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

Chapter 250 Subjugation, Promise

Two days passed by in a flash.

Xue Zhi, together with Qin Yiyan and Song Senxue, forcefully took control of all the troops in the four important towns and quickly disbanded and reorganized them.

Things shouldn't have gone this smoothly.

It wasn't until Zhu Jinzhen and his men learned that the troops stationed in the four important towns, although responsible for guarding the borders of the Ming Dynasty and protecting the peace of the country, were often unable to receive their full pay every month and their food was not very good.

It was common for soldiers to drink their blood and embezzle their pay.

Zhu Jinzhen directly ordered Yan Yimei to lead the secret guards to cooperate with Xue Zhi and Qin Yiyan in a massacre, and instructed the secret guards to relay the truth about their treatment to the soldiers of the Cangyun and Tiance armies.

With meat served three times a day and a salary equal to that of a soldier of the same rank in the four armies for a year, the morale of the soldiers on the four sides collapsed.

Zhu Jinzhen also took the opportunity to announce that after he quelled the rebellion, all Ming soldiers would be treated equally, with increased salaries and pay. He would also order the secret guards to monitor the entire country, but any further cases of drinking soldiers' blood or embezzling soldiers' pay would be severely punished without exception.

Adhering to the policy of "punishing some, killing some, and winning over some".

With a combination of kindness and severity, the troops on all sides, whose morale had already been shattered and whose mentality had been shattered by several rounds of attacks from Tian Ce and Cang Yun, easily accepted the fact that they had changed masters.

……

Just as Zhu Jinzhen was reorganizing his troops and pacifying the troops on all sides...

Mongol Yuan Dynasty, Dadu.

Temur looked at the urgent report in his hand and angrily slammed the table: "What do you mean 'no news, suspected to be all killed in battle'? Where is the Imperial Advisor? Where is the Imperial Uncle? Where are the Heavenly Sword and the Jade Disc?"

The wolf guards' secret report seemed utterly absurd to him.

No one can be seen in life, no corpse in death.

Zhao Min, Phagpa, Meng Chixing, and others vanished from the Jingnian Zen Temple?

He even brought the Heavenly Sword and the He Shi Bi jade with him?
"Your Majesty, after the battle of Jingnian Temple, the place was in ruins. Emperor Yang Guang of Sui sent 200,000 troops to besiege Luoyang. They dug up the ruins of Jingnian Temple and searched them repeatedly, but they did not find the Princess, the Imperial Preceptor, or... the whereabouts of the Heavenly Sword and the Jade Disc."

"There are rumors..."

"They may have all perished together because of the Princess's activation of the Heavenly Sword."

Upon hearing this, Tie Mu became even more furious: "Useless! Incompetent! Nothing? How could there be nothing? So many terrestrial immortals, even if they all perished together, it's impossible that they wouldn't have left any trace. But the Heavenly Sword that controls life and death, and the He Shi Bi jade, could they have vanished into thin air as well?"

"Keep looking!"

"At all costs, find the Heavenly Sword, the Jade Disc of He, and the whereabouts of the Imperial Advisor and the others."

"Yes!" The wolf guard bowed and accepted the order, then quickly left.

The Tantric master, Hamidun, clasped his hands together, his face filled with sorrow: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This earth-shattering upheaval in the Sui Dynasty was something no one could have foreseen."

"But in my opinion, this may not be the worst outcome."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Temur, who was filled with anger, looked over in surprise: "Why do you say this, Master? Is there any way to change this matter?"

"Hehe, I'd like to know too."

A faint voice rang out, and under Hamilton's horrified gaze, Timur turned his head with difficulty and found that two people were standing behind him at some point: a middle-aged man with a full head of silver hair and an ethereal temperament, and a young man with a refined and handsome appearance, like a banished immortal.

The fact that two people could overcome so many obstacles in the capital's imperial palace, and that even the Tantric master Hamilton seemed unaware of their presence, demonstrates the terrifying strength of the newcomers.

At this point, Temur's heart was churning like a raging sea, but his face remained calm: "May I ask where you two come from and what brings you here?"

"Alright, stop pretending." Li Changsheng glanced at Temur and immediately saw his nervousness and guilt. He casually waved his sleeve and laughed, "We came for the Heavenly Sword and want to witness its divine power."

Temur hesitated before speaking, "These...you two, Heavenly Sword..."

“We come from the Jingnian Zen Temple of the Great Sui Dynasty, and we know you don’t know the whereabouts of the Heavenly Sword.” Mo Yi’s voice was indifferent, as if he had no desires or wants, and contained no emotion whatsoever. “Don’t speak yet.” Li Changsheng glanced at Temur, who immediately seemed to lose his ability to speak, opening his mouth but unable to utter a sound.

What were you about to say?

This question was directed at the Tantric master, Hamidun.

"Amitabha!" Hamilton trembled under the gazes of Li Changsheng and Mo Yi, a terrifying thought arising in his mind: "These two before me are probably both celestial beings?"

Thinking of this, Hamilton dared not hide it and quickly said his guess: "When the prefectural governor broke through Jiayuguan with the Heavenly Sword, he was blocked by the experts under the command of the Prince Su's mansion. He used the power of the Heavenly Sword to break through the sky for thousands of miles and took Pang Ban and others from the Ming Dynasty to Luoyang of the Sui Dynasty in an instant."

"Therefore, this old monk speculates that the destruction caused by the Heavenly Sword outside Jingnian Temple did not leave any trace of any terrestrial immortals. Perhaps they did not perish together and vanish into thin air."

"Or rather, after the princess activated the Heavenly Sword, everyone was taken somewhere by the Heavenly Sword?"

"Otherwise, even if the princess and the imperial advisor are no longer here, the Heavenly Sword and the Jade Disc should still have survived."

This speculation is reasonable.

Even Li Changsheng and Mo Yi thought it made sense.

On that day, they traveled in spirit to Jingnian Temple, their divine sense penetrating thousands of feet into the sky. They searched the area around Jingnian Temple from top to bottom very carefully, but found no trace of any surviving terrestrial immortals, Zhao Min, the He Shi Bi jade, or the Heavenly Sword.

They noticed something strange at that time and guessed that Zhao Min was definitely not dead.

It's just a cicada shedding its shell and escaping.

Hamilton has now further confirmed their conjecture.

“We will remain in Dadu for the time being.” Li Changsheng smiled and looked at Temur, who was speechless, and said, “The Mongol Emperor won’t be unwelcome, will he?”

Temur was furious inside, but his face remained impassive as he nodded resentfully.

He certainly wouldn't welcome it.

Faced with two powerful figures even more formidable than the Tantric master Hamilton, who could enter and leave the palace with impunity, Temur dared not say he would not welcome them. Otherwise, he could not predict what the consequences would be.

The idea that a knight-errant uses martial arts to break the law is not just a simple saying.

The use of force to supersede imperial power is not a one-off occurrence in the world of martial arts.

Mo Yi remained silent, looked at Temur, and said, "I am not interested in the First Emperor's Mausoleum. I only need the power of the Heavenly Sword to revive one person for me. If you help me fulfill my long-cherished wish, I will consider it a favor I owe you."

The world, the First Emperor's Mausoleum, hundreds of thousands of Qin terracotta warriors, etc.

It wasn't very tempting to Mo Yi.

He only wanted to borrow the Heavenly Sword.

Li Changsheng shrugged. Mo Yixin was obsessed with something, and as his cultivation deepened and his realm became higher, his obsession grew stronger. If he was not careful, he might fall into demonic possession because of his obsession.

If that knot can be untied, Mo Yi's sky will be even brighter.

Even if someone cultivates to the pinnacle of the mortal realm, reaching the peak of the Celestial Being realm, ascending to heaven in one step would not be surprising to Li Changsheng.

Because he is Mo Yi, a peerless prodigy who reached the threshold of the Celestial Realm in his early twenties.

"what?"

Li Changsheng suddenly exclaimed in surprise, and with a flick of his sleeve, he vanished from everyone's sight.

Mo Yi seemed to have noticed something as well and followed closely behind.

(End of this chapter)