Zhang Xianzhong deliberately laughed a few times, then mysteriously lowered his voice and said, "Then, Lord Yuan, come closer, I'll tell you in a low voice."
Yuan Chonghuan was speechless.
This is the royal city of Hanjing, surrounded by the Imperial Guards they brought from the Ming Dynasty. How could any secrets possibly leak out?
But seeing Zhang Xianzhong's serious expression, he had no choice but to play along and actually went over to him.
"Then I would be grateful if you, young Master Zhang, would be so kind as to offer your guidance."
Hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong became even more smug and said with a grin:
"Actually, it's simple. As long as you, Lord Yuan, personally take up arms and go into battle, you will surely defeat the enemy."
"Haven't you heard of Yuan Shen's words about starting up?"
Yuan Chonghuan's face turned pale with anger.
"Zhang Xianzhong! How dare you mock me!"
"What you're saying is utter nonsense!"
His beard trembled incessantly, indicating that he was truly furious.
That makes sense, really, very few people in the Ming Dynasty could handle the Zhang Xianzhong reference.
Of course, this is also Gao Qingyun's fault...
Yuan Chonghuan turned and left, intending to revisit the city walls.
At the same time, he thought to himself, "It seems that Zhang Xianzhong's achievement the other day was purely a coincidence; he was really lucky."
"Or perhaps it was that unfathomable Master Gao who gave his precious apprentice some kind of brilliant plan or secret strategy."
"Now that he's used up all his luck and clever schemes, all he can do is talk nonsense!"
"I'm afraid this Han capital can't be held for long, I should make plans soon."
"Fortunately, Ganghwa Island is still in the hands of the Koreans. As long as we reach the beach, we'll still have a way to retreat..."
Yuan Chonghuan muttered to himself as he walked away.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, the Ming soldiers who had been guarding the gates saw that Yuan Chonghuan had left and went inside to find Zhang Xianzhong.
"Lord Zhang, what did you say to Lord Yuan just now? Why did he storm out in such a huff?"
These people were the soldiers who had been left behind by Zhang Xianzhong last time.
They still admired Zhang Xianzhong to some extent, believing that he was either wise in disguise or incredibly lucky.
In short, I am willing to trust him.
Someone even asked, "Yes, yes, why is Lord Yuan angry?"
Zhang Xianzhong shook his head unhappily.
"How would I know? I was clearly praising him!"
"Could he also be a Yuan dynasty scholar?"
These soldiers naturally couldn't understand it either, but they weren't Yuan Chonghuan, so they didn't dare to get angry.
He could only cautiously ask, "Lord Zhang, what exactly do you want to say?"
This time, Zhang Xianzhong was a bit more serious.
Isn't my meaning clear enough?
"Our current situation is not good, it's just that morale is low."
"I suggest that Lord Yuan personally don his armor and go out of the city to repel the Jurchens' charge head-on. Wouldn't that boost morale?"
After hearing this, everyone was speechless.
Zhang Xianzhong's suggestion was not fundamentally flawed, but it had one minor oversight.
That's our Lord Yuan Chonghuan, a civil official.
If he really goes out of the city to fight, let alone whether he can defeat the Jurchens, he himself will not become a second Ming emperor. Even if the Ming army in the city is lucky.
They exchanged a glance and both felt that Zhang Xianzhong's suggestion was unreliable.
But at this moment, Zhang Xianzhong himself regained his spirits.
"Fine, if Yuan Chonghuan is unwilling to leave the city, then I'll do it myself."
"Where are those four adopted sons I took in last time? Step forward quickly so your godfather can recognize them."
Upon hearing this, those around him were left speechless, neither laughing nor crying.
"After all this time, you've forgotten about the adopted son you recognized last time?"
But the four commanders still came out and forced smiles at Zhang Xianzhong.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Xianzhong laughed loudly, "Good, good, good! With you adopted sons, how can we not defeat the Jurchens?"
"Bring me my armor, and I'll charge out of the city and fight the Jurchens for eight hundred rounds."
"Watch me make him go in and out seven times."
The four adopted sons' lips twitched, and after a long while they finally spoke: "Um, Lord Zhang, you don't have any armor either, what can we bring you?"
Zhang Xianzhong then realized that he really didn't have any armor.
But there wasn't even a hint of embarrassment on his face.
Nonsense, if you're afraid of feeling awkward, why act like a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grand
He slapped his forehead and said, "Isn't that simple?"
"Can't you just find me any suit of armor?"
The four adopted sons were speechless after hearing this.
Reality isn't a game; the armor, especially the general's armor, is basically custom-made.
While modifications are possible, they would take a considerable amount of time.
Moreover, when it comes to actual combat, it's not enough to just wear a layer of iron armor; usually, one also needs to wear a thick cotton-padded coat underneath.
This also helps to mitigate the impact when the armor is hit.
Zhang Xianzhong had none of these things.
After exchanging a glance, they had no choice but to say, "Please wait a moment while we go and look for it for you."
When they went out and asked, they actually found a whole set.
A Goryeo eunuch somehow produced a suit of armor. Although it was oddly shaped, it was the right size and fit Zhang Xianzhong quite well.
The four men happily accepted the armor, casually asking, "Where did this thing come from?"
That eunuch could speak Chinese.
He said with a smile, "So that the Heavenly Soldiers know that these are spoils of war we captured when the Japanese pirates invaded decades ago."
"Huh? This is Japanese armor?" The group immediately looked disgusted, and were even more afraid that Zhang Xianzhong would be unhappy if he knew the truth.
But they had no other choice at the time, so they had to bite the bullet and take the Japanese armor back with them.
Then he spouted nonsense, saying, "Lord Zhang, look, this is the Goryeo armor we found."
After glancing at it a few times, Zhang Xianzhong burst into laughter.
"Why are you lying to me? This thing looks like something from Japan."
This wasn't something Gao Qingyun told him; rather, he himself had seen the real thing while wandering around the palace.
After Zhang Xianzhong walked closer and looked him over, he didn't say anything.
"Never mind, as long as I have something to wear, that's fine. Someone, help me put on this armor."
"I will leave the city now and fight the Jurchens to the death."
After putting on the strange Japanese armor, he ran to the door in a flash and asked the gatekeeper to open it.
The canal worker initially dared not proceed, but seeing Zhang Xianzhong's angry expression, he became somewhat frightened.
"Lord Zhang, please don't be angry. I'll open the door for you right away."
With a creak, the north gate of Hanjing slowly opened, and Zhang Xianzhong stepped out, shouting at the outside of the city, "Where are the Jurchens? Do you dare to fight me for three hundred rounds?"
On the city wall, Yuan Chonghuan was shocked to hear that the city gates had been opened.
"Who told them to open the gate? Could there be a Jurchen spy in the city?"
When he understood, he realized that Zhang Xianzhong had voluntarily left the city.
He was speechless at first, then let out a cold laugh.
"This kid is really asking for it!"
"In that case, let it be!"
Upon hearing Yuan Chonghuan's words, the Imperial Guards behind him felt a jolt of fear.
"My lord, isn't this a bad idea? What if something really happens to Lord Zhang? We'll have a hard time explaining this to His Majesty!"
Under normal circumstances, Yuan Chonghuan would definitely have considered these things.
But at this point, he was too busy taking care of himself and had already started thinking about how to escape, so how could he possibly care about so many other things?
"Hmph, do I need you to interrupt me when I'm doing my job?"
"If you care so much about that brat, then go out of the city with him yourself!"
After being reprimanded, the Imperial Guard dared not speak, and could only look longingly outside the city, hoping that Zhang Xianzhong would return safely.
Meanwhile, the Jurchens were also in a state of utter silence.
After a long while, someone finally spoke up: "No, what tricks are the Ming army playing?"
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