Qianqing Palace, Nuange.
Zhu Yunwen saw Li Jinglong coming in a hurry.
"Jiujiang, come quickly!"
Seeing the emperor being so warm and kind, Li Jinglong felt even more unsure.
He was just pretending to be cool, but he was really panicking when he really wanted to go to war!
"My minister Li Jinglong has met the emperor!"
Li Jinglong knelt down to salute obediently, but was helped up by Zhu Yunwen himself.
"Jiujiang, you have known me for many years, and now I have something I have to leave to you to handle!"
Hearing this, Li Jinglong's face almost turned green.
But His Majesty the Emperor spoke, and he could not refuse, so he could only go on.
"The emperor has orders, and I will obey them voluntarily, through fire and water, without hesitation!"
"Well, you are such a loyal minister!" Zhu Yunwen praised with a smile, and then handed over the frontline military information.
"Then Geng Bingwen humiliated his country by losing his master, and he stopped moving forward, bringing disgrace to the court!"
"I am going to let you succeed Geng Bingwen, lead an army of 500,000 in the Northern Expedition, wipe out the Yan rebels, and capture the Yan King Zhu Di!"
Geng Bingwen: "???"
What?
Let me take charge?
And command an army of half a million people?
Damn it, isn't this a bit hasty, brother?
I, Li Jinglong, have never fought a single battle. You want me to lead an army of 500,000 people?
Li Jinglong's face turned green, and sweat was already pouring from his forehead.
But this was an order from His Majesty the Emperor, and no matter how frightened he was, he could not refuse it directly.
After thinking for a moment, Li Jinglong carefully considered his words before speaking slowly.
"Your Majesty, when it comes to going on an expedition, I must do my best."
"But firstly, I have insufficient qualifications and merits, so I may not be able to convince the public; secondly, I am indeed familiar with the art of war, but I have never actually led an army in a war, so I may have failed the emperor's trust!"
Li Jinglong said this very tactfully!
He just pointed at Zhu Yunwen's nose and told him, I'm just pretending, you must not take it seriously!
However, when Li Jinglong's words fell into Zhu Yunwen's ears, they became the best proof of his humility and courtesy.
“Jiujiang is so humble!”
"Don't worry, since I have decided to let you take charge, I have naturally considered everything!"
Zhu Yunwen ordered with high spirits: "I will give you the right to 'act cheaply'. You can kill them first and then report them. You don't have to report them. This way you can subdue those arrogant and powerful generals!"
"As for Jiujiang's abilities, I have always known that humility is a good thing, but excessive humility is not a good thing."
Li Jinglong: "!!!"
Your uncle!
Don't you understand human language?
Is this what I mean?
Brother, what are you thinking, asking me, a man who has never fought in a war, to lead an army of 500,000 people on the Northern Expedition?
Li Jinglong hesitated for a long time, but in the end he couldn't say anything.
Zhu Yunwen has blocked all his paths. He can't just show his cards and show that he is a waste, right?
It doesn't matter if you are embarrassed, but in a sense, this is a serious crime of bullying the emperor!
If you deceive the king, you will be beheaded!
Li Jinglong hesitated for a long time and could only hold his nose and accept the job.
At this point, he has no other choice but to rush to the shelves and lead an army of 500,000 in the Northern Expedition!
Zhu Yunwen comforted Li Jinglong again, telling him not to have any scruples and to let go of his hands and feet to fight. Li Jinglong could only nod his head with a sullen face, without the slightest hint of joy.
His performance, in Zhu Yunwen's eyes, was that of a mature and prudent general!
For a moment, Zhu Yunwen felt quite at ease.
With Li Jinglong, a master of military art, coupled with powerful generals such as Qu Neng and his son, Yang Wen, and Wu Gao, as well as an elite army of 500,000, they can defeat the 600,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses of the Yan thief Zhu Di, right?
However, just when Zhu Yunwen was satisfied with his ambition, a piece of bad news suddenly came!
Fang Xiaoru, a Hanlin scholar, hurriedly walked into the Nuan Pavilion, followed by Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, but the three of them looked extremely sad.
"Your Majesty, something happened!"
"King Zhu Bai of Xiang...immolated himself!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's expression changed drastically, he rushed forward, took the report and started reading it.
The more he looked at it, the more frightened he became, and the more he looked at it, the gloomier his face became.
According to Huang Zicheng's plan, the imperial court forcibly summoned all the kings to the capital to prevent them from responding to Yan King Zhu Di's rebellion.
However, King Zhu Bai of Xiang did not listen and refused to admit the accusations of conspiracy, counterfeiting of treasures, and murder without authorization.
But Zhu Bai's denial was of no use. The imperial army disguised itself as a caravan and unexpectedly surrounded Prince Xiang's residence, preparing to forcefully enter and seize the people.
When Zhu Bai heard the news, he was shocked and angry. He looked up to the sky and sighed: "Oh! I think the previous ministers were imprisoned when they encountered violent dynasties, and they often committed suicide. As the son of Taizu, when my father passed away, I could not visit him. , I can’t attend the funeral, I feel so sad and regretful, what fun is there in living in this world! Will I be humiliated by slaves again today? How can I survive like this!"
"I am the king of Xiang, Bai. I am the emperor of Gao. How can I be humiliated by a disciple?"
After Zhu Bai said this, he cried bitterly. After drinking farewell with his family, Zhu Bai immediately set fire to his palace and concubines. He put on the prince's clothes, held a bow and arrows and rode a white horse, jumped into the fire and committed suicide. Everyone in the palace died from Zhu Bai. And die!
After reading this emergency report, Zhu Yunwen stood completely stunned on the spot, his eyes slightly red.
"Uncle Twelve?"
"My twelfth uncle!"
Zhu Yunwen was instantly furious and threw the emergency report in front of Qi, Huangfang and the others!
"You... you bastards!"
"What I want you to discuss is Uncle Twelve's crime of counterfeiting treasure banknotes. I want you to bring Uncle Twelve back to the capital. Who asked you to force him to death? Who is it?"
Zhu Yunwen roared at the top of his lungs, with tears faintly streaming from the corners of his eyes.
He and Xiang King Zhu Bai grew up together since childhood. Their blood relationship and playmate affection made Zhu Yunwen never have murderous intentions towards his twelfth uncle.
To put it bluntly, Zhu Yunwen still valued the friendship between these uncles and nephews in his heart, and he never thought of killing them.
The reason why the national policy of reducing vassal states was only to relieve their military power, so as to avoid the situation where the vassal kings relied on their own troops and laid hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty court.
However, King Zhu Bai of Xiang died, and was forcefully forced to burn himself to death by Zhu Yunwen. How would the people of the world view him as the new emperor?
As soon as he came to the throne, he promoted the reduction of vassals and even forced his own uncle to death!
"The whole palace died from Zhu Bai?!"
"You bastards, why are you forcing my twelfth uncle to death?"
Faced with His Majesty the Emperor's rebuke and curses, Qi, Huangfang and the others knelt on the ground and loudly apologized.
How could they have imagined that King Zhu Bai of Xiang had such a strong temper that he would rather burn himself as a family than become a prisoner of his subordinates!
"I am guilty!"
"Guilty?" Zhu Yunwen was extremely furious, "You are indeed guilty. I wish I could kill you to avenge my twelfth uncle!"
Hearing this, Qi, Huangfang and the other two people panicked.
I don't want to trade my life for my life like this!
Fang Xiaoru stroked the tiger's beard and immediately spoke.
"Your Majesty, please express your condolences!"
"Right now, the dignity of the imperial court is the most important thing!"
King Zhu Bai of Hunan burned himself to death. This was the first prince to die since the imperial court abolished the vassal state!
"If the imperial court cannot give a reasonable explanation, all the vassal kings in the world will be rebellious because of this, and I am afraid that the world will really be in chaos, Your Majesty!"
Fang Xiaoru advised him earnestly and sincerely.
These words succeeded in making Zhu Yunwen a little flustered.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"The king of Xiang, Bai, was found guilty of conspiracy, counterfeiting of treasures, and murder without authorization. He resisted arrest by the court and committed suicide out of fear of crime!"
Huang Zicheng spoke hurriedly and gave the solution that the three of them had just agreed on.
"In addition, because King Bai of Xiang had no children, the feudal state was abolished after his death, and he also had to be nicknamed 'Rou'. Only in this way can the world be silenced!"
"Asshole!"
