood? He might as well let him be.

Anyway, I'm no longer an official, and I'm more likely to die than live, so why should I bother with that? Let him do whatever he wants.

Upon thinking of this, Guo Ying said, "General, you are a rising star of our dynasty, and your military strategy is divine. Then we will do as you say."

Therefore, Li Jinglong led his army to bypass Zhu Di's defenses and launch a fierce attack on Beiping.

Zhu Di's military campaign this time was somewhat risky. He deployed all his main forces, leaving only 1 troops to guard Beiping City, including Zhu Gaochi.

Of course, he didn't expect the imperial court to give Li Jinglong 50 troops this time.

After arriving in Beiping, Li Jinglong immediately ordered the city to be besieged, completely sealing it off, and then launched a relentless attack from the four directions of east, west, south, and north, day and night.

When Zhu Gaochi heard that Li Jinglong had led nearly 50 troops to besiege Beiping, he felt a pang of panic.

At that time, there were only 1 troops in Beiping.

His soldiers advised him to surrender immediately, saying that surrendering might save him from death.

Zhu Gaochi shook his head: "No, I will never surrender!"

He convened a meeting, which was attended by Yao Guangxiao, General Qiu Fu, Tan Yuan, and his mother, Princess Xu Miaoyun of Yan.

Xu Miaoyun was also a heroine.

In her spare time, she trained 300 female soldiers to serve as her bodyguards.

Her style is somewhat similar to that of Sun Shangxiang from the Three Kingdoms period.

When Liu Bei entered the bridal chamber, Sun Shangxiang set up a formation of female soldiers outside, which frightened Liu Bei so much that he trembled with fear.

Zhu Gaochi looked at everyone: "Father has led the troops out on an expedition, and we only have 1 soldiers in the city, including some old and weak men, and we don't have enough horses."

Li Jinglong, however, has led an army of nearly 50 and besieged Beiping. How should we respond?

Sweat beaded on Qiu Fu and Tan's foreheads, because with 50 against 1, this battle was simply impossible to win.

Yao Guangxiao was Zhu Di's top strategist. Zhu Di kept him in Beiping to prevent any unforeseen events.

Yao Guangxiao pondered for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, there's no need to worry too much. Although Li Jinglong has a large army and many generals, and is very powerful..."

However, we also have our advantages.

First of all, our moat has been widened and deepened; the shallowest parts are at least 3 meters deep, and the deepest parts are 50 meters deep.

It won't be so easy for them to cross the moat;

Secondly, our city walls have been rebuilt many times and are now tall and large. It will not be easy for them to attack our city walls. As long as we prepare more rolling logs, stones, and arrows and guard the four city gates, it will be difficult for even a thousand troops to break through.

Thirdly, our city has ample food supplies. Although Li Jinlong has a large army, his food consumption is enormous and supplies cannot keep up. If this continues, they will run out of food and naturally retreat.

Zhu Gaochi felt somewhat relieved after hearing Yao Guangxiao's analysis.

Princess Consort Xu Miaoyun of Yan said, "Yes, on the one hand, you can send someone to ask your father for help;

On the other hand, I can organize female soldiers, as well as palace maids, servants, and the people of the city to help you defend the city.

We can help you transport supplies, stones, and treat your wounded.

His mother's encouragement was also very important to Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi's confidence was further strengthened.

Yao Guangxiao continued, "Li Jinglong is a notorious good-for-nothing. Don't be fooled by his bluster and swagger; he's nothing special."

"If we use the right methods and persevere for a while, once your father's reinforcements arrive, we can launch a pincer attack and surely achieve a complete victory."

At this moment, Zhu Zhanji also came over. The little guy was chubby-faced and looked about three or four years old.

He said to Zhu Gaochi, "Father, I will go to the city wall to help you defend the city."

Zhu Gaochi held Zhu Zhanji in his arms: "Alright, let's go up to the city wall together and defend it. If Beiping falls, we won't live either."

Qiu Fu and Tan Yuan were deeply moved upon hearing this, and they vowed to live and die with Beiping.

Sure enough, Zhu Gaochi led his son Zhu Zhanji to the city wall.

Although Zhu Gaochi was obese, he was an excellent archer and shot and killed several Southern army generals one after another.

Upon receiving the report, Li Jinglong was also taken aback. He said to his subordinates Qu Neng, Li Jian, and Ning Zhong, "That fatso is quite skilled. I originally thought he was a useless person, but I didn't expect him to be able to shoot arrows."

Qu Neng was the commander of the Southern Army. He led his soldiers in a fierce attack on Zhangye Gate, but after several attempts, they still failed to capture it: "General, don't underestimate him."

Standing atop the city wall, Zhu Gaochi addressed his soldiers, "Hold on! Father's reinforcements will arrive soon!"

Actually, he wasn't sure where the reinforcements were, but he knew that it was crucial to boost morale at this time.

The soldiers were thrilled to hear that reinforcements were on their way, which gave them hope.

Li Jinglong led his army in a fierce attack for a day, but failed to capture Beiping. On the contrary, his side suffered many casualties.

After all, besieging a fortified city is extremely difficult when the enemy is well-rested and ready to attack.

night.

Li Jinglong sat alone in his tent, drinking in silence.

He thought to himself that he was really unlucky.

He originally thought that he could take Beiping by leading an army of nearly 50 men and launching a fierce attack on Beiping for a day and a night, but he did not expect that Beiping was indeed as impregnable as a fortress.

It seems that taking it down in a hurry will be no easy task.

Does this mean we're going to have to fight a protracted war?

However, in a protracted war, the transportation of their own food supplies became a problem. How much money and food did their 40-strong army consume every day?

He drank alone, and the more he drank, the more frustrated he became.

At this moment, Ning Zhong rushed in and reported to him in a panic, "General, something terrible has happened."

Seeing his flustered appearance, Li Jinglong frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Zhu Gaochi opened the south gate, and Qiu Fu led his troops into our camp."

"What? They dare to launch a night raid on our camp with such a small force?"

"Yes, General!"

"I will go myself and slaughter them all!" Li Jinglong roared in fury. He donned his armor, mounted his horse, and led his soldiers into battle.

However, when Li Jinglong arrived there, he was also a little dumbfounded.

Because the soldiers under Zhu Gaochi wore the same uniforms as the Southern Army, it was difficult to distinguish who was from the Southern Army and who was from the Northern Army.

Li Jinglong spotted someone who looked like a Northern soldier and went up to him, slashing him with his halberd.

He went on a rampage, killing probably two or three thousand people.

Then, Qiu Fu led his army away.

After checking, it was found that most of the two or three thousand people were their own people.

Li Jinglong wondered how they could possibly fight this battle.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaochi would pull this trick on him. Before Li Jinglong could even fall asleep, a commotion arose outside, and Tan Yuan led his army to attack again.

The night passed in such a turmoil that Li Jinglong and his soldiers didn't even get a chance to sleep.

Therefore, Li Jinglong ordered a retreat of thirty li to set up camp.

The next night.

Li Jinglong was resting in his tent.

Ning Zhong reported to him: "Several hundred women have arrived, saying they are here to comfort the soldiers."

"What? A woman has come to our army?" Li Jinglong was very surprised.

"Yes, and they were all very attractive and dressed in a flamboyant manner."

"Is that so?" Li Jinglong thought to himself that he had never encountered anything like this before. "I'll go and see."

He arrived at the camp and indeed saw hundreds of women, some carrying baskets filled with wine and meat. However, the women were pulling and tugging at the soldiers, behaving frivolously.

Li Jinglong frowned, thinking to himself, "What kind of behavior is this?"

So he ordered all the women to be driven away.

The women put down the wine and meat they were holding and ran away laughing.

However, to Li Jinglong's surprise, most of the soldiers who ate meat and wine suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, fell ill, and many even fainted.

Li Jinglong then realized that those women were not ordinary women, but female soldiers specially trained by Xu Miaoyun.

After all this commotion, Li Jinglong was in a real bind. He couldn't advance or retreat, and after besieging the city for more than ten days, he still couldn't take Beiping.

Zhu Yunwen's military camp.

Zhu Yunwen was discussing the current situation with Xu Huizu.

At this moment, Chang Sheng walked in from outside, his face filled with worry.

"Second Uncle, what's wrong with you?"

"This is bad."

Chang Sheng then reported the information he had gathered to Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen was taken aback: "You mean Li Jinglong led an army of over 400,000 to besiege Beiping, and yet he hasn't taken it?"

"Yes, there were only 1 troops in Beiping, but he just couldn't take it."

Xu Huihui angrily said in the boxing match: "Li Jinglong is really a piece of trash. This has probably never happened before in history. He couldn't even take down a force of 50 to 1."

Zhu Yunwen walked up to Xu Huizu and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't think about those things now. The most important thing now is to protect Zhen Ding City. That would be a blessing."

"You're right."

However, on the Zhen Ding side, Zhu Bai led tens of thousands of naval troops from Jingzhou, with hundreds of warships equipped with cannons.

"With such a small force, how can we possibly be a match for them?" Xu Huizu asked with a worried expression.

Zhu Yunwen stared at the sand table: "We do have fewer troops, but quality is more important than quantity."

While sending a message by carrier pigeon, Zhu Yunwen instructed Zhao Ling'er to bring the Suzhou troops over, and at the same time, he sent scouts to gather information about the direction of Zhengding.

The next day, Zhao Ling'er and Chang Sen led their troops to arrive.

When Zhao Ling'er saw Zhu Yunwen, she threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and asked softly, "Why did you call me here this time? Did you miss me?"