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

Chapter 889: Refusing to Open the City

Ma Ye and his party hurried out to greet them. When they reached the top of the city wall, they saw a team outside the city with flags flying. Leading the way were the Ming dragon flag and the sun and moon flag, and behind them was a large flag with the word "Zhou Wang Su" inscribed on it, symbolizing King Zhou Zhu Su. It was indeed His Royal Highness the King of Zhou that had arrived.

However, in addition to the troops of His Royal Highness King Zhou, there were also many barbarian soldiers wearing short jackets outside the city. These people must be the Yi people from the western part of the water.

"Your Highness... actually brought the Shuixi Yi people with him?" Behind Ma Ye, Deputy Commander Ye An's face turned even paler. The Fifth Prince brought the Shuixi people with him in a menacing manner, and it looked like he was going to call for punishment. He asked Ma Ye hesitantly, "Master Tongzhi, should we... should we still go out of the city to welcome them?"

Ma Ye also looked unhappy and was in a dilemma. Things once again went beyond his expectations. He originally thought that Zhu Su would first come to Guiyang City to find him and ask what happened.

If that were the case, he could use some excuses and prevaricate, and perhaps he could come up with a foolproof plan. But now the Shuixi tribes had obviously already formed a preconceived idea. If he let the Shuixi Yi people enter the city and he had to detain Ai Cui, how could they be willing?
But if he released Ai Cui, wouldn't that confirm his crime of detaining Tusi without authorization? Don't forget that Tusi was also an official appointed by the Ming Dynasty court!

"...Sir Tongzhi?" Seeing the team outside the city getting closer and closer, Ye An asked anxiously.

"...We can't open the city." Ma Ye gritted his teeth. He was determined to go all out. He was the nephew of Empress Ma and the only relative of the Empress still alive. If he had only offended King Zhou, they were still relatives after all. The current Majesty was most lenient towards relatives. Maybe, considering that the Empress had just passed away, he would just scold him a few times and let it go.

But if he admitted to the crime of arresting a chieftain without authorization, his life would be over. Now that military merit could earn him a title of governor, this was a golden opportunity for his Ma family.

Ma Ye thought to himself that he was not inferior to others. If he had been born a few years earlier, he might have been able to compete with Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, etc. After finally being transferred to this barbaric land full of foreign races, was he willing to be a guard and waste the rest of his life, burying his talent?

In this world, there are always people who have no self-awareness, but think highly of themselves, and think that they just don't have the opportunity, so they are not appreciated. Once they have the opportunity, they will do whatever it takes, thinking that they will definitely be able to make a fortune by taking risks and win the gamble... Ma Ye is such a person, not to mention that he also thinks that he has the golden status of a relative of Queen Ma.

He was transferred here from a garrison in a peaceful place, thinking of accumulating military merits so that he could lead troops to conquer foreign lands and gain territory in the future. But how could he accumulate military merits in Yunnan and Guizhou? Nothing more than suppressing rebellions and helping the court to change the local people into common people. But he was a garrison commander who guarded the land, and it was not his turn to suppress ordinary rebellions.

In this case, if he wanted to achieve success, the only way was to force the chieftains under his rule to rebel.

Therefore, even though he knew that King Zhou was coming, he did not think of letting Ai Cui go, but instead thought of delaying time... When the Shuixi tribes could no longer bear it and rose up in rebellion, even if the imperial court later found out that he had indeed detained Ai Cui, he would still be considered "foresighted" and "strategic strategist", not only would he not be at fault, but he would also be considered meritorious.

But the Fifth Prince Zhu Su was so aggressive that he brought most of the people from Shuixi directly with him. If he let these people from Shuixi into the city, it would be like inviting thieves in. If he didn't release Ai Cui, the Yi people from Shuixi would definitely riot. They were backed by His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, so he really couldn't afford to offend them.

Instead of doing this... it would be better not to open the city gates and just invite His Royal Highness the King of Zhou to have a private chat. Maybe there will be a turnaround!

Zhu Su and Madam Shezi led their men to the city of Guiyang, thinking that if they had made it clear that Ma Ye would not come out of the city to greet them, he would certainly open the city gate and wait for them inside. However, they did not expect that until they arrived at the city of Guiyang and saw the Guiyang guards on the city gate tower from afar, the city gate showed no sign of opening.

Zhu Su's expression immediately turned ugly.

Zhu Su's personal guard general Di Meng saw that Zhu Su was angry, so he rushed forward a few steps and shouted at the people on the city wall: "Are you soldiers on the city blind? Don't you see the banner of His Majesty the King of Zhou?"

"You are so brave! Why don't you open the city gate quickly and welcome His Highness into the city!"

The soldiers of Guizhou Guard were responsible for the garrison on the tower. It was not too late, and Zhu Su's princely banner was very gorgeous. It would be a stretch to say that they did not see it. But they were ordered by the commander not to open the city gate. The military order was as firm as a mountain. When faced with Di Meng's questioning, they could only look at each other, feeling uneasy.

However, their general Ma Ye came forward quickly. Although he decided not to let the Shuixi Yi people enter the city, Ma Ye did not dare to let Zhu Su wait for a long time outside the city and further annoy him, so he immediately showed his head on the city wall and shouted to the outside of the city: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I, General Ma Ye, greet your Highness..."

"Ma Ye." Seeing that Ma Ye had shown up, Zhu Su did not need Di Meng to do it for him. Instead, he personally rode out of the crowd in front of Mrs. Shetz. His tone was extremely cold, and there was an irresistible authority in his voice. "You want to rebel?"

There was a commotion on the city wall, and Ma Ye hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, please forgive me! I have no intention of offending you, but Your Highness came here with the Shuixi tribes. I have the responsibility to defend the territory, and I dare not let the Shuixi rebels enter the city..."

His words really annoyed Madam Shezi. Madam Shezi could no longer bear it. She galloped forward a few steps, eyes wide open, and shouted loudly: "Ma Ye! I, Shuixi, am loyal to the court. How could I be a traitor?"

"It was you who detained my husband without authorization, and prevented His Highness from entering the city. You also made irresponsible remarks on the city wall, accusing loyal officials. Tell me, who is the traitor?"

The woman's voice was already quite high, and Mrs. Shetz was extremely angry, abandoning her usual gentle and virtuous image, and shouted rather fiercely. This voice was really loud, and everyone in the city could hear it clearly.

But Ma Ye turned a deaf ear to him and said to His Highness, "Your Highness, Shui Xibu has evil ambitions and has long been plotting rebellion. I am not neglecting Your Highness, but I am afraid that Your Highness has been deceived by Shui Xibu and used as bait to sneak into the city."

"If Your Highness does not believe me, you can ask the Yi people in Shuixi to retreat three miles, and I will send troops to welcome Your Highness into the city... If Shuixi does not retreat, I will be responsible for defending the land and will not dare to open the city!"

After Ma Ye finished speaking, he acted like a loyal hero, like Zhou Yafu who was as obedient as a mountain. He thought that as long as he refused to let the Yi people from Shuixi enter the city, the situation would be fine: if His Highness entered the city alone, he could make some slanderous remarks, or try to get by, and continue to force Shuixi to rebel secretly; if His Highness did not enter the city, he could say that it was for the overall situation. After all, he was responsible for defending the land, so even if he offended the prince, it could be justified.

He didn't expect that Zhu Su didn't buy his tricks at all, but still had a face as hard as ice and said something...

(End of this chapter)