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

Chapter 182 Duke Cao Enters the Capital

"Does Your Highness mean to take this opportunity to let the envoys of those countries know the strength of our Great Ming, so that they will not dare to be enemies with our Great Ming?"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

"That can be considered one of its functions!"

"The key is to let these people see the strength of my Great Ming. Although my Great Ming has a large army, it cannot defeat every country one by one!"

"Since some people are so eager to jump out, I'll show them the strength of my Great Ming Dynasty and let them know that if they really want to attack my Great Ming Dynasty, they should think twice about whether they have the strength to do so!"

North Gate of Yingtian Prefecture.

A force of about a thousand men marched south.

A group of generals surrounded an old general dressed in armor.

The veteran looked somewhat worried.

The situation in Yingtian Prefecture is changing too fast, and he has been stationed in the northern capital for many years. He has not been able to react to many things. Now His Majesty has suddenly switched him with Duke Feng Sheng of Song and sent him to the capital to serve as the governor of the Five Military Commissions. He doesn't know whether this is a blessing or a curse.

This man was none other than Li Wenzhong, the Duke of Cao.

Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong followed Zhu Yuanzhang in his campaigns and made many contributions.

After Xu Da's northern expedition ended, Zhu Yuanzhang left him in Yuan Dadu, which is now Beiping.

So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

This prompted a young man to step out from the crowd and say excitedly.

"Father, I heard that you will be the governor of the Five Armies Commandery after you return. Is it possible for Haier to also get a position in the Five Armies Commandery?"

The speaker was Li Jinglong, the eldest son of Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong.

Li Jinglong grew up in the military camp under the tutelage of Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong.

Despite this, she didn't suffer much hardship and stayed by his side the whole time.

With the flattery of his brothers, this guy always felt that he was a brilliant strategist and that his future achievements would be no less than those of Chang Yuchun and Xu Da.

Only he knew about his son's limited abilities.

"You should finish reading those military books I found for you first. The battlefield situation changes in an instant. You've only fought a few battles, what do you know?"

"Xu Shuai and his men are all veterans; they learned their skills little by little on the battlefield!"

"If you really have this idea, then go to the battlefield a few more times!"

Li Jinglong pursed his lips.

"Do you think I don't want to go to the battlefield? Every time, it was my mother who stopped me. Can you argue with her?"

When Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong heard this, he was stunned for a moment.

His face looked a little ugly.

Although he had wanted to train the boy for a long time, his wife wouldn't allow it, and they had even argued a lot about Li Jinglong going to the battlefield.

Left with no other choice, he could only keep Li Jinglong by his side. So although Li Jinglong participated in many battles, he never actually went to the battlefield.

Li Wenzhong, leading his soldiers, gazed at the majestic city before him, filled with awe.

The last time I was in Yingtian Prefecture was in the second year of Hongwu's reign. So much time has passed in the blink of an eye.

As soon as Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong entered the city gate of Yingtian Prefecture, he heard people inside discussing all sorts of things.

Many of these were things he had never heard of before, which greatly shocked him.

The distance from Yingtianfu to Beiping is too far, and we can only know the general outline of many things. Now that we have arrived in Yingtianfu, we are surprised to find that such great changes have taken place.

Li Wenzhong, Li Jinglong, and several generals sat at a nearby stall, inquiring about recent events in Yingtian Prefecture from the small vendors.

When the peddler recounted everything he knew, one by one, Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong was startled.

There had been rumors that the Crown Prince was behind these actions, but he didn't believe that a teenager could have any malicious intent or do such a thing. He suspected that Zhu Yuanzhang was behind it all.

Hearing this small vendor's story now, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his crown prince Zhu Biao had been away from Yingtian Prefecture for a long time, so it was impossible for them to have directed the operation.

There is only one truth, and that is that it was Zhu Xiong Ying's own idea.

Li Jinglong swallowed hard.

"Is this really my cousin?"

Li Jinglong had met Zhu Xiong Ying before and was very satisfied with his back, but he could never have imagined that this ten-year-old child could do such a thing.

Li Wenzhong took a deep breath and glared at Li Jinglong.

"You should call him His Highness the Crown Prince. Don't be so disrespectful. How dare you claim kinship with His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Li Jinglong lowered his head and remained silent, clearly not believing it.

As he entered the palace, he felt somewhat uneasy.

Zhu Xiong Ying walked forward and laughed heartily.

"Duke Cao, it's been a long time. How are you?"

Zhu Xiongying.

He stepped forward and helped Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong up.

"We pay our respects to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhu Xiong Ying didn't mind and helped him up.

"We're all on the same side, no need for such formalities. Speaking of which, the reason why so few Duke Cao responded to Tianfu this time is that they hope Duke Cao can take over the Five Armies Commandery. In fact, Xiong Ying is relying on Duke Cao!"

Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong was skeptical when he heard this, while Li Jinglong frowned.

This Zhu Xiong Ying doesn't seem to be much different from the one I remembered.

It doesn't seem like what people outside are saying. As expected, you can't trust rumors.

Li Wenzhong bowed to Zhu Xiong Ying.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, this old minister will do his utmost!"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

"Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush. I hope that Duke Cao can take up his post at the Five Armies Commandery as soon as possible. I wonder if Duke Cao is aware of the upcoming pilgrimage of all nations!"

Li Wenzhong nodded; he was aware of these matters.

"I wonder if there's anything this old man can do for me?"

Zhu Xiong Ying took out a booklet from his pocket.

"This is the list of the vassal states that have come to pay homage. Duke Cao, please take a look and see if there are any problems?"

Li Wenzhong was curious, so he opened it and took a closer look, and his brows furrowed.

In addition to the original vassal states and tributary states of the Ming Dynasty, there were many more entities above it.

"Your Highness, the relations between the Oirat, Tatar, Uriyangkhai, Arughtai, and Doyan tribes in the north and our Great Ming are extremely poor. The Three Xuan and Six Wei tribes in the southwest have also committed many acts of disloyalty. The Japanese pirates in the southeast are rampant. However, all of these countries have sent envoys here, which may indicate that there is something wrong with them!"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

"Duke Cao is absolutely right. I already know why these countries came to Yingtian Prefecture. They simply want to see the strength of my Great Ming!"

"These people are still hoping to take a bite out of our Ming Dynasty when it is weak!"

"This time, there must be many ulterior motives. I wonder what Duke Cao thinks we should do?"

(End of this chapter)