Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1070 Death of Le Loi
"General, what shall we do next..."

Outside the Deng residence, several Zhou Wang guards brought by Cao Yuan returned to the residence that Cao Yuan had arranged for him. Before leaving, they looked back at the soldiers of Le Loi Army at the gate of the Deng residence and saw that the eyes of these Annan people were more or less hostile to them. A Zhou Wang guard said, "General, Le Loi secretly cultivated a lot of confidants, and now they are out of our control."

"If we don't leave now, I'm afraid that Le Loi will want to kill us."

"I know." Cao Yuan sneered and glanced at the corner of the eaves of the magnificent Deng family mansion in the distance.

"He transferred us to the south, isn't he planning to take the opportunity to kill us?"

The forces in the south were not the Annan nobles, but a group of bandits who had already raised the flag of rebellion in the early years.

The Annan nobles were extravagant, and a family of nobles would have hundreds or even thousands of slaves to serve them. Therefore, slave rebellions were very common in Annan. When Hu Jinyi was still the Minister of the Chen Dynasty, he was often regarded by Chen Yizong as the fire brigade of Annan, and was mobilized everywhere to quell slave rebellions in various parts of Annan.

Now Hu Jinyi was busy fighting with Ruan Duofang and getting beaten by the Ming Dynasty. With no one to put out the fire, the slave rebellion was developing rapidly.

The group of bandits that Le Loi asked Cao Yuan to deal with were several groups of slaves who had revolted and merged into one. They had a strong army and were very difficult to deal with because they started the rebellion very early and had rich combat experience. Cao Yuan had to work very hard to pacify the bandits. Unexpectedly, he heard the news that Le Loi wanted to send troops to plunder the north just after he came back.

"Tsk, you ungrateful bastard. If it weren't for us brothers, how could Li Li have such a huge fortune? He would have been scared to death in the Deng family mansion a long time ago."

"If it weren't for the secret support of our Fifth Prince, how could Le Loi have the capital to compete with the Hu and Nguyen families for the Annan Kingdom?"

"This Annan monkey is really ambitious. In my opinion, we shouldn't waste so much time and effort. We should just send troops to plow Annan..."

"General, why don't we go back and tell His Highness about Le Loi's rebellion and ask His Highness to send troops..."

Someone suggested to Cao Yuan.

"Your Highness's opinion is not something we can comment on." Cao Yuan shook his head and said, "Since Your Highness wants us to stay here and assist Le Loi, we should naturally follow Your Highness's opinion."

"When we go back and report to His Highness, won't we have to tell him directly that we have failed to live up to his trust? The Le Loi incident is a very important part of our Great Ming's recovery of Annan. If we fail to act properly and cause our Great Ming to lose the opportunity to regain our ancestors' homeland, won't we become the eternal sinners of China?"

Everyone was silent, all of them looked worried. Yes, the Ming Dynasty would recover Annan today. It didn't matter if they lost their lives, but they couldn't fail in such a big event and lose the reputation of the Ming Dynasty.

"But... Le Loi's current appearance clearly shows that he will no longer obey our orders. Your Highness's plan to use Le Loi to win the hearts and minds of the people of Annan is now dead in name only."

"Even if we still stay here, it's just... it's just to help Le Loi expand his power, right?"

"Not only that." Another soldier said, "General, you just provoked Le Loi today. If you continue to stay here."

"I'm afraid that Le Loi will find other ways to kill you!"

"Although we are not afraid of death, we cannot die so quietly and worthlessly!"

According to their original plan, every time Le Loi eliminated a noble family, he would publicize the current situation of Ming society among the local poor and common people, and point out that Annan was also part of China more than a hundred years ago, so that the people of Annan would have the expectation that "if we return to China, we can also live a good life."

But in fact, because of Le Loi's obstruction, what Le Loi actually accomplished now was just "publicizing the current social situation in the Ming Dynasty", and he did not hint at what would happen to the people if they returned to China.

In fact, if Cao Yuan hadn't been watching, Le Loi wouldn't have done even this. After seeing the life and death of the once high-ranking Deng family being controlled by others like a chicken, Le Loi's ambition began to grow rapidly.

Instead of thinking about "making my Annan's poor family succeed" as he did in the past, he thought of another way to get promoted by "replacing him".

That is, to destroy the aristocratic families and expel the Hu family.

Then, you will become the lord of Annan!

In the past, life and death were in the hands of the gentry, but in the future, life and death will be in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

Le Loi was unwilling.

Cao Yuan, who had some connection with the Ming Dynasty and was suspected of being responsible for "surveillance", naturally became a thorn in Le Loi's side.

"Do you think I don't know that Le Loi wants to kill me?" Facing the worried looks of his subordinates, Cao Yuan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Your Highness has already made arrangements. Why should I be afraid of Le Loi?"

"General, did you do this on purpose?" All the subordinates were shocked, and then their faces were filled with joy. "What kind of plan and arrangement does Your Highness have?"

“Those who strike first will gain the upper hand, and those who strike later will suffer disaster.”

"His Highness asked us to break into Deng's mansion tonight under the cover of darkness and kill Li Li!" Cao Yuan said with a stern look on his face.

"Ah!" Everyone was shocked again, with a look of astonishment and bewilderment on their faces. "Kill Le Loi? This..."

"But if the Ming Dynasty kills Le Loi, how can the people of Annan be loyal to the Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Highness has made arrangements." Cao Yuan looked very confident. "All I ask is that we break into Deng's house tonight and kill Le Loi."

"Are you sure?"

Everyone looked at each other, laughed, and said, "Before, General, you entered Deng's house alone and treated the whole group of people in the house as nothing."

"Although a new group of people have been brought in, they are still not Annanites. What difference does it make?"

"We Ming people, have never been afraid of the Annan people. Since we have to strike first, we should go and twist Le Loi's head tonight."

"Damn it, what's the big picture of the country? Since His Highness has given the order, I don't care. We can't flatter His Highness as well as we use our brains, but when it comes to killing people, I think I'm still quite capable..."

The soldiers quickly reached a consensus. They no longer thought about whether killing Le Loi would have any negative impact on the Ming Dynasty. Instead, they started to discuss the specific details of how to kill Le Loi.

On the other side, in the Deng family mansion, Li Li was also gathering his confidants to discuss similar issues as Cao Yuan.

"Everyone," Li Li sat behind the table, picked up the teacup and took a sip. The few days of pampering had already cultivated a bit of a majestic temperament in him. "Cao Yuan has bullied us too much, I want to kill Cao Yuan."

"Are you willing to help me?" Li Li asked.

There were only four people in front of Le Loi. Although he had a temporary advantage in his power, he did not dare to tell everyone about the killing of the generals sent by the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he only found the four most trusted confidants, namely the heads of the Pan, Zheng, Ding and Zhao families. These four heads of the families were extremely hostile to the Ming Dynasty, and with the support of Le Loi, they had become very important in Le Loi's power.

Several people were surprised at first, then looked at each other, and the head of the Ding family stepped out and said, "My king (Le Loi has revolted and proclaimed himself king), that Ming general Cao Yuan dared to intrude into the military meeting without permission, and even shouted at you recklessly, which shows that he does not take you seriously at all."

"I, the Ding family, am willing to eliminate this scourge for Your Majesty, so that Your Majesty will no longer be manipulated by the Ming Dynasty, and can clear the world and restore a bright and peaceful world to our Great Yue!"

"Yes! The ambitions of the Ming Dynasty are even worse than those of the Hu family!" said the head of the Pan family. "If we want to succeed, we cannot be hindered by the Ming Dynasty."

"My Pan family is also willing to help the king and kill Cao Yuan to achieve the great cause!"

Seeing this, the Zheng family also said: "Cao Yuan has insulted our master too much. As the saying goes, if the master insults the minister, he will die. There is nothing to say. We, the Zheng family, will kill Cao Yuan for the king as soon as possible!"

Seeing the three people expressing their loyalty faster than each other, the head of the Zhao family quickly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, my Zhao family is willing to send out assassins to kill Cao Yuan... We will not let the Ming Dynasty suspect that it was you who did it!"

"Good!" Li Li stood up excitedly and looked at the head of the Zhao family with admiration. "This is what a wise man should say!"

"All three of you don't understand what I mean. I want to kill Cao Yuan, but I can't let the King of Zhou of the Ming Dynasty know that I killed him."

"The Ming Dynasty sends us military supplies every month, and their Duke of Liang is already on his way south with the Ming Dynasty's elite troops."

"If they knew that we were the ones who killed Cao Yuan, the Ming Dynasty would definitely turn against us immediately!"

The three family heads were stunned. The Zheng family head thought for a moment and asked uncertainly, "Could it be that... the king still wants to continue to accept funding from the Ming Dynasty?"

"Of course." Li Li nodded. "The resources sent by the Ming Dynasty are huge in quantity. We should not miss them."

"More importantly, we cannot anger the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty gets impatient and disregards the Hu family, and fights to the death with us... then we will definitely not end up well."

Having seen the elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty with his own eyes, Le Loi realized that he could not confront the Ming Dynasty head-on.

"But...if you are afraid of the Ming Dynasty, why do you want to target Cao Yuan? If Cao Yuan dies, the Ming Dynasty will definitely blame you, right?" But the four family heads did not understand. In their view, whether it was the Ming Dynasty or Cao Yuan, they were planning to take a share of the Annan people.

As long as the Ming Dynasty didn't exist, when Le Loi conquered the world in the future, the four families would be the new generation of Annan nobles. How could they be willing for Le Loi to continue to allow the Ming Dynasty to interfere?
"The Ming Dynasty is the Ming Dynasty, and Cao Yuan is Cao Yuan." Le Loi said. "Cao Yuan is just a pawn sent by the Ming Dynasty to monitor me. I have risen now, and the Ming Dynasty can only rely on me. As long as I still appear to be submissive to the Ming Dynasty, even if Cao Yuan dies, as long as the Ming Dynasty does not have direct evidence, they will continue to provide me with a steady stream of funding."

"At most, I will just replace a Ming army general to monitor me."

"But if Cao Yuan is allowed to live...Cao Yuan is extremely dissatisfied with me now. Maybe tomorrow he will write to the King of Zhou and ask for more troops to control me. This is something I absolutely cannot tolerate."

"So, you must quietly kill Cao Yuan tonight. After you return, immediately arrange for your assassins to take over."

"I will openly arrange for Cao Yuan to continue to fight bandits in the south. When the time comes, we will say that Cao Yuan was killed by bandits in the south. Swords and guns are blind on the battlefield, so the Ming Dynasty will naturally have nothing to say."

"What you have to do is to help me quietly remove Cao Yuan's head. Tomorrow morning, I hope you can present Cao Yuan's head to me."

The four heads of the family looked at each other and bowed their heads to accept Le Loi's request. They were also eager to kill Cao Yuan. On the one hand, they placed their bets on Le Loi and did not want Le Loi to actually work for the Ming Dynasty.

Secondly, as the spokesperson of the Ming Dynasty, Cao Yuan had great power among the rebels, second only to Le Loi. If Cao Yuan died, as Le Loi's most trusted confidants, the benefits left by Cao Yuan alone would be enough for them to make a living.

Now, it is Li Li who has personally come forward to request this matter. It has only benefits and no harm. Why not do it?
The four family heads left immediately and gathered their trusted warriors to prepare to kill Cao Yuan tonight.

……

However, not long after the four family heads left.

The door of the Deng family's old house was slammed loudly. The doorman cautiously opened the crack of the door to check, only to see that Cao Yuan grabbed the crack with a fierce look and pushed the door open with force.

"General Cao... General Cao?" Le Loi's doorman was stunned. "What's the matter with you at this late hour..."

"I'm here to see Le Loi." Cao Yuan pushed open the door and walked in with a group of people wearing helmets and armor. He said, "I received a tip that someone was planning to do something bad to Le Loi and he has been successfully assassinated."

"I must check whether he is alive or dead."

"Ah?" The concierge was stunned for a moment and said, "General Cao, this must be fake news."

"King Li was just seeing off several family heads just now. How could he have been assassinated? It's absolutely impossible..."

"Seeing is believing!" Cao Yuan said coldly. "Hurry up and send me to find Le Loi!"

Seeing that he was serious, the gatekeeper did not dare to neglect it. He walked ahead with a lantern and hurried to the backyard where Le Loi lived. When he arrived at the backyard, he saw that there was still light in the largest room. Le Loi was playing with a new concubine in it. Hearing the noise, he came out with his clothes on.

The doorman was relieved to see that Le Loi was still alive and kicking. He said with a smile, "General Cao, General Cao, look, I said it was fake news!"

"Your Majesty, you are still fine..."

"Cao Yuan." Seeing that it was Cao Yuan, Li Li's expression instantly turned cold. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Fake news? I don't think so." Cao Yuan showed a strange arc on his face. He strode forward and stabbed Li Li's stomach with a knife in Li Li's astonished eyes.

"Look, wasn't he assassinated?" Cao Yuan said calmly.

(End of this chapter)