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

Chapter 235 Prince Ning's Grand gesture
"A small leak will sink a great ship."

"Prince Su is at the height of his power, so let's avoid his sharp edge for now."

"Once Your Highness obtains the Heavenly Sword, the world will be turned upside down in an instant."

“If Prince Su can train hundreds of thousands of Vajra Realm soldiers, with your wisdom and methods, Your Highness may well be able to train hundreds of thousands of Finger Profound Realm soldiers, and even take over the hundreds of thousands of Qin terracotta warriors in the First Emperor’s Mausoleum who are at the Land Immortal Realm.”

"At that time, not only the Ming Dynasty, but the entire world will be within your grasp, Your Highness!"

He analyzed Chuan Chang with great clarity and insight, and even gave a small compliment to Prince Ning, who had almost lost his temper earlier, making the latter burst into laughter. It seemed that he had already begun to imagine the scene of leading hundreds of thousands of land-based immortal armies, sweeping across the world, and unifying the world.

Only the Deadly Scholar couldn't help but frown.

The analysis of the intestinal tract is very reasonable, and it reflects the thinking that a strategist should have.

However, the Deadly Scholar always felt that what Chuan Chang seemed to be saying was like the empty promises that the prince often made to him.

But at this critical juncture, the deadly scholar could only choose to remain silent.

Even he had to admit it.

If Prince Ning wants to be qualified to contend for the throne, the only way he can do is to seize the Heavenly Sword, open the First Emperor's Mausoleum, or steal the power of the Heavenly Star within the First Emperor's Mausoleum like Zhu Jinzhen, and then develop quietly.

otherwise……

With the Jiangnan aristocratic families and a few local garrisons that the Ning Prince's Mansion has won over, how can they possibly fight against the Tian Ce Army or the Cang Yun Iron Cavalry, which are composed of people at the Vajra Realm level?

What's the difference between that and a group of ants trying to fight a group of tigers?
"Okay, you're very good, Chuan Chang."

Prince Ning patted Dui Chuanchang on the shoulder with satisfaction and laughed loudly: "I will reward you handsomely. I will give you five hundred taels of gold, a mansion, ten beautiful servants, and thirty volumes of books from the great Confucian scholar's collection."

"In addition, I will give you two more places for the first-year students and one place for the second-year students."

"hiss!"

Dui Chuanchang gasped, his squinty eyes widening as he stared at Prince Ning in astonishment. While the previous rewards were certainly tempting, Dui Chuanchang himself came from a humble background and had some family wealth. Apart from the thirty volumes of books and scriptures treasured by the great Confucian scholar, which were quite valuable, he wasn't really that surprised by the rest.

There are quotas for students who can become students in the imperial examinations and those who can become scholars in the county-level examinations.

That would be truly awe-inspiring.

Scholars across the land are as numerous as carp crossing a river, but only one or two out of ten, or even fewer, can pass the preliminary examination for the title of Tongsheng. Moreover, seven or eight out of ten of them are Tongsheng who passed the provincial examination, and even fewer pass the prefectural examination.

Needless to say, scholars.

One out of a hundred students might not even produce one scholar who becomes a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations).

This shows how precious it is.

Most importantly, the Ming Dynasty also had preferential treatment for scholars. For example, scholars who passed the county-level imperial examinations were exempt from taxes and corvée labor. They would usually gather a group of local gentry around them and attach themselves to some land and property. They could also enter the highest official academies of prefectures, states, and counties to study.

As for the other privileges enjoyed by scholars, they are numerous and will not be listed one by one.

In short, apart from not holding an official position, a scholar who passed the imperial examination was in some ways similar to some low-ranking officials of the eighth or ninth rank who had no real power.

Despite being the top scholar in seven provinces, Dui Chuanchang couldn't cheat in the imperial examinations; at most, he could only provide targeted instruction beforehand.

"What, you don't want it?" Prince Ning asked, seeing Dui Chuanchang staring blankly.

"No no no."

Chuan Chang shook his head vigorously, so excited he was almost incoherent: "Your Highness is so generous, how could I refuse? Thank you for your reward, Your Highness. I would go through fire and water for you without hesitation."

Two places for the first-year student and one place for the second-year scholar.

Its importance was almost comparable to that of a local county magistrate.

After all, a county magistrate may remain a county magistrate for life, but a student who studies diligently and receives guidance and support may even have a chance to enter the Hanlin Academy in the future.

It's truly priceless.

Prince Ning laughed heartily and said earnestly, "The reward is yours, so accept it without worry."

"I have a problem now, and I need your help to come up with a solution."

"Your Highness, please give your orders. I will study diligently and find a solution for you," Du Chuanchang replied excitedly. Now, even if Prince Ning asked him to give advice, or even if he were to throw a tantrum on the spot, Du Chuanchang would do it. Two places for the preliminary scholar exam and one for the county-level scholar exam.

This would be enough to allow his family to produce several more scholars with official titles.

He was determined to find a way to solve the problem, no matter how troublesome the Prince of Ning's troubles were.

Prince Ning patted Dui Chuanchang's shoulders heavily with both hands, who was slightly distracted, and said in a pleading tone, "Help me think of a way to obtain the Heavenly Sword."

Dui Chuanchang: "Huh?"

No, he was just shouting slogans. Why did Prince Ning take it seriously?

As the top scholar in seven provinces, Duan Chang's intelligence naturally far surpasses that of ordinary people. Therefore, he is even more aware of how difficult it is to obtain the Heavenly Sword. To put it bluntly, it would be much easier for him to assist Prince Ning in usurping the throne than to obtain the Heavenly Sword.

But the words had already been spoken, and the reward had already been received.

It's too late to back out now.

All they could do was rack their brains to devise a plan for Prince Ning.

……

Prince Ning's intention was to seize the Heavenly Sword.

Yinchuan, Ningxia.

The armies of the four important border towns had been frequently mobilized before, and were transferred to Yinchuan by the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commissions, preparing to seize the opportunity to take over Shaanxi and remove the Prince Su's Mansion from the Ming Dynasty.

As a result, Zhu Jinzhen saw through this and dispatched Qin Yiyan and Song Senxue, along with two elite armies, Tian Ce and Cang Yun.

The former engaged in direct combat and battles with troops on all four sides several times, winning decisive victories each time.

They held them back tightly, preventing them from returning to their posts or leaving Yinchuan.

Song Senxue's Cangyun Army, after Zhu Jinzhen's proclamation to quell the rebellion was issued, decisively circled around and cut off all their retreat routes. The commanders of the four important border towns, of course, could not sit idly by and wait for their doom.

But no matter how they tried, they couldn't break through.

until……

Zhu Jinzhen settled in Yan'an Prefecture.

Xue Zhi led the main force of Cangyun to arrive and completely suppressed the troops from the four border towns who still wanted to put up a stubborn resistance.

Yan'an Prefecture, government office.

A secret guard is reporting: "Your Highness, Deputy Commander Xue has just sent back the latest battle report. The troops in Shanxi, Datong, Xuanfu, and Yansui have all been suppressed. During this period, Ji Ming, the general of Xuanfu, attempted to rebel and was beheaded and his head displayed to the public. All seventy-eight of his personal guards were also killed."

"Furthermore, the commander of Ningxia Guard also wishes to meet with Your Highness."

"not see."

Zhu Jinzhen replied without looking up.

"What were the damages from the suppression of Yinchuan?"

"Your Highness, the Ningzhou Guard suffered 27 dead, over 1,000 lightly wounded, and 95 seriously wounded; the Liangzhou Guard suffered 51 dead, over 2,000 lightly wounded, and over 200 seriously wounded; and the Suzhou Guard suffered 800 lightly wounded and 91 seriously wounded." The secret guard truthfully reported the contents of the battle report sent back from the front.

There was no mention of the battle losses suffered by Cangyun and Tiance.

It wasn't because Cangyun and Tiance were invincible and suffered no damage whatsoever.

On the contrary, both Tian Ce and Cang Yun suffered losses in this battle. Although no one died, there were quite a few wounded, but neither Xue Zhi nor Qin Yiyan had the face to report it.

Zhu Jinzhen could naturally guess what was going on, so he glanced at the secret guard in front of him, who immediately understood: "Your Highness, Tian Ce had forty-seven men. They charged into the enemy lines with light cavalry, but they charged too fast and broke through the camp, causing a fire. They were all covered in soot. More than thirty of them were cut down by experts from all sides on the battlefield, but none of them were seriously injured."

"Cangyun Army..."

The secret guard glanced hesitantly at Yan Yimei, the deputy commander of the Cangyun Women's Guard, who sat dignifiedly beside Zhu Jinzhen, wondering whether he should continue reading. After all, that matter was far from honorable!

(End of this chapter)