This may be the most difficult moment in Zhu Di's life.

At the same time, Zhu Di also felt a little regretful.

The early campaigns were too smooth, which made Zhu Di want to go further and achieve greater success.

But he forgot that the grassland was not his home ground, and there was no place to hide in the endless plains.

The falcon flying high in the sky of Beiyuan was like a leech attached to its bones, with no possibility of escape.

Perhaps in the time of Genghis Khan, people still used bows to shoot eagles, but now everyone uses light bows, and the range is completely unattainable.

This also makes the falcon even more unscrupulous.

"This falcon is really a good thing. I will definitely raise a few of them in the future."

While escaping, Zhu Di said with emotion.

Zhang Yu had a worried look on his face. He looked back from time to time and could vaguely see the Mongolian cavalry chasing after him.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry that I can no longer follow you."

Zhang Yu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he spoke with a somewhat sad tone.

Zhu Di immediately understood what Zhang Yu meant, and said in a deep voice: "I won't allow it!"

Zhu Neng now has one arm broken. If Zhang Yu breaks it here too, it would mean that he would lose both his left and right arms.

This was a real blow to Zhu Di in the future.

Soldiers can be trained again if they are gone, but it will be extremely difficult to have such a general again.

"But……"

“No buts!!!”

The wind was roaring, and Zhu Di almost interrupted Zhang Yu's words with a roar.

"They dare not do anything to me. Even if you try to delay them now, it will be meaningless. A hundred cavalrymen can only hold them off for a few breaths."

"In just a few breaths of time, can I grow wings and fly away?"

"If we are captured, then we will be captured together. With me here, they dare not do anything to me, and they will serve me with good wine and good food."

"As long as I am here, your life will be safe."

"Don't forget, the Northern Yuan also came from the Central Plains. They are not wild grassland people."

Zhu Di was very clear that under the current circumstances, the Northern Yuan Dynasty was in a great disadvantage compared to the Ming Dynasty.

After being captured, he was used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Ming Dynasty.

Although he lost some face, his father taught him since he was a child that failure on the battlefield is not terrible, but what is terrible is being knocked down.

People like Zhu Di have firm character and strong will, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty would not be negligent in any way.

At most, he could be used to negotiate the embargo with the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, he was the fourth son and just a vassal king. What would be the point even if he was killed?

When Zhang Yu heard the prince say this, tears welled up in his eyes and he choked up in his heart.

At this time, the war horses on Zhu Di's side had slowed down after a long period of running.

The Mongolian man and his two horses still maintained a very high posture and soon surrounded them.

"Put down your bow and arrow."

Zhu Di stopped his horse and gave instructions to the guards beside him.

At this point, there is no need to struggle any more.

Thousands of Mongolian cavalry quickly surrounded Zhu Di's hundred cavalrymen, but they just watched and had no intention of approaching.

Obviously he was waiting for the commander behind him to come.

Although Zhu Di was surrounded, he remained calm, without any sign of decadence or discouragement. There was still pride in his eyes as he looked at the surrounding Mongolian soldiers.

As a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, he has the confidence.

Soon, a path was cleared among the dense Mongolian cavalry.

A Mongolian man wearing light armor and Northern Yuan Dynasty court uniform rode slowly towards them on his horse.

"Haba, the Minister of War of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, greets the Prince of the Ming Dynasty."

Haba sat on his horse and bowed to Zhu Di from a distance.

At least in terms of etiquette, there is nothing wrong with it. It is not the attitude of a winner at all, but more like that of a friend.

Zhu Di shook his hands and said, "Go to the Haba Shangshu's tent?"

Haba bowed slightly, waved his hand and said, "Please welcome the King of Yan."

Without taking off his armor, Zhu Di just rode on his horse and followed Haba like a guest.

Zhang Yu wanted to follow but was stopped by Mongolian cavalry.

Haba paused for a moment and said, "The servants here may not be very sensible. King Yan can just bring three or five servants."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu handed his weapon to the guard next to him, then took two people with him and followed Zhu Di.

At this time, Haba's mood was incomparable.

Not only Haba, all the Mongolian cavalrymen and generals were extremely excited.

This is a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, and among the many vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty, he is one of the most prominent ones.

Ordinary Mongolians naturally did not understand, but the Northern Yuan Dynasty knew too much about these things.

Who could have thought that such a day would really come.

Haba's name will be spread throughout the entire Beiyuan grassland.

…

No one would have thought that the Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty would actually be captured by the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

This news had spread throughout the entire grassland border in just three days.

The army thundered.

All the soldiers assigned to the border garrisons were summoned.

There were still some smugglers, but at this time they were all completely cut off.

Any general or commander with a bit of common sense would know what this meant at this moment.

If things go wrong, a decisive battle of unprecedented scale will take place between the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

Seven days later, the news reached the capital.

The capital was shaken.

This is Prince of Yan, Zhu Di.

He actually became a prisoner of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. This was a slap in the face of the entire Ming Dynasty and also a slap in the face of the entire Ming army.

No one thinks that Prince of Yan Zhu Di is very capable in military affairs. Too many military achievements are enough to prove his ability.

But this is the situation now.

In the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne again, and the previous curtain was lifted, which meant that Emperor Hongwu returned to power again.

Zhu Ying stood quietly in front of the dragon throne as he did in the past.

All the civil and military officials below were trembling with fear and dared not make the slightest move.

In fact, most of the ministers knew very well that although the Prince of Yan and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had some disagreements in the past, among the many princes, except for the Crown Prince who had passed away, the Prince of Yan was the one most loved by His Majesty.

If the Prince of Yan had not been the fourth son, or if he had been the second son, he might have been established as the new crown prince after the crown prince's death.

But such a King of Yan has now become a prisoner of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

This is absolutely an extremely infuriating thing for Your Majesty.

"We have fought many battles in the south and the north for many years, and have had many dealings with the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but our Ming Dynasty has never suffered such a big loss."

"Are our soldiers old, or are the new soldiers useless? How could such a thing happen in a place like the grassland?"

"It's no use pursuing these things now, and I'm too lazy to care about them anymore."

"Let's discuss it carefully and see what to do now."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was calm yet a little angry. If it had happened in the past, a large number of people would have shed their heads.

Now, his temper has become much more restrained because of Zhu Ying.

But which minister would dare to respond to this?

If you give a bad answer to this question, you will definitely lose your head.

For a long while, the entire Fengtian Hall was silent. No one spoke, and even the sound of breathing was extremely faint.

Hundreds of ministers were like sculptures, without any movement.

This kind of atmosphere made the entire Fengtian Hall eerily quiet.

"Why, our son has been captured, and none of you ministers who usually say that you want to show your ambitions and have great plans dare to speak up?"

"Is there no one who can give us advice? Then why should we keep you? You are all just useless people."

Zhu Yuanzhang's roar continued to echo throughout the Fengtian Hall. There was no need for eunuchs to pass on the message. Everyone in the hall could hear it clearly.

At this moment, all the ministers knelt down on the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up from the dragon throne, and then looked coldly at the several ministers kneeling in front of him, and his gaze finally fell on the Minister of War Ru Chang.

"Ruhong, tell me what we should do now."

Hearing His Majesty personally naming her, Ru Hong naturally could not refuse. She bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the Northern Yuan Dynasty is now under a comprehensive embargo, and the people on the grassland are suffering. Naturally, they want to use His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan as a hostage and then negotiate with our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "Of course I know what you said."

"But I can't let go of the anger in my heart. You have to think of a way to let go of the anger in my heart."

"Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, such a thing has never happened before. This is a disgrace and shame for the Ming Dynasty!"

After listening to His Majesty's roar, Ru Hong did not dare to pause for a moment, fearing that if she was a few breaths late, His Majesty would punish her directly.

He immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I think we should mobilize the border troops at this moment to give the Northern Yuan the greatest counterattack, so that they can clearly understand their own situation. In this way, we can also protect the safety of His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan very well."

"It can also let the Northern Yuan know that the current Ming Dynasty is no longer the Ming Dynasty of the past. It is an existence that they cannot afford to provoke at all."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said with a little anger: "Don't kneel down one by one. What we want is for you to help us solve our problems, not just kneel down on the ground when you say something."

"The Ming Dynasty was won by you officials kneeling down. It was won inch by inch by us leading millions of soldiers."

"If we encounter any major events in the future, you will just kneel like this one by one. Then all of you should retire. You are useless and a waste of food."

"All these years of reading have been in vain."

Zhu Yuanzhang was really disappointed with these ministers.

It seems that there are no capable ministers in the entire Fengtian Palace.

In fact, this situation also reflects the suppression of court officials by imperial power.

In the beginning, such situations rarely occurred. No matter what happened at that time, there would be talents like Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, and Liu Bowen who would stand up and offer advice.

And as they died one by one, they have all been completely suppressed by Zhu Yuanzhang in the current court.

When encountering any problem, the first thing that comes to mind is not to deal with the problem, but to protect your own life first.

Zhu Yuanzhang had killed too many ministers in the court before, which led to many ministers' first reaction sometimes being to weigh the pros and cons rather than thinking about how to deal with the matter.

Of course, if you force yourself, you can come up with a solution.

Ru Rong is a good example.

…

In fact, Zhu Ying did not expect that Zhu Di would actually be captured alive.

In fact, the possibility of Zhu Di being captured was very small.

After all, seven or eight thousand people may seem like a lot on the vast grassland, but the movements of tens of thousands of troops are more obvious.

Although the falcon is magical, unless it discovers the enemy directly, there are many ways to avoid it.

Strictly speaking, the reason why Zhu Di was captured alive was actually closely related to Zhu Ying.

It’s not that Zhu Ying wanted Zhu Di to be captured alive on purpose, he just wanted Zhu Di’s progress on the grassland to not be so smooth, so as to open up a better situation.

I just didn't expect such a situation to occur.

Of course, in a sense, the current situation is very favorable for the Ming Dynasty.

It sounds a bit confusing, but in reality it is quite simple.

As for conquering the grassland, most of the soldiers on the border were not very happy about it, because the grassland was a hard nut to crack for the Ming Dynasty.

The main manifestation here is that the grassland is too vast, and the grassland tribes migrate frequently and do not have a fixed residence, so it is difficult to completely eliminate this threat.

The infantry's presence on the grassland was not very strong, so they could only defend the border and face the battle in a relatively passive manner.

Now that Zhu Di has been captured alive, they are nominally more powerful.

At least the commanders of these border garrisons understood very well that at this time, they must not be passive and lazy, but must really exert their strength.

Otherwise, if the news gets to His Majesty in the capital, no matter who he is, there will be no room for mercy.

As for the current border, after Zhu Yuanzhang's edict arrived, all the garrison troops were mobilized.

The gates of the cities at the border were opened one by one, and a large number of soldiers began to go into battle, advancing directly into the depths of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

This gave the Northern Yuan Dynasty a great deterrent, and all the tribes that received the news immediately began to migrate.

No one wants to face an angry Ming Dynasty.

Anything that stands in the way will be forcibly destroyed.

This news was quickly passed to the Northern Yuan court.

Zhu Di suddenly became a hot potato.