Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 359 You're seriously injured and will die

The Guangxi Wolf Soldiers are well-known, but many people have only heard of their name but do not know why, as chieftains, the Guangxi wolf soldiers have gained such a reputation while those from other provinces are just simple wolf soldiers.

No matter what, a strong army is built through battle.

Take the Cen family in Guangxi for example.

This family controls Tianzhou, Si'en and several chieftain's offices under their jurisdiction. If they could unite into one force, they would pose a great threat to the Ming Dynasty's rule in Guangxi.

But this family is full of hatred for various reasons, and the court seems to be adding fuel to the fire. Today, Tianzhou's unrest is called Si'en's rebellion suppression, and tomorrow Si'en's unrest is called Tianzhou's rebellion suppression.

During this period, the hatred between the two sides grew deeper and deeper, and when the rebellion was put down later, it simply turned into looting and killing.

As a result, the power of the chieftains, which should have been a great threat to the imperial court, was gradually weakened in repeated internal conflicts, until they were finally transformed into officials.

This is not an isolated case.
Although the chieftains in Yunnan do not read books or newspapers, they can still hear about major events happening in Guangxi and its neighboring areas.

At first, this group of Yunnan chieftains only felt that there were many conflicts among the Guangxi chieftains, but they never thought about it more deeply.

After Han Long broke them open and crushed them, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Of course, the situation in Guangxi was special, and the imperial court only fueled the internal strife rather than deliberately planning it.

But after Han Long told these things, these neutral chieftains clearly understood their situation.

After all, who would want to live a life with so many blood feuds on their shoulders and always be on guard against the open and secret attacks of other chieftains?

In comparison, although the method of conscripting people was somewhat drastic, it would only make it difficult for the chieftains to increase their power and would not have much impact on the foundation of their rule.

It can even be said that because their power is limited to a certain extent, the positions of the chieftains are more stable than in the past.

Under such circumstances, it is not difficult to imagine what choices everyone will make.

In short, under the dual pressure of insight and strategy, Hanlong's mission was easily completed.

Afterwards, the chieftains quickly mobilized troops from their own territories, and when the emperor gave the order, they went to various places and began to eliminate the remnants of Sha Dingzhou with the assistance of the government troops.

According to past experience, the mastermind has been eliminated and his followers are almost wiped out. What remains is for the Yunnan officials to start the process of converting the natives into officials. Zhu Cilang should also lead his guards to Zunyi after meeting Mu Tianbo.

But to everyone's surprise, Zhu Cilang only stayed in Chuxiong, as if the war in the north was unimportant, and Mu Tianbo was also left aside, as if the Duke of Qian had been completely forgotten by His Majesty.

Mei Chun, who had to accompany the emperor, didn't care about this situation. After all, he was the kind of person who only listened to the emperor's orders and didn't have too many thoughts. But for Mu Tianbo, this period of time was too difficult.

"Marshal Mei!"

The sudden shout startled Mei Chun, who was about to go back to the tent to rest. After he saw the figure clearly in the moonlight, he responded helplessly.

"Master, why are you here again?"

In the past few days, Mu Tiandong would come to Mei Chun for a drink whenever he was free, and in his words he would inevitably try to find out the Majesty's attitude towards him.

But who is this Mei Chun?

Not to mention that he doesn't care about these things at all, given his personality, even if he guessed something, he wouldn't necessarily use it to curry favor.

As a result, Mu Tianbo was certain that the general who served as a constant attendant to the emperor knew something, so he visited Mei Chun more frequently.

It was obvious that Mu Tianbo was confused, but when you think about it, it was not his fault.

After Your Majesty entered Yunnan, he met the Governor of Yunnan who made a serious mistake because he was held hostage, and also met a group of chieftains who remained neutral when Sha Dingzhou rebelled. However, he left the Duke of Qian aside, and neither mentioned any punishment nor pardon, as if such a person did not exist at all.

For Mu Tianbo, this situation was like being tied to the guillotine, not knowing whether the executioner would drop the knife.

He could hold on in this situation for a day or two, but after five or six days, his mood was on the verge of collapse.

"Oh, Marshal Mei, I'm really curious about what's going on overseas."

After hearing what Mu Tianbo said, Mei Chun could only pretend not to know. After letting him sit in the tent, he picked out a few strange things that happened overseas to tell him.

"Sir, although there are many strange things about those Westerners, many of them can be explained by common sense. However, there is one thing: they have to bring a lot of ewes with them every time they go out to sea. Can you guess why?"

Why?

I don’t even know where the sea is, so how can I know why this is happening?
As soon as Mu Tianbo heard Mei Chun's words, he couldn't help but complain in his heart.

There is no need to talk about the torment he has endured in the past few days, but what makes him most uncomfortable is the feeling of having to beg for help from everyone.

It would have been fine if Mei Chun didn't mention a word here. The key point is that there is no fixed rule for when Your Majesty goes to bed, and there is no fixed time for when Mei Chun returns to his tent.

As a result, he had to stay in front of the other party's tent since nightfall, and the news that Prince Mu was looking for a partner had almost spread throughout Chuxiong.

Such a situation would naturally make him, a man who inherited the title of Duke at a young age, extremely uncomfortable.

But then again, what's the harm in feeling uncomfortable?
If Your Majesty does not reveal his true feelings, he will not be able to sleep or eat well.

Compared with this, a little loss of face doesn't seem that important.

"Oh? Westerners want to bring a lot of ewes? Isn't it for the goat milk?"

"Well, my Lord, you are very clear. Westerners don't have the cooking methods that we have. Once they go out to sea, they can't eat any vegetables. Goat milk is their way to solve this problem, but this ewe has some other uses."

"Oh? Is there any other use for it?"

Mei Chun's words were not meaningless, but coupled with his slightly ambiguous eyes, there was some unspoken meaning.

If he were around, Mu Tianbo would probably blurt out the answer, but now he needed help from someone, so he had to let the other person play his part.

So when he asked this question, he not only deliberately turned up the volume, but also made an extremely puzzled expression, just waiting for the answer to be revealed and then adding a look of disbelief, which could be considered as full cooperation.

"Your Excellency will certainly not believe me if I tell you this. That group of barbarians actually used ewes to do such a shameful thing. I feel guilty even if I tell you this."

"Hiss~~~~! There is actually such a great commander in the world. Are you kidding me because I have never been to sea?"

"Oh, I knew you wouldn't believe it. This is a shocking thing. If it wasn't said by the barbarian sailor himself, I wouldn't believe it either."

Shock!

Surprised!

Add a little bit of sudden enlightenment, and you're all set.

"So that's how it is. I heard that most of the sailors in the West are petty thieves. I'm afraid that if I bring a prostitute with me, it will cause trouble on the ship, so I'm afraid that I'll be able to understand it if I bring a prostitute with me."

Faced with Mei Chun's praise, Mu Tianbo, who was full of thoughts, did everything on the surface, but in his heart he was still thinking about how to find out the emperor's thoughts from his mother's mouth.

After all, whether those barbarians were dogs or sheep was none of his business. What he wanted to know most was how His Majesty was going to deal with him.

But who would have thought that when he was racking his brains to figure out what to do, Mei Chun said directly: "Master is so smart, why did you lose your composure in just a few days?"

Ok?
No, didn’t I answer it very well?
As soon as the thought came to his mind, Mu Tianbo suddenly realized what the other party meant. After confirming it from Mei Chun's expression, he let out a long sigh.

"Alas~~~~, this time I made a big mistake. I. Alas~~~~."

With another sigh, Mu Tianbo drank the glass of wine in front of him.

According to his original thought, since the other party took the initiative to bring up the topic, the next step should be to gradually shift the conversation to what His Majesty meant.

But who would have thought that when he was concentrating, Mei Chun asked again: "Sir, where do you think you went wrong?"

"The failure to discover Sha Dingzhou, a man with ulterior motives, earlier has led to the deterioration of the situation in Yunnan."

Mu Tianbo answered without any hesitation, but his tone was different from before.

During this period of time, he has reviewed the entire incident and realized that Sha Dingzhou had harbored rebellious intentions from the very beginning. It was ridiculous that he had treated him as his right-hand man from beginning to end, and only reacted when Sha Dingzhou showed his claws.

This incident was a huge blow to Mu Tianbo, but he had been focusing all his energy on guessing the emperor's intentions these days, which made him feel a little more alert. But when he mentioned this matter to others in person, his disguise was completely revealed.

just
"besides."

"besides?"

The same two words, but completely different tones.

But Mu Tianbo racked his brains for a long time but couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. In the end, he could only look at the other person with confusion, trying to find some clues from his expression.

"Sir, let me be frank with you. Wu Zhaoyuan's fault this time is no less than yours, but His Majesty has not held him accountable for anything, has he?"

At this point, Mei Chun paused, and after the other party had digested some of it, he continued, "Your Majesty is not angry that you mistakenly trusted Sha Dingzhou. As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not his heart. Your Majesty is not angry that you fled all the way to the west. You said that you should preserve your strength for the future. Your Majesty is angry that you killed Zhou Ding."

Zhou Ding?!
Lord! You can't escape!

Lord! Ningzhou City will definitely be able to be defended!
Lord! Your Majesty has finally saved the day. How can we be worthy of Your Majesty if we flee west again?
As he heard these two words, a not very strong figure appeared in his mind, followed by a series of words of advice, which made Mu Tianbo feel dazed.

He originally thought that the reason why His Majesty did not see him was because Yunnan was in a state of corruption, but who would have thought that it was because of a minor official position.

Thinking of this, Mu Tianbo felt unwilling. Even though the person opposite him was Mei Chun, he still defended himself by saying, "Zhou Ding has ulterior motives. He really wants to wait for Sha..."

"Master."

Mu Tianbo was interrupted by Mei Chun in a deep voice before he finished speaking. Then he seemed to realize something, closed his eyes and asked in despair.

"Your Majesty asked you to ask these questions, right?"

"Ah."

"Then how does Your Majesty intend to deal with me?"

"His Majesty said that if you show any remorse, you will follow the army north. If you remain stubborn, you will be seriously injured and die."

"He died of his wounds. Was it from the battle with Sha Ni?"

"Yes."

After hearing these words, Mu Tianbo finally felt relieved after being worried for days.

Since the wound was left during the battle with Sha Ni, it means that the inheritance of the Duke of Qian's Mansion will not be cut off at this time. As for myself.
It is said that life and death are serious matters, but when faced with a force that is truly irresistible, life and death will not have much of an impact on your mood.

"I wonder which one Your Majesty will choose to inherit the title?"

"It must be the Crown Prince Mu Zhongxian."

As he said that, Mei Chun placed a small bottle on the table, and Mu Tianbo did not hesitate. He drank the contents of the bottle in front of him, then clenched his fist and went straight to his tent.

Zhu Cilang hesitated for a long time before deciding on how to deal with Mu Tianbo.

According to his original intention, he wanted to execute him openly, but the old town of Mu family in Yunnan had already become the representative of the imperial court. If he was really punished for deserting the battlefield, it would inevitably add some variables to the already fragile rule.

So after thinking it over for a while, he finally decided to give respect to Mu Tianbo, to the Duke of Qian's Mansion, and to the imperial court.

But this is not the reason why he stayed in Yunnan for a long time.

After all, even if he left, Zhang An's Dong soldiers and Guangxi's wolf soldiers would still stay in Yunnan. If Mu Tianbo didn't want to be decent, he would have a way to make him decent.

The reason why he ignored the war in the north where changes could occur at any time was that he still wanted to take this opportunity to make some attempts in Yunnan.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Qian was seriously injured and died in front of the incense stick."

"Well, give it a proper burial."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Chun took the order and left, but Zhu Cilang's eyes were always on the scroll and did not move away at all.

A ruler naturally has to have his own base. Although he has formed a certain alliance with the forces in the south of the Yangtze River because of his rise in power there, if he only relies on the power there, his actions will inevitably be constrained by it.

Even at the end, it was difficult to tell who was in charge of the affairs of the court, but trouble was inevitable.

This is why Zhu Cilang has been doing everything himself since he was in Yingtian.

He knew very well that his power would not increase simply because of his title as emperor.

It can even be said that his actions in the palace only gave him influence at the center, but when it came to local matters he could only rely on others.

At its core, although power is exercised from top to bottom, it is generated from bottom to top.

The power that comes from sitting in the palace can maintain its luster in times of peace, but in such troubled times it is nothing but a mirage. If there is disharmony, there will be the fate of hanging oneself on a tree in the southeast.

Therefore, along the way, he always cultivated forces loyal to himself in the local area, so as to avoid falling into a passive position after having disagreements with certain forces.

As for what effect he wanted to achieve in Yunnan, he had to wait until the chieftains wiped out all the remnants of Sha Dingzhou.

(End of this chapter)