My God, I am the emperor, the lord of mankind.

Chapter 45 Eternal Life Village

On June [-], the emperor summoned his cabinet ministers to Wenyuan Pavilion to discuss counter-insurgency matters. He also ordered his close friends to go to Huguang to prepare military supplies, and sent Jin Yiwei to rescue the remnants of King Mu's clan.

The next day, due to the murder of her younger brother and the plot to assassinate the emperor, the Empress Dowager Chiang ordered the Yulin Vanguard to imprison the Empress Dowager Zhang in Jingyang Palace. The entire Zhang family was sent to Liaodong to guard the border. They were short of food and clothing along the way. Before reaching Liaodong, most of them were killed or injured.

On the eighth day of June, Zhang Yong failed to report the information and collaborated with Jiang Bin to conspire against them. They were taken to the downtown area together with Jiang Bin and executed late.

He looked at Zhang Yong, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of rituals who had planned to throw himself into prison in the palace three months ago.

I also learned that Queen Mother Zhang was under house arrest and the Zhang family was almost exterminated.

Jiang Bin laughed heartily before he died.

"God has eyes! God has eyes! Your Majesty! Even if I turn into a ghost, I will capture the culprit and hand him over to Your Majesty for punishment under the Nine Springs!"

Jiang Bin was thrown into the market late, and his four sons, Jiang Xun, Jiang Jie, Jiang Ao and Jiang Xi, were all beheaded.

Many of the old tribes were destroyed.

……

"Wars are raging in the southwest! It has not been calmed down for a long time! What caused it?"

The emperor looked southwest from Dong'an Gate with deep eyebrows.

"Does Your Majesty know that during the Silunfa Rebellion? Taizu set up the Dingnan Platform to pacify the southwest?"

The Imperial Minister of War replied, his beard and hair white, but his voice steady.

"After being suppressed for hundreds of years, isn't that thing still dead?"

"The true god is immortal! For those things, the concept of death does not exist. Now it seems that someone who knew about it deliberately released it! It brought turmoil to the world."

"It's abominable..."

Hearing the old man's words, the young emperor showed disgust and turned to ask

"In the capital, I can protect Your Majesty by sacrificing my life, but outside the capital, my humble tricks are only enough to protect myself."

Wang Shouren said, the chief minister of the empire looked at the young emperor in front of him who was looking into the distance and remained silent.

It was like seeing the rising sun.

a long time.

"Pass a secret decree, summon Zhang Zhengyi of the Heavenly Master's Palace and Li Xuan, the Qintian Supervisor, give the king a commanding flag, and secretly accompany Luo An, the commander of the Jinyiwei, into the southwest to investigate the source of the sneakiness in the southwest."

……

In order to pray for heaven and earth and for the victory of the Southwest War, the emperor announced that he would be in seclusion for three months to pray for the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. No one is allowed to disturb!The affairs of the imperial court are temporarily left to the Cabinet Secretary and the Supervisor of Ceremonies for joint discussion and disposal.

……

A group of cavalry marched on the official road to the Chief Secretary of Huguang.

Western Hunan is located at the junction of the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou, with a mixture of ethnic groups.

The ghosts and gods they believe in are also different.

As soon as he entered this wild land full of sneaky legends, Luo An felt inexplicably irritable.

For some reason, looking at the newly appointed Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty next to him, Luo An always felt that he was riding in the same carriage with him, and he felt particularly uncomfortable.

It is like an antelope straying into a tiger's den or a calf stepping into a wolf's den.

"Master Luo has good martial arts skills."

Along the way, except for necessary official handovers, the two were relatively silent.

When we arrived at the Chief Secretary of Huguang, it was time to part ways.

Wang Shouren will sit in Huguang, rectify the rebel forces in various provinces, and prepare to enter the southwest.

Luo An, on the other hand, will lead the royal guards into Xiangxi, which was captured by the rebels, and rescue the widow left by Duke Mu.

By the way - there is also the emperor's secret order conveyed by the imperial eunuch Huang Jin when he left Beijing.

Find out the cause of the sneaky movement in the southwest.

Luo An clasped his fists.

"I'm just a warrior. Fortunately, the emperor favored me and joined the Imperial Guard to serve the country. How can I compare to my husband, who was entrusted by the emperor to patrol Lingnan." Wang Shouren said, who asked you!
"The detective from the Ministry of War came to report yesterday. A chieftain who is close to the Ming Dynasty secretly conveyed the news that someone saw traces of the three women of the Mu family in the Changsheng Village near Liushan. I hope Commander Luo will succeed as soon as possible!"

Hearing this, Luo An's eyes lit up.

"Thank you, Mr. Wang..."

"No delivery!"

After saying that, a group of twelve royal guards all got up and mounted their horses with Luo An.

Following behind were five Taoist priests whose faces were hidden under bamboo hats, and they mounted their horses and galloped away along with the royal guards.

Wang Shouren watched quietly as Luo An and his party disappeared at the end of the official road.

"Master Shangshu, according to your instructions, the brothers from the Ministry of War have followed, and the Liu family in western Hunan has also agreed to send manpower to cooperate."

After hearing the words of the general beside him, Wang Shouren nodded.

……

Xiangxi, Jiuxi Eighteenth Cave 36 Village, Changsheng Village.

Most of the residents here are Miao and Han.

Chickens and dogs in the village hear each other, and the roads are clear.

In front of the village gate, a group of people saw Luo An's horse team in the distance and raised their hands to signal.

"This must be Commander Luo Anluo!"

The smiling, round-faced middle-aged man at the head greeted Luo An warmly.

"I am Liu Chaoyuan. I am here to welcome all the imperial envoys under the orders of my family's Xuan Comfort Envoy."

Xuanweisheng was a title conferred by the Ming Dynasty on these southwest barbarian leaders who were willing to be friendly to the court.

The consolation envoy of Liu Chaoyuankou was none other than Liu Chaoren, the head of the Liu family, one of the three major chieftain forces in western Hunan.

Although Xiangxi is considered a wilderness in the eyes of the mainland.

But in fact, compared to the tribes farther west, due to long-term trade and intermarriage with the Han Dynasty, the degree of Chineseization is actually very high.

"This is my brother Liu Chaowen. I haven't seen Envoy Luo yet."

Luo An saw the gloomy young man next to Liu Chaoyuan and had a vague feeling that this guy seemed to be vaguely hostile to his group.

Thinking about their names again, it seems that they have a lot to do with the current head of the Liu family.

After a while of greeting.

Luo An spoke first.

"I came here under the orders of the imperial court to welcome back the Mu family's mother and son. I don't know where they are."

"The official has important business, so please follow me into the stronghold. In about half an hour, the convoy escorting the nobles of Prince Mu's Mansion should arrive!"

The miasma in western Hunan is pervasive, and there are so many trees that block out the sky and the sun.After days of traveling and being acclimatized, Luo An also felt a little uncomfortable.

It would be nice to have a place to rest.

The Qintian Supervisor wearing Taoist robes next to him whispered to the envoy from the Tianshi Mansion for a moment, and nodded in the direction of Luo An.

Seeing that several Xuanxiu masters said it was no problem, Luo An breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, then there's work."

"It's not a big deal, come here, take the horse over and feed it with the best fodder! I'll cover all the expenses for the trip!"

Liu Chaoyuan said loudly.

Everyone came to a house and settled down temporarily, feeling a little relaxed.

Liu Chaoyuan excused himself to buy some food and wine, and when he went out, he was stopped by his younger brother Liu Chaowen.

"Second brother! Our Liu family can be considered a wealthy family in western Hunan! Even in those days, Ming Taizu was very conciliatory to us. Even the high officials in the court had to be courteous. Today, the Ming court has too much time to take care of itself. It is far worse than in the past. Why should the second brother be with these lackeys of the Ming court? Sitting low and humble in front of me is an insult to my family?"

Seeing the young and energetic fourth brother in front of him who was questioning him angrily, Liu Chaoyuan couldn't help but sigh. Then, as if he thought of something, his expression suddenly became stern and he warned:
"Did someone say something in front of you again? I'm warning you, stay away from those thieves! Don't bring disaster to all of us! Those demons from the White Lotus Sect are not good people, and that demon girl is even more of a disaster. Root, you talk nonsense all day long. My elder brother has just ordered that all believers of the White Lotus Sect found in the Tusi territory will be executed on the spot. Even if you don’t listen to me, don’t you even listen to my elder brother’s words!”

(End of this chapter)