Chapter 171 Do You Know the Envoys from Han and Tang Dynasties?
Not to mention King Liang, even the civil servants Hua Yun and Kang Maocai were confused.
Hua Yun wiped the wine stains from his beard and sighed, "Prince, are we just here to eat, drink and have fun? If His Majesty knew, he would probably be furious."
Kang Maocai also felt guilty: "When we left, the emperor told us to get up early and return home because the court was very busy."
Wang Xi said drunkenly, "Why rush? It's a rare opportunity to get out, so enjoy yourself. Biao'er is right. They say Yunnan and Guizhou are wild and desolate places, filled with miasma, making it difficult for ordinary people to live there for long. It's already summer in Nanjing, but here it's as comfortable as spring. How can it be considered a wilderness?"
Kang Maocai also nodded: "Biao'er said that Kunming is like spring all year round, and it is also called the Spring City. It is indeed true."
Hua Yun frowned, "Kunming is nice, but what does that have to do with us staying here doing nothing?"
Wang Xi smiled and said, "It's so nice here, so enjoy it."
Hua Yun's rough, dark face twisted into the expression of a resentful young wife: "Prince, please stop teasing me. You are not someone who enjoys pleasure."
Wang Xi took a bite of the fresh fruit and chuckled, "You're wrong. No one doesn't like to enjoy life; it's just that morality constrains us from enjoying things we don't approve of. Hey! The fruit here is much better than in Nanjing!"
Hua Yun ate a piece of fruit in a depressed mood, his brow furrowed. "It's indeed delicious. But I'm anxious because I have nothing to do. Prince, can you give me an order and give me something to do? Even if it means asking me to assassinate King Liang and die!"
Kang Maocai was almost choked by Hua Guo: "Ahem, there's no need to be like this."
Wang Xi laughed and said, "Perhaps I will actually order you to assassinate King Liang."
Kang Maocai hesitated for a moment, then said seriously: "Prince, I believe you. If you think it is necessary, I will do it."
Hua Yun's frown widened: "Really? When?"
Rubbing hands, eager to try.
Kang Maocai looked at Hua Yun's positive attitude and couldn't help but reflect on himself. He actually hesitated for a while before making a decision. He was far inferior to Hua Yun in level.
Wang Xi was amused by Hua Yun's enthusiasm and said, "Don't worry, it will be quick. By the way, have you been studying seriously recently?"
Kang Maocai nodded: "Of course."
Hua Yun's eyes drifted: "Of course..."
Wang Xi couldn't help but pick up the remaining fruit core and hit Hua Yun with it.
Hua Yun caught the core, threw it aside, and said with an awkward smile, "Read it. I'll read it tonight."
Wang Xi rolled his eyes at Hua Yun and said, "The Han and Tang emperors were broad-minded and embracing, sending the most envoys. Have you read the stories of those envoys during your mission this time?"
Hua Yun immediately patted his chest and said, "I've read this!"
Wang Xi smiled and said, "Have you heard the story of Fu Jiezi?"
Hua Yun's eyes lit up: "Of course, I've read it many times!"
Kang Maocai also said: "Not only Fu Jiezi, I have read all the stories about envoys during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han!"
Wang Xi asked, "How about we follow the example of the Han envoys?"
What about the Han Dynasty envoys?
The Han Dynasty envoys used a derogatory term to describe them, calling them "shit stirrers."
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han Dynasty was already very powerful. Logically, Han envoys should not have been in danger of their lives when they were sent to places other than the Xiongnu.
However, according to historical records, after Emperor Wu of Han, small countries often became rampant and killed envoys.
Then, the Han emperor was very sad and angry, saying that the small country took action first, so I had to go against the Han Dynasty’s promise to reconcile with many small countries but not annex them, and ordered troops to be sent.
So what did these envoys do? They smashed other people's national treasures, denounced other people's monarchs, had affairs with other people's queen mothers (?), beheaded other people's nobles... In short, they did whatever they could to provoke or bring about their own death.
What is even more exciting is that most of these envoys were pure Confucian scholars in terms of the works they left behind and the scriptures they studied.
God knows what they learned from the Confucian classics. They probably learned from Gongyang's teachings. Not only can they avenge a grudge that has lasted for ten generations, but they will also create some revenge even if there is no grudge at all.
Of course, Han envoys weren't simply courting death. They could also have directly killed the other side's monarch or powerful ministers, and when others protested, they would say, "The Han army is waiting, what are you looking at!"
For example, Fu Jiezi killed the King of Loulan, Wen Zhong killed the King of Qibin, and Duan Huizong killed the Prince of Wusun...
The envoys of the Han Dynasty were so provocative. Although the envoys of the Tang Dynasty were a little more friendly, they were not very friendly either, such as Wang Xuance, who destroyed an entire country by himself.
Although Wang Xuance is considered very powerful by later generations, his achievements during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang were only modest, and he was not even mentioned in a biography. This shows how powerful generals were during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang.
However, since the death of Emperor Taizu of Song, scholars can only lament the fragments of good times lost in the long river of history from the history books, and miss the madness of the envoys at that time who relied on a country and were willing to bet their lives.
Wang Xi longed to be the envoys from the Han and Tang dynasties.
He once wrote an article titled "Ode to Su Wu in Qilin Pavilion," praising Su Wu for his "loyalty both inside and out." But what he hadn't dared to say was that he admired Su Wu's loyalty and envied a powerful Han Dynasty that could avenge Su Wu.
If Emperor Wu of Han had not later launched an expedition against the Xiongnu and conquered the Western Regions, the story of "Su Wu herding sheep" would have had a touch of painful and intractable coloring.
Wang Xi was a madman. No matter how depressing the story was at the beginning, he always wanted to make the audience feel proud in the end.
Wang Xi had almost completed his preparations, and today, on the small boat with only the three of them, he expressed his thoughts one by one.
Although Kang Maocai was overwhelmed with emotion, he also had some doubts: "The Ming Dynasty is different from the Han Dynasty. Even if we don't die here, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely go to Yunnan."
Hua Yun rolled his eyes at Kang Maocai, his white eyes particularly conspicuous against his dark complexion, full of sarcasm. "Fool! Your Excellency's remarks are mainly about the Han and Tang envoys, who, with the backing of powerful nations, were able to destroy entire nations. Your Excellency wants us to learn from their fearless courage and bravery. What you're talking about is... well, Biao'er mentioned it in class, it's called metaphysics!"
Kang Maocai: "..." He was actually mocked by Hua Yun? Go back and study hard with a lantern!
Wang Xi laughed. "Indeed. Although I have made preparations, this strategy requires calculating people's hearts, and people's hearts are difficult to calculate. However, with the skills of the two generals, it will be easy to break out of the encirclement with the cavalry. Once you escape to the mountains and forests, even the locals of Yunnan will find it difficult to find you. So the two generals don't have to worry too much."
Hua Yun immediately said, "It's easy for Lao Kang and I to rush out, but you have to go out too."
Wang Xi said, "If I can escape, I will of course follow. If I can't escape, dying for the Ming in Yunnan would also be a good idea. After all, this plan was my idea, and I should pay the price for it."
Kang Maocai immediately said, "Prince, don't say that. We all want to go back together."
Hua Yun nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Lao Kang and I pretended to be civil officials and went on a diplomatic mission, wasn't it just to protect you, Your Highness?"
Wang Xi laughed heartily: "The two generals have been civil officials for a long time. They are civil officials by nature. How can you pretend to be civil officials?"
Kang Maocai laughed: "That's true."
Hua Yun covered her ears and wilted instantly: "No, I'm not."
Kang Maocai couldn't help but burst into laughter with Wang Xi.
On another boat that secretly followed the three men in the name of escort, the Liang Wang attendants who were dozing off were frightened by the three men's laughter.
They rushed out of the cabin to take a look, then went back to sleep on the boat.
Half a year ago, they would have tried every possible means to find out Wang Xi's every move. But after half a year, the surveillance has become very lax.
After Wang Xi and the other three got off the boat, they continued their "work" for the past six months.
They visited Yunnan officials, shared the newly acquired newspapers with them, and told them about the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.
Yunnan is a remote place with little knowledge of the outside world. Although the Ming Dynasty claimed that the Yuan Dynasty had collapsed, many people still did not believe it.
Wang Xi brought a cart full of old newspapers to broaden these people's horizons.
At first, most people thought the news in the newspaper Wang Xi brought was fake. Wang Xi just smiled and told them to check it out themselves.
Half a year was enough time for them to secretly investigate the nearby areas occupied by the Ming Dynasty, and more and more people were leaning towards the Ming Dynasty.
The road to Shu is difficult. Whether you take the water route through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River or cross the Bashan Mountains and Qinling Mountains, the road is very dangerous.
But through the pioneering efforts of generations of Bashu people, Shu caravans had long been able to travel across the country. Especially via the Yangtze River waterway in eastern Sichuan, communication and exchange with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was relatively convenient in that era. Lan Yu could visit Nanjing once every two months, buying old newspapers during this period.
When Wang Xi sent someone to report his safety, he would bring a copy of these newspapers to Wang Xi. Wang Xi took the latest newspapers to lobby the group of country bumpkins in Yunnan who were sitting in the well and watching the world from afar.
So Wang Xi was not just having fun all the time, he was still doing some serious work while having fun. That's why King Liang was not too wary of Wang Xi.
In the eyes of the information-hungry King Liang, the three civil officials were nothing to be afraid of. Even if one of them looked a bit rough, there were many such scholars in this chaotic world. Judging from his words and behavior, the deputy envoy surnamed Hua was indeed a civil servant.
If Wang Xi really just focused on having fun and did nothing, King Liang would suspect that Wang Xi had some conspiracy.
On the Yunchuan border, in the mountains and forests behind the 1,000-man cavalry battalion, a new barracks had been built at some point, stretching for dozens of miles along a narrow mountain road.
The forests in central Sichuan were quite cool. Chen Ying sat under a tree, reading a newspaper he had just brought back from Nanjing.
"Wenying, the prince is about to take action." Lan Yu walked over with a smile, fanning himself with a large leaf. "You've really kept us waiting."
Chen Ying put down the newspaper and said, "We have been quietly mobilizing supplies for the past six months, so we are not waiting. I hope Mr. Zi Chong will not take any risks."
Lan Yu said, "With General Kang and General Hua protecting you, how could anything happen to the prince?"
Chen Ying shook his head. "You don't know Mr. Zichong's character. He can be very intense at times, and he's also very good at reasoning. I'm afraid General Kang and General Hua will be persuaded by Mr. Zichong."
Lan Yu thought of his teacher and frowned: "That's true. We have to set off quickly."
Chen Ying nodded.
Wang Xi's monthly report of safety was also a way of conveying information.
Although King Liang knew that the messenger would definitely deliver the message, he did not dare to stop him and was overly confident about the rugged terrain of Yunnan.
Prince Liang was unaware of the outside world's situation, unsure whether the Yuan Dynasty had been destroyed. He was in Yunnan, unlike other members of the Yuan royal family who could return to the grasslands after a defeat. Unless he possessed wings, he couldn't possibly cross the vast Chinese heartland and escape back to the grasslands. He would have no choice but to die for his country. He didn't want to die for his country.
But King Liang was unwilling to surrender like this.
What if Daming lied to him?
King Liang had been sending envoys to the north to try to find out about the situation in the Yuan Dynasty.
Coincidentally, the remnant Yuan Dynasty on the grassland also sent envoys to appease King Liang, asking King Liang to withstand the attack of the Ming Dynasty and try to help the Yuan Dynasty "recover the Central Plains."
Although the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty returned to the grasslands and were forced to become grassland slave owners, they had already witnessed the prosperity of the Central Plains and got used to civilized life. Who would be willing to continue living in a tent?
Even though the grassland slave owners had more meat than they could eat every day, the Yuan Dynasty emperor and prince preferred to eat the vegetarian soup made by the imperial chef with beef and mutton seasoning.
Yunnan was the last piece of land left by the Yuan Dynasty in the south, and they had high hopes for it.
So, a Mongolian envoy named Toghto, who had the same name as the prime minister about whom Zhu Yuanzhang was having a biography written, came to Yunnan with a dozen guards, looking dusty and dirty.
In fact, when Tuotuo led his men south, he had more than a thousand guards.
It's just that he brought too many people and they were too conspicuous, so he was chased and beaten by the Ming army all the way. Although he was lucky enough to arrive in Yunnan, only a dozen people were left.
Lan Yu was very angry for not being able to stop them. He went to the deep mountains as a pioneer and wiped out several bandit camps. He hung all the bandits on trees and looked at the people, neighbors and relatives who were killed by the bandits. He took blunt-edged machetes and axes and cut the bandits into sticks one by one.
After Chen Ying knew Lan Yu's habit, he held his forehead and sighed for a long time.
Lan Yuzhen and Chang Yuchun are just brother-in-law and brother-in-law, aren't they blood brothers? This temper is simply... Sigh.
These two brutal guys actually became the most legendary "Great Good Marshal" in the eyes of the people. Mr. Ye is really scary.
Lan Yu was worried that the escaped Yuan envoys would cause trouble for Wang Xi and other Ming envoys. Wang Xi's reply reassured him and told him that he had been waiting for an opportunity, and now that opportunity had come.
Although there were only more than 30,000 Ming troops secretly stationed here, 10,000 of them were divided into small teams of several hundred people. Following the maps continuously brought by people sent by Wang Xi, they secretly sneaked into various dangerous places in Yunnan, waiting for the arrival of the Ming army.
Wang Xi was a very cautious person. Since he made a promise to Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang believed him and gave him the power of military advisor to make the Sichuan-Shu army fully cooperate.
At the same time, Chen Ying led his own 5,000 new-style musket team and quietly arrived here.
Chen Ying and Lan Yu, who were still young generals in the eyes of most Ming generals, became the main general and deputy general of the vanguard army attacking Yunnan respectively.
In addition to these two people, Hua Wenxun also led 3,000 people to support and was appointed as the vanguard general by Zhu Yuanzhang.
When the Ming army broke camp, Hua Wenxun was hanging himself on a tree and taking a nap.
Lan Yu kicked the tree and shouted, "Monkey, come down, we're going to pick up your godfather!"
Hua Wenxun cursed: "Do you want to throw me to death?"
He cursed as he climbed down the tree nimbly.
Lan Yu laughed and said, "People who like to sleep in trees will eventually fall to their death. Do they still need me?"
Chen Ying tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, let's get down to business and stop bickering."
Chen Ying was in a dilemma. He had left Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong, so why did he still have to intervene in fights from time to time?
When the Ming army was preparing to break camp and leave, a group of skinny civilians from the high mountains in Yunnan slid down the steep cliffs with zip lines on their bodies.
The leader spoke in a strange official language: "General Hua, are you finally coming to Yunnan?"
As Lan Yu faced the people, the arrogant smile that seemed to be imprinted with a sense of ridicule immediately turned into a refined and bright smile, which made Hua Wenxun feel nauseous. "Yes. You stay hidden. I will be here soon to help you divide the land."
Coming down the mountain on a zipline, the people of Yunnan, who were not sure what ethnic group they were from, danced with joy. Only half of them returned, and the remaining half volunteered to lead the way for the Ming army.
The 10,000 people sent by Lan Yu not only carried the maps brought by Wang Xi's men, but also had local people from Yunnan to guide them.
Some of them even disguised themselves as mountain people, went to the villages and strongholds first, and then waited for orders.
Lan Yu trusted the group of people who volunteered to lead the way.
When he was doing business in Sichuan, he had gradually taken over the "administrative power" of the Sichuan-Shu border.
Yunnan was a country governed by chieftains, and apart from collecting taxes and conscription, they did not have much management over the grassroots. Most of the areas under the chieftains' rule were slaves, and they did not care too much about these untouchables, only requiring them to provide food and population.
After the Yuan Dynasty incorporated Yunnan into its direct territory, people from other places inevitably flocked to Yunnan, which had a huge impact on the chieftain slave system. Some chieftains also accepted the more advanced "feudal management" concepts of the Han people, transforming from slave owners to feudal lords.
After frequent transactions and exchanges with outsiders, the mountain people themselves also changed and began to have the idea of "living a better life".
The people of neighboring Sichuan and Shu were living better and better, with few people dying of starvation. The people of the Yunnan-Sichuan border couldn't help but envy them and wanted to escape to Sichuan and Shu.
Sichuan and Shu were in a state of disrepair, and Lan Yu welcomed everyone who came. As long as they obeyed the laws, worked diligently, and earned "refugee points", they would be able to divide the land and receive the most basic education in literacy and numeracy.
After these refugees who fled from Yunnan have eaten their fill, they will begin to miss home and hope that their hometown will become as good as the neighboring Sichuan.
After they returned home with the news of Sichuan and Shu, they became the outposts for Lan Yu to encroach on Yunnan.
This is what Chang Yuchun once did to the Mingxia regime in Bashu. Now Lan Yu followed suit and applied it to Yunnan.
No one knew the routes into Yunnan's heartland better than the people of Yunnan. Wang Xi also brought maps of the defenses and military camps of the major cities, and Lan Yu was confident he could capture Kunming and Dali directly, catching Yunnan off guard.
When the two political centers of Kunming and Dali were captured, just like the capitals of the vassal states were captured, Yunnan was already in the palm of the Ming Dynasty's hand.
The strategy formulated by Wang Xi coincided perfectly with Lan Yu's previous plan.
Persuade to surrender?
Of course, if the King of Liang could surrender directly, the Ming Dynasty would save more effort. But when trying to persuade him to surrender, Wang Xi must also be prepared for the possibility that he will not surrender.
Backed by military farms, new firearms, and the strong public support cultivated by Chang Yuchun and Lan Yu, Wang Xi was so bold that even Lan Yu felt inferior to him.
On the way out, Hua Wenxun said with a smile, "If the three of us lead the vanguard army to conquer Yunnan, wouldn't that be considered a replica of the young military advisor's feat of conquering Dadu with his vanguard army? We can also shed the title of young general, right?"
Lan Yu said, "I can't say for sure. Ask Wenying."
Chen Ying said: "Of course."
Hua Wenxun said, "I can finally show off to that brat Wen Zheng. He's the Prince of Yan, and he keeps writing to mock me. Is he sick?!"
Lan Yu said with a straight face: "He also wrote to you? He must be sick."
Chen Ying: "...He was just too happy and wanted to find someone familiar to share his happiness."
Hua Wenxun and Lan Yu: "Haha."
Chen Ying has a headache.
Why did he have to clean up Zhu Wenzheng's mess after arriving in Yunnan? How many people did Zhu Wenzheng offend by relying on his hard work and being his adoptive father's nephew?
Fortunately, Zhu Wenzhen’s real surname is Zhu.
Kunming.
"Alright, the show is finally about to begin." Wang Xi put on his soft armor under his clothes and adjusted the broadsword in his hand, which was sharpened to a very sharp point. "Let's go."
Hua Yun and Kang Maocai also adjusted the colorful swords at their waists and said to the followers who had hidden their muskets, "Everyone, cheer up! It's finally over!"
The attendants all laughed and said, "Yes!"
The Ming envoys marched towards Prince Liang's palace in a grand manner.
King Liang finally made his choice. He exposed the Ming envoy who had been hiding for a long time in front of Tuotuo.
Tuotuo was arrogant and tried to persuade the Ming envoy to surrender in the Liang Wang palace.
The Yunnan officials who had been impressed by Wang Xi's demeanor and knowledge in the past six months all sighed that the prince's trip would be dangerous.
