Chapter 119

But this Oirat cavalry before them had long since shed all traces of the rigidity they once possessed.

Their agility far surpassed that of the old adversaries he and his father had faced in years past.

Gazing at the Oirat cavalry fleeing into the distance.

Zhu Di, mounted on his horse, let out a long, meaningful sigh.

"In the end, they have indeed reclaimed the very skills they once relied upon."

Zhu Di, riding back to camp, was surrounded by Fan Zhong, Zhang Fu, and others.

He strode purposefully toward the central military commander's tent.

"Zhang Fu, what is the current status of the troops gathered from each camp?"

Zhang Fu, following behind Zhu Di, dared not delay even a moment, immediately bowing his head and saying,

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Three Thousand Camp suffered one hundred deaths, and three thousand two hundred firearms were lost."

Zhu Di did not even lift his eyelids.

He immediately shouted sternly,

"Nonsense!"

"Are the men of the Three Great Camps standing there waiting to be hacked down?"

"Take men out immediately to investigate exactly how many troops were brought out for this battle."

"The Son of Heaven leads the expedition in person, and they come here merely to balance the books?!"

After a night of fierce fighting.

Zhu Di had roughly grasped the situation of the Ming army.

Overall combat effectiveness had not actually declined much.

What truly shocked Zhu Di was the shortage of personnel.

The vacant slots in each camp amounted to at least one-third or more!

Zhu Di's first military payroll during the Jingnan Campaign had been secured precisely by exploiting such empty slots.

How could he not know the little schemes in the hearts of these generals?

Zhang Fu could not help but shiver.

He immediately led dozens of Embroidered Uniform Guard into the various camps.

At first, these generals had been rather stubborn in their speech.

But upon seeing the man inside the central military tent.

They immediately laid bare the actual situation of the Ming army.

Listening to the reports from these few pieces of material.

Zhu Di's face turned iron-green.

Even Zhu Qi, sitting aside and too afraid to make a sound, could no longer remain seated.

"You told me there were two hundred thousand heavenly soldiers."

"Yet you have only one hundred and fifty thousand men under your command?"

"This is the crime of deceiving the monarch!"

"Your subordinate deserves death..."

Zhu Di, with a look of utter contempt, stared at Zhu Qi sitting beside him and shouted sternly,

"If they had told you directly that there were only one hundred and fifty thousand men, would you not have brought anyone out?!"

The moment the words left his lips, Zhu Qi, who had just moments before been brimming with momentum and ready to restore "imperial prestige," immediately collapsed into despondency.

Let alone one hundred and fifty thousand men.

Even with eighty thousand, Zhu Qi would still have dared to lead them out.

No questions asked.

As long as there were many people, the advantage was ours!

Anger surged within Zhu Di's heart.

But there was nothing he could do.

Such was the unspoken rule within the army; in years past, both Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu had risen to power this very way.

Moreover.

Even if Zhu Di now wished to punish them, he could not simply execute all these men directly.

Otherwise, the connection between the central command and the various lower camps would be severed.

Changing commanders in the midst of battle is also a grave taboo.

Had he not restrained Zhu Qi just now, that young man would likely have given a single order and had these men dragged out and beheaded.

Zhu Di stared fiercely at the assembly of generals before him and said in a low voice,

"Each of you shall receive twenty strokes of the military cane, allowing you to atone for your sins by performing meritorious deeds."

"Consider it a gift of greeting for our not having met for so many years."

....... 0

"How is that?"

Hearing Zhu Di's description.

The assembly of generals before him immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

They did not know how Zhu Di had arrived.

But for a man who had been dead for over twenty years to suddenly appear and speak such words.

Anyone in their position would have been terrified.

"Your subordinate swears to follow Your Majesty unto death!"

Listening to the sound of military cudgels being waved outside.

Zhang Fu stepped forward to report,

"Regardless, more than half of the provisions we brought out this time have already been lost."

"Many warhorses and livestock have also been lost."

"We have now established a foothold; we should hurry and prepare to withdraw."

Zhu Di's expression was gloomy.

Glancing at the battle report behind him,

he could not help but let out a long sigh and say,

"Having lost so much, if we return just like this, won't it give the civil officials in the court a handle to criticize?"

Zhu Qizhen also could not help but nod and say,

"Exactly. If we give those corrupt Confucians a handle, how will I control military power in the future?"

"Can you not look further ahead? War is merely the continuation of politics."

Hearing Zhu Qizhen's voice, the corner of Zhu Di's mouth twitched slightly.

He kicked Zhu Qizhen on the buttocks and scolded harshly,

"I am seizing military power for the future rulers of Great Ming!"

"Not for you, boy!"

"If you have a next time, I will come with the High Emperor to skin you!"

Zhu Qizhen, lying on the sand table, nodded with a face full of grievance.

Didn't they say Great-Grandfather dotes on my father?

Didn't they say old people love the house and the crow on it?

Why is Great-Grandfather so rough with me?

Thinking thus, tears could not help but swirl in Zhu Qizhen's eyes.

In the end, it was Hearing Fan Zhong who broke the stalemate.

"But Your Majesty, after last night's battle, Esen will probably not be so easily hooked."

"Perhaps Esen has already withdrawn by now."

This was precisely what Zhu Di worried about most.

If Esen just runs away like this,

then Zhu Qizhen will lose face greatly.

He won't even be able to find a way to get his revenge.