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

Chapter 239 His heart can be punished
Soon, Yan Yimei led the two of them to Zhu Jinzhen.

"A commoner named Tong Boda."

"Secret Guard, Bai Zhantang."

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Zhu Jinzhen smiled and nodded, "No need for formalities, rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Tong Boda wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and lowered his head in fear and trepidation.

This was his first time meeting Zhu Jinzhen. He didn't even dare to raise his head, but he felt an immense pressure on him, making this chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of the Longmen镖局 (escort agency) who had dominated the business for half his life feel panicked from the bottom of his heart.

Zhu Jinzhen's gaze fell on Bai Zhantang, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face: "The Thunderclap Yang Finger has reached the Seven Yang Realm. His Qi Sea is wide open, and he has obtained the vast Qi of heaven and earth. It seems that at the earliest, within a year, and at the latest within ten years, I will have another terrestrial immortal under my command."

Bai Zhantang was recruited by the Secret Guard in its early stages of development.

Bai Yutang, the renowned thief of the Ming Dynasty, was indeed quite talented.

"Hehe." Bai Zhantang chuckled and scratched his head, replying gratefully, "It's all thanks to Your Highness's guidance. Otherwise, I might still be living a muddled life in Qixia Town, fearing for my life every day. How could I be where I am today?"

Bai Zhantang was pleased with Zhu Jinzhen's praise, but he did not become arrogant.

Without Zhu Jinzhen's strong support, without the continuous merits of the secret guards' special missions, and without Zhu Jinzhen's personal compilation and creation of the "Thunderclap Yang Finger," a martial art that directly targets terrestrial immortals, it would have been impossible.

Even if Bai Zhantang were given another twenty or thirty years, he would have no chance of breaking through to the level of a terrestrial immortal.

Even if he hadn't joined the Secret Guard, Bai Zhantang himself wasn't sure if he would have been able to reach the Celestial Phenomenon Realm in his lifetime.

"You did well this time." Zhu Jinzhen glanced at Tong Boda, who had his head bowed, and then gave Bai Zhantang another approving look: "Tell me, what was mentioned in the letter, is it true or false?"

"This humble subject...this lowly man..." Tong Boda stammered for a long time, but could not form a complete sentence. He could only look to Bai Zhantang for help.

The latter had no choice but to step forward and bow, saying, "Your Highness, this matter began half a month ago... Several uninvited guests arrived at the Longmen Escort Agency. Their identities were mysterious, but they were extremely generous, promising ten thousand taels of silver for each escort."

"But I, your father-in-law, feel that something is amiss."

"Although the journey from Longmen Escort Agency to Shaanxi was long, it wasn't worth the price. So, out of caution, we tested the waters a few times before discovering that the 'escort' we needed to transport was actually the two children of Yang Yuxuan, a wanted criminal of the imperial court."

"Moreover, those responsible for escorting them were, on the surface, a Grandmaster of the Finger Profound Realm, several experts of the Vajra Realm, and more than twenty martial artists of the Upper Third Rank."

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded, signaling him to continue.

Seeing Tong Boda winking at him, Bai Zhantang had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue, "My father-in-law was worried about something going wrong and was anxious all the way to Nan'an. He happened to run into me on my way back from my mission in Lanzhou and invited me to come along temporarily."

"Your Highness is also aware of my past before I joined the Secret Guard."

"So my father-in-law asked me to test him out."

As Bai Zhantang said this, a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face. He had sworn that he would never be a thief again except for secret guard missions, but in the end he couldn't resist his father-in-law Tong Boda's repeated requests and agreed to help.

Then, upon investigation, a shocking secret was uncovered.

On the surface, there was one Grandmaster of the Finger Profound Realm, but in reality, there were four other Grandmasters of the Finger Profound Realm, with a Celestial Phenomenon Realm expert secretly following them. Their target, besides Yang Yuxuan's children, seemed to be someone else who planned to send something out of the Ming Dynasty, and that something was hidden in the bundles of Yang Yuxuan's children.

Normally, after Bai Zhantang and Tong Boda uncovered the secret, they wouldn't have taken any further action. After all, it was just a delivery mission.

For Longmen Escort Agency, the important thing is to deliver the goods, regardless of their contents.

Unfortunately, on the very night they learned the truth, a tremendous explosion occurred at Jiayuguan, and the matter of the Heavenly Sword began to unfold. Soon after, news of the Heavenly Sword and the First Emperor's Mausoleum spread like wildfire throughout the Ming Dynasty and even to surrounding countries.

This directly caused Bai Zhantang, who was eager to return home, to have to delay his journey and stay to continue following them. He followed them for several days before he finally figured out the purpose of the escorting group.

"Yang Yuxuan's children were indeed used to frame Your Highness for protecting a criminal wanted by the court. Furthermore, there was a blood letter 'personally written' by Yang Yuxuan to prove that Your Highness had treasonous intentions. What a vicious conspiracy!" Yan Yi's eyes were full of coldness. Those people in the court were indeed vicious.

If it weren't for the fact that His Highness had secretly accumulated enough power...

If Yang Yuxuan's children were to appear in Shaanxi and be "exposed," coupled with that letter written in blood, various forces in the Ming Dynasty would surely seize the opportunity to launch an attack and completely overthrow the Prince Su's Mansion.

It’s really heartbreaking!
“This must be the backup plan prepared by the mastermind behind the rumors in the capital at that time.” Zhu Jinzhen glanced at the blood-written letter that Bai Zhantang had sent over. Every word on it revealed the collusion between Yang Yuxuan, the Minister of War, and Zhu Jinzhen, the Prince of Su, as well as accusations that Yang Yuxuan had helped the Prince of Su’s mansion to transport military equipment and armor without authorization.

Every single point pointed directly to Zhu Jinzhen, the Prince of Su, implying that he harbored rebellious intentions and even mentioned that the Mongol Yuan dynasty had been implicated in their private dealings.

They really did stop at nothing.

Even Zhu Jinzhen couldn't help but laugh.

Yan Yimei was so angry that her eyebrows stood on end, wishing she could immediately draw her sword and chop down all those who dared to frame Zhu Jinzhen and the Prince Su's mansion. But when she saw Zhu Jinzhen's smile, she was somewhat bewildered: "Your Highness, aren't you angry?"

"Are you angry?"

"Just a little bit."

Zhu Jinzhen smiled and shook his head, casually tossing the blood-written letter to Yan Yimei, saying, "Why bother getting angry with those rats in the gutter? Find them, skin them alive, exterminate their entire clan, and your anger will naturally dissipate."

Why hold a grudge against a dead person?
Zhu Jinzhen felt it was unnecessary.

"This subordinate understands." Yan Yimei's eyes were cold and sharp, filled with murderous intent, and he nodded fiercely. There was indeed no need to get angry. The real way to vent one's anger was to find the mastermind behind it all and then kill them one by one according to the list.

Seeing that Yan Yimei understood, Zhu Jinzhen glanced at the blood-written letter with his smile undiminished: "A Minister of War who has been sentenced to immediate execution can still be used like a piece of trash. It seems that the mastermind behind this hates the Prince Su's mansion to the bone."

Although he wasn't angry, Zhu Jinzhen couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.

What's that saying again? It's not scary when someone falsely accuses you of plotting a rebellion; what's scary is not having the thought or the ability to do so.

That's not a false accusation, but the truth.

For example, isn't what Zhu Jinzhen is doing at this moment the same as the framing in the blood letter?

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, the Secret Guard will definitely catch all those stinking rats who only dare to hide in the gutter and gossip, skin them alive, tear them apart, and execute them by a thousand cuts." Yan Yimei narrowed her eyes, her voice filled with cold killing intent, and the temperature of the surrounding air dropped sharply with her voice, and frost instantly formed on the ground.

That was caused by her excessively intense killing intent.

Although it wasn't directed at Bai Zhantang and Tong Boda.

However, the killing intent emanating from the celestial beings on the land was so overwhelming that even though Yan Yimei immediately restrained herself upon realizing the situation, the two of them still felt an unprecedented sense of death and terrifying pressure, like innocent children encountering the gaping maw of a magnificent tiger in the wild. Their legs went weak and they knelt down.

(End of this chapter)