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

"This is... the Drum of Resurrection!"

He cried out, his face, usually calm and composed from years of warfare, now showing disbelief and shock.

"Thump—thump thump—thump—"

One long note, two short notes, then another long note.

The drumbeats, however, were powerful and deep.

The sound of drums echoed between heaven and earth, suppressing the howling wind and snow.

"What? The Drum of Repentance?"

Chang Mao, standing beside him, was equally horrified. "Brother, did you hear that right? Isn't that the legendary drum that soldiers beat when they entrust their lives to their commander? Once this drum sounds, there's no turning back; they regard the recipient as their second parent and have no choice but to fight to the death!"

Lan Yu, Feng Sheng, and other military officers and nobles were all dumbfounded.

They were all experts in leading troops into battle, and naturally knew the immense weight that the three words "Returning to Life Drum" represented in the army.

This is a ritual that borders on faith!

It is the highest level of courtesy that a soldier can give to a general, and also the most resolute oath!

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, this drumbeat has only been heard in legends, and no one has ever seen it in person.

But today, beneath the walls of Nanjing, amidst this standoff that will determine the fate of the Ming Dynasty, it actually rang out!

Moreover, it rang out from within the Tiger Guard's military formation!

Whose soldiers were the Tiger Guards?

They are the emperor's personal guards!

It is the most elite field force directly under the command of the Grand General's Office!

Their commander, Wu Liang, was a trusted confidant personally promoted by the emperor!

them……

What are they trying to do?

Everyone's gaze, without prior agreement, shifted from the unrecognizable Tiger Guard formation to the young man in white robes and wielding a silver spear.

It's him!

It must be him!

Those three taps were the signal!

On the city wall, Zhu Yuanzhang also heard the strange drumbeats.

Having spent his life in the military, he was very knowledgeable about military affairs and naturally knew the origin of the drumbeats.

However, he refused to believe it.

"What's that idiot Wu Liang up to? We've told him to prepare for war, and he's here beating the death knell for us?!"

The civil officials around him, including Hu Weiyong, couldn't understand it at all.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this must be a scheme by that traitor Zhu Muying!"

An imperial censor, who had just been terrified by Zhu Muying, now saw an opportunity to shine and jumped out, saying, "Knowing he's about to die, he's making a scene with supernatural tricks to try and demoralize our army!"

"Indeed! What is there to fear from mere drumbeats? With a single command from His Majesty, an army of 500,000 can crush him to dust in an instant!"

"Your Majesty, please issue an order immediately to execute this scoundrel and uphold the law!"

The civil officials chattered amongst themselves, each filled with righteous indignation; Zhu Muying was already fish on their chopping block.

As Zhu Yuanzhang listened to their clamor, his irritation grew stronger.

He was not one of those civil officials who knew nothing about military affairs.

He could feel the power within the drumbeats that made his heart pound.

That was a resolute, reckless, and earth-shattering will!

"Wu Liang!"

Zhu Yuanzhang finally lost his temper. He gathered his inner strength and roared towards the east of the city, "What are you doing?! Didn't you hear my orders?!"

His voice, like thunder, rolled on and on.

However, the only response he received was the increasingly impassioned and heavy drumbeats!

"Thump—thump thump—thump—"

"Thump—thump thump—thump—"

As the drums sounded, the dark, imposing Tiger Guard began to move.

The Tiger Guard's formation moved.

That was not a disturbance ordered by the emperor to prepare for an attack.

It is not so much more terrifying, but rather a steady and efficient movement.

Like a sleeping steel behemoth, it slowly stretches its limbs as it is awakened by the sound of drums.

The outermost shield bearers, with synchronized steps, quickly spread out to both sides. The huge tower shields that were originally pointing towards the Imperial Guard inside the city turned at the same time, facing the Eagle Guard and the Longjiang Navy outside the city, forming an impenetrable steel wall.

Behind the shield formation, countless spears gleaming with cold light emerged from the gaps in the shields, forming a forest of death like the quills of a hedgehog.

The archers further back quickly boarded the watchtowers that had been prepared beforehand, drew their bows and nocked arrows. Countless arrows, under the gloomy sky, gathered into a dark cloud that gleamed with a cold light, aiming at the direction of the city tower.

At the rear of the army formation, thousands of heavily armored cavalrymen silently assembled, becoming one with their horses, ready to transform into an invincible torrent of steel, crushing any enemy in their path.

The entire process was smooth and seamless, without the slightest bit of chaos.

The army of tens of thousands of people completed the formation change in just a few dozen breaths.

They abandoned their original strategy of encircling Jinling City and instead formed a huge and tight defensive formation.

And at the heart of this formation, the center they were determined to protect at all costs, stood the calm-looking young man in white robes and wielding a silver spear on the long street!

In that instant, the balance of power shifted dramatically!

Zhu Yuanzhang, a military genius, instantly understood the meaning of the Tiger Guard's formation the moment he saw it change.

His pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

This is not an offensive formation.

This is……

The "Wei" character formation!

It is the purest defensive formation in the army, dedicated to protecting the commander-in-chief at all costs!

Wu Liang...

He wasn't planning to attack Xu Da's Beijing garrison!

He's on guard!

Be wary of the Eagle Guards and the Longjiang Navy outside the city, and even be wary of yourself on the city wall!

The person he wanted to protect was Zhu Muying!

This realization struck Zhu Yuanzhang like a red-hot hammer, leaving him barely able to breathe.

His face turned deathly pale in an instant, devoid of any color.

"No...it's impossible..."

He muttered to himself, his body swaying uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty! What's wrong?"

The eunuch next to him reacted quickly and stepped forward to help him up.

"Get out of here!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shoved the eunuch aside and stared intently at the newly renovated military formation below the city, his eyes filled with a frenzied disbelief.

The civil officials who had been shouting on the city wall finally realized that something was wrong.

Although they didn't understand any formations, they weren't blind.

They could see that the army, which should have been the sharpest blade in the emperor's hand, had now turned its blade around and become the strongest shield for the traitor Zhu Muying!

This……

What's going on?

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... those... those Tiger Guards..."

Hu Weiyong's voice trembled as he pointed down at the city walls, unable to finish his sentence.

The fawning and smugness on his face had vanished without a trace, replaced by a deep-seated fear.

He felt like the sky was about to fall.

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored him, gripping the crenellations of the city wall tightly until his knuckles turned white from the force, and a storm was brewing in his bloodshot eyes.

In the western part of the city, within the ranks of the Eagle Guard.

Commander Geng Bingwen, mounted on his horse, watched the changes in the east with a similarly solemn expression.

"General, Wu Liang... he's rebelled?"

A lieutenant stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

Geng Bingwen didn't speak, but his brows were furrowed.

Rebellion?

Wu Liang, that idiot, does he have the guts?

But how do we explain this scene before us?

He couldn't understand it, but the unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

He recalled two years ago in Luzhou City, when a young man appeared out of nowhere and saved tens of thousands of his soldiers from dire straits.

He recalled the scene of the boy on the city wall, braving a hail of arrows, sharing a dry biscuit with them.

At that time, he felt that this young man was born to be a commander.

Is it...

Geng Bingwen dared not think any further.

South of the city, on the Yangtze River.

On the flagship of the Longjiang Navy, Left Vice Commander Liao Yongzhong stood at the bow, letting the cold river wind blow through his gray hair.

Behind him stood a group of generals, all with puzzled expressions.

"Commander, have the Tiger Guards gone mad? How dare they beat the drums and change formation for the Prince of Ying right in front of His Majesty?"

Liao Yongzhong's gaze pierced through the wind and snow, landing on the figure of the white horse and silver spear.

The image that appeared in his mind was that of his son, Liao Quan.

He recalled how, after his son died in battle, His Highness the King of England, with tears in his eyes, traveled thousands of miles from the northern frontier and kowtowed three times to him.

"Uncle, from this day forward, I am your son! I will fulfill the filial duties that Liao Quan failed to do!"

Those words still echo in his ears.

Liao Yongzhong slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his cloudy old eyes were filled with determination.

Just then, the "Return to Life Drum" of the Tiger Guard Army came to an abrupt halt.

The entire battlefield fell into a suffocating silence once again.

Everyone knew that something even more terrible was about to happen.

Dead silence.

Silence as death.

The wind and snow stopped at that moment, and time stood still.

On the city wall, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart sank to the bottom.

He knew that Wu Liang's change of tactics had already given him his answer.

But he still held onto his last hope.

Perhaps Wu Liang was simply trying to plead for Zhu Muying in this way.

He wouldn't dare, he absolutely wouldn't dare, to truly betray himself!

In the midst of this deathly silence, a loud voice rose from the Tiger Guard's formation!

"Tiger Guards, heed my command!"

It's Wu Liang's voice!

His voice contained no hesitation or struggle, only an unwavering resolve!

"Click—"

A series of synchronized metallic scraping sounds rang out.

Immediately following was a deafening roar!

"boom!"

In the east of the city, the 36,000 Tiger Guard soldiers knelt on one knee at the same time!

The weapons in their hands slammed heavily onto the frozen ground, the clanging of metal creating an invincible torrent of steel that violently assaulted the eardrums of everyone present.

Tens of thousands of heavily armored soldiers knelt down at the same time!

What a breathtaking scene!

The civil officials on the city tower were so frightened by the sudden loud noise that they fell to the ground with their faces ashen.

Even seasoned generals like Xu Da and Lan Yu, who were used to seeing battles, were deeply moved and their blood boiled with excitement.

However, this is not the end.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, in the center of the Tiger Guard formation, the huge banner representing the emperor's elite direct line, embroidered with a tiger descending the mountain, began to slowly, very slowly, tilt and lower towards the long street.

The end of the flagpole almost touched the ground.

This is the highest form of submission in the military!

The commander's flag is the soul of an army.

The bowing of the commander's flag signifies that the entire army has offered its loyalty and its soul to the recipient of the salute!

As Zhu Yuanzhang watched the Tiger Warrior banner slowly lower, he felt his heart sink into an abyss, little by little, along with the banner.

It’s over.

It's all over.

His last illusions were ruthlessly shattered by this drooping flag.

"Wu Liang, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Tiger Guard!"

Wu Liang's booming voice rang out again. This time, he used all his strength to roar and shout, offering his vow to the white-robed youth!

"And I, along with my 36,000 soldiers, pay my respects to His Highness the King!"

"If Your Highness lives, we live; if Your Highness dies, we will die with you!"

"For the rest of my life, I will follow Your Highness's lead without question!"

His voice echoed through the wind and snow, each word like a resounding slap across Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

"We will follow Your Highness's lead without question!"

"We will follow Your Highness's lead without question!!"

"We will follow Your Highness's lead without question!!!"