When the Yan army learned that the imperial court had sent an army of 500,000 people to attack, people's hearts suddenly fluctuated.
They only have a little over 100,000 to fight, and they have to defend a large base area.
As a result, fewer troops can be mobilized.
Zhu Di noticed this situation and hurriedly gave a speech to stabilize the morale of the army.
This can’t be done without giving a speech!
He risked the lives of his whole family to rebel. Once he failed, there would be no place for him in the world.
As for those big-headed soldiers, as long as they put down their weapons, take off their armor, and find a place to hide, they'll be fine.
The situations faced by the two are different.
Once all his men are gone, he will become a mere commander, so how can he rebel?
The content of the speech mainly included five points: Li Jinglong was a military idiot and the inevitability of the failure of the half-million-strong army under his leadership.
The effect of the speech was very good, and the soldiers were full of confidence in victory.
Zhu Di finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It's a pity that Li Jinglong, his nephew's name as a military idiot, will probably be left in history.
And it can't be washed off.
Zhu Di can't care so much anymore. At worst, he can compensate the other party after success.
Now, the morale of the military is stable, but how should an army of 500,000 people deal with it?
This is a problem.
It's definitely not possible to fight head-on. He only has this little capital, and once he fights it all, he will be finished.
Even if the imperial court loses its 500,000-strong army, it can still recruit another 500,000.
Zhu Di thought about it again and again, and finally thought of a way.
He decided to borrow troops!
Who to look for?
The king of Ning in Daning was Zhu Quan.
He has the strongest military strength among all the vassal kings, with 80,000 armored soldiers, 6,000 chariots, and a cavalry force.
In the 24th year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Quan became a vassal in Daning, and Lao Zhu gave him the command of the most powerful cavalry in the Ming Dynasty.
And this cavalry is not composed of Han people, it is entirely composed of Mongolians.
When Lao Zhu targeted Bei Yuan, he did not always take military measures.
He also took another approach - money.
He used money to bribe many Mongolians, and on this basis he formed the Duoyan Sanwei.
Although Duoyan Sanwei works for the Ming Dynasty, his nature is that of a mercenary.
The imperial court spends a lot of money every year.
But the money was not wasted.
The three guards of Duoyan are very powerful in combat, and under the leadership of Zhu Quan, they have a fierce reputation.
Even Zhu Di was covetous of this army.
You can only dream of it.
Therefore, Zhu Di's purpose of borrowing troops this time was to get the three guards of Duoyan from the hands of Ning Wang Zhu Quan.
Of course, he knew that if he led his troops to leave Peiping, the imperial troops would definitely attack.
Li Jinglong can't do anything without fighting, he has to deal with the court.
But now Zhu Di has no other way.
Anyway, the odds are against you staying here, so let’s take a gamble!
He called his eldest son Zhu Gaochi and stared at his fat body for a long time.
Finally, he solemnly said: "Gao Chi, I am going to borrow troops this time, and the city of Beiping will be handed over to you."
"You must hold on until I come back."
Zhu Gaochi felt a chill in his heart. This was the first time his father had spoken to him in such a serious tone.
He had a premonition that a severe test was coming.
"Dad, how many troops and horses can you give me?" Zhu Gaochi asked.
"Ten thousand." Zhu Di said.
Zhu Gaochi thought they were 10,000 elites. Just when he was about to make a promise, he heard his father say again:
"The old, the weak, the sick and the disabled!"
Zhu Gaochi was stunned.
How could he defend ten thousand old, weak, sick and disabled men against an army of five hundred thousand?
But he knew that his father would not do this if the situation was not serious enough.
In order to reassure his father, he said seriously: "Dad, don't worry, my son will definitely defend the city."
"Okay." Zhu Di nodded, saying nothing.
After explaining to his eldest son, he called his second son Zhu Gaoxu.
Looking at the son who was most like him, Zhu Di felt complicated.
He patted Zhu Gaoxu on the shoulder and said sincerely: "Your eldest brother is not in good health. You should be more considerate!"
Zhu Gaoxu was stunned. What did this mean?
Is that what he thought?
Seeing that his father was still looking at him, he quickly promised: "Don't worry, Dad, my son will not let you down."
Zhu Di nodded and said nothing more.
In this way, after explaining everything, he left Peiping with the main force of the Yan army and headed towards Daning.
…
Shortly after Zhu Di left Peiping, Li Jinglong led an army of 500,000 people to the city of Peiping.
He placed the Chinese army camp at Zhengcunba, twenty miles away from Beiping City.
At this moment, in the commander's tent, his generals asked for orders to attack the city.
Old Li Jinglong sat calmly on the handsome chair and glanced at the generals under his command.
Then he said: "What are you arguing about? What are you arguing about?"
Suddenly, the handsome tent became quiet.
Seeing this, Li Jinglong spoke again: "The army has traveled a long distance and is exhausted."
"The enemy is waiting for work."
"Therefore, this is not the best time to attack the city."
"Send this commander's order to surround Peiping."
"The entire army will set up camp and rest for three days before attacking the city."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the generals suddenly changed.
Isn't this the time to prepare for the enemy!
"General, the enemy is not sufficiently prepared to attack the city at this moment. If we give the enemy time to prepare, I am afraid that the difficulty of attacking the city will increase." A general said.
I don’t know, why don’t you tell me... Li Jinglong was dissatisfied and glanced at the other party.
Then he said: "Are you questioning me?"
"The general will not dare!"
"Hmph!" Li Jinglong snorted softly, then glanced at everyone.
"Since Your Majesty has appointed me to be the general, then this is a military order."
"How to fight, I have the final say."
"You just have to execute it."
While talking, Li Jinglong was still observing his men.
See who is against you.
If so, put him in the rear and prevent him from going to the battlefield.
"Yes, General!"
Seeing this, Li Jinglong nodded with satisfaction.
"Go and carry out the military orders!"
"yes."
After everyone left, Li Jinglong breathed a sigh of relief.
God knows how nervous he was just now.
In order to buy time for his cousin, he tried every means.
"Cousin, cousin, you have to come back soon!" He prayed in his heart.
Then he remembered that when he was in the capital, a person suddenly appeared in his room in the middle of the night, which almost scared him to death.
"Uncle, uncle, I'm seriously stalling for time!"
He thought to himself, then sighed.
Walking out of the handsome tent, climbed up the hill not far away and looked at the city of Beiping in the distance.
He really wanted to say: "It's so difficult for me!"
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The generals under his command once again asked for orders to attack the city.
Li Jinglong knew that he had to take action.
"Pass this command to the entire army to prepare for war."
"Stick up your spirits and attack the city tomorrow!"
…
