The wind howled across the wilderness, but nothing moved between heaven and earth.
Only the withered yellow weeds stubbornly rooted in the blue bricks of the city wall swayed slightly.
The wide moat under the city wall is still covered with thick ice. Whenever carriages and horses pass by, the ruts press against the ice, making a creaking and grinding sound.
A few children in the distance, regardless of the scissors-like wind, used ice trowels to make small holes in the moat and carefully lowered the fish.
This is the northern heroic city of the Ming Dynasty, Beiping.
Viewed from the sky, the winding city wall and the incomplete ancient Great Wall on the mountains in the distance reflect each other. They look like two ferocious dragons, facing back and staring at the world with their huge eyes.
Although it is not as crowded as the famous city in the south, the city in the north is more majestic and desolate. For thousands of years, this military powerhouse has been continuously built and reinforced again and again.
Until the previous Dynasty, the Great Yuan Dynasty, reached its peak and became the heart and capital of the entire world.
Here, it is no longer possible to distinguish between the Yan, Tang, Liao and Jin dynasties, and all historical memories are integrated into the tightly knitted city walls.
"Back then, the attack on Dadu started from this city wall!"
There were no people on the city wall. Zhu Di was wearing a mink cloak and no hat. He let the wind ruffle his beard and hair and walked slowly forward a little lonely.
He squatted on a city wall, grabbed the ice and snow on it, and rubbed it with his big hands. Then he opened his hands and let the wind blow them away again.
Behind him, Princess Xu of Yan, also wearing a mink cloak, smiled and looked at her husband squatting on the ground in silence.
The weather was a bit cold, and Mrs. Xu's face turned red from the cold. She was already the mother of several children, so she was considered a grandmother, but at first glance, she still looked extremely young.
"I was seven years old that year!" Zhu Di stood up, continued walking, and said loudly, "I was studying with my eldest brother and the others in the main hall, and suddenly I heard firecrackers going off outside!"
"The guards in the palace are shouting, most of them are broken, the Tatars have returned to their hometown!"
"Ha ha!"
Zhu Di talked as he walked and laughed as he walked.
"The Northern Expedition, from south to north, looked at all directions along the way, and was invincible. Most of the thousand-year-old cities were conquered by the men of the Ming Dynasty in one battle!"
Zhu Di's voice became louder and louder, "At that time, everyone in the palace went crazy with joy. My father was crying and shouting that from now on there will be no capital of the Yuan Dynasty, only Beiping of the Ming Dynasty. Beiping, Beiping, Pingding, Peace!"
As he spoke, his footsteps suddenly stopped, he looked back at his first wife, and continued loudly, "At that time, I asked my father if we would move the capital here if we conquered the capital city."
"Father said no, Peiping is too close to the Hu people and it is too dangerous!"
"I was seven years old at the time, and I was in the main hall!" Zhu Di's tone suddenly became excited, "I told the ministers, Father, when I grow up, he will send me to Peking." As he said that, he stood on the city wall and
Looking into the distance, he said, "I want the barbarians and horses to not dare to look at the plains. I want Peiping to enjoy peace forever."
Mrs. Xu took a few steps forward and spoke slowly, "The prince has done it all these years!"
"No, I didn't do it!" Zhu Di's voice immediately became a little lonely, "I didn't do it!" He said, sighing, "My ambition is far from being achieved! Look at the other side of the Great Wall.
, Tatars still come every year!”
"What I want is for the Ming Dynasty to dominate both inside and outside the Great Wall!"
"Have the Great Wall built by successive dynasties blocked the Tatars? No, I, Zhu Di, can block the Tatars even if I don't build the Great Wall! In these years, I have not built even an inch of the Great Wall. I will let this Great Wall stand here and let this Great Wall see
I, Zhu Di, am capable, and I will use my military exploits to shame this Great Wall."
"There is no city in the world that cannot be conquered. Peking was so victorious back then that it was defeated!"
"The Great Wall is so magnificent that it blocks a bird!"
As he spoke, Zhu Di's voice paused, "Back then, when I became a vassal, I once asked a person why all the cities in the world couldn't be defended at all, but they still had to build them with all their strength!"
"He told me that it was because those emperors were cowardly! They didn't have the courage to fight out, and they just wanted to rely on the city to hold on."
"He also told me that a country is conquered, not defended!"
"At that time, I made up my mind that I would create a great empire in Peiping!"
His voice carried far away on the wind.
Mrs. Xu slowly stepped forward, took his hand, and said softly, "Your Majesty is confused and talking nonsense!"
"You know I didn't talk nonsense!" Zhu Di held his wife's hand with both hands, his eyes a little red, "You know me these years!"
Mrs. Xu did not speak, but gently leaned into her husband's arms.
The couple cuddled up against each other in the cold wind on the ancient city wall.
"None of them can do it!" Zhu Di suddenly said, "None of them can do it. They are short-sighted! Build Yingtian Mansion? What's the use of that!"
"Beiping directly faces the Three Norths. It is the place where the emperor guards the country. Heavy troops are gathered here. If you advance, you can go straight to Mobei. If you retreat, you can ensure the peace of the north."
"If this place is lost, half of the country will be lost."
"Although Jiangnan is good, it can only be peaceful!"
Mrs. Xu raised her head and smiled slightly, "Stop talking and go back!" After saying that, he paused and said, "These things don't count after you say them!"
"Yes, it doesn't count if I say it!" Zhu Di suddenly felt lost, with a wry smile, "It doesn't matter if I say it!" Then, he let go of his wife, stopped where he was, and said with his hands behind his back, "I thought too much, but I said it.
Forget it!”
"It's all fate!" Xu whispered.
As Zhu Di's wife, how could she not know what her husband has been thinking about day and night these years?
She knew her husband's ambitions and even more about his grand plans, but her husband was not in that position, so many things only troubled her.
Seeing her husband like this now, her heart was even more distressed.
"Fate?" Zhu Di thought about it and sneered, then suddenly lowered his head and stomped the green bricks under his feet, "The old man is partial!"
"He only sees his eldest brother and his eldest brother's son."
"I have done so much over the years, but he has never looked at me!"
"I tried my best to be his best son, but in his heart, he has never been the best person!"
With that said, Zhu Di squatted down again and grabbed his hair with both hands.
The imperial edict for the new king's ascension to the throne had already reached Peiping. On the day when he received the imperial edict, King Yan Zhu Di spent a whole day and night alone in his study without saying a word.
"Whatever he and I want is a gift!"
"His grandson doesn't need anything, but he has everything!"
"If you say Zen, you will do it; if the world says you will give it, you will give it."
Mrs. Xu stepped forward again, next to Zhu Di, "Your Majesty, don't think about it, you're just in trouble!"
"Haha!" Zhu Di laughed out loud, "Yeah, that's terrible!"
The reason why he has such emotions is that he has been suppressed for a long time and is increasingly uncertain about the future. There is also the old man's sudden surrender, which he cannot emotionally accept.
He has never admitted defeat in his life, and letting his three sons go to Beijing has already shown an attitude of bowing his head.
But his attitude was not surprising to the other party at all.
Because he is already the emperor who rules the world.
What the new emperor wants is not just for Zhu Di to bow his head. What he wants is for Zhu Di to bow his head and surrender.
This chapter has been completed!