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

Chapter 274 A Shocking Achievement, Unyielding Thief
Everyone present knew just how powerful the Vajra Realm was.

The body is tempered like refined iron through countless hammerings. An arrow shot into an ordinary person's body can barely leave a white mark. Cutting with a knife and axe is nothing to him. He can easily tear apart tigers and leopards. His strength exceeds that of thousands, and he can run like the wind.

However, even the Vajra Realm is not invincible.

On the battlefield, whether it's special arrows like armor-piercing arrows, qi-piercing arrows, and flame arrows designed specifically for Vajra Realm cultivators and those with protective qi, or the combined power of military formations, all have the ability to tear through the defenses of Vajra Realm cultivators.

The Ming Dynasty's cannons, or other firearms, also possess the ability to threaten the Vajra Realm.

Otherwise, there would be no need for ordinary people in wars; the outcome and result of the war could be determined by all the experts at the Vajra Realm and above fighting each other.

Zhu Houzhao was naturally aware of everyone's thoughts. He turned back to his desk and took out several confidential intelligence reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard:

"Xu Changhai, the Loyal and Martial General of Tian Ce Prefecture, after entering Sichuan, assisted Li Chongwu, the commander of the Left and Right Guards of Ganzhou, in conquering the entire Sichuan region. He was invincible and, after fighting in Yunnan, captured thirty cities in one day."

"Through countless battles, not a single member of his Tian Ce army has been lost."

"Li Chengen, the Grand Commander of the Tian Ce Prefecture, encountered a fierce counterattack from the local Xuanwei Division after entering the Duogan Commandery. He was attacked by the Huawai Chanwang Sect and seventeen Bhutanese masters comparable to Zhixuan attacked his camp. He forcefully suppressed all the disobedient forces with thunderous force. He fought seventeen battles in one day, conquered 1,300 li in a row, and destroyed all forces without suffering any losses."

"Cangyun Commander Changsun Wangqing led tens of thousands of Cangyun Iron Cavalry to break through Ningwu Pass, and drove straight into Taiyuan. He divided his troops into several routes and easily captured Henan Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Zhengding Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture, and Tianjin Wei in two days without suffering any casualties."

"Qin Yiyan, deputy commander of Tian Ce Prefecture, led a portion of Tian Ce and Shaanxi Guards, together with Song Senxue of Cangyun Army, and Xue Zhi, deputy commander of Cangyun Army, to attack Yinchuan. In one battle, they suppressed all the troops from Ningxia Guard, Shanxi, Datong, Xuanfu, and Yansui."

"This battle..."

When Zhu Houzhao read this, his voice trembled slightly: "The troops of the five border regions of Shanxi, Datong, Xuanfu, Yansui, and Ningxia have all been suppressed. Under the command of Prince Su's mansion, Ningzhou Guard suffered 27 dead, more than 1,000 lightly wounded, and 95 seriously wounded; Liangzhou Guard suffered 51 dead, more than 2,000 lightly wounded, and more than 200 seriously wounded; and Suzhou Guard suffered 800 lightly wounded and 91 seriously wounded."

"None of the Tian Ce soldiers died in battle. None of the Cang Yun army died in battle."

Upon receiving this battle report, the entire Qianqing Palace fell into a deathly silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Shanxi, Datong, Xuanfu, Yansui, Ningxia.

The five major border towns among the nine border regions of the Ming Dynasty each had between 80,000 and 100,000 troops stationed there year-round. The troops stationed in Yinchuan numbered nearly 500,000.

According to the battle report in Zhu Houzhao's hands, how many troops did the Prince Su's side mobilize?
The combined strength of Tian Ce and Cang Yun is less than 80,000.

The victory against overwhelming odds was within the expectations of Cangyun and Tiance, given their strength. However, the fact that 80,000 troops faced an army of 500,000 without any casualties was nothing short of astonishing.

"I remember that Shanxi mobilized 90,000 troops this time, Yansui 90,000, Datong and Xuanfu 100,000 and 110,000 respectively, and Ningxia 130,000, for a total force of 520,000."

"Even Emperor Taizong's five expeditions to the northern deserts were far inferior to this scale of war."

"How could Tian Ce and Cang Yun be completely unharmed?" Yang Yanhe felt a chilling coldness rise from his bones and penetrate straight to his head, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave and tremble uncontrollably.

Among the nine key border towns, Ningxia Town is the main battlefield. Although its troop strength is only 130,000, it can be replenished and expanded at any time.

Under such circumstances, Yang Yanhe and others could somewhat understand why they were routed and slaughtered.

After all, Prince Su, Zhu Jinzhen, was truly extraordinary. Throughout history, there has never been anyone who directly trained an entire army into a force entirely composed of Vajra Realm warriors.

However, the 500,000-strong army did not kill a single soldier of the Tian Ce or Cang Yun factions.

This looks eerily strange and terrifying.

"Do you understand now?"

Zhu Houzhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave a mocking sneer: "In Prince Su's eyes, there is no emperor, only the Ming Dynasty and the world. Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao is dead, and even if he were to rise from the dead in the future, it would only be the work of some treacherous minister who is trying to use my name to commit treason."

"He doesn't care at all."

Everyone in the Qianqing Palace fell silent. Only Yunluo still didn't understand why her brother, the Emperor, would say that the Zhengde Emperor would die, but it had nothing to do with Zhu Shou. Could it be that he had faked his death?
Upon hearing Yunluo's question, none of the people present, except for the Empress Dowager, reacted.

After all, they were people who had personally witnessed Zhu Houzhao die suddenly twice and then rise from the dead twice.

I understand very well what Zhu Houzhao meant by those words.

Zhu Houzhao, seeing Yunluo's concern, smiled and replied, "This matter concerns the succession of imperial power; it is not a trivial matter. I am destined to die, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be in the next few days."

When Zhu Houzhao said this, it was as if he hadn't died, giving off an eerie feeling of indifference.

Seeing that Yunluo was about to press for more information, Zhu Houzhao quickly revealed that Zhu Jinzhen had the ability to bring the dead back to life, ensuring that he, the emperor, would be completely dead and then alive and kicking the next day.

"Resurrection from the dead?"

Yunluo's eyes widened in disbelief: "Royal brother, this... is this a lie?"

"It's true!"

Zhu Houzhao solemnly raised two fingers and said, "Because on the day my uncle and his accomplices forced me to abdicate, I died...twice!"

Yunluo looked at Zhu Wushi and the others in shock, and the latter nodded helplessly.

They admitted that Zhu Houzhao was not lying.

"So, the Heavenly Sword that's been causing such a stir outside the palace lately, no, throughout the world, is real? That Prince Su really does have the ability to bring the dead back to life?" Yunluo murmured softly, her eyes filled with unconcealed shock.

……

Meanwhile, in Yan'an Prefecture.

With the cooperation of the secret guards, Cangyun, and the accompanying Shaanxi guards and the five border troops that had been dispersed and reorganized.

The gold and silver confiscated from Yan'an Prefecture, as well as the gold and silver from the shops and fields that had been resold, began to be quickly recovered and converted into boxes of gold and silver.

Tens of millions of taels of gold and silver filled room after room.

To prevent any thugs or desperate criminals from sneaking in, the troops surrounding Jin Yin's location were surrounded in layers, with secret guards also on duty.

Even so, in less than two days, many petty thieves and self-proclaimed master thieves remained in the area, with several, or even dozens, of corpses being carried out every day.

"These stupid thieves, don't they even know where they are?"

"Tens of millions of taels of silver—who wouldn't be tempted by such news?"

"Yes, money is a powerful motivator, a very simple and easy-to-understand truth. Just taking one percent, or even one-thousandth, is enough to make them rich and live a carefree life. Those desperate criminals are naturally unwilling to miss out on this opportunity."

"We'll have to see what kind of place this is. What's the difference between stealing silver from us and robbing the national treasury?"

"The difference? It's probably that... some people are taking a chance, thinking they can get away with it, right?"

The secret guards were notorious, and with the added intimidation of the Prince Su's mansion, no one with a sound mind would dare to take the risk. However, most of those who fled into the martial world were wanted by the government and were not afraid of the authorities.

In addition, some people used them as pawns, and others fueled the flames.

That's why we have the current chaotic and mixed situation.

(End of this chapter)