Chapter 44: The Military Might of Daning Prefecture Awakens!

"Though the Huaixi faction is skilled in battle, they are poor at concealing their ambitions."

"They show their edge far too much." Lü Ben sneered.

"Father means that the Emperor intends to cultivate generals outside the Huaixi faction to dilute their influence in the military." Lü Hao suddenly understood.

Lü Ben nodded. "Precisely so."

"The Emperor holds the imperial power and rules the Great Ming realm. Naturally, he cannot tolerate any single faction holding absolute sway. The Huaixi generals dominate the army, and their partisans are everywhere."

"The Emperor has long been displeased with this."

"It has long been the Emperor's wish to foster new-generation generals, but over the years, no truly outstanding ones emerged. After all, although the Central Plains of the Great Ming have been pacified, the northern frontier, the southern borders, and Liaodong are still surrounded by formidable enemies, and the Huaixi generals are still needed."

"This Zhu Ying is young and possesses great courage, which is naturally why he has won the favor of both the Emperor and the Crown Prince."

"Perhaps in the future, he will have the opportunity to become a great general in the military," Lü Ben said with deep emotion.

Standing in different positions, one naturally sees things differently.

"That Huaixi crowd, especially Lan Yu, shows absolute disrespect to my sister."

"They also look down upon Yunwen, constantly calling him a concubine-born son behind his back."

"The Emperor's dissatisfaction with Huaixi is a very good thing for us," Lü Hao said with a smile.

"Let us wait and see how things unfold."

"The current political situation is no longer what it used to be; everything requires caution and prudence. What kind of power did Hu Weiyong once wield? How many partisans did he have? Yet what did it all come to in the end?"

"Your sister now holds a winning hand, and Yunwen is the Crown Prince's eldest son. That throne in the future will undoubtedly belong to Yunwen."

"As long as we follow the imperial will, our Lü family is bound to prosper in the future," Lü Ben said slowly.

"Father is wise." Lü Hao smiled and offered a flattering remark.

***

Huizhou City!

Before the city gates, there were still many corpses that had not yet been cleared away.

On the city walls, besides scattered arrows, there were numerous marks left by artillery strikes.

This showed just how fierce the previous Yuan army's assault had been.

Firearms and artillery.

In this era, they were gradually rising in prominence.

They had already been applied to the battlefield, especially in siege warfare.

Aware of the immense power of firearms, Zhu Yuanzhou placed great emphasis on artillery, ordering the Ministry of Works to research them with full effort.

It could be said that this measure was entirely correct.

"Grand General."

"The fifty thousand strong Yuan army launched successive fierce attacks. Our soldiers bravely defended the city, and the Yuan army failed to capture it. Once the main forces of our Great Ming arrived, the Yuan army received the news and promptly retreated," Bu Wan reported respectfully to Feng Sheng.

"The garrison soldiers of the Daning frontier who defended Huizhou City have all rendered meritorious service."

"Pass down my order: record all their merits, and reward them handsomely," Feng Sheng commanded.

With these words—

Recording merits would naturally translate into monetary pay.

"This subordinate obeys the order," Bu Wan immediately replied.

"Grand General."

"Now that the main army has fully assembled, is it time to dispatch our troops?"

A middle-aged general clad in armor looked at Feng Sheng and asked, a fierce battle intent burning in his eyes.

He was none other than Lan Yu, the proudest and fiercest Marquis of Yongchang among the Huaixi generals.

"We should have sent the troops out long ago."

"Now that the Yuan army knows our main force has arrived, they are as terrified as if facing tigers. We should strike while the iron is hot and charge straight out," Duke of Zheng Chang Mao chimed in directly, appearing quite reckless to outsiders.

Feng Sheng glanced at the two of them, then asked, "Has the army been reorganized?"

"Reporting to the Grand General, they have been reorganized."

"The two hundred thousand strong army is divided into two parts; the humble general and the Marquis of Yongchang each command one," Duke of Ying Fu Youde immediately replied, cupping his fists.

"Pass down my order."

"The Yuan army's retreat back to Liaodong was extremely hasty."

"Send ten thousand cavalry as the vanguard to pursue them, scouting along the way. Do not become entangled in prolonged combat upon encountering the enemy; the priority is reconnaissance."

"Furthermore, let the Marquis of Yongchang lead his troops to advance toward Liaodong," Feng Sheng ordered after a moment of thought.

"This subordinate obeys the command," Lan Yu's eyes lit up as he immediately accepted.

"As for General Fu, I order you to lead your ten hundred thousand troops to advance along the flank."

"Nahaču occupies the land of Liaodong, commanding nearly two hundred thousand men under arms, and possesses at least a hundred cannons. We must not underestimate the enemy," Feng Sheng added.

"This subordinate obeys the command," Fu Youde also readily accepted the order.

"Go."

Feng Sheng waved his hand.

Lan Yu and Fu Youde successively withdrew from the city walls.

"Nahaču occupies Liaodong and has constructed multiple fortified cities to protect Liaodong City."

"Though our Great Ming has made ample preparations for this campaign, it will inevitably be a fierce battle," Feng Sheng said slowly.

"With the fierce bravery of our Great Ming soldiers, we are fully capable of wiping out this Nahaču."

"Besides, didn't the Grand General bring three hundred cannons along with the army this time? With so many cannons, this subordinate refuses to believe the Yuan army can withstand them," Bu Wan said with a smile.

Feng Sheng nodded. "First scout out the true strength of the Yuan army, and then deliberate on the strategy for troop movement."

"In this old man's view,"

"Since the Yuan army failed in their assault on Daning, they must have retreated into Kaiyuan City."

"The Grand General is wise," Bu Wan nodded.

"However, Prefect Bu,"

"The reason Daning was able to hold out this time until the arrival of our imperial court's main force is thanks in no small part to Zhu Ying."

"Had he not used a mere few thousand cavalry to bog down the Jianzhou Tatars and prevent them from joining forces with the Yuan army, it would have been impossible for the Daning garrison to hold out for nearly a month," Feng Sheng said slowly, his tone filled with praise for Zhu Ying.

"This subordinate naturally understands the Grand General's intention."

"It's just that Zhu Ying is still in the northern region. When he was left behind in the northern frontier to hold down the Tatars, we agreed that his mission would be complete once he stalled them until the arrival of our court's main force; moreover, if he could no longer hold out, he was free to withdraw at any time."

"We have no idea what his situation is like right now," Bu Wan said with a helpless expression.

"For now, we can only wait and see what plans Zhu Ying has."

"After all, the northern frontier is vast, and sending people to search for him would be no different than finding a needle in a haystack," Feng Sheng also wore a look of helplessness.

As for Zhu Ying.

He valued him immensely.

As a military general and a founding contributor of the Great Ming, seeing such a young and brilliant talent like Zhu Ying, he naturally wished to nurture him.

Just then!

"Report!"

"Reporting to the Grand General!"

"An urgent dispatch has arrived from Yingtian!"

An imperial guard came before Feng Sheng.

"Bring it here."

Feng Sheng raised a hand.

The guard commander immediately stepped forward and handed the urgent missive to Feng Sheng.

Feng Sheng took it, unfolded it, and a look of astonishment immediately crossed his face.

"Zhu Ying has truly won the favor of the Emperor and the Crown Prince this time."

"The Emperor has issued an imperial decree conferring upon Zhu Ying the hereditary title of Baron of the County."

Feng Sheng smiled and spoke to the surrounding generals.

At these words.

Bu Wan's expression shook, utterly stunned by the news.

"Hereditary Baron of the County?"

"That is a peerage!"

"The Emperor's grace is truly this profound," Bu Wan thought, deeply shocked in his heart.

"Grand General."

"The urgent dispatch states that the imperial envoy is already on the way," the guard commander immediately reported.

"Good."

Feng Sheng nodded with a faint smile, "To be conferred a peerage at the tender age of sixteen—this is the first instance in the Great Ming."