Dad, look again, are these rebel soldiers?

Zhu Gaochi's trembling voice whispered "rebellion," draining him of all his strength.

He lay on the carriage cushion, his obese body shaking violently from fear and excitement. His small eyes stared intently at Zhu Zhanjun outside the carriage, filled with terror, confusion, and a hint of reliance he himself hadn't noticed.

Yes, at the most desperate moment of the Great Ming Dynasty, when he, the Regent Crown Prince, had vomited blood from fear and the court officials were crying and begging to move south, it was his most useless second son who had stepped forward.

But this pillar of strength was too thick!

Too thick, it scared him!

"Son... you... you tell Dad the truth..."

Zhu Gaochi's voice was dry. "Raising such a... such an army, what exactly do you want to do? If Imperial Grandfather finds out, he'll... he'll flay you alive!"

Zhu Zhanjun looked at his father's terrified expression and felt a mix of amusement and heartache.

He dismounted, walked a few steps to the carriage window, lifted the curtain, and revealed a face still wearing a somewhat roguish smile.

"Dad, look at you, you're so scared. I told you, they're just household guards, with a special kind of organization/staffing."

"Nonsense!"

Zhu Gaochi, uncharacteristically, swore, spitting flecks of saliva onto Zhu Zhanjun's face. "Do you think I'm blind? Those horses! A head taller than Mongol horses! That armor! It covers the horses completely, even the elites of the Three Thousand Camp aren't this extravagant! And those swords, what kind of swords are those? They chill me to the bone! You call these household guards? This is an army capable of slaughtering its way through an entire city!"

Xia Yuanji and Fang Bin, who were nearby, had already scrambled to their feet and retreated far away.

Although they were thrown about and disoriented, the storm raging in their hearts at this moment was ten thousand times more intense than their physical pain.

Fang Bin, in particular, clutched his swollen red face and looked at the silent steel army in the wind and snow, feeling a chill surge from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

He had dared to mock Zhu Zhanjun for using cricket cages to fight before. Now, he felt that even if Prince Zheng threw cricket cages at them, those cages would probably kill a row of Mongol soldiers.

This was no private army!

This was clearly an army of tigers and wolves preparing to conquer the world!

"Dad, keep your voice down."

Zhu Zhanjun took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped the saliva from his face. "If my soldiers hear you, they'll think you have a problem with them. I spent a fortune raising them, they're very precious."

He lowered his voice and leaned close to Zhu Gaochi's ear, speaking in a voice only father and son could hear. "Dad, think about it. If I really wanted to rebel, would I wait until today? Imperial Grandfather took all the elites from the country, Eldest Brother is at the front line, and you're the only one in Beijing. If I charged into the palace with these three thousand men, who do you think could stop me?"

Zhu Gaochi's breathing hitched.

Yes, second son was right.

With the fighting power of this army, let alone the Beijing garrison, it was questionable whether even the full strength of the three great camps of the capital could stop them.

If he had truly had that intention, he, the Regent Crown Prince, would have already been tied up by him.

"Then tell me, does Imperial Grandfather know you're raising this army?"

Zhu Gaochi grasped the crucial point.

"He didn't before, but now..."

Zhu Zhanjun grinned. "When I rescue Imperial Grandfather from the Great Snow Mountain, won't he know? Then, whether it's a reward or punishment, let him decide. It's better than not being able to find him at all, like now."

These words were simply those of a stubborn rogue.

Zhu Gaochi was so choked up he couldn't speak for a long time.

He realized that his son had completely changed today.

Although he had been a scoundrel before, it was within the realm of understanding.

Today's Zhu Zhanjun was like an unfathomable mist. You thought he was fooling around, but he would show you an invincible army; you thought he was going to rebel, but he would put on the guise of a great loyal subject and filial son.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

The Crown Princess, Lady Zhang, called out from behind. She had also arrived in another carriage, clearly alerted by the commotion.

When Lady Zhang saw the three thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders, she was also stunned into silence.

But she was, after all, a woman of mettle and quickly regained her composure.

She walked to Zhu Gaochi's carriage, glanced at her husband's complex expression, and then at her son's relaxed face.

"Second son, are these really your men?"

Lady Zhang's voice was steady.

"Mother, of course. I've saved up my private money for many years."

Zhu Zhanjun replied with a cheeky grin.

Lady Zhang's phoenix eyes narrowed, and she immediately grasped the main point: "Can they fight? Can they rescue Grandfather?"

"Yes!"

Zhu Zhanjun's answer was decisive, without the slightest hesitation. "Let alone Arutai, even if the Oirats and Tatars all came, these three thousand men of mine could cut them to pieces!"

This confidence was so powerful that it was impossible to doubt.

Lady Zhang took a deep breath and turned to Zhu Gaochi, saying, "Your Highness, at this point, are there any other options? Let second son go! No matter where his men came from, as long as they can rescue the Emperor and save the Great Ming, even if he dug them out from underground, they are still the heroes of our Zhu family!"