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

Chapter 233 Things Have Changed, Is This Just a Tale of Unofficial History or a Final Fate?
Xu Changhai had no intention of going on a killing spree.

The fact that he could take Chengdu Prefecture without bloodshed and that all the officials of the three Sichuan provincial offices submitted to him was the best news for him and the entire Tian Ce Prefecture.

After all, his real battlefield was not within the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the discussions with Wu Li, the Provincial Governor of Sichuan, quickly yielded results.

Xu Changhai spread his five fingers wide, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Five hours."

"I can grant you five hours. During these five hours, I will only rest outside the city. Once the five hours are up, I will immediately lead my troops into Chengdu."

"At that time, regardless of whether other prefectures have been captured by my comrades, I will not delay any longer."

Five hours.

That was the final deadline Xu Changhai could give.

He had not forgotten the time issue that Zhu Jinzhen had reminded him of when he was deploying strategies at the Tian Ce Mansion.

Sichuan was just the first step for Tian Ce Prefecture.

In fact, if it weren't for Yang Qingyi's request to make their Tian Ce Mansion the vanguard, Sichuan would have been the battlefield for the Xi'an Five Guards of the Twelve Guards of Shaanxi led by Yang Qingyi, as well as the Ganzhou Left and Right Guards led by Li Chongwu.

Giving Wu Li, as well as everyone else from the Sichuan Provincial Military Command, five hours was already the longest Xu Changhai could tolerate.

Wu Li was also unusually decisive. He could tell that Xu Changhai wouldn't give him any more room to bargain, so he quickly nodded and said, "Okay, five hours it is."

"For the next five hours, I will trouble General Xu to set up camp outside the city. Once the five hours are up, I will join all the officials of the three Sichuan departments to open the city gates, submit to His Highness Prince Su, and allow Tian Ce to take up his post."

"But... I hope General Xu will not..."

"stop!"

Xu Changhai knew what Wu Li was about to say, and quickly interrupted him: "His Highness has strictly ordered that all soldiers of the Tian Ce Army must not disturb the peace and tranquility of the people, burn, kill, or plunder during the Jingnan Rebellion. Those who disobey the order will be punished according to military law, and no favoritism will be tolerated."

"His Highness Prince Su is kind and benevolent to the people and strict in governing the army. I admire him greatly."

Wu Li bowed slightly and clasped his hands in the direction of Shaanxi, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

To say that Wu Li loved the people like his own children would be an understatement.

However, as the Provincial Governor of Sichuan, he needed to consider not only the life and death of the people, but also all the interests involved in the lives of the people of Sichuan, including public opinion and the series of consequences caused by the turmoil caused by Tian Ce.

If Tian Ce were to engage in arson, murder, and looting, the very task of restoring the livelihood of the people would be enough to give Wu Li, the provincial governor, a major headache.

Not to mention, appeasing the various powerful families and the intricate web of influence behind them.

Some of them were people that even Wu Li, the provincial governor, had to smile at.

Therefore, a smooth transition of power in the Ming Dynasty was what Wu Li, and at least 90% of the Ming officials and common people, hoped to see.

As Zhu Jianqiu watched Wu Li's departing figure, he asked Xu Changhai jokingly, "Commander Xu, didn't you say before you set off that every second counted in this campaign in the Southwest? How could you agree to give them five hours?"

"Surprised?" Xu Changhai glanced at him and laughed heartily: "Although the soldiers all have invincible bodies, they are still human after all. We have fought and won battle after battle in one day, sweeping across most of the Northwest and breaking through several prefectural cities in Sichuan. Even without any casualties, we have been traveling hundreds of miles without stopping. I believe that many soldiers are already exhausted, both physically and mentally."

"This is a good opportunity to take a good rest."

"Why not do it?"

Zhu Jianqiu remained expressionless, clearly having anticipated Xu Changhai's decision.

He gazed at the blood-red setting sun on the horizon, as if he could see smoke and fire everywhere else, and couldn't help but murmur, "I wonder if things are going well for Your Highness and the other commanders in Cangyun."

"Hahaha, strategist, you're just worrying unnecessarily." Xu Changhai laughed heartily. "It would be understandable if others were to worry, but you and I know the situation in Tian Ce perfectly well. Since we are invincible and unbeatable here, the other brothers and their commanders will naturally not face any setbacks."

"Do you really think there's any place in the Ming Dynasty that can withstand the might of my Tian Ce army?" "Or do you think the Cangyun Iron Cavalry can't easily crush a prefecture or a city?"

The 300,000 Tian Ce soldiers all possessed indestructible physiques and were all clad in armor. Coupled with the overwhelming killing intent on the battlefield, even a mere hundred households or a few squads of soldiers could easily suppress and kill those so-called Grandmasters of Celestial Phenomena and Masters of the Profound Mystery Sect who roamed the martial world as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs.

And how many astronomical grandmasters in the Ming Dynasty were so fearless of death?

Moreover, among the armies that were conquering the Ming Dynasty and announcing the change of dynasty, at the very least, they were equipped with two terrestrial immortals and several grandmasters of celestial phenomena.

Even if there were one or two grandmasters of celestial phenomena or terrestrial immortals hiding in some remote corner of the Ming Dynasty, they still wouldn't have the potential to turn the tide of any battle.

Xu Changhai really couldn't imagine what kind of situation other places would encounter to lead to the unfavorable situation that Zhu Jianqiu was worried about.
"Yes, it's definitely unfounded worry!"

Zhu Jianqiu chuckled self-deprecatingly, putting aside his worries, and began to ponder strategies for managing Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, as well as helping Xu Changhai reclaim Annam, Siam, and Burma.

……

The Jingnan Rebellion escalated rapidly in the Ming Dynasty.

Local governments and martial arts sects were all filled with unease.

There's no other reason than that the reputation of the Prince Su's Mansion is 'too good'. Whether it was the rampage through the martial world a few years ago, where they slaughtered countless people and uprooted the eight major bandit gangs of Qilian Mountain in less than a month, or the massacre of the Demonic Sect.

Or perhaps it was a swift and decisive action against the numerous branches of the Beggars' Sect within Shaanxi Province.

All of this made the various factions in the Ming Dynasty's martial arts world regard the Prince Su's mansion as a tiger or wolf, and extremely wary of it.

Local powerful families were even more insecure.

With Zhu Jinzhen's campaign to quell the rebellion, and the fact that the Secret Guard, under Zhu Jinzhen's instructions, acted as the vanguard to guide public opinion, the events that had occurred in Shaanxi over the years were thoroughly exposed.

In Shaanxi, many families with centuries-old traditions were wiped out, and countless powerful and wealthy gentry had their homes confiscated.

To put it simply, if we follow Zhu Jinzhen's standard for purging Shaanxi, then all the powerful and influential families in the Ming Dynasty, especially those in Jiangnan, would basically be on the list of those to be purged.

But the two people in Jiangnan are the most troublesome.

"Ah this..."

"I just wrote about Fang Xiaoru, which is considered slander and defamation against Emperor Taizong. That Prince Su also followed the path of Jingnan. If I were to put myself in that situation... I might end up writing my own fate in the unofficial history." Zhu Zhishan felt a little panicked when he thought of a certain scene. His fabricated unofficial history was circulating in Jiangnan. Before he could even react, Zhu Jinzhen launched the Jingnan Campaign.

Another Emperor Taizong?
The problem is that the "unofficial history" he wrote in a drunken stupor because of gambling debts, which was written to flatter the civil service group, was not just unofficial, it was history!

Zhu Zhishan knew very well whether Fang Xiaoru's entire family had been executed.

But whether Zhu Zhishan and his entire family would be executed was something he wasn't so sure about!

Zhu Zhishan paced back and forth, growing increasingly anxious. Finally, a brilliant idea struck him: "I've got it! Should I go find Brother Tang? It seems he's taken a job as a servant in the Hua family. I can go in and hide for a while too?"

"Good idea, let's go with this plan."

Zhu Zhishan acted immediately, packing his belongings overnight and heading towards Wuxi.

As for whether it will implicate Tang Bohu.

Will this implicate the Hua family, the local tyrants in Wuxi?

Zhu Zhishan didn't consider it at all. He only had one thought in mind: to lay low for a while, and wait until Prince Su succeeded in suppressing the rebellion and the world was at peace before coming out again, making some connections to make his "drunken ramblings" disappear like a fart.

He will be safe.

(End of this chapter)