Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 187 They were all too eager to improve.
A million-strong army.

A full 300,000 iron cavalry, including 200,000 heavily armored iron cav

It was still an army composed entirely of martial artists, with the lowest level of soldiers having cultivated an indestructible physique.

Yunluo felt as if she were listening to a fairy tale. If the person who said these things was her brother, whom she spent every day with, she probably would have jumped up and slapped him across the face.

When Yunluo heard that there were more than twenty terrestrial immortals guarding the palace and the capital, and dozens of celestial grandmasters sealing off and controlling all sides of the capital, she was completely dumbfounded.

She wasn't just an ordinary wandering cultivator; of course, she knew what a Grandmaster of Celestial Phenomena and a Land Immortal meant.

The former can form an army by himself, while the latter can govern a country by himself.

These are not things that ordinary armies can handle.

Any Grandmaster of Astronomy would be a renowned figure in the Ming Dynasty, a legendary figure of his time. How could the Prince Su, who only existed in legends and in Zhu Houzhao's words, suddenly send dozens of them?

"Is there really no way at all?" Yunluo asked after thinking for a long time, still unwilling to give up.

"no!"

Zhu Houzhao slowly closed his eyes.

Everyone knows that the emperor should be the one with the strongest and most powerful army.

Military power was of paramount importance.

Upon arrival, Zhu Jinzhen immediately seized the military tally from Zhu Wushi and dispatched top-tier Tian Ce and Cang Yun forces to suppress the rebellion, clearly intending to completely crush all resistance.

We must prevent the situation where a centipede dies but does not fall down.

Zhu Houzhao naturally understood this, so after dying twice, he obediently accepted the appointment.

It wasn't that he was cowardly or lacked backbone, or that he didn't want to resist.

The enemy is simply being unreasonable!
Apart from the title of emperor, he had no troops, no power, and no support.

And what about Zhu Jinzhen?
The troops sent to guard the capital alone included Changsun Wangqing, Yang Ning, the top expert of Tian Ce Mansion, twenty Land Immortals, dozens of Celestial Grandmasters, and thousands of Finger Profound Realm Grandmasters.

Upon arrival, he immediately took control of all military power inside and outside the capital, including the Imperial Guards and the Twelve Battalions.

Zhu Houzhao asked himself, in this situation, not to mention himself, even if Emperor Taizu Gao and Emperor Taizong Wen were to be resurrected, or Emperors Renzong and Xuanzong were to rise from their corpses in the imperial tombs, it would not change the outcome in the slightest.

……

On the other side, at the Prince Su's residence.

After dealing with all the affairs in the capital, he sent Changsun Wangqing to oversee all matters in the capital.

Zhu Jinzhen then directly summoned all the high-ranking officials of the three Shaanxi provincial departments to the Prince Su's residence for a meeting.

Upon receiving Zhu Jinzhen's summons, Provincial Governor Xu Yu, Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Ma You, Military Commander Yang Qingyi, and Lanzhou Prefect Shen Bing, among others, rushed to the Prince Su's residence immediately.

They met outside the Prince Su's residence and then came together to pay their respects.

"Your Highness, we pay our respects. May Your Highness live a thousand years!"

The group greeted each other in unison.

Zhu Jinzhen offered a helping hand, lifting everyone up from a distance: "No need for formalities, please sit."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Several people expressed their gratitude and took their seats. Yang Qingyi, the Commander-in-Chief of Shaanxi, along with the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner and the Provincial Administration Commissioner, sat upright.

They had all guessed why Zhu Jinzhen had summoned them.

They had not yet received any news from the capital.

However, the changes throughout Shaanxi were all under their watchful eyes, especially since Zhu Jinzhen had previously issued a decree to all sides that he would raise an army to quell the rebellion in ten days. Counting the days, three or four days had already passed.

Now, the only reason to summon them here is for this matter.

To everyone's surprise, Zhu Jinzhen's opening remarks were earth-shattering news.

"News has come from the capital that Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Marquis, has conspired with the cabinet to usurp the throne. He has placed the emperor under house arrest on the grounds that the emperor is a treacherous imposter, intending to depose him. He has also secretly brought Zhu Qinyou, the heir of the Prince of Nanping, into the palace, intending to switch places and deceive the emperor."

Everyone was shocked and looked on with questions.

They intended to support a false emperor to usurp the throne.

But this alone is already a huge matter, enough to shake the very foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Highness, is the news true?" Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Ma You asked hurriedly.

"It's true."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded. He had just returned from the capital. That performance was indeed spectacular and breathtaking, except for the fact that it was a bit too lowbrow.

"Your Highness, the founding emperor once established an ancestral precept that if there are treacherous officials causing trouble in the court, the princes of various regions may lead their troops into the capital to defend the emperor and eliminate the traitors, so as to ensure that the Ming Dynasty will last for thousands of generations."

"With chaos in the capital and the emperor on his deathbed, it is the perfect time to rectify the court and stabilize the nation."

As Lanzhou Prefect Shen Bing spoke, he suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee: "Your Highness, I implore you to consider the interests of the millions of people of our Great Ming Dynasty, and to follow the example of Emperor Taizong, to issue a proclamation to the world, to quell the rebellion in accordance with Heaven's will, so as to ensure that the Great Ming Dynasty will not fall into the hands of treacherous officials."

Upon hearing this, the main hall of the Prince's Mansion instantly fell into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Commander Yang Qingyi looked at Shen Bing, his eyes reddening, not with emotion, but with anger. He cursed inwardly: Damn it, Shen Bing, you really know how to seize every opportunity!
This is something I, Lao Yang, should have handled!
The next moment, Yang Qingyi also got up and knelt down on one knee, following Zhu Jinzhen's example, and persuaded him to raise an army to quell the rebellion.

If we were to say who was the most distressed, it would undoubtedly be Provincial Governor Xu Yu, since Lanzhou Prefect Shen Bing was his subordinate, yet the remonstrance against the mutiny was not initiated by him, the Provincial Governor.

He looked back and saw no trace of Shen Bing's past affection; he felt an urge to devour her alive.

"That bastard, he's gone crazy trying to get ahead!!"

Xu Yu gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly. He was furious and frustrated. His Highness had just mentioned that Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi was conspiring with the cabinet to usurp the throne!

As someone who survived Zhu Jinzhen's purge and was able to sit comfortably in the position of Shaanxi Provincial Governor, Xu Yu could go home and farm if he couldn't understand Zhu Jinzhen's underlying message.

The cabinet was involved in the rebellion, and His Highness must be purged of them after the pacification of the country.

What to do with the vacant cabinet positions?
Weren't they chosen from among these veteran officials and those who followed the emperor?
If Shen Bing doesn't speak first, and instead the Provincial Governor does, he might not be able to become the Grand Secretary, but he'll definitely be a Grand Secretary.

And now? A golden opportunity has been missed!
Xu Yu wished she could slap herself to death.

"Damn it, Shen Bing, I really underestimated you." Xu Yu glared at Shen Bing again, then quickly stood up, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your Highness, there are treacherous officials in the court who are trying to seize the country. This matter shakes the foundation of the nation. If we are not careful, it will lead to the annihilation of our Great Ming Dynasty. Your subordinate Xu Yu dares to beg Your Highness to raise an army to defend the king!"

Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Ma You immediately understood and quickly knelt down on one knee, pleading with Zhu Jinzhen to raise an army to quell the national crisis for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the safety of the emperor, in accordance with the ancestral instructions of Emperor Taizu Gao.

Li Chengen, the Grand Commander of the Tian Ce Mansion, also bowed and knelt on one knee: "At this critical moment for the Ming Dynasty, I, Li Chengen, am willing to lead the Tian Ce Mansion to clear away all obstacles for Your Highness."

Xue Zhi, the deputy commander of the Cangyun Army, also knelt down on one knee. "This humble general, Xue Zhi, is also willing to be the vanguard for Your Highness, leading the Cangyun Iron Cavalry to crush all the disloyal subjects."

(End of this chapter)