King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Chapter 290 Taking credit
Although the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei were well-trained and each of them were strong men, they were no match for the regular army when it came to attacking cities and capturing strongholds.

Jiang Li really put in all his efforts, investigating the situation, determining the target, deploying in advance, and launching an all-out attack using artillery as a signal.

Hundreds of Jinyiwei pressed forward in a black mass. Although the city was built steeply, it could not withstand their attack.

At that time, Jiang Lin thought that it would only take about a quarter of an hour to capture the city, and by then he could quietly bring all the people inside back to the capital, and his mission would be perfectly accomplished.

But he never expected that when the attack was halfway through, deafening shouts and screams suddenly came from inside the city, as if someone was attacking in another direction.

Jiang Li immediately became anxious and ordered everyone to attack fiercely.

The Jinyiwei under his command also fought desperately, rushing up almost risking their lives, and captured the main gate of the city in advance.

But when the door was opened, all the Jinyiwei including Jiang Lin were dumbfounded.

The battle in the fortress has ended. Hundreds of fully armed Ming soldiers have completely occupied the fortress. The fortress is littered with corpses lying in pools of blood, with swords in their hands.

Jiang Li found it a little bit unbelievable. He had already found out that there was only one entrance to the fortress, and the rest of the way was surrounded by steep cliffs and there was no road at all.

How did these Ming Dynasty soldiers get up here?
It was not until he saw some soldiers gathering ropes on the side that Jiang Li realized that these soldiers had actually used climbing locks to directly cross the cliff and captured the city first.

The city was breached by someone first, and Jiang Li knew without even thinking that it was someone under the command of Prince Lu Zhu Tan.

Of course he could guess that Prince Lu wanted to earn military merit for his soldiers, but this matter was of no trivial importance. He, Jiang Li, had to personally escort the people in the city to the capital.

Therefore, even when facing the soldiers under the command of King Lu, he could only bite the bullet and step forward, take out the token in his arms, and speak in a deep voice.

"Who is the manager?"

"I am Jiang Li, the commander of the Imperial Guards!"

"Shandong Military Command, Wang Chong."

As soon as Jiang Li finished speaking, a rough voice suddenly came. He immediately turned around and saw a man with a resolute face and a beard walking towards him.

There were faint traces of blood on the scales of this man. He walked forward while inserting a copper hammer into his waist. There were some red and white spots on the small copper hammer. I don't know which unlucky guy's brain it was.

"General Wang."

Jiang Li was also a man who had seen big scenes. He was not afraid even when facing a general of a fierce army. He said in a deep voice, "Thank you, General, and your brothers for your help."

"The Jinyiwei are on duty. General Wang, please hand over all the people in the mountain stronghold to me."

"Forehead?"

Wang Chong was stunned when he heard this, and looked at Jiang Li in surprise, then grinned and said, "Commander Jiang, right?"

"Jiang Yu."

"Commander Jiang, there is no such thing in the world."

Wang Chong patted his armor and said, "I am following the orders of the prince to hunt down the remaining members of the Park family. We have discovered the mountain stronghold where they are hiding."

"The Park family dared to assassinate the prince. The people here must be handed over to the prince for disposal."

"General Wang, I am following the Emperor's orders!"

Hearing Wang Chong's words, Jiang Li frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "If this delays the important matter, you..."

"What business has been delayed?"

Jiang Li was not polite, and Wang Chong did not tolerate him. He glared at him and said, "What does your job as the Jinyiwei have to do with me?"

"I am a general under the command of His Royal Highness Prince Lu, and I obey His Royal Highness Prince Lu. I have never received any imperial edicts!"

"General Wang, you must be responsible for what you said!"

Jiang Li frowned and said, "These people were specifically requested by His Majesty!"

"Who are you fooling?"

Wang Chong smiled and said, "The Emperor is so busy, how can he know the names of these petty thieves?"

"Commander Jiang, stop fooling me. I am following military orders. Military orders are as heavy as a mountain, don't you understand?"

"If you want such people, then wait for me to hand them over to the prince, and then ask the prince for them."

Having said that, regardless of Jiang Li's expression, he turned to the deputy general behind him and said, "Pass the order down, I will take good care of everything here. Unless the prince orders you, no one can move!"

"If someone robs it..."

As he spoke, Wang Chong glanced at Jiang Li intentionally or unintentionally, and said with a smile: "Just treat him as an accomplice and chop him off directly."

"Wang Chong!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li immediately became furious, frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Are you going to disobey the order?"

"Did I disobey your grandmother's order?"

Wang Chong glared at him, murderous intent instantly spreading across his face. He frowned and looked at Jiang Li and said, "Others may be afraid of you Jinyiwei, but I am not!"

"If you show me the emperor's decree right now, I will kneel down and kowtow to you immediately. Do you have it?"

"I……"

Jiang Li was actually speechless after being confronted. He just looked at Wang Chong angrily, thinking about what to do.

When did the emperor need an imperial edict to give orders to the Jinyiwei? They were all oral orders!
Besides, even if the emperor had an imperial edict, Jiang Lin couldn't carry it with him all the time.

"What?" Wang Chong saw the murderous look on Jiang Li's face and smiled, "Do you want to attack the Ming border troops?"

Wang Chong was aggressive, even a little unreasonable.

Jiang Li had no doubt that if he continued to speak harshly, things would become increasingly tense and the idiot in front of him would probably actually give the order to use knife skills.

The bad reputation of the Jinyiwei could stop children from crying at night, but they had no way to deal with the generals in the army, because their hands could not reach that far after all.

Moreover, the emperor had previously ordered Prince Lu to mobilize the soldiers of Shandong Military Commission to quell the Japanese pirates and march to Japan. With the support of the most noble prince of the Ming Dynasty, Jiang Lin was naturally timid.

He didn't understand. The Jinyiwei were obviously one step ahead and had the most advanced intelligence, so how could they be overtaken by these assassins in the army?

Seeing that Jiang Li's face was uncertain and he didn't say anything, Wang Chong grinned and said, "Commander Jiang, I advise you to wait. After we report to the prince, you can go and talk to him. Maybe he will give this person to you."

"I have received military orders. You cannot take the person away no matter what."

"Unless we're all dead."

Wang Chong's tone softened a bit, and Jiang Li also sighed softly. Just as he was about to speak, a voice came from behind.

"His Royal Highness Prince Lu has arrived!"

Jiang Lin's heart moved and he turned around immediately, only to see Prince Lu Zhu Tan, surrounded by a dozen personal soldiers, walking quickly in, his face looking normal.

"Your Highness, I am Jiang Li, the commander of the Jinyiwei, and I am honored to meet His Royal Highness Prince Lu!"

Jiang Li immediately bowed and saluted, and all the soldiers of Shandong Dusi behind him knelt on one knee and shouted in a deep voice.

"Meet Chitose!"

"Alright, alright, we are all meritorious generals, don't be so strict."

Zhu Tan walked forward with a smile, but he didn't even look at Jiang Lin. Instead, he walked past him and went straight to Wang Chong. He helped him up with his own hands and said with a smile.

"General Wang, you have done a great job."

"Hey." Wang Chong grinned at Prince Lu and said, "Fortunately I have fulfilled my mission."

"There are actually people in the territory of our Ming Dynasty who dare to raise private soldiers and build fortresses. Their intentions must be very big."

"But this fortress was discovered by General Wang, who broke through it in one fell swoop and captured the bandit leader. I will report this to my father and have the general and all the soldiers rewarded generously."

Hearing Zhu Tan say this, all the soldiers from Wang Chong onwards grinned, and they were laughing so happily.

Why were they willing to follow Zhu Tan? It was because Zhu Tan was clear about rewards and punishments, sympathetic to his subordinates, and treated them as human beings. He never acted like a prince, and never bullied them. When fighting under the command of the King of Lu, they didn't have to worry about their military merits being robbed, let alone anyone making things difficult for them.

With His Royal Highness Prince Lu there, who would dare to touch them?

At this time, Jiang Li was considering how to ask Zhu Tan for the person, but he did not feel resentful because Zhu Tan ignored him.

But just as he was thinking about it, he heard King Lu suddenly speak.

"Not only do some people raise private soldiers, but they also dare to assassinate me. What do you Jinyiwei do for a living?"

Jiang Li's heart trembled, and he looked up in surprise, only to see Prince Lu's cold eyes staring at him, that look was exactly the same as that of the current emperor.

Jiang Li felt a chill in his heart, and immediately said, "This is my fault, Your Highness Prince Lu, please don't blame me."

"I was ordered by the Emperor to secretly investigate the Park family. I never expected that they would be so bold as to..."

"You want me to be blamed?"

Zhu Tan frowned slightly and shouted in a deep voice: "If I hadn't brought a musket with me, I would have died now!"

"You don't want me to blame you for something like this?"

Jiang Li's heart trembled. He just lowered his head silently and dared not say a word.

Although the Jinyiwei were directly under the imperial power and only obeyed the emperor, the Prince of Lu in front of him was also of noble status and was someone that Jiang Lin could not afford to offend.

"The fact that you Jinyiwei can find this proves that you have already figured out the Pu family thoroughly!"

Zhu Tan narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice, "Since you have already figured it out, but you didn't inform me and just watched me get stabbed. What do you Jinyiwei have in mind?"

"What good will it do you if the king dies?"

Zhu Tan's hat was too big. Jiang Lin's heart was not just trembling, but shaking.

Jiang Lin felt a chill running down his spine. He wanted to open his mouth to explain, but as he had the emperor's order, he could not speak clearly. He could only listen blankly.

"You still want to snatch military merit from the men under my command? Dream on!"

"I'm telling you, you can't take any of the people here with you. The stronghold was conquered by my men, and I won't let them bleed in vain."

"Get out!"

Zhu Tan's words were not polite at all, which made many Jinyiwei dejected, but all the soldiers of Shandong Dusi grinned and looked arrogant.

With the prince supporting them, they felt more confident.

"Your Highness Prince Lu, I am following the Emperor's orders..."

"Imperial order? Where's the imperial edict? Bring it to me to see."

Zhu Tan reached out his hand directly to Jiang Li, and Jiang Li was a little stunned.

Why are Prince Lu's words exactly the same as what Wang Chong just said?
No wonder these soldiers from the Shandong Military Region dared to take the credit for seizing the mountain stronghold first. It turned out that Prince Lu was backing them up behind the scenes!

Jiang Li's thoughts were working rapidly, but he couldn't utter a word. Just this one imperial edict was enough to control him.

"No?" Seeing Jiang Li remained silent, Zhu Tan sneered, "Then you are falsely conveying the imperial edict?"

"I don't dare!"

Jiang Li immediately said, "It was the Emperor's personal order that allowed me to lead people out of the capital, Your Highness..."

"You don't have to explain to me." Zhu Tan waved his hand and said, "Wait until you go back and explain it to your father."

"Brothers, gather all the things in the village for me, and take them all aboard the ship!"

"Respect!"

The soldiers on both sides immediately shouted in unison, their morale was high. Looking at the Jinyiwei side, they all lost their previous anger, like eggplants hit by frost, they all lowered their heads and looked dejected.

"Old Ten, please don't embarrass them."

At this moment, a cold voice suddenly came, and Zhu Tan was stunned.

He looked up and saw a tall, handsome young man who looked 60% like himself walking towards him with a faint smile on his face.

"Big brother?"

Zhu Tan was stunned, and even Jiang Lin beside him and all the soldiers behind him were stunned.

The air froze instantly. Crown Prince Zhu Biao took two steps forward with a faint smile. Jiang Lin suddenly reacted and knelt down and kowtowed, saying in a deep voice: "Your Highness, I, Jiang Lin, pay my respects to the Crown Prince!"

"I'm here to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

All the Jinyiwei kowtowed in unison, and the people from the Shandong Dusi nearby also knelt down hurriedly, kowtowing and shouting.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

At this time, Zhu Tan took two steps forward, saluted Zhu Biao respectfully, looked up and smiled.

"Brother, why are you here?"

"If I hadn't come, you would have been in trouble."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Tan with a smile, stretched out his hand to sweep away the non-existent dust on his clothes, and said, "Jiang Lin came here on the orders of the emperor, so don't make things difficult for him, just give him the people."

"Is this really an order from Father?"

"You kid, you don't believe what your elder brother says?"

"Believe it, how can I not believe it?"

Zhu Tan responded with a smile, and then said to the generals behind him: "Hand them over to the Jinyiwei."

After shouting, he looked at Zhu Biao again and said in a deep voice: "Brother, although it was the order from our father, this stronghold was conquered by these soldiers. This military achievement..."

"rest assured."

Zhu Biao patted Zhu Tan's arm, then raised his head and said to the soldiers of Shandong Dusi in front of him: "I remember all your military achievements, and no one is left out."

"Then let the King of Lu bring up all your names, and Your Majesty will make the decision."

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Highness!"

The evil spirit on Wang Chong and the Shandong Dusi soldiers was gone at this moment.

Even though they dare to say anything under Zhu Tan's command, they dare not say a word if they really meet the prince and the emperor.

This is the magic of imperial power.

"Okay, now that we've settled the matter here, if you're all right, Tenth Brother, shall we have a drink?"

"to make."

Zhu Tan grinned and said, "Then let's go drink on our Ming warship."

"Right on my mind."

After saying that, Zhu Biao grabbed Zhu Tan's wrist, and the two brothers strode away from the bloody mountain village.

In the eyes of the two of them, this hellish scene seemed to be nothing at all.

Only after the prince showed up did Jiang Lin heave a sigh of relief. He had finally passed this hurdle.

But at the same time, he was also a little frightened.

He didn't do his job well this time, and the emperor didn't know how he would punish him.

(End of this chapter)