Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 104: Conspiracy strikes, terrifying speculation

Before tonight, almost all those who came from the capital suffered misfortune.

The Twelve Guards of Shaanxi showed them through their actions that the word "loyalty" is not just talk.

They really dare to say and do.

What imperial envoy, envoy from the Ministry of War, envoy from the Five Military Commanderies.

No matter how they schemed, they thought that as long as they avoided the eyes and ears of Prince Su's Mansion and took over the army as quickly as possible, they could successfully encircle Lanzhou Prefecture and achieve their conspiracy.

But unexpectedly, all the messengers and imperial envoys never returned.

Just like a stone ox entering the sea, once you step into the military camp, you will never come out again.

On the contrary, the Twelve Guards of Shaanxi were still gathering rapidly.

and deceived those who were in darkness.

Let them think their plan succeeded.

……

"Your Highness, urgent news from Ganzhou Guards!"

The secret letter that Yan Yimei handed over was still stained with night dew.

As Zhu Jinzhen unfolded the letter, his brow furrowed into a frown. It was written by Li Chongwu, the commander of the Ganzhou Left Guard, in a handwriting so illegible it was nearly indecipherable: "At three quarters past midnight, the Jinyiwei entered the Left Guard camp bearing an imperial edict, along with a tiger talisman and a mobilization card, demanding the encirclement of Lanzhou Prefecture tonight at dawn."

Encircle Lanzhou Prefecture?
A stern and cold light flashed across Zhu Jinzhen's eyes.

He continued reading. When Li Chongwu mentioned in the letter that he had detained Jinyiwei's pacification envoy Ying Wuqiu and others, Zhu Jinzhen's eyes flashed with surprise. He didn't expect that this world of comprehensive martial arts would even incorporate that drama.

Afterwards, the five guards of Ganzhou would pretend to cooperate. Once any of the twelve guards in Shaanxi rebelled, the five guards of Ganzhou would suppress and wipe them out with lightning speed. Zhu Jinzhen could rest assured.

"Go and bring Zhu Houzhao here."

Zhu Jinzhen gave a casual order, and two figures outside the door disappeared instantly.

Yan Yimei took out several more secret intelligence letters and said, "Your Highness, according to the secret guards' intelligence, not only the five guards of Ganzhou, but also the four guards of Xi'an, the Ningxia guards and many other guards have similar situations."

Zhu Jinzhen casually glanced at the information with an amused expression. The emperor was in his hands, but someone actually went to mobilize troops with the imperial edict and the mobilization cards and tiger talismans from the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery.

"Tell me, is this the emperor's work, or..."

"The work of the civil service group or some other forces?"

Yan Yimei frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and slowly shook her head: "Your Highness, even if the emperor is cunning, he probably doesn't have the ability to predict the future. Even if he planned ahead, he wouldn't be involved."

"The emperor must not have failed to understand the principle that a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall."

"Unless the emperor is willing to become a pawn."

It is not impossible for the emperor to be a chess piece, but it is impossible for him to be a chess piece voluntarily.

"Interesting, that means there is a good show going on in the capital right now." Zhu Jinzhen laughed loudly. Even though the emperor was away, there was still an imperial edict coming, and there was also cooperation from the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanders' Office.

He was really curious, what kind of person could have such ability?

"Your Highness, please stop laughing. Aren't you worried?"

"Worry?"

Zhu Jinzhen's smile faded slightly, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent: "The one who should be worried is not me, but those who dare to plot against Lanzhou Prefecture and my mother."

It's no secret that he is in Jiayuguan.

As a result, the people sent by the court actually wanted to mobilize troops to encircle Lanzhou Prefecture.

The purpose is self-evident.

Yan Yimei's pupils shrank as she guessed, "Your Highness is saying that those people have set their sights on the Concubine Dowager? They want to use this to threaten Your Highness?"

She finally realized why the reports from the five Ganzhou guards, the four Xi'an guards, and the Ningxia guards were all so remarkably consistent: they were all sieging Lanzhou Prefecture. At first, Yan Yimei had been puzzled, but now, she was filled with murderous intent.

"I will summon the secret guards right now to find all the rats in the sewers and kill them."

Lanzhou Prefecture was Zhu Jinzhen's base camp.

Although he was in Jiayuguan, the defense of Lanzhou Prefecture was not weak.

Not to mention the 20,000 Tiance soldiers and the four maids Chunfeng Qiuyue beside the Concubine Li Yuyao, the more than 1,600 guards in the palace alone are not to be trifled with.

But no matter how safe it was, setting their sights on the Concubine Dowager and intending to use this to threaten their Highness was a capital crime in Yan Yimei's opinion.

Zhu Jinzhen nodded indifferently, suppressing the murderous intent in his heart, and asked about the situation elsewhere: "What's the situation in Yansui, Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi?"

"Your Highness, according to the intelligence from the secret guards, the four sides are also preparing to make a move and are constantly gathering towards Yinchuan."

"They're going outside the Great Wall?" Zhu Jinzhen frowned, realizing something was amiss. "If they take a detour through the Helan Mountains, aren't they afraid that the Mongols will suddenly launch an attack and swallow them all in one swoop?"

Yan Yimei replied, "The Mongols also seem to be preparing for war."

"Yinchuan..."

Zhu Jinzhen's fingers tapped the table unconsciously, his face quickly darkening. "Could it be that those civil servants are really planning to collaborate with the enemy and betray our country, and join forces with the Mongols to deal with us?"

With the chaotic command of that foolish emperor Zhu Qizhen.

The generals in the nine important border towns were all scared to death.

It is impossible for a situation like the one at Tumu Fort where laymen commanded the experts to happen again. Even if the civil service group had absolute power, there was no possibility that they would take the troops from Datong, Xuanfu, Yansui and Shanxi to die outside the Great Wall.

Unless, they are not worried about encountering the Mongols.

The only possibility is that they have joined forces or have reached some kind of tacit understanding.

"Those bastards, aren't they afraid of causing a mutiny among the entire army?"

"Aren't you worried that if you withdraw troops from all directions, the Mongols will take advantage of the opportunity and suddenly attack the capital?" Zhu Jinzhen frowned, he was shocked. Datong was an important line of defense against foreign enemies. Without the garrison of Datong Prefecture, once the Mongols took the opportunity to send troops south, I'm afraid that by the time he received the news, they would have already reached Shuntian Prefecture.

Yan Yimei looked up in shock: "Your Highness, this..."

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, interrupting what Yan Yimei was about to say.

"Your Highness, the noble has been brought here."

"Let him in."

Zhu Jinzhen was too lazy to pretend, so he waved his hand and the door opened automatically.

Then, when Zhu Houzhao walked in with a look of curiosity and a little trepidation, Zhu Jinzhen threw the secret letter directly at him.

Zhu Houzhao opened the secret letter curiously, and just one glance at it made him shiver and feel cold all over.

Imperial decree, dispatching troops to encircle Lanzhou Prefecture?

The emperor is not dead yet?
Where did the imperial edict come from?

And he was using the emperor's name to mobilize troops and prepare to encircle Lanzhou Prefecture? Was he afraid that he wouldn't die quickly enough?

Although he was furious, Zhu Houzhao quickly defended himself: "Prince Su, this was not done by me. You know me. I have been staying in Tiance Mansion all these days and have not contacted the outside world."

"I know it wasn't you who did it."

"But look at your stupid behavior. You're the emperor, and you've only been away from the capital for a short time, but the cabinet didn't even need your approval, and they directly issued an imperial decree to mobilize the border troops."

"What's next? Will they just let you, the emperor, be stabbed in the back with eighteen swords and say you committed suicide? Will they drown you in your Yude Pool after bathing and say you slipped and drowned? Will they catch a cold and die suddenly?"

Zhu Jinzhen almost pointed at Zhu Houzhao's nose and cursed him.

If his previous inference is correct, then it is not just a matter of the Prince Su's Mansion falling into a conspiracy trap of treason, but the life and death of tens of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty is at stake.

(End of this chapter)