Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 257
The wind was blowing, the sun was slanting towards the west, and the dusk in June suddenly seemed extraordinarily quiet.

A stream was ding-dong, and many nocturnal birds and beasts carefully licked the water, looking sideways from time to time.

Taking advantage of the transition between black and white, there are more and more active animals, and a large flock gathers beside the small stream.

Suddenly, a sharp arrow came through the air and hit a pheasant.

"Crackling——" After the pheasant was hit by the arrow, it exhausted its last remaining strength and let out the reverberation of life.

Whoosh whoosh!

A large number of animals received the signal and began to flee, but unfortunately, it was too late.

shhhhh--

Dozens of arrows flew over powerfully, followed by them, as if they had eyes, they fixed a dozen pheasants, wild ducks, and even an elk.

Afterwards, a large group of poorly dressed soldiers ran over, hurriedly grabbed the group of prey, and left impatiently.

Although the forest is complex and changeable, overgrown with weeds, and almost impenetrable to light, they are running like flying, with bows on their backs, as if they have eyes on their heads.

After walking for nearly half an hour, after seven turns and eight turns, a group of talents came to a canyon, where a wooden village stood.

An alluvial plain between mountains created hundreds of acres of arable land, which naturally became a settlement.

"Guji Guji—"

The leading hunter yelled, which seemed to be the right slogan, and the gate was opened.

Immediately, a group of people returned to the village with their prey, and a young man with a tired face greeted them.

He has delicate skin, fair skin, tall, dressed in a long robe, gentle and refined, not at all like a martial artist.

But it was so amazing, he was Mu Tianbo, the hereditary general who controlled the entire Yunnan Guard.

"Huaiqing, you are back!"

With joy in Mu Tianbo's eyes, he couldn't wait to come out to greet him.

The leading man immediately knelt down on one knee: "Duke, the humble officer has found out the route, and we can start tomorrow, and there are no pursuers nearby."

Huaiqing lowered his head and said in a deep voice.

"These are also the prey of the lowly ranks. Honoring you is also to make up for the wife and son."

"Where do you want so much?"

Seeing dozens of prey, Mu Tianbo shook his head. Although he is weaker and not very skilled in military affairs, he understands the importance of buying people's hearts:
"It's enough to keep two, and share the rest with you."

"Thank you, Duke!"

There were tears in everyone's eyes, and they looked excited and inexplicable.

These hereditary servants are the most important trump cards of the Mu family. Now they are able to leave Kunming and Chuxiong Mansion. These people have contributed a lot.

But at this time, after fleeing along the way, there were only less than three hundred of these loyal servants left, and half of them were injured.

And you must know that before this, there were more than 2000 well-trained servants.

Sighing, Mu Tianbo turned his head, unable to bear to look any further.

Right in the village, his family lived in a thatched hut that could be called crude, even worse than the huts of his servants.

Earth walls, wooden doors, thatched roofs, uneven and slippery ground, and three or five rooms are already the best in the entire wooden village.

"Mother!"

Back in the thatched hut, Mu Tianbo bowed to his sick mother, Mrs. Chen, pretending to be happy and saying:

"Mother, the scouts are all back, they have found the way, and we can leave tomorrow."

"Really?" A trace of hesitation finally appeared on Chen's face: "We are a big family, although we feel aggrieved living here, but we are safe and sound, and the consequences are unknown if we go out."

The wives and concubines on the side were full of hesitation, hesitating to speak, obviously they all understood that they had nothing to say on this.

Several children are even younger, and the nanny doesn't know what to do with her.

Although he is only 26 years old, Mu Tianbo is Duke Qian after all. Although he is weak in his bones, he is still decisive:
"Vice Envoy Yang said that Chuxiong can't hold out for long, and the western bandits are chasing after him. We have to escape to the court as soon as possible."

"I can only wrong my mother."

"I can make up my mind."

Mrs. Chen nodded, and said, "Although it is rough and difficult, survival is the most important thing."

"Brother, where are we going?"

On the side, the younger sister, who was dressed in plain and elegant clothes, was asking softly.

Mu Han, who is 15 years old, has a soft face full of exhaustion. The escape these days has reduced her oval face a bit.

Mu Tianbo said distressedly: "Let's take a detour and go to Guizhou."

Mu Han nodded, with a look of longing on her small face: "It's good to be able to leave Yunnan."

Originally, Mu Tianbo wanted to escape to Dali, or the Yongchang Mansion further south, but Wu Zhaoyuan didn't suggest it.

He bluntly said that the western thieves are unstoppable, no matter how far they hide, they cannot regain Kunming by themselves.

That being the case, it is better to put hope on the court.

However, the Mu family's goal is relatively small and they are closely related. It would be best if they fled to Guizhou and asked the court for help in their capacity.

In this way, Mu Tianbo and others left Chuxiong Mansion before the Western Thieves arrived.

The next day, the group set off again.

Although the prestige of the Mu Mansion has continued to decline over the years, the accumulation of more than 200 years cannot be underestimated, and there are countless chieftains covered up along the way.

After a big detour, I didn't arrive in Guizhou until the end of July.

And at this time, he just happened to bump into He Tengjiao who was sharpening his sword.

"The Duke is suffering."

Seeing such a distressed group of people, especially Duke Qian, who had been pampered for many years, crumbling, He Tengjiao hurriedly helped them into the official office.

Although he knew it was an act, He Tengjiao was still annoyed by Yunnan's corruption.

Just in a mess, Mu Tianbo didn't care at all, but trembled, crying:
"Governor, save Yunnan!"

So, Mu Tianbo began to recount: "Most half of the prefectures in Yunnan have fallen, and there are many chieftains attached to the western thieves. The land controlled by the imperial court is only a dozen or so counties. If we don't hurry up, the 300-year foundation of the Ming Dynasty may be damaged..."

Hearing these complaints, He Tengjiao had mixed feelings, and his heart was agitated, and he really didn't want to talk to him.

He is from Guizhou, and he knows Yunnan very well.

Like Guizhou, Yunnan is governed by the chieftain and the government, and most of the people under the government are soldiers and immigrants who migrated during the Hongwu period.

In this case, facing threats all the time, the government should pay more attention to military strength, and the army should be stronger.

After all, surrounded by a group of chieftains, anyone who was weak would have been bullied to death, and obedient people would become stronger.

This duke inherited the title at the age of ten, and grew up in a pile of women's makeup. How could he have the aura of Prince Mu's mansion?
"Don't worry, Duke, I came here on the emperor's order, just to wipe out the western thieves. Now that we are gearing up and mobilizing our army, we will be able to enter Yunnan in a few days."

"It's really nice."

Mu Tianbo showed joy: "The Western Thieves were defeated in Sichuan Province, the imperial court must have learned something!"

(End of this chapter)