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

Guo Ying was fully armed and ready to personally lead the charge.

However, he tried to mount the warhorse twice but failed.

His soldiers came over to help him up.

Guo Ying pushed him away, saying, "I can ride it myself."

Finally, for the third time, Guo Ying mounted his warhorse: "All soldiers, heed my command! Follow me to confront Zhu Gaoxu!"

Guo Ying arrived at the front of the two armies, and his soldiers lit torches, illuminating the battlefield as if it were daytime.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Zhu Gaochi to lead his army to the front.

Zhu Gaoxu reined in his warhorse and glanced at Guo Ying. He saw that Guo Ying was emaciated, with white hair and beard, and sunken eyes. He no longer had the imposing presence he once possessed.

However, Guo Ying sat upright on the horse and appeared very steady, with a very dignified demeanor.

Guo Ying, mounted on horseback, shouted loudly, "Zhu Gaoxu, what do you want with your troops?"

Guo Ying's voice was loud and clear.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu trembled.

He thought to himself that everyone said Guo Ying was sick, but now it seems that he is in pretty good spirits.

He craned his neck and looked behind Guo Ying; there were many banners.

For the time being, he couldn't figure out exactly how many troops Guo Ying had.

Zhu Gaoxu thought to himself, "Everyone says Guo Ying only has 1 troops, but it seems like he has more. The enemy has more banners than he does."

Zhu Gaoxu bowed from horseback: "General, how have you been? I greet you."

"I am in very good health. Back when I fought alongside your grandfather, your father, Zhu Di, was still a child and you were not yet born."

In the blink of an eye, decades have passed. You've all grown up so much, skilled in battle and invincible.

I'm so happy for your royal grandfather!

I once fought alongside your father and even saved his life.

I remember once, he was almost captured by the Yuan army. It was I who broke through the encirclement and rescued him from the Yuan army's camp.

Of course, I'm not telling you this to show off.

Your father made great contributions in the fight against the Northern Yuan.

However, it was wrong of him to raise an army against the imperial court.

The imperial court has treated your father fairly well; for example...

When your grandfather passed away, he issued an edict forbidding all vassal kings from entering the capital to pay their respects.

However, your father openly defied this decree and led 100,000 troops to the capital, claiming it was to fight against the Northern Yuan and that he was just passing by. Isn't that nonsense?

Where is Beiyuan?

Zhu Gaoxu had also heard that Guo Ying had saved Zhu Di's life, and that the two had a good personal relationship.

Zhu Gaoxu understood that many veteran generals, such as Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, and Lan Yu, had been killed by his grandfather, the Emperor, while Guo Ying was still highly regarded by the court, which showed that he had extraordinary abilities.

Guo Ying made great contributions and was very low-key in his dealings.

This time, Zhu Yunwen entrusted him with 40 troops, which shows that Zhu Yunwen trusted him very much.

Zhu Gaochi raised his voice: "Back then, when the court wanted to resist the Northern Yuan, no one was willing to come to Beiping."

Because the Northern Yuan was too powerful, and Beiping at that time was in ruins, with low city walls and dilapidated state, lacking both soldiers and generals.

However, my father did not care about these things. He stepped forward and, after arriving in Beiping, fought against the Northern Yuan while slowly developing the area.

That's how we achieved today's results.

He kept the Northern Yuan forces at bay north of the Yellow River and Beiping, thus ensuring the safety of the capital.

After Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he listened to the advice of the villains Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng and vigorously reduced the power of the princes, turning his attention to my father. I ask you, what wrong has my father done?

Was it wrong to resist the Northern Yuan?

My father was forced into a corner and thus raised an army, launching the Jingnan Campaign, to "purge the court of corrupt officials and eliminate the villains!"

My father is not rebelling; he is acting for the safety of the court.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ying stroked his beard and sneered, "Zhu Gaoxu, I didn't expect you to be so good at talking now."

Whether your father is acting in the best interests of the court or for his own personal gain, can he hide it from others, but can he hide it from an old man like me?

You need to stop deceiving yourself. Do you know that General Li Jinglong is leading nearly 50 troops and is besieging Beiping?

Soon you will lose Beiping, and you will become homeless dogs.

When that time comes, you will have lost your basis; how will you conduct yourselves?

Listen to my wise advice: quickly dismount and surrender. I will speak well of you before the Emperor and spare your lives.

If we delay, it will be too late to regret it.

"Are you trying to scare me?" Zhu Gaochi's eyebrows shot up, his tiger-like eyes widened. "Guo Ying, for the sake of the fact that you once saved my father, I advise you to dismount and surrender now."

Although you were very brave back then, time waits for no one.

You are old now.

It's not that I underestimate you, but can you be my match?

Don't fight like a cornered beast; it's pointless.

Last time, you and Geng Bingwen won a battle in Zhengding, but Zhu Yunwen stripped you of your official position.

This shows that Zhu Yunwen was biased and easily swayed, and his rewards and punishments were unclear.

The court has run out of generals to use, so he sent you here. He sent you here to be a scapegoat.

I imagine that even if you miraculously survive the battle, once you return to the court, you'll still be spending your time at home taking care of your grandchildren.

Rather than that, you should surrender to my father now.

Even my father treats someone like Zhang Xin with great respect, so how much more so you?

I'm sure your father will give you a high position.

Guo Ying was also dissatisfied with Zhu Yunwen's approach, but he remained steadfast in his commitment to the greater good of the court.

Treason is a serious crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

"Zhu Gaoxu, you don't need to say anything more. Since you think your Overlord Spear is powerful, then this old man will accompany you a few times."

At this point, Guo Ying roused himself, brandished his sword, and charged straight at Zhu Gaoxu.

Having said all that, there was no need to say anything more, and the two immediately took action.

Zhu Gaoxu initially thought that Guo Ying was old and ill, and therefore vulnerable. However, once they engaged in combat, he discovered that the large sword in Guo Ying's hand was also quite formidable.

Even compared to Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade from back then, it's no less impressive.

Zhu Gaoxu thought to himself, "Since I started this battle, I have never encountered an opponent. If I had to name an opponent, it would only be Chang Yuchun."

I didn't expect Guo Ying to be so capable. No wonder people always say that an old general is worth two men.

Looks like I need to be more careful.

Upon realizing this, Zhu Gaoxu took the situation seriously and calmly prepared for the challenge.

Over time, Guo Ying's physical strength gradually gave out.

Zhu Gaochi was like a tiger descending from the mountain, possessing inexhaustible strength and becoming more and more courageous in battle.

In the end, Guo Ying was so exhausted that she was panting heavily, her robe was loose, and sweat was streaming down her face. She was really unable to hold on any longer, but even so, Guo Ying did not run away.

He raised his broadsword into the air, issuing a command in place of the army: "Charge!"

Guo Ying's 1 soldiers clashed with Zhu Gaoxu's army in a fierce battle that raged until the sky darkened, men and horses fell, and cries of agony filled the air.

However, Zhu Gaochi had nearly 3 troops, while Guo Ying only had 1. The disparity was significant, and ultimately, Guo Ying suffered a defeat, and it seemed he was about to be overwhelmed.

Just then, a group of men appeared behind Zhu Gaoxu and attacked him.

The Yan army was thrown into chaos.

Guo Ying couldn't figure out where the reinforcements came from.

However, the Southern army's morale soared when they saw reinforcements arrive.

Attacked from both sides, they finally drove Zhu Gaoxu back. Not only that, but they also captured 5000 Yan soldiers.

Guo Ying then realized that the army that had arrived was Zhu Yunwen's army.

As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

Guo Ying grabbed Zhu Yuntong's hand and said excitedly, "Yuntong, did you fall from the sky? You saved us again!"

Zhu Yunwen smiled and asked, "General Guo, how are you?"

"If you hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid my old bones would be stuck here."

At this moment, Zhao Ling'er came to Guo Ying and said, "General Guo, you are really amazing. You are so sick, yet you still went to the battlefield and even dared to fight that brat Zhu Gaoxu."

"Oh my, isn't this Miss Zhao? What are you doing here?"

Your dad and I are old friends.

"I had nothing better to do, so I came to join in the fun."

Guo Ying coughed twice and laughed, "You little rascal, the battlefield is so dangerous!"

Is this a place for a young lady like you to join in the fun?

Go home quickly.

"It's alright. Wherever Yun-hu is, I'll follow. I have to keep an eye on him."

Otherwise, with so many women outside, he'd be overwhelmed by them.

Zhu Yunwen looked embarrassed.

Guo Ying couldn't help but cough twice, then laughed loudly, "You're right, we need to keep a close eye on him. Yun Tong is just too handsome."

"I know a little about medicine, and I have some cough medicine with me."

As she spoke, Zhao Ling'er took out a packet of medicine from a small medicine box and handed it to Guo Ying.

"Kid, I didn't know you had this skill!"

"I can treat the wounded soldiers, bandage them, and give them anti-inflammatory medication. I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway."

"Really? That's perfect! Our army is short of medical officers." Guo Ying was overjoyed.

Zhao Ling'er carried a medicine box to the military camp to visit the wounded soldiers.

Guo Ying and Zhu Yuntong entered the tent hand in hand.

The two people took their seats as host and guest, and a soldier served them tea.

"Where did you come from?" Guo Ying asked.

Zhu Yunwen then recounted the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ying exclaimed in amazement: "If that's the case, then if you hadn't gone to support Zhen Ding, Zhen Ding would have already been captured by Zhu Bai."

In my opinion, Xu Huizu was not only handsome, but also a truly capable general.

Li Jinglong's two younger brothers, Li Zengzhi and Li Fangying, are a pair of good-for-nothings. What else can they do besides make money and seduce women?

Including Li Jinglong, he was also a good-for-nothing.

He led 47 troops to besiege Beiping, while Beiping only had 1 troops inside the city. To this day, they still haven't captured Beiping.

There's nothing like this in history.

What does military strategy say? If you outnumber the enemy several times over, you can launch a siege.

That's almost 50 times!

I really don't understand. Even if I had used 50 troops to launch a fierce attack on the south gate, employing a strategy of attrition warfare, I should have been able to take Beiping.

Zhu Yunwen listened and laughed, "General, you are absolutely right."

As the art of war says, concentrate superior forces to attack the enemy's weak points.

If Li Jinglong had concentrated his forces to attack the south gate of Beiping, it would certainly have fallen by now.

However, he surrounded Beiping and attacked from all four gates simultaneously, resulting in a dispersed force that made it difficult to inflict significant damage.

Guo Ying agreed with Zhu Yunwen's opinion.

"Li Jinglong has besieged Beiping for so many days but has not been able to take it. Zhu Di has already led his troops back to relieve Beiping. In that case, Li Jinglong is attacked from both sides and is in great danger."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's expression turned worried: "If that's really the case, even if we send troops to provide support now, it might be too late."

Guo Ying sighed deeply: "This is fate!"

If we take Beiping, Zhu Di will basically be finished.

However, with such a good opportunity, Li Jinglong failed to capture Beiping, which is truly the most ridiculous thing in the world.

I really can't understand what the Emperor was thinking, that he would appoint Li Jinglong as Grand General.

Whether he uses you or Xu Huizu, isn't that fine?

Zhu Yunwen picked up his teacup, took a sip, shook his head, and said, "I am a deposed prince, now a commoner. Currently, I am temporarily leading troops to fight against pirates. Once the pirates retreat, I'm afraid I'll still be imprisoned in the Dali Temple."

Upon hearing this, Guo Ying's expression turned grief-stricken: "Sometimes the Emperor can't distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and he's easily swayed."

Heeding Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng's advice, they tried to harm you several times.

Those treacherous villains are truly hateful.

Qi Tai is a civil official; how could he possibly become the Minister of War?

Letting him command a battle is just asking for trouble.

For example, on that occasion, he recommended Zhang Bing to the Emperor to serve as the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Beiping, and Xie Gui and Zhang Xin to serve as the Military Commanders of Beiping.

The position of Commander-in-Chief is such an important official post, yet he recommended Zhang Xin instead.

Without considering that Zhang Xin was a former subordinate of Zhu Di and the two had a close relationship, Zhu Yunwen did not investigate further and followed his advice.

Later, things improved. It was said that Zhu Di gave the red jade from Heming Tower to Zhang Xin. Zhang Xin immediately knelt before Zhu Di and swore an oath to follow Zhu Di in resisting the court.

"Don't you think this is the root of all the trouble that Qi Tai caused?"

Zhu Yunwen had tried to persuade him about this matter, but he wouldn't listen.

Guo Ying continued, "After Zhang Xin surrendered to Zhu Di, he set a trap to arrest Xie Gui and completely took control of the Commandery."

Zhang Bing was also placed under house arrest by Zhu Di.

Zhu Yunwen, holding the document, said, "Those are all things of the past. What's the point of talking about them now?"

"I'm speaking up for you! Every time you make a contribution, the emperor doesn't reward you, but instead suppresses you or even tries to kill you. Only you are still thinking about serving the court. Anyone else would have stopped caring about these things long ago."

With your status and influence as the King of Wu, and the support of Chang Yuchun and his son Chang Sheng, you are perfectly capable of becoming independent.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's eyes dimmed: "Along the way, I saw many refugees, many people homeless."

In some places, famine struck, and people had no food to eat, even resorting to cannibalism.

My heart ached when I saw that scene.

Along the southeastern coast, pirates frequently landed, burning, killing, and looting.

They occupied 50 cities, but that wasn't enough. The Northern Yuan forces to the north frequently raided the border.

Many people in the border regions have been displaced.

Now, Zhu Di and Zhu Bai have successively opposed the imperial court, bringing disaster to the people in the Central Plains and the vast areas north of the Yellow River.

What wrong have the people of our Great Ming Dynasty done?

Why did they have to suffer such a terrible calamity?

When Zhu Yuntong got emotional, his eyes became a little moist.

After hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Guo Ying was filled with respect: "Oh, King Wu, I never imagined that you had the well-being of the people in your heart."

If Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di had your level of awareness, would they have even fought?

They are all fighting for their own throne.

Zhu Yunwen gave a bitter smile: "I am not fighting for the court, nor for myself. I only hope that the people of our Great Ming can live a prosperous and peaceful life."

This is my goal!

I plan to dabble in agricultural technology in my spare time to increase food production as much as possible.

For example, the testing and promotion of hybrid rice.

Although Guo Ying didn't quite understand what Zhu Yongtong meant by "technology-based farming," he knew it was a good thing that would benefit the country and its people.

Guo Ying nodded repeatedly in admiration: "King Wu, after listening to your words, I feel that I am too insignificant and narrow-minded."

Don't laugh at me, but all I care about are official titles, salaries, and wealth.

Looking back now, I realize my perspective was too narrow.

"General, you are too modest. Back when the Emperor was conquering the world, you were his capable general and made great contributions. Those achievements will be recorded in history and can never be erased."

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, you served as an official in the court with caution and humility, and were always highly valued by your grandfather, the Emperor.

"If it weren't for your health condition, you would probably have become a great general long ago."

Guo Ying waved his hand: "To be honest, I never wanted to be a general."

There's a saying: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."

I don't want to be a great general, nor do I want to be a top-ranking general; I just want to be a general with a minor title.

"A general with a miscellaneous title?" Zhu Yunwen was surprised by Guo Ying's statement, because most people wanted to be a great general and no one wanted to be a general with a miscellaneous title.

"Yes, just like Zhao Yun during the Three Kingdoms period. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both top-ranking generals, but what happened? They were the first to die."

Zhao Yun was not well-liked and held a minor general title, yet he lived to a ripe old age.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen laughed heartily: "Old General, now that you mention it, you're really good at taking things in stride."

Your awareness is very high.

Most generals strive to climb the ranks, aiming to become great generals or commanders-in-chief, but you've gone against the grain.

Guo Ying waved her hand: "Because of my poor health, I like to read history books when I have nothing to do. But the more I read, the more frightened I became."

"Oh, old general, what history books have you read? Why are you afraid?" Zhu Yunwen found it even more strange.

"It's very difficult for a general to spend his whole life without making a mistake, and it's even more difficult to die peacefully in his old age."

No matter how great our achievements are, can they compare to Bai Qi of Qin, Li Mu of Zhao, or Han Xin, the great general under Emperor Gaozu of Han during the Warring States period?

Who among these people didn't make an immeasurable contribution?

Could it be that Qin's rise in the west and King Zhaoxiang of Qin's ability to secure his throne had nothing to do with Bai Qi?

Bai Qi almost never lost a battle in his entire life, earning him the nickname "Butcher of Men".

Putting aside other matters, in the Battle of Changping, he massacred 45 Zhao soldiers, thus depriving the Zhao state of its power to resist the Qin state.

But what was Bai Qi's ultimate fate?

Fan Sui's words carried considerable weight with King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

In just a few words, he dismissed Bai Qi's contributions, claiming that Bai Qi harbored resentment and complaints at home.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin then ordered Bai Qi to go into battle, but Bai Qi refused to go, citing illness as the reason.

With Fan Ju fanning the flames, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, in a fit of rage, bestowed a precious sword upon Bai Qi, forcing him to commit suicide.

The renowned general Bai Qi did not die on the battlefield, but rather by the executioner's blade of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

Li Mu was a famous general of the Zhao state, who guarded the border and fought against the Xiongnu. Neither the Xiongnu nor the Qin state could do anything to the Zhao state, and he never suffered a defeat.

However, the treacherous Guo Kai worried that Li Mu's achievements would be too great and that he would eventually surpass him in status, so he spread rumors and slanders before the King of Zhao.

In the end, the King of Zhao ordered Li Mu to be arrested and imprisoned.

Li Mu died in this mysterious and unclear way.

The Han dynasty's rule was almost entirely won by Han Xin. He achieved victories against overwhelming odds, fought a decisive battle with his back to the river, destroyed Zhao, attacked Yan, and conquered Qi.

In the Battle of Gaixia, he devised the strategy of ambushing Xiang Yu from all sides, which led to Xiang Yu's defeat.

If it weren't for Han Xin, could Liu Bang have won the empire? Almost certainly not.

But what was the final result?

Han Xin was executed by Empress Lü in Weiyang Palace for treason, and the great general died a pathetic death at the hands of a woman.

I just don't understand it. Back then, Han Xin occupied the Qi region and had 30 troops. Why didn't he rebel?

Later, when he was demoted from King of Qi to Marquis of Huaiyin, could he then rebel?

In my opinion, this is a fabricated charge.

Let's talk about Zhou Yafu again. During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, the Rebellion of the Seven States broke out. Liu Bi, King of Wu, and Liu Wu, King of Chu, joined forces with seven other vassal kings to rebel against the imperial court. It seemed that their army was about to reach Chang'an.

Emperor Jing of Han was panicked and at a loss for what to do.

Yuan Ang told Emperor Jing of Han that the seven kingdoms were fighting under the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle and executing Chao Cuo."

They weren't targeting the imperial court, but rather Chao Cuo.

Then you should kill Chao Cuo.

Once you kill Chao Cuo, the seven kingdoms will surely withdraw their troops.

Who was Chao Cuo?

Chao Cuo was a loyal minister of the court and the teacher of Emperor Jing of Han.

He was already Emperor Jing's teacher when Emperor Jing was the crown prince.

Emperor Jing of Han was such a harsh and ungrateful person that he actually had Chao Cuo cut in half at the waist. At the time of the execution, Chao Cuo was still wearing his official robes, which shows how panicked Emperor Jing was. Before this, Chao Cuo had no idea what was going on.

However, after he killed Chao Cuo, he thought the seven kingdoms would withdraw their troops, but he was wrong. Not only did the seven kingdoms not withdraw their troops, but on the contrary, they advanced even faster.

In this time of crisis, Emperor Jing of Han appointed Zhou Yafu as Grand Commandant, Dou Ying as General-in-Chief, and reinstated Liu Wu, the King of Liang.

Zhou Yafu devised a strategy for Emperor Jing of Han to quell the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.

Emperor Jing of Han followed the plan, and Liu Wu guarded the Liang Kingdom at the front, blocking the armies of the seven kingdoms.

Zhou Yafu mobilized his troops and eventually seized the opportunity to pacify the seven kingdoms in one fell swoop.

It only took three months in total.

If it weren't for Zhou Yafu, Emperor Jing of Han would probably have lost his country.

Zhou Yafu's contribution was truly immense.

However, Emperor Jing of Han and Zhou Yafu had a falling out over the matter of choosing a crown prince.

The crown prince at the time was Liu Rong, but Emperor Jing of Han wanted to depose Liu Rong and make Liu Che the crown prince instead.

Zhou Yafu firmly supported Liu Rong, which greatly angered Emperor Jing of Han.

Just then, the Xiongnu kings came to surrender, and Emperor Jing of Han planned to enfeoff the five kings as marquises, with the aim of attracting more Xiongnu princes and nobles to surrender to the Han Dynasty.

From a diplomatic perspective, this move also makes some sense.

However, Zhou Yafu firmly opposed it. His reason was that Emperor Gaozu had established an ancestral rule that no one could be enfeoffed as a marquis without military merit. How could those who surrendered be enfeoffed as marquises?

Wouldn't that be tantamount to encouraging all subjects in the world to betray their masters and surrender?

However, Emperor Jing of Han ignored the advice and continued to do as he pleased.

Emperor Jing of Han wanted to enfeoff Wang Xin, the brother of Empress Wang Zhi, as a marquis, but Zhou Yafu said that he had no military merits and could not be enfeoffed as a marquis.

After these unpleasant events, Emperor Jing of Han and Zhou Yafu had a falling out.

Coincidentally, Zhou Yafu's son purchased 500 pieces of armor.

The purpose was to use them as funerary objects, so that after Zhou Yafu died, these armors could be buried with him.

Emperor Jing of Han used this as a pretext to imprison Zhou Yafu and ordered a minor official to interrogate him.

Zhou Yafu once commanded a million soldiers, fought on the battlefield, and was known for his upright character.

How could he withstand the interrogation of those petty clerks?

Therefore, Zhou Yafu died after a five-day hunger strike.

Zhu Yunwen listened quietly, his gaze fixed on the outside of the tent.

He was also deeply moved, just as Guo Ying said, it is by no means easy for a general to die peacefully in his old age.

The Bai Qi, Li Mu, Han Xin, and Zhou Yafu that Guo Ying just mentioned are all famous generals in history. Their contributions were enormous, and they can be said to have made great achievements.

Without them, the Qin state could not have become so powerful, the Zhao state would have perished, Liu Bang would not have been able to seize the world, and Emperor Jing of Han's empire would have been overthrown.

Even so, none of these four famous generals met a good end, no wonder Guo Ying was disheartened.

In fact, Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, and Fu Youde of this dynasty also made significant contributions, especially Lan Yu.

However, he was eventually killed by Old Zhu.

This further confirms that what Guo Ying said was not without reason.

True generals, because they held significant military power, were feared by the emperor, and therefore, few of them were able to die peacefully in their old age.

As Zhu Yuntong and Guo Ying were talking, a soldier rushed in from outside, shouting in a panic: "Your Highness, General Guo, something terrible has happened!"

Guo Ying was taken aback and asked, "What happened?"

We have just received news that Li Jinglong was attacked from both sides by Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi and suffered a major defeat. He is now leading his troops to flee to Zhengding.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi have joined forces and are currently pursuing Li Jinglong.

Just as I feared, this news almost made Guo Ying faint.

His voice trembled as he asked, "Is the information you've gathered reliable?"

"General, it's absolutely true!"

Guo Ying stamped his feet and sighed, "It seems that Heaven is going to destroy the imperial court."

Keep investigating!

"Yes, sir!" the soldier replied and turned to leave.

Guo Ying burst into tears of grief and indignation, cursing, "Li Jinglong, that bastard, all he does is boast and think he's something special."

He really is a good-for-nothing. He's not only inferior to Zhao Kuo, but he's also inferior to Yuan Shao and Liu Biao.

"Alas, what a great misfortune for our dynasty!"

Zhu Yunwen was also filled with emotion.

Seeing Guo Ying so grief-stricken, he could only try to comfort him, saying, "General Guo, please don't be too sad. Your health is important."

Guo Ying couldn't help but cough, catching his breath for a long time: "King Wu, I've fought battles my whole life and seen cowards, but I've never seen a coward like Li Jinglong."

It's laughable that 50 people can't defeat 1.

Of all the generals in the court, Zhu Yunwen would have been better off entrusting his army to any other general than to him.

"Now that things have come to this, old general, you don't need to be sad. Just focus on minimizing the losses, preserving our strength, and holding Zhen Ding."

Guo Ying pounded the document with her fist: "In my opinion, this Zhen Ding is doomed to fail sooner or later."

Zhu Yuntong pondered for a moment: "General, your health is not good. You stay here and guard Zhengcunba. I will immediately lead troops to support Li Jinglong and reduce their losses."

"It seems there's no other way."

Li Jinglong led an army of over 40 southwards, fleeing like a dog with its tail between its legs, or like a fish that had escaped a net.

He hadn't expected Zhu Di to return with his troops so quickly. Moreover, that kid Zhu Gaochi was indeed unstoppable; he almost captured him. If it weren't for his soldiers' desperate resistance, he might have already been taken prisoner.

He was still in shock. If he had known that Beiping would be so difficult to capture, and that Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaochi were so brave, he would never have come to wade through this flood.

Looking back now, he deeply regrets it. What worries him even more is how he will explain this to the Emperor when he returns.

Wouldn't the Emperor make an example of him?

Li Jinglong thought to himself, "I originally thought that with an army of 50 men, I would be in awe and take over Beiping in no time."

Unexpectedly, that wasn't the case.

Beiping is too well-fortified. Even if Wu Qi, Bai Qi, and Han Xin were resurrected, they probably wouldn't be able to take it.

Halfway there,

Qu Neng reported to him, "General, Hongyu has run away."

"Hongyu? Didn't I tell her to stay in Zhengding and wait for me to return?"

"Where did she go?" Li Jinglong looked completely bewildered.

"Oh dear, General, you're still completely in the dark. Hongyu has taken all your gold and silver treasures and we don't know where she went."

"What?" Li Jinglong almost fell off his horse when he heard this. "That bitch, that dead woman!"

If I had known she was this kind of person, how could I have given her the key to the vault?

That's all my savings from the past few years.

I really had bad luck in choosing the right person.

How is Zhen Ding City?

"Zhending City is safe. For now, Zhending is still in our hands."

Li Jinglong's expression softened slightly: "It seems my two younger brothers are still the most reliable."

"General, that's not the case. It's because Zhu Yunwen and Xu Huizu have led troops to reinforce us."

"If they hadn't arrived in time, Zhen Ding City would have already fallen," Qu Neng explained to him.

"Xu Huizu?" Li Jinglong thought as he ran away. "Oh, right, I sent him to get reinforcements."

He indeed brought Zhu Yunwen over.

It seems my strategy was correct after all.

Zhu Yuntong looks down on me the most. No matter what, we must credit the credit for guarding Zhending to me and my two younger brothers. We must not let Zhu Yuntong steal the credit.

Furthermore, we must pin the blame for this failed siege of Beiping on Zhu Yunwen.

"Doesn't that seem a bit unethical?"

"Forget about morality, keeping your own life and your official position is the most important thing," Li Jinglong said irritably.

At this moment, Ning Zhong caught up and pointed behind him in a panic, saying, "General, Zhu Gaoxu is catching up again."