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

Chapter 505 The Intentions of the Northern Liang, Zhu Jinzhen's Overbearing Nature

Meanwhile, at the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Jinzhen is meeting with several people.

"Xu Fengnian of Beiliang pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty."

"Xu Weixiong of Beiliang pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty."

"Xu Yanbing and Chen Zhibao pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty."

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded calmly, signaling them to rise, before looking at the memorial in his hand. After a moment, he spoke with a hint of surprise: "I did not expect that Xu Xiao, the Prince of Beiliang, would agree to bring the Beiliang Prince's Mansion to submit to the Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, this is also the result of my father's careful consideration."

"The lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty are getting better and better, and the military strength of the Ming Dynasty is also increasing day by day. It is inevitable that there will be a war with the world. As a non-royal royal family of Liyang, the Beiliang Royal Family has always been suspected. The Emperor of Liyang has always wanted to get rid of our Beiliang Royal Family, which is a thorn in his side."

"To prevent the people of Beiliang from being implicated and affected by the war."

"After weighing the pros and cons and thinking it over again and again, my father finally chose the Ming Dynasty."

Xu Fengnian bowed in reply.

His words were naturally a mixture of truth and falsehood.

The fact that the Northern Liang Royal Palace was willing to bring Northern Liang under the control of the Ming Dynasty was indeed the result of Xu Xiao's careful consideration. It was not because of anything else, but simply because what Xu Fengnian and Xu Weixiong mentioned in their letter had severely provoked Xu Xiao.

As the King of Beiliang, who was also known as the Butcher of Men after the destruction of the old kingdom of Liyang, Xu Xiao, who had fought all his life, naturally knew just how terrifying the Ming Dynasty was, with its army of 100,000 Finger Profound Realm warriors, hundreds of thousands of Vajra Realm warriors, and the ability to raise an army of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of third-grade martial artists at any time.

Not to mention that Xu Fengnian also mentioned in the letter that the Ming Dynasty had thousands of terrestrial immortals and at least dozens of terrestrial celestial beings.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty has already shown a strong tendency toward war.

If Xu Xiao did not want Northern Liang to become a ruin under the iron heel of the Ming Dynasty, just like the countries he had conquered in the past, he would only have two paths to take: submission or fighting to the death.

But... Xu Fengnian completely blocked Xu Xiao's options.

In his letter, he explicitly stated Zhu Jinzhen's mastery of the Heavenly Sword's power and his resurrection of Chang Yuchun and others. He insisted on staying in the Ming Dynasty and said that if Xu Xiao resisted, he wouldn't hesitate to rebel against the Heavenly Gang and expel Xu Xiao from his family. At worst, he would raise his arms and surrender to the Ming Dynasty as the heir of the Northern Liang King.

Once the war is over, they will try to use their military achievements or other means to ask Zhu Jinzhen to revive their old father, Yunyun.

What followed was naturally a lighthearted conversation, yet it also contained a degree of truth.

In addition, Li Yang's suspicion of Bei Liang grew stronger, and he also had a blood feud with Xu Xiao for killing his wife. Furthermore, Xu Fengnian and Xu Weixiong repeatedly persuaded him, and there were also the benefits mentioned in the letter.

Ultimately, Xu Xiao gave Xu Fengnian the full authority to make the decision, directly expressing his full support for his choice in the letter.

This led to the scene where Xu Fengnian sought an audience with Zhu Jinzhen.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinzhen gave Xu Fengnian a deep look, and a smile gradually appeared on his face: "A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and a wise man knows when to yield."

"Since the Northern Liang royal family is willing to bring Northern Liang to submit, I have no reason to refuse."

Tell me your requirements.

"If it's not excessive, I can agree to this."

Xu Xiao, the King of Beiliang, represents half of Liyang's territory. Zhu Jinzhen is not naive enough to think that he and the Beiliang Royal Palace would surrender without any conditions.

"hey-hey."

Xu Fengnian grinned sheepishly, scratched his head, but his eyes gleamed with shrewdness. He glanced subconsciously at Xu Weixiong beside him, as if to say, "Second Sister, did you see that? I told you so!" "Your Majesty, my father's request is very simple."

"After the Northern Liang submits, I hope Your Majesty will treat the people of Northern Liang equally."

“That is only right.” Zhu Jinzhen nodded, without the slightest surprise: “Since they have submitted to the Ming Dynasty, they are my subjects. As long as they do not harbor any delusions or cause trouble, I will naturally treat them all equally.”

Xu Fengnian then made several more demands, still focusing on the issues of the people and army of Beiliang.

"After the Northern Liang surrenders, apart from the eight hundred personal guards of the Northern Liang Royal Palace, my father is willing to hand over all military power. My father has no objection to how His Majesty the Emperor deals with the Northern Liang army. But please do not carry out any killings without cause. If there is any rebellious intention, then His Majesty the Emperor can deal with it as he sees fit."

"Oh?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked slightly surprised and gave Xu Fengnian, Xu Weixiong, and the others a deep look.

He hadn't expected that Xu Xiao would be willing to train the entire army.
It should be noted that the Northern Liang army, including their Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, was all trained by Xu Xiao. There is even a saying in the Northern Liang army that they only know Xu Xiao and not Emperor Li Yang.

This demonstrates the prestige of Xu Xiao, the King of Northern Liang, within the Northern Liang army.

In fact, Xu Fengnian, Xu Weixiong, Xu Yanbing and others who said these words were also on tenterhooks. They were actually gambling that Zhu Jinzhen would treat the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion well because of Xu Xiao's sincerity.

Zhu Jinzhen narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is Xu Xiao really willing to accept this?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Fengnian sighed deeply and replied with a fist and palm salute, "Your Majesty, my father is naturally unwilling, but he also knows that if he does not do this, it will be difficult to protect the lives of the soldiers of Beiliang in the future."

"After all... the military might of the Great Ming Dynasty's Ce and Cangyun forces is truly unparalleled."

Having witnessed the power of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Fengnian knew very well that stubborn resistance would only lead to death for Beiliang.

What good is it if Northern Liang manages to muster a million-strong army at all costs?
How many land-based celestial beings could it withstand on the battlefield? How many rounds of attacks from Tian Ce and Cang Yun could it stop?
The Northern Liang army consisted of brothers who had followed Xu Xiao through thick and thin for most of their lives, some of whom were descendants of his brothers with whom he had fought bloody battles and shared life and death.

Knowing full well that the result of confronting the Ming Dynasty would be that every household in the Northern Liang would be draped in white mourning clothes.

Under the premise that nothing can be changed at all.

Xu Xiao was naturally unwilling to risk their lives to defend the empire that did not belong to the Xu family for the Zhao family of the Li Yang royal family.

"Ha, you do see things clearly."

Zhu Jinzhen chuckled and gave Xu Fengnian an appreciative look.

The Northern Liang royal family was suspected by the Li Yang royal family because the Li Yang royal family felt a terrible threat and knew that as long as Northern Liang was not eliminated, the tripartite balance of power between Li Yang, Northern Liang and Northern Mang would be broken sooner or later.

At that time, the Liyang royal family will probably be the first to suffer.

Zhu Jinzhen had no such concerns. To put it bluntly, he could destroy Beiliang with the flick of his finger. The Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Beiliang army posed almost no threat to him.

If it weren't for the fact that once war broke out, the Ming soldiers and the Northern Liang army would inevitably fight each other on the battlefield, and casualties would be inevitable, Zhu Jinzhen of the Northern Liang army wouldn't even be needed.

Therefore, Zhu Jinzhen's tone and attitude became domineering: "I have no intention of causing more bloodshed. I still maintain that if Beiliang is willing to sincerely submit, as long as they do not have any intention to rebel or violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, I will treat them equally and as always, and I can guarantee that I will not carry out any killings without cause."

"But let me make this clear from the start: the Ming Dynasty only needs my voice from top to bottom. If I hear anything negative about Xu Xiao or the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion, don't blame me for not warning you."

These words served as both a reminder and a warning.

Zhu Jinzhen warned Xu Fengnian and the others that if there were any fools in the Northern Liang army who were unwilling to accept their appointments, he would not hesitate to remove them, or even eliminate them completely.

His Ming Dynasty only needed one voice, and that was his, Zhu Jinzhen's.

(End of this chapter)