Di Ming

Chapter 502 "Why is the Grand Commandant laughing?"

After a while, Zheng Song slowly woke up, opened his eyes and looked around at the prince and the generals, his eyes filled with fear and his body covered in cold sweat.

That's right, it's more accurate to say he was startled awake rather than woken up by his subordinates.

Meanwhile, the Zheng ruler had just had a nightmare in which he was defeated and captured, and was escorted to Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, in prison amidst the triumphant songs of the Ming army, to be presented as a prisoner to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and to be offered as a sacrifice at the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

In his dream, he vaguely saw a Han Chinese nobleman, exquisitely dressed and of noble bearing, standing atop a high palace, looking down at him and saying:
"Zheng Song, Annam was originally part of China. From this day forward, Annam will cease to exist; only the Jiaozhou Provincial Administration Commission of the Ming Dynasty will remain as part of the Chinese territory. And you, Zheng family, are the sacrifice for Jiaozhou's return to China..."

He lay prostrate on the ground, his terrified gaze fixed on the face of the Han nobleman. But the person in the palace seemed to be far away in the clouds. Even with his eyes wide open, he could not see the face clearly, and could only hear the unquestionable voice, like a divine judgment.

Then he saw his elder brother, Zheng Hui.

This elder brother, who had been dead for many years, actually stood below the steps and respectfully addressed the high-ranking Han nobleman:
"Your Highness Regent, your humble servant Zheng Hui has long awaited this day when Jiaozhou will be returned to Tang. The Yue people are mostly descendants of Han Chinese, and on behalf of five million Yue people, I respectfully request their return to China..."

He was trembling with anger. Wasn't Zheng Hui dead?
"Zheng Hui, what are you saying! You've betrayed Dayue!" he couldn't help but shout angrily.

He sensed that the nobleman in the palace was smiling, but he didn't speak; it seemed he was watching the brothers argue.

Zheng Hui turned to look at him, his face as pale as a corpse, a chilling sneer on his lips, his voice like the murmur of a dead soul:
"Isn't this my second brother who usurped my position as heir apparent back then? You've gotten so old."

"Second brother, you've studied the classics, yet you don't know the origins of our Jing people? We Jing people are actually descendants of the Han people. Jiaozhou has been part of China since the Han Dynasty. For over a thousand years, we've worn Han clothing, studied Han classics, and every prefecture and county has been under the rule of the imperial court. This is an indisputable historical fact."

"So what!" he roared. "Zheng Hui! It's because you wanted my Great Yue to return to the Northern Dynasty that I killed you! You brought this upon yourself! You are unworthy to be a descendant of the Zheng family, unworthy to be a Yue person!"

Zheng Hui's eyes were gleaming green, and his whole body exuded a chilling aura. "Why does my second brother deny it? Wouldn't it be better to return to China? Why abandon being a descendant of the Celestial Empire and instead seek to become a barbarian? You're confused. Hehe!"

"Descendants of the Celestial Empire? Hahaha!" He laughed maniacally, his voice filled with terror, as if the laughter could dispel his fear. He roared:

"Being of Chinese descent is a good thing for ordinary people, but what good is it for us powerful and wealthy? Foolish!"

"Da Yue is a country on its own, and our word is law! We hold the power, and life and death are in our hands! We are emperors who stay at home, but when we open the door, we are supreme. It's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix, don't you know that! Once we are under the Northern Dynasty, at most we will be given an official title, but we will just be rich old men with no power or influence, having to be subservient to others. What's that like!"

"You're not one of those peasants! You're the eldest son of the Zheng family, don't you understand this principle!"

"Hahaha!" Zheng Hui laughed maniacally. "After all this talk, you're only after your own power! You all want to carve out your own territory and make millions of your people into small, barbaric states just for your own selfish interests! What kind of Great Yue is this? It's just a small, arrogant country that will struggle to protect itself in the future! Sooner or later, it will be enslaved by outsiders!"

"But don't forget, even if Da Yue severs ties with China, Da Yue is not yours! You are just a powerful minister like Mo! You are not the king, but in the end, you are still the king's subject!"

At this point, Zheng Hui suddenly pointed behind him and sneered, "Look who's over there!"

He turned around in shock and saw two figures standing in the doorway, which was blindingly bright. Their faces were obscured by the light, but he was all too familiar with their clothes!
King Yingjong Le Duc Bong! King Sejong Le Duc Tam!
Two kings of the Great Yue Kingdom who were already dead! Both were murdered by him!

"Grand Commandant Zheng!" Emperor Yingzong Li Weibang chuckled mischievously, "We, the sovereign and his subject, meet again."

"It's you! You've also sided with Zhu Yin?" He was horrified, his heart pounding. "While you're alive, you're my puppets! If you're dead, I won't fear you!"

Li Weibang suddenly turned into a blue-faced, fanged monster. "Zheng Song! You traitorous regicide! You've finally met your match! Retribution is swift!"

Emperor Sejong Le Duy Tam, bleeding from all seven orifices, said in a sinister voice, "Grand Commandant, you poisoned me, but your death will be a hundred times more gruesome than poisoning!"

"You think Dai Viet is yours? Dai Viet belongs to the Le family! It belongs to us, the Le clan! Since you have usurped power, we might as well hand Dai Viet over to the Ming Dynasty and leave it to you!"

Emperor Yingzong knelt before the people in the palace and said, "Your Majesty, I, Li Weibang, pay my respects to the Regent! My country was originally Jiaozhou of the Celestial Dynasty, the ancient land of the Han people for thousands of years. I humbly request that you surrender your territory and return to the Chinese map."

The aloof Zhu Yin leisurely said, "Granted!"

"No!" He was instantly jolted awake, his body covered in a cold sweat.

The elder brother, Emperor Yingzong, Emperor Shizong, and Zhu Yin all disappeared together.

"Father! How are you?" Crown Prince Zheng Yong asked with concern and anxiety.

The family's generals, including Zheng Zhu, Zheng Su, and Zheng Yong, as well as their trusted ministers, Ruan You, Fan Cong Ze, and Huang Dinh Bao, all looked worried.

"Grand Commandant!"

"Lord!"

"Your Highness!"

Zheng Song held the official position of Grand Commandant, the noble title of Prince of Ping'an, and the Taoist name of "Xuanwu Emperor." He also called himself "Regent," and was granted the Nine Bestowments and the title of Grand Marshal of the Army. He did not have to bow when entering the court, nor did he have to use his name when being praised. It is not surprising that he was called "Your Highness."

Zheng Song snapped out of his daze, composed himself, and his cunning, old-fashioned demeanor returned. He forced a smile and said:

"I just had a dream in which the royal army defeated the northern army, captured Zhu Yin, beheaded him, and hung his head at the city gate. Then I led a large army on a northern expedition to conquer the Central Plains!"

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed their heads in unison and said, "This dream is an extremely auspicious omen. It foretells the prosperity of the Great Yue Kingdom and the unparalleled achievements of the Grand Commandant..."

"Congratulations, Father!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

Zheng Song feigned delight, stroking his beard as he said, "I also dreamt of the Hung King. The Hung King told me that his descendants would replace the descendants of the Yellow Emperor and become the rulers of the world."

The so-called Xiong Wang is an ancestral god created by the Yue people. It is a fabrication belonging to the dragon race and related to the Yanhuang, but it is also a system of its own.

Everyone knew, of course, that Zheng Song's words were untrue, but for the moment they could only feign surprise and play along with Zheng Song's act.

Zheng Song's expression hardened, and he changed his tone, saying:

"But King Hung also instructed me that great undertakings cannot be rushed, but must be planned slowly and wait for the opportune moment. King Hung also said that although the Mo clan is barely clinging to life, they are attempting a comeback. His Majesty has already issued an edict ordering me to withdraw my troops." "Since His Majesty has already issued an edict to withdraw my troops, I will naturally obey the edict and return to the capital. Issue my military order to break camp and withdraw my troops tonight to return to the country and defend the King."

Zheng Song spoke with an air of authority and in a relaxed tone. But inside, he felt so bitter he wanted to vomit blood!

He never imagined that the Burmese army would not only be defeated, but also be defeated so quickly and so miserably!

The initial thought was that the Burmese army, numbering 200,000, was the nation's elite force. Even if they couldn't defeat the Ming army, they could at least hold out for a month.

Who would have thought that they would be wiped out so quickly!

The Burmese army's defeat was so swift and thorough that it completely disrupted his plans, leaving him in a passive position from the start!

He was quite shrewd; upon learning of the complete annihilation of the Burmese army and Zhu Yin's great victory, he immediately ordered a retreat and escape.

Zheng Song was a bold and decisive man. The Burmese king had been captured by Zhu Yin, and the Western Allied Forces hadn't arrived yet. He and his family were facing Zhu Yin alone, not to mention Naresuan!
The odds of winning are too slim; the best course of action is to retreat! As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.

As for the strength of the Ming army and Zhu Yin, he didn't mention it again, pretending not to know anything. It was as if his withdrawal had nothing to do with Zhu Yin, and was simply due to an imperial edict.

In truth, he didn't take the imperial edict seriously at all. It was nothing but a fart.

At Zheng Song's command, the Vietnamese army camp immediately sprang into action.

However, a rumor suddenly spread throughout the camp: the Burmese army had been annihilated, the Ming army had won a great victory, and the Ming Regent's army had already marched south. The Grand Commandant was terrified, and thus he hastily broke camp and returned home that very night.

Although Zheng Song had ordered a cover-up, the news still spread like wildfire throughout the army. The Vietnamese troops were immediately thrown into a state of panic!
Enraged, Zheng Song ordered, "Anyone who disrupts the morale of my army shall be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public!"

Before the demoralized Vietnamese army could even break camp, thunderous hooves sounded from the north, and the Ming army finally arrived.

However, it was not Zhu Yin's army, but Hao Yunlai's Ming army and Naresuan's Siamese army.

It turned out that when Hao Yunlai received news of Zhu Yin's great victory, he predicted that the Vietnamese army might flee.

He and Naresuan immediately led their troops in pursuit, entangled the Vietnamese army, and delayed their advance, preventing them from withdrawing at their leisure.

The morale of the Vietnamese army was already severely damaged, and now even their withdrawal was not peaceful, making the army even more uneasy.

Zheng Song ordered his troops to engage in battle, and the enemy cavalry immediately fled. But they relentlessly pursued them.

The Vietnamese army had to maintain a defensive formation and retreat slowly, which was very difficult.

By daybreak, four or five hours had passed, and the soldiers were exhausted, yet they had only marched a little over twenty li.

At this rate of withdrawal, when will they be able to leave Myanmar?

Zheng Song gritted his teeth in hatred, but he was helpless against Hao Yunlai and Na Lixuan.

Three days later, the Vietnamese army withdrew nearly a hundred miles, still exhausted from being harassed by the persistent enemy forces.

Taking advantage of the Ming army's cavalry superiority, Hao Yunlai sent the Naxi cavalry of the Mu family to circle around to the front of the Yue army's retreat route, constantly harassing and destroying bridges and roads to delay the Yue army's withdrawal.

The Vietnamese army suffered greatly, and after holding out for three more days, they managed to withdraw only about 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers).

Zheng Song and the others were about to withdraw into themselves; everyone felt heavy-hearted.

Six days!

It took them six days to evacuate 170 or 180 li!
On that very day, an even greater commotion suddenly arose from the north.

A Vietnamese scout rushed in with a panicked report: "Zhu Yin's army has finally caught up!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Song was struck dumb.

He didn't understand that there was no chance to back down now.

The only option now is to fight Zhu Yin here!

"Pass on the order!" Zheng Song ordered, forcing himself to speak. "Set up camp here! Fight Zhu Yin to the death!"

He looked around at the terrain, trying his best to appear happy, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

Huang Tingbao asked in a very cooperative manner, "Why is the Grand Commandant laughing?"

Zheng Song pointed to the terrain and said, "This place is extremely advantageous to our army; this is the advantage of terrain! Our soldiers have received the imperial edict to return home, and their hearts are set on returning. They will surely be united as one, with an iron will to fight. Their return journey will be unstoppable. This is the advantage of human relations! The rainy season is approaching, which is unfavorable to the Northern Army; this is the advantage of timing!"

"I laugh at Zhu Yin for not knowing the will of Heaven. With the right timing, the right place, and the right people all in my hands, how dare he lead his army to pursue me? Isn't he just asking for humiliation?"

"Hahaha!"

The men looked at each other, then said in unison, "The Grand Commandant has victory in his grasp; our army has nothing to worry about!"

"Great Viet...will surely prevail!"

……

P.S.: I'm not feeling well today, so I can only update with a little over 3,000 words. Thank you for your support, goodnight! And please vote with monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)