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

Chapter 903: Decision on the Southwest
In the Jinshen Hall, besides the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, there were also Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Duke of Song Feng Sheng, Marquis of Changxing Geng Bingwen, Minister of War Ru Heng, Imperial Censor Ru Taisu and other civil and military officials. The only thing they were discussing was: how the court should pacify the southwest.

"Your Majesty, Madam Liu Shuzhen from Shuidong has arrived." A eunuch came to the emperor and said respectfully. Old Zhu raised his eyes slightly and whispered a word: "Announce."

"Yes." The eunuch took the order and left. Not long after, Jiang Li brought Madam Liu Shuzhen into the palace and said, "Your Majesty, Madam Liu Shuzhen please come in."

"Yes." Old Zhu nodded, and after receiving Madam Liu Shuzhen's greeting, he got straight to the point: "Ms. Liu, I remember that you are the wife of Song Qin from Shuidong... You took the trouble to come to the capital to see me, is there something important you want to tell me?"

"Could it be that Shuixi's rebellion has already implicated your Shuidong?"

Hearing Old Zhu's question, Liu Shuzhen slowly knelt down, first kowtowed, then raised her head and said with a stern look in her eyes: "Your Majesty, please allow me to report that Shuixi did not betray Your Majesty. The reason why the court received the letter was all because of Ma Ye's false accusation!"

Afterwards, Liu Shuzhen told Zhu Yuanzhang every detail, including how Ma Ye deliberately provoked trouble, how he detained and even killed Ai Cui, how the Shuixi and Yi tribes were filled with righteous indignation and gathered outside the city of Guiyang just to seek justice. Zhu Yuanzhang and the ministers in the palace frowned when they heard it.

"According to you, this was all done by Ma Ye?" Old Zhu's eyebrows were furrowed into a shape of a "川" character, and his expression was gloomy and difficult to understand, making it even more difficult to figure out what he was thinking. "Do you have any evidence?"

"His Royal Highness Prince Zhou is willing to guarantee this matter. Here, I have a secret memorial handwritten by His Royal Highness Prince Zhou. Your Majesty, please take a look at it." As she spoke, she took out Zhu Su's secret memorial and held it high above her head.

Old Zhu gestured to Zhu Biao, who nodded, stepped out and took the secret letter, opened it and glanced at it, then nodded and said, "Father, this is indeed the handwriting of my fourth brother."

He placed the secret memorial in front of Old Zhu's desk. Old Zhu read it at a glance and nodded. "Well, in that case, you can go to the inn and rest first."

"I have my own arrangements for this matter,"

"Your Majesty..." Although Madam Liu Shuzhen was a remarkable woman, she was able to angrily rebuke Huang Zicheng in the Ministry of Rites, but she was intimidated by the power of the emperor and would never dare to overstep her boundaries in the imperial city.

Although he hoped that the emperor would immediately order the arrest of Ma Ye, he did not dare to act recklessly.

"...Yes, I will take my leave."

Even though she was the chieftain's wife, she herself did not hold any official position, and in such a solemn environment, she dared not contradict the emperor. She could only hope that the emperor would be wise, but it would take some time for him to make a decision.

……

"Tell us everything. What should we do about this matter in the southwest?" After Liu Shuzhen left, Old Zhu knocked on the imperial desk with a gloomy face and spoke.

Ma Ye's false memorial was almost certain, and Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely unhappy. However, this person was a relative of Empress Ma, so Zhu Yuanzhang did not immediately want to get rid of him. Moreover, he did not believe that the Shuixi tribes gathered under the city of Guiyang without any rebellious intentions.

However, the right and wrong is no longer important... What is important is what is beneficial to the Ming Dynasty court.

The military generals represented by Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, and Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, always took a tough approach to the southwest issue. Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, said: "Your Majesty, there are frequent disturbances in the southwest. If we do not show our power, where is the dignity of the court?"

"First it was Sizhou, then Guizhou... Our Great Ming allowed the chieftains to govern themselves, but we did not want them to form their own country. If we continue to let them do whatever they want, will the southwest still be the territory of our Great Ming?"

Duke of Song Feng Sheng also said: "Your Majesty, when we conquered Yunnan, our military power was strong, and these chieftains chose to submit to us because of the great power of the Ming Dynasty. But judging from their true intentions, they may not be truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty court."

"Rebellions have broken out in Sizhou and Guizhou, and the Wusa tribe in Yunnan is also in chaos. This is clear evidence that these southwestern barbarians are harboring ulterior motives towards our Ming Dynasty!"

"If the Ming Dynasty wants to conquer the world, how can we not manage the southwest? If the southwest is not peaceful, how can countries like Annan, Siam, and Champa submit to us in the future?"

"Therefore, I believe that we should use the force of thunder to pacify the southwest again, so as to stabilize the southwestern heartland of our court. The court temporarily stopped the war, and what it wants is to stabilize the country first. Aren't the many chieftains in the southwest the most unstable factor in our Ming Dynasty now?"

After Feng Sheng finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang remained calm, but he was actually quite interested. The Shuixi incident was a good opportunity for the imperial court to send troops to intervene in Yunnan and Guizhou. In the past, the Northern Yuan Dynasty was not yet pacified, and the imperial court was short of military pay, so accepting the surrender of the chieftains and allowing them to govern themselves was the best way.

But times are different now. The imperial court now has well-trained soldiers and sufficient food supplies, so Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't mind taking control of the southwest for future generations.

"Ru Rong, it was your suggestion to manage the southwest. What do you think?" Old Zhu asked the Minister of War Ru Rong.

While listening to the military generals' opinions, the opinions of the civil officials cannot be ignored.

"...Yes." Ru Hong hesitated for a moment, but still stepped out and said, "I think what the Duke of Song and the Marquis of Changxing said makes a lot of sense."

"However, the terrain in the southwest is complex, and there is widespread miasma. If a war breaks out, it will be difficult to...it will be difficult to stop the war quickly."

"You must know that according to your majesty, the southwest is a minor matter. The real purpose of our Ming Dynasty is to pacify the south... If we use troops in the southwest and the situation is not stable for a while, and we miss the opportunity to pacify the south, then, then the gain will be more than the loss. Please make a wise decision, your majesty..."

Ru Rong spoke very slowly, thinking as he spoke, and finally came up with a plausible reason. He was naturally opposed to sending troops to Annan, unlike the military generals, who were eager for the emperor to announce the lifting of the recuperation policy and to send troops everywhere again, otherwise, where would their military merits come from? For this reason, they didn't care about the right and wrong, which was why Ma Ye was sure that the military generals would stand on the same front with him.

Civil officials are different. They care more about making progress while maintaining stability, as well as the pros and cons of the court and themselves. Ru Hong is the Minister of War, and he knows exactly how many civilians and food supplies the court will need to allocate if it wants to use troops in mountainous areas like the southwest.

Moreover, the situation in the southwest is far from deteriorating, and a gradual approach is the safe strategy.

However, in the court today, the voice of military men is far greater than that of literati, so Ru Hong did not dare to directly say that Feng Sheng and others' words were absurd, but chose a reasonable reason.

But Ru Taisu, who was always a firecracker, was not so polite. He kept holding back, and when he heard Ru Yan come up with such a ridiculous excuse, he couldn't help but say, "Why is Minister Ru talking about something else? Are you trying to cover up for Ma Ye?"

"Excuse me for being blunt, but Ma Ye is a shameless man who has no respect for his king or his father. I don't know why Your Majesty is still hesitating. Killing Ma Ye alone can appease the hearts of the chieftains in Guizhou. What is Your Majesty still hesitating about?"

(End of this chapter)