Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 882: Southwest Counterattack

Chapter 882: Southwest Counterattack

"What? Impossible!" Before Zhu Biao could react, it was Zhu Su who shouted first.

He had been away from Guizhou for only three or four months, and the Guiyang market was just beginning to take shape. With the market as a medium, the interests of the two chieftains of Shuixi and Shuidong were tied to the imperial court to a certain extent. Next, it was time to use Ai Cui and Song Qin as a starting point to radiate the influence of the imperial court to the whole of Guizhou.

At this time, Shuixi and Shuidong should be in their honeymoon period with the imperial court. How could the Shuixi chieftain suddenly rebel against the imperial court?

The messenger was already in front of the palace, so naturally he could not hide it from Old Zhu inside the palace. Someone had already hurried in to report what the red feather messenger had said. Zhu Biao frowned after hearing the report, and before he could open his mouth to speak, the door of Kunning Palace behind him was suddenly opened.

"Who, who is rebelling?" a mighty and powerful voice asked.

Zhu Biao, Zhu Su and others looked back hurriedly, only to see Old Zhu's body still towering on the steps of the palace. He was dressed in his ordinary clothes, and his eyes were still a little red and swollen, but his aura was even more terrifying, like a sick tiger ready to eat someone.

"His Majesty!"

"Father!"

Seeing Old Zhu coming out of the palace, the crown prince, princes, guards, and eunuchs all knelt down in front of Kunning Palace. Zhu Biao was originally feeling overwhelmed, but now he was happy: Father had come out, that was good.

What he was most worried about was that his father would never recover from his mother's death... But how could the great Hongwu Emperor be so fragile?

Although Old Zhu was deeply saddened, he was strong-willed. When he heard someone playing urgent music, he temporarily suppressed his sadness.

"Tell me, who is rebelling?" Old Zhu ignored his disciples and walked down the imperial steps on his own, with an extraordinary momentum. Without Empress Ma, he was even more murderous, and asked the messenger with a murderous tone.

"Reply, reply Your Majesty... It's the chieftain of Shuixi, Guizhou..." The messenger was intimidated by the emperor's majesty, and he stumbled when he opened his mouth. Fortunately, the content of this urgent letter was not complicated, and he finally made it clear after stammering.

Zhu had no expression on his face, but he was furious. To be fair, he did not take this mere chieftain in the southwest seriously. Although he had decided to put his weapons away and rest for a few years, and arranged for Zhu Su to appease the chieftains in order to lay a solid foundation for the annexation of Annan, he would never tolerate anyone who dared to challenge the dignity of the court.

"Come on, draft the decree!" After listening to the messenger's urgent report, Lao Zhu made a decision.

"Duke Zhuliang Lan Yu and Guizhou Commander Ma Ye are responsible for suppressing the rebellion." Old Zhu's face was as gloomy as water. "Within a month, we want to see the head of Ai Cui!"

The eunuch who had drafted the edict was about to leave and send it to the cabinet for seal, but Zhu Su stood up and said, "Father, wait a minute..."

Old Zhu looked over here.

"Father, I saw Shuixi Aicui when I was on a tour of the southwest last time." Zhu Su said. "In my opinion, Aicui is not a person with wicked ambitions. How could she rebel in just a few months? This..."

"Hmm?" Old Zhu narrowed his eyes slightly and waved his hand, asking the eunuch who was writing the imperial edict to hurry and send it away. "Old Five, what do you mean?"

"Father, there may be something fishy going on here." Zhu Su said. He stepped forward and stood in front of the red-feathered messenger. "Are you General Ma's subordinate? When you were in Guizhou, did you see that Ai Cui had already raised an army?"

"Your Highness, I am an express messenger, not a soldier of the garrison." The red-feathered messenger answered truthfully. "I received a report from General Ma, saying that Shuixi had rebelled. We express messengers are responsible for delivering messages, so I dared not neglect it and rode to the capital immediately. I changed horses but not people along the way, and did not rest... so I did not see whether there was any military turmoil in the surrounding areas."

"Received the news... huh?" Zhu Su touched his chin.

"...Fifth brother, are you suspicious of Guizhou Commander Ma Ye?" Zhu Biao asked. "Do you know that Ma Ye is..." He glanced at Old Zhu. "He would not deceive the emperor!"

Ma Ye's identity was indeed special. He was somewhat related to the royal family. He was the nephew of Empress Ma, and was considered one of the few "relatives by marriage".

Empress Ma lived a lonely life. Due to the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, she had no relatives. Fortunately, she found a nephew who was somewhat related to her only after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Empress Ma was a virtuous queen, and she would not do anything to benefit her family. Empress Ma always kept her distance from her nephew Ma Ye, fearing that the Ma family would have improper thoughts. However, Zhu Yuanzhang had a special liking for Ma Ye and promoted him to a military officer. Ma Ye was quite capable, and he had accumulated some merits in suppressing bandits several times, and was eventually promoted to the post of commander of Guizhou.

Now, Empress Ma has passed away, and Zhu Yuanzhang is in mourning. At this time, he accused Ma Ye of deceiving the emperor and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to seal the imperial edict that had already been spoken...

Old Zhu was indeed somewhat displeased, but since it was Zhu Su who was speaking, he still gave Zhu Su some face. "In that case, let's discuss it again at the morning court tomorrow."

"You all should go back home... Biao'er will stay here and fetch the memorials from the southwest these days."

The southwest is where the Ming Dynasty will send troops next. He needs to have a thorough judgment and understanding of the situation in the southwest.

The death of Empress Ma made Zhu Yuanzhang feel that time was running out... He had to hand over the Ming Dynasty, which he had built like an iron barrel, to his father and future rulers while he was still able to move.

If Lao Wu's strategy of appeasement failed, he would not mind plowing the southwestern chieftains first to prevent them from hindering the imperial court before attacking Annan... The south was the logistical support for the Ming Dynasty during the Little Ice Age, and he had to conquer it no matter what.

In order to achieve this goal, he would never allow the southwest to escape his control.

Since the emperor had given the order, Zhu Su did not dare to disobey. He and his brothers followed closely and left Kunning Palace. As soon as he left Old Zhu's sight, Zhu Chong came over and said to him, "Old Fifth, why do you have to cause trouble for your father at this time? It's just a chieftain. It won't take much time to destroy him..."

Zhu Gang also said: "Ma Ye is a relatively calm person. Moreover, deceiving the emperor is such a serious crime that he may not be hiding the truth. Ai Cui is just a chieftain. Is it worth it to anger the emperor because of him? If the opportunity to quell the rebellion is delayed, then the blame will fall on you."

Zhu Su frowned and said, "I don't believe that Ma Ye dared to deceive the emperor. However, Ai Cui rebelled... This is also unbelievable."

"I have a student named Xie Jin in Guizhou. He will definitely send a messenger to inform me of such an important event. Even if the messenger is not as fast as the imperial court's express, I think it will not be too late."

"Let's listen to what he has to say. This matter... is really weird."

(End of this chapter)