My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 138 A desperate struggle

Of the three cities that form a strategic defensive position, Dezhou has a strong city wall, Dingzhou has just been completed and its fortifications are relatively complete, but Cangzhou has only earthen walls that are already dilapidated and in ruins. Although the garrison commander Xu Kai is working day and night to repair them, the weather is freezing cold and the ground is muddy with rain and snow, making construction difficult.

If you wait until the city is built to be impregnable before launching an attack, the difficulty will increase dramatically.

Opportunities in war are fleeting; they must not be missed, for they will never come again.

Zhu Di declared that he was sending troops to Liaodong in order to make Xu Kai lower his guard and become complacent.

Then he led his troops along secluded paths, marching at double speed day and night, taking advantage of their laxity to launch a surprise attack.

Zhu Di's battle plan was quite perfect, and his execution was even more outstanding.

They traveled 300 li in a day and a night.

Xu Kai was kept in the dark and encouraged, thinking that the Yan army had really gone to attack Liaodong. He hurriedly urged his soldiers to go out and cut down trees and build the city as soon as possible.

Just as they were working hard and in full swing, the fierce Yan soldiers suddenly descended from the sky and appeared under the city of Cangzhou.

At this time, the defending soldiers were busy transporting building materials such as earth and timber. They were caught off guard and were defeated in one fell swoop.

The Yan army was greatly encouraged by their resounding victory.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhu Di led his army south, preparing to fight Sheng Yong again.

After the Battle of Jinan, Emperor Jianwen was pleased and promoted Tie Xuan and Sheng Yong. Tie Xuan became the Minister of War, and Sheng Yong was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Licheng, replacing Li Jinglong as the commander of the northern expeditionary force.

The Yan army arrived at the walls of Dongchang City, and a great battle was about to break out.

Sheng Yong's troops were in high spirits and their fighting force was sharp. He ordered them to form a battle formation with their backs to the city.

To counter the elite Yan cavalry, a large number of firearms and poisoned crossbows were placed in front of the battle lines.

Zhu Di's comparative advantage lay in his cavalry. He controlled the Ming Dynasty's most powerful cavalry, so he naturally wanted to make full use of his strengths.

As usual, he led his elite cavalry in a probing attack on the enemy's left flank, but the enemy was prepared and he could not break through. He had no choice but to circle around to the front of the formation and charge fiercely.

An unexpected scene unfolded: the enemy formation suddenly dispersed in an orderly fashion to both sides, clearing a passage in the middle. After Zhu Di broke in, they quickly formed ranks to surround him.

Zhu Di and his elite cavalry were instantly swallowed up by the enemy ranks.

Like a man-eating monster, it opens its blood-red maw and swallows its prey whole, then slowly chews, digests, and absorbs it.

This is a trap!

A trap specifically set for Zhu Di!

Sheng Yong wanted to ensure that Zhu Di would never return, completely trapping him inside.

Just like when Xiang Yu was trapped at Gaixia and surrounded by Liu Bang's hundreds of thousands of troops.

Could Zhu Di escape alive?

Zhu Neng was the first to discover that the Prince of Yan was trapped in enemy territory.

Seeing that the situation was not good, he hurriedly led the Mongol cavalry to the rescue.

Sheng Yong unleashed a barrage of firearms at the front lines, keeping Zhu Neng at bay.

Zhu Neng charged into the enemy formation like a fierce tiger or wolf, fighting relentlessly and tying down Sheng Yong's main force, leaving a weak point in the southwest corner of the formation.

Zhu Di seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, finally breaking through the enemy lines and escaping danger.

When Zhang Yu discovered that Zhu Di was surrounded, he rushed to his rescue without hesitation. However, he did not see Zhu Di escape danger and assumed that Zhu Di was still trapped in the formation. After being trapped, he could not find Zhu Di's whereabouts and could only jump around, fight desperately, and search for him.

Zhang Yu was surrounded, but could not find Zhu Di. He refused to break out and charged through the enemy lines until he was severely wounded and died from exhaustion.

Zhu Di's trusted and beloved general Zhang Yu died in battle.

This was the highest-ranking general Zhu Di had lost since the uprising against the Qing Dynasty.

The morale of the Yan army was inevitably damaged, and they could not withstand the fierce counterattack of Sheng Yong's elite troops, resulting in a rout.

Zhu Di's cavalry suffered heavy losses, either wounded by firearms or killed in battle.

Having suffered a major defeat, they had no choice but to retreat.

To cover the main force, Zhu Di personally led over a hundred elite troops to the rear, but they were constantly surrounded and intercepted by Sheng Yong's forces along the way.

After retreating to Guantao, Zhu Di discovered that Zhengding had been occupied by Wu Jie and Ping An, and his return route was cut off, so he had no choice but to go to Shenzhou instead.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year in the third year of the Jianwen reign, Zhu Di led his troops to retreat to Wei County, only to find his path blocked once again. He was met with heavily armored soldiers who were on high alert, blocking his way back.

Zhu Di, in a disheveled state, pleaded with the other party to let him pass, but was met with a stern refusal.

Then we have no choice but to fight, risking our lives to carve out a way to survive.

Like a cornered beast, Zhu Di fought desperately, and the battle resumed. He finally managed to carve out a bloody path for himself.

After retreating to Shenzhou, they were ambushed again, with Wu Jie and Ping An already lined up in preparation.

There was no other way out but to fight to the death and give it our all.

The winner lives, the loser dies!

With no way out, the only option is to fight to the death.

A desperate battle, a fight to the death, a chance for survival.

To live in the face of death, to fight to the bitter end.

Unexpectedly, they escaped from a hopeless situation and actually won.

After this battle, Sheng Yong was no longer able to pursue. After going through many life-and-death situations, Zhu Di finally led his army back to Beiping. It was already the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

In his report to the court, Sheng Yong claimed that "the elite troops of Yan have been almost completely lost."

Although victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, this major defeat resulted in Zhu Di losing many soldiers and generals, especially the painful loss of Zhang Yu.

With the loss of their commander, the morale of the Yan soldiers was low. Zhu Di felt exhausted and his confidence was shattered. Every time he mentioned Zhang Yu, he would burst into tears and weep uncontrollably.

Although morale was at its lowest point, being trapped in an isolated city was tantamount to waiting for death.

The best course of action now is to go out and fight.

Daoyan strongly urged Zhu Di to send troops to fight again as soon as possible.

He rewarded and promoted those who had rendered meritorious service, held a memorial service for the fallen soldiers, and rallied his troops, believing that a desperate army would surely win. The Yan army, from top to bottom, requested to go on the expedition, and Zhu Di once again led his troops south.

The Yan soldiers were skilled in open field battles but not in attacking fortified cities.

Sheng Yong was in Dezhou, while Wu Jie and Ping An were in Zhengding. After Zhu Di marched to Baoding, he did not concentrate his forces to attack a particular city, but instead moved between the two cities, luring the enemy out to attack and defeating them one by one.

On the first day of the third month, Zhu Di set up camp along the Hutuo River and sent out scouts to the areas of Zhengding and Dingzhou to create a diversion, making Wu Jie and Ping An suspicious and delaying their deployment.

Sheng Yong's military expedition was quite slow this time, and it took him twelve days to reach Danjiaqiao.

During these ten days or so, Zhu Di was extremely anxious. The feints near Zhengding and Dingzhou were delaying Wu Jie and Ping An from sending troops. If they joined forces with Sheng Yong, wouldn't the Yan army be attacked from both sides?

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.

The soldiers crossed the river repeatedly to search for Sheng Yong's troops, and unexpectedly discovered a magnificent tiger.

Clearly, Sheng Yong had not yet arrived, and Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief.

On March 20th, Sheng Yong, who arrived late, set up camp in Jiahe.

Zhu Di found their trail and moved his troops there the next day, setting up camp forty li away.

Having suffered two defeats at the hands of Sheng Yong, Zhu Di was exceptionally cautious this time. He summoned his generals, took an arrow, and drew and explained the battle plan on the ground. He also had his attendants demonstrate the plan, striving to ensure that everyone understood it perfectly and clearly grasped their own battle mission.

Crossbows, firearms, and shields were arranged in front of the battle as usual, and Sheng Yong largely adopted the same tactics as last time.

Zhu Di's response strategy was as follows:

First, send three cavalrymen to fly past the enemy lines to lure them into pursuit, while simultaneously using powerful bows to hold the line.

Secondly, more than 10,000 cavalrymen were dispatched to break through the enemy's shield formation. Two cavalrymen led one infantryman to fight together and charge into the enemy's formation.

Five thousand infantrymen dismounted and fought in front of the battle lines, attacking the left flank, while the cavalry charged straight at the center.