Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 389 The Might of the Heavenly Army! Thank you, Your Majesty!
The general's voice was cold and authoritative, devoid of any emotion.

"This is impossible!"

The mine owner immediately screamed, his voice sharp and piercing.

His face was filled with disbelief, and his body trembled slightly with excitement.

He had always had a very good relationship with the warlord leader; the two had even been drinking and chatting happily together last night, calling each other brothers.

How could the other party suddenly turn on me overnight without any warning and do something so cruel?
This is really incredible.

"Are you mistaken? Perhaps the governor ordered you to raid someone else's mine?" The mine owner, still clinging to a sliver of hope, questioned loudly, his eyes filled with anxiety and resentment.

"I am not that foolish!"

The general gave a cold snort, his gaze like a knife shooting towards the mine owner: "Your name is Tie Yin, right? The governor personally called out your name, saying that your crimes are heinous and that he ordered me to arrest you without fail."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Tie Yin was immediately horrified, and the color drained from his face, turning him deathly pale.

He knew in his heart that if it really was the local warlord who ordered his arrest, then he really had no way to escape.

After all, this is someone else's territory. They have soldiers and hold great power, so their word is law.

Although he was rich, he could usually use money to bribe his way into various relationships and make a name for himself in the area.

But when real power takes action, money is utterly insignificant in the face of absolute power and can only obediently give way.

But why is that?

Tie Yin was filled with doubt and couldn't figure it out no matter what he did.

He considered himself to be part of a community of shared interests with the Bago warlords in the area, and that the two sides cooperated and achieved mutual benefit.

Why would the other party suddenly turn on you and try to kill you?

What happened that I don't know about?
At this moment, the native general in front of them sneered again and said slowly, "It's not just you. The governor also said that all the mine owners along the Liujin River must be arrested and brought to justice. Not a single one can be let go."

The native general paused slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes: "So, even if I grab someone randomly, I won't make a mistake."

"Huh?" Tie Yin was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth again. He was completely stunned and forgot even the excruciating pain in his stomach.

Just now, he still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that if there was really no other way out, he would join forces with other mine owners to plead with the governor and even put pressure on him.

After all, most of them came from the same county and were true fellow villagers.

They not only have a close relationship, but also support and help each other.

They even have their own community organizations.

No matter who is in trouble, others will lend a helping hand without hesitation.

This is precisely the source of their confidence to leave their homes and come to Bago, a foreign land where they know no one, to mine and make money.

They are not isolated individuals, but a closely connected "group".

Luring people from within the Ming Dynasty's borders and then imprisoning them as slaves was something we all did together.

Towards others, they are ruthless and utterly devoid of conscience.

However, they are very united internally.

But now, upon hearing that the warlord leader intended to wipe out all the mine owners, Tie Yin felt dizzy and as if his entire world had collapsed.

He was filled with disbelief. Had this warlord gone mad?

Without the constant influx of huge sums of money from these mine owners, how could he support such a large army?
And what gave them the right to resist the central dynasty of Pegu and thus establish their own independent regime?

The native general, his face full of disdain, raised his foot and stomped his heavy boot heavily on Tie Yin's face as he knelt on the ground, pressing his head firmly to the ground.

Then, still not satisfied, he used his boots to swirl around on his fat, greasy face.

In an instant, Tie Yin's face was twisted beyond recognition, resembling a messy twisted rope.

The native general then spoke slowly, his tone full of contempt and disgust: "I've long disliked you sons of bitches of slave owners."

"They've made so much dirty money, yet they don't even share more with my brothers."

"If it weren't for the Governor's orders prohibiting us from harassing the mines at will, I would have sent men to tie you up long ago, so you could taste what it's like to be a slave and suffer that torment!"

"I finally made it here today, and you're only willing to give me three thousand taels of silver as a delivery fee?"

"Do you think I'm some beggar on the street, someone you can just fob off?"

So you were upset that the money wasn't enough?

Tie Yin was secretly delighted; this was easy to solve!
He desperately wanted to speak and tell the general that money was no problem and that he could give him as much as he wanted, but his mouth was firmly held down by the other man's foot, making his face turn red and he couldn't utter a sound no matter what.

The general leaned down, close to Tie Yin's ear, and said coldly, "Let me tell you the truth, the Ming Dynasty has sent troops to arrest all of you who have defrauded and imprisoned the people of the Ming Dynasty as slaves."

"The Ming army has firearms and cannons, and its might is like that of the heavens, unstoppable."

"Tens of thousands of Siamese troops and hundreds of war elephants were defeated in one battle by the Ming army."

"The governor said that our army is definitely no match for the Ming Dynasty's Heavenly Army."

"Therefore, we must never oppose the Ming Dynasty."

"Then I'll have to make do with you all. I'll have to hand you all over to quell this storm."

Upon hearing this, Tie Yin's pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes instantly showed an expression of extreme fear and even despair, as if he were completely shrouded in darkness and could not see a glimmer of hope.

The foreman standing nearby was also struck dumb, his face filled with fear and helplessness, his body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

They knew all too well how many evils they had committed on the land of Bago, and how much innocent blood their hands were stained with.

The wronged souls who had been tortured to death seemed to be wandering before their eyes.

If they were truly captured and sent back to the Ming Dynasty, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they would inevitably suffer the tragic fate of being cut into a thousand pieces and executed by slow slicing, with every inch of their skin subjected to the most cruel punishment!
A punishment ten thousand times worse than death.

Previously, they had vaguely heard that the Ming Dynasty was going to send troops, but since there was no definite news, they just regarded it as rumors on the street and did not take it to heart.

Furthermore, Bago is separated from the Ming Dynasty by thousands of mountains and rivers, and the journey is very long.

Tie Yin and the others simply couldn't believe that the Ming Dynasty would go to such lengths, sending a large army on a long expedition to Pegu for the sake of just a few ordinary people.

When Tie Yin was defrauding the people of the Ming Dynasty, he was very selective.

He had his own "plan" in mind.

He avoids those with connections, powerful backgrounds, relatives or friends who hold high-ranking positions in the imperial court, or even those who are only slightly related to royalty, and would never deceive them.

This is also an unspoken consensus among all mine owners.

Even if they are tricked into coming here, they will be treated like royalty, with good food and drink, and then sent back to their home country with courtesy.

They all knew that to trick people into becoming mine slaves in Bago, they could only target the poorest people.

These people are powerless and insignificant, like ants, and the incident did not occur within the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

They were certain that the Ming Dynasty would never mobilize a large army for such a trivial matter, nor would they stand up for these insignificant ants.

In their view, it was in line with the court's consistent style of doing things and let the people accept their fate by ignoring such matters, which was also the usual practice of all dynasties.

War is a matter of great importance to the state.

How can we send troops here so casually?

If the court were to engage in diplomatic negotiations, it would be considered that the court had a very "conscience".

However, given the substantial profits that their mining operations would bring to the warlord, the warlord would not easily succumb to "diplomatic interference."

They will definitely find a way to shirk responsibility.

This was something the warlord leaders had once solemnly promised them.

But who could have imagined that the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty would act so unpredictably?

They actually launched a distant expedition just for a few ordinary people.

This was completely unexpected.

Tie Yin closed his eyes in pain.

Immediately, as if remembering something, he took advantage of the moment when the native general removed his foot from his face and said repeatedly, "My lord, I have a way!" His voice trembled and was full of pleading: "The Ming Dynasty doesn't know who did these things."

"Why doesn't the governor just grab a few slaves to impersonate them and report back to the Ming court?"

"Why ruin our friendship and cut off your own source of income for this? It's not worth it!"

"If only the Governor would be merciful and spare my life, I am willing to give away all my wealth and use all my assets to pay tribute to the Governor. Please tell the Governor to consider our past relationship and show leniency!"

At this moment, in order to save his life, Tie Yin had completely panicked and couldn't care about anything else.

He knew in his heart that money could be earned back, but if he lost his life, then everything would be over, and there would be no hope of redemption.

"It's no use." The native general shook his head slightly.

"The Ming Dynasty has already taken action, arresting your relatives within the Ming territory, carefully questioning your relatives and friends, and thoroughly investigating every crime you have committed."

“Those case files filled dozens of boxes; the evidence was overwhelming.”

"How could we possibly find someone to impersonate him now? Wouldn't that be treating the Ming Dynasty like fools?"

“If we anger them, the Heavenly Army will arrive, and we'll be finished. So, we still have to hand you over.”

"You should stop struggling in vain."

The native general knew very well that if there were any other options, the governor wouldn't have gone to such extremes.

After all, these mine owners are the Governor's "money bag".

In the past year or two, because of their mining operations here, the governor has made countless riches, which has enabled the governor's army to expand and be equipped with better weapons.

If the Ming army hadn't arrived, how could the governor have made the drastic decision to arrest all the mine owners and release all the slaves he had tricked from the Ming Dynasty?

Isn't it because there's really no other way?
In the current situation, survival is the most important thing!
He was too lazy to waste any more words on Tie Yin, so he waved his hand and ordered the soldiers, "Take them both away and keep a close watch on them. Make sure they don't cause any trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, the native general suddenly realized that the gazes of his personal guards were fixed on the girl on the bed, as if drawn by a magnet.

The girl was completely naked, though she was curled up in a ball, tightly covering her most sensitive areas with her hands and feet.

But her beautiful face, supple skin, and curvaceous figure, combined with her pitiful and helpless expression and the tears that had just fallen and hadn't yet dried, were releasing an extreme attraction.

This made the Pegu soldiers, who were not good people to begin with, eager to rush forward and invade.

The guards' eyes gleamed, burning with an uncontrollable lust.

His expression was full of greed and indulgence, like a hungry wolf staring at its prey.

One after another, Adam's apples bobbed, and they swallowed repeatedly.

"General, this woman is absolutely stunning. Why don't you enjoy her first?"

One of the guards, with a fawning expression, made no mention of himself but instead eagerly offered the girl as a "gift" to the general.

As soldiers under warlords, they were usually tyrannical and committed numerous acts of rape and plunder.

In their view, this kind of thing is just commonplace.

They knew in their hearts that once the general had his fun first, it would naturally be their turn as his personal guards.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp "slap" rang out, and the native general delivered a heavy slap to his face.

The slap was extremely powerful, causing the guard to stagger and his face to swell up instantly on one side.

The native general glared angrily and shouted, "She is a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming army is coming soon!"

"Do you think those Ming Dynasty troops are pushovers?"

The native general paused, his breathing rapid.

He was clearly furious at the stupidity and audacity of this personal guard.

"Do you know that those generals and soldiers in Ayutthaya who have killed slaves of the Ming Dynasty or raped women, regardless of their status or position, even if they are princes or nobles, will be executed immediately if they are found out now?"

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty said that those who offend the Ming Dynasty, no matter how far away they are, will be punished."

"Anyone who dares to kill a citizen of the Ming Dynasty at will must pay with ten or a hundred lives."

"The people of the Ming Dynasty are no better than those of our Bogu."

"They valued chastity extremely highly."

"In the Ming Dynasty, rape was a serious crime, just like murder, and was punishable by death."

"You're still thinking about harming her? Once the news gets out, do you think you'll even survive?"

"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

After venting his anger, the native general quickly composed himself and turned to face the girl who was still lying on the bed.

At this moment, the girl was so frightened that she was like a startled fawn, completely bewildered and at a loss.

Although the native general in front of her had captured the mine owner and the foreman with his soldiers, she could not trust him just because of that.

Especially in this situation, she hasn't even put on her clothes yet.

The native general smiled gently and spoke softly, "Girl, the demon who tormented you has been captured by us."

"The Ming Dynasty has sent troops to rescue you and bring you back to your country."

“Girl, there’s no need to be afraid. You are safe and free.”

"Now you can put on your clothes and go."

After saying that, he waved his hand and led the soldiers out of the room in single file.

His movements were clean and efficient, putting no pressure on the girl.

The girl lay frozen on the bed, her eyes vacant, unable to recover from the fear and shock she had just experienced for a long time.

After a long while, she slowly and mechanically picked up her clothes and put them on.

Every movement seemed so slow, as if carrying endless pain and exhaustion.

Then, somewhat numbly, I walked out of the room.

Outside, the former miners were cheering and jumping for joy.

"The imperial court has sent an army to rescue us! We are free!"

People shouted loudly, their voices filled with barely suppressed excitement and joy, tears welling in their eyes.

Their faces beamed with the relief of surviving a disaster, and their eyes were filled with hope for the future.

"Your Majesty still remembers us common people! This humble subject thanks Your Majesty!"

Some people were so excited that their legs went weak and they knelt down, devoutly worshipping in the direction of the Ming Dynasty.

Soon, others followed suit, kneeling down one after another, their shouts echoing all around.

"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty!"

"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty!"

"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty!"

……

"I'm free! I'm no longer a slave!"

Staring blankly at the scene before her, the girl murmured, her lips trembling slightly.

Suddenly, the horrible scene from just moments ago resurfaced in her pupils.

His obese body pressed heavily on her like a mountain, making it hard for her to breathe.

The man writhed like a maggot, each movement filling her with utter disgust and humiliation.

Suddenly, the girl burst into tears.

……

(End of this chapter)