Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

Chapter 1470 The jade pendant shattered in two

The soldiers immediately lit the bombs and hurled them at the Yuan army. Several loud booms followed as the bombs exploded among the Yuan troops, flames shooting into the sky and smoke billowing everywhere. The Yuan soldiers were thrown into panic by the sudden explosions, and many fell from their siege ladders.

Seeing this, Toqto'a Timur gritted his teeth in anger: "Continue the attack! Don't be intimidated by their weapons!"

The Yuan army launched another attack, but each time they were repelled by the rebels' gunpowder weapons. After a fierce battle, the Yuan army was unable to break through the rebels' defenses.

Seeing that a direct assault was ineffective, Toqto'a Timur changed his strategy. He ordered a halt to the attack and set up camp outside the city, preparing for a long-term siege of the rebel army.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that the Yuan army had stopped attacking and set up camp, he knew that Toqto'a Timur intended to besiege them for a long time. He said to Zhu Qiwu, "Qiwu, Toqto'a Timur has changed his strategy and wants to besiege us for a long time. We can't just sit and wait to die. We have to find a way to break this siege."

Zhu Qiwu pondered for a moment and said, "Fourth Brother, I think we can use the cover of night to send an elite force out of the city to raid the Yuan army's camp. We can catch them off guard and disrupt their morale."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up: "This plan is brilliant! However, this mission of launching a surprise attack outside the city is arduous, and we need to select a brave and skilled warrior."

At this moment, Zhou Dexing stepped forward and said, "Fourth Brother, I am willing to take on this mission. I will certainly live up to expectations and give the Yuan army a severe blow."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhou Dexing and nodded in satisfaction: "Good! Zhou Dexing, I will entrust this mission of launching a surprise attack outside the city to you. You will lead three hundred elite troops and be sure to act with caution."

Zhou Dexing replied loudly, "Yes! Don't worry, Fourth Brother!"

Night fell, the moonlight hazy. Zhou Dexing led three hundred elite troops, quietly opening the city gates and sneaking towards the Yuan army's camp. As they approached the camp, Zhou Dexing gave the order: "Charge!"

Three hundred elite soldiers charged towards the Yuan army's camp like tigers descending a mountain. Wielding sharp blades, they slashed and hacked, turning the Yuan camp into chaos. Shouts of battle and screams of terror filled the air.

Awakened by the sudden attack, Toqto'a Timur quickly dressed and went out of his tent to investigate. When he saw the elite troops of the rebel army rampaging through the camp, he flew into a rage: "Gather your troops and drive them out!"

However, the Yuan army was in complete disarray and unable to mount an effective counterattack. Zhou Dexing led his elite troops in a rampage through the camp, burning a large amount of Yuan supplies and tents.

After a fierce battle, Zhou Dexing, seeing that his objective had been achieved, ordered: "Withdraw!"

Three hundred elite troops quickly withdrew from the Yuan army's camp and fled towards the city. Toqto'a Timur watched the rebel army retreat, his heart filled with anger and helplessness. He knew that this surprise attack had dealt a severe blow to the morale of the Yuan army.

Zhou Dexing led his elite troops back to the city, where Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Qiwu were already waiting at the city gate. Seeing their safe return, Zhu Yuanzhang said happily, "Zhou Dexing, you did a great job! This surprise attack has severely weakened the Yuan army, and our siege is over."

Zhou Dexing smiled and said, "Fourth Brother, you flatter me. This is all thanks to everyone's concerted efforts."

Zhu Qiwu also said, "Fourth Brother, after this battle, the Yuan army has been severely weakened. We can take this opportunity to go out of the city and counterattack, and drive them back in one fell swoop."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Good! Qiwu, you and I will lead the army out of the city to counterattack. Xu Da, Tang He, and Zhou Dexing, you are responsible for defending the city to prevent the Yuan army from having any conspiracies."

Everyone answered in unison, "Yes!"

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Qiwu led the rebel army out of the city and launched a full-scale counterattack against the Yuan army. The Yuan army, exhausted after a night of fighting, was no match for the rebels' fierce attack. After a fierce battle, the Yuan army was routed, and Toqto'a Timur was forced to flee in panic once again with his remaining troops.

The rebel army won the battle, and the people in the city cheered once again. Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the city wall, looking at the victorious scene, his heart filled with pride and ambition. He said to Zhu Qiwu, "Qiwu, our uprising has taken another step forward. Next, we must continue to expand our power and make the people of the world live a good life."

Zhu Qiwu nodded and said, "Fourth Brother, don't worry, I will always be by your side and work hard with you for this goal. We will definitely overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and restore the Han Dynasty!"

The morning mist in Yingtian Prefecture had not yet dissipated when Zhu Qiwu stood under the eaves of Fengtian Hall, his fingertips tracing the stun gun hidden in the jade belt buckle at his waist. This was the third time this month that someone had sent portraits of beauties to the Eastern Palace; the gold leaves wrapped in those scrolls gleamed with a blinding red light under the system's scan.

"Seventh Master!" Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, jogged across the white marble steps, his black flying fish robe gleaming coldly in the morning light. "As you instructed, we intercepted Hu Weiyong's secret letter destined for Beiping on a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River."

Zhu Qiwu took the letter tube sealed with sealing wax, and suddenly felt a burning pain in his fingertips—the system alarm exploded in red light on his retina. He jerked his hand back, and the letter tube fell to the ground with a clatter, rolling out a piece of mulberry bark paper soaked in medicine. The flames, which would ignite in the wind, revealed dense tadpole-like characters.

"Quickly, fetch well water!" Zhu Qiwu ripped off his jade belt buckle and smashed it against the flames. As the lightning flashed, he heard the sound of heavy armor scraping against each other behind him. Zhu Yuanzhang's black dragon robe swept across the ashes, and the jade ring on his dragon-patterned gold-threaded belt jingled.

"Fourth Brother!" Zhu Qiwu was about to bow when Zhu Yuanzhang's iron grip tightened around his wrist. "Hu Weiyong's tentacles have even reached Beiping?" The scar at the corner of the emperor's eye looked even more menacing in the morning light. "Last month he petitioned to establish the Xuanke Division, and now he's learned to send messages in coded language."

Xu Da strode up from the steps, frost falling from his armor: "Your Majesty, the Beiping Military Command reports that more than ten shipments of southern goods recently entered the city through Juyong Pass, but upon inspection, only some old tea leaves were found."

"Tea leaves?" Tang He's bushy beard twitched. "Could it be that gold leaves were sewn into the tea cake?"

Zhou Dexing suddenly pointed outside the hall: "What's that?" Everyone turned their heads and saw three white doves flying over the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City, the copper tubes tied to their legs gleaming eerily blue in the sunlight. Zhu Qiwu's system interface suddenly popped up a holographic map, with three red dots moving rapidly above Yingtian Prefecture.

"Jiang Huan!" Zhu Qiwu brandished his soft sword, its blade entangled with the nearest white dove. "Take men and seal off all the city gates! Anyone carrying copper pipes, regardless of rank, will be executed first and reported later!" Zhu Yuanzhang's sword, "Zhenyue," was suddenly drawn, its blade pressed against Zhu Qiwu's throat: "How do you know there's something wrong with the copper pipes?" The emperor's voice was like ice. "Last month, you sent twenty smoking iron boxes to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, claiming they were printers?"

"Fourth Brother!" Zhu Qiwu's sword tip parted the wing of the last white dove, revealing a gold-threaded cipher wheel hidden beneath its skin. "Hu Weiyong uses the Caesar cipher, changing the key every seven days. If these doves fly out of Yingtian Prefecture, the city defense map of Beiping should be on Wang Baobao's desk tomorrow."

Xu Da's sword "Hanjiang" suddenly drew half an inch from its sheath, the gleam reflecting the doubt between his brows: "How could Seventh Master be so familiar with the methods of Yuan Dynasty spies?" The air in the hall suddenly froze, Tang He's hand went to the musket at his waist, and Zhou Dexing's axe quietly slid out of its sheath.

Zhu Yuanzhang's sword suddenly pressed down, drawing blood across Zhu Qiwu's neck: "Speak!"

"Because..." Zhu Qiwu's system interface suddenly popped up a countdown—[Emergency Sign-in Mission: Resolve the Suspicion Between the Ruler and His Minister, Reward: The Complete Book of Counter-Espionage] He bit his tongue, letting the pain stimulate his most instinctive reaction, "Because, Fourth Brother, have you forgotten? When I was twelve, we were chased to a ruined temple by Yuan soldiers, and you taught me to use pigeon blood to write false information to deceive the pursuers!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils suddenly contracted. That winter was particularly cold. His seventh brother huddled behind the statue of a deity, clutching a dead pigeon in his hand, its blood frozen into dark red ice on the straw. He remembered saying, "To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive yourself."

"Jiang Huan!" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly sheathed his sword. "Take the pigeon to the Northern Garrison Command and let those newly arrived Western missionaries see if they taught Hu Weiyong this code wheel!" As he turned, his cloak swept across Zhu Qiwu's shoulder. "You come with me."

The incense in the imperial study was so strong it made one dizzy. Zhu Yuanzhang took out a roll of yellowed silk from the dragon-patterned secret box: "This is a secret report from Lan Yu in Beiping, saying that Wang Baobao has been frequently mobilizing cavalry recently, but no grain supplies have been transported." He suddenly threw the silk at Zhu Qiwu, "Take a look at this, what does it say in code written in rice water?"

The moment Zhu Qiwu's fingertips touched the silk, a system interface suddenly popped up with the message: "[Text Deciphering Program Activated]". He squinted, watching as vermilion characters gradually appeared on the previously blank silk: "August 15th, Night Raid on Juyong Pass."

"That Wang Baobao!" Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the rosewood table. "He certainly knows how to pick his days! Lan Yu's memorial says that the garrison at Juyong Pass has less than three thousand soldiers."

"No!" Zhu Qiwu suddenly pulled open the map on his desk. "Twenty li north of Juyong Pass is Chadao City. If Wang Baobao sends a detachment to feign an attack while the main force detours through Black Pine Forest..." He traced an arc on the map with his finger. "Fourth Brother, look, this is exactly where Tang He's garrison is blind spot!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's dragon-patterned jade thumb ring gleamed bluish-green in the candlelight: "Order Tang He to immediately lead his troops fifty li west! Xu Da, you take the Shenji Battalion to Huailai to set up an ambush!" He suddenly turned to stare at Zhu Qiwu, "And you? Are you planning to use those fire-breathing iron pipes again?"

“This time we won’t use iron pipes.” Zhu Qiwu pulled a copper cylinder from his sleeve. “This is a modified Western telescope; it can see movements twenty miles away.” He twisted the cylinder, and the lens refracted strange spots of light. “Fourth Brother, would you like to see where Wang Baobao’s vanguard is now?”

Zhu Yuanzhang's hand trembled slightly as he took the telescope. Through the brass lens, he saw the Yuan army's wolf-head banners faintly visible in the morning mist on the mountain path five miles away. The cavalrymen at the front carried strange iron cans on their backs, and bamboo tubes that emitted smoke hung beside their saddles.

"This is..." Zhu Yuanzhang's voice tightened.

"Handguns and thunderclaps." Zhu Qiwu's system interface displayed a [Yuan Army Equipment Analysis Chart]. "Wang Baobao bought three hundred handguns from Western Region merchants and also improved the fuses of the thunderclaps—now they can explode on a timer."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly slammed his binoculars on the table: "Xu Da! Change course! Advance through Baiyang Pass!" He turned and grabbed Zhu Qiwu by the collar, "Since you knew all this beforehand, why didn't you say so sooner?"

"Because..." Zhu Qiwu's system interface suddenly popped up a red warning—[Historical Deviation +5%] He gritted his teeth, "Because I want Fourth Brother to see with his own eyes just how powerful the Yuan army's new weapons are."

Zhu Yuanzhang's dragon-patterned sword was drawn with a "whoosh," its blade stopping at the tip of Zhu Qiwu's nose: "Are you testing me?"

"This isn't a test!" Zhu Qiwu suddenly raised his voice, "It's proof! Proving that even without my system, Fourth Brother can still win!" He grabbed the paperweight from the table and smashed it against the window. A deafening explosion echoed through the shattered glass window.

When Xu Da rushed into the imperial study, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's blade pressed against Zhu Qiwu's throat. The emperor's temples were bulging with veins, but his hand holding the knife was trembling. Outside the window, thick smoke and flames shot into the sky, and shouts of battle grew louder as they approached.

"Your Majesty!" Xu Da's armor was stained with blood. "The Yuan army launched a surprise attack on Xihua Gate! They used...fire-breathing iron pipes!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's blade suddenly pressed down, drawing blood from Zhu Qiwu's shoulder: "Is this the 'proof' you speak of?" He turned and grabbed his black cloak. "Issue the order! Summon all personal guards and accompany me to Xihua Gate!"

"Fourth Brother, wait!" Zhu Qiwu tugged at Zhu Yuanzhang's belt. "Let me go first!" He pulled an iron box from his sleeve and activated a mechanism. The box suddenly unfolded into a shield. "This is made from parts of a Western clock; it can stop musket bullets!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the spinning gears on the shield, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "You always have these strange and unusual things." He suddenly tore off his jade pendant and smashed it against the shield. With a crisp "clang," the jade pendant shattered in two, but there wasn't even a scratch on the shield.

"Good!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. "I want to see if Wang Baobao's muskets can penetrate this shield!" He strode out of the palace gate, the hem of his black robe fluttering in the wind like raven feathers. "Xu Da! Take your personal guards and follow! Tang He! Set up the Shenji Battalion's cannons on the roof of Fengtian Hall!"

The flames at Xihua Gate illuminated half the sky. Zhu Qiwu hid behind his shield, watching the Yuan cavalry charge with their muskets. These firearms, improved by Western merchants, were more advanced than the system had recorded. Lead bullets struck the bluestone slabs, scattering blinding sparks, and the Ming soldiers defending the city fell one after another.

"Seventh Master! Left Wing!" Jiang Huan's flying fish robe was stained purplish-black with blood as he swung his sword, felling a Yuan soldier. "They have heavy cavalry!"

Zhu Qiwu's system interface displayed a [Tactical Simulation Map], with a red arrow marking the Yuan army's breach point. He suddenly pulled off the stun gun from his waist and threw it at Jiang Huan: "Use this! It can stun heavily armored soldiers!" Turning to the eunuch hiding behind the door, he shouted: "Bring all the chili powder from the storeroom! Sprinkle it on the city walls!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's "Zhenyue" sword flashed in the firelight, each strike leaving a trail of blood. He saw his seventh brother's shield block three muskets firing simultaneously, then he turned and used a stun gun to fell two heavily armored cavalrymen. Approval flashed in the emperor's eyes, but suddenly he heard a whooshing sound overhead. (End of Chapter)