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

Chapter 476 The Secret That the Mirror Cannot Reveal

Zhu Jinzhen paid no attention to the external disturbances.

Since he emerged from seclusion, he has been dealing with a multitude of matters, all of which require his personal attention. These include not only state affairs but also numerous matters reported by the secret guards that require his decision, as well as the follow-up issues of the Rat Talisman.

Let alone the fact that it was merely a second young lady from the Northern Liang royal family.

There's also the story of Chang Yuchun and others being resurrected.

Even if all the nations joined forces to invade, Zhu Jinzhen would still...

"Did the Sui, Liao, and Song dynasties all send reinforcements to support the Mongol Yuan dynasty?"

When Zhu Jinzhen heard this news, his expression was extremely strange.

Changsun Wangqing, standing to the side, also covered his mouth and chuckled: "The reason why the Mongol Yuan dynasty was not defeated was at Zhao Min's request, but in the eyes of the world, it was Chahantemur who planned and strategized to keep Xueyang's Youlong Cavalry outside Dadu."

“Even occasionally gaining the upper hand.”

"Since Yang Guang and Zhao Ji have come up with the strategy of forming an alliance to fight against the strong with the weak, they naturally cannot just stand by and watch Xueyang and the others break through Dadu, otherwise they will lose a great help."

Zhu Jinzhen was well aware of this principle.

The problem is that the Mongol Yuan dynasty had knocked on the gates of the Song dynasty several times, even storming the imperial court of the Northern Song and nearly annihilating the entire Northern Song royal family and taking control of the Northern Song.

Needless to say, the Southern Song Dynasty bordered the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in some areas, and there were constant battles on the border.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Kuo was still able to put aside his prejudices, persuade the Southern Song court officials to suppress the opposition from the people within the Southern Song territory, and send reinforcements to support the Mongol Yuan.

Zhu Jinzhen was naturally aware that this was because the surrounding countries felt an unprecedented crisis and had no choice but to put aside their hatred and join forces.

only……

Did Zhao Kuo, Yang Guang, and others not know that the Mongol Yuan dynasty was already in their grasp?

On the surface, the emperor of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was Chaghantemur, formerly known as the Prince of Ruyang. However, the one who actually controlled the Mongol Yuan court was Zhao Min, and behind Zhao Min was Zhu Jinzhen.

Should we join forces with the Mongol Yuan dynasty and discuss a strategic alliance?

What's the difference between this and directly discussing with Zhu Jinzhen how to deal with him?
What were their conditions?

"Your Majesty, the conditions offered by the Sui Dynasty are that as long as it can withstand the advance of the Ming Dynasty's army or launch a counterattack against the Ming Dynasty, all of the Ming Dynasty's land, people, and wealth will be at the mercy of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty will not want a single penny and is willing to give up some of its interests and share the clues to the First Emperor's mausoleum."

"Ha, Yang Guang is quite good at business."

Zhu Jinzhen couldn't help but sneer. Of all the conditions that Yang Guang promised to the Mongol Yuan, there wasn't a single actual benefit in sight.

Only by blocking the Ming army's advance and launching a counterattack against the Ming could the Mongol Yuan obtain everything they had after conquering the Ming. The question is, with the armies of those countries, how could they possibly breach the Ming's borders?
Wishful thinking, a fool's dream.

The only somewhat enticing clue is probably the one about the First Emperor's mausoleum.

"Does the Sui Dynasty have any clues about the First Emperor's tomb?" Zhu Jinzhen asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, according to the intelligence obtained by the secret guards, there are indeed rumors circulating. It is said that the clues were left by the Yuwen family of Northern Zhou. As for whether they are true or not, we cannot determine for the time being."

"Oh?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked surprised and asked Yan Yimei, "Even the Spirit Mirror can't find it?"

"Yes."

Yan Yimei looked troubled and slowly nodded: "The spirit mirror can reveal everything about the Sui Dynasty. Logically speaking, all secrets should be exposed. But at the crucial moment, we just can't find any clues about the First Emperor's mausoleum that Yang Guang or others in the Sui Dynasty have obtained."

"It's as if..."

"It was as if it were covered by an invisible hand."

An invisible hand?

Zhu Jinzhen raised his hand, and the spirit mirror in Yan Yimei's hand floated into the air, its light blazing brightly. Images flashed by rapidly, finally settling on the Taiji Palace of the Sui Dynasty, on Yang Guang, who was still indulging in pleasure. "Spirit mirror, show all the scenes in which Yang Guang learned the clues to the First Emperor's mausoleum."

"Om~!"

A golden light suddenly shone from the ancient stone mirror of the spirit mirror, casting a picture.

But the next moment, the scene became blurry, as if shrouded in a layer of mist, making it impossible to see anything clearly, a chaotic mess.

"interesting."

Zhu Jinzhen's lips curled up slightly, and he pointed out with his right hand. A wisp of the Ming Dynasty's national fortune landed on the spirit mirror, causing it to tremble incessantly. After a moment, a few wisps of purple mist flowed across the ancient stone mirror.

The blurry image that was projected earlier quickly became clear at this moment.

The scene depicts Yang Guang listening to Yuwen Huaji's report in the Taiji Palace.

The clue to the First Emperor's Mausoleum was provided by Yuwen Huaji. It came from an ancient book in the Yuwen family, which was accidentally obtained by Yuwen Hu during the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It contained only a few words about the First Emperor's Mausoleum.

And the story is told in a mysterious and fantastical way.

The Yuwen family initially dismissed it, thinking it was just some unofficial history fabricated by someone in their spare time. They simply included it in their family's collection of books and no one took it seriously until recently when they unearthed it.

"The First Emperor's Mausoleum is located at Mount Li. One must enter through the ancient land of Tongtian, cross the Yellow Springs, pass the River of Oblivion, and be guarded by divine generals to reach the Heavenly Palace."

"What kind of clue is this?"

The sound of Yang Guang's roar and Yuwen Huaji's helpless explanation can be heard in the video.

The scene revealed by the magic mirror did not end there.

But it is still ongoing.

Soon, a scene appeared where several celestial masters from the Imperial Observatory of the Sui Dynasty were praying together with a disheveled old Taoist priest and a young Taoist priest. Then, a chaotic scene appeared that the Mirror of Spirits had not been able to reflect before.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Jinzhen, Changsun Wangqing, and Yan Yimei all understood.

The scene that appears next explains why the magic mirror cannot reflect anything.

"Indeed, we cannot underestimate the extraordinary talents in the world. They can even deceive or cover up the secrets of heaven that happened during that period with the Spirit Mirror." Zhu Jinzhen shook his head with a smile and waved his hand to return the Spirit Mirror to Yan Yimei's hands.

The ability to probe with a concealed spirit mirror sounds extremely difficult, but it's actually quite easy.

It doesn't require highly skilled individuals; just a few Taoist priests from the Xuanmen sect who are proficient in illusion, celestial secrets, and feng shui can use the power of heaven and earth to disrupt celestial secrets and use a combination of feng shui and illusion to conceal what has happened.

You can't hide it from someone who's too capable, nor can you hide it from someone who's skilled at predicting celestial secrets, astrological phenomena, and the changes in the heavens.

It's still possible to deceive a divine object like the Spirit Mirror.

"Your Majesty, were they those two Taoist priests?"

Yan Yimei frowned and asked in a low voice.

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded and said, "Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng."

"The top-tier experts in Taoism on the Sui Dynasty were no less than Zhang Sanfeng."

In terms of cultivation level, neither of them was particularly strong. Whether it was Zhu Jinzhen, Changsun Wangqing, or Yan Yimei, they could all see that they were merely Daoist immortals on land. Li Chunfeng hadn't even reached the level of an immortal on land yet; he was merely a Daoist celestial being. However, their divination skills and research on feng shui and formations were indeed unparalleled in their time.

They were able to create a fog that even the Spirit Mirror couldn't see.

To a degree, it could even be described as obscuring the secrets of heaven.

(End of this chapter)