Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Those who are still alive today can tolerate even the traitors who staged a coup, so why can't they tolerate a prince of the Ming Dynasty?

Zhao Kang looked at Xie Hong: "Mr. Xie, you can speak first."

Xie Hong, however, did not try to reason with Su Xiancheng. Instead, he questioned, "Grand Tutor Su, who appointed you as Grand Tutor?"

Su Xiancheng forced himself to answer: "Traitor Du Yingwu."

Xie Hong then asked, "Why did he promote you to Grand Tutor?"

Su Xiancheng explained, "When Du usurped power, he promoted many people in order to win over the ministers; I was not the only one."

Xie Hong pressed further: "Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector are powerful official positions in Annam. Currently, there is no Grand Tutor, so Grand Preceptor Su is the head of the civil officials."

"Why did that traitor Du appoint you as the head of the civil officials? Are you in cahoots with him?"

"Absolutely no connection whatsoever!" Su Xiancheng quickly retorted.

Chapter 3704 You Must Be a Traitor

Xie Hong asked again, "I heard that you were also present when the loyal ministers of Annam secretly plotted to eliminate the rebels."

"Why were all the loyal ministers who participated in the secret meeting killed by the traitor Du, while only Grand Tutor Su survived?"

Su Xiancheng said, "I am the Imperial Tutor and the head of the civil officials. Du the traitor would not dare to harm me rashly."

Xie Hong sneered: "That traitor Du has even killed the imperial son-in-law, why would he be afraid to kill a civil official like you?"

Su Xiancheng said, "Although I am not dead, I am under house arrest."

Xie Hong said, "I'm afraid that being placed under house arrest is just a smokescreen, to cover up your betrayal of loyal ministers!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Su Xiancheng roared in anger.

Xie Hong questioned, "Why did the traitor Du find out about the loyal ministers' secret plan to eliminate the traitor and send troops to kill them all?"

"You're the only one who participated in the secret meeting and survived. If it wasn't you who betrayed us, who else could it be?"

"You treacherous villain! You appear righteous on the surface, but secretly you betray your friends for personal gain!"

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials looked at Su Xiancheng, and many had already begun to have doubts.

Su Xiancheng was speechless and could only shout, "Heaven and earth bear witness, I have never betrayed anyone!"

Zhao Kang said, "Drag him away and interrogate him thoroughly to see if he is a remnant of Du's traitorous gang."

"I'm innocent! I didn't betray them..."

Su Xiancheng was dragged away by two Ming soldiers, and he was still shouting when he reached the palace gate.

"This is a frame-up, a fabrication..."

Xie Hong then looked at Li Yangzhen: "You are a prince of Annam, and a cousin of the late King of Annam."

"The king has been murdered, why don't you avenge your lord? Why don't you avenge your brother?"

"Even when the Ming soldiers, acting on the orders of Empress Dowager Du, came to Annam to uphold justice, you hid at home and refused to cooperate?"

Li Yangzhen knelt down with a thud and kowtowed frantically to Zhao Kang: "Your Majesty was wrong! The traitor Du is too powerful, Your Majesty dares not act rashly, and intends to lie low and deal with him slowly."

Xie Hong said, "Now that Annam has a young and insecure ruler, and you, the prince, are weak and incompetent, if His Highness Prince Yu does not stay in Annam to act as regent, I'm afraid Annam will be captured by Champa and Thang Long sooner or later!"

Li Yangzhen immediately understood what it meant, and wailed and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, please, you must stay in Annam!"

"If His Highness Prince Yu is not here, Annam may face national collapse and its people will be displaced."

"Anna can do without anyone else, but it absolutely cannot do without His Highness Prince Yu..."

This guy, with tears streaming down his face, desperately pleaded with Zhao Kang to remain as regent, but all the officials looked at him with disdain.

Zhao Kang nodded approvingly: "As expected of the Wise and Wise King, your title is very fitting. You are indeed extremely wise and understand how to govern a country better than many others."

Li Yangzhen kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Highness, you flatter me. I am not good at governing the country, and everything in Annam depends on Your Highness."

Imperial Censor Guo Ying angrily rebuked him: "You fickle and treacherous villain, how cowardly and spineless you are!"

Li Yangzhen, filled with resentment and anger at the insults, pointed at Guo Ying and said, "Your Highness, this man is also a remnant of the traitor Du. He should be imprisoned and interrogated thoroughly!"

Guo Ying sneered: "Who doesn't know that I've always opposed the traitor Du? To say I'm a remnant of Du is utterly ridiculous!"

Li Yangzhen questioned, "Since you oppose the traitor Du, why didn't you participate in the conspiracy to eliminate him? Even Su Xiancheng went to the secret meeting, why weren't you there at the time?"

"They sent someone to inform me, but I was bedridden at home that day," Guo Ying explained.

Chapter 3705 Should I leave?

Li Yangzhen sneered, "I'm afraid you're not bedridden at home, but secretly informing on the traitor Du, aren't you?"

"Your usual opposition to Du is probably just an act."

"Otherwise, why didn't Du dismiss you from your post after you impeached him multiple times?"

Guo Ying retorted angrily, "My Guo family has always maintained a clean and honest reputation. How could we allow you to smear us like this?"

Li Yangzhen looked at Zhao Kang: "Your Highness, this person must be a remnant of the traitor Du."

Zhao Kang nodded and said, "Then take them all to the prison for interrogation."

After the soldiers dragged away the roaring and cursing Guo Ying, Zhao Kang looked at the ministers again and said, "There is a saying in the Ming Dynasty: 'A forced melon is not sweet.'"

"If none of you wish me to stay, then I will lead my troops away from Annam another day."

The surrendered general Long Kan knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, you cannot leave! The traitor Shen Li, posing as a member of the imperial family, has already captured Taiyuan Prefecture."

"He has elite troops borrowed from Dali, as well as the support of many barbarian tribes in the Northwest, and he is also recruiting soldiers in Taiyuan Prefecture."

"Now that the morale of the Annamite army is low, if Your Highness leaves, who will go to annihilate that Shen traitor?"

The civil officials then remembered that there was still a traitor who had not been eliminated, and they could not allow the Ming army to leave immediately.

Recalling the fates of Su Xiancheng and Guo Ying, the Annamese officials knelt down one after another: "Your Highness Prince Yu, we beg you to assume the regency!"

Xie Hong bowed and said, "Your Highness, it is difficult to refuse the will of the people. Please condescend to stay."

Zhao Kang sighed with a conflicted expression: "But Su Xiancheng's words also make sense. I am a prince of the Ming Dynasty, and my rank is one level higher than that of the King of Annam. If I stay here, I'm afraid it would be against etiquette."

The eunuch Du Yi was also allowed to participate in the court assembly. He said according to the script: "Your Highness can marry Queen Mother Li, and then you will become the father of the king. As the father of the king, you can rule as regent, which is perfectly legitimate."

Although this eunuch valued loyalty and righteousness, he was not a fool.

He feared that if Zhao Kang left Annam, Queen Mother Le would eventually settle old scores with him for his defection.

Zhao Kang must be kept alive so that someone can keep Empress Dowager Li in check.

Therefore, when Xie Hong approached Du Yi and asked him to cooperate at the court assembly, Du Yi readily agreed without much thought.

Although the ministers found it outrageous, they still shouted in unison, "Please, Your Highness Prince Yu, stay and serve as the Regent, the father of the King of Annam!"

As for the fact that Wen Huanzhang married Empress Dowager Du, while Zhao Kang married Empress Dowager Du's daughter-in-law, no one dared to mention this ethically questionable issue of seniority.

Zhao Kang said with emotion, "You all have been so kind in inviting me to stay, but for the sake of the people of Annam, I can only temporarily assume the regency for a few more years."

Suddenly, Zhao Kang hesitated again: "I brought many officials and soldiers with me; they are all my subordinates and guards."

"Now that I have stayed behind, how will they cope?"

Neither the civil nor the military officials of Annam spoke again.

They were forced to retain Zhao Kang as regent, but were unwilling to let the entourage Zhao Kang brought take away official positions.

Zhao Kang looked at Xie Hong.

Xie Hong shook his head slightly.

Zhao Kang said, "Court is adjourned!"

Half a month later, Shenli led the rebel army down the river, successively capturing prefectures and cities along the way, and was already approaching Tiande Prefecture.

Tiande Prefecture City is only separated from the place where Zhao Kang and Du Yingwu fought their decisive battle by a river.

It's less than 100 li (50 kilometers) from the capital, Thang Long!

Historically, Du Yingwu's first expedition against Shen Li's rebel army ended in a crushing defeat.

The second campaign was led by Du Yingwu himself, who defeated Shen Li and forced him to flee. Shen Li eventually escaped to the Southern Song Dynasty but was captured by officials in Yongzhou.

Chapter 3706 This is the one you wanted to keep me here.

On Xie Hong's advice, Zhao Kang deliberately did not send out the Ming army, but instead sent King Zhiming of Annam to lead the army to suppress the rebels.

Even Du Yingwu dared not oppose the wise and virtuous King Li Yangzhen; what outcome could such a cowardly leader possibly achieve?

The two armies fought a decisive battle outside Tiande Prefecture. Li Yangzhen suffered a crushing defeat and fled, taking only a few thousand remnants of his army across the river. He then held out in Beijiang Road City, daring not to venture out again.

Shen Li seized the opportunity to capture Tiande Prefecture City, and upgraded his self-proclaimed title from "King Ping" to "Emperor Ping," even ascending the throne and declaring himself emperor directly in Tiande Prefecture City.

The Annamite officials were greatly alarmed.

Thien Duc Province was one of the most prosperous places in all of Annam, with fertile farmland and even royal families having fiefdoms there.

Officials kept requesting Zhao Kang to send troops, but Zhao Kang said that the Ming soldiers did not have Annam identity, so it was really inconvenient to send them out to fight.

After more than ten days of back and forth, the Annamese nobles and officials finally gave in and agreed to allow the civil and military officials brought by Zhao Kang to serve as officials in Annamese.

Zhao Kang then announced the reform:

"The Annam system is a hybrid of two extremes. It has three powerful ministers in charge of governance and six ministries, but no Secretariat or Chancellery."

"It's neither Han nor Tang, nor Song; if it were passed down to the Ming Dynasty, it would only be a laughing stock."

"From now on, the Three Dukes will be replaced by honorary titles and the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty."

"Xie Hong is appointed Prime Minister... Han Jing is appointed Privy Councilor and concurrently Minister of War..."

"As a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, Annam can no longer be called Dai Viet, and the King of Annam can no longer be called the Emperor of Dai Viet."

"All historical records of palace life, inscriptions and official documents related to the court and the public that contain the characters 'Dai Viet' must be corrected!"

This reform angered many Annamese civil officials.

But he also took the opportunity to win over many civil officials!

Officials who were the first to express their support for the reform were all promoted.

The military generals who first pledged allegiance to Zhao Kang were all promoted, and Zhao Kang even arranged marriages with them.

Two sons of civil officials were even recommended to study at the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as your grades aren't too bad and you've learned Chinese, there's a good chance you'll stay in the Ming Dynasty and become an official.

The fact that his son was an official in the Ming Dynasty was enough for the Annamese minister to boast about.

Although King Zhiming Li Yangzhen was not good at field battles, he was capable of defending the city with several thousand remaining soldiers.

After capturing Tiande Prefecture, Shen Li ascended the throne and lavishly rewarded his meritorious officials.

They then crossed the river to fight, launching a fierce attack on Beijiang Road City for more than 20 days. Tens of thousands of troops were fighting against several thousand, but they could not break through.

No wonder it's impossible to chew.

The absolute elite among the rebels consisted of several hundred borrowed soldiers from Dali.

It was neither Duan Yu's imperial troops nor the troops of the powerful minister Gao, but rather the troops of the Dong family of Xiushan County, Dali.

Secondly, there were more than a thousand barbarian soldiers from the mountainous area bordering Annam and Dali.

The remaining troops were either peasant soldiers recruited temporarily or defeated soldiers gathered by King Zhiming after his defeat.

Such a mixed and ragtag army could rely on sheer courage to charge into battle in the field, but it would be absolutely impossible for them to risk their lives to be the first to scale a city walls in a siege.

Seeing that the siege had failed, Dali general Dong Yicheng found the rebel leader Shen Li and said, "Yesterday I received a letter from the prefect (Dong's family has been the hereditary prefect of Xiushan County in Dali), urging me to lead my troops back as soon as possible. The thirty-seven barbarian tribes are stirring again."

Shen Li exclaimed in surprise, "How can the general retreat at this time? We should take Thang Long Palace in one fell swoop!"

"I dare not disobey the prefect's orders," Dong Yicheng said.

Chapter 3707 Passionate Love

Shen Li tried repeatedly to persuade Dong Yicheng to stay, but Dong insisted on leaving.

The next day, Dong Yicheng fled with the elite troops of Dali.