Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 3: Insect Shooting
The capital of the Hongsha Kingdom, Ava City, is not far away, across the Jinsha River.

A small town built of bamboo.

This is the palace of the Ming Emperor.

The ten thatched houses in the center were the imperial court and imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty.

The families of other civil and military officials cut down bamboo and built houses in the bamboo city.

Outside Zhucheng, Adayun led hundreds of Hongsha soldiers to guard the city.

In Southeast Asia, it is inconvenient to communicate with the islands on the sea, so let’s not talk about it for now.

Hongsha Kingdom, Lan Xang, Siam, Zhenla, and Annan were all vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, the Ly Dynasty of the peninsula with more land than the sun.

When the Ming Dynasty still had its say, everything was under the jurisdiction of the Prince Mu's Mansion in Yunnan Province.

Issue a red card with gold characters to mediate disputes among chieftains of different ethnic groups.

As stated in Article 1 of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of 1894-1895, the Qing dynasty's Gulun must confirm that the Ly Dynasty was a completely independent country and abolish the tribute ceremony it had performed to China.

For example, during the Imjin War during the reign of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Cixuan's great-grandfather, Siam learned that the Celestial Empire was going to use military force against Japan, so it asked the Ministry of War to express its willingness to serve the emperor and send troops to the Joseon Peninsula to help the Ming Dynasty.

Sovereignty, troop deployment, and tribute.

In the perception of the Ming people, at least in the perception of Yongli Mu Tianbo, the five Southeast Asian countries are an indispensable part of the Ming Dynasty.

The difference between the Hongsha Kingdom and the Yunnan Province of Mu Wangfu's ancestral town is that one has chieftains who are not very obedient, while the other is a mixture of obedient chieftains and prefectures and counties.

Thus, the official position of Adayun, who temporarily communicated between the Hongsha Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty court, was born.

It was impossible for the King of Toungoo to meet with the emperor in exile, and he even did not want the exiled Ming emperor to live in the capital Ava, which made things unbearable for both sides.

Under Zhu Cixuan's arrangement, the troops of Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan approached Ava.

The Hongsha Kingdom once again provided food to the Ming Dynasty court, which was in a subordinate position.

This was also one of the reasons why Mangbai agreed to the military coup and promised Zhu Cixuan the throne after supporting him.

It was not morally sound, but legally perfect, and the chieftains of all parties and even big countries like Siam had to recognize the enthronement of the Ming Emperor.

Even though the Ming Dynasty had fallen, it had not yet established tributary relations with the new masters of China.

Three hundred years of tribute cannot be stopped just because the country is destroyed.

Zhu Cixuan, who reached a gentleman's agreement with Toungoo King Mangbai, put on the confiscated Ming armor with the help of Hongsha soldiers.

The powerful official would be executed immediately, so it was better to take precautionary measures, even though all the weapons of this group of prisoners had been confiscated long ago.

He gathered Mu Tianbo, Wang Qilong and Deng Kai who were on the march, and secretly contacted only a dozen loyal men.

No more will do.

Ma Jixiang, who controlled the emperor, was the Minister of War and the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, and was actually the prime minister. His son-in-law Yang Zainai was the Minister of Rites, and his brother Ma Xiongfei was the Governor-General of the Central Palace, in charge of the Yongli Emperor's imperial guards.

Li Guotai, an eunuch who colluded with the two Mas, was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and Ma Jixiang himself also held the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Not to mention that in the past year since hunting Hongsha, Ma Jixiang has used promotions to win over officials at all levels of the government, and many people have followed his lead.

Once the secret was revealed, Emperor Yongli had no ability to deal with the powerful ministers and traitors, but it was more than enough for him to punish his son and several military generals.

Adayun commanded the troops and told them about Mangbai's deployment against the capital city of Ava.

"Our capital, Ava, has a Ludao, who oversees administration and justice. The four Yunji and their assistants, the Yundao, make overall decisions and manage all military, civil affairs, and taxation. Although they hold great power, they cannot command any department without the king's orders. The Yun and the governor of the local areas, King Miaowenhou, are also in charge."

"On the contrary, Bie Daiyun, who is in charge of the palace, is like me, Adayun. He holds a small position but great power. He is the one who submits documents and reports from the Ludao Central Government to the King, and he is also the one who passes the King's orders to the Ludao officials."

"The Duke of Toungoo intends to win over the court official, Betaeyun. Even if he can't buy him off, he at least wants him to allow the Duke of Toungoo's troops to gather in and around Ava."

Adayun chuckled: "Several defeated armies are currently resting outside Ava City. Even a few thousand soldiers might not attract attention."

Aren’t these the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, the four ministers and vice ministers?

Lower Hongshawadi had a developed business and its paddy fields produced grain. Upper Hongshawadi, where the royal capital Ava was located, had a large population and also had to guard against various barbarian chieftains on the Luchuan Plateau.

Hongsha Kingdom, also known as Little Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cixuan had some guesses, fastened the leather belt around his fish-scale armor waist, and glanced at the dozens of sets of armor stacked randomly in the armory.

When Emperor Yongli entered Hongsha, he had two thousand troops and horses, and all the guards and eunuchs took off their bows, swords and armor.

These are the only ones left now, and it seems that the rest have been privately confiscated by officials from all levels of Hongsha Country.

"When we enter the royal city, I will need these armors to equip the soldiers. After all, we Han people are familiar with our own weapons."

Adayun nodded nonchalantly.

They are all cannon fodder serving as Mangbai's vanguard. It doesn't matter that the Crown Prince of Ming wants to ensure as much manpower as possible.

There were only some unwanted junk left in the armory. Even the fish-scale leaf armor worn by the crown prince of Ming was made by dismantling several sets of armor.

Zhu Cixuan, holding an embroidered spring sword, led fifty Hongsha soldiers assembled by Adayun and headed straight for the palace in the bamboo city - ten thatched houses.

During the Ming Dynasty, more than a thousand families of civil and military officials gathered here, and the expenses for food and drink were not small.

Outside Zhucheng, a Hongsha people's market naturally formed to sell goods.

Before this, many ministers wore short clothes and were barefoot, playing on the ground with the Hongsha women.

When the ministers of Hongsha Kingdom saw this, they all said: If the ministers of the Celestial Empire are so playful, how can the world not be destroyed?

At this time, there were many Ming officials and followers inside and outside the market. Seeing the prince leading the Hongsha soldiers in a fierce momentum, and some of them were affiliated with Ma Jixiang, they thought it was not good and hurriedly turned around to go back to the city to report.

Zhu Cixuan looked at the eunuch Li Chonggui, who was already waiting for him outside, and raised his hand to signal.

Li Chonggui, holding a long stick, immediately took a few loyal and righteous men he had secretly made friends with and knocked down the servants and ministers who wanted to inform the emperor.

The kitchen knife and iron spike were pressed against his neck, and his hair was trembling. The servants were all silent and dared not shout anymore.

Seeing this sudden change, the servants and female relatives of the other ministers looked at each other, whispered to each other, and many of them followed Zhu Cixuan.

Soon after Zhu Cixuan entered Bamboo City, he heard a commotion in front of the thatched cottage in the palace.

The pillars of the court, wearing short shirts, bare chests and bare feet, knelt on the ground, shouting that they had no money to eat.

Minister of War Ma Jixiang and eunuch Li Guotai submitted the memorial with smiles on their faces.

"The court has not been able to light a fire or cook for three days. We have no money or goods to purchase food. The ministers are starving and exhausted. Your Majesty, please allocate food."

The handsome-looking Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Yongli Emperor Zhu Youlang, had flaming eyes.

The anger in his heart and the pain in his left foot that had not yet healed made him grit his teeth.

No money or food?

When we entered Hongsha Country, who was it that colluded with the bandits to rob the country?

Who was it that collected all the money and treasures from the court and beyond and brought them into his own room this year?

The rice sent by the Hongsha Kingdom was appropriated by some bastard, who only distributed it among his relatives and wanted to exchange the rice for treasures of his ministers.

Zhu Youlang wanted to yell and scold the treacherous ministers and dog slaves, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

Ever since he was supported to ascend the throne, he has been accustomed to making clay puppets.

He has a kind and gentle personality and is not one to get violent or violent.

He glanced at Ma Jixiang who was looking at him in front of the house. He asked for money again and again, as if he thought that he had some private funds as the emperor.

Zhu Youlang was so angry that he took out the emperor's golden seal from his arms and threw it on the ground.

"Li Guoyong, break this jade seal into pieces and take it to the market to buy some food."

Li Guoyong, the internal official in charge of the treasury, knelt down in fear and kowtowed: "I would rather die than break the emperor's seal."

Mu Tianbo, Deng Kai, Ren Guoxi and other ministers beside him all knelt down in a hurry. Even Ma Jixiang and others did not dare to offend the emperor in public and bowed their knees.

No one could have imagined that the emperor was really at the end of his rope.

The kneeling eunuch Li Guotai looked down at Ma Jixiang with wide eyes and asked, "Do you want to take it or not?"

Ma Jixiang hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly.

Li Guotai, bearing the angry stares of Mu Tianbo, Deng Kai and others, crawled forward on his knees to pick up the golden seal covered in mud.

boom!
The musket fired, and a bullet brushed past Li Guotai's hair and shot to the ground in front of him.

The splashing yellow mud scared away his outstretched hand.

The emperor and his ministers were all startled and looked in the direction of the sound.

The seventeen-year-old prince led a group of Hongsha people armed with guns and knives and surrounded everyone unknowingly.

Zhu Cixuan, who missed the target by aiming at the body, threw the Portuguese flintlock rifle to the Hongsha soldier behind him, drew out his embroidered spring sword and shouted.

"Where are the loyal ministers and righteous men? The traitors will be punished today!"

Duke of Qian Mu Tianbo, the guard general Deng Kai, the general Wang Qilong, the general Wang Sheng, and the general Wei Bao, who had been prepared, led their servants forward, roared, and pounced on Ma Jixiang and others.

"A loyal minister is here!"

Wu Si, Ma Jixiang's servant who pushed Deng Kai down the stairs of the stilt house, causing him to become lame, rushed forward to protect Ma Jixiang.

Mu Tianbo shook his sleeves, and swung out a meteor hammer with his right hand, hitting Wu Si's head. With a dull sound, the latter's forehead was sunken and he fell to the ground, throwing up dust.

The other ministers and servants who were about to take action stopped in their tracks when they saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looking at them with a knife in his hand and a ferocious look in his eyes, and they fell to the ground again in fear.

Ma Jixiang, Ma Xiongfei, Ma Jixiang's son-in-law Yang Zai, and Li Guotai were pinned down and their arms twisted by two or three men, struggling to move.

After the initial confusion, the three of them either cursed or begged, and pleaded with tears.

Ma Jixiang raised his head and looked at the equally bewildered Emperor Zhu Youlang, shouting:

"Your Majesty, Mu Tianbo and Wang Qilong have formed an alliance and are secretly communicating with Hongsha. They are holding the Crown Prince hostage and plotting rebellion. They intend to kill the Holy Body. Summon the Imperial Guards and Imperial Guards immediately to protect you."

He did not mention others because Mu Tianbo was the one who initially conspired with the Dashi Army to welcome Yongli to Anlong and Kunming, and Wang Qilong was Li Dingguo's old general who was in charge of guarding the imperial court. The two of them were considered Li Dingguo's men.

Deng Kai was personally promoted by Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang and given the title of general of the guard to protect the Eastern Palace. He was considered one of Emperor Yongli's own men.

Ma Jixiang quickly grasped the key point and characterized this mutiny as a conspiracy by Li Dingguo, Jin Wangfan and Hongsha State.

Zhu Youlang looked around and saw the silence of the ministers, the angry rebukes and excuses of Mu Tianbo and others, the Hongsha soldiers in the outer circle who were eyeing him covetously, and on the outermost circle, hundreds of people were watching and whispering, including the Jinyiwei and the imperial guards who were waiting for his orders.

They all followed him all the way from Kunming to western Yunnan, crossed the Tongtie Pass and fled to Hongsha Kingdom. Even if they were unarmed, as long as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave the order, they would fight to the death with the Hongsha soldiers.

But do we really want to sacrifice the lives of these loyal ministers in vain?
Zhu Youlang fell into confusion and hesitation again.

Zhu Cixuan, wearing armor and holding a sword, interrupted the emperor's thoughts.

"Treason? Horse thief, I'm afraid you're not talking about yourself."

"Weren't you the one who colluded with the traitor Sun Kewang in Anlong, Guizhou? You and Pang Tianshou harbored evil intentions and became vassals of Sun Ni. My father, the Emperor, secretly sought to rescue the Prince of Jin. Weren't you the one who murdered Grand Secretary Wu Zhenyu and others?"

"Now you're slandering the Duke of Qian again. Are you trying to turn these loyal ministers into the eighteen gentlemen of Anlong as well?"

Zhu Cixuan asked the East Palace eunuch Li Chonggui to hand the Hongsha Knife to Mu Tianbo and others, and walked towards Ma Jixiang with the Embroidered Spring Knife: "Killing you today is just to complete the old Anlong thing six years ago."

Ma Jixiang was suddenly terrified, his whole body trembling, tears and snot mixed together, and he begged for mercy loudly:

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince! Your Highness, I was deceived by the eunuch Pang Tianshou. The Prince of Jin and Your Majesty are aware of this. Please forgive my mistakes."

"I still have five thousand gold in my house, all of which shall go to Your Highness. With it you can buy rice and grain, enough to support Your Highness for more than a year. I also have a daughter, to whom others have sought marriage for years but to no avail. She can enter the Eastern Palace and serve Your Highness...ah."

Zhu Cixuan, whose strength value was only 27, missed again and only hit Ma Jixiang's arm with his knife.

Mu Tianbo and Deng Kai beheaded Ma Xiongfei, Li Guotai and Yang Zai in two or three moves, and then lifted up Ma Jixiang, who was lying on the ground howling in pain, and held him down.

"Zhu Cixuan, it's useless for you to kill me. The Ming Dynasty has already fallen. The two capitals and thirteen provinces have all fallen into the hands of the Eastern Tartars. Even if you kill me, you can only survive for a year or two. If Wu Sangui leads the Qing troops into Hongsha, how can the remaining troops of Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan protect you?"

Seeing his brother and son-in-law staring at him with their eyes wide open, Ma Jixiang lost his temper and started cursing and talking nonsense.

"Mu Tianbo was previously in Yunnan Province, unwilling to contribute troops and food to help the court conquer Guangdong and Guangxi. Was he a loyal official? Wang Qilong, yes. And Wang Qilong and Li Dingguo were former subordinates of the traitor Zhang Xianzhong. They personally overthrew the Ming Dynasty and forced Emperor Lie to death. Were they loyal officials?"

"Even now, in the palace, there are so many people waiting for the arrival of the Eastern Tartars, intending to surrender. I was only forced to seek safety temporarily due to Sun Kewang's threat, and I only embezzled some money and food. What crime have I committed..."

His Adam's apple was broken, but Ma Jixiang still wanted to speak, but there was only blood foam in his mouth and he was grunting.

Zhu Cixuan chopped twice more before cutting off the head like killing a chicken.

"I know, I know."

"Emperor Conglie hanged himself. During the Hongguang era, the Fu and Lu clans quarreled, Ma Shiying excluded dissidents. During the Longwu era, Zheng Zhilong usurped power, and the Prince of Lu remained the sole regent. During the Yongli era, he quarreled with the Prince of Tang. The Chu and Wu factions fought, the Five Tigers wreaked havoc, and relying on Sun Kewang led to the tragedy of the Eighteen Masters."

"I have always known what you loyal ministers can do. You can't expel the Eastern Tartars, you fight for power among yourselves, and you are afraid of falling behind."

"How can I restore the world if I'm with a bunch of insects like you?"

Zhu Cixuan turned around and walked towards the panicked ministers.

Except for a few people including the censor Ren Guoxi, who remained calm, the rest had all followed Ma Jixiang and knelt on the ground to plead for mercy, with the wings of their black hats touching the ground.

"The country is in turmoil, the land has been lost, Ma Jixiang and Li Guotai have deceived both China and foreigners, and insulted the emperor. Instead of seeking revenge on the emperor, you have sided with the traitors, and you deserve serious punishment."

Zhu Cixuan's voice was cold and clear: "But now I am in a foreign country, and it is difficult to handle matters without a seat in the court. Therefore, I will spare your lives and allow you to make meritorious contributions while serving your sentence. When the Eastern Tartars come, you can use your useless bodies to serve your country."

The civil and military officials who breathed a sigh of relief all knelt down and swore an oath, one after another, that if the Eastern Tartars arrived, they would rush to the front and protect His Majesty and His Highness to the death.

Zhu Cixuan glanced at the ministers with uneasy faces, and caught a glimpse of the emperor's attendant Li Guoyong picking up the golden seal on the ground and presenting it to Zhu Youlang, who was still in a daze.

He took a loaded flintlock rifle from Adayun, who was watching the show nearby.

Based on his own fighting strength, he aimed at Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang and pulled the trigger.

……

Ma Jixiang and Li Guotai, two slaves, sought fame and reputation by offering me as a favor. They gambled and drank, spending money like water. Now they have broken my imperial seal, calculating the difference between the pennies and the cents. Where is their conscience? — "Chronicle of the Burmese Hunt"

(End of this chapter)