Chapter 20: Zhu Ying's name resounds throughout the imperial court, first reaching the ears of Zhu Yuanzhang!

"Report!"

"Victory report from Daning Prefecture!"

A loud shout echoed outside the hall.

Immediately following, a rapid messenger rushed into the great hall and knelt directly upon the floor.

"Reporting to the Emperor!"

"Victory report from Daning Prefecture!"

The messenger removed the bamboo tube containing the victory report from his back and held it up with both hands.

"Biao'er was right," Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile. "It seems Daning Prefecture has indeed achieved military results."

With a wave of his hand, an attendant beside him immediately descended the hall, took the bamboo tube, and swiftly turned to present it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened the tube and took out the report.

Upon reading it, a smile spread across his face. "Hahaha!"

"Bu Wan, this commander is quite good. Our Ming soldiers have stormed into the lands of the Northern Frontier Tartars, annihilating over six thousand enemies and capturing over three thousand. Our casualties were no more than four thousand. We have won the battle."

"Haha, excellent!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily.

"Your ministers congratulate the Emperor!"

"This successful first strike is surely a blessing for the Emperor and a blessing for the Great Ming. Our Daning Prefecture is situated on the Northern Frontier, bordering the Northern Yuan and these Jianzhou Tartars. These Jianzhou Tartars are the hounds of the Northern Yuan, disturbing the peace of our Great Ming's border prefectures. To slay so many Tartars this time will surely serve as a massive deterrent to the Northern Yuan. Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The civil and military officials in the imperial court offered their congratulations to Zhu Yuanzhang one after another.

"Eh?"

After setting the victory report down, Zhu Yuanzhang let out a soft sound of surprise, for beneath the victory report lay another document—a battle report.

With a hint of astonishment, Zhu Yuanzhang opened this battle report. As he focused his eyes on the contents, his expression turned into one of shock.

Watching him, most of the officials in the court also became curious.

"Imperial Father," Zhu Biao asked with a smile, "is there something else regarding Daning Prefecture?"

"Biao'er, look at this."

Zhu Yuanzhang directly handed the small battle report in his hand toward Zhu Biao.

Confused, Zhu Biao stepped forward and took it.

When he saw the contents of the battle report, Zhu Biao's expression also became quite startled.

"To think such a fierce soldier exists," Zhu Biao remarked, quite surprised.

"Your Imperial Highness," a military official stepped forward and asked respectfully, "has something happened in Daning Prefecture?"

"Read it aloud," Zhu Biao said, handing the battle report to a nearby attendant.

The attendant took it, immediately held it up, and read loudly: "Minister Bu Wan reports to the Emperor! This time, our Daning Prefecture border troops stormed the Northern Frontier and crushed the Jianzhou Tartar border army in a single battle, achieving great spoils. The key to this victory lay in a single squad of our Daning Prefecture border troops, a soldier named Zhu Ying. His ferocity and bravery were unmatched; he charged into the enemy ranks, unafraid of death, and personally slew one hundred and three enemies. He also bravely decapitated the Tartar commander and cut down the Tartar war flag, causing the enemy's morale to collapse entirely! Therefore, our army achieved a great victory over the Tartar forces and completed the encirclement. Following the Emperor's established system of military merit, I have rewarded Zhu Ying according to his achievements, promoting him five ranks to the position of Thousand-man Commander (Qianhu). This youth is exceptionally fierce and possesses extraordinary strength; thus, I submit this report to the Emperor."

Hearing this, the civil and military officials in the court could not help but look at one another in disbelief.

"Slaying one hundred and three enemies alone? One man killed a hundred Tartars?"

"This... this battle report can't be fake, can it?"

"With such strength, is that even humanly possible?"

"In the past, how fierce was King Kaiping? He led from the front, and when he fought Chen Youliang, killing over seventy enemies in a single day was considered the strongest feat in the world. How fierce is this youth to have killed a hundred?"

"It's impossible, right?"

"Not only did he kill a hundred, but he also took the general and the flag."

"These results are a bit too much."

"The battle statistics are compiled by the military censors and reported through multiple levels; how could they be fake?"

"Perhaps a fierce general has truly emerged for our Great Ming in this battle."

...

Regarding these results, the first feeling of the officials in the court was shock, and the second was disbelief. After all, these results seemed almost too incredible to believe.

Slaying a hundred men alone. Even killing a chicken wouldn't be that easy, let alone the fierce Tartars of the Northern Frontier.

"Your son congratulates Imperial Father," Zhu Biao turned to Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "To have such a brave general in the army is a blessing for our Great Ming."

"Slaying a hundred enemies, taking the general and the flag..."

A look of shock also hung on Zhu Yuanzhang's face. His thoughts drifted back to the days of fighting Chen Youliang, during the critical moment of annihilating him to unify the South.

*"Get up! Just wait for this battle. Watch me personally slaughter those brats of Chen Youliang's. But once we take the city in this battle, you must give me Chen Youliang's sweat-blood horses; don't let them go to Xu Da and the others for nothing."*

A middle-aged man had stood before Zhu Yuanzhang, speaking with immense confidence before heading straight into battle with his blade.

Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the results of that battle clearly. His brother, Chang Yuchun, had led from the front and slain seventy-eight enemy soldiers; even one of Chen Youliang's sons had been split by his blade.

After that victory, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered lifting Chang Yuchun's hand and shouting to the entire army: "Do you see? This is our brother! This is the God of War in our army!"

That memory surfaced vividly in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

"Imperial Father," Zhu Biao called softly.

Zhu Yuanzhang startled, snapping back to reality, a smile appearing on his face.

"Biao'er is right," Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. "For such a brave general to appear in our Great Ming is indeed a blessing for our empire."

"Imperial Father," Zhu Biao immediately proposed, "since this battle report was able to be presented all the way to Yingtian, the results must have been clearly tallied and cannot be false. This youth is so fierce; he deserves to be cultivated with great importance."

"Biao'er is right," Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, fully agreeing with his son. "By the way, what was his name again?"

As the words left his mouth, Zhu Yuanzhang realized he had forgotten Zhu Ying's name, having been completely captivated by the feat of one man killing a hundred. Thinking of this, he hurriedly flipped through the report.

"Imperial Father," Zhu Biao said with a smile, "the general's name is Zhu Ying."

"Zhu Ying, is it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, feeling a slight tremor in his heart, though he quickly recovered.

"Pass my decree!"

"Bu Wan has rewarded him well according to military merit. In my Great Ming, in my world, no meritorious official shall be overlooked. As long as one serves the state and achieves merit, there shall be rewards. Let the Ministry of War spread the news of Zhu Ying's achievements throughout the entire army to inspire all soldiers!" Zhu Yuanzhang immediately issued the command.

Tang Duo stepped forward: "Your servant accepts the decree."

"Now that the Daning Prefecture border troops have achieved victory, the Northern Yuan court and Naha'chu will surely make a move. Pass my decree: tell Bu Wan to hold the line firmly. The Daning Prefecture border troops may soon face a massive offensive from both the Northern Yuan and the Tartars. Tell him to endure; the true heavyweights of our Great Ming are coming soon," Zhu Yuanzhang said with a cold smile.

To the Northern Yuan, the Daning Prefecture border troops might appear to be the main force, but in reality, the true main force was still to come!