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

Chapter 1218 The Final Decision

In a short moment, Tang Jiabin pondered Mang Bai's true intentions. Was what Mang Bai said true or false? Or had someone really told Mang Bai news from Yunnan? Or was Mang Bai trying to test him with lies, forcing him to make concessions in order to gain greater benefits?
Both possibilities may exist, but Tang Jiabin felt that regardless of which possibility it was, as long as Sha Dingzhou had not yet fallen, he still had room to maneuver. Moreover, Tang Jiabin believed that Mang Bai's own intention to send troops still prevailed; otherwise, he wouldn't have used these words to test him. Doing so was simply to gain more advantages and to bargain.

Furthermore, things have already come to this point, and Tang Jiabin has no way out. He must persuade Mang Bai to send troops no matter what, otherwise, once Sha Dingzhou is defeated, there will be no way to salvage the situation.

Besides, Tang Jiabin was quite confident in himself. So what if Mang Bai challenged him to a debate? Turning white into black was no problem for Tang Jiabin. As long as Sha Dingzhou's influence remained, he had enough confidence. It was just a debate, after all; who was afraid of whom!
Tang Jiabin immediately agreed without hesitation. At this moment, Mang Bai smiled again, waved his hand, and a eunuch announced loudly that someone should enter the hall. When he heard the name called, Tang Jiabin's heart skipped a beat, because the voice clearly announced the arrival of an envoy from the Great Ming Dynasty. This made Tang Jiabin vaguely feel uneasy. Could it be that someone from the Great Ming Dynasty had also come? If it were an envoy from the Great Ming Dynasty to Burma, Mang Bai's hesitation under pressure would be understandable. But was this envoy truly from the Great Ming Dynasty? Or was it someone Mang Bai had hired to impersonate him? Tang Jiabin couldn't be sure.

Soon, the person arrived outside the hall and strode in.

The man who arrived looked to be quite old, around forty or fifty years old. He was tall, with a sallow complexion and a long beard. He walked with a powerful stride and wore a flying fish robe from the Ming Dynasty. Despite his attire, no one could guess his origins.

Could he be a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Not quite, because the flying fish robe wasn't just worn by the Embroidered Uniform Guard; it was often bestowed as a gift by the Ming emperor to both civil and military officials. But calling him a civil official also seems odd; his demeanor and gait suggest a military officer. However, if he were a military officer, his sallow complexion and grave illness would make him appear different from the military officer Tang Jiabin remembered.

Upon reaching the hall, the man casually cupped his hands in greeting to Mang Bai, unlike Tang Jiabin who had greeted him with a grand ceremony. His demeanor was quite ordinary, even somewhat casual. However, Mang Bai didn't mind and didn't reprimand him. After all, the man represented the Ming Dynasty, an envoy of the superior Ming Dynasty. Although Burma was a country, it was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. An envoy from a superior nation naturally held a higher status when visiting a vassal state. If Mang Da were present, perhaps a subject could perform the Ming Dynasty's investiture ceremony for a vassal king, but Mang Bai was not a king, so ordinary etiquette was sufficient.

After performing the salutations, the man's gaze swept across the hall before settling on Tang Jiabin, who was standing not far away. He sized Tang Jiabin up and down, then grinned and asked, "You are Tang Jiabin? The strategist and envoy of Sha Dingzhou?"

"So what if I am? Who are you?" Tang Jiabin coldly retorted. Since the other party represented the Ming Dynasty, regardless of whether this so-called Ming envoy was real or fake, their positions were completely opposite. Tang Jiabin naturally wouldn't give the other party a friendly look and stood there arrogantly asking questions.

"You're asking me? Hahahaha!" The man pointed to his own nose and suddenly laughed. Seeing that the two were like oil and water from the moment they met, Mang Bai didn't stop them. Instead, he watched the scene with great interest. As for the other ministers, they were all watching from the sidelines, as if they were waiting to see a good show.

"How would I know if you don't tell me? You're just some nobody." Tang Jiabin snorted coldly, not taking the other party seriously at all. He was thinking about how to give the other party a hard time, then refute him into silence during the debate, and finally persuade Mang Bai to send troops.

Just then, the man strode toward Tang Jiabin. After taking two steps, he passed by the guards on duty in the main hall of the palace. Just when everyone thought he would continue forward and have a heated debate with Tang Jiabin, the man suddenly did something that no one expected and was even more incomprehensible.

In the blink of an eye, the man suddenly turned halfway to the left and snatched the golden mace from the guard standing to the side. The golden mace was a weapon, but in this situation it was basically just a decorative item, held upright by the guard for ceremonial purposes.

However, the golden mace is, after all, a weapon, and it is quite heavy. Especially the golden mace used for ceremonies usually weighs more than 40 kilograms. Such a heavy weight makes it difficult to wield as a real weapon. The guards hold it only to show their authority.

The guard had no idea that the Ming envoy would suddenly snatch the golden mace from his hand. He didn't have time to react and by the time he came to his senses, the mace was gone. He was shocked and was about to reach out to grab it back when he was struck hard in the abdomen. He fell backward and was kicked far away by the Ming envoy.

With the golden mace in hand, the Ming envoy twisted his body, stomped his foot heavily, and pounced on Tang Jiabin, who was not far away, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. At the same time, he roared in a thunderous voice: "I am Zhang Xianzhong, the Marquis of Dingbian of the Great Ming Dynasty! Traitor, prepare to die!"

Zhang Xianzhong decisively seized the hammer and turned to pounce on Tang Jiabin. In the blink of an eye, it was only a breath's time. By the time Zhang Xianzhong swung the golden mace and charged at Tang Jiabin, Tang Jiabin hadn't even recovered yet, let alone Mang Bai and the others.

By the time everyone reacted, Zhang Xianzhong had already pounced on Tang Jiabin, his golden mace raised high, and was about to smash it down on Tang Jiabin's head. Only then did Tang Jiabin manage to let out a sharp, shrill scream. As a scholar, he was powerless to fight a chicken, let alone dodge. Faced with the hammer already hurtling down, Tang Jiabin could only scream and barely raise his hands to block it, hoping to stop this catastrophic disaster with his bare hands.

*Crack... Thud...* Tang Jiabin's scream was barely audible when the golden mace slammed down. It first struck his barely raised right hand, snapping it with a crack. Then, the mace landed squarely on his head, and with a thud, his skull split open like a smashed watermelon—white, red, purple, black… fragments of his skull scattering in all directions. Finally, the mace hit the ground with a dull thud. Tang Jiabin's head was mostly gone; his body swayed twice before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

"Hahaha!" After smashing Tang Jiabin to death with a single blow, Zhang Xianzhong laughed loudly, then released the golden mace he was holding. The mace fell to the ground, stained with Tang Jiabin's brains and blood, and was thrown aside.

“You…you…”

"Guards! Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

"How dare you! You actually dare to do such a thing in the palace?"

"Oh my god! That scared me to death..."

In the blink of an eye, in just a few breaths, Tang Jiabin, who had been standing there talking so eloquently, was dead. The magnificent palace was filled with the stench of blood. A corpse with most of its head missing lay before everyone. Zhang Xianzhong stood beside Tang Jiabin's body, laughing wildly. His body, including his face, was covered in blood and red and white brain matter, but Zhang Xianzhong was completely unconcerned. He even grinned and licked his lips a few times.

When had any of the ministers, including Mang Bai, ever seen such a scene? Let alone witnessing it right before their eyes. After a brief moment of shock and astonishment, the hall descended into chaos once everyone had recovered. Some shouted for guards, some cursed in terror, and some trembled with fear, their faces pale. Even the usually composed Mang Bai was pale and his body was shaking uncontrollably.

As it was the royal palace of Burma, the guards reacted quickly, and soon the surrounding guards arrived, surrounding Zhang Xianzhong with weapons. Zhang Xianzhong did not resist, not even picking up the golden mace on the ground, and looked at Mang Bai with a smile on his face.

"You... how dare you kill someone so suddenly? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Mang Bai was both shocked and furious. His hands trembled as he barely managed to raise them, pointing at Zhang Xianzhong and demanding an answer.

"Kill me? Why?" Zhang Xianzhong laughed heartily, "I solved your problem, and instead of thanking me, you want to kill me? Are you stupid?"

"I...I...I...!"

"Alright, alright, stop with the 'I am a ruler' nonsense." Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand and said, "He's just the younger brother of the Burmese king. What's with all this talk about being a ruler? I am an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, the Earl of Dingbian, and a General of the Cavalry. It's fine for him to put on airs in front of others, but don't flaunt it in front of me."

“Sha Dingzhou dares to rebel; he is a traitor and a disloyal subject of our Great Ming. This Tang Jiabin is Sha Dingzhou’s strategist, and it is said that he was appointed some kind of prime minister. Your Myanmar is a vassal state of our Great Ming. As a vassal state, why are you harboring rebels? Do you intend to rebel against your superiors and plot treason?”

Zhang Xianzhong glared at Mang Bai and said coldly, "I helped you out of respect for the fact that Burma has been a vassal state of my Great Ming for generations. Shouldn't you be thanking me? You want to kill me? Heh, try it if you want. I'm a veteran of countless battles, am I afraid of losing my head? If I die, so be it, it'll just be a small scar. But if you kill me, don't you think about the consequences of angering my Great Ming? A count dying in Burma, do you know what the consequences are? How will you explain it to the Emperor of my Great Ming? When the time comes, my Great Ming army will arrive in a day and wipe out your mere Burma with ease."

As he spoke, Zhang Xianzhong stretched out his little finger and made a pinching motion in the air, as if he considered Burma to be nothing more than an insignificant bug, which the Ming dynasty could crush with just a little finger. Then he looked at Mang Bai, whose face was alternating between pale and red, with a half-smile, his arms crossed, showing no fear whatsoever.

(End of this chapter)