Chapter 70

"Your son and subject receives the imperial decree..."

Having spoken, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang turned to the Embroidered Uniform Guards and eunuchs outside the hall and roared:

"Summon all officials of the Ministry of War ranked fifth grade and above, and all Mobile Corps Commanders of the Five Military Commissions and above to enter the palace!"

"Not a moment's delay shall be tolerated!"

Once Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's decree was issued, the entire city of Jin Ling trembled.

Within the entire court, nearly every general knowledgeable in warfare was summoned into the palace by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Everyone looked shocked, asking around in all directions.

They had heard no news of such a massive war involving the Great Ming!

Why were they suddenly summoned to the palace?

When Fu Kong Youde and the others arrived at the Qianqing Palace,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang had already ordered people to set up a huge sand table inside the Qianqing Palace.

In the hall, with his hair disheveled, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the crowd before him and declared loudly:

"I have summoned you here to simulate a great battle."

Rumors had long spread throughout the capital recently.

It was said that Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang was simulating the fate of the Great Ming.

He often asked about events two hundred years in the future.

Therefore, Fu Kong Youde and the others were not overly surprised.

Only Fu Kong Youde stepped forward to ask:

"May I ask Your Majesty, for this battle, how many troops does the Great Ming intend to deploy, where will the soldiers come from, when and where will the fight take place, and what is the capability of the commander?"

After a brief moment of thought, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang replied:

"There are two forces participating in this battle."

"The first is led by a scholar-official, surrounded by one hundred thousand Jurchens at Songshan in Liaoxi; regarding the combat effectiveness of this force, you may estimate it based on the remnants of the Nine Borders troops during my Hongwu era."

"The second force, you may assume to be Lan Yu leading ten thousand combat troops and one hundred and fifty thousand support troops to provide relief."

Upon hearing this, Fu Kong Youde froze.

Looking at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang with some confusion, he asked:

"Your Majesty, may I ask if the troops under Lan Yu's command are the Lan Family Army?"

If the troops Lan Yu were leading were the Lan Family Army,

then failing to beat the shit out of those one hundred thousand Jurchens would only mean those fellows had managed to defecate cleanly.

Frowning tightly, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and sighed:

"Just assume they are members of my Great Ming imperial clan, all holding the rank of Fengguo Commander, General, or Commandery Prince, cobbled together into a force of two hundred and fifty thousand."

"They have been trained using the Lan Family Army's methods for just one month."

The corners of Fu Kong Youde's mouth twitched slightly.

His heart felt as though ten thousand horses were galloping wildly.

Your Majesty.

Couldn't you just say outright that you sent two hundred and fifty thousand useless wastes?

Why emphasize the Lan Family Army's training methods?

The Lan Family Army's training regimen requires at least three years to form a proper army.

After only one month, they would barely know how to stand in formation!

Inside the vast Qianqing Palace, everyone looked at each other in silence.

Somewhat angered, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the generals before him and asked displeasedly:

"Simulate the battle!"

"Why has everyone gone silent!"

Standing outside the sand table, Fu Kong Youde and the others all lowered their heads without speaking.

What the hell is there to simulate!

The Jurchens are surrounding Songshan; why aren't they attacking?

They are waiting for your relief army!

This is a classic siege-to-ambush-relief tactic; there is no strategy involved whatsoever.

It is purely a contest of who fears death less.

Whoever flinches loses.

These two hundred and fifty thousand people are clearly destined to die...

Fu Kong Youde struggled to lift his head, forcibly squeezing a smile onto his face.

"Your Majesty, this, this difficulty is a bit too great; could we perhaps adjust the attributes of these two hundred and fifty thousand men? Enhance them slightly?"

"There is no need to upgrade them to border troops; in this humble subject's opinion, replacing them with the Shandong Anti-Japanese pirates Reserve Army would make this battle fightable..."

The dukes and marquises standing behind him immediately chimed in:

"Yes, replace them with the Anti-Japanese pirates Reserve Army, and it should become fightable."

"More than just fightable! Give us two hundred and fifty thousand Anti-Japanese pirates Reserve troops, and we could dig up the ancestral graves of these few Tartars!"

"..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang looked at these few individuals with a grave expression.

Replace them with the Anti-Japanese pirates Reserve Army?!

Do you truly think I am playing games with you here?!

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang snatched up a bamboo pole, lashed it viciously across the sand table, and roared furiously,

"Matters of life and death—how can you speak of swapping them so casually?!"

"If I could simply swap them, would I not just replace them with the elite troops of the Nine Borders?!"

"Would I still need to come asking you?!"

Fu Kong Youde glanced at the crowd behind him, then lifted his head, looking at Old Zhu with a bitter smile as he said,

"Your Majesty, I fear this battle cannot be fought..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang swept his gaze around the room, gritted his teeth, and asked,

"Then if a single battle costs the lives of over thirty Princes of the Blood, what do you think will happen to the morale of the people and the army of our Great Ming afterward?"

Hearing Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's words,

Fu Kong Youde whispered from the side,

"Your Majesty, I dare not speak to how the people's morale will fare."

"But as for the army's morale..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang stared coldly at Fu Kong Youde and demanded,

"How will the army's morale be?"

Fu Kong Youde lowered his voice and said,

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Is not the current Northern Northern Northern Yuan in precisely this state?"

Upon hearing Fu Kong Youde's words, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered.

That was right!

At the Battle of Buyur Lake, Lan Yu had captured Di Baonu, the false Northern Northern Yuan Wu Wang, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager; counting even the Commandery Princes, there were only a dozen or so kings in total.

What is the army's morale in the Northern Northern Northern Yuan now?

Can that even still be considered an army?!

Thinking of this, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's expression instantly turned grotesque.

Pointing at the sand table before him, he whispered,

"Preserve the army..."

"I do not demand victory, but you must devise a method for me to preserve the army!"

"Transmit the edict: from this day forward, court sessions are suspended."

"Only when you have devised a method to preserve the army will I resume court."

"I will remain right here and watch you deliberate!"

Fu Kong Youde lifted his head, about to speak.

With a single glare, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang forced Fu Kong Youde back into silence.