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

Chapter 499 The Officials' Disdain, the Future Focus of the Ming Dynasty

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

After a brief court meeting, Zhu Jinzhen returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where he discussed with Duke Zhang Mao of Yingguo, the ministers of the Six Ministries, and other officials the upcoming military expedition to the Ming Dynasty's Flourishing World.

Upon hearing this news for the first time, some officials looked at each other in disbelief.

"What did His Majesty just say? That he wants the Duke of England to lead troops to conquer other worlds?"

"Is there another world beyond this world?"

"Did Your Majesty also mention the Ming Dynasty in other worlds?"

"Hiss! The fourteenth year of the Zhengtong era, isn't that not far from that battle?"

"The intelligence from the secret guards clearly outlines that world, the grassland tribe called the Oirat, which is indeed already stirring."

"That can't be right. I remember Empress Seongkhao died in the seventh year of the Zhengtong era, right?"

"According to Your Majesty, the world is different, and its mysteries are too difficult to fathom. Even a slight influence can lead the world to a different future. Perhaps that is why Empress Chengxiaozhao of that world is still alive?"

"No wonder His Majesty said that although the events that happened in that world were similar to those in our world during the Zhengtong era, they were worlds apart in the details. Not only were there no martial arts masters, but Empress Chengxiaozhao was still alive. How could she have agreed to let Emperor Yingzong personally lead the expedition? How could the Tumu Crisis have happened?"

How then did Empress Xiaogongzhang come to power and rule?

The officials were quite puzzled and discussed the matter extensively.

They are not concerned about, nor are they able to be concerned about, the historical issues of the Ming Dynasty world, because they know very little about them.

However, the history of the Ming Dynasty, the world of martial arts, and the splendor of the Ming Dynasty are quite different.

Especially Empress Zhang, the Empress Dowager who reigned through six reigns and was known as the most legitimate Empress Dowager, was still alive. The civil and military officials racked their brains but could not understand how Empress Dowager Sun, who was criticized by the court and the people as a demon empress, was able to seize power and participate in politics.
If Empress Dowager Zhang of that world was still alive, how could she have allowed Emperor Yingzong to act recklessly and personally lead the expedition, leading to the great defeat at Tumu Fortress?

Various mysteries and doubts troubled their minds.

At this moment, Yang Qingyi's question reached everyone's ears: "That's not right. If we follow the normal course of history, that world has no martial arts power. Our Great Ming Dynasty mobilized 500,000 troops to face the so-called Oirat's mere 20,000 to 30,000 steppe soldiers. Even if we didn't have the advantage of favorable weather, terrain, or popular support, we couldn't possibly lose, right?"

Keep in mind, that was an army of 500,000.

Even if 500,000 pigs launched several attacks, they could still overwhelm an army of 20,000 to 30,000.

If Tumu Fortress had developed normally in that world, would it have suffered a major defeat?

These words indeed made the officials of the Ming Dynasty in the Hall of Mental Cultivation nod as if they had just woken up from a dream.

"That's right. The Tumu Crisis was caused by the Mongol Yuan dynasty taking advantage of the fact that Emperor Xuanzong had passed away, Emperor Yingzong was young, there were vacancies on the Ming border, and there were traitors in the court. That's how the Mongol Yuan seized the opportunity."

"Moreover, I remember that battle very clearly. It was the Mongol Yuan Grand Master Phagpa and the other land immortals, such as Meng Chixing and Si Hanfei, who cleared the way and forcibly blocked the pass. If they hadn't been held back by Zheng Gong and Zhang Sanfeng, the Mongol Yuan army would have surely marched straight in, and the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"But that world has neither martial arts nor Phagpa and his people. How dare the Oirat Mongols, who gathered a few tribes, with only 20,000 or 30,000 troops, offend our Great Ming? Aren't they just courting death?"

"It's impossible that an army of 500,000 couldn't defeat an army of 20,000 or 30,000 Oirat soldiers, is it?"

The civil and military officials discussed it extensively, all feeling that it was unlikely.

Although the Tumu Crisis caused the Ming Dynasty's national strength to plummet, turning it from prosperity to decline, and the three major battalions of the Ming army were completely wiped out, more than half of the civil and military officials in the court were also lost at Tumu.

It wasn't that the Ming Dynasty was weaker than the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, nor that its military strength was inferior. Rather, it was because the Mongol Yuan Dynasty lacked martial virtue and secretly colluded with Yelü Wudi of the Liao Dynasty, as well as Dugu Qiubai, a descendant of the Xianbei, and many other powerful figures who suddenly launched an attack. Caught off guard, the Ming Dynasty fought to the death to protect itself, resulting in such heavy casualties.

Once the Ming Dynasty recovered, during the Chenghua era, it swept through the country, leaving the grasslands stained with blood for miles.

Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai was chased for 1,600 miles by Sword God Xie Xiaofeng. Zhang Sanfeng personally went to the Potala Palace to block the gate, and other land immortals of the Ming Dynasty also came to visit.

Even on the grasslands, some terrestrial immortals perished at the hands of Ming Dynasty masters.

To avenge the Ming Dynasty's defeat at Tumu Fortress.

However, since there is no high-end military intervention in the world of Ming Dynasty.

The officials in the court simply couldn't imagine how the Tumu Crisis would have been carried out in that world. Surely the Ming Dynasty's 500,000-strong army couldn't have been defeated by the small force of the Oirat tribe, which was far inferior to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty?
The civil and military officials were disdainful, surprised, disbelieving, and scoffed.

There are all sorts of mindsets.

But they soon discovered that their emperor, Zhu Jinzhen, did not have a smile on his face, and their hearts skipped a beat.

At the same time, an utterly absurd idea popped into everyone's mind.

Surely Emperor Yingzong of that world couldn't be more useless than the Emperor Yingzong of this world, who personally led his army into battle, blindly commanded his troops, caused repeated defeats in the war against the Mongols, and even used his Finger-Pointing cultivation to try to fight a Grandmaster of Celestial Phenomena of the Mongols on the battlefield, nearly getting killed, causing chaos in the army, and having his experts besieged and killed in the process of fighting for Zhu Qizhen, and even being nearly defeated by the Mongols, right?

"The situation in that world is not complicated, in a way."

"With the military strength of our Great Ming Dynasty, we can easily sweep them away."

"Before the disastrous defeat at Tumu Fortress, the British Guild led the armies of our Great Ming to pacify all and annihilate foreign enemies such as the Oirats." Zhu Jinzhen's voice rang out in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, revealing neither joy nor anger: "As for what you were just discussing..."

"Although the outcome may not be pleasant to hear, the wheels of history keep turning. If we don't intervene, the Battle of Tumu Fortress will still have resulted in a major defeat in that world."

Upon hearing this, the officials of the Ming Dynasty were filled with mixed feelings of joy and anger.

Zhu Jinzhen continued, "The Ministry of War and the Five Military Commissions can prepare the dispatch in three to five days."

"Leaving you here is also to inform you in advance."

"The Ming Dynasty will continue its policy of allowing the people to rest and recuperate, but the court's focus will shift towards war."

"It's not just aimed at neighboring countries, but also at other parts of the world."

"This other Ming world, which has gone through fourteen years of the Zhengtong era and is about to face the Battle of Tumu Fortress, is just an appetizer. In the future, we may also experience other Ming worlds during the reigns of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, or even Emperor Taizu Gaozong."

"You are all veteran officials of the court. I don't need to teach you how to face them, do I?"

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, an eerie silence fell as Zhu Jinzhen's voice faded.

The civil and military officials looked at each other, trying their best to digest the information in Zhu Jinzhen's words.

What does it mean that the Ming Dynasty would experience the reigns of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, and even Emperor Taizu? Does it mean that the Buddhist concept of the Three Thousand Great Worlds and the Taoist concept of the Three Realms and Ten Directions are real?

Is there another world beyond this world?

How could these people possibly have the privilege of conversing with and fighting alongside the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, or even their ancestors and forefathers? Or even being suppressed by those who rebelled against the Heavenly Gang?

(End of this chapter)