On the second day at dawn, when the early spring sky had not yet brightened, even the diligent rooster was still fast asleep.

  Horses neighed and people shouted, a continuous stream of vehicles was driving out of the North Ping city gate, under the large canvas were stacks of grain and hay, sharp blades were neatly placed on the cars, bundles of arrows with feathers at the end.

  These were the military supplies that Zhu Di had prepared for his personal army, although they were slightly inferior to the weapons of the northern expedition's elite troops, but it was also the limit of what he could do as the King of Yan. These instruments were purchased shortly after he took office, in order to one day lead the army out of the pass.

  Now this day has come, although he can't go to the front line with his own generals to kill the enemy, but his fighting heart is still with them.

  "Hail! Your Majesty, please forgive me for not dismounting to pay my respects as I must attend to my military duties. We shall depart at once!" Wang Zhen rode his horse up to Zhu Di, bowed his head in respect from horseback, and then galloped away.

  The wheels rumble, the marching troops move forward slowly, they want to catch up with the large army in front as soon as possible, and gather at their own Wei Suo, then form a camp, everything will be subject to Xu Da's arrangement.

  Zhu Dian watched as the logistics team's figures disappeared into the distance, sincerely hoping they could achieve great things on the battlefield...

  At this time, Zhang Feng in the team turned his head to look at the faintly visible Beijing city wall, touching a small stone hanging on his neck. This was given to him by Xiao Ping'er when she left yesterday. It wasn't a precious item, but just something Xiao Ping'er found and liked when she was alone on the mountain. The stone was naturally formed, not polished, and Xiao Ping'er had met her Zhang Feng big brother shortly after getting it, so she always treated this stone as her own lucky charm.

  This time, the bottle was given to Zhang Feng by her, hoping that it could bring good luck to her big brother. She didn't know what going into battle represented or the reason for the Northern Expedition. All she hoped for was that Zhang Feng would follow the promise of the handkerchief and return home early to reunite with her.

  Zhang Feng found a brocade pouch and put the stone inside, then hung the pouch around his neck, so that he could always remember the bottle's intention in his heart.

  "Eh, Zhang Dage, how many Northern Yuan people do you think we can kill this time?" The bored Xiao Liu'er came over again. This time, the team carrying the luggage was not so serious, and everyone except for not being allowed to leave the team privately didn't have any other restrictions.

  "You still want to kill how many people? First, make sure you can keep your own life before talking, the Northern Yuan people are not so simple, they are not pigs and sheep that will stand there motionless waiting for you to slaughter."

  "I don't believe it, if the Northern Yuan had any integrity, why would they be destroyed and driven out of the Central Plains by the current emperor?" Liu Zi disdainfully curled his lip, clearly looking down on the northern barbarians from beyond the passes.

  Zhang Feng saw the small-mindedness in Liu Zi's heart and slapped him on the head: "Don't look down on others, what qualifications do you have as a new recruit? The generals and soldiers of my Great Ming Dynasty are indeed powerful, but the Northern Yuan Iron Cavalry is not to be trifled with. In those years, they relied on their cavalry prowess to conquer the four corners of the world, and even empires thousands of miles away were trampled underfoot by the Yuan people's iron hooves."

  "If it weren't for the fact that they had been worn down by nearly a century of war in the Central Plains, their martial spirit exhausted and their soldiers weary to the point of collapse, the Mongol warriors would not have failed to live up to their former bravery. If we, the Ming generals, want to defeat them and unify the empire, we will have to pay an even greater price."

  Liu Zi obviously hadn't heard of these things, his face full of disbelief. Lao Gu, who was standing beside him, spoke in a nostalgic tone: "What Zhang Zongji said is true. Back then, I fought against the Yuan people, and although some of them were no longer a match for us, there were still some self-proclaimed mighty warriors among them. They were indeed the backbone of our Ming army's resistance against the enemy. In fact, their strength was not to be underestimated. There was once when we were ordered to go into battle, with 1,000 men on each side. If it weren't for our general arriving just in time to support us, I'm afraid we would have been defeated...

  This will make Liu Zidao be frightened, Lao Gu is an old soldier who has entered the regular army and killed Yuan people, what he says is eight or nine out of ten, it seems that being underestimated by the Yuan people is not possible.

  "General! Ten miles ahead, there is our Ming army camp!" A scout rushed back to report. Wang Zhen nodded and after chasing for several days and nights with little rest, finally caught up with the Northern Expeditionary Army's footsteps. He hastily ordered his men to go forward and make contact, so that they could merge with their own troops.

  ……

  "Sir, the scout has returned to report that the baggage train from Beiping's rear caught up with the army's rear guard half an hour ago and is now stationed there. The deputy commander of the camp said that after we arrive at our destination, he will let them come over and merge with us." In the continuous Northern Expedition Army camp, more than 10,000 guards were stationed in a vast wilderness, and Tang Yun was listening to his guard's report.

  He stood with his hands behind him, facing the entire military map of Northern China in front of him, staring straight at the northernmost end of Shuntian Prefecture's Great Wall, where Miyun Houwei's garrison was located, Gubeikou.

  "Sir, shall we send someone to inform and have our three hundred households come over immediately?"

  "No need, this is the Northern Expedition Army, I was just a small deputy general when I was on duty, all military decisions must be made by Commander Xu, and we agreed to follow their command when we joined the Northern Expedition Army. Since they said to meet at the destination, let's listen to them, no dispute, no disobedience, it's better to be honest." This year, Tang Yun, the commander of the Tang family, rejected the proposal from his subordinates, he didn't want to have any conflict with Commander Xu, otherwise, when the time comes, who knows how they will arrange their troops on the battlefield.

  Everyone under him looked at the old superior with a harmonious and gentle appearance, also feeling extremely helpless. Tang Yun was considered a heroic man in his younger years in the military, but who would have thought that as he grew older, his temper became smaller and smaller? He sat in the position of Yan Wang Wei's commander-in-chief, adopting an attitude of "letting things go" with all matters, causing Xu Meng, the right guard commander at the same level as him, to look down on him.

  Along with his subordinates, they couldn't hold their heads up either. But Tang Yun didn't care about all that righteousness and infighting; what's the use of being loud-mouthed every day? What's the big deal about bullying the young masters? Only those who dare to fight on the battlefield, sacrifice themselves for the greater good, and charge forward as vanguards are true heroes.

  ……

  Wang Zhen and the three hundred soldiers under his command finally arrived at the Great Wall fort of Gubeikou, the destination of Xu Da's northern expeditionary force. This section of the Great Wall is located between Shanhai Pass and Juyong Pass, and it is a strategic location that connects the Mongolian Plateau and Liaodong to the Central Plains. Since our great Ming dynasty took control of this pass, the battles for control of this pass between our dynasty and the Northern Yuan have never ceased.

  Looking at the northern wall of Guan Ai, the breath of gunpowder and flames is evident, and it is clear that this place has just experienced a fierce battle not long ago. Under the city wall, broken flags and scattered armor, horse corpses and human bones, the land that the military must contend for is no more than this.

  Xu Da had ordered the army to rest and regroup for two days, sharpening their blades and preparing for battle. Once the army was fully prepared, they would set out on the campaign against Yuan with 200,000 troops...

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