Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 184 Soul Mirror

On October 20th of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Zhu's troops arrived at his loyal city of Wuchang.

The only accompanying personnel were Lu Daqi, Li Qiande and Liu Xizuo.

Because these three people, one is the Governor-General of Huguang, one is the Governor of Huguang, and one is the Inspector General of Huguang.

Zhou Ernan was the magistrate of Changsha, the second in command in Changsha, and had to stay in Changsha. Hunan Governor Chen Ruimo was driven to Guizhou by Zhang Xianzhong and has not returned yet.

Therefore, Lu Daqi and Li Qiande were actually the immediate superiors in the Huguang region. Only by coming here could they legitimately become the leaders of the local officials.

But there is no need to worry about Changsha.

Zhu Yuanzhang left Xu Da in Changsha, with Zhou Ernan as his temporary assistant.

Many other officials in Changsha were driven to Guangxi, Guangdong, Guizhou and other places by Zhang Xianzhong, including several vassal kings.

Now that Zhang Xianzhong has been killed and the rebellion has been put down, these officials will soon be back in office.

A large number of officials returned, including Hunan Governor Chen Ruimo, Pianyuan Governor Li Gande, Hunan Military Preparations Commissioner Wang Kejiu, General Kong Xigui, Changde Co-governor Zhu Guozhu, and so on.

of course.

Zhu Yuanzhang had already told Xu Da to rectify the administration of officials and conduct a thorough investigation of all officials in Hunan.

Whether among these officials who fled there are some honest and capable officials or some corrupt and greedy officials is another matter.

Lu Daqi had already sent someone to notify Hubei officials in advance.

Hubei Governor Wang Yangji summoned dozens of officials including Military Supervisor Wang Zan, Mianyang Prefect Zhang Kuang, Chengtian Prefecture Co-Prefect Ma Biao, Jiangbei Military Supervisor Fu Shangrui, Wuchang Procurator Wu Jinxi, Qihuang Supervisor Yan Qiheng, and Yuezhou Tongpan Liu Bi to welcome him.

In addition to them, there is also the newly appointed Wuhan Huangzhou military governor Du Yinxi.

Du Yinxi was previously the prefect of Changsha. When Zhang Xianzhong came to attack Changsha, he happened to be summoned to Beijing by Chongzhen to report on his work. It was only in August that he was appointed as the Wuhan Military Preparations Commissioner and took office.

Originally, there should have been a new prefect of Changsha after he left office, but firstly, the civil strife continued and the roads were blocked. Secondly, historically, Beijing fell very quickly and was captured by Li Zicheng in March of the next year, so there was no time to appoint a new official.

Therefore, Du Yinxi became the last prefect of Changsha in the Ming Dynasty. He later advocated resistance against the Qing Dynasty, became the Minister of War in the Yongli Dynasty, and eventually died for his country.

At this moment, outside the city of Wuchang, dozens of officials of various ranks dressed in uniforms were standing in the north wind.

Everyone is looking forward to it.

Before coming, Lu Daqi issued an official document saying that they had eliminated Zhang Xianzhong and would quickly rush to Hubei to provide assistance and attack Li Zicheng's troops in Xiangyang.

When Hubei officials heard the good news, they were overjoyed and looked forward to Lu Daqi's arrival.

After all, firstly, Lu Daqi was their immediate superior, and secondly, Lu Daqi had eliminated Zhang Xianzhong and made such a great contribution, so it was inevitable that he would become a high-ranking official in the future. Naturally, they had to curry favor with him immediately.

Soon they saw a large group of people slowly approaching on the southern horizon.

Everyone straightened their clothes and waited quietly.

But when they got closer, everyone had a puzzled look on their faces.

Because they saw a man in a dragon robe riding on horseback in the distance, standing at the front of the team, while Lu Daqi, Li Qiande, Liu Xizuo and others were following behind him.

"Could it be His Royal Highness Prince Ji?"

"It may be His Royal Highness Prince Hui."

"It might be Prince Rong."

Everyone was talking about it.

There are quite a lot of vassal kings in Hunan and Hubei, including a large number of princes and dukes.

Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng attacked Hubei, and the largest vassal king in Hubei, Prince of Chu, Zhu Huakui, was killed by Zhang Xianzhong.

But there were also princes such as Zhu Shuya, King of Liao, Zhu Cihong, King of Jing, Zhu Changcheng, King of Xiang, Zhu Youdong, King of Ji, and Zhu Cizhao, King of Rong.

There are too many other princes to list, such as Prince of Xuanhua, Prince of Fuqing, Prince of Changyang, Prince of Jinxian, Prince of Anfu, and there are about twenty or thirty of them.

So many officials speculated that this might be a vassal king coming.

However, local officials did not have much interaction with the princes, so they did not know who this person was.

But they were also confused.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing the bright yellow dragon robe from the early Ming Dynasty.

The dragon robes of the Ming Dynasty and the robes of the princes were of the same style, and even had dragon patterns on them, but the details were different.

But by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the color of the dragon robe gradually turned into vermilion, so officials were not sure.

Which prince is trying to go retro and wear bright yellow robes?

Soon the team came closer.

Lu Daqi rode his horse beside him and said in a loud voice: "His Majesty Taizu has arrived, all officials kneel to welcome him!"

"what?"

The reactions of many officials were to open their mouths and eyes wide, with a look of disbelief on their faces.

What the hell is Densi?

I thought he was some vassal king who liked retro style.

The result is Taizu?
And what about Taizu?
Hasn’t he been dead for over two hundred years?

What's going on?

For a moment, many officials stood there in a daze.

Mao Xiang stepped forward and said, "I am Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jinyi Guards. His Majesty the Great Ancestor has come to save the world. Why don't you hurry up and welcome him?"

"You are so confused, Lu Daqi, you are so confused!"

Du Yinxi stood out from the crowd, heartbroken and angrily shouted: "You are the emperor's salary, you should be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, how could you betray the court, betray His Majesty, and join the traitor who pretended to be Taizu!"

"Bastard!"

Mao Xiang was furious, raised his gun and pointed it at him, saying, "The Grand Master is here in person, and you refuse to kneel. You even dare to speak so arrogantly! Are you really not afraid of death?"

"Why should I fear death? You can kill me or chop me up as you wish. I, Du Yinxi, have done my duty to the country and the people. I will never collude with you traitors."

Du Yinxi was fearless and ready to die.

Mao Xiang was about to shoot to scare the monkeys, but Lao Zhu stopped him and said, "Okay."

He looked around and saw the officials looking at each other in bewilderment. Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice, "I am Zhu Yuanzhang. I know you don't believe me, but it doesn't matter. I can lead the army to destroy Zhang Xianzhong, so I can also quickly pacify Li Zicheng. You just need to do your own things. If you have any doubts, ask Lü Daqi and Li Qiande. I don't want to waste time talking to you."

After saying that, he didn't bother to pay attention to the officials at the gate and rode his horse slowly into the city.

Lu Daqi hurriedly walked in front to clear the way for him, scolded the soldiers at the door not to stop them, and took Zhu Yuanzhang all the way to the Wuchang government office.

Originally, the most luxurious mansion in Wuchang should have been the Prince of Chu's Mansion, but Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Zuo Liangyu and burned down the Prince of Chu's Mansion when he evacuated from Wuchang, so now only the government office is left to live in. As soon as they left, everyone surrounded Li Qiande and Liu Xizuo, saying in unison: "Brother Yu Ran, what is going on? How could you, how could you betray and surrender?"

"Brother Zhongji, the Wujin Liu family is also a famous and prestigious family. Now you have surrendered to the enemy. How can we let hundreds of years of reputation be destroyed in your hands?"

"Oh, it's fine if you surrendered to the enemy, but now you're trying to harm us. How dare you."

"What should we do? There are not many soldiers in Wuchang City. Why don't we gather all the troops in the city and arrest the man who pretends to be Taizu first?"

Everyone was in chaos, talking and arguing, and the noise made Li Qiande and Liu Xizuo almost dizzy.

Liu Xizuo had no choice but to shout: "Stop, don't say anything, my colleagues, listen to me."

Everyone shut up.

Liu Xizuo smiled bitterly and said, "It really was His Majesty Taizu. I didn't believe it at first, but His Majesty Taizu took me to the Hongwu period. Did you know? I was also fortunate enough to meet His Royal Highness Crown Prince Yiwen, who encouraged me a few words."

"Besides, others don't know me yet. Brother Ciwei, don't you know me? Am I the kind of person who is afraid of death? If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, we wouldn't have believed that it was the Emperor Taizu who came."

As he spoke, he looked at Liu Bi, the Tongpan of Yuezhou. Liu Bi had once defended Yuezhou with him for three months. After Yuezhou City was broken, they fled separately, and they had a very deep comradeship.

Liu Bi was stunned for a moment, recalling the time he spent with Liu Xizuo, and finally nodded and said: "Brother Zhongji is indeed not a coward, I believe that is His Majesty Taizu."

Li Qiande also said: "Not only Zhongji, but I, Lu Gong, and Zuo Liangyu have all been there during the Hongwu era. Gentlemen, please trust us once."

After that, he bowed earnestly, then stood up and pointed at it and said, "According to His Royal Highness the King of Wu, His Majesty the Great Ancestor became an immortal after his dragon coffin, and he can travel through time and space. He has not only been to the Jianwen period, but also to the Yongle, Xuande, Zhengtong, and Jingtai dynasties. Now he has come to this world because he knows that the Ming Dynasty is in its final years. Soon, Li Zicheng will capture Beijing, and everyone here will become a minister of a fallen country. Therefore, he could not bear to see this, so he broke through time and space and came here to save the Ming Dynasty."

These words made many officials look at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to say.

In fact, strictly speaking, they are not high-ranking officials.

The highest-ranking one among them is Hubei Governor Wang Yangji, who is of the second rank, and the rest are basically between the fourth and seventh ranks.

On the other hand, among Lu Daqi, Li Qiande, Liu Xizuo and others, Liu Xizuo was of a lower rank, being a seventh-rank inspector, but he had great power, and among all the people present, only Wang Yangji was superior to him.

Lu Daqi was the first-rank governor-general of the four provinces of Jiangxi, Huguang, Yingtian and Anqing, and Li Qiande was the second-rank governor of Huguang, and they were their immediate superiors.

Not to mention Zhu Yuanzhang, if only Lu Daqi or Li Qiande came, they would have to obey their orders.

Therefore, to a certain extent, even if they surrendered to the bandits, there was really no need to deceive them like this. If any one of these people came, they could easily take over the entire Huguang.

Wang Yangji hesitated for a moment and asked, "Brother Yu Ran, it's not that I don't believe it, but this matter is still unbelievable. Should I ask His Majesty for instructions?"

"Your Majesty will not believe it."

Li Qiande shook his head and said, "Don't you know His Majesty's character? If this matter is reported, His Majesty will definitely be furious, so we should follow His Majesty Taizu first, pacify the bandits in all directions, and then go north to Beijing."

"But."

Wang Yangji thought for a moment and said, "Even so, since His Majesty Taizu has become an immortal, shouldn't he also show off his immortal skills?"

As he said this, he was afraid that his distrust would be too obvious, so he waved his hands and said, "It's not that we don't believe it, we just have never seen an immortal, nor have we seen the immortals' skills, so we want to open our eyes and see the world."

Li Qiande smiled bitterly and said, "His Majesty Taizu's descent to the mortal world was against the will of heaven. According to His Royal Highness the King of Wu, this descent has consumed all of his magical powers, and they cannot use their magic, but they did bring a lot of magical instruments with them. One of the magical instruments can allow people to travel through time and space, and we used that magical instrument to go to the Hongwu Dynasty. However, the magical instrument said that the magical power must be preserved, and His Majesty Taizu will have to go back later, so he cannot use it. But other magical instruments are available."

He looked at Zhu Yunfeng who was strolling on the street not far away.

Zhu Yuanzhang entered the city, surrounded by hundreds of guards carrying AKs for protection, and went into the city first to see the situation in Wuchang.

But there are still hundreds of thousands of refugees behind.

Many of these refugees were hired to deliver supplies, and many were from Hubei. They followed Zuo Liangyu because of famine and were now able to return to their hometown. Zhu promised to give them land and food, so they all followed him.

So Tang He, Feng Sheng and Fu Youde were directing the refugees to set up camp outside the city, while Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He were checking supplies. They were very sad that their beloved motorcycles were left in Hunan.

"Your Highness, King Wu, Your Highness, King Wu."

Li Qiande trotted towards Zhu Yunfeng and waved at him.

When Zhu Yunfeng saw him calling him, he asked Ji He to check the supplies first, and he ran over and asked, "What's wrong? Did you fail to deal with the Huguang officials?"

"Yes."

Li Qiande smiled bitterly and said, "They don't believe it."

Zhu Yunfeng rolled his eyes at him and said, "How did you get to be such an official? You even boast that you are the most powerful official in Huguang, but none of your subordinates believe you."

"Your Highness is teaching us that it is just too incredible for the Great Ancestor to descend to the mortal world, and they dare not believe it."

Li Qiande brought Zhu Yunfeng to the officials and said carefully: "I told them that His Highness has a magic weapon, and they wanted to open their eyes and see the magical uses of the magic weapon."

"This is simple."

Zhu Yunfeng waved his hand in the distance, called over a drone operator and said, "Fly one for them to see."

The drone operator flew a drone and circled over the officials' heads.

This scene shocked everyone and they all said, "Oh my God, why is something flying?"

"What is this? Is it really a magical weapon?"

"It's really amazing. Maybe it's really the arrival of the Great Ancestor. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a magical item."

The drone gave them quite a shock.

But some people also said: "Mozi made a wooden kite, which took three years to complete and could fly for one day. Lu Ban made a wooden kite, and it flew for three days after it was completed. This may be just Lu Ban's technique."

"Can Luban's magic form an image instantly?"

When Zhu Yunfeng heard what the man said, he took out a tablet and directed the officials, "All of you stand together. Yes, stand together."

Everyone looked at each other.

Li Qiande frowned and said, "Didn't you hear His Royal Highness the King of Wu telling you to stand together? Stand together!"

Seeing that their boss asked them to stand together, although they were still confused, the officials' instinct of fearing their boss still made them come together.

Zhu Yunfeng immediately opened his camera and took a photo of them, then said with a sigh: "The Ming Dynasty official uniforms are still good-looking and the style is also good. The photos of Qing Dynasty officials look like a group of old zombies."

As he said this, he showed the tablet in his hand to everyone, "See? Your appearance has been captured in the photo. Have you ever seen a magical device like this?"

"What is this, it's so lifelike."

"So this is what I look like. I didn't see it clearly in the bronze mirror before, but now I see it clearly, it is like this."

"It's amazing. I don't know. Uh, Your Highness, King Wu, what on earth is this?"

Many officials were shocked and asked questions one after another.

"Oh, this is a soul mirror."

Zhu Yunfeng said calmly, "You were photographed in the photo just like you are. I have already controlled your souls. If you don't obey, I will move my fingers and you will die."

Many officials: "."

(End of this chapter)