Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 22 Ningxia Undercurrent
  At night, in the military camp of the westward marching army, Zhang Xiao continued to tell the story of Cortez: "Cortez pretended to be an envoy from the Franco Kingdom and entered Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs. The clever trick caught the king, put him under house arrest, and then ordered the Aztecs to provide gold and jewelry and plundered them everywhere. The Aztecs were dissatisfied, and a brave young nobleman, Guatemuz, secretly gave advice to King Montezuma II. He said that the Franji people did all kinds of evil, damaged the altar, offended the gods, and must retaliate with blood. Montezuma II told Guatemuz to calm down. He had already learned the news. The Franji country had sent troops to land to arrest Kota. The Ertis gang is rebellious.”

"Let's stop talking about it today. The three gentlemen have worked hard to proofread the manuscript. After proofreading, show it to me." Zhang Xiao ordered.

"This Cortez is really brave. A few hundred people can make such a big noise. How could Montezuma II be so careless? In his own capital, he was turned into a guest." Li Rusong said with emotion. .

"I don't know what Montezuma II is thinking now. However, Montezuma II must have known about the big commotion that the Franco Kingdom had made in the Americas, and he probably didn't want to fight with the Franco Kingdom. After all, our national strength is still far inferior to that of Franji, and there are various hidden worries in the country, especially many tribes that do not obey the rule of the Aztecs," Zhang Xiao said.

"Is that city called Tenuo still there? There are 200,000 people in one city, and it was built in a lake. It's really unimaginable." Li Rubai asked curiously.

"Many houses in Tenochtitlan were destroyed, but later the Francos built Mexico City on the old site, which is now a big city. The original lake should have been filled in a lot. I also I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, I just heard about it,” Zhang Xiao said.

"Although the guns, artillery and armor of the Folanji country are excellent, they are not invulnerable. The American natives also have weapons in their hands. Even if they are made of stone, they can't kill people. Even if they can't be killed, they can still be smashed to death. Just now. In the battles you mentioned, especially the one with the Tlaxcans, I feel that the Native Americans still suffered because they did not have cavalry, and it can be felt that their bows and arrows were not good at being charged by such a small amount of cavalry. It collapsed." Li Rumei said.

"General Ziqing really has a dangerous vision. If it weren't for the horses and relying on the cavalry to overwhelm the natives' formation, he would have killed hundreds of Cortez with his swords. But after all, the natives have never seen this before. It's normal for cavalry to panic," Zhang Xiao said.

"Mr. Zhang, maybe the three of us won't be able to come to your place to listen to stories tomorrow. The city of Ningxia is getting closer. I looked at the border forts along the road. The morale of the soldiers is not very good. They have been owed pay for many days, and their tone of voice is not good. Taishan, it makes him feel better knowing that we are here to send him salary. I didn’t expect that the military in the northwest is so rotten." Li Rusong said with emotion.

"I will not write a book starting tomorrow. Although this incident in Ningxia is not a conquest, it may not be easier than a conquest. I have been thinking about countermeasures these days, but after all, it is just talk on paper. But before I left, I had already told His Majesty Recommend one person, if he can come, things will be much easier to handle." Zhang Xiao said.

"Who?"

"Magui."

"Ma Gui is a strong general, but he was just impeached and stepped down."

"It's just a matter of risking your salary to support your family. Now that the court wants to hire warriors, how can you stick to small details?"

……

Ningxia Governor's Yamen.

Dang Xin sat with a gloomy expression.

"Futai, didn't the emperor already know about your memorial? He also sent elite sergeants to support him. With a strong army in hand, even if there are people with evil intentions, they will not dare to move because of the power of heaven." Deputy Military Preparation Shi Jifang asked.

"But the Holy Father did not reprimand Kuai Bai and his son. Instead, he gave me a lecture. These people are embezzling money and expropriating money. Why should I come to investigate and be reprimanded? It is really unreasonable." Dang Xin said dissatisfied.

"Since the imperial court intends to handle it personally, it can only wait until the imperial envoys arrive before taking action." Shi Jifang said helplessly.

"The imperial envoy who came this time is named Zhang Xiao. I heard that he is still holding the title of Yushi of Qiandu. These days, the people in the Yamen must be more alert. Don't take what you shouldn't take, and don't say what you shouldn't say. If you talk nonsense, you must not cause any trouble." Dang Xin ordered.

Somewhere in the Ningxia military camp, several officers were gathering together and discussing quietly.

"The court heard that three thousand people have arrived. They are counting the days and they should be ready to arrive."

"There are only three thousand people. There are also hundreds of servants led by the three brothers Li Rusong. They are all the elite direct descendants of Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong." "Hundreds of servants, that's awesome. At least all of Li Chengliang's servants will be released when they are released." It’s probably a hundred households.”

"Hundred households? What are you thinking about? Several of the servants of the Li family have managed to get through and have become generals. Do you think Li Chengliang just accepted the servants casually?"

"Hey, Brother Liu is here. Who are the two next to Brother Liu?"

"You're blind, that's not Mr. Wei and the local commander."

Several officers quickly stood up.

"Everyone is sitting here, they are all brothers." Kuai Chengen waved his hand.

Several officers glanced at Liu Dongyang and sat back one after another.

"Are these all sworn brothers of Brother Liu? Sure enough, they are all heroes. What is your name, the strong man sitting on the far left?" Kuai Chengen asked.

"His name is Xu Chao. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be many of us who are the most powerful in the army in Ningxia Town." Liu Dongyang said.

"They are all strong men. Brother Liu, have you agreed to what I told you before?" Kuai Chengen asked.

"I've said it all, brothers can all understand that the imperial envoy will be arriving soon. Now that we are arguing about pay, I'm afraid no one will follow." Liu Dongyang said.

"I can't help it. If my old father didn't retire peacefully before, he would definitely come out to grab the credit. He jumped up to the higher level and wanted to gain military glory, which offended that petty bastard Dang Xin. When Dang Xin asked me about Guazi, he didn't understand and he really gave it to me. I gave you real melon seeds. Why, you want Dang Xin to resign and go back to planting melons? Dang Xin didn’t get enough." Kuai Chengen said angrily.

"The same goes for the imperial court. How can we let Li Chengliang's people take care of our affairs in Ningxia Town? He, Li Chengliang, is capable of fighting, so why would he send his son to take care of our affairs in the northwest?" Xu Chao said.

"It's not that simple. This time it should be someone appointed by the imperial court. I heard that the imperial envoy Zhang Xiao wrote a few books and was favored by the emperor. Now he is an imperial envoy. He is a confidant at first glance." En said.

"Gao Qiu can become a lieutenant even if he plays football. Writing a book is much better than playing football. It's a pity that when I was young, I, Old Liu, had no money and couldn't study. Otherwise, I would write a book and seek an official position." Liu Dongyang said carelessly. .

"What's even more troublesome is that I heard that Commander Zhang Weizhong is going to be replaced." Kuai Chengen said.

"Who will come up?" Liu Dongyang asked quickly.

"Ma Gui. That old man who is very good at fighting."

"Mr. Ma, didn't he just step down? Why is he back again? Is the news true?" Liu Dongyang was shocked.

"As a deputy commander, I can still find out this matter clearly. We are not allowed to move these days, and we have to restrain our brothers to see what the court wants to do." Yi Chengen ordered.

(End of this chapter)