Chapter 837
Chapter 837
Li Wenying paused slightly, then said seemingly nonchalantly, "That doesn't necessarily mean anything; perhaps it's just a coincidence?"
Zhang Ziwang: "I feel uneasy about the unusual celestial phenomena."
Li Wenying remained silent.
Pan Yun lowered her eyes, revealing the worry in his heart: "Senior brother, are you afraid that the dragon vein will point to Deng Maoqi?"
Zhang Ziwang remained silent.
Before this, he never thought that Deng Maoqi's uprising would have any results.
The Ming Dynasty has many flaws, and Your Majesty is not without faults, but the Ming Dynasty is still a powerful country, and Your Majesty is not a foolish ruler. How could a new dragon vein appear?
But if it weren't new, how could this dragon vein have remained undiscovered for several dynasties?
In particular, it is so close to Longhu Mountain.
Ironically, a man named Deng Maoqi emerged from the village where the dragon vein was discovered.
Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she whispered, "Then what should we do? Should we report it to the Imperial Observatory?"
Zhang Ziwang remained silent.
Li Wenying glanced at Pan Yun and asked, "Where's your cat?"
The three of them happened to arrive in town.
Pan Yun pointed to a huddled-up ball not far away and said, "Look, it's been waiting for us."
Pan Jun stepped forward, picked up Pan Xiaohei, gently stroked its head, and carried it all the way back.
The black cat was well-behaved, so Zhang Ziwang and Li Wenying had no suspicions. The three of them returned to the village together, picked up the students, and went back to Longhu Mountain.
Going back would also be a form of training, so Zhang Ziwang urged them to use their lightness skills to travel. When the group returned to Longhu Mountain, apart from Pan Yun who was relatively well, the rest of them had blank stares, slightly open mouths, panting, hair stuck to their faces, and clothes soaked with sweat, looking extremely disheveled.
Zhang Ziwang was still not satisfied and scolded, "I usually ask you to cultivate, but you all slack off and procrastinate, as if you are cultivating for me. It's only a little over a hundred miles, look at how well you ran and how long it took you. Starting the day after tomorrow, everyone will go to the Cliff of Contemplation to practice lightness skills. You will jump ten times a day. If you miss one, you will be punished by running twenty miles!"
All living beings wailed in despair.
Only Pan Yun asked curiously, "Why the day after tomorrow?"
Zhang Ziwang said expressionlessly, "Tomorrow is the Ghost Festival. From tonight until nightfall tomorrow, all third- and fourth-year students in the academy must go down the mountain to stand guard."
Everyone obediently lowered their heads and agreed.
Pan Yun then remembered that they were in third grade.
Zhang Ziwang only gave them 15 minutes to rest.
Everyone rushed back to their rooms to wash up, change clothes, and go to the cafeteria for dinner.
Pan Yun and his team often train outside, and they can be very fast when needed.
After Pan Jun finished all this, there was still time to pick up Pan Xiao Hei. He channeled his Yuan energy into his palm, transferring a lot of Yuan energy to it, and then placed it in Hong Yan's formation, letting it lie down with Hong Yan to cultivate.
At night, the moon hangs high in the sky, and its light slants down from the transparent glazed tiles, falling directly on the fox and the black cat...
A fox and a cat, their bellies rising and falling with each breath, the moonlight flowing in and out with each breath, nourishing their bodies.
Pan Yun and the others were stationed not far away. As her cultivation level increased and her merit points helped resist the Spirit Realm's confinement array, her connection with the Spirit Realm became closer and closer. Therefore, the distance between her and Pan Xiaohei was also increasing.
As long as she doesn't leave the Longhu Mountain area tonight, she's unlikely to disturb Pan Xiaohei.
Coincidentally, the place where she was on duty was in the mass grave area outside Longhu Mountain.
It is said that this place was once a battlefield.
Many of my classmates were also sent to neighboring townships and counties.
Actually, they don't need to do anything. They just need to keep watch at night, guard the gate, make sure the things that are handed over are handled properly, and return them safely when it's time.
Everyone learned a lot of tips from the senior students, knowing that to ensure a smooth night, it's best to carry some paper money and gold ingots with you.
Pan Yun led Miao Zhen and the other two to town and went directly into a general store to buy a large quantity of paper money.
When the shopkeeper saw them stuffing paper money into a large basket, he quickly stopped them, saying, "Junior Uncle, Junior Uncle, yours is here."
He took out four large bags and tore them open to show them.
Inside were bright orange paper money, and the aroma of incense wafted out. Pan Jun touched it, quite satisfied, paid the money, and left with her bag.
Miaozhen sat cross-legged beside her, feeling the wind growing colder in the darkness, and asked, "It wouldn't matter if they knew we were the ones who did the Huang residence incident; the academy would definitely cover for us. Why implicate Deng Maoqi?"
Pan Yun: "Things that are being fought over are all the more precious."
Miaozhen: "Will they send more people to kill Deng Maoqi?"
Pan Yun: "Have they sent fewer people now? So far, the imperial court has shown no intention of offering amnesty."
The matter might involve Fujian rebels, and Zhang Ziwang dared not conceal it. As soon as he returned to the academy, he immediately reported it.
Meanwhile, the county government also imprisoned the Huang family and reported the facts to higher authorities.
The cabinet considered the Huang family's matter insignificant and simply ordered it to be handled according to the law.
According to the law, then Master Huang is innocent.
The ironclad rules regarding dragon veins apply to those registered as cultivators within the Celestial Master's Mansion.
What crime could Master Huang have committed?
He was accused of plotting a rebellion, but he did nothing; he just thought about it and was swindled out of money by a Taoist priest.
According to the law, actions should be judged regardless of intentions. Therefore, after receiving the cabinet's reply, the magistrate considered it briefly and released the Huang family.
However, he warned the other party not to oppress the tenants anymore and to abide by the signed contract.
Mr. Huang thought his whole family was doomed, but when he heard that everything was alright, he readily agreed and rushed back with his family.
But not long after, he forgot the pain once the wound healed and remembered the rent stipulated in the contract. He regretted it and wanted to increase it by 10%. While he was making a fuss, the Director of the Imperial Observatory in the capital specially reported the matter.
As far as the cabinet is concerned, the theory of dragon veins is completely unfounded. Well, perhaps it can't be said to be completely unfounded, but it is absolutely unacceptable for the Celestial Master's Mansion to say what it is.
Today, the Celestial Master's Mansion can point to a house and say that there is a dragon vein underneath, and that the people living on it have rebellious intentions;
One day, the Taoist priest might identify their house as having a dragon vein...
This is extremely dangerous, and they absolutely will not allow it.
Therefore, they did not report to the emperor, but were directly ordered to be dealt with according to the law by the county magistrate.
But the Imperial Observatory didn't think so. They absolutely trusted the Celestial Master's Mansion.
Moreover, the new director of the Imperial Observatory was one of Wang Zhen's men.
“His Majesty deeply dislikes Deng Maoqi. Since the rebels have been unable to be defeated after a long siege, some officials in the court have proposed to offer amnesty. I see that His Majesty is not very happy about this. It would be good to report this matter to His Majesty so that His Majesty can get what he wants and relieve his worries.” Wang Zhen asked the supervisor to report this matter during the grand court assembly.
As a result, Master Huang, who was forcing the tenant farmers to raise their rents, was arrested and thrown into jail again.
Mr. Huang was completely stunned.
The magistrate, expressionless, pronounced his crimes: Huang Shijian, a criminal, had conspired with the traitor Deng Maoqi to rebel, and had helped Deng Maoqi oppress the local people and procure military provisions...
Huang Shijian's eyes widened: "Who? Me, I colluded with Deng Maoqi?"
He is Deng Maoqi's enemy!
The magistrate read out his crimes expressionlessly and sentenced him to be executed in the autumn.
Master Huang cried and wailed, shouting, "Your Honor, you've been wronged! Everyone in the village knows I have a grudge against Deng Maoqi. I even forced him to leave. How could I possibly collude with him?"
The magistrate stared at him coldly for a moment before saying, "These are the charges drafted by the higher-ups. You say you and Deng Maoqi are not accomplices, but do you have any witnesses?"
"Yes, yes! Everyone in the village can testify, and the Deng family can also testify. Their son was forced away by me, and they resent me. You can ask them and you'll know."
The magistrate said, "I have asked them, and they all say that you are Deng Maoqi's accomplice. The so-called story of Deng Maoqi being forced to leave by you is just a play you and Deng Maoqi put on."
Old Master Huang's eyes widened.
The magistrate passed by him expressionlessly, paused slightly, and glanced down at him condescendingly: "Originally, you had a chance to live. Deng Maoqi plotted a rebellion, but his parents and brothers were all fine because the villagers testified on his behalf. Deng Maoqi was disobedient and unfilial, and was expelled from the Deng family at an early age, and had long severed ties with his parents."
The words of the old Taoist priest with white hair and a youthful face flashed through Master Huang's mind: if he kept his promise and treated the tenant farmers well, he could turn danger into safety...
If he hadn't forced the tenants to raise rents during this period, but instead took the opportunity of his safe release from prison to reduce rents and reward them, wouldn't people have testified for him?
Master Huang was escorted to the capital, and his death sentence was a foregone conclusion. However, Deng Maoqi was still causing trouble in Fujian, which was a thorn in the emperor's side.
He was furious and paced back and forth, asking the Ministry of War, "Has Chen Mao not sent any military reports to the capital?"
"Your Majesty, after Chen Mao went south, he fought five battles against Deng Maoqi's main force, winning four and losing one. If this continues, the rebellion will be quelled by winter at the latest."
The emperor felt as if his heart was on fire, and he sneered, "A mere rebellion by a lowly commoner has prompted the court to send in 150,000 troops. Are the soldiers in Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi just good for nothing?"
The large armies sent to quell the rebellion were mostly drawn from these places.
The Minister of War bowed his head.
The emperor had already received some dubious information. He squinted at the officials and asked, "Are there really as many as 150,000 soldiers transferred from various places to Fujian?"
The Ministry of War official lowered his head and said carefully, "Reports from various places confirm that they did indeed follow the imperial decree and mobilized 150,000 troops."
The emperor sneered repeatedly: "That would be best, as I do not wish for any further complications in the suppression of the rebellion."
The officials of the Ministry of War were somewhat uneasy. After exchanging glances, they whispered, "Your Majesty, the Luchuan rebellion has broken out again. It is difficult for the national treasury and the Ministry of War to deal with two major disturbances at once. Why not adopt a policy of appeasement towards Deng Maoqi? Perhaps it would be better to offer him amnesty than to quell the rebellion by force."
Upon hearing this, the emperor was convinced that they had something to hide and sneered, "You didn't say that last year. Didn't you swear that you could definitely quell Deng Maoqi's rebellion, and that you would never set a precedent for granting amnesty to prevent future generations from following suit?"
The Ministry of War officials admitted their mistake, saying they never expected Deng Maoqi to be so stubborn, managing to entice so many people to join him in rebellion.
"The people are mostly ignorant, and Fujian is too far from the capital to receive the emperor's favor, so they were misled by Deng Maoqi," the Ministry of War official thought that their situation was excusable and could be forgiven, and that there was no need to kill them all. "They are also Your Majesty's subjects. Why not give them a break and offer Deng Maoqi an official position? If he is unruly, he will make mistakes again, and then we can punish him according to the law."
The emperor, of course, refused.
When the emperor learned that Deng Maoqi might be involved with the imperial lineage, he did not want to see him, nor did he want to let him grow too powerful. Killing him was the best solution!
As soon as the Ministry of War officials left, the emperor summoned the Embroidered Uniform Guard and ordered them to investigate the troop deployments in Fujian and Jiangnan: "Investigate the cases of 'ghost soldiers' and whether the army dispatched this time really has the 150,000 troops listed in the register."
The Imperial Guards received their orders and withdrew.
The emperor felt he was already troubled enough, but he never expected there to be something even more troubling.
Two days later, something else happened in the North.
The spring wheat harvest had just been completed in the north when Esen sent four armies south to plunder, shocking the court and the public.
Actually, I wasn't that shocked; at least Yu Qian seemed quite calm.
He had known all along that the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Barbarians would eventually clash.
Since Emperor Renzong neglected strategic planning and Emperor Xuanzong succeeded him, powerful warlords around the country seized the opportunity. In recent years, in North China, Toghon of the Oirat Mongols gradually unified the various Mongol tribes; in South China, Lili of Jiaozhi began to conquer cities and seize territories; in the southwest, the Luchuan region was restless and constantly probing; in the northwest, Toghon had infiltrated; and in the northeast, the Nurgan army was corrupt and its discipline was deteriorating...
However, this matter was kept secret from both the emperor and his officials; not only the emperor, but also many civil and military officials in the court were completely unaware of it.
His last trip south wasn't just about disaster relief.
Because the affected area was so large, it included military dependents and stationed troops.
Even with only a rough understanding, it was enough to alarm Yu Qian.
In the prosperous Jiangnan region, much of the land designated for military settlements ended up in the hands of local garrison generals and powerful clans, not to mention the cases of soldiers receiving salaries without working.
If this is the case in Jiangnan, one can only imagine how it is in other places.
Yu Qian himself deduced the truth, and it was also shocking.
Therefore, the Northern Hu would eventually invade and plunder southward, but he did not expect it to happen so soon and so coincidentally, just when a large number of troops were tied up in Luchuan and Fujian.
But it doesn't matter, the Ming Dynasty still has a great chance of winning. The troops stationed in Datong and Xuanfu are all experienced veterans, and some more can be drawn from the capital...
Yu Qian smiled as he thought of the cannons that the Ministry of War had been developing over the past two years. He stepped forward to make a suggestion when the emperor suddenly spoke up: "I want to personally lead the expedition!"
Yu Qian's smile vanished instantly. Forgetting his strategy, he hurriedly objected, "No, Your Majesty!"
There were quite a few officials who opposed him, including many civil and military officials. The emperor personally leading the expedition? What a joke!
If the young emperor were to personally lead an expedition, would the soldiers on the battlefield obey the emperor's orders or the general's orders?
Do you listen to the emperor? Does he have the ability to lead an army and the vision to coordinate a united front?
Listen to the general; who can oppose the emperor?
If the emperor were to personally lead the expedition, the chances of victory would be reduced from 100% to 50%. Wouldn't that be playing with the lives of the soldiers?
The young emperor stared at them suspiciously, thinking that so many civil and military officials were opposing him, so they must be hiding something from him.
The emperor said, "My father used his martial prowess to defeat the Five Barbarian Tribes, and I wish to emulate him."
"Your Majesty, please reconsider. A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall. The battlefield is dangerous. Sending a great general there will also enhance Your Majesty's prestige."
The emperor, however, was determined to personally lead the expedition.
How could Wang Zhen not help the young emperor with what he insisted on doing?
Ever since there was a possibility of estrangement between him and the young emperor, Wang Zhen had been completely obedient to him. If he wanted the stars, he would never get the moon.
If the emperor didn't know whether he wanted the stars or the moon, Wang Zhen would help him choose, making him say he preferred the stars, and then presenting them to him. (End of Chapter)