Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 164: The Ming Dynasty still has a sharp sword! (First update)
half an hour.

Zhang Yu, Zhu Liang and others arrived in military uniforms.

Their faces were very serious, with a hint of surprise and confusion.

Zhu Di was also wearing armor.

When Zhang Yu and others arrived, Zhu Di took a quick look and asked Yao Guangxiao to hand over the information he had sorted out to Zhang Yu and others. "These past few days, I sent people to check the situation in Beiping. I didn't know until I checked. After checking, even I was shocked. How many generals in my army are not greedy and don't take things?"

Zhu Di looked at everyone with disdain.

Zhang Yu and others were startled and quickly reached out to take the item from Yao Guangxiao. However, after just a quick glance, their expressions suddenly changed.

Zhu Di said: "See?"

"My Prince Yan's Mansion is full of petty villains."

"Don't kill me, okay?"

Zhang Yu and Zhu Liang looked at each other with a serious look. They also had a role in the matter, but compared to the others, they were not as excessive and rarely involved in corruption. They were mostly domineering and arrogant.

But generals such as Qiu Fu and Lin Bin were different.

Not only was he corrupt himself, he also allowed his officers and family members to embezzle money.

He also engaged in activities such as forcing women of good families into prostitution, trafficking in human beings, and collusion between officials and businessmen. If a real fight breaks out, I am afraid that generals such as Qiu Fu and Li Bin will not be able to escape death. This made Zhang Yu, Zhu Liang and others somewhat confused about Zhu Di's true thoughts.

Is this about enforcing the law impartially or being lenient?
Zhang Yu turned his gaze to Yao Guangxiao.

Seeking help from Yao Guangxiao.

Yao Guangxiao recited a few Buddhist scriptures, fiddled with a few Buddhist beads, and said, "Your Highness, there are many corrupt soldiers in the city. They should be severely punished. However, if the above conviction is really carried out, I am afraid that your Highness's Prince Yan's Mansion will be half empty. Moreover, some crimes are not punishable by death. I think it is better to be cautious."

Zhu Di glared.

This time, he won't listen to Yao Guangxiao.

If it were before, he would also agree that he should play it safe and intimidate the generals, but now, he feels that it is not enough. He needs to use a heavy hammer to deal with a loud drum. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are all a group of arrogant and fierce generals. If the military law is not strict, these people will never learn their lesson. Instead, they will be proud of it and brag about it.

If you are going to kill, you have to kill in a way that scares people!
Zhu Di snorted coldly and said indifferently: "Daoyan, it is not your turn to tell me how to do things."

"Since I have decided to conduct a thorough investigation, I will naturally investigate thoroughly. However, as a vassal king, I am in charge of the military and political affairs in the Beiping area and have no power to interfere in local civil affairs. Therefore, I will only investigate the military."

"Any soldier in the army who is involved in oppression will be killed without mercy."

"I know what you're thinking."

"Think about whether to take action against Qiu Fu, Li Bin and others."

"Qiu Fu has been with me since he was a soldier, and has fought through life and death all the way to his death. He is loyal to me, and Li Bin is even more extraordinary. His father, Li Xin, followed your majesty to raise troops, and accumulated meritorious service to the rank of General Mingwei and Assistant Commander of Jichuan Guard."

"But so what?"

"Which of these soldiers under my command has not fought with me through life and death? Which one has not made contributions to the Ming Dynasty? Only Qiu Fu is different from the others?"

"As for Li Bin, his father worked hard for the Ming Dynasty, but what about him?"

"A tiger father and a dog son!"

Zhu Di's eyes were full of sarcasm and disdain.

Then, Zhu Di's expression softened and he said, "However, considering their own merits and the contributions of their fathers, I can show them leniency and spare their lives, but they must all be dismissed. Haven't they always been bullying the lower-level soldiers? Then I will let them go back and be ordinary soldiers. I want to see if they will feel ashamed and embarrassed when facing these situations."

"As for the family members of their tribesmen involved, they will all be investigated and dealt with."

"There are still laws in our Ming Dynasty."

"There is still military discipline!"

"in addition."

"This time, we need to rectify the military discipline and set up a strong formation. We need to let everyone in the city know how the Ming Dynasty punishes those soldiers who disobey orders. At the same time, we need to return all the land and houses they have embezzled. Anyone who dares to detain or hide them will be killed."

"I, Zhu Di, am going to tell you clearly this time."

"When you join the army, you have to look like a soldier."

Zhu Di spoke in a murderous tone, with no sign of concealing the killing intent in his eyes.

He was going to kill a lot this time.

Yao Guangxiao frowned and looked at Zhu Di suspiciously, but he was secretly suspicious in his heart. He wondered what Xia Zhibai had said to Zhu Di that could make Zhu Di so excited that he even punished his own confidants. This was not like Zhu Di's usual style.

Zhang Yu and Zhu Liang were also startled.

They could naturally see that the King of Yan was really ruthless and was really not going to show mercy.

If this action continues, I'm afraid many people will die in Peking.

But this is the King of Yan they want.

Be courageous and decisive.

Zhang Yu and Zhu Liang cupped their hands and said, "I obey your orders."

Zhu Di nodded and said in a deep voice: "Let's clean up each family according to what we have found."

"Yes." After Zhang Yuzhuliang left, Yao Guangxiao asked, "Why did His Highness change so much? What did Xia Zhibai tell His Highness?"

Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao coldly and said in a deep voice: "Xia Zhibai didn't say anything to me. He just warned me that as a vassal king, I should first do what a vassal king should do. After I have done my own thing well, I can plan for other things."

"Otherwise it will only backfire on you."

"I exposed my ambition too early and was too eager to achieve success."

“It’s not good for me.”

"The city is now in chaos. As a vassal king, I should put a stop to this phenomenon. Only in this way can my father look at me differently and truly value me. How can my father value me if I rely on some conspiracy?"

"What's more."

Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao and sneered, "Do you really think that there is anyone in the world who can hide this from Your Majesty?"

Yao Guangxiao was silent.

Your Majesty has been through too much.

He can see through many things in the world at a glance.

It was because of this that he took the initiative to follow Prince Yan and left Yingtian Prefecture.

Because he was staying in Yingtian Prefecture, he was really uneasy.

"What does your highness intend to do this time?" Yao Guangxiao asked.

Zhu Di grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and said grimly: "Of course, it is to kill people to establish authority. Killing corrupt officials is what the people like most. Distributing the land that these people have embezzled can also win the hearts of the people and settle down the beggars roaming in the city."

"Although many people will die, it will be of great benefit to the stability of the army's morale, the peace of mind of the people in the north, and changing the court's view of me."

“Why can’t I do it?”

Yao Guangxiao nodded.

He pondered for a moment and said in a concentrated voice, "Your Highness's move is certainly good, but it will also face a big problem, that is, a large number of mid- and lower-level military officers will be in trouble, and Your Highness's control over the army will be reduced to a certain extent. In addition, there may be problems in on-the-spot command and dispatch."

"If the imperial court has no intention of launching a northern expedition in the short term, this is fine. However, if the imperial court has the intention of launching another northern expedition, I am afraid that the combat effectiveness of the soldiers under your highness will be greatly reduced."

"Given your majesty's fear of the Northern Yuan, I'm afraid the next Northern Expedition won't last too long."

"Will Your Highness really be given so much time to retrain the troops and improve his command capabilities?"

"I think this is a bit too hasty and too radical."

Yao Guangxiao expressed his concerns.

He felt that Zhu Di was a little too anxious, only taking care of one thing and ignoring the other.

He only thought about solving the problems in Peking all at once, but forgot that as a vassal king, he also had the role of guarding the northern border. After this major movement, I am afraid that the army will find it difficult to recover its previous combat effectiveness in a short time. The reduction in combat effectiveness will damage the "reputation" of the Prince of Yan.

Zhu Di smiled.

He looked at Yao Guangxiao and said in a cold voice: "Daoyan, you are sometimes very smart, but sometimes you are too shortsighted. Do you think that what Xia Zhibai said in the military camp at that time would fall into the ears of His Majesty, and how would His Majesty react?"

Yao Guangxiao was stunned.

He hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly: "With your majesty's control over the world, those words will definitely reach your majesty's ears."

"It's just that what Xia Zhibai said is too unrealistic. There is not much feasibility at all. Not to mention whether the court can eventually annex the Northern Yuan Dynasty, even if it really does, it will be very troublesome to govern. Moreover, the Northern Yuan Dynasty is too big for the court to manage, and it will eventually be abandoned."

Zhu Di shook his head.

He said in a deep voice: "That's enough."

"Do you know that His Majesty once expressed his sincerity in becoming a vassal of the Yuan Dynasty?"

Yao Guangxiao nodded.

Of course he had heard of this.

However, this was only a temporary measure. At that time, Your Majesty was pushed to the extreme by Chen Youliang and had to fight a decisive battle with Chen Youliang. There was no way to retreat. In this situation, he could only take the initiative to "submit" to the Yuan Dynasty in order to stabilize the situation in the north and buy more time for himself.

When the Yuan court really sent someone, His Majesty didn't even show up.

He even directly executed all the other members of the delegation except Zhang Chang, and never mentioned the matter of "submission".

Zhu Di sneered, "My father was able to lower himself to the Yuan court and 'submit his loyalty' to it. Now he can also lower himself to resume relations with the Yuan court, and then use various means to continuously weaken the power of the Yuan court, so that the Yuan court will always be in a dying state."

"Xia Zhibai said something very right."

"The dying Bei Yuan is the best Bei Yuan."

"That's also the Northern Yuan Dynasty that Daming wants to see."

"The completely collapsed and fragmented Northern Yuan posed a greater threat to the Ming Dynasty because it was full of variables and unpredictability. However, the Ming Dynasty could see at a glance what the Northern Yuan was doing and could effectively target it at a glance."

"If it's anyone else, I can't guarantee it."

"Even if I were faced with this situation, I would definitely lead my troops north, trample the camps, and completely destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty. But my father is different. He sees further and for a longer period of time, so he will definitely consider this situation."

"I predict that the Ming Dynasty will not restart the war in the next few years."

(End of this chapter)