I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

"Pass on my orders!"

Lu Bu flipped himself up and mounted Red Hare, raising his halberd high!

"The Vanguard Camp! The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry!"

"All troops assemble!"

"Target: Nanjing!"

"Follow me, south!!"

"kill!!"

Tens of thousands of Bingzhou wolf cavalry, like wolves that have smelled blood, let out a deafening roar!

They discarded all their baggage, carrying only weapons and three days' worth of dry rations.

A torrent of light cavalry, existing purely for killing and destruction, led by Lü Bu, transformed into a black lightning bolt and swept southward!

They were faster than Xiang Yu's heavy infantry!

Their destructive power is more direct than Han Xin's surprise attack!

They were like a red-hot branding iron, determined to brand a death scar across the map of the Ming Dynasty, stretching from north to south all the way to Nanjing!

A Ming scout, a centurion responsible for monitoring Lü Bu's movements, hid behind a sand dune and watched as the army, exuding an aura of destruction, swept past him. He was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe.

He knew something terrible had happened.

Something far bigger than the Mongol invasion has happened!

He trembled as he wrote a line on the military newspaper in his arms.

"Lu Bu... has rebelled!"

Just as the three elite cavalry units—the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, the Jiangdong Soldiers, and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry—were like three arrows released from a bow, heading straight for the heart of the Ming Dynasty.

The other troops that Zhu Muying had signed out for, hidden in various parts of the northern frontier, also received the black beacon fire signal at the same time.

In Shanxi Province, north of Yanmen Pass, lies a desolate valley covered in snow.

This is the residence of Bai Qi, the "God of Slaughter".

He and his 100,000 elite Qin soldiers were like ghosts, stationed year after year in this barren land.

When Bai Qi saw the plume of black smoke, he merely raised his eyelids as he was wiping his sword in his tent.

His handsome but bloodless face was expressionless.

"Your Majesty, we are in trouble."

He said it casually, as if recounting a trivial matter.

"Issue the order: the entire army shall march south."

"Destination: Taiyuan."

His adjutant, a Qin general who also exuded an aura of death, asked in a low voice, "General, should we attack the city directly, or...?"

"Attack the city!"

"Yes, ma'am."

……

Deep in the Changbai Mountains of Liaodong.

Beside a steaming volcanic lake, a man dressed in Song Dynasty general's armor, with a resolute face and the four characters "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty" engraved on his back, gazes southward in silence for a long time.

He was Yue Fei, Yue Pengju.

Behind him, tens of thousands of Beiwei soldiers stood in complete silence, displaying impeccable discipline.

"marshal……"

Lieutenant General Zhang Xian stepped forward, his expression complex. "The order to defend the emperor has been issued. Should we... also head south?"

A painful struggle flashed in Yue Fei's eyes.

Throughout his life, he was loyal to the emperor and loved his country, and what he hated most were treacherous officials and rebels.

But now, the king he serves is being distrusted by the monarch and driven to the brink of despair.

Between a ruler and a king, which is more important?

After a long while, Yue Fei let out a long sigh.

"I, Yue Fei, am neither a subject of the Song Dynasty nor a person of the Ming Dynasty."

"We were all born because of the King."

"The king is in trouble; how can we sit idly by and do nothing?"

His gaze hardened once more.

"Pass on my orders!"

"The entire army assembles, marches out of Shanhaiguan, and rendezvouses with Commander Han!"

"In this battle, we are not fighting to conquer cities, nor to kill, but only to protect the King!"

"If the court can give the prince justice, we will retreat to Liaodong on our own."

"If...if they remain obstinate and do not see the truth..."

Yue Fei paused, his voice becoming incredibly resolute.

"Then perhaps I, Yue Fei, should also emulate this act of 'purging the court of corrupt officials'!"

……

The Western Regions, Hami Guard.

This is the Ming Dynasty's outpost in the Western Regions.

A general dressed in Han Dynasty military uniform, with a calm demeanor and an imposing presence, stood atop a tall beacon tower, gazing at the eastern sky.

Huo Qubing, the Champion Marquis of the Han Dynasty!

He and his 30,000 Imperial Guards were responsible for suppressing the various tribes in the Western Regions and ensuring the smooth flow of the Silk Road.

"With the Xiongnu not yet defeated, how can I think of a home?"

Huo Qubing muttered to himself, but his eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Now that the Xiongnu have been destroyed, it's time to go home and visit."

He turned around and gave the generals behind him a smug smile.

"Brothers!"

"Your Highness is homesick in Jinling!"

"Let's go home! Let's go pick up the Prince!"

"roar!"

The 30,000 Imperial Guards erupted in a deafening cheer!

They are the sharpest spear of the Han Dynasty, natural-born raiders!

Come back home!

These two words ignited the passion in everyone!

In an instant, the entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty, stretching for thousands of miles from east to west, was thrown into complete chaos.

Bai Qi, the God of Slaughter; Han Xin, the God of War; Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King; Li Mu, the Lord of Wu'an; Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion; Xue Rengui, the God of War; Lü Bu, the Marquis of Wen; Yue Fei, the King of Wumu…

At this moment, legendary generals who have left their illustrious names in Chinese history awaken simultaneously!

Their forces, each with its own distinct style but all possessing extraordinary combat power, surged forth like a torrent from hell, sweeping towards the heart of the Ming Dynasty from all directions!

The Great Snow Dragon Riders, the Jiangdong Soldiers, the Bingzhou Wolf Riders, the Qin Army's Elite Warriors, the Beiwei Army, the Imperial Guards, the Xuanjia Army...

These were supposed to be Zhu Muying's trump cards to protect China and fight against foreign enemies, but now they have been turned against the dynasty they were supposed to protect!

The eighteen armies, with a combined force of over one million!

This is no longer about serving the emperor.

This is……

national calamity!

The entire northern part of the Ming Dynasty was completely paralyzed within a single day.

Countless passes were breached, and countless cities were besieged.

The local garrison troops were utterly no match for these legendary armies.

They'll either surrender at the mere sight of the enemy or be crushed to pieces.

Beacon towers were lit one after another, but all they conveyed was despair.

Messengers, traveling at an urgent rate of 800 li, rushed towards Jinling from all directions like snowflakes.

However, their message was intercepted and almost completely destroyed by scouts sent by Han Xin on the way.

An invisible net has completely isolated the entire north from Nanjing.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his court officials were like a group of deaf and blind people locked in a cage, still scheming and fighting over how to deal with a "rebellious son".

They had no idea that the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, powerful enough to cleave the entire Ming Dynasty in two, had already fallen!

An unprecedented storm, unleashed by the son's strongest trump card, is surging toward the imperial capital, which is still immersed in song and dance!

Hebei, Zhen Ding Prefecture.

The once bustling city was now in complete chaos.

At the city gate, crowds of people trying to escape were gathered, with their families in tow, their cries echoing through the air.

"Make way! Make way, everyone! It'll be too late if you don't leave now!"

"They're attacking from the north! I heard Shanhaiguan has fallen!"

"Not Mongolians! They're devils! Devils that crawled out of the ground! They can devour a person in one bite!"

"Where are the officials? Where are the soldiers? Where have they all gone?!"

The prefectural government office had long been deserted.

Last night, after hearing rumors from the north, the prefect fled south with his family and valuables, abandoning the city.

The city's garrison had long since scattered, and it was unclear whether they had fled or blended into the refugee camp.

The entire city descended into a state of anarchic panic.

The price of rice in the rice shop increased tenfold in one day, and there was still no market for it.

The local thugs took the opportunity to rob, burn, kill, and loot, causing fires to break out and thick smoke to billow throughout the city.

An elderly scholar with white hair knelt before the memorial tablet of Confucius, tears streaming down his face, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Heavens above! What terrible things have happened?!"

"Our Great Ming Dynasty had only enjoyed a few years of peace, how could it... how could it be in chaos again!"

"When a dynasty is about to perish, evil will surely follow! This calamity of war, its origins unknown, and its ultimate end nowhere!"

Such scenes were not limited to Zhengding Prefecture.

Throughout the entire northern part of the Ming Dynasty, from Hebei to Shanxi, from Shandong to Henan, all the prefectures and counties near the northern border were experiencing the same human tragedy.

Panic, like a plague, spread wildly.

The source of the panic was the increasingly outrageous rumors coming from the north.

Some say that the remnants of the Northern Yuan forces that were driven out years ago have returned with a million iron cavalry, intending to massacre the Central Plains.

Some say that evil spirits from the depths of hell broke through the seal and formed a ghost army, intending to turn the mortal realm into a hellish inferno.

But more often, there is a version that sounds the most unbelievable, yet is the most widely circulated.

"Have you heard? It's His Highness the King of England! His Highness the King of England's troops have returned!"

"Which His Highness the King of England? The one who sealed the wolf's lair and became a war god?"

"That's him! I heard that His Majesty wants to kill the Prince of Ying! The Prince of Ying's million soldiers, unwilling to accept this, have returned under the banner of 'purging the court of corrupt officials'!"

"My God! Father and son killing each other? This... how is this possible!"

"How is that impossible? There's no such thing as family ties in royal families! The King of England's achievements are too great, they're too much for the emperor to handle, don't you understand? The emperor can't sleep at night!"

"So, it's the emperor who's in the wrong?"

"Shh! Are you out of your mind? How dare you say such a thing! But... what a hero His Highness the Prince of Ying is! He expanded the territory of our Great Ming Dynasty, and defeated the Mongols so badly that they ran away in disarray. The peace we've enjoyed in the north these past few years is all thanks to him! If the Emperor really kills him, it would truly be... an outrage against heaven and earth!"

"Exactly! His Highness the King is a good man! His soldiers must be good soldiers too! They came to rescue the King, not to kill us!"

This rumor, deliberately spread by Han Xin's "Iron Eagle Warriors," quickly overshadowed all other rumors and became the mainstream voice among the people.

In a short time, public opinion shifted quietly.

The people no longer felt pure fear towards the "rebel army" that marched south.

Fear was mixed with compassion, understanding, and even...

look forward to.

They began to spontaneously resist the government's orders to "conscript soldiers" and "requisition grain."

Some of the bolder ones would even secretly deliver water and food to the southward-bound troops.

Because, in their simple mindset...

The King of England who was able to drive away the Mongols was a good man.

Soldiers of good men will not be bad men.

And an emperor who wants to kill good people...

The will of the people is the most solid foundation of this country.

When Zhu Yuanzhang, driven by a mere "suspicion," ruthlessly raised the butcher's knife against his own son, he severed more than just the bond between father and son.

It is also the image of a "sage ruler" that he painstakingly built up in the hearts of all people.

Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it.

The giant ship named "Da Ming" collided head-on with a huge iceberg that no one had anticipated, just five years after it set sail, due to a crazy decision made by the captain.

The ship's hull was already emitting a teeth-grinding cracking sound.

Meanwhile, the captain, the first mate, and the sailors were arguing heatedly over a trivial matter.

Unbeknownst to them, icy seawater was already pouring in from the unseen hull.

He rode alone south, sending a message written in blood.

On the official road, a fast horse was galloping wildly at an incredible speed.

On horseback, a member of the Imperial Guard dressed in a flying fish robe lay tightly on the horse, his entire being becoming one with the steed.

His name is Zhang Shisan.

He was one of the most elite spies planted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard near Shanhaiguan.

Three days ago, he witnessed firsthand how that demonic man easily tore open the Shanhaiguan Pass with an unprecedented explosive device, and then slaughtered the entire guarding force of the pass as if it were empty.

From that moment on, he knew that the sky had fallen.

He disregarded his fear and grief for his fallen comrades; only one thought remained in his mind.

escape!

Get out!

Send this message back to Nanjing as quickly as possible!

It reached His Majesty's ears!

For three days and three nights, he did not close his eyes once, nor did he eat a single grain of rice.

He ran three of his best horses to death, each of which he had forcibly requisitioned at a post station using his badge as a centurion of the Imperial Guard.

He dared not take the main road, because he discovered that many unidentified riders had appeared on the official road.

Those people were also heading south, but they killed anyone they encountered, and when they came across post stations or beacon towers, they burned them down.

Zhang Shisan knew that those people were scouts for the "rebel army"!

They are cutting off all communication channels to Nanjing!

He could only take small paths, venture into the mountains and forests, and bypass the areas that were already controlled by the "rebels".

His flying fish robe was already torn to shreds, and his face and hands were covered in bloody cuts.

His lips were cracked, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the verge of collapse.

What sustains him is only one belief.

Loyalty to the emperor!

Serve your country!

He was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the emperor's personal guard!

Those who eat the king's food must serve the king faithfully!

Even if it means death, he will deliver this blood-written letter, which concerns the fate of the Ming Dynasty, to His Majesty!

The sights he saw along the way were heartbreaking.

Abandoned villages, refugees fleeing, burning cities...

The entire north is in complete chaos.

He even saw a vanguard of a southward-bound "rebel" force stop when passing through a village that had been plundered by bandits.

Instead of burning, killing, and looting, they hanged all the bandits from the crooked tree at the village entrance.

Then, they opened their food sacks and distributed the food to the surviving villagers.

The villagers knelt on the ground, kowtowing and thanking the "rebels" in black armor, shouting "Long live the King!"

Seeing that scene, Zhang Shisan's heart was completely thrown into turmoil.

This……

Are they really rebels?

What kind of rebels are these?

He couldn't understand it, and he dared not think about it anymore.

All he knew was that he needed to be even faster!

Because what he carried in his arms was no longer just the news of the fall of Shanhaiguan.

In the past few days, he has gathered more and more terrifying intelligence.

"Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, has breached Shanhaiguan Pass!"

"The military genius Han Xin has cut off the routes to Hebei and Shanxi!"

"Lord Wen, Lü Bu, leading the wolf cavalry of Bing Province, has reached the banks of the Yellow River!"

"Bai Qi, the God of Slaughter, has besieged Taiyuan!"

……

Names that exist only in history books and legends, and designations that would keep any emperor up at night.

They all came back to life.

They've all come.

There is only one goal.

Jinling!

Zhang Shisan could no longer imagine what kind of expression His Majesty would have when he saw this list.

He knew that if he was even a step slower, and these "rebels" were already at the city gates, it would be too late.

"drive!"

He let out a hoarse shout and plunged the spurs from his boots deep into the horse's belly!

The already exhausted warhorse let out a mournful cry, unleashing its last potential and increasing its speed even further!

Ahead, the outline of an enormous city could be faintly seen.

The towering city walls and majestic city towers gleamed with golden light in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Jinling!

Yingtian Prefecture!

The capital of the Ming Dynasty!

at last……

Arrived!

Two streams of murky tears, a mixture of blood and sweat, flowed from Zhang Shisan's eyes.

With his last ounce of strength, he pulled a small red dragon flag from his pocket, representing the highest level of emergency.

As he urged his horse to gallop, he let out a shout that seemed to transcend time and space, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

"Urgent dispatch!"

"Urgent report from Northern Xinjiang!"

"Get out of the way!!"

"Get out of the way!!"

The sound, shrill and desperate, carrying the scent of blood and fire, crashed violently into the heart of the empire, still immersed in its final tranquility and prosperity!