Chapter 115

Hearing Hearing Bayan Temür looked at Esen and smiled, saying,

"Perhaps that fierce battle that night gave this little emperor a surge of confidence."

"Even his father back in the day wouldn't have dared to wander blindly beyond the border with only three companions!"

Esen's expression was grave.

Hearing Hearing Bayan Temür's brows were tightly knitted.

"No, I feel this matter is not that simple."

"That veteran general we saw that night..."

Hearing his older brother still hung up on the matter of encountering Zhu Di's "corpse rising from the dead" that night, Hearing Hearing Bayan Temür

immediately couldn't help but laugh and say,

"Brother, which of these Central Plains emperors does not claim to be 'Ten Thousand Years'?"

"But which of them actually lived to be ten thousand years old?"

"I estimate it was either Zhang Fu or Fan Zhong of the Imperial Guard who deliberately disguised themselves as Zhu Di."

Any normal person who has crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood on a battlefield would find it impossible to believe that someone who died over twenty years ago could rise from the dead.

As for Zhu Di living to be over ninety years old,

Hearing Hearing Bayan Temür believed it even less.

Given Zhu Di's temper,

if he had lived to be over ninety, he would likely have trampled the entire Mobei flat by now.

How could he have dragged things out until today?

Hearing Hearing Hearing Bayan Temür speak thus, the doubts in Esen's heart were finally suppressed by a few degrees.

For no other reason

than that this matter was simply too absurd.

Coming back to his senses, Esen finally turned his gaze toward Hearing Hearing Bayan Temür.

"What, did you just say the Great Ming's little emperor went wandering blindly on the Great Wall with only a few people?"

Before that scout could open his mouth,

two more scouts immediately ran into the tent from outside.

"Grand Preceptor, that little emperor has already crossed the Great Wall!"

"Crossed the Great Wall?!"

Esen's brows immediately knit together tightly.

"How many troops did he bring?"

"No troops! Only three people!"

"They have already penetrated more than ten li deep into the grasslands!"

Hearing this, Esen could no longer remain seated.

Was this not a gift package delivered right to their doorstep?

If one does not take what Heaven offers, one will surely suffer regret!

Thinking of this, Esen immediately led his Personal Guard and galloped toward the location where Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen had appeared.

On the boundless grasslands, the warhorse beneath Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's thighs trampled upon wolf-poison flowers as he looked around in terror, scanning the surroundings.

The three Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him were already prepared to flee at a moment's notice.

Fortunately, the visibility on the grasslands was wide and open.

One could see the conditions of the surrounding area clearly even from a distance of twenty li.

Inside the Chat Group.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen, trembling with fear, pleaded to Zhu Di and Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang in the group,

"Great-Grandfather, Ancestral Grandfather, isn't this enough?"

"This subject feels Esen has already returned to the depths of the grasslands; let us not go any further inward."

Zhu Di rebuked impatiently,

"You brat, with such little courage you still dream of leading an expedition in person?"

"Even your father back in the day was not as useless as you!"

"When it comes to fighting, even Fan Zhong couldn't hold you back!"

Just at this moment, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's body in the vision suddenly shook.

His gaze involuntarily fixed upon a stone beneath his feet.

He saw that this stone was trembling slightly at a frequency visible to the naked eye.

"An earthquake?"

"Great-Grandfather, the Earth Dragon is turning over on the grasslands! The Tartars won't be coming!"

Before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's voice had even fallen,

the three Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him immediately shouted excitedly,

"Your Majesty, it is not the Earth Dragon turning over; it is the Tartars!"

"The Tartars?!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's body stiffened almost instinctively, and then he involuntarily looked toward the northwest.

He saw that on the distant grasslands, clouds of dust were already rolling up to fill the sky.

"Retreat..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's word "retreat" had not yet left his lips.

When Zhu Di could not help but scold:

"Retreat, retreat, retreat! Retreat my foot!"

"This is merely three or five hundred men; if you flee now, how will we fish?"

"They are still too far; wait until I tell you to go before you go!"

The corners of Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's mouth twitched slightly.

"Three, three to five hundred? Great-grandfather, you must be mistaken; this commotion requires at least the formation of ten thousand cavalry!"

"Nonsense! Have you never even gone hunting, boy? Have you ever seen what a charge of ten thousand cavalry looks like?"

"Only when they stretch beyond the reach of your eye will there be merely ten thousand or so!"

Along this journey,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen's eyes had never left the interior of the carriage.

How could he possibly know how many people there were?

Meanwhile, within the group, Zhu Di and Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang had already fixed their gaze upon that distant steppe cavalry force.

"Your Majesty, the Tartars are now less than twenty li away!"

"Less than ten li!"

"Less than five li!"

"Less than three li!"

"Your Majesty, less than two li; in a moment, the Tartar arrows will arrive!"

Before the voice had faded,

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Two feathered arrows struck straight into the steppe grass before Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen.

Almost simultaneously, Zhu Di issued his command.

"Now, run!"

The moment Zhu Di's words fell, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen immediately bolted like an unbridled wild horse toward the Great Wall.

Meanwhile, beside Esen who followed behind Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen, a man clad in the attire of a Great Ming eunuch cried out with all his might:

"Grand Preceptor, it is indeed the Great Ming Emperor; the person before us is the Great Ming Emperor!"

Hearing the faint, urgent shouts drifting from behind Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Qizhen,

The muscles on Zhu Di's face finally relaxed slightly.