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

Chapter 5: The thief is still determined, unexpected news

The first sequence is the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry.

There were not many people, only 10,000 cavalry.

These 10,000 Snow Dragon Riders were the survivors that Zhu Jinzhen found from the many villages and towns that were looted and killed across the border before he inherited the throne. They were the absolute elite and the absolute trump cards that he trained at great expense.

The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry does not recruit from outside. Even if the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry suffers casualties in battle, they will never recruit reinforcements from Tian Ce, Cang Yun, or even the Twelve Guards of Lanzhou. Instead, they will wait for someone who meets the requirements to appear and then absorb them in.

Its name should not be called Great Snow Dragon Rider.

But it is the Blood Dragon Rider, a warhorse born specifically for revenge and killing.

Everyone who joins the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry is a survivor of a blood feud with the barbarians who plundered the border between Mongolia and Liao, or a small number of them are survivors whose families were bullied and exterminated by martial artists, gangs and bandit camps.

Therefore, the entry standards for the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry are both very low and extremely high.

Those who are at the lowest level can enter the reserve camp of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry if their background meets the requirements. Those who are at the highest level and are not at the Vajra Realm are not even qualified to become a formal member of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry.

Because only those with a diamond physique can wear heavy armor, hold a thousand-pound silver spear, and subdue the Snow Dragon Horse that can kill a tiger with one kick. Only then can they dye the bright silver armor red with the blood of the enemy and become a qualified Snow Dragon Cavalry soldier.

Although the second-order Cang Yun Army has only 100,000 soldiers, they are elite, absolutely elite.

Even if some Cang Yun soldiers died in battle, they would carefully select and then absorb the most elite ones into the Cang Yun army. When there were 100,000 Cang Yun soldiers in full armor, they would not recruit any more people, without exception.

Therefore, although Cang Yun may not be stronger than the Tian Ce Army, its ranking is actually slightly higher.

Even the new Tiance Army has acquired such strength in just over two years.

How can the Cang Yun Army, which once bravely fought on the battlefield and faced millions of troops head-on, be weak now?

"Well, good job."

Zhu Jinzhen put down his teacup and praised.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Li Chengen bowed and replied.

"Tomorrow is the Tiance selection, just like every year."

"Yes!"

Li Chengen nodded calmly.

Ever since the Mongols and Liao countries jointly attacked the border and invaded the Ming Dynasty four years ago, Tian Ce fought to the death and lost most of its troops. Fresh blood has been added to Tian Ce every year, and this year is the fifth time.

Naturally, nothing will go wrong.

Zhu Jinzhen looked at Changsun Wangqing, the leader of the Xuanjia Army, who was sitting quietly at the first table beside him, wearing a Tianluo mask. "How is the news I asked you to find out?"

"Go back to your lord."

Changsun Wangqing stood up, bowed slightly, and said, "The Mongols and Liao are still harboring rebellious intentions. The Mongol Grand Master, Phagpa, is trying to break through the gates of heaven and avenge his previous humiliation, Your Highness."

"Yelü Wudi is searching for the legendary War God Palace based on intelligence from his spies, and seems to have made some progress. The Xuanjia Secret Guards are keeping an eye on it and will report back as soon as they have any news."

"The Mongols and Liao are also making strenuous preparations for war, and there's a strong possibility of a comeback."

These are the information that the Xuanjia secret guards of the Cangyun Army have found out after going through untold hardships. Changsun Wangqing will only report it to Zhu Jinzhen after verifying it several times to make sure it is correct.

Zhu Jinzhen was not surprised; this was all within his expectations. Instead, he was quite surprised by the movements of the Mongols and Liao. "The Khitans are neighbors of the Turks. Their eagerness to make a move must be due to something they rely on."

"Let's find out where the Liao Dynasty's confidence comes from."

"Your Highness, what about the Mongols?"

"That's fine. The only forces the Mongols could rely on were the Jin, Tubo, and a few smaller neighboring states of Xixia. A little further afield, there were only Yeqin and Western Chu. They weren't anything to worry about." Zhu Jinzhen smiled faintly and shook his head. What could the Mongols rely on? They were just their smaller allies. Beyond that was the Sui Dynasty. On the other side, the Liyang Dynasty had a city called Zhenbei. Crossing that city was no easier than heading south to herd horses. As long as they took precautions, the Mongols wouldn't be able to cause any major trouble.

"Western Xia..."

A complex expression appeared on Changsun Wangqing's beautiful face beneath the Tianluo mask.

Li Chengen's heart moved slightly: "Could it be that the prince had already anticipated that this day would come, so?"

However, when the two of them met, one of them showed no emotion, and no one noticed their changes.

"Your Majesty, the Xuanjia Secret Guard has discovered something."

"Oh? Tell me."

"According to the intelligence from the Xuanjia Secret Guards, many people from the Jianghu have appeared in Shaanxi in recent days. Some have even spotted the trace of the Sanfeng Zhenren on Mount Wudang."

"Some people also saw Lu Xiaofeng with four eyebrows and Sword God Ximen Chuxue heading towards the outside of the pass together. As to whether they are leaving the pass or staying in Jiayu Pass, it is not known at the moment."

Upon hearing Changsun Wangqing's report, Zhu Jinzhen was slightly startled: "Zhang Sanfeng left Wudang?"

"Yes, it is indeed Master Sanfeng."

"interesting."

Zhu Jinzhen took a sip of tea and smiled faintly, "This old Taoist priest appeared once when the Sword Demon was worshipping the mountain, and he has been in seclusion ever since. Even though rumors of his ascension have been circulating in the martial arts world, he remains unmoved. Why would he be interested in coming down the mountain now?"

"This..." Changsun Wangqing hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "The Xuanjia Secret Guards are still investigating."

Zhang Sanfeng's departure from Wudang not only affected the hearts of the Ming Dynasty martial arts world, but also attracted the attention of countless forces in the world. They were afraid that this old Taoist priest, the mad Taoist priest, would come down the mountain with the Zhenwu sword again and perform the Zhenwu demon-slaying story again.

Wherever he passed, all the perverse and evil masters disappeared.

"never mind!"

Zhu Jinzhen waved his hand and said, "That old Taoist has been a terrestrial immortal for many years. He is even more powerful than the original Ba Siba. If the Xuanjia Secret Guards can find out, they should do so. If they can't, don't force it, otherwise the Secret Guards will be wasted."

Zhu Jinzhen was interested in Zhang Sanfeng's purpose, but not very much.

As long as they don't provoke him and the Prince Su's Palace, and don't disturb the peaceful situation in Shaanxi, Zhu Jinzhen won't bother to care, let alone if Zhang Sanfeng comes down the mountain or even if Bodhidharma comes back to life.

There is no need to sacrifice the Xuanjia Secret Guards that Cang Yun had trained with great difficulty.

"Yes, Wangqing thanks His Majesty for his consideration on their behalf."

Zhu Jinzhen smiled and nodded, and continued to listen to the important military and political officials of Shaanxi, who continued to report on the people's livelihood and economic development in Shaanxi that year.

In recent years, people's livelihood in Shaanxi has been thriving.

Coupled with the suppression and bloodbath in the Prince Su's Mansion, the administration became clean and honest, and Zhu Jinzhen was also willing to invest heavily. Although the salaries of Ming officials such as Shen Bing remained the same, they would be given a part of the political achievement rewards every year.

From low to high, there are tens of taels of silver to tens of thousands of taels of silver.

There may still be corruption, but there is basically no exploitation of the people.

After all, Cang Yun and Tian Ce helped the common people to reclaim wasteland as training every few days, and the twelve guards of the Shaanxi Xingdusi were often pulled out for such training, so it was impossible to cover it up.

If you dare to bully the people in your hometown, as long as the news reaches the ears of Tian Ce or Cang Yun.

Then even if you have great abilities and a strong backer, you are basically doomed.

(End of this chapter)