Chapter 169 Wang Xi's Diplomatic Mission to Yunnan
In the history of modern Chen Biao's time and space, Wang Xi also went to Yunnan as an envoy, but he was excluded at that time.
When the court unanimously discussed letting Wang Xi embark on the journey to Yunnan, they were just like those famous ministers in the Song Dynasty who were exiled for their concern for the country and the people, and they all hoped for his death.
When Wang Xi died, they would shed a few tears, write a few masterpieces that would be passed down through the ages, cast Wang Xi's image into a clay statue, and enshrine it on the altar for worship by thousands of people - although after Wang Xi's death, his son Wang Shen traveled thousands of miles to search for Wang Xi's remains but could not find them.
Wang Xi's death while upholding his integrity was a personal honor for him, but it was also an indelible stain on the Hongwu Emperor and the civil officials who ostracized him during the Hongwu reign.
In this time and space, Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang did not want Wang Xi to leave.
Zhu Yuanzhang had done his best to imitate Wang Xi's left-handed handwriting, and could write letters to Biao'er as the Hongwu Emperor without Wang Xi's help. However, there were few ministers in the court that Zhu Yuanzhang could trust, and even fewer who were capable. Zhu Yuanzhang was eager to put Wang Xi in the position of the Secretariat.
Li Shanchang also didn't want Wang Xi to leave.
Wang Xi was much younger than Li Shanchang. Li Shanchang was anxious to retire and hoped that Wang Xi could take over his position.
But after Wang Xi of this time and space defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, his official career went smoothly and he was very ambitious. Even in the court, he did not change his madman style.
What's more, he had read the heavenly book and liked the entry "Practice makes perfect". He wanted to walk on every inch of Chinese land with his feet and put the teachings of the saint into practice.
Such a madman certainly didn't want to stay in the Secretariat, calculating and calculating like an accountant. Wang Xi's heart was set on traveling the world for the Ming Dynasty.
As a result, after many twists and turns, and after going through countless games of negotiation (crossed out), Wang Xi finally went on a diplomatic mission to Yunnan.
In fact, Wang Xi wanted to go to Tibet more. But Zhu Yuanzhang thought Tibet was too far away and too unfamiliar. Yunnan was at least safer under the "encirclement" of the Ming Dynasty.
For Wang Xi's safety, Zhu Yuanzhang not only sent a hundred skilled cavalry escorts, but also sent two deputy envoys and civil officials to help Wang Xi.
These two civil officials were named Hua Yun and Kang Maocai.
As the first generals to be forced to switch from military to civilian duties, the two were already accustomed to the etiquette of civil officials .
Kang Maocai was born to look like a Confucian general, and now with his goatee, he looks like a complete Confucian scholar.
As for Hua Yun, he probably looks a lot like the young Confucius himself, and is also a genuine Confucian student.
Yunnan in the Yuan Dynasty had both a provincial leadership team and a vassal king's administrative team.
The King of Liang, Zhala Walsai, who guarded Yunnan, was a descendant of Ganmala, the grandson of Kublai Khan; the Duan family, who assisted the King of Liang in managing Yunnan, continued to allow the Duan family to inherit the position of the governor of Yunnan after the Yuan Dynasty captured the King of Dali, Duan.
Although Prince Liang and General Duan were living in a corner, Sichuan, Guangxi and other places bordering Yunnan had already belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and they had long been in a state of panic.
Thanks to Chang Yuchun's management, the people in Sichuan and Shu were relatively stable and production recovered quickly.
When Wang Xi was sent from Sichuan to Yunnan as an envoy, the drama club that emerged from the labor reform camp had already rehearsed stories of famous envoys in history, such as "Su Wu".
Therefore, when the common people saw Wang Xi, they couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and look at him with admiration.
Some elders and gentry who could speak Mandarin also raised a lot of money and food to give to the envoy team, although the envoy team refused to accept it.
"Envoy Wang, you must return safely."
"If the Tartars in Yunnan bully you, send someone to deliver a message immediately, and we will attack them!"
Wang Xi was at a loss for words. "Okay, okay, I'll definitely do that."
He smiled and said to Hua Yun and Kang Maocai, "I am truly astonished by the public support that Marshal Chang has garnered. Marshal Chang is undoubtedly the most meritorious official."
Hua Yun wiped the dew from his beard and said, "Isn't Chen Guorui the most meritorious official?"
Kang Maocai corrected: "It's Zhu Guorui, the King of the Country Zhu Guorui."
After the two had a serious conversation, they immediately looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Wang Xi couldn't help laughing and shaking his head.
The entourage looked at the three envoys curiously, not knowing what they were laughing at.
After laughing at this joke that only Zhu Yuanzhang's confidants understood, the three of them saw the soldiers who had been waiting for a long time at the Yunnan border.
They straightened their appearance, unfurled the flags representing the envoys and the Ming Dynasty, and calmly stepped into the enemy's territory.
"Wait!" Lan Yu rode up on horseback, "Dear envoys, I'll give you a ride!"
When Chang Yuchun was farming in the north, Lan Yu was extremely bored and had returned to Sichuan to prepare for the attack on Yunnan.
Hua Yun smiled and said , "Okay, nephew Lan, don't scare them."
Lan Yu said, "I'm not scary."
Lan Yu unfolded his general's flag, and behind him, three thousand cavalrymen filed out from the small path and formed a line.
King Liang was very nervous.
Lan Yu, without cavalry protection, single-handedly escorted Wang Xi, Hua Yun, and Kang Maocai across the Yunnan border. Approaching the Prince of Liang, he said indifferently, "Even when two countries are at war, neither executes envoys. If you refuse to surrender, please return the Ming envoys safely."
A Mongolian general behind King Liang shouted angrily, "If we insist on killing him, what can you do?!"
Lan Yu glanced at the general and said, "You should already know that we have driven the Mongolian emperor and crown prince back to the grasslands, forcing them to live in tents, drink goat's milk, and warm themselves by bonfires made of sheepskin. If you dare to kill any of the envoys, I swear by the sword in my hand that on the day I pacify Yunnan, I will chop all of your relatives, friends, and all those associated with you into pieces, one by one, until only your skeletons remain. I will then enshrine the skeletons at the envoy's tomb."
Lan Yu's mouth curled up in a ferocious manner, instantly destroying his supposedly gentle expression. "You believe in Tibetan lamas, so I imagine you're very familiar with this kind of sacrifice."
King Liang was furious: "How dare you threaten me?!"
Lan Yu glanced at him lightly: "Your emperor and crown prince have been driven back to the grassland to herd sheep. I am not threatening you, I am just telling you the truth."
After saying this, Lan Yu was too lazy to continue his verbal exchanges with King Liang and the others. He clasped his fists towards Wang Xi and said, "I wish you a safe journey, Envoy Wang. I will set up camp here and await your triumphant return!"
Wang Xi listened to Lan Yu's bloody and cruel threats with a smile, then bowed and said, "Thank you for your hard work, General Lan. Everyone, let's go. King Liang, it's a pleasure to meet you."
King Liang looked at Lan Yu's back as he returned to the Ming army. He was extremely angry, but helpless. He could only look away, out of sight, out of mind.
"Your Majesty, I have long admired you." King Liang said in a stiff tone.
…
"By now, that guy Wang Zi Chong must have arrived in Yunnan." Liu Ji lay on the chair, crossed his legs and sighed.
Song Lian put down the book and said unhappily, "You are becoming more and more unkempt.
Liu Ji said lazily, "It's just you and me here, why should we care about appearances? Our emperor doesn't care about appearances, and the ministers are just imitating the emperor."
Song Lian was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "Why are you imitating him? He's already holding Biao'er and crying like a fool. Why are you holding Biao'er and crying too?"
Liu Ji said, "If Biao'er can teach me the secret of cursing the dead, I wouldn't mind hugging him and crying."
Song Lian was speechless.
Why did Bowen still remember this? How obsessed was he with cursing people to death?
Song Lian said, "Biao'er said he didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Liu Ji snorted coldly: "Yeah, this time he didn't die from the scolding , and he still has a breath left. I really can't figure it out... Never mind, I'll try a new method next time."
Song Lian didn't want to know what the "new method" Liu Ji was talking about was.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Ji to go to the Secretariat to replace Wang Xi, but Liu Ji clung to the pillar of the Censorate and refused to leave.
Liu Ji claimed that he was better at supervising the administration of officials and enforcing laws, but Zhu Yuanzhang privately complained to Song Lian that Liu Ji just wanted to curse.
Song Lian sighed: "You really don't want to go to the Secretariat? That's the Prime Minister."
Liu Ji lazily said, "What's wrong with being the Prime Minister? The Secretariat will be demolished sooner or later anyway, and the Emperor is just too busy right now. Why should I go to a place that's about to be demolished? Wouldn't it be better to stay at the Censorate?"
After saying that, he reached into his clothes and scratched his stomach.
Although he had been in Beijing for several months, the Lantern Festival had just ended, and the weather was gradually warming up, the sight of Liu Ji exposing his chest in front of the brazier still made Song Lian pull his clothes closer.
Isn't he cold?
Song Lian continued to read, while Liu Ji continued to doze off. The courtyard was completely silent until Zhu Biao arrived, but his voice hadn't arrived yet.
"Mr. Song! Mr. Liu! I have good news for you!"
Liu Ji immediately regained his spirits.
He put on his clothes and shouted to Zhu Biao, who was still nowhere to be seen, "What good news?"
"Hahaha, there's news from the Nanjing workshop, it's done, it's done!" Zhu Biao rushed in with a smile, his hair bun running askew.
Zhu Yuanzhang followed Zhu Biao and shouted, "Why are you running so fast? Be careful not to fall!"
Liu Ji couldn't help rolling his eyes when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's protective look.
How old is Biao'er? My Lord, do you still think Biao'er is a baby who can't walk steadily? You're actually afraid that Biao'er will fall...
Before Liu Ji could finish his complaints, Zhu Biao, out of sheer excitement, stepped on the spring snow that Song Lian and Liu Ji hadn't cleared away. Then, with his arms spread out, he slid like a flying bird onto the ugly snowman that Song Lian and Liu Ji had built.
"ah!"
Zhu Biao dived into the snowman's belly, leaving half of his body struggling outside.
Liu Ji: “…”
Song Lian couldn't help laughing: "No wonder Lord... General Zhu was so worried about Biao'er falling. Once Biao'er gets excited, doesn't he look at the road?"
Liu Ji stood up and together with Zhu Yuanzhang pulled Zhu Biao out of the snow pile: "Apparently, when Biao gets too excited, he doesn't like to look at his feet. He won't change despite repeated warnings."
Zhu Biao, who had rolled into the snowman, continued excitedly, "The steam engine is done!"
Liu Ji, who was about to pull Zhu Biao to change clothes, was stunned: "What?"
Zhu Biao jumped up and down, his voice almost breaking: "Steam engine! Steam engine! It's been years, years!"
Song Lian threw away his precious book, rushed over, pressed Zhu Biao's shoulder, and said, "Steam engine? Is that the wooden ox and flowing horse from the Yanlong painting?"
Zhu Biao was held down by Song Lian but couldn't help but jump up: "Yes! That's it...ah, Dad, what are you doing!"
Zhu Yuanzhang hoisted the teenaged Zhu Biao onto his shoulders and stormed into the house angrily: "No steam engine is more important than your body. Change your clothes first! Liu Bowen, bring me a set of clean clothes!"
"Oh, okay." Liu Ji hurried to follow.
Song Lian came to his senses and hurried to prepare hot water.
Yes, even the wooden ox and the flowing horse are not as important as Biao'er's body.
"Ouch!" Song Lian was so excited that his hand shook and the basin hit his foot.
He sat down on the ground and couldn't help grinning.
