Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 3 Thirteenth Brother: The Chivalrous King
"This is my local Hainan specialty, oysters. When Mr. Dongpo lived in Danzhou, he tried grilled oysters and praised their flavor. He said, 'I'm afraid that gentlemen from the north will hear about it and ask to be exiled to Hainan to share this delicacy with me.'"

"Mmm! It's really delicious!"

"This is a coconut..."

"Ha! Xiao Wang knows, 'Walnuts and ginkgo can be used to make tea, and coconuts and grapes can be made into wine.' In the first chapter of Journey to the West, there was coconut juice and grape syrup in the Heavenly Palace. The gods in the Heavenly Palace all drank coconut wine!"

"This is pickled bamboo shoots, and this is scallops..."

The Prince of Annan was so welcoming, Haiyue didn't turn him away. After introducing the local delicacies and showing some hospitality, she began to inquire about the real situation in Annan. "Not long ago, I heard from an Annan merchant that your country has a wise ruler in power, virtuous ministers assisting it, and the people are prosperous and healthy. The country is full of vitality, and everything is flourishing."

Li Weining paused in his eating after asking this question: "This...ah?"

Hai Yue didn't wait for the atmosphere to become tense before continuing, "However, another Annan merchant claimed that your country has traitors and rebels, causing unrest throughout the country! I've never been to Annan, so I don't dare to rely on hearsay. I wonder which of them is telling the truth?"

Li Weining said slowly, "How I wish the former's words were true. Unfortunately, as the latter's words suggest, a traitor is indeed rebellious in Annan! This beast is called Mo Dengyong. He once fought for my king in many battles, achieving great military exploits and commanding a large army. But now, I didn't expect him to turn against me and bring chaos to the government..."

As this person told the story, Haiyue's vague memories of ancient Vietnam in later generations suddenly became clear.

During the Yongle period, the Ming Dynasty conquered Annan, set up the Jiaozhi Sansi, and sent officials to govern it. However, the strategy was too hasty, and local rebellions broke out one after another. The Ming army suppressed them year by year, suffered increasing losses, and was dragged into the quagmire of war.

When Zhu Zhanji succeeded to the throne, considering that "the area has been in turmoil for several years and the royal army has been repeatedly dispatched", he thought the gains would not outweigh the losses, so he withdrew the province and troops. Annan, led by the rebel leader Le Loi, became independent again and established the Later Le Dynasty.

The fall and restoration of Annan can be considered a blessing in disguise. Relying on the deterrent power it gained in the Southeast Asian countries after forcing the Ming Dynasty to retreat and the experience of long-term combat with the Ming army, it continued to expand in other directions of the Indochina Peninsula.

During its most prosperous period, its influence reached Malacca in the south and radiated to Ryukyu in the east. Whether it was its old enemy Champa or Siam and Chenla in the west, they all felt tremendous pressure. For a time, it had the majesty of a regional overlord.

But even the dynasties in the Central Plains could not withstand the turmoil of militarism, let alone this small country.

Behind the military mobilization was the continuous accumulation of internal contradictions. Finally, three years ago, in 1527 AD, the powerful minister Mac Dengyong became fully fledged and proclaimed himself King of Anxing. He first forced Emperor Gong Li Chun to abdicate, and then quickly killed him, completing the usurpation of the throne. Thus, the Mac Dynasty's rule in northern Annan, which lasted for more than years, began.

The reason why it was only in the north was that there were many people in the country who opposed Mo Dengyong, and the Li family, a descendant of the King of Annan, quickly re-established the dynasty. The Mo family and the Li family each occupied half of the country, and the north and the south were in opposition.

This is the Northern and Southern Dynasties period in Vietnamese history.

The current civil unrest is only the beginning of the division between the North and the South. Li Weining naturally cannot predict the future. In his description, the traitor Mo Dengyong killed his master and committed atrocities, which aroused the anger of both humans and gods. Rebel armies are rising up everywhere in Annan to restore order and uphold the orthodoxy of the Li family.

At this point, he also stated the purpose of his trip: "Right now, war is raging in Annan, and the people are suffering. I am deeply saddened, but I am powerless to do anything. Now that I have come to your country, I hope to enter the Holy Capital as soon as possible and meet the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

Hai Yue nodded: "May the world be peaceful and the people suffer less from the suffering of war!"

These words were spoken sincerely, and falling here, it was like hoping for the end of the Annan civil war. Li Weining immediately smiled and said with a bow: "Yes! Yes!"

"Can you still laugh?"

Haiyue felt that when he described the domestic unrest, there was not much sadness in his tone. Now his smile seemed sincere: "As a prince, you don't care about the survival of the country. No wonder the north and the south are divided..."

While shaking her head silently, Haiyue glanced behind Li Weining again.

Ever since the Prince of Annan showed up, he has always been followed by a tall and burly guard. It was this man who had previously refuted Shao Jing, the magistrate of the government office.

While Li Weining was describing the conflict in Annan, the expression of this personal bodyguard became more complicated. His lips were pursed, and a fierce look appeared between his brows. It seemed that he was extremely angry about the rebellion in the country.

Hai Yue was interested in this man because of his outstanding appearance and strong temperament. "Who is this warrior?"

The guard looked over with an unfriendly look in his eyes and said coldly, "I am Ruan Zhengyong, and I am here to protect His Highness!"

Li Weining added, "This is a general from the Imperial Guard. He is highly skilled in martial arts and loyal. We will be relying on him for protection during this mission."

Hai Yue said bluntly, "I saw that this warrior Ruan has been staying with me since he arrived at the academy. Could it be that he's worried about the traitor Mo family and has sent assassins to assassinate him?"

Li Weining smiled calmly, "This is the Ming Dynasty, the Celestial Empire. Those rebels dare not act recklessly!"

Hai Yue felt that the other party was a little naive. "The flames of war are raging in your country, and the forces of the traitor Mo Dengyong are gathering in the north of Annan, blocking the road to the Ming Dynasty. This is why you are forced to take the sea route, right?"

"That's true..."

"The delegation arrived in Qiongzhou, avoiding the rebels in the north. But you can go out to sea, and so can Mo Dengyong's men! The traitors killed their master, and the internal situation is uncertain. They don't want the Ming Dynasty to interfere. If they knew the whereabouts of the delegation, they would definitely do everything they can to destroy it."

"Mr. Hai is extremely knowledgeable!"

"I don't deserve it. I'm just an ordinary student at Dongpo Academy. We all know that a gentleman doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. Envoy Li shoulders the heavy responsibility of being an envoy. The safety of tens of millions of people in Annan is related to this. We cannot be careless. Please return to the government office!"

"Thank you for your kindness! But we can't leave for the time being..."

Haiyue wanted to persuade this group of Annan people to leave.

Although Li Weining's attitude was humble, he was very stubborn on this matter. It seemed that he wanted to compete with the prosecutor by leaving the government office, and he was unwilling to leave no matter what was said.

"That's fine!"

Haiyue couldn't persuade him, so she put it down and concentrated on eating.

His current life goal is to pass the county examination, prefectural examination, and academy examination and become a scholar. It would be even better if he could become a student supported by the imperial court.

Traveling back to ancient times, the path to the imperial examination was the most unremarkable, but it must be admitted that it was also the safest.

The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were different from those in the Tang and Song Dynasties. One had to obtain the title of Jinshi to receive huge rewards. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Juren, Xiucai and even Tongsheng all had different degrees of social status, which led to the story of Fan Jin passing the imperial examination.

Haiyue was also very practical. He didn't expect to achieve success overnight or pass the imperial examination. He just wanted to gain a good reputation and a certain social status first. Then he would decide whether to continue to study for the Jinshi degree and focus on his official career, or to take another path that suited him better. As for the Annan envoy, he was just a passing guest.

However, he soon discovered that he was not just a passerby.

"What's the noise outside?"

After dinner, Hai Yue declined Li Weining's invitation and returned to her room with Hai Rui. As they were reviewing their books, the noisy sounds from outside the courtyard drifted in.

Hai Rui was a calm person. Because of his poor family, he couldn't even go to the county school. Now he cherished the opportunity very much. He was able to turn a deaf ear to the outside world and even didn't raise his head, concentrating on his books.

Hai Yue frowned, took the opportunity to leave Cheng Wen and Cheng Mo, who were having a headache from memorizing, and stood up: "What's going on? Are you going to let me study hard?"

Hai Rui habitually asked, "Brother, go and take a look?"

"Hmph! I'll be back soon!"

When Haiyue went out, she saw a group of burly Annan guards arguing with their classmates.

"Brother Yue!"

Seeing this person appear, the students hurried over and pointed at him: "They are too much, blocking us at the door and demanding a body search!"

"search?"

Haiyue's face darkened. She stepped out of the crowd and looked at the Annan guards. "What do you mean? Did Li Weining give you an order?"

The leading man was burly and strong, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, no need for your orders. I, Zheng Wu, am on duty. You Ming people are good at stealing tribute, and the people in the government office stole it and took away the precious agarwood. We are being punished and the beating is very painful! From now on, you must be searched when entering or leaving this place!"

"Tribute? Is this the reason for the conflict at the government office?"

Haiyue frowned.

As a vassal state, Annan entered the Ming Dynasty mainly for the following reasons: paying tribute, expressing condolences, requesting titles, offering thanks and sacrifices, and congratulating the accession to the throne. The main reasons why the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Annan were: announcing the accession to the throne, proclaiming the crown prince, offering condolences, conferring titles, and bestowing rewards, etc.

This time, the Li family went on a diplomatic mission because the country was in civil strife and Emperor Gong was killed, so they came to the Ming Dynasty to seek help, but they could also use the name of tribute to bring tribute.

Considering that tributes such as gold and silver utensils, horses, elephants, and elephant slaves were difficult to carry across the sea, agarwood, which is easy to transport and has high value, is indeed the best choice.

According to Zheng Wu, when the delegation was in the government office, agarwood was stolen and the guards were punished. If such a dispute really happened, it is no wonder that Shao Tuiguan finally gave in and agreed to let the delegation stay in the academy.

But what these guards are doing now is really excessive. They treat everyone who comes in and out as a thief. Students value their dignity the most. How can they accept body searches?

Hai Yue didn't argue with them and pointed directly towards the southwest: "Do you see that way?"

Zheng Wu subconsciously turned his head and took a look before turning back: "I saw it, what's the matter?"

Hai Yue said, "That's a separate courtyard with more than a dozen rooms, enough for the envoys to live in. Since you're worried about the tribute being stolen, why don't you move there and live there so you don't disturb each other!"

"The government office allowed us to live in the academy, but you, a little scholar, want us to move to that room?" Zheng Wu snorted, "I won't move, so what?"

Li Weining was polite and courteous, and so was Haiyue. These guards were rude and ferocious, so Haiyue was no longer polite: "Bring me the sticks!"

"Give!"

At some point, Hai Rui quietly appeared behind him and handed him a white wax stick.

"Fourteenth brother, you're not concentrating on your studies~"

Haiyue reached out and took it.

Hai Rui took a few steps back.

This elder brother inherited martial arts from his family and was very good at using a stick. Therefore, when he wrote a new chapter of Journey to the West with Monkey King as the protagonist, and saw him using the Ruyi Jingu Bang, everyone thought it was normal and felt like they were empathizing with the story!

When the two brothers were chatting, the Thirteenth Brother even said with a smile that if conditions allowed, he would most like to be a knight, doing justice, fighting for justice, and living a carefree and happy life, so that his life in this world would not be in vain.

But there is always a gap between reality and dreams. Since his creative work failed and he entered the academy to prepare for the imperial examination, my brother's temperament has become much more restrained, but he did not give up martial arts and turned to internal training with sticks.

Hai Rui's family conditions were not enough to support him in practicing martial arts, as he was poor in literature but rich in martial arts. However, as a man, he naturally yearned for majesty and dignity, and he supported his brother in teaching these ignorant Annan people a lesson.

"There's going to be a show!"

The other students were equally delighted and tacitly stepped aside.

The Annan guards looked at each other in bewilderment. The leader, Zheng Wu, grinned and said, "Oh! Little scholar, you want to fight us?"

"Are you ready? Don't accuse me of a sneak attack..."

"Haha! Just go ahead..."

boom!
The stick suddenly rose up and went straight forward as fast as lightning. With a dull sound, the huge figure staggered and flew backwards, falling heavily to the ground.

"What's the matter? I'll give you a stick!"

　New book released, please support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)