Chapter 537
Reactions from Various Nations: Reinforcements Needed!
After hearing Zhu Ying's explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang once again became very interested in the Ming Dynasty in this martial arts world. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said, "Xiong Ying, if we have the opportunity, we would like to go to the Ming Dynasty. Who knows, the Ming emperor might really be our descendant."
Faced with Lao Zhu's request, Zhu Ying naturally did not refuse.
He nodded and said, "That's no problem at all. Once the Jin Kingdom's infrastructure is completed, Xiong Ying will definitely take my grandfather to this Ming Kingdom to find out what's going on!"
"Very good! Very good!"
Zhu Yuanzhang praised it repeatedly.
Meanwhile.
On the Ming side.
Emperor Zhengde, Zhu Houzhao, had just received intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
"Report!"
"Your Majesty... Something terrible has happened! The Jin Kingdom has indeed been defeated by the rumored grandson of the Ming Emperor!"
On the dragon throne.
Upon hearing this news, Zhu Houzhao was also speechless with astonishment.
Clearly, this was not the situation Zhu Houzhao wanted to see.
It should be noted that, in Zhu Houzhao's view, if the Jin Kingdom were truly defeated by the rumored grandson of the Ming Emperor, then the rumored grandson of the Ming Emperor would very likely continue to attack the Ming Kingdom!
In other words, the Jin Dynasty's present state is the Ming Dynasty's future state state.
"Summon all officials immediately!"
"Let's discuss this matter!"
Although Zhu Houzhao was very playful, he was not stupid; in fact, he could be considered one of the most intelligent emperors in the Ming Dynasty.
He understood that the defeat of the Jin Dynasty by the grandson of the Ming emperor was not good news for the Ming Dynasty at all; in fact, it was quite bad!
Therefore, the most urgent task for Zhu Houzhao is to quickly gather all the officials and pool their wisdom and efforts!
……
Before long, all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty arrived at the Fengtian Hall, including Zhu Wushi and Cao Zhengchun.
In the stands.
Zhu Houzhao was quite depressed.
After all the officials had arrived, Zhu Houzhao remained silent, which made the Ming officials quite embarrassed.
A moment later.
A Minister of War from the Ming Dynasty suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, what is the purpose of summoning us here today?"
Faced with the questioning from the Ming official, Emperor Zhu Houzhao of the Ming Dynasty slowly spoke, "The Jin Dynasty...is gone."
no doubt.
When Zhu Houzhao announced the fall of the Jin Dynasty, all the officials looked panicked.
"Your Majesty, this is impossible! The military strength of the Jin Kingdom is extremely powerful. There is no country in the world that could possibly annex the Jin Kingdom!"
"That's right, Your Majesty, this must be fake news!"
"Although the Jin Kingdom's Grand Preceptor Ouyang Xiu was killed, the Jin Kingdom still has more than a hundred cities and an army of up to a million. How could it be conquered in such a short time?"
"This is extremely strange. I believe there's something fishy going on here. It's possible that the Jin Kingdom is staging this whole thing!"
As for the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, they did not believe that the Jin Dynasty could be destroyed. Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao finished speaking about this matter, everyone's first reaction was that it was fake news.
On the dragon throne.
Zhu Houzhao's tone carried a hint of disappointment as he coldly stated, "This matter is absolutely true. The Jin Dynasty has indeed been destroyed, and Wanyan Shouxu has now been killed."
"Moreover, it wasn't just Wanyan Shouxu who was killed; Wanyan Honglie, Wanyan Kang, and the entire Jin royal family were all supposedly killed by the Ming army!"
At this point, Zhu Houzhao seemed to see a reflection of himself in Wanyan Shouxu.
And so.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but sigh again, and slowly said, "I summoned you here not to question me, but to offer you advice and strategies!"
"Tell me, all of you, how should we respond when this grandson of the Ming emperor leads a large army to invade our Great Ming?"
When Zhu Houzhao posed his question, all the officials in the Fengtian Hall fell silent. Clearly, no one knew the answer.
Zhu Houzhao was naturally very dissatisfied after seeing this news.
Zhu Houzhao then raised his voice and said to the crowd, "What? Are you all mute?"
"Speak up!"
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, his uncle Zhu Wushi finally spoke.
After all, at that time, Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Marquis, represented the strongest fighting force of the Ming Dynasty. Currently, the Iron-Blooded Marquis is a master of the Divine Power Realm in the Ming Dynasty. In other words, with Zhu Wushi's strength, he can definitely go toe-to-toe with Zhu Ying.
"emperor."
"In my humble opinion, there is no need to rush this matter. In fact, I believe it is a good thing for our Ming Dynasty!"
When Zhu Wushi told Zhu Houzhao about his idea, the latter naturally became interested.
Soon, Zhu Houzhao immediately asked Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi, "Marquis, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me quickly, how should we handle this?"
Seeing how anxious Zhu Houzhao was, Zhu Wushi became even more silent.
Zhu Wushi calmly said, "Your Majesty, this so-called grandson of the Ming Emperor is attacking the Jin Dynasty in the name of our Ming Dynasty. This means that this grandson of the Ming Emperor is in league with our Ming Dynasty, or rather, he wants to help our Ming Dynasty attack the Jin Dynasty!"
"Furthermore, if the Jin Kingdom is defeated, the entire world will naturally descend into chaos, and this chaos will precisely demonstrate that our Ming Kingdom has the opportunity to become a hegemon!"
"Now that the Jin Dynasty has been destroyed, all countries must be quite afraid, and there is even a possibility that they will form alliances!"
"And this so-called grandson of the Ming emperor will naturally become the object of fear for all countries! If all countries unite to attack this grandson of the Ming emperor, he probably won't be able to hold out for long."
"And once this grandson of the Ming emperor and his forces are defeated, naturally, the territory of the Jin dynasty that they originally occupied will be divided up by other countries!"
"In short, for the Ming Dynasty, it can either form an alliance with this grandson of the Ming Emperor, or it can join other countries in attacking this grandson of the Ming Emperor!"
"Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Besides having reached the realm of supernatural powers, Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Marquis, is also quite intelligent.
He keenly sensed that the destruction of the Jin Dynasty was actually beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.
To be honest, when Zhu Wushi told Zhu Houzhao his idea, the latter's face was full of excitement, because Zhu Houzhao suddenly understood after hearing Zhu Wushi's suggestion.
Zhu Houzhao repeatedly said, "That makes sense!"
"As expected of the Iron-Blooded Marquis! After hearing your explanation, I can see the way out for the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Houzhao was generous with his praise, and then asked, "By the way, Imperial Uncle, according to your idea, what should I do now?" After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, all the civil and military officials turned their attention to Zhu Wushi.
next second.
Zhu Wushi calmly replied, "Your Majesty, I believe that the best option for the Ming Dynasty right now is to remain unchanged in the face of all changes."
"The situation is still unclear, so the most urgent task is to observe the reaction of this grandson of the Ming emperor."
"In short, the Ming Dynasty must not be the first to stick its neck out, and of course, it must also maintain good relations with other countries!"
just.
After Zhu Wushi finished speaking, Cao Zhengchun, the chief eunuch of the Eastern Depot, had a different opinion.
"Your Majesty, although what the Divine Marquis said makes some sense, the territory of the Jin Kingdom is now connected with that of the Ming Kingdom!"
"If this so-called grandson of the Ming emperor were to suddenly send troops to attack my Ming Kingdom, then... how should my Ming Kingdom respond?"
no doubt.
Cao Zhengchun's words jolted Zhu Houzhao awake.
"That's right, this so-called grandson of the Ming emperor has a rather strange way of doing things, and no one can guess what he's thinking..."
"Therefore, this servant believes that, just to be on the safe side, we should naturally make preparations in advance!"
It must be said that Cao Zhengchun's words made some sense. So, Zhu Houzhao immediately addressed the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, saying, "In that case, we must immediately strengthen the border defenses!"
"Yang Yuxuan, as the Grand General who protects the country, I will entrust the task of guarding the border to you."
"how?"
As soon as Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Yang Yuxuan, the Grand General of the State, immediately stood up from among the officials!
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, this humble general will do his utmost!"
"Defend the territory of our Great Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly, then turned to Yang Yuxuan with a serious expression and said, "Yes, immediately dispatch 100,000 elite troops to the border between the Ming Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty!"
"If this grandson of the Ming Emperor sends troops to attack my Ming Kingdom, you should naturally resist. If this grandson of the Ming Emperor has no intention of advancing, then you should naturally not clash with his army!"
Zhu Houzhao was a smart man. He knew that if relations with the grandson of the Ming emperor deteriorated, the entire Ming dynasty would collapse completely!
Just as Zhu Wushi said, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down," and Zhu Houzhao didn't want the Ming Dynasty to become that nail!
……
Meanwhile, in the Song state, within its capital city.
The emperor of Song also sensed the impending crisis.
"Your Majesty, chaos has broken out in the north! The Jin Kingdom has been annihilated by someone claiming to be a grandson of the Ming Emperor!"
When the spy informed the Song emperor about the Jin dynasty, the emperor was dumbfounded.
Like Zhu Houzhao, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, this emperor of the Song Dynasty was also surprised that the situation would develop so quickly.
In fact, it could be said to have far exceeded the expectations of the Song emperor.
In this imperial court.
When the Song emperor informed his officials of this matter, they naturally showed signs of panic.
"Your Majesty, now that the Jin Kingdom has been destroyed, it is very likely that the grandson of the Ming Emperor will next send troops to attack our Song Kingdom!"
"Now... the most urgent task is naturally to send out our main force and head north as soon as possible!"
The Minister of War immediately expressed his opinion.
Upon hearing this, the Song emperor felt quite conflicted. After all, although the Song Kingdom had many martial arts masters, its military strength was relatively average.
Therefore, the Song emperor's greatest wish was to avoid war, but now that things have come to this, it seems that the Song kingdom can hardly avoid war.
Therefore, when the Minister of War of the Song Dynasty announced that he would send a large army to the northern border of the Song Dynasty, the Song Emperor actually agreed in the end.
"Send troops immediately! There can be no delay! I have a strong feeling that this so-called grandson of the Ming emperor is definitely coveting the throne of my Song Dynasty!"
To be honest, this emperor of the Song Dynasty didn't have much foresight or courage.
The world has changed, but the Song emperor is still thinking about his own little piece of land.
He had absolutely no ambition to unify the world.
……
The Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the vast grasslands, within a military camp.
The Great Khan of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty also heard the news of the destruction of the Jin Dynasty.
Compared to the Song emperor's caution and self-preservation, this Mongol Khan was none other than Kublai Khan.
The latter addressed the generals in the military camp, saying, "Now that our enemy, the Jin Dynasty, has been destroyed, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty will naturally dominate the world!"
It's clear that Kublai Khan's temperament was completely different from that of the Song emperor; they were worlds apart!
However, after Kublai Khan expressed his ambitions, his generals immediately fell silent.
Kublai Khan naturally noticed this as well, and immediately said, "What's wrong! This is a great thing for both Mongols and Han Chinese, but you all look so sullen?"
Faced with Kublai Khan's questioning, the Prince of Ruyang stepped forward directly.
"Your Majesty, are you not afraid of the mysterious force that will destroy the Jin Kingdom?"
"As everyone knows, the Jin Kingdom is extremely powerful; there are very few in the world that can rival it!"
"But now, the Jin Kingdom has been so easily destroyed by someone who claims to be a grandson of the Ming Emperor!"
"This is enough to show just how terrifying the power of this grandson of the Ming emperor is!"
The Prince of Ruyang's candid words gradually calmed Kublai Khan down. He slowly said to the Prince of Ruyang, "In that case, in your opinion, how should our Mongol Yuan Dynasty handle this matter?"
After Kublai Khan finished speaking, all the generals in the hall immediately turned their attention to the Prince of Ruyang.
The Prince of Ruyang calmly said, "Now that things have come to this, we must naturally increase our defenses and do everything we can to prevent this grandson of the Ming emperor from attacking the Mongol Yuan!"
"Since this so-called grandson of the Ming emperor was able to so easily destroy the Jin dynasty, he must also be able to destroy the Mongol Yuan dynasty!"
After listening, Kublai Khan fell silent.
After a while.
Kublai Khan slowly said to the Prince of Ruyang, "Since that's the case, then you shall be the one to resist this grandson of the Ming Emperor!"
"I'm giving you 50,000 iron cavalry! You must defend this border!"
"We must never allow this grandson of the Ming emperor to invade our Mongol Yuan dynasty!"
As soon as Kublai Khan finished speaking, the Prince of Ruyang immediately accepted the order! (End of Chapter)