"Yes, yes,"
The generals nodded in unison. As long as the Great Ming did not pursue, the overall situation was still salvageable. After all, Anda Khan's greatest fear was his son, Xibai. This expedition was not to annihilate the Chahar people, but to settle accounts with that bastard son. As for the Ming troops on the Jizhou and Jinzhou front, judging by their usual conduct, they would likely not emerge... The political situation in the Great Ming was far from ordinary; whoever acted rashly would perish, a fact even outsiders were well aware of.
The attack on Zhuoshan had resulted in the greatest loss in morale. The momentum, which had finally begun to improve, was instantly extinguished. Fortunately, this could still be salvaged. As long as the army remained intact and quickly garrisoned in the Yizhou area, they could essentially stabilize their position.
Tumen Khan, knowing that boosting troop morale was paramount, mustered his spirits and shouted loudly:
"Eagles of the grassland!"
"You must not believe rumors!"
"When autumn arrives next year, with fat horses, we will settle accounts with the Ming!"
A roar!
Behind him, a long line of torches swayed!
"Chahar will win!"
"Chahar will win!"
"..."
Tumen Khan felt disheartened, deeply sensing that he had made a mistake somewhere. His well-laid plans had suddenly encountered such a snag. Had he underestimated the Great Ming? Or perhaps, he should not have attacked the Great Ming to establish his authority in the first place? Seizing Liaodong first might have been the better strategy.
Da Wei, seeing his somber expression, encouraged him, saying, "Your Majesty, although we did not win, the Great Ming has been scared witless... Moreover, we lost not a single man or horse. By all accounts, this is still a great victory..."
Tumen Khan nodded and murmured, "I just worry that next time, the Great Ming will have no inside informants..."
He exhaled a long breath, let out a cry, and galloped ahead, channeling his resentment towards the unfairness of fate as he sped forward.
...
At the same time,
Prince Jing had already departed from Yizhou, heading southeast.
After a brief rest in Yizhou, he calculated that the news would reach the front lines within two days. Tumen Khan, fearing that Anda would raid his homeland and worried about the panic among his people, would surely retreat. He had intended to intercept them along the way but quickly changed his mind—
Since there were no Tumeng troops in the Yizhou area, Tumen Khan had likely mobilized his entire force to intimidate the Great Ming. This, in turn, would put the capital in even greater danger. With his victory at Zhuoshan, he would be hailed as a great savior by the people of the capital. Furthermore, he was now the acting Crown Prince, second only to one person in the Great Ming dynasty. With such prestige, returning now seemed rather meager.
Moreover, the Yan family's collaboration with foreign enemies and manipulation of the court relied primarily on Li Tingzhu of the Beijing garrison and Yang Bo of Jizhou. These two men commanded over three hundred thousand troops combined. No matter who became the emperor in Beijing, it would be difficult to act independently under such circumstances. Was not Prince Yu a prime example?
If he returned now, even as the acting Crown Prince, what could he achieve? Would he not still be controlled by Yan Song?
Therefore,
He decided to undertake a seemingly impossible, yet actually quite feasible, endeavor—
To seize the army again!
At this very moment,
He rode at the forefront, gazing at the mountains in the night, the pale sky, and the faint, undulating Great Wall of Gubeikou. A fervent fire ignited in his heart.
"Turn towards Xifengkou!"
With a crack!
He flicked his whip, turned his horse, and galloped away.
Wu Ding, Guo Hu, and Yang Tianchen exchanged bewildered glances—
They had come all this way, and now they were going to stir up trouble again?
They were already heroes, awaiting promotion and fortune upon their return, and now they were being led into what?
Yet, even Wu Ding, his confidant, dared not ask further, sighing, "Let's go, if you follow him, it has to be like this..."
Alas...
The two felt as if they had suffered a terrible misfortune to encounter such a man.
Mind you,
This journey had been fraught with anxiety and a thousand miles of travel, leaving them utterly exhausted. If they encountered any formidable enemies again, it would be certain defeat.
He glanced at the twenty to thirty generals following him, cleared his throat, strode forward, and knelt beside Prince Jing, saying, "Welcome, Acting Crown Prince!"
"Welcome, Acting Crown Prince..."
The crowd behind them also knelt.
Unexpectedly,
Prince Jing remained on his horse. Instead, he cupped his hands towards the thousands of soldiers on the training grounds and shouted loudly,
"You have all worked hard, soldiers!"
"On behalf of the imperial court, I thank you all!"
A clamor!
A rustling!
As his voice fell,
There was a strange silence.
The soldiers naturally understood: the capital was in danger last night, and later relieved, but their own army had nothing to do with it... The Crown Prince's words, for some reason, made everyone feel ashamed...
After an unknown period,
Li Tingzhu felt his knees ache intensely. Finally, he heard Prince Jing's hoarse, peculiar voice—
"Long live the Great Ming!"
A clamor!
A rustling!
A roar!
The soldiers, already ashamed, seemed to vent their emotions, erupting in thunderous roars of indignation—
"Long live the Great Ming!"
"Long live the Great Ming!"
"..."
After a long while,
The roars gradually subsided.
Prince Jing suddenly shouted,
"You soldiers are all guarding the frontier, yet in the capital... there is a group of traitors! If not for traitors acting as informants, how could the Tumeng have broken through? Don't you agree?"
Upon hearing this,
Li Tingzhu immediately went limp!
He wanted to stand up and silence the soldiers on the spot, but having knelt for so long, his knees ached terribly. Moreover, the speaker was the Acting Crown Prince. How could he dare to utter a word?
However, the battle-hardened man also understood—
Prince Jing was targeting him.
Indeed,
The soldiers remained silent at first, but Wu Ding shouted loudly,
"Punish the informants severely!"
A clamor!
Seeing that he was a man by Prince Jing's side and a参将 (Canjiang, a military title), the soldiers immediately echoed him. Those who were bolder and dissatisfied with the Yan family began to shout in a jumble—
"Kill the informants!"
"Kill all the traitors!"
"..."