I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

Chapter 197 Heading to Chengdu, Attacking Yunnan and Guizhou

"Ah~?"

As the innkeeper described the train, Mu Tianbo's mouth remained agape, as if he were listening to something incomprehensible.

Is there any other mode of transportation in the world that only requires fire? And it can travel a thousand miles by day and eight hundred miles by night? Are you sure this isn't a myth?
Mu Tianbo felt that the shock he experienced that day was far greater than that of the past ten years or so.

"Hehe, it's hard to explain in words. You'll understand when you actually see it."

"Oh
"Now that military supplies are being transferred, does that mean war is about to break out?"

"Yes, there are still so many people suffering in the world, and the People's Salvation Army naturally has the obligation to rescue them."

I heard that this time, the mission is to rescue the people of Huguang.

As he spoke, the innkeeper gave Mu Tianbo a strange look.

After all, he had heard that this young man, Mu, seemed to be related to the Duke of Qian of the Ming Dynasty.

After hearing what the innkeeper said, Mu Tianbo couldn't help but stiffen.

In fact, not only him, but also Madam Chen and the Ruan brothers behind him, all had a slight change in expression.

The maidservants who served Madam Chen couldn't help but cover their mouths and gasp in surprise.

"Ah~!"

Attack, attack Huguang.
"Heh, heh heh, is that so? Mr. Zhou, we have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now."

Mu Tianbo said something with a grim expression, and then returned to his room with the others.

In the guest rooms on the third floor, everyone gathered together and remained silent for a long time.

"What should we do now? Should we still go to Huguang?"

Mu Tianbo looked at his mother and the Ruan brothers, the stewards.

"Going to Huguang? That would take more than a month, wouldn't it?"
I'm afraid that when we get there, a war will have already broken out.
us"

The eldest of the Ruan brothers sighed, his face grim.

He hasn't said what he would say next yet.

But the meaning is already quite clear.

Once they get there, they'll likely face dire consequences; they'll either be captured or killed.

"How about we go to Shaanxi, and then from there to Henan?"

"Henan seems to be at war now, with Zhang Xianzhong and Gao Yingxiang causing quite a ruckus."
As for Shanxi, the People's Salvation Army seems to have already occupied Xuanfu and Datong, and could send troops to Shanxi at any time.

At this point, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the Ming Dynasty was in a precarious state, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

"How about we head to Chengdu first?"

In the end, Mu Tianbo made a suggestion.

"Going to Chengdu? What can we do in Chengdu?"
Things are different now than usual.

Although news of the King of Shu still occasionally circulates, suggesting he is not dead, he has long been demoted to a commoner and is probably not living a good life now.
Moreover, if we go to look for him, we might…

After hearing Mu Tianbo's advice, Madam Chen and the Ruan brothers both frowned.

If they were to recognize the King of Shu, they would likely be implicated by him.

Seeing that everyone was against it, Mu Tianbo couldn't help but express his own thoughts:

"Actually, I noticed that the People's Salvation Army didn't seem to care about our identities."
Perhaps, even if we acknowledge the King of Shu, they won't do anything to us?

Then we can get more information about the rescue army from the King of Shu.
At that time, we will be able to make a better choice.
not to mention."

At this point, Mu Tianbo paused, then opened his arms to show his ordinary clothes, revealing a wry smile.

"Are we any different from ordinary people now?"

"From what I've seen, the militia doesn't seem as bloodthirsty as the rumors suggest. Even if they do arrest us, they'll just demote us to civilians. What difference would that make from now?"

Well, if those high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants who had their homes ransacked, were beheaded, or were forced into hard labor were to be punished...
Especially the Tatar Tumed and the troops that were massacred in Turpan, if they knew Mu Tianbo's thoughts, I wonder if they would be so angry that they would come back to life and cry themselves to death again.

How did you come to the conclusion that the People's Salvation Army is not bloodthirsty?

Well, after listening to Mu Tianbo's words, the eldest of the Ruan brothers couldn't help but look at Mu Tianbo strangely and ask a question.

"Aren't the militia bloodthirsty?"

Are the militia bloodthirsty?

Mu Tianbo looked at everyone with the same strange expression.

"If this were an ordinary rebel, and it had developed into a militia, the King of Shu, who was enfeoffed in Shu, would probably have been imprisoned or even killed, right?"
After all, he was the Prince of Shu in Chengdu, and he held the legitimate title of the Ming Dynasty. If he were to be exploited, it would surely cause considerable chaos, wouldn't it?

"."

After listening to what Mu Tianbo said, Madam Chen and the Ruan brothers fell silent. What he said seemed to make sense, but they felt that things were not so simple.

Furthermore, is it naive to place one's own safety on the goodwill of the enemy?

The truth is, with military power that dominates the world, why would a dynasty care about a prince from a previous dynasty?

He is no longer in the same situation as when he first started the uprising.

Even an ordinary teenager has to worry about his revenge.

Even if every country in the world were to attack the People's Salvation Army now, the dynasty would not be in the slightest bit afraid.

Of course, while we are not afraid, we still need to take precautions, just not as strictly as before.

As long as these princes and famous dukes of the Ming Dynasty do not leave their fiefdoms for some time to come, the dynasty will not do anything to them.

Once the Ming Dynasty is completely conquered, all restrictions on them will be lifted, and they can go wherever they want.

Of course, this excludes those who have committed serious crimes but have not been publicly tried.

Yes, even princes in the Ming Dynasty didn't have special privileges when rescuing the peasant army; they were still subject to public trials. In this process, quite a few princes, their husbands, and princesses were executed.

Even vassal kings have been executed.

Including the King of Shu.
In the end, Mu Tianbo and the others decided to head to Chengdu.

However, this was a shocking discovery when they arrived in Chengdu.

There were more than a dozen so-called Shu kings in Chengdu.

After making some inquiries, they finally learned the truth in despair.

The real Prince of Shu, Zhu Zhishu, had already been executed during a public trial after the Ming army captured Chengdu.

The current Shu kings are merely a few of Zhu Zhishu's sons and grandsons who did not commit evil.

The reason they invoked the title of King of Shu was to claim the properties left behind by the People's Salvation Army.

Given the actions of the King of Shu, he certainly deserved to die.

However, many of his wives, concubines, and children were innocent.

These people naturally need to be resettled.

Following previous practice, they were given a separate courtyard.

Those who invoked the title of King of Shu were doing so to inherit this villa.

We dare not seize them by force; the laws of the People's Salvation Army forbid it.

However, it is legally permissible for the king to inherit the throne in the name of the King of Shu and to support his wives, concubines, and children.

After learning about these circumstances, Mu Tianbo and the others were disappointed, disappointed, and disappointed again, until finally they were somewhat desperate.

These so-called descendants of the King of Shu had no intention of avenging their king, and even had little thought of returning to the Ming Dynasty. They were focused on fighting for the family property.

However, they did not leave.

They really didn't know where to go, so they could only stay at the Shu King's Villa in Chengdu for the time being and see what happened next.

By the way, I'll also go to the martial arts school to learn some martial arts and find out about the rescue army's deployment.

In October of the fifth year of the Chongzhen reign, they finally learned the latest movements of the People's Salvation Army.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the People's Salvation Army did not head east to attack Hubei and Hunan, but instead went directly south to launch its campaign against the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

The reason the Salvation Army changed direction was naturally because the movements of the Tusi alliance led by Pu Mingsheng had been discovered by the Shadow Guards.

Upon receiving the news, the militia was immediately thrown into an uproar, with many clamoring to teach them a lesson.

The dynasty had no reason to stop it; after all, it was going to expand its territory by sending troops. As for whether it would attack Hubei and Hunan or Yunnan and Guizhou, it didn't matter; it was just a matter of time.

Since Pu Mingsheng, who controls most of Yunnan, has willingly offered himself up for death, let's grant his wish and attack Yunnan and Guizhou first.

In fact, Pu Mingsheng's Tusi Lianjun had only just arrived in Zhanyi Prefecture and had not yet had time to launch an attack on the Sichuan Salvation Army.

Li Yu had already led his army across the Kedu River, and with a single charge, they captured Kedu City.

Then came a continuous stream of troops crossing the Kedu River, heading straight for the Pumingsheng Tusi allied army camp in Zhanyi Prefecture.

Upon learning the news, Pu Mingsheng was furious. He hadn't even launched an attack yet, and this so-called People's Salvation Army had already attacked him first.

Immediately, Pu Mingsheng dispatched a Gu master to infiltrate the location of the Salvation Army, intending to poison them.

Unfortunately, those Gu Masters were shot dead by patrolling scouts before they could even get close.

After sending out several teams of Gu Masters in succession, none of whom completed their missions, Pu Mingsheng finally began to take things seriously.

Although the coalition forces have not yet worked together and there are even some conflicts between them.

However, given the urgency of the situation, there's no time to worry about that now.

It's just some minor friction. After a few battles with their common enemy, the People's Salvation Army, they'll naturally get along better. At most, there will just be a few more deaths.

People are everywhere, aren't they? If they die, we can just recruit more.

Training a Gu Master takes some time, but it's not a big problem.

Insects are everywhere, covering the entire mountainside.

Moreover, the esteemed Gu Masters do not need to be on the front lines; their greater role is to provide assistance, such as poisoning and beheading.

On October 22, the two sides finally met a hundred miles away from Zhanyi Prefecture.

Li Yu showed no intention of negotiating and directly arranged a round of artillery fire.

"Boom boom boom"

With bursts of fire and explosions, the allied forces of the chieftains led by Pu Mingsheng were immediately bombarded and scattered, and the various chieftain teams were almost completely destroyed.

Amidst that fierce barrage of artillery fire, neither wizards nor sorcerers could withstand it for much longer than ordinary people.

After all, witchcraft involves worshipping the heavens and gods, praying for revelation from them, and perhaps sometimes even borrowing some power.

However, it is undeniable that wizards' physical bodies are not much stronger than ordinary people's; their strength lies in their spirit.

At least for now.

However, faced with artillery fire, their once-proud and powerful mental strength proved utterly useless. Their bodies were instantly blasted to pieces, and their spirits and souls naturally perished as well.

The same problem applies to Gu Masters; their strength and mystery lie in their control of Gu worms, not in their powerful bodies.

Naturally, when faced with artillery fire, they could only suffer defeat in the Northwest and Southwest.

In the end, Pu Mingsheng could only lead the remnants of the allied forces back to Zhanyi Prefecture.

Faced with this crushing defeat, many chieftains naturally pointed the finger at Pu Mingsheng, saying that he should not have incited the people to attack the Salvation Army.

Upon hearing this, Pu Mingsheng almost laughed out of anger.

These bastards, do they want to listen to what they're saying?
Did the various factions attack the People's Salvation Army really do so because of his instigation?

(End of this chapter)