C58

The An clan bowed towards Zhu Quan, "I've long heard of Your Highness' great reputation. The people of the martial arts world say that the Swallow King is good at fighting and the King Ning is good at scheming. It is truly a blessing to see Your Highness today …"

Zhu Quan smiled. "Fourth Manor Lord is too polite. When I arrived, I had already heard of the achievements of the Fourth Manor Lord. The Fourth Manor Lord fought a bloody battle just outside of Jizhou City and fought bravely against Chen Longyu. I'm deeply impressed." After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhu Di ordered the generals to withdraw.

The An clan replied, "I can see that His Royal Highness' complexion is not good, but is there any obstruction this time in Shang Jing?"

Zhu Di heaved a long sigh. "Ning Wang, it's better if you tell me!"

Ning Wang and Zhu Quan paused for a moment before saying, "The Fourth Manor Lord doesn't know about this. During the few days that the Fourth Manor Lord has been unconscious, Brother Wang has been extremely anxious due to Yin being able to unite with Chen Long Yu to rebel."

The more An clan heard, the more they would rebel? However, when he thought back, he realized that even though Zhu Di had taken over Yin Neng's military power and won the battle, he still had a good chance. Although he had temporarily forced Chen Longyu to retreat, Chen Longyu's bombardment had nearly destroyed Jizhou City. If Zhu Di didn't push the blame onto Yin Neng, the scapegoat, he really wouldn't be able to explain it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Quan continued, "In the battle of Ji Prefecture, our army lost 3,738 people, injuring 8,149 people. The citizens of the city died and attacked more than 23,000 people, destroying the main hall of the city, burning buildings, and destroying artillery. The royal father angrily scolded Brother Wang in public, and sentenced the rebels to death. He ordered Brother Wang Yu to eliminate Chen Yu within a month, otherwise he would be reduced to a marquis, and he would never be conferred the title of marquis."

After Zhu Quan finished speaking, Zhu Di Di heaved a long sigh. "Benefactor, tell me, what should I do now?"

The An clan had yet to answer when Zhu Quan rushed to say, "Royal brother, there's no need to worry. This prince's Doyen, Tainin, and Fuyu Guards are the best cavalry in the world. Although they're small in numbers, they can fight well. This prince will go back and dispatch troops to assist royal brother."

Zhu Di said, "I appreciate royal brother's kindness. Just now, this prince told royal brother that royal brother didn't receive royal father's order to call in troops without authorization. Regardless of victory or defeat, royal brother will definitely be implicated. This prince really can't let you wade in this muddy water!"

Zhu Quan said, "Brother Wang, this is where you are. Brother Wang is not allowed to go back to Beiping to redeploy troops, but you must eliminate Chen Longyu within a month. If Brother Wang is not able to destroy Chen Longyu within a month, then who will be able to take over Brother Wang's position?"

The more the An clan listened to the two brothers talk, the more they probably understood. Zhu Di was currently unable to mobilize the border guards to guard the Mongolian garrison at Beiping, nor had he received any orders from the emperor to transfer troops. Zhu Di could only rely on the lack of external assistance from the small army in Jizhou to exterminate Chen Long.

However, Little Tang Mountain was easy to defend and hard to attack. In addition, Chen Longyu had a large number of cannons, as well as the help of powerful generals such as Tu Xian and Xue Hongye.

The An family thought for a while before speaking, "Prince, there's no need to worry. Prince Ning also doesn't need to send troops here …"

Zhu Di's eyes lit up when he heard him out. "Does benefactor have a brilliant plan?"

To reply your highness, there is a group of soldiers in the Wanmei Manor who are the elites of the Northern Martial Forest, and there are seven experts from the village. A few days ago, before the battle of Ji Prefecture, Wu You had already sent people to gather them.

Zhu Di asked anxiously, "How many people do you have in this group, benefactor?"

The An clan replied, "There are at least four thousand of them!"

When Zhu Di heard this, he sighed in disappointment. "How was the last battle with Ning Wang, when Chen Longyu lost troops?"

Zhu Quan said, "According to our army's statistics, Chen Long Yu has lost more than 5,100 soldiers. Our army has captured more than 800 people."

The more the An family grew, the more said: "Chen Longyu soldiers are no more than ten thousand, and in the last battle we lost more than half of our troops, I'm afraid we only have around three thousand soldiers. Our troop has a total of ten thousand cavalry, but our Thousand Plum Villa has a total of four thousand soldiers, and our army is five times stronger than Chen Longyu.

Zhu Di said, "Benefactor, this matter wasn't so easy. Chen Long Yu had been in Little Tang Mountain for many years, and Little Tang Mountain was hard to defend and attack. Last time, I gathered 30,000 troops and surrounded Little Tang Mountain for two months, and only then was General Tan able to capture Chen Long Yu when Chen Long's provisions were cut off. At that time, Chen Long Yu's army was less than four thousand and our Yan Army was almost ten times stronger than he was, but after all, fifteen thousand soldiers trying to eat Chen Long Yu within a month was really hard."

The An family got more and more anxious, "My lord, if you do not try, how will you know? In addition, the emperor's orders cannot be disobeyed. Your highness is always worried, but also has no intention of doing so. I request that your highness bring my troops here in a few days' time, so I'm willing to serve as your servant and help you eliminate those bandits … "

Zhu Di couldn't help but feel touched. He grabbed An Yue's hand and said excitedly, "Many thanks, benefactor. With benefactor's words, this duke will be satisfied!"

Right at this moment, someone ran in from outside the door and reported to the An clan, "Reporting to the Fourth Manor Lord, the Sect Leaders An Teng and Meng Jian have arrived. They are waiting for the Fourth Manor Lord outside the door!"

The more the An clan listened, the happier they got. They smiled at Zhu Di, "Prince, the first batch of people are already here!"

Zhu Di smiled. "Quick, invite the two heads in!"

After a while, An Teng and Meng Ba walked in from outside the door. Zhu Di saw from afar that the person on the left was over twenty years old, skinny and tall, with a handsome face in green clothes, a knife scar running all the way down his left eye to his nose. The one on the left was around forty years old, with a beard that covered his head and cheeks.

Both of them walked in quickly and knelt in front of An Jiaxue. They said in unison, "Count Ando/Meng Jian pays their respects to the fourth master!"

Only then did Zhu Di realize that the handsome man was called An Teng, and the bearded man was called Meng Ba. An Jiaxi grew serious as he spoke, "An Teng, Meng Ba, why aren't you greeting Prince Yan and Prince Ning?"

When An Teng and Meng Jian heard this, they were stunned. They immediately turned around and said in unison, "An Teng/Meng Jian greets Prince Yan and Prince Ning!"

Zhu Di and Zhu Quan both laughed. "Heroes, please get up!"

An Teng and Meng Jian said in unison, "Thank you, your highness!" But the two of them still didn't get up to look at the An clan. The more the An clan looked at them, the more they said, "Your highness told you to get up!"

The two of them said in unison, "Thank you, Manor Lord Four!" Only then did the two of them wake up. Zhu Di Di and Zhu Quan both thought to themselves, "It looks like the people from the Thousand Plum Manor are all determined to follow the An clan. If they don't use it properly, they'll definitely be devoured!"