Chapter 107

The entire great hall fell into a deathly silence.

……

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang had a sand table brought in.

Immediately, he ordered men to lay out the terrain of the entire Xuan and Da regions.

Fu Kong Youde and the others were also hastily summoned to the palace.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at the crowd before him.

He felt as though one person was missing.

After pondering for a long while.

"Commander Commander Jiang Huang!"

"This humble servant is present!"

"Drag that brat Su Qiao out of the Imperial Prison for us!"

"Yes!"

Just as Commander Commander Jiang Huang went to fetch Su Qiao.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang initiated a video call in the chat group.

Originally, Zhu Di and Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen, at the other end and at their wits' end with no better solution.

Could only drop what they were doing.

And devote themselves entirely to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's side.

Before long.

Su Qiao, clad in prison garb, was brought before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang by Commander Commander Jiang Huang.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang was seen reclining in a lounge chair, staring at Su Qiao with a grave expression.

He then opened his mouth and said.

"Su Qiao, we have one question for you now."

"If you answer well, we shall pardon your crimes; do you understand?"

The moment the words left his lips.

Su Qiao suddenly lifted his head.

Hold on a minute!

I've already been stuck in this damn prison for so long.

Why are you pardoning me again?!

Old Zhu, are you freaking schizophrenic?!

Just as Su Qiao was about to speak and give up.

He immediately sensed something amiss.

If Old Zhu discovered he was simply seeking death.

What would happen afterward?!

The corners of Su Qiao's mouth twitched slightly.

Then he rose on his own, cupped his hands toward Old Zhu, and said.

"Please ask, Your Majesty."

Seeing Su Qiao's attitude, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but stare in surprise.

Then he rose on his own, staring fixedly at the sand table before him, and whispered.

"Suppose a muddled emperor emerges among the future rulers of our Great Ming."

"Just after assuming personal rule, he rashly leads two hundred thousand elite Great Ming troops on a northern expedition against the grasslands."

"He is then trapped by the Tartars at the border; how should he now withdraw to the capital?"

Hearing Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

Su Qiao could not help but stare in surprise.

Love it or hate it, these fortune tellers kept in Old Zhu's palace actually know their stuff!

Isn't this exactly Tumu Fortress?

Looking at the sand table before him, Su Qiao's expression suddenly darkened.

He then walked straight up to the sand table.

It was seen that Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang had already planted several small flags at a stronghold named "Tianzhen."

It was still some distance away from Tumu Fortress.

Fortunately, these fortune tellers still had some margin of error.

Otherwise, Su Qiao would have been tempted to ask Old Zhu if there were other transmigrators in his palace.

After examining the sand table for a moment.

Su Qiao raised the bamboo stick in his hand.

Then he fiercely struck the sand table before him.

A sharp "Crack!" rang out.

Whether it was Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Di and Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen in another spacetime, all froze on the spot.

Zhu Di: What the hell?! Is this my father's subject?! Has my father's temper improved?

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen: The Ancestral Emperor is not quite like what the history books describe...

Su Qiao turned around nonetheless, glanced back at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, and snorted coldly before saying,

"Your Majesty, this matter is actually no longer important."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's brows gradually knitted tighter.

He stared fixedly at Su Qiao and asked,

"Why?"

Holding the prison garb, Su Qiao stood aside and whispered,

"For no other reason than that this war cannot be won."

Suppressing the fury in his heart, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang murmured,

"I know that, but what I am asking is how to preserve the entire army and save this elite force of Great Ming!"

Su Qiao raised his head in puzzlement, looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, and asked,

"Your Majesty, does it still hold any significance whether the entire army can be saved or not?"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang froze for a moment.

"Two hundred thousand lives, and you tell me it holds no significance?"

Su Qiao snorted coldly and said,

"What significance is there?"

"Even without these two hundred thousand men, the Tartars in the north cannot seize the Imperial Capital!"

"The fact that two hundred thousand men can be hastily assembled proves first and foremost that Great Ming still retains some vitality."

"Whether these two hundred thousand men live or die, that vitality remains."

"As long as Great Ming retains even a fraction of its vitality, the Tartars cannot seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and the Han people under heaven will never allow the Tartars to seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun!"

"If the Tartars cannot even seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, what spring-and-autumn dream do they harbor of entering and ruling the Central Plains?"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's brows tightened slightly.

In another spacetime, Zhu Di also hurriedly began to murmur.

Emperor Emperor Emperor Emperor Chengzu the Cultured:

"Father, it is much the same; just now your son calculated that there are still two hundred thousand troops guarding against Japanese pirates in the Shandong region, and over one hundred thousand soldiers on the grain transport routes; within half a month at most, they can all be deployed to the Imperial Capital. Even if these two hundred thousand men all die in battle, the Imperial Capital will not be lost."

"This kid has something to him."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's expression gradually grew gloomy.

Looking at Su Qiao, he asked,

"Having these two hundred thousand men is surely better than not having them, isn't it?! How can you say it holds no significance?"

With an expressionless face, Su Qiao snorted coldly and said,

"Your Majesty, you must understand one principle."