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

Chapter 1217 Re-entering the Palace
Tang Jiabin finally received the news that Mang Bai had summoned him again, and half of the weight in his heart was lifted. It seemed that Burma still intended to send troops; otherwise, Mang Bai wouldn't have waited several days to see him again. If Mang Bai decided to abandon Shading Prefecture and no longer interfere in Yunnan affairs, then Mang Bai wouldn't have seen him at all; wouldn't it have been easier to just send someone else to get rid of him?
Since he'd been summoned to the palace today, it must be to discuss terms, Tang Jiabin thought to himself. Having dealt with the Burmese many times before, Tang Jiabin knew their character all too well. These guys were often insatiable, especially when it came to interests, and it seemed the offers he'd made earlier weren't enough; they wanted to extract even more benefits from him.

With this in mind, Tang Jiabin wasn't worried. In his view, as long as there was greed, it was easy to talk; the real fear was that the other party had no greed. Moreover, Tang Jiabin believed that offering more benefits was fine, since it was all just empty talk anyway. Whether the promises made now could be fulfilled later was another matter. He would make the promises first and talk about it later. The key was to persuade Myanmar to send troops.

If Myanmar intervenes militarily, Shading Prefecture can be revived, thus completely changing the situation in Yunnan. If Myanmar doesn't intervene, the fall of Shading Prefecture is only a matter of time; Tang Jiabin is well aware of this advantage and disadvantage.

Even if it's written down in black and white, so what? The agreement was meant to be torn up from the very beginning. Once Sha Dingzhou is defeated, there will be nothing left. As long as Sha Dingzhou overcomes this difficulty, who can say what will happen next? Since Sha Dingzhou can rebel against the imperial court, he can also turn against the Burmese after he regains his strength. Tang Jiabin is well aware of this.

Thinking this through, and pondering how to deal with Mang Bai when they met, Tang Jiabin's sedan chair soon arrived at the palace. Alighting from the sedan chair, Tang Jiabin entered the palace as before and headed towards the main hall.

"Your humble servant Tang Jiabin greets His Majesty the King and Your Majesty the Sovereign..."

It was still the same main hall, with an empty throne still placed in front. Mang Bai was still sitting at the lower end, with several Burmese ministers standing on either side.

Tang Jiabin stepped forward and bowed to Mang Bai according to etiquette. Mang Bai smiled and raised his hand to let him stand up. After Tang Jiabin stood up, Mang Bai said, "How have you been at the villa these past few days, Lord Tang? Have you settled in?"

"I am quite content at the villa, Your Majesty, though I have been waiting for Your Majesty's summons these past few days, which has been rather boring," Tang Jiabin replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mang Bai laughed heartily and nodded, saying, "It seems that Lord Tang is concerned about sending troops. Lord Tang is extremely loyal to your lord and is truly a loyal minister. I am quite envious. The Celestial Empire is indeed a superior country, to have a figure like Lord Tang. I am somewhat envious. With Lord Tang's talent, he should have a better place to go."

Tang Jiabin was slightly taken aback, looking at Mang Bai. He couldn't help but wonder why Mang Bai was suddenly saying these things. It seemed that Mang Bai intended to recruit him, but the problem was that Tang Jiabin was from Shading Prefecture. He had come to Myanmar to discuss sending troops to Yunnan and dividing Yunnan between the two families. Why was this being brought up instead of the main business?
"Could it be that Mang Bai knows something?" Tang Jiabin felt anxious, and was even more worried that the situation in Yunnan had reached Myanmar. Especially since he had been confined to the villa these days and could not go out, he had no idea what the situation was like in Yunnan. Had Sha Dingzhou already been defeated? Was that why Mang Bai had changed his attitude so drastically when he saw him this time?

"No! Impossible!" Tang Jiabin immediately dismissed this thought. Although Sha Dingzhou had abandoned Kunming and retreated to his stronghold when he entered Burma, from a strategic perspective, Sha Dingzhou had lost the initiative, and the situation was deteriorating in a direction unfavorable to him. However, Tang Jiabin was still quite familiar with Sha Dingzhou's strength. He believed that even if Sha Dingzhou retreated to his stronghold, he could still protect himself in the short term. After all, Sha Dingzhou's main force was intact, and he still had hundreds of thousands of troops. Moreover, Sha Dingzhou had been operating in his stronghold for so many years and originally had a geographical advantage. It wouldn't be easy for the Ming army to break through Sha Dingzhou's stronghold and defeat him, at least not in the short term.

"Perhaps this guy is testing me with these words?" Tang Jiabin suddenly thought of a possibility, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Mang Bai was testing him with these words. Once he showed any willingness to be recruited, Mang Bai would be able to determine that the situation in Shading Prefecture was already dire. In this way, Mang Bai could refuse to send troops and thus avoid the risks.

Thinking this, Tang Jiabin believed he had seen through Mang Bai's cunning and couldn't help but curse inwardly. The other party's recruitment was a ruse; his real purpose was to probe his intentions. This Burmese was truly cunning; how could he let him have his way?
Immediately, Tang Jiabin replied righteously, “Your Majesty values ​​me so highly, and I am deeply grateful. However, I am a subject of my lord, who is wise and powerful. He has always regarded me as a confidant and has even treated me with the position of Prime Minister. Such great kindness is something I could never repay even with my life. How could I possibly betray my lord and go to another side? Moreover, my lord is currently as powerful as a tiger, and Yunnan is about to fall. It is even more impossible for me to abandon my lord. If I did that, would I still have any loyalty or righteousness left? Your Majesty would not want to have a sycophantic and opportunistic subject by your side, would you?”

"Hahaha!" Mang Bai laughed loudly, nodding as he laughed, "I never expected Lord Tang to be such a loyal minister. I underestimated Lord Tang. However, I have a different opinion on what Lord Tang just said. If Your Majesty is truly as Lord Tang described, I would naturally not take what is rightfully yours. But I have heard that Your Majesty's situation in Yunnan is not optimistic. The Ming Dynasty has sent troops to Yunnan, and Your Majesty is no match for the imperial army, losing important towns one after another and retreating to southeastern Yunnan. This is not like what Lord Tang said about being as powerful as a tiger that can swallow up thousands of miles, let alone that Yunnan will fall in no time."

"In my opinion, your lord is on the verge of defeat. Once he falls, and the Ming Dynasty recovers Yunnan, how will you, Lord Tang, find yourself? There's a saying in your Ming Dynasty: 'A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and a wise minister chooses a good lord to serve.' Doesn't Lord Tang think of himself? Shouldn't he make some plans for himself?" Tang Jiabin's heart tightened. Just as he had guessed, Burma hadn't been idle these past few days; it seemed they were gathering information about Yunnan. But having anticipated this, he didn't show the slightest sign of panic. Instead, he appeared quite relaxed: "Your Majesty, I think you're mistaken. I explained this to Your Majesty when I met you before. My lord is indeed leading his troops in retreat, but that's a strategic necessity. What kind of person is my lord? How can he be compared to an ordinary person? Appropriately shrinking the battle lines, feigning weakness to lure the Ming army into attacking, and then gathering strength for a final strike—this is the best strategy to secure Yunnan in one battle. If Your Majesty understood my lord, you would know the state of mind in his heart, and you wouldn't say such things."

"Furthermore, the reason why this foreign minister came to Burma as my lord's envoy to negotiate the military expedition with Your Majesty is because of the good relations between our two families, which is also in Your Majesty's interest. As long as Your Majesty sends troops, our two families will divide Yunnan, with my lord in the east and Burma in the west, and the great cause can be accomplished! In the future, our two families will become sworn brothers, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Haha! What a sharp tongue!" Mang Bai laughed again, and after a few laughs, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Tang Jiabin, his gaze as sharp as a knife.

Tang Jiabin stood firmly, unafraid of the other party's gaze, and instead had a smile on his lips, appearing confident and composed.

After glancing at him a few times, Mang Bai's gaze softened, and he said, "Sending troops is no small matter. I have considered it for several days, and in the end, I have decided to send troops to Yunnan as previously discussed..."

Upon hearing this, Tang Jiabin was overjoyed and was about to bow and say something when Mang Bai waved his hand and continued, "However, things have taken an unexpected turn. Originally, I invited Lord Tang here today to discuss the matter of sending troops, but just today I received bad news. The situation in Yunnan is changing rapidly, and I'm afraid your lord is powerless to do anything about it. Once your lord is defeated and killed, the overall situation in Yunnan will be settled. At this time, it would be really inappropriate for Burma to send troops. Not only would we not gain any benefit, but we would also risk angering the Ming Dynasty. How could I possibly agree to this?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Tang Jiabin retorted immediately after Mang Bai finished speaking: "Your Majesty just explained clearly that he is consolidating his lines for the sake of the upcoming great battle. Your Majesty commands hundreds of thousands of troops, a formidable force. How can a mere tens of thousands of Ming soldiers in Yunnan compare? If we win this battle, Your Majesty will completely occupy Yunnan, and the overall situation will be settled! If Your Majesty hesitates and is afraid of this and that and does not wish to send troops, I naturally have no objection. However, if this is the case, after the situation in Yunnan is settled, I am afraid that Burma will not gain any advantage. Opportunity knocks but once, Your Majesty must not regret it."

"Hehe, Lord Tang's words have made me hesitate. I don't know who is right and who is wrong, and I can't make a conclusion for the time being!"

"What does Your Majesty mean by this?"

“I have no particular reason. Sending troops is a major event, after all. However, what Lord Tang said differs from what I know. You have your explanation, but others have theirs. The two are different, which makes it difficult for me to decide for the time being. How about Lord Tang debate with the person who told me about this?”

"Debate?" Tang Jiabin was taken aback, somewhat confused by Mang Bai's meaning. At this moment, Mang Bai told Tang Jiabin that it was because someone had previously approached him with the latest news, informing him of the situation in Yunnan, and that this situation differed from what Tang Jiabin had described, that he was now unable to determine who was right and who was wrong.

After all, sending troops is a major undertaking. If it succeeds as Tang Jiabin suggested, that's fine, but what if it fails? The situation in Sha Dingzhou is especially important. If Sha Dingzhou is defeated, wouldn't Burma be at a disadvantage? Mang Bai isn't stupid. With Sha Dingzhou in the front and back, Burma still has room to maneuver. But if Sha Dingzhou is defeated first, Burma, which has just sent troops, will immediately face the wrath of the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming army launches an attack, Burma will not only lose the territory it just occupied, but it may even invite the Ming army to invade Burma, which would be a serious consequence.

(End of this chapter)