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

Chapter 1196 Giving advice
Sha Dingzhou ultimately failed to capture Mu Tianbo, allowing Mu Tianbo to escape to Wuding and join the Ming army.

After hearing this news, Sha Dingzhou was filled with remorse and could not help but think of what Tang Jiabin had said before. Facts proved that Tang Jiabin's judgment was correct. If Sha Dingzhou had listened to Tang Jiabin earlier and sent troops to Luoci first to block the opponent's way, then Mu Tianbo would not be able to escape no matter what.

And it was not just this incident, but also the consequences of the looting in Kunming. When Sha Dingzhou learned that officials at all levels, including the Right Provincial Governor Wang Dehua, the Kunming Prefect Liu Tingbiao, and the Tongzhi Qian Sheng, were killed in the chaos, he immediately became anxious. These were senior officials of the court in Yunnan! Especially Wang Dehua was the Right Provincial Governor, the second in command in Yunnan. Such a high-ranking official was killed by the chaotic army. This was a big deal.

It's not that Sha Dingzhou had any friendship with Wang Dehua and others, but Sha Dingzhou knew the impact of these people's death. According to the original plan, after taking Kunming, not only Mu Tianbo had to be dealt with, but also officials at all levels in Yunnan, especially Wang Dehua and others, had to be captured. With these people in hand, Sha Dingzhou could not only eliminate hidden dangers, but also use their status to control the entire Yunnan. In addition, holding them was also a bargaining chip, which could be used as a condition for future negotiations with the Ming Dynasty court, which had many benefits.

Unexpectedly, Mu Tianbo was not caught, and Wang Dehua and others were killed by their own subordinates. Not only did many officials die in Kunming, but even the gentry and big families in the city suffered heavy losses. Kunming is not an ordinary place. It is the capital of Yunnan. The gentry and big families in Kunming are not only from the Ming Dynasty, but also have close ties with local chieftains, and some are even directly the family members of some chieftains.

Now that such a thing has happened, Sha Dingzhou is overwhelmed and regrets it. But at this point, Sha Dingzhou has no idea what to do. After thinking about it, he decided to consult with Tang Jiabin on how to save the situation, reduce the impact, and stabilize Kunming and Yunnan.

Tang Jiabin soon arrived at the Duke of Qian's Mansion and met Sha Dingzhou.

"Prime Minister, you are finally here. Someone, come! Serve tea! Serve good tea!" Upon seeing Tang Jiabin, Sha Dingzhou hurriedly stood up, took Tang Jiabin's hand and sat down, and asked the servants to serve tea.

Sha Dingzhou's attitude of respecting the wise and humble himself made Tang Jiabin sigh in his heart. To be honest, he now regretted helping Sha Dingzhou. He originally thought that Sha Dingzhou was an wise ruler, but he turned out to be a hopeless person who became arrogant before the great thing was fully accomplished. The current situation was all caused by Sha Dingzhou's arrogance.

But even so, Tang Jiabin had no way out. He had already boarded Sha Dingzhou's pirate ship and was in the same boat with Sha Dingzhou. Tang Jiabin knew that once this ship capsized, not only would Sha Dingzhou have a bad ending, but he, as Sha Dingzhou's adviser, would also suffer the same fate. So even if Tang Jiabin was dissatisfied with Sha Dingzhou now, he could only suppress it and continue to assist Sha Dingzhou to save the situation.

"Your Majesty, I am truly terrified by your kindness to me..."

"Haha, don't be disloyal. You, Old Tang, are not an outsider. In public, you are the prime minister appointed by me! Even in private, we are brothers-in-law and family." Sha Dingzhou said meaningfully while holding Tang Jiabin's hand.

Sha Dingzhou is not stupid either. He certainly knows that Tang Jiabin has a grudge against him because of him, but he has to rely on Tang Jiabin now. Sha Dingzhou is clear about Tang Jiabin's abilities. If there is anyone who can really help him solve the current problem, it must be Tang Jiabin.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind." How could Tang Jiabin not understand Sha Dingzhou's thoughts? However, he did not show any complacency, but was more humble.

After trying to appease Tang Jiabin with some kind words, Sha Dingzhou said directly: "You also know the current situation. I should have listened to the Prime Minister's advice that day. The Prime Minister's advice was correct. I was blinded by greed and actually gave such an order. I am really ashamed! Now that I think about it, I regret it in my heart. I have let down the Prime Minister's expectations..."

"How can I, your Majesty, accept your words? Your Majesty..." Tang Jiabin hurriedly stood up and was about to kneel down and kowtow to Sha Dingzhou, expressing that he could not bear Sha Dingzhou's words.

Without waiting for him to salute, Sha Dingzhou stopped him with both hands, forced him into the chair, and said earnestly: "No matter how many mistakes you make, it is all my fault. I promise to the Prime Minister today that I will listen to you in everything from now on. How about that?"

"Your Majesty..."

"Okay, it's settled!" Sha Dingzhou made the decision. Seeing this, Tang Jiabin could only smile bitterly and nodded. Seeing that Tang Jiabin finally agreed, Sha Dingzhou was very happy. Then he said to Tang Jiabin: "The situation is a little out of control now. Mu Tianbo ran away, and Kunming City suffered a lot of losses, especially Wang Dehua and others..."

At this point, Sha Dingzhou shook his head and sighed, then said to Tang Jiabin in a serious tone, "The Prime Minister has always been very talented. I wonder if the Prime Minister has anything to teach me?"

Tang Jiabin has long known the purpose of Sha Dingzhou looking for him. He has been thinking about this matter these days. After all, he and Sha Dingzhou are in the same boat. Once Sha Dingzhou is finished, he, Tang Jiabin, will not have a good ending either.

"Your Majesty, if you ask me to teach you, I naturally don't dare, but I have some ideas that I can share with you."

"Okay, okay! Prime Minister, please speak up. I will keep it in mind." Seeing that Tang Jiabin finally softened, Sha Dingzhou nodded in delight. Tang Jiabin then said, "The biggest problem for the king right now is that Mu Tianbo has fled to Wuding. He has already joined forces with the local Ming army in Wuding. In addition, Yunnan's deputy envoy Yang Weizhi is in Chuxiong. Although Mu Tianbo has lost Kunming, he still has Wuding and Chuxiong. The two armies have a total of nearly 10,000 soldiers and should not be underestimated."

"Once Mu Tianbo and Yang Weizhi join forces, the situation will be difficult for the king to handle, so the most important thing right now is to capture Wuding first and completely solve the problem of Mu Tianbo before Yang Weizhi can react. As long as Mu Tianbo dies and Wuding falls into the hands of the king, even if Yang Weizhi has troops in Chuxiong, he will be powerless."

As soon as these words came out, Tang Jiabin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he slapped his thigh and said, "Right, right, right! That's right. As long as Mu Tianbo is not dead, I will be restless. The Prime Minister is right. Now we must get rid of Mu Tianbo in Wuding before Yang Weizhi comes to his senses. After dealing with Wuding, it will be much easier to turn around and attack Chuxiong."

Tang Jiabin nodded, indicating that Sha Dingzhou's understanding was correct. However, he stopped Sha Dingzhou, who was about to call for orders to gather troops and prepare to march to Wuding, and continued to say the following.

"My lord, simply sending troops to attack Wuding and kill Mu Tianbo is just a battle, and it cannot completely solve the problem in Yunnan."

"Why is this? With Mu Tianbo's death, Yunnan is leaderless. Isn't that enough?"

Tang Jiabin shook his head slightly. If Mu Tianbo had been caught in Kunming, or if he had been killed on his way to Wuding, the situation would not have been so difficult. In addition, the death of Wang Dehua and others was also a key factor. Sha Dingzhou did not do a good job in the first step. Now the situation is a little out of control. How easy is it to make up for it?
Tang Jiabin briefly analyzed the situation to Sha Dingzhou and told him the key. After listening to Tang Jiabin's explanation, Sha Dingzhou finally understood that he had missed the best opportunity because of his arrogance and refusal to listen to advice. He could not help but shake his head in regret.

"Your Majesty, there is still room for improvement." Tang Jiabin advised, "In addition to attacking Wuding, Your Majesty must do three things now."

"What three things?"

"First!" Tang Jiabin raised a finger and said, "Your Majesty, you must write a letter to the court as soon as possible, using your original position in the court to report to the court, stating that the incident in Kunming was not your intention, but was done by Mu Tianbo. Because Mu Tianbo bullied and humiliated the various tribes in Yunnan as the Duke of Qian, and even intended to hold a banquet to murder your Majesty and others, your Majesty was lucky enough to see through his trick and resisted in a hurry, which led to what happened later."

"This..." Sha Dingzhou was stunned. This was absolutely not happening!
"Your Majesty, when the false becomes true, the true becomes false. Who can tell the truth about such a thing? As long as Your Majesty insists that this happened, it is nothing more than an excuse." Tang Jiabin said slowly.

Sha Dingzhou slapped his forehead and immediately realized what was going on. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes! I'll do as you say, but the Prime Minister will have to take care of how to write this memorial."

"Of course." Tang Jiabin nodded and said, "In addition to reporting the truth to the court, the king must also make it clear to the court that it was Tianbo who rebelled, not the king, and that the king was fighting for the court. With this as an excuse, the court can dispel its concerns and let the king temporarily guard Yunnan for the Mu family and take over in the future."

"Will this work?" Sha Dingzhou was very excited. Tang Jiabin's reversal of right and wrong sounded good, but the question was, could the imperial court be so easily fooled? And relying on him alone, would the imperial court believe that the blame for the Kunming Incident was on Mu Tianbo instead of him? And even accept him as a replacement?

"We have to give it a try." Tang Jiabin said seriously, "Whether the court believes it or not, Your Majesty, you must believe it yourself. If Your Majesty doesn't believe it yourself, how can the court believe it?"

"In addition, I heard that the Yunnan Governor Wu Zhaoyuan and Grand Secretary Wang Xigun were lucky enough to survive the riot in the city a few days ago. Are they now under the care of the king?"

"Yes, there was this incident. Besides them, there were several other officials. I was worried about more accidents, so I asked people to find a place to settle them down." Sha Dingzhou replied.

Tang Jiabin smiled and clapped his hands, saying, "Since these people are still alive, they will be of great use! It is naturally not credible to report to the court in the name of the king alone, but what if Wu Zhaoyuan, Wang Xigun and others also report to the court and tell the court the 'truth' about Kunming? More importantly, we can let these people speak for the king and suggest that the court let the king replace the Duke of Qian to guard Yunnan. If the court really agrees, wouldn't it be the best thing?"

Sha Dingzhou was stunned. Was Tang Jiabin out of his mind? He let Wu Zhaoyuan, Wang Xigun and others speak for him and confuse right and wrong for him? How could this be possible?

Seeing Tang Jiabin's meaningful smile, Sha Dingzhou was also happy after thinking carefully. He was overthinking. Now that the people were in his hands, what was the point of asking these people to write memorials? Even if they were unwilling to write, he could just write in their handwriting. When the time came, he would seal it and send it to the capital. The black would become white. It was impossible for these people to jump out and tell the court that the memorial was fake under his nose. In this way, wouldn't the fake become true?

(End of this chapter)