In the fifth year of Chunhua, Li Jilong, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Hexi Expeditionary Force, advanced westwards, defeated Li Jiqian, and captured Zhao Baozhong and Li Jipeng.
The following year, Li Jilong was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the ten prefectures of Ling and Huan. His subsequent western campaign proved fruitless.
Upon the ascension of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Li Jilong was stripped of his military authority. He was granted the prestigious title of a "Shi Xiang" (official with high rank and ceremonial duties) and assigned to govern Zhen'an Army.
Later, during the Battle of Chanyuan, Li Jilong was appointed as the Commander of the Eastern and Western Formations at the vanguard. He led troops alongside the great general Shi Baoji to resist the Liao army.
In the second year of Jingde, Li Jilong passed away. He was posthumously granted the title of Zhongshu Ling and the posthumous honorific "Zhongwu." In the first year of Qianxing, Li Jilong was enshrined in the ancestral temple of Emperor Zhenzong.
During the reign of Emperor Lizong of Song, he was recognized as one of the twenty-four meritorious officials in the Zhaoxun Pavilion, a testament to his immense contributions and indelible military achievements for the Northern Song dynasty.
"Continue with the next summoning!"
"Ding! The system begins summoning!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully summoning a peerless general from the river of history, the founding general of the Ming Dynasty—Fu Youde!"
Fu Youde!
Zhu Yuanzhang once said, "In terms of military merit, Fu Youde is number one," affirming Fu Youde's achievements and recognizing his talent as a general.
Jiao Hong also remarked, "The Ming Dynasty was blessed with a multitude of formidable generals, far surpassing those of the Cloud Terrace and Lingyan Pavilion. Among them, the most renowned for bravery was Chang Kaiping, followed closely by Fu Yingguo."
Fu Youde began his career by joining the Red Turban Rebellion (under Liu Futong). He later led his troops to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang, earning numerous accolades and rising from a minor officer to a great general. He repeatedly defeated Yuan forces, pacified Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.
He made significant contributions to the Ming empire. However, it was a tragedy that after the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, he was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang in the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu.
"View the information of the founding general of the Ming Dynasty—Fu Youde!"
Yang Hao gazed at the figure bathed in silver armor along the river of history, a Dou Niu gilded sword in his hand, and said softly.
"Name: Fu Youde"
"Dynasty: Late Yuan and Early Ming"
"Cultivation: Sage, Ninth Layer"
"Martial Art: Dou Niu Immortal Sword Scripture"
"Accompanying Troops: One hundred thousand elite Ming soldiers!"
Biography: Fu Youde's family were farmers for generations, and their circumstances were not prosperous.
In the tenth year of Zhizheng of the Yuan Dynasty, when the peasant uprising leader Liu Futong went to Dangshan to welcome Han Lin'er, Fu Youde directly defected to the Red Turban Army, becoming a soldier within the rebel forces.
By the fourth month of the eighteenth year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty, after navigating through various factions, Fu Youde finally arrived in Wuchang and surrendered to Chen Youliang.
In the intercalary fifth month of the twentieth year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang murdered Xu Shouhui and declared himself Emperor of Han. Ming Yuzhen severed ties with him, and Fu Youde was extremely displeased with Chen Youliang at this time.
In the eighth month of the twenty-first year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang led his army to recapture Anqing and began to attack Jiangzhou, pushing his troops towards Xiaogushan. At this juncture, Fu Youde and Ding Pulang directly led their men to surrender.
On March 20th, the twenty-fourth year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty, the Han army occupied many advantageous terrain. The generals of Zhu Yuanzhang's contingent looked at each other, unwilling to attack.
Seeing this, Fu Youde directly led several hundred men to be the first to charge. During the battle, he was struck in the cheek by an arrow, but he did not retreat. Instead, he pulled out the arrow and continued fighting. Soon, he was wounded by another arrow in the rib cage, but Fu Youde remained undeterred, ultimately capturing Gaoguan Mountain.
At the founding of the Ming Dynasty, from the first to the third year of Hongwu, Fu Youde followed Xu Da's army north. Fu Youde served as the vanguard, crossing the Yellow River, conquering Weihui, Anyang, Cizhou, and Guang'an. He gathered forces at Linqing, divided his troops and advanced north, capturing Dezhou and Cangzhou, directly threatening the Yuan capital Dadu, forcing the Yuan Dynasty to surrender to the Ming.
Fu Youde continued to lead troops, advancing into Shaanxi, capturing Lintao, and pacifying Shaanxi. He once again led troops out of Tongguan, advancing west into Gansu, capturing Qingyang, striking Dingxi, and decisively defeating Kuokuo Timur.
Zhu Yuanzhang generously enfeoffed civil and military officials. Fu Youde, with his exceptional military strategy and his great achievements in conquering the empire, was ranked twenty-eighth in merit. He was granted the title of Founding Minister for Governing and Assisting, bestowed with an iron certificate exempt from death, and his descendants would inherit this privilege.
Later, he participated in the western campaign to pacify Bashu, the northern campaign against the desert, and the southern campaign to pacify Yunnan and Guizhou. Fu Youde achieved remarkable success and was ennobled as the Duke of Ying, receiving a stipend of three thousand piculs. He was once again granted an iron certificate for exemption from death and hereditary succession.
However, after Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of illness, Fu Youde was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Looking at Fu Youde's information, Yang Hao couldn't help but sigh, lamenting that Fu Youde's execution was indeed regrettable.
"System, clear all data!"
"Ding! Reminder to the host, the host currently has two thousand and twenty million in killing points, three million in luck and merit points, and zero in reincarnation power!"
Observing the various pieces of information, Yang Hao pondered for a long time before finally saying, "Let's perform a title capture!"
...
"I'll see how long you can keep running!"
Meng Tian gazed at the fleeing Huafu Saint Son, his bronze sword resonating with the heavens once more. The Qiongqi armor on his body gleamed again, and a pair of Qiongqi divine beasts with flapping wings vaguely appeared, unleashing immense power!
The cold sweat on Huafu Saint Son's forehead vanished. He looked at Meng Tian holding his sword and sneered. The dim tortoise shell behind him continuously flowed with blood-red threads.
Empowered by the blood energy, the tortoise shell gradually repaired its damage, and his figure flickered around in the void, saying, "Is that so?"
"You'll have to break through my tortoise shell first!"
Meng Tian, watching the rapidly moving figure, remained silent and said coldly.
He directly advanced with his sword, relentlessly pursuing Huafu Saint Son's trace. Huafu Saint Son's defense was astonishing, but his speed was not slow either. His movements were unpredictable, constantly evading Meng Tian's sword energy.
"Human, you are still too inexperienced. In ancient times, among the beings of the same generation, no one could break through my defense."
Huafu Saint Son turned his head and said calmly to Meng Tian, who was desperately pursuing him.
"Watch this!"
Suddenly, the Qiongqi divine beast in the sky merged with Meng Tian. The carvings on his armor seemed to come alive. Meng Tian's figure flickered, and with a single sword strike, he appeared directly in front of Huafu Saint Son.
"What?"
"How did you do that!"
Huafu Saint Son's face turned ashen with shock. How could a human perfectly fuse with the divine power of the Qiongqi tribe? Qiongqi were already terrifying, and their speed was astonishing. Now, infused into Meng Tian, Meng Tian wielded the Qiongqi's divine power with unparalleled mastery.
With one sword strike, he traversed countless distances. It was no different from slashing Huafu Saint Son's face.
"Ah!!"
He had no time to dodge. Due to his underestimation, his face was directly facing Meng Tian's sword energy. The sword energy was pressing, and Huafu Saint Son cried out in pain. Although his tortoise shell behind him momentarily blocked Meng Tian's sword strike, the blood energy quickly dissipated, and the divine light of the shell instantly dimmed. Countless cracks slowly appeared.
"Pfft!"
"Crack!!"
A gap opened in the tortoise shell. Due to the violent impact, the sword energy was slightly deflected, landing on Huafu Saint Son's chin and severing his entire lower jaw. However, this also proved fortunate, as he avoided a fatal blow.
"Ah! My face!!"
Blood splattered everywhere, and Huafu Saint Son clutched his face, screaming. His supposedly invincible defense had been breached.