The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 150 Xu Da's Military Power, Everyone in Terrification
Xu Da, as the former chief general of the Northern Expedition, held considerable military power.

Basically, the troops in the nine important border towns in the north were all under Xu Da's command.

After the Northern Expedition ended, Xu Da returned to Yingtian Prefecture and handed over his military power. From then on, he no longer concerned himself with matters concerning the border troops. But now, because of this matter, he suddenly wants to mobilize troops.

Everyone was caught off guard.

Yang Siyi's expression changed drastically, and he stared intently at Zhu Xiong Ying and Xu Da.

"Has the Duke of Wei thought this through? This involves the troops of forty-seven guards. If all these troops are mobilized, not to mention the other supplies, the consumption of provisions alone will be enormous!"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to explain this to His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Xu Da waved his hand and said firmly.

"Now that these thieves have already set their sights on His Highness the Crown Prince of Yingtian Prefecture, why should I tolerate this any longer?"

"If His Majesty asks, just say that the troops were mobilized by me, Xu Da. If there's anything, just come to me, Xu Da!"

"Fu Youde, so many people suddenly appearing in the capital must mean they came from somewhere else!"

"Later I will have the Five Cities Garrison investigate all the people who have recently entered the capital. Have them search every house and make sure they find them all!"

"These people are very likely former scouts from the Yuan Dynasty; we must not be careless!"

Marquis Fu Youde of Yingchuan nodded and said.

"Please rest assured, Commander Xu, I will certainly make all the arrangements!"

"Lan Yu, take your men and wipe out all the scouts and spies around Yingtian Prefecture. If anyone is injured or escapes, I will hold you accountable!"

Lan Yu was already somewhat afraid of Xu Da, and now seeing Xu Da's serious expression, he felt a little apprehensive and could only obey orders.

At this moment, Xu Da turned his gaze to Xu Yungong.

"Yun Gong, these people dared to attack His Highness the Crown Prince, and they might even try to harm His Majesty. You must immediately take men to protect His Majesty. I will send Marquis Dingyuan, Wang Bi, with you!"

Xu Yungong was very curious, wondering what his father wanted to do.
Many things had happened before, but the Xu family had always remained aloof and never cared about external affairs.

Why is my father now taking on so much responsibility? This is completely out of character for him.

The other court officials stared blankly at the scene, many still reeling from what had just happened and somewhat shaken.

Now he felt that Xu Da's actions were somewhat inappropriate, but seeing that Yang Siyi, the Minister of Revenue and the head of the Six Ministries, did not say much, he simply kept quiet as well.

After Xu Da had arranged everything properly, he turned his attention to Zhu Xiong Ying.

"Your Highness, in my haste, I disregarded all else and rashly mobilized troops. I beg Your Highness's punishment!"

Zhu Xiong Ying stared at Xu Da for a moment.

"Xu Shuai did nothing wrong, but it was indeed inappropriate to mobilize troops without the Emperor's permission. Duke Wei should rest at home for the time being. As for what to do, we will make a decision when the Emperor and Father arrive!"

The court officials were somewhat afraid.

Xu Da's actions were somewhat too much of a take-over.

Now that almost the entire army is in Xu Da's hands and he is in a weak position, if he has any ideas at this time, the dynasty could be overthrown in an instant.

Moreover, given Xu Da's current power, we should focus on appeasement rather than taking such a radical approach.

Everyone feared that Zhu Xiong Ying would anger Xu Da, the Duke of Wei.

However, Duke Xu Da of Wei did not say anything, but simply turned and left calmly.

This left the ministers and generals completely baffled. Instead of explaining, Zhu Xiong Ying spoke...

"Fourth Uncle, from now on, you will temporarily take over the Imperial Guard in the capital and be responsible for assisting Duke Lan Yu of Liang in capturing the thieves!"

"Third Uncle, those we've already captured are all yours to interrogate. Find a way to get them to talk, and also work closely with the local garrisons to wipe out all the scouts and military units within the Ming Dynasty!"

Prince Yan, Zhu Di, and Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, accepted the order and left.

Zhu Xiong Ying then turned her gaze to Chang Mao, who was standing to the side.

"Duke Zheng, General Xu Yungong is about to head south to protect my grandfather and father. The troops of the Five Armies Commandery in the city will be temporarily under your command. You must not be careless in the slightest!"

Chang Mao was taken aback, wondering why Zhu Xiong Ying wanted to hand over military power to him, but he accepted it nonetheless.

"There were some unexpected incidents during today's hunt. If any of the young men from the various households are injured, they can go to the Imperial Hospital to see the imperial physicians for treatment. Although we were unable to see the whole picture, we did see several promising young officers. I will summon them one by one later and entrust them with important responsibilities!"

"Please return to your respective residences, close your doors and windows tightly, and the Grand Secretaries will accompany me to the Hall of Diligent Governance!"

After giving the order, everyone began to leave as Zhu Xiong Ying commanded.

The news quickly spread throughout Yingtian Prefecture.

In a panic, the people of Yingtian Prefecture hurriedly returned to their homes.

Inside the Prince of Qin's Palace.

Prince Zhu Shuang, who was enjoying himself in the palace, was puzzled when he heard a commotion outside.

"What happened outside, Lao Xu?"

The butler, surnamed Xu, rushed in.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! There are reports of assassins, and quite a few of them. It's said that His Highness the Crown Prince was assassinated while hunting!"

King Zhu Shuang of Qin's expression changed drastically upon hearing this news.

"What did you say?"

"How could this be? Who on earth has the audacity to attempt to assassinate the Crown Prince of our Great Ming? How is Xiong Ying? Has anything happened to him?"

Butler Xu shook his head.

"It's still unclear, since the hunting grounds are too far from here, but the entire Yingtian Prefecture is currently under martial law!"

Hearing this news, Wang Yuemin felt uneasy. He was also curious about whether Zhu Xiong was dead or not, but now was not the time to go out and find out.

King Zhu Shuang of Qin cursed angrily.

"I've always felt that Mao Xiang is useless. What are his Imperial Guards good for? If Jiang Huan were here, how could such a blunder have occurred?"

"Old Xu, immediately gather all the best fighters in our Prince Qin's mansion, let's go help!"

Butler Xu's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to stop it.

"Your Highness, you mustn't! There's chaos and war outside right now. If something happens to you, how will we explain it to His Majesty and the Empress!"

"Besides, there are so many people in the court, there's no need for Your Highness to take action personally!"

Wang Yuemin, who was standing nearby, also offered advice.

"Yes, Your Highness, even if we send out the few people in the Prince of Qin's mansion, it won't be of much use. Besides, there are so many ministers in the court, nothing will go wrong!"

(End of this chapter)