Di Ming

Chapter 414 If the emperor is incompetent, even the Cen family won't be loyal! (A pitifully short chapter)

"May Buluo bless you!" Cen Xiubing gave Zhu Yin a tight hug. "I actually saw my dear brother in Chongqing! He's grown so tall and handsome!"

She was already twenty years old, a young woman, even more dashing and beautiful than in her youth. Upon seeing Zhu Yin, her joy made her radiant.

Before Zhu Yin could even feel embarrassed, the young lady from the local tribe released him. Then, with a curious look in her dark eyes, she said:

"Zhihu, I heard you fought against the Japanese pirates in Korea and even defeated them, annihilating 200,000. Even the children of our Tong family know your fame. How did you end up in Chongqing?"

She was far away in Guangxi and only received news that Zhu Yin had defeated the Japanese pirates in Goryeo and annihilated 200,000 enemy soldiers, but she did not receive news that Zhu Yin had been demoted to the position of magistrate of Pengshui County.

Over the years, she has heard a lot about Zhu Yin and is very proud of this brother who saved her life. She is even more convinced that the brother is the reincarnation of the God of War, Bubo, and of course, the reincarnation of the Star Lord.

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "I've only just arrived in Chongqing. I'm no longer the Military Commissioner of Goryeo, nor the Minister of War of the Imperial Court..."

Cen Xiubing immediately said, "I understand. You're here to become the Governor of Sichuan, but you're just passing through Chongqing?"

Zhu Yin shook his head. "It was the magistrate of Pengshui County. The imperial court demoted me to magistrate because someone impeached me."

Cen Xiubing opened her small mouth, and her snow-white face immediately flushed red. Her anger was as obvious as water stains on paper.

"The emperor is truly out of his mind! With such great merit and such a talented person, why would the Han emperor and prime ministers demote you to the position of county magistrate? It's infuriating!"

Her chest heaved with rage. "You are innocent! Someone must be jealous of you and framed you! The emperor is on their side because he fears your great achievements and is deliberately looking for a charge to demote you, isn't he? You tyrant!"

"Sister, keep your voice down..." Zhu Yin said with a wry smile, "Be careful, walls have ears. If this gets to the Emperor's ears, we siblings will be in deep trouble..."

"I'm not afraid!" Cen Xiubing snorted coldly. "Even if the Emperor of the Great Ming were here, I would still say the same thing! Don't be afraid either, there is justice in the world! If the Emperor punishes you, you can go to Guangxi to seek refuge, and I will protect you no matter what! If the Emperor of the Great Ming is incompetent, my Cen family will not be loyal!"

The chieftains were indeed fierce in their speech. Their reverence for the officials and the Ming emperor was far less intense than that of the Han people. So, if they were unhappy, they would curse without hesitation. Few Han people would dare to do that.

"Don't worry, sister." Zhu Yin was somewhat touched, but smiled nonchalantly, "A county magistrate is still an official. If he serves as a county magistrate honestly for a few years, he will have the opportunity to return to the capital. Both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor."

Cen Xiubing continued indignantly, "You really have a good temper. If it were me, I would have resigned and wouldn't have become a county magistrate. To be demoted so drastically is simply outrageous. I wouldn't accept you as the governor of Sichuan, let alone a county magistrate!"

Zhu Yin invited her to sit in his guest room and changed the subject, asking, "Did you come to Chongqing to visit General Qin, elder sister?"

Cen Xiubing unfastened her sword and placed it on the table, rubbing her calf as she spoke:
“You guessed half right. Besides going to Chongqing to see Qin Liangyu, I also wanted to see you and Caiwei. I saw Caiwei two years ago, but I haven’t seen you for six years. I thought you were too busy to visit me in Guangxi, so I decided to come see you instead.”

"I thought that once you got to Beijing, you would probably have returned from Korea. Who knew you would actually be in Chongqing. If I hadn't run into you by chance today, I would have gone to Beijing only to find you empty-handed."

Seeing her rosy complexion and radiant spirit, Zhu Yin guessed that she must be quite happy after her marriage, and asked, "How is your life with the Wang family, sister? How is your husband?"

Cen Xiubing smiled and said, "It's alright. Your brother-in-law, Wang Qian, treats me very well. He's quite accomplished in both literature and martial arts. After marrying him, I had a son and a daughter."

Zhu Yin already knew this, but he still looked relaxed. "Then I'm relieved. I won't stand for it if my brother-in-law treats you badly."

Cen Xiubing looked grateful. "Brother, I really should thank you. You told me not to marry An Bangyan, and I listened. Many people said I was foolish back then. These past few years, I've secretly investigated An Bangyan and discovered he's been recruiting soldiers and forming an alliance with the She family through marriage; he's quite ambitious. I suspect he'll cause trouble sooner or later, and might even rebel." The Cen family had rebelled before, and the ending was tragic. The family never wanted to rebel again.

Cen Xiubing was originally to marry An Bangyan, who would later rebel, but the marriage was ruined by Zhu Yin. Cen Xiubing listened to her "brother who shares her fate" and, after returning to Tianzhou, insisted on breaking off her engagement with An and later married a woman from the Wang family in Liuzhou.

The Wang family of Liuzhou was a powerful Han Chinese clan that held the military post of Commander of the Liuzhou Garrison for generations, with Wang Zhen as their progenitor. During the early Ming Dynasty, when Duke Fu Youde of Ying led his southern expedition, Wang Zhen served as one of his generals. After Fu Youde pacified Guangxi, he petitioned to have Wang Zhen garrison the strategically important city of Liuzhou.

Although the Wang family were Han Chinese, they had guarded Liuzhou for generations, making them essentially Tusi (local chieftains) and a prominent clan in Guangxi. In essence, they were not much different from the Cen and Huang families.

Wang Qian, the contemporary commander of Liuzhou Garrison, commanded 5,600 soldiers, including 1,000 elephant trainers and 100 war elephants. His strength was second only to Cen and Huang in Guangxi.

Unlike other hereditary military nobles in the garrisons, Wang Qian was passionate about military affairs and did not accept salaries without working. Three years ago, shortly after taking over his father's position, he used the family's savings to fill vacancies and selected the best soldiers from the military households in Liuzhou to serve in the army.

In just three years, Liuzhou Garrison had 5,600 fully equipped soldiers, including cavalry, firearms soldiers, elephant cavalry, and archers, restoring the full strength of a garrison. Even in the entire Ming Dynasty, garrisons with sufficient and fully staffed troops were few and far between.

The family was puzzled and questioned Wang Qian about why he not only didn't receive a salary without working, but instead spent family wealth to replenish the army. Wang Qian replied that there might be military action in the southwest, and the Wang family had to prepare for the future so that the court could dispatch troops.

Zhu Yin's concern for his brother-in-law Wang Qian stemmed not only from his interest in Cen Xiubing's happiness but also from his concern for the five or six thousand elite soldiers under Wang Qian's command.

Cen Xiubing's maternal family, the Cen clan of Tianzhou, had a standing army of over 20,000 elite wolf soldiers, making them the most powerful in Guangxi, even stronger than the Jianzhou Jurchens of the same period—practically a powerful vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. Even the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, stationed in Wuzhou, was quite wary of Tianzhou.

If my elder sister were willing to put in a lot of effort to help, and with the strength gained from the marriage alliance with the Cen and Wang families, assembling 40,000 soldiers would be quite easy. And with the support of tens of thousands of elite troops from Guangxi…

Historically, the Cen clan rebelled against the Ming Dynasty twice due to the policy of replacing native chieftains with appointed officials. At the end of the Hongzhi era, Cen Jun rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming court mobilized 100,000 troops, which took two years to suppress.

In the fourth year of the Jiajing reign, Cen Meng rebelled against the Ming Dynasty. The court mobilized 80,000 troops to kill Cen Meng. Later, Wang Yangming intervened and the rebellion was completely quelled. The whole process took several years.

It is clear that it is not easy to get the Cen family to change their native chieftainship to a centrally appointed one, but it is not difficult to mobilize their troops.

Zhu Yin was pondering the help his older sister could offer him when Cen Xiubing smiled and said, "Little brother, what are you thinking about? Are you unhappy that your older sister came to see you?"

Zhu Yin snapped out of his reverie and quickly poured tea for Cen Xiubing. "I've been thinking about what gifts to give the two children. As their uncle, I can't be stingy. I haven't even seen them yet."

Cen Xiubing covered her mouth and laughed, "We Cen family are originally Han Chinese, and we have always valued our maternal uncles. You, as their maternal uncle, really need to do your best. I originally wanted to bring them with me on this trip north, but the children are too young. I'll wait two more years and then bring them to see you."

She's right. Although the Cen clan was originally Han Chinese, their ancestor being Cen Zhongshu, a Han general who followed Di Qing on his southern expedition, the Cen clan had lived in Guangxi for over 500 years and had long since become indigenous.

Cen Xiubing continued, "Brother, you don't know, your brother-in-law admires you very much and has said several times that he wants to meet you. He even funded the construction of your temple for child prodigies, and there are even shrines dedicated to you in Guangxi. He also said that he wants to send his child to your side so that he can study under your guidance."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Send them to me when the time comes, and I will personally teach them!"

...

P.S.: I can't go on anymore, that's all for today. I need to go out and stretch my legs; that near-death feeling, I felt like I was about to die. Writing really drains my energy…

(End of this chapter)