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

Chapter 275 Urgent Message from Xuanfu! (600 li)
late at night.

Nanjing, Qianqing Palace.

The imperial study was brightly lit by candlelight, and the huge table next to the dragon throne was piled high with memorials, some already reviewed and some not, arranged on either side, like two small mountains that could never be moved.

Zhu Youjian's figure moved back and forth between the sand table, maps, and memorials.

He had just finished an official memorial on the canal transport in Jiangnan with his vermilion brush, and then reviewed a military report from Shaanxi.

The ginseng soup on the table had long since lost its temperature, but he was completely unaware.

The air was thick with a lingering weariness, a testament to several sleepless nights.

The finances and taxes in Jiangnan, the drought in the Central Plains, the Jurchens in Liaodong... each and every one of these things felt like needles pricking his nerves.

Zhu Youjian rubbed his throbbing temples and finally stopped. His gaze returned to the sand table. The planning and countless simulations of the past year would all come to a final answer in the next few days.

War is war, after all.

Zhu Youjian was also feeling uneasy.

at this time--

"Your Majesty!"

The palace doors were suddenly pushed open, and Wang Chengen rushed in. He dropped the whisk in his hand and didn't even bother to pick it up. His voice was distorted due to extreme excitement and the urgency of running a long distance.

"Urgent dispatch! Xuanfu! Commander Man's secret report!"

Wang Chengen knelt on the ground, raising his hands high a cylinder tightly wrapped in thick cowhide and sealed with several layers of sealing wax.

The cylinder was covered in dust.

Zhu Youjian turned around abruptly, like a startled lion.

The candlelight inside the hall illuminated his bloodshot eyes.

In the depths of those eyes, it seemed as if all weariness and worries about the complexities of the world had been instantly burned away, leaving only a sharp glint as condensed as a star!
Zhu Youjian's hand did not tremble at all; it was as steady as a rock. He walked towards Wang Chengen and took the secret memorial.

He didn't open it immediately.

Instead, he returned to his desk, sat down, and picked up the small paper cutter with dragon patterns on it to cut open the sealing wax layer by layer.

The blade sliced ​​through the cowhide, making a soft rustling sound.

This slow movement contrasted sharply with the turbulent emotions churning within him.

Finally, the memorial was unfolded.

Zhu Youjian's gaze was like a sharp blade, quickly sweeping over the lines of text written in tiny, delicate characters.

The report's writing style maintained Man Gui's consistent conciseness and ruthlessness:

"...Your subject Man Gui reports: On May 9th, my troops joined forces with the troops of Chahar Khan Ligdan at the Tuer River. Three days later, the main force of the Khorchin was completely annihilated. The Taijis and Baturus of the Khorchin were either killed in battle or captured. The false Khan Oba was beheaded in the chaos of battle, and his head is presented here."

"...In this battle, a total of 2,327 able-bodied prisoners of war of the 'D' class were identified. They have all been handcuffed and will be escorted to the interior in batches in the coming days. The remaining women, children, cattle, and sheep will be handed over to Ligdan Khan for disposal in accordance with the treaty."

"...The foundations of their cultural heritage, such as the Wolf God Mountain altar, various cairns, and the shamanic and epic scrolls passed down through generations, have all been burned in accordance with His Majesty's secret decree, leaving not a single piece of paper or thread behind."

"...Lindan Khan has received the imperial edict and will soon lead the Chahar people eastward to take over the former territory of Khorchin, making it the northern border defense of our Great Ming Dynasty..."

Zhu Youjian's hands trembled, a rare occurrence for him.

Over the past year, all the planning, all the forbearance, all the open and covert schemes, all the unknown deductions and gambles, have all turned into a tangible reality at this moment!
"Clap."

A seemingly light memorial now felt as heavy as a mountain, slipping from his slightly trembling fingertips and landing on the gold-brick-paved ground.

Inside the hall, there was a deathly silence.

Wang Chengen knelt on the ground, his breath catching in his throat. He could feel a terrifying aura gathering and rising from the young emperor before him.

After a while.

Zhu Youjian suddenly stood up and kicked over the huge imperial desk in front of him!
"TOM—!"

The writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, jade paperweight, and the priceless agate lamp were all scattered on the ground, making a crisp yet jarring cracking sound.

The emperor ignored all of this and strode out of the palace gates to the empty terrace.

The cool night breeze stirred his robe embroidered with golden dragons.

He gazed at the sleeping city of Nanjing, at the endless darkness that enveloped the empire, and suddenly raised his head and opened his mouth.

"CNMD!"

A long roar erupted from deep within his chest.

The roar, initially suppressed, then soared, and finally transformed into a dragon's cry that tore through the night sky!

There are too many things inside.

There was the frustration of ascending the throne, the loneliness of facing the crisis alone, the joy of holding great power, and even more so, the supreme domineering aura of ruling the world and sweeping away all obstacles!

The whistling stopped. Zhu Youjian clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He faced the boundless night sky, the countless stars, and spoke slowly and deliberately, as if declaring to heaven and earth, to his ancestors, and to all living beings of this era:
"I have done it!"

"From this day forward, anyone who offends our Great Ming Dynasty, no matter how far away, shall be punished!"

……

In the early hours of the morning, the eastern sky was still not yet light.

The Imperial Study had been cleaned up again, but a trace of ink and the smell of broken objects still lingered in the air.

After the euphoria comes absolute calm and efficiency.

Zhu Youjian had regained his usual composure, but the light in his eyes was sharper than ever before.

"Wang Chengen".

"The minister is here."

"Summon Wen Tiren to the palace immediately! I want the whole world to hear this news!"

"According to the order!"

Half an hour later, Grand Secretary Wen Tiren was woken up from his warm bed. He didn't even have time to put on his official robes properly, and only put on an outer robe before rushing to the Imperial Study in a panic, escorted by the Imperial Guards.

He had no idea what earth-shattering event had occurred that would prompt His Majesty to summon him so urgently.

Upon entering the hall, he saw the ink stains on the floor that had not yet been wiped clean, and the intimidating look in the emperor's eyes.

"Your subject, Wen Tiren, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Wen Qing, rise."

Zhu Youjian handed him the memorial that had changed the fate of the nation.

"have a look."

Wen Tiren took the memorial and read it quickly.

His expression shifted from initial confusion to shock, then to disbelief, and finally to deep awe and horror. His hands began to tremble slightly uncontrollably.

He was not a military general and did not know how to deploy troops.

But he could see through the intricate and calculated political maneuvering behind it all!

Sun Chuanting launched a fierce attack on the western front, feigning an attack to contain the main force of the Later Jin.

Mao Wenlong launched harassment raids on the southern front to create chaos and distract him.

The real killer move is on the northern front!
Using their ally Chahar as a weapon, they swiftly and decisively eliminated the threat of Khorchin from the map!

Exterminate the clan, extinguish their lineage!
After the war, he used a clever strategy to drive the newly powerful Chahar Tiger to move eastward to the rear of the Later Jin, completely changing the strategic situation in Liaodong!

This is a thorough, national-level strangulation operation, with the entire southern Mongolian grasslands as the chessboard!
Wen Tiren's knees buckled, and he prostrated himself on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the gold brick, his voice trembling with extreme shock:
"Your Majesty's strategic planning is unparalleled, and your victories are won from afar! Such a brilliant and far-reaching strategy is something I have never heard of or seen before! Heaven blesses our Great Ming! Heaven blesses our Emperor!"

"Help him up." Zhu Youjian's voice was slightly warmer.

Two eunuchs helped Wen Tiren up.

"The good news must be spread. But how to spread it, and what to spread, I have my own plans." Zhu Youjian walked up to him. "This is no small victory! This is the most thorough and exhilarating victory I have achieved against a foreign enemy since I ascended the throne! I want all the people of the world to know that the court's sword is still sharp! And that my empire is still secure!"

Wen Tiren bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise! I will return immediately, summon the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, and draft an edict to proclaim to the world, which will surely demonstrate the divine might of our Celestial Empire!"

"No need," Zhu Youjian waved his hand.

"This edict was written by my own hand!"

He turned back to the desk, where Wang Chengen had already spread out a brand new sheet of yellow Xuan paper with cloud and dragon patterns.

Zhu Youjian picked up a large wolf-hair brush and dipped it heavily in Huizhou pine soot ink.

The ink was thick and black, like lacquer.

He concentrated for a moment, then his brush moved like dragons and snakes, its power penetrating the paper.

When I put pen to paper, it is to weep for the bleak ending in the history books of my past life; when I write, it is to cry out for the torment I have endured day and night for more than a year in this life!
All the resentment, all the forbearance, all the desperate determination, all at this moment transformed into thunder on the tip of the pen, pouring out like a burst dam carrying the rage of two lifetimes!

The Great Ming Edict for Pacifying the Barbarians

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict said:

Our Ming Dynasty, founded in the Jiangnan region and established its capital in Nanjing, owes its existence to the great Emperor Taizu, who drove out the barbarians and restored China, a feat that will be remembered for eternity. Yet, in the vast northern borderlands, the threat of the barbarians persists, like a persistent ailment, like a rashes, or a lurking predator. The people on the borders suffer greatly from their oppression, and the national treasury is depleted by their defenses. This is something I worry about day and night, without ever forgetting it.

The Khorchin tribe, originally inhabiting the southern Gobi Desert, served as a bulwark for our dynasty and repeatedly received imperial favor. However, harboring wolfish ambitions and wavering between two sides, they secretly allied with the Eastern barbarians, aiding and abetting their tyranny. They formed marriage alliances with the Jurchens as a shield; yet they raided our borders, slaughtering our soldiers and civilians; this is intolerable under the law and unforgivable by Heaven!
I, having succeeded to the throne, aspire to bring peace to the world. This May, I specially ordered General Man Gui of Xuanfu to lead a fierce and powerful army on a swift and decisive campaign. To pacify the Chahar people in the west and to advance on the Khorchin in the east, my royal army arrived with unstoppable force; the enemy chieftains, facing me, crumbled like ice. One battle settled the world, and three days pacified their country!

Slay the rebellious chieftain Obama on the battlefield and hang his head on the straw street; capture his three thousand brave warriors, burn his licentious temples, and seize his fertile land for a thousand miles!
This battle was not only a testament to the soldiers' bravery, but also a triumph of Heaven! I declare to my subjects: Not an inch of the Ming Dynasty's territory may be lost; not a single person of the Ming Dynasty may be humiliated! The former glory of the Han Dynasty shall be restored in my hands; the former prosperity of the Tang Dynasty shall surely be revived in our generation!
Announce it to the world, and the envoys will hear about it.

Admire this! "

(End of this chapter)