Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 185 A monarch's single thought can unleash murderous intent; the entire world becomes a chess piece on his board.

The night is still that familiar night.

But in the past few days, some things have changed.

The tension permeating the air was no longer just an invisible chill, but began to materialize into decrees emanating from the palace, decrees powerful enough to change the fates of countless people.

Like streams, they silently flow into the vast river of the empire, subtly altering its course.

The decision to make the Southern Tour was officially announced to the world.

To many who didn't understand its true meaning, this was nothing more than a legitimate tour by the young emperor to show off his military prowess after confiscating the wealth of the Shanxi merchants and seizing enormous riches.

Perhaps it also carried a hint of a desire to intimidate the local gentry in Jiangnan.

But for the high-ranking officials in the capital, the emperor's departure meant that the mountain weighing on their heads had been temporarily removed once again.

This may not necessarily be a bad thing.

They had already begun to plan how to quietly recoup some of the interests affected by the new policies during the emperor's absence from the capital.

……

Three days after the Grand Court Assembly, at the Qianqing Palace.

Zhang Weixian was summoned to a private audience by the emperor once again.

Inside the hall, Zhu Youjian, dressed in a black casual robe, stood by the window, his posture upright like a pine tree, seemingly blending into the night outside.

"Duke of England, please be seated." The Emperor's voice was as calm as ever.

Zhang Weixian dared not sit down, and bowed, saying, "How could this old minister dare to sit before Your Majesty?"

Zhu Youjian turned around, walked slowly to him, personally took his arm, and pressed him down on the embroidered stool beside him.

"I am about to make a southern tour," Zhu Youjian said bluntly, his tone leaving no room for negotiation, only an unquestionable determination, "I still want to entrust the capital to you."

Zhang Weixian was about to get up, but Zhu Youjian stopped him with a look.

"I hereby grant you the power to 'remain in charge of the capital, oversee all military and political affairs in the capital'."

Before he finished speaking, Wang Chengen, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was standing to the side, stepped forward carrying a sandalwood tray.

On the tray, an ancient sword lay quietly on bright yellow silk, the gems inlaid on the scabbard gleaming with a cold light under the candlelight in the hall.

Beside the sword was a pure gold token engraved with the four seal characters "As if the Emperor were personally present".

"With this token," Zhu Youjian's voice was like icicles in the dead of winter, "anyone suspected of communicating with the south or disrupting the capital may be arrested first and reported later."

The emperor's gaze fell on the sword, and his tone became even more sinister.

"In the event of an emergency mutiny or rebellion, wielding this sword, one can execute first and report later!"

Zhang Weixian's breath caught in his throat. He was not an ignorant and incompetent martial artist; he knew exactly what those words meant.

This includes emergency administrative powers, and even... the power of life and death!

This means that after the emperor left the capital, Zhang Weixian once again became half an emperor in the capital!

"Your Majesty...this..."

"I trust you." Zhu Youjian interrupted him, his tone calm but heavy. "I trust your Zhang family's loyalty to the Taizu Emperor, to the Ming Dynasty, and to me since the Jingnan Rebellion."

He put his hand on Zhang Weixian's shoulder and made him look directly into his eyes.

"While I'm away from the capital, those people will make their move. What I need you to do is watch over them and this city for me. I'm not asking you to do anything, but when I return, this capital must still be my capital. Understand?"

Looking into those unfathomable eyes, Zhang Weixian saw not a trace of doubt, only absolute trust and entrustment. He knew he had no way out.

Zhang Weixian slowly knelt down on both knees.

"Your Majesty, I obey the decree! I am willing to serve you with my life!"

……

Pi Island.

The biting sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, lashed like a whip across the observation tower at the highest point of Pi Island.

Mao Wenlong stood with his hands behind his back on the top of the building, letting the strong wind blow his obviously brand-new Qilin robe.

His mood was as restless as this seemingly calm but actually turbulent sea.

I'm irritable, but not because of hunger.

Ever since the young emperor confiscated the property of the eight major Shanxi merchants and provided them with enough silver and grain to feed the entire army, life on Pi Island was no longer the half-dead state it once was.

Subsequent supplies of weapons, medicine, and rewards continued to arrive every few days.

With grain and money in hand, Mao Wenlong stood taller than ever before.

His tens of thousands of soldiers finally regained their spirit and energy, stirring up several storms along the southern coast of Liaodong, which were enough to cause the Later Jin a great deal of trouble.

He has already proven to the emperor in the capital that as long as this mad wolf is fed, he can really bite, and bite hard.

But that's precisely why he's even more anxious.

Minor disturbances are ultimately just harassment.

He tasted success and saw hope of completely turning the Later Jin dynasty upside down, but his strength was still lacking. It was like a peerless swordsman who obtained a treasured sword but found that the scabbard was welded shut, and he could only draw out three inches of its cold light each time.

What Mao Wenlong longed for was the exhilarating feeling of drawing his sword and splattering blood five steps away!

Just as he was staring at the opposite bank, planning his next target for harassment, a personal guard rushed up the Wanghai Tower like a whirlwind, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement.

"General! From the capital! Urgent dispatch, six hundred li away!"

The guards held a wooden box sealed with sealing wax high.

Mao Wenlong's eyes instantly sharpened like an eagle's. He turned around abruptly and snatched the wooden box. He pried open the seal in a few quick movements. Inside was a letter in the emperor's own handwriting, wrapped in bright yellow silk, and an astonishingly thick list of military supplies.

He took a deep breath and eagerly unfolded the letter.

The handwriting on the letter was still as strong and powerful as ever, penetrating the paper and carrying an air of domineering arrogance.

At the beginning of the letter, the emperor did not issue a direct order, but instead praised him highly for his recent achievements in Liaonan, saying that he "has not failed my expectations and has become a major threat to the Jurchens."

These words warmed Mao Wenlong's heart; they were a king's heartfelt affirmation of a general he trusted.

Mao Wenlong, a mere warrior, what he sought was precisely this! Suppressing his excitement, Mao Wenlong glanced at the latter half of the letter.

With just one glance, the blood in his body ignited completely!

In his letter, the Emperor instructed the Governors of Dengzhou and Laizhou and the Ministry of Revenue to transport all the strategic materials listed on the inventory to Pi Island!

Mao Wenlong's gaze suddenly turned to the long list of military supplies.

His breathing became long and deep, and his hands began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

Previous aid was timely and provided much-needed, but the items on this list...

The lead bullets and gunpowder needed for two thousand three-barreled muskets are plentiful and sufficient!

Thirty incredible new miniature breech-loading cannons!

It was enough food for all his soldiers to eat their fill for more than a month of fighting!

Three thousand brand-new sets of cotton armor, the kind he'd always dreamed of! Fine feed for fifteen hundred warhorses! And... enough top-quality timber from fifty ships to repair his shabby fleet!

The emperor is arming Mao Wenlong and his Dongjiang Army as a strategic force that can rival the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry and determine the fate of the nation!

His gaze was fixed on the end of the letter, on a line of secret edict written in vermilion ink, filled with an aura of iron-fisted ruthlessness:

"We will act as soon as spring arrives, without needing to request instructions. We will attack where they must defend, and disrupt their heartland. I am in the capital, awaiting your report of victory!"

"boom!"

Mao Wenlong slammed his fist hard against the wooden railing of Wanghailou, and the hard, century-old wood was cracked by his punch!

"Good! Well said, 'Awaiting good news!'"

He suddenly raised his head and, facing the vast sea, let out a long, thunderous roar that had been suppressed for too long and was filled with boundless fighting spirit!
All the anxiety and longing in my heart transformed into soaring pride at this moment!

"Huang Taiji! You son of a bitch! What happened before was just an appetizer. Now your Chairman Mao is full and ready to overturn the table! I'll tear your lair upside down!"

The sea breeze howled, as if providing accompaniment for the bloodthirsty declaration of this mad wolf, finally freed from its shackles.

At this moment, the entire Pi Island behind Mao Wenlong seemed to switch from a state of alert and readiness to a fierce and imminent battle stance, transforming into a sharp blade ready to be drawn and thirst for blood, its edge pointing directly at the heart of the Later Jin.

……

From east to west, the wind stirred up by the emperor crossed the Shanhaiguan Pass and blew towards the even more vast southern grasslands.

Inside the Xuanda Governor's Mansion, the usual solemnity was replaced by an oppressive silence, like the calm before an impending storm.

Man Gui, the fierce general who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, stood alone before his desk, calmly examining the imperial edict that had just arrived.

He wasn't surprised; in fact, one could say he had been waiting for this letter for a long time.

Ever since the emperor personally visited Xuanfu and Datong and had a private conversation with him that lasted all night, the phrase "allying with the Mongols to resist the Jin" was no longer just empty talk in the court, but became the highest national policy that he and the emperor tacitly understood.

In recent days, while he was busy preparing for the war, he was also secretly communicating with Ligdan Khan of the Chahar tribe. All of this was just preparation for today.

The contents of the secret edict were less incomprehensible to him and more an outrageously precise set of action instructions.

The eight hundred sets of fine armor and one thousand powerful crossbows provided to Ligdan Khan free of charge were the sparks that ignited the flames of war on the steppe.

Joining forces with the Chahar tribe to launch a devastating attack on the wavering Khorchin tribe—this is a swift and decisive measure to make an example of them!

Man Gui knew very well that once this battle began, it meant that there would be no more peace on the southern grasslands, and Huang Taiji would have to devote a lot of energy to dealing with his burning backyard.

The young emperor wanted to use the blood of the Mongols to completely eliminate any worries about his upcoming southern tour.

This scheme of using someone else to do the dirty work was ruthless, exquisite, and... exactly to Man Gui's liking!
……

While the eastern route's sharp blades had been honed and the storm in the central route was brewing, the westernmost point of the Ming Dynasty's northern defense line, the Guan-Ning defense line, presented an unusual silence.

Sun Chengzong was walking alone on the city wall of Ningyuan.

A few days earlier, he had also received a secret imperial edict, which was completely different from the edicts given to Mao Wenlong and Man Gui regarding their unrest. The edict given to him contained only twelve characters:
"Deep trenches and high walls, clear the fields and fortify the defenses, proceed steadily and surely."

In the accompanying letter, the emperor candidly and frankly informed him of the entire northern strategy.

Sun Chengzong stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the vast Liaoxi Corridor outside the city, his heart filled with admiration and awe for the excessively young emperor.

A huge chessboard unfolded in his mind.

On the eastern route, Mao Wenlong's mad wolf, now thoroughly fed, is about to be unleashed and rush straight to the heart of the Later Jin.

In the middle lane, Man Gui, with Lin Dan Khan as his weapon, will unleash a bloodbath on the southern grasslands.

He himself, and the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry under his command, the most elite force in the Ming Dynasty, are the most crucial elements in this game.

The unwavering presence of these 100,000 troops, like an insurmountable mountain range, firmly suppressed Huang Taiji's main force, preventing him from harboring any delusions of conquering the entire country.

Sun Chengzong gently stroked the cold, rough bricks on the city wall, his mind clear and calm.

He raised his head and looked towards the distant southern horizon, as if he could see the imperial dragon boat about to leave the dock, passing through thousands of mountains and rivers, and landing in the extremely prosperous Jiangnan region.

His heart became more complicated as a result.

He has countless connections with Jiangnan.

Old friends, students, and disciples of the Donglin Academy... those familiar faces, those leaders of the literati who once discussed national affairs with him in the court, all seemed to appear before his eyes at this moment.

Once upon a time, he was one of them.

However, in the face of the overwhelming power of the emperor and the gratitude for his patronage, the feelings of kinship and the bond between teacher and student seemed so pale and powerless.

He knew better than anyone how meticulous and ruthless the emperor's northern border strategy was; the emperor's intellect and methods had long surpassed common sense!
Sun Chengzong sighed silently in his heart, wishing that the clever people in Jiangnan could be truly clever just this once!
Do not mistake His Majesty's patience in heading south for weakness that can be bargained for.

Never think that you can challenge an emperor who has already sharpened his sword by relying on your wealth and public opinion accumulated over a century.

They never understood.

They were still using abacuses to calculate the gains and losses of land taxes, writing self-righteous moral articles with pens, and trying to understand the monarch with the rules of aristocratic families that had been passed down for centuries.

And this young emperor...

He used the world's troops to make his moves, he used the calculations to gauge the hearts and minds of the people, and he used the power of life and death to set the rules!

Sun Chengzong slowly closed his eyes, letting the biting north wind blow against his gray hair and beard.

(End of this chapter)