Chapter 359: Going West

At the same time, Zahu City.

Zhu Di stood on the city wall, looking toward the Northern Region.

There lay the direction of Fan City, more than three hundred li away.

He didn't know whether Second Prince had taken Fan City, but he knew Second Prince would certainly capture it.

"Prince, stop looking. Prince Wu has never lost a battle," the Vice General beside him laughed.

Zhu Di withdrew his gaze, snorted, and said, "Second Prince will never lose; I just want to go with him."

The Vice General dared not reply.

Zhu Di paced a few steps on the wall, then halted and said, "Send the order: all troops prepare for battle. If the Mamluks dare to come, I'll make sure they never return."

The Vice General promptly responded.

Zhu Di glanced again toward the Northern Region, murmuring in his heart, "Second Prince, hurry and finish Fan City; then we'll go to Constantinople together."

On the third day of the fifth month, the news that Fan City had fallen reached Zahu City.

Zhu Di read the letter and laughed heartily, "I knew Second Prince could do it!"

He slapped the letter onto the table, turned to the Vice General and said, "Send the order: the whole army form ranks, prepare to advance west."

The Vice General was startled, "Prince, didn't Prince Wu tell us to defend the city?"

"Defend what city? Fan City is already taken; how dare the Mamluks come? Second Prince fights ahead, I watch from behind—does that make sense?"

Zhu Di strode outward.

The Vice General dared not persuade further and hurried to deliver the order.

An hour later, 30,000 Yan troops were ready to set out.

Zhu Di rode his horse, full of vigor, "Depart!"

The army left Zahu City, marching north along the west bank of the Tigris River.

After traveling less than fifty li, scouts ahead reported, "Prince, we have spotted Mamluk scouts ahead, about a hundred riders."

Zhu Di's eyes lit up, "How many?"

"One hundred riders."

"Even a hundred riders dare to scout? They must have the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard—follow me!"

He drew his saber, clamped it to the horse's belly, and charged forward.

Three thousand elite Yan troops followed closely behind.

The Mamluk scouts saw billowing smoke in the distance and turned to flee.

Zhu Di pursued for twenty li, cutting down over thirty, and the rest vanished from sight.

He halted the horse, wiped the blood from his blade, and cursed, "They ran fast indeed."

The Vice General, panting, caught up and said, "Prince, we cannot pursue further; ahead lies Mamluk territory."

Zhu Di snorted, "What are we afraid of? Second Prince has beaten the Ottomans to the point they lose their teeth; the Mamluks are nothing."

He turned his horse and said, "Let's go to Fan City."

On the seventh day of the fifth month, Zhu Yong met Zhu Di in Fan City.

"Second Prince!"

Zhu Di strode into the Governor's Office, beaming with pride, "I drove off the Mamluk scouts; none escaped."

Zhu Yong gave him a look and said, "Didn't I tell you to guard Zahu City?"

Zhu Di chuckled, "What's there to guard at Zahu City? The Mamluks are holed up in Syria, too scared to come out; staying there would just be idling."

"Second Prince, you didn't call me to capture Fan City, but I can chase the Mamluks, can I?"

Zhu Yong shook his head and said nothing more.

He knew Zhu Di's temperament; making him wait idle was more painful than killing him.

"Enough, now that you're here, don't idle. Baye Jide is on the west side of Fan Lake; the grain route is cut, he can't hold out for days. Take men to guard the west, don't let him escape."

Zhu Di's eyes brightened, "Second Prince, rest assured, he can't run away."

On the tenth day of the fifth month, Baye Jide finally couldn't hold on.

Fan City fell, grain and fodder were cut off, 60–70,000 troops starved, morale scattered.

He sent envoys to sue for peace, offering to cede land, pay reparations, and submit forever.

Zhu Yong read the peace petition and tossed it aside.

"Cede land... this land was already taken by Great Ming; does he need to cede it, or pay reparations, what does he have to pay?"

The envoy knelt on the ground, trembling all over, "Prince, our Sultan says that if you withdraw, any condition can be negotiated…"

Zhu Yong rose, walked before the envoy, looking down from his height, and said, "Go back and tell Baye Jide, I don't want him to cede land, nor to pay reparations.

I want his life."

The envoy's face turned ashen.

"Get out…"

The envoy scrambled away, rolling and crawling.

Five days later, Baye Jide withdrew with his remnants from the west side of Fan Lake, retreating west toward Ankara.

Zhu Yong did not rush to pursue, letting the army rest in Fan City for two days, replenishing grain and fodder and ammunition.

On the fifteenth day of the fifth month, 20,000 Longxiang Army and 30,000 Yan troops, a combined force of 50,000, continued westward.

Zhu Yong rode his horse, gazing at the western sky.

There, deep in the Anatolian Plateau, lay the heartland of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople.

He did not know how far this war would go, but he knew that as long as he kept marching west, one day Great Ming's banner would be planted on Constantinople's walls.

"Second Prince, what are you thinking!" Zhu Di spurred his horse and caught up.

Zhu Yong withdrew his gaze, calmly saying: "I'm wondering, after this war ends, how far Great Ming's territory can reach."

Zhu Di grinned and said: "Anywhere works; wherever you go, I'll follow."

Zhu Yong gave him a look and smiled.

The two brothers rode side by side westward.

Behind them, fifty thousand troops marched in a massive column, dust and smoke blotting the sky.

Late May, Yingtian Prefecture.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang held a war report that had come from the Western Regions, his face showing no expression.

Empress Ma sat beside him, stitching, occasionally looking up at him.

"Zhong Ba, what's wrong?" she couldn't help asking.

Zhu Yuanzhang handed the report to her, saying: "Yong Er's side fought another battle; Fan City was taken, the Ottoman people fled west."

Empress Ma took the report, glanced at it a few times, and sighed with relief: "Winning is good, winning is good."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "What kind of win is that? The Ottomans haven't submitted yet."

He stood, walked two steps in the hall, then stopped and said: "Has Biao Er found out?"

"He should have."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, said nothing more.

Empress Ma watched her husband's silhouette and suddenly asked: "Zhong Ba, how far do you think Yong Er can fight in this war?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought a moment and said: "That kid, who knows? He might even reach Constantinople."

Empress Ma laughed: "Is that place far?"

"Far, extremely far! Farther than Tie Mu Er's residence."

"Then when will our railway reach there?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was momentarily stunned, then laughed: "Girl, you want the railway to span the whole world."

Empress Ma also laughed: "Spanning the world is best; Yong Er will return quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang walked to the window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the western sky.

Outside the window, the setting sun dyed the entire Imperial City golden.

At the construction site outside Yingtian Prefecture, workers were fervently laying tracks.

The railway from Yingtian to Lanzhou had already reached Xi'an.

At this rate, it will reach Lanzhou in a year.

Then a train from Yingtian to Lanzhou would take only a few days.

Lanzhou to the Western Regions, Western Regions to Tie Mu Er's residence, Tie Mu Er's residence to Constantinople…

Someday, this railway will reach the ends of the world.

Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched slightly, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"Build, build to Constantinople," he whispered.