Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Southern Palace, Chonghua Palace.

On the desk in front of Lu Chen were two secret reports that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had just sent back to the capital by express courier.

One of them was about the Zhen Ding Guard, Ding Zhou Guard, and Bao Ding Right Guard stationed at Jingxing Pass.

Not long ago, Lu Chen sent out two teams of men, one of which included a "tribute" from the Imperial Guard.

The team's mission was to quietly place three secret letters about "Blackwood Cliff" on the bedside of the three commanders, which would not be difficult for a master.

Then, the team stayed in the area to monitor the reactions of the three commanders after discovering the secret letter, and promptly sent someone to report back using the fastest possible courier service.

The secret report stated that the three commanders gathered in the tent of Pan Bingyi, the commander of the Zhen Ding Guard, the day after they discovered the secret letter, and held a meeting to discuss the matter for a long time.

It is unclear what was discussed in detail, but that afternoon, a group of more than ten scouts left Jingxing Pass and headed west.

Two days later, four scouts returned to Jingxing Pass with injuries, and the commanders of the three guards gathered together for a meeting that night.

The next day, the 5,000 guest troops of the Three Guards, who were waiting at Jingxing Pass for orders to withdraw to their garrison after the war ended, regrouped and left the camp, heading west towards Pingding Prefecture.

The secret report on the table was sent shortly after the three guards and five thousand men left Jingxing Pass; further intelligence should still be on its way.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard sent the letter to the capital via the postal system using the 800-li express courier service, which would take about a day and a night. In other words, this secret letter was sent out yesterday morning.

Five thousand men cannot march so quickly. Although it is only about fifty kilometers from Jingxing Pass to Heimu Cliff, it is mostly mountain roads and will take at least two days. They should have only covered half the distance by now.

Good thing they've been deployed!

Because he didn't know the extent to which the mysterious time traveler on "Blackwood Cliff" had infiltrated the garrison in Taiyuan Prefecture, Lu Chen simply didn't move any of the local troops and instead chose these three visiting armies from other places.

These three garrison troops were temporarily transferred by the Ministry of War to support Taiyuan Prefecture. Although they were stationed at Jingxing Pass, Pingding Prefecture was also within their temporary defense zone.

The discovery of a gathering of rebels and the dispatch of troops to suppress them was not considered an overreach of authority, and posed no significant risk to them.

If one can achieve great merit in suppressing a rebellion, one can receive a reward from the imperial court.

Lu Chen didn't believe they wouldn't be tempted by such a good deal.

Moreover, the identical secret letters were placed on the bedside tables of the three commanders simultaneously overnight, so even if someone didn't want to cause trouble, they had no choice but to comply.

Sure enough, after the three commanders met and discussed the matter the next day, they dispatched a team of night scouts to scout out "Blackwood Cliff".

When the four scouts returned to Jingxing Pass wounded, the intelligence that "Black Cliff" was a rebel stronghold was confirmed without a doubt.

According to the intelligence brought back by Tang Zhe, "Blackwood Cliff" is a table-shaped mountain with terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and there are at least several thousand people on it.

Even if they were just ordinary mountain bandits, it would be difficult for five thousand garrison soldiers to take them down.

Moreover, that place is the base of the transmigrators. I'm afraid these garrison soldiers will not only fail to attack Blackwood Cliff, but will also suffer considerable losses.

However, that's not important. What's important is that a fight has broken out, and the start of the war was not in the mysterious time traveler's plan.

Once war breaks out, it will be immediately clear which of the garrisons in Taiyuan Prefecture and even other parts of Shanxi have been infiltrated by time travelers and which are still under the control of the imperial court.

Fan Jizu, the governor of Xuanda and Shanxi, would naturally strategize and mobilize Ming troops from all over Shanxi to quell the rebellion.

This was a plan Lu Chen devised to break the deadlock without having the authority to mobilize the military!

Furthermore, based on the known intelligence, Lu Chen also sent another team to Taiyuan to weaken the Taiyuan Left Guard, which had been confirmed to have been infiltrated by transmigrators.

The method is very simple and brutal: false accusation!

Lu Chen instructed this group to issue an order to Ouyang Hong, the commander of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) in Taiyuan, in Lu Bing's name.

He was instructed to report Zhang Yin, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, to Fan Jizu, the governor-general of Xuanfu and Shanxi, accusing him of colluding with the Mongols and plotting a rebellion!

As for the charges, let Ouyang Hong make them up himself. Whether they are true or not, or whether there is any evidence, is irrelevant.

The only requirement was that Fan Jizu must summon Zhang Yin to Shuozhou and take him into custody.

Moreover, Zhang Yin's departure from Taiyuan was precisely on the same day that the three guest army commanders at Jingxing Pass received the secret letter.

The second secret report on the table was sent from Taiyuan by express courier. Zhang Yin had already left Taiyuan with a small number of followers and gone to Shuozhou.

The departure time was roughly the same time that the three guards of Jingxing Pass sent out night scouts.

In this way, when the rebels on "Blackwood Cliff" realized they were being watched by government troops, they were unable to notify Zhang Yin in time.

The Taiyuan Left Guard, now leaderless, was naturally much easier to deal with than when Zhang Yin was in power.

I want to see for myself what kind of advanced weapons that time traveler, who uses "Black Cliff" as his base, has come up with, and how he will deal with the Ming army's encirclement and suppression throughout Shanxi.

If Fan Jizu could quell the rebellion of Prince Ning just as Wang Yangming quelled the rebellion of Prince Ning, and eliminate the transmigrators' forces, that would be the best outcome.

If the encirclement and suppression fails because of the advanced weapons created by the time travelers, at least it will allow us to test the strength of the other party.

If the war situation in Shanxi gets out of control, the Ming Dynasty will naturally have to enter a state of emergency.

Lu Chen did not believe that with the immense power of the Ming Dynasty, he could not deal with a transmigrator force that had not even been able to fully control Shanxi Province.

"Your Highness, Young Master Guo has gone to a secret contact point outside the palace incognito."

Just then, Miao Feng quickly walked to Lu Chen's side and whispered his report.

"They said it was an extremely urgent matter that needed to be reported to His Highness as soon as possible."

"Bring him to Chonghua Palace..."

Lu Chen changed his mind halfway through his sentence.

"There are too many people and too many eyes in the Southern Palace, so I'd better go to see him outside the palace myself."

. . .

Outside Dong'anmen, inside a private residence.

"Your subject, Guo Shoulu, greets Your Highness."

Upon seeing Lu Chen enter, Guo Shoulu immediately performed a deep bow of respect.

"There are no outsiders here, Guo Qing, you don't need to do this."

Lu Chen reached out and helped Guo Shoulu up.

"Why have you come to see me in such a hurry today?"

"Your Highness, Duan Chao went to the Marquis of Wuding's residence incognito yesterday to meet with my father."

Guo Shoulu's tone was slightly fearful.

"Since His Majesty went into seclusion in the Western Garden, Duan Chaoyong has been refining elixirs in the Western Garden almost every day and rarely goes out."

Even the "Red Lead" elixir given to my father was delivered by a disciple. It was the first time he had come to the Marquis of Wuding's residence in person since he went into seclusion.

This person's purpose in visiting the Marquis's residence is to request that my father host a banquet for His Highness at the Marquis of Wuding's residence.

"Does Duan Chaoyong want the Duke of Yi to host a banquet for me?"

Hearing Guo Shoulu's words, Lu Chen was also a little surprised.

"I saw Duke Yi in the Wenhua Hall this morning at court. Why didn't he come to the inner hall to invite me after court?"

"Your Highness, my father believes that Duan Chao's actions are harboring malicious intentions."

Guo Shoulu bowed down again.

"I have come privately to inform Your Highness and request Your Highness to make a decision."