Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1191 Deploying Troops
"So, there is no need to worry about Yunnan?" Fan Fucui couldn't help asking when he heard this.

Wang Jinwu shook his head slightly, his expression somewhat serious: "Although Wu Bikui is not a big deal, the matter in Yunnan is still troublesome, and if things go wrong, something big may happen!"

"Why?" When these words came out, most people present were surprised and felt that Wang Jinwu's words were wrong. Since Wang Jinwu said that Wu Bikui would not be able to make a difference, it meant that Wu Bikui's rebellion would be suppressed soon. Wouldn't Yunnan be peaceful in this way?
Why did Wang Jinwu still say that the situation in Yunnan was still troublesome? He even said that something big was going to happen? Why?
"Sha Dingzhou!" Wang Jinwu said a name with a serious face. Everyone was stunned, especially Qian Qianyi and others who looked a little confused. Who is this Sha Dingzhou? They couldn't remember it for a while.

"Not good!" At this time, Hong Chengchou exclaimed, and his expression changed drastically.

Seeing this, everyone hurriedly asked what was going on. Hong Chengchou then told everyone with a serious face that the Jinyiwei had received news that Wu Bigui showed signs of rebellion and had told Mu Tianbo, but there was another person who also reminded Mu Tianbo at the time, and that person was Sha Dingzhou.

Sha Dingzhou and Wu Bikui were both chieftains in Yunnan, and Sha Dingzhou's strength was no less than Wu Bikui's, or even stronger.

Hong Chengchou briefly introduced the situation of Sha Dingzhou. Since Sha Dingzhou annexed Pu Mingsheng's territory and subordinates, its strength has greatly increased. At present, Sha Dingzhou ranks among the top chieftains in Yunnan, and he has a lot of military forces under his command.

Although Sha Dingzhou was different from Wu Bikui and had always been respectful to the court, and as a chieftain of Yunnan he was even more obedient to the Duke of Qian, Mu Tianbo, but according to news from the Jinyiwei, Sha Dingzhou seemed to be planning something in private, which was why Mu Tianbo specifically reminded him when he came to Beijing.

Such a person is no longer credible in Hong Chengchou's eyes. Given Hong Chengchou's character, if he is Mu Tianbo, the first thing he would do when he returns to Yunnan is to immediately deal with Wu Bikui and Sha Dingzhou. Wu Bikui is not mentioned for now, as he has a rebellious heart. If he is not dealt with quickly, it will cause great trouble. Sha Dingzhou cannot be let go either. In Hong Chengchou's view, even if Sha Dingzhou is just a suspicion, he cannot be ignored. As a local chieftain, these people are equivalent to local emperors. The court must prevent them from happening and take decisive action without having to consider other things.

But Mu Tianbo was either too confident, or too trusting of Sha Dingzhou, or worried that his actions would make other chieftains uneasy, so he was indifferent after returning to Yunnan and ignored the emperor's reminder. He only planned how to deal with Wu Bikui, but ignored Sha Dingzhou.

Even when dealing with Wu Bikui, Mu Tianbo was too slow. He was attacked by the opponent before he could make any arrangements. As the Duke of Qian, Mu Tianbo's ability was far inferior to that of his ancestors. If Mu Ying was in Yunnan, he would have killed Wu Bikui with great force as soon as he returned to Yunnan, and Sha Dingzhou would not let him go either. It would be better to kill someone by mistake than to ignore him. Only in this way could Yunnan be suppressed and no trouble could occur.

But Mu Tianbo was hesitant and indecisive, and was eventually preempted by Wu Bikui, leading to the current consequence.

That would have been fine, but the problem was that Mu Tianbo was not at all wary of Sha Dingzhou. He did not mention Sha Dingzhou at all in his urgent report to the capital. He only wrote in his letter of apology that he had mobilized all the chieftains to come to Kunming and integrate the army to fight back against Wu Bikui.

Hong Chengchou had not thought of this just now, but he suddenly came to his senses after Wang Jinwu reminded him. If Mu Tianbo mobilized various chieftains to Kunming to jointly attack Wubikui, it would be a huge risk regardless of whether Sha Dingzhou was recruited to send troops or not.

If Sha Dingzhou went to Kunming, what would happen if Sha Dingzhou suddenly turned against Mu Tianbo when he led his troops to fight Wu Bikui? Or if Sha Dingzhou's troops were not transferred, Sha Dingzhou could also take this opportunity to respond to Wu Bikui's troops and attack Mu Tianbo from both sides.

In this case, Mu Tianbo would be in danger. Once Mu Tianbo died or even Kunming was lost, the situation in the entire Yunnan would collapse instantly and become out of control.

Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou's face became extremely ugly. How could he sit still at this time? He immediately stood up and said, "This matter is very serious. It is no longer something that the cabinet can decide. Please go back first. I and the second assistant will immediately ask to see His Majesty!"

After saying that, Hong Chengchou winked at Wang Jinwu. Wang Jinwu nodded slightly, stood up with the other party, and then hurriedly left the cabinet with the urgent report and Mu Tianbo's letter of apology, heading towards the Qianqing Palace.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Shenzhui had just received the news from Yunnan. His brows were furrowed and his expression was grim. He didn't expect that even though he had reminded Mu Tianbo a long time ago, Mu Tianbo still did things to this extent. It really disappointed him.

Furious, Zhu Shenzhui wanted to drag Mu Tianbo from Yunnan to him and have him cut open his head to see what was going on in his head. The imperial court had long noticed the changes in the chieftains in Yunnan and had given Mu Tianbo a warning. If it were someone else, they would have dealt with him decisively as soon as he returned to Yunnan. But Mu Tianbo was so slow after returning to Yunnan for so many days that he didn't know what he was doing. He was actually launched by the other side in advance. Now Yunnan was in chaos and the rebels were marching all the way to Kunming.

"Bastard!" Zhu Shenzhui was so angry that he couldn't help but curse.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister request to see you..."

"Let them in!" Zhu Shenzhui took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and said lightly. A moment later, Hong Chengchou and Wang Jinwu came to the side hall of the Qianqing Palace. After entering, they saw the emperor and saluted him.

"Please take a seat and serve tea!" Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand. After Lu Jiude served the tea, he left and stood guard outside the Qianqing Palace. Hong Chengchou and Wang Jinwu sat down without touching the tea at hand. Hong Chengchou bowed and said to Zhu Shenzhui, "The cabinet has just received an urgent report from Yunnan, as well as a letter of apology from the Duke of Qian..."

As he spoke, he handed over the urgent report and the memorial. Zhu Shenzhui took it, flipped through it, and threw it aside: "I already know about this matter. I wonder if the cabinet has any opinion on it."

"The cabinet discussed this and all felt that this was too unexpected. The Duke of Qian could not be blamed for the change in Yunnan, but now is not the time to pursue responsibility. How to solve the Yunnan problem is the key."

Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly: "What the Prime Minister said is true. If that is the case, Prime Minister, please tell me in detail what we should do now?"

On the way here, Hong Chengchou had already thought about how to report this to the emperor. When he heard the emperor's question, he told him what he was thinking and worried about. After Hong Chengchou finished speaking, Wang Jinwu said, "In my opinion, if it is only Wubi Kui who is causing the rebellion, the situation is not that bad. After all, the Duke of Qian had been prepared for Wubi Kui for a long time, but he was just launched in advance. The current situation seems critical, but in fact Wubi Kui will not be able to make a difference. It is not difficult to solve Wubi Kui's rebellion."

"But I think the key to Yunnan is not Wu Bikui, but Sha Dingzhou. Once Sha Dingzhou also rises up in rebellion, the Duke of Qian will be caught off guard and in danger. The court should make arrangements early and immediately dispatch troops to reinforce Yunnan. If Sha Dingzhou has already risen up, we can make up for it. If Sha Dingzhou has not moved, that would be the best. The court can solve this hidden danger and ensure the stability of Yunnan."

Zhu Shenzhu nodded slightly at what Hong Chengchou and Wang Jinwu said. They were thinking the same thing as Zhu Shenzhu. Zhu Shenzhu was not an ordinary emperor. He won the throne by himself. He had a very clear view of the situation in Yunnan.

Zhu Shenzui's judgment was similar to that of Hong Chengchou and Wang Jinwu. In his opinion, although Mu Tianbo lost the initiative due to carelessness, Wu Bikui alone could not cause much trouble. Although Wu Bikui was reported to be unstoppable after raising his army, in fact, Wu Bikui did not have enough stamina. Neither his ability nor the military force at his disposal was enough to bring about earth-shaking changes to the situation in Yunnan.

At best, it was just a local rebellion of a chieftain. By the time Mu Tianbo's troops gathered to launch a counterattack, Wu Bigui would not be able to stop the attack of the Ming army. It would only be a matter of time to quell the rebellion. Moreover, judging from the distance from Yunnan to the capital, it had been several days since Mu Tianbo sent out the urgent report and the letter of apology. Maybe Mu Tianbo had already gathered his troops and started a counterattack, and it was even possible that he had defeated Wu Bigui's army.

Wu Bikui alone was not a threat, but the key issue was Sha Dingzhou. Would Sha Dingzhou take this opportunity to raise an army? No one could predict this. Once Sha Dingzhou did so and Mu Tianbo was completely unprepared for him, the consequences would be serious.

Zhu Shenzhui was not worried about anything else but this problem. If the situation really developed in this direction, something bad might happen in Yunnan, and even Mu Tianbo and Kunming would be in danger. If this was the case, things would be very serious.

Zhu Shenzhui concentrated on thinking, thinking about how to solve the problem. But after thinking about it, he didn't have any good methods. As Wang Jinwu suggested, the court should mobilize the army as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected situation. But Yunnan is too far away from the capital. It is not so easy to mobilize the army. From the order to the preparation, and then to the dispatch of troops, it takes at least ten days and half a month. It will take even longer after the army arrives in Yunnan. If it is not handled properly, two or three months will pass. Such a long time will make the opportunity cold.

Moreover, Yunnan borders Sichuan and Guizhou, so it seems most appropriate to transfer troops from Sichuan or Guizhou to Yunnan. However, the troops stationed by the court in Sichuan and Guizhou are basically local troops, not elite troops of the Nine Frontiers. Zhu Shenzhu is not too sure whether these troops can be of great use.

"Send troops to reinforce Yunnan. According to the two ministers, which troops should be sent?"

"Your Majesty, I suggest that we transfer General Jinwu, Marquis of Loyalty Qin Liangyu's White Spear Army to Yunnan," Hong Chengchou replied.

Zhu Shenzhu was satisfied with this suggestion. Apart from the new army of the Ming Dynasty, the most capable army was not the border army, but Qin Liangyu's Baigan Army. This army could be called a powerful army that was on par with the Qi Family Army. In the Battle of Hunhe, the combat effectiveness was amazing. If it were not for the contradiction between the Baigan Army and the Qi Family Army, the two armies would have fought separately without coordination after the war, and Nurhaci might not have won the battle.

After the Battle of Hunhe, the White Rod Army and the Qi Family Army died tragically one after another. After this battle, the Qi Family Army became history until Zhu Shenzhui set about establishing a new army, which made the Qi Family Army's tactics reappear. It can be said that the Ming Dynasty's new army was originally rebuilt in the image of the Qi Family Army, but with more people and better equipment, more varied tactics, and more fierce combat effectiveness than the original Qi Family Army.

As for the White Rod Army, after the entire army was annihilated in Hunhe, Qin Liangyu, a mere woman, took over her husband's military power and reorganized a new White Rod Army. This army played a great role in the Ming Dynasty's confrontation with foreign enemies and internal troubles. Although it was small in number, its combat effectiveness was extremely strong and it was a well-known strong army in the world.

(End of this chapter)