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

Chapter 842: Barbarian Rebellion
Zhu Di was shocked. He was still too young after all, and his thinking was far from being as sophisticated as that of Old Zhu. Among the soldiers under his command, there were more foreigners and fewer Chinese. It was good to win battles at this time, but if they were defeated, the morale of the army would be frustrated, and those surrendered sultanates and tribal leaders might not have other ideas in their hearts.

But if the rear is unstable and you are on the front line, far away from your homeland, you will surely be in danger of death.

"Yes... your son is ignorant, please calm down, father."

Zhu Di was not a reckless person, he just didn't think it through at the time and didn't think so much. After hearing what Zhu said, he immediately understood. But his face was still full of regret and disappointment.

Old Zhu loved his children and grandchildren the most. Seeing that Zhu Di was really disappointed, he couldn't help but soften his expression. He coughed twice and said, "We also know that you want to make contributions to the Ming Dynasty. You can take a rest for a while. It doesn't mean that I will abandon my minions like this in the future."

"Those Western barbarians are worthless. They instigated those two idiots, Tang Shengzong and Lu Zhongheng. Sooner or later, we will go and settle this account with them... Then you will be of great use."

Speaking of Tang Shengzong and Lu Zhongheng, there was still some regret in Zhu's words. These two were also his adopted sons who he personally taught and promoted in the past. It would be a lie to say that there was no affection between them. Now that the two have ended up like this, Zhu will no longer blame Tang and Lu, but will put the blame on the British who linked them together.

Zhu Di was overjoyed when he heard this. Zhu's words were enough to show that even if we rested and recuperated, it would only be a temporary measure. Isn't it true? Since the West has the possibility of bullying and overpowering China in the future, our generation should be duty-bound to push these turtles that may emerge back into their puddles.

What's more, the "letter of credence" of Britain's allegiance to the Ming Dynasty was still in the hands of the imperial court. It was perfectly legitimate for the Ming Dynasty to punish Britain or even take away its autonomy.

Liu Bowen's memorial indeed caused an uproar in the court. The Ming Dynasty was now full of martial virtue, like a chariot full of power and galloping, and it was suddenly asked to stop temporarily. Many military officials, nobles, and even civil officials were unwilling to do so.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang also rewarded Liu Bowen and made his attitude to the court officials clear, which made many fence-sitters publicly support the court to take a break in order to comply with the will of heaven. However, even so, the resistance in the court was still great. It was Zhu Yuanzhang who was able to forcibly stop this chariot that needed maintenance. Otherwise, it would have continued to run until the moment when the chariot was destroyed and people died.

At the court meeting, Zhu Yuanzhang personally issued a series of decrees to rest and recuperate, announcing that the Ming court would switch from offense to defense and digest the results of the war. At the same time, the propaganda methods controlled by the court, such as newspapers and operas, also began to be launched to minimize the impact of the incident from the public opinion level.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was already in a semi-recuperation state, also began to re-enter the government. The policy of clearing up the hidden dangers of internal affairs involved all aspects. Although Zhu Biao was capable, he was not as experienced as Zhu Biao. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the state of reviewing everything and reviewing hundreds of memorials a day when he was dismissed from the position of prime minister. One day, Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing memorials in the Jinshen Hall when he saw a eunuch walk in quietly. He took the opportunity when Zhu Yuanzhang put down the memorials and took a breath, and leaned down and said softly: "Your Majesty, Lord Ru Ru Ru wants to see you."

"Hmm?" Old Zhu raised his eyebrows. Ru Hong, the current assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was an official from the Imperial College. The Imperial College was divided into tribute colleges, recommended colleges, imperial colleges, and regular colleges. Ru Hong was a tribute college student, who was selected by the local prefectures, states, and counties according to the plan. He was qualified at the age of sixteen, which shows how outstanding he was.

This person is pragmatic, calm in the face of emergencies, and not one to brag. He is very much to Zhu's liking. Zhu has high hopes for this person, and he was specially selected to be a promising talent to assist Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying in the future.

Ruheng bowed his head and walked in respectfully. When he reached the steps, he knelt down with great fear and trepidation and said, "Your Majesty, I am Ruheng. May your Majesty be blessed!"

Old Zhu had been the emperor for many years. Even though he was kind and gentle, he often made people feel the power of a dragon. Young ministers like Ru Hong were somewhat afraid of this emperor. Seeing him like this, Old Zhu softened his expression and said, "Ru Hong, what is the important matter that brought you to the palace to see me?"

"Your Majesty, I do have an urgent memorial..." Ru Hong took out a memorial from her bosom and held it high above her head. Erhu, the guard beside Zhu Yuanzhang, understood and took the memorial and presented it to Zhu Yuanzhang with both hands.

"Is there another rebellion in Sizhou?" As soon as he flipped through the memorial, Old Zhu frowned.

"Yes." Ru Hong nodded, looking somewhat worried. "I know that Your Majesty wants to rest and recuperate, and temporarily stop fighting. I really shouldn't bother you with this matter."

"But...please forgive me for speaking frankly. The troops in the Central Plains and Jiangnan can rest, but the people in the southwest are mostly barbaric. If there is no heavenly army from our court to suppress them, I am afraid they will not be able to submit to the rule of our Ming Dynasty."

"The turmoil in Sizhou is not that the southwest is not as bad as the Central Plains. It is like the dry grass beside the house. If we leave it alone, if a fire breaks out one day, it will surely affect the house."

"I dare to ask Your Majesty to send Duke Cao and Duke Liang to quell the rebellion in Sizhou and bring peace to the southwest," said Ru Rong.

He knelt prostrate on the ground and spoke earnestly because he knew that the emperor had announced that he would temporarily stop the fighting. But he was asking the emperor to send two dukes to quell the rebellion as soon as possible... This was tantamount to asking the emperor to change his mind every day. If the emperor felt resentful, he would probably kill him on the spot.

Old Zhu thought for a while and then said, "Don't be so nervous. You are loyal and I am not unreasonable, so I won't blame you."

"We need to stop the fighting temporarily, and let the Ming Dynasty rest and recuperate for a while... If we allow these barbarians to wreak havoc on the land, how can we rest and recuperate?"

"You should leave first. We know about this matter. We will not allow this rebellion to continue for long."

"Yes." Ru Heng was delighted, kowtowed deeply again, and then stepped back.

After he left, Old Zhu still looked solemn. He picked up a jade ruyi beside the throne and began to tap it gently on his palm.

He was not worried about the chaos of the barbarians. In Lianzhou, near Sizhou, Li Wenzhong and Lan Yu were stationed there with tens of thousands of troops. As long as this army was dispatched, the barbarians could be wiped out overnight. Old Zhu was thinking about something more long-term.

"Annan..." He stood up and walked to the screen behind him. On the screen, the word "Annan" in the lower left corner of the Ming Dynasty caught Zhu's eyes.

(End of this chapter)