Zhu Quan's fiefdom was in Daning, and he commanded 100,000 elite Guanning troops.
His military strength was quite formidable, and he also had some hidden motives, but he simply lacked the courage.
One hundred thousand troops were a lot, but compared to the entire Great Ming Dynasty, it was a bit insignificant.
"Seventeenth Brother."
"Fourth Brother, why are you here? You… you aren't…"
"That's right, I escaped back to Shuntian Prefecture," Zhu Di said.
"Do you know the consequences?"
"Consequences? Even if it means death, it's better than me feigning madness and fighting pigs for food in Yingtian Prefecture," Zhu Di patted Zhu Quan's shoulder.
Zhu Quan had not been unaware of what had happened to Zhu Di in Yingtian Prefecture.
He was deeply disturbed by it, after all, his brothers and Zhu Yunwen, that little brat, were not close.
"Seventeenth Brother, that little brat Zhu Yunwen treats me this way, and he will treat you the same way."
"You didn't come all this way just to scare me, did you?"
"I want to borrow your troops."
"You… what do you want to do?"
"Rectify the Imperial Court!" Zhu Di's tone was unprecedentedly firm, and his eyes shot out terrifying gazes as he said, "Old Man once said that if a future generation is unfilial, they can raise an army to cleanse the imperial court."
"No, no, if Zhu Yunwen wants to reduce the power of the feudal lords, let him do it. Anyway… anyway, I'm not interested in competing, but if it's about raising an army, that kid Zhu Yunwen will definitely not spare me."
"I don't want you to raise an army, I just want you to lend me your soldiers."
"What's the difference between that and me raising an army?"
"You can say that I abducted you and forced you to hand over the military seal. Even if that kid Zhu Yunwen guesses what happened, what can he do to you?" Zhu Di's tone was full of temptation: "If… if in the future, Fourth Brother truly seizes the World, then I will share the World equally with you."
Zhu Quan's eyes flickered; it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
But he still couldn't make up his mind immediately.
"This time I brought one million taels of silver. As long as you agree to lend me troops, then these one million taels will be yours."
Zhu Quan was full of shock: "Fourth Brother, where did you get so much silver?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me, will you lend or not? You should know that among us brothers, you're not the only one with troops. You couldn't save up this much money even if you saved for your entire life."
"Alright, these troops are given to you because you threatened and forced me. As for other matters, I know nothing."
"You also help me acquire some provisions and supplies. You can front the money for me; I have plenty of money here, and you won't be shortchanged."
In the original history, Zhu Di raised his army in a hurry, relying on the eight hundred private soldiers of the Prince of Yan's Mansion to counter the 30,000 defending troops of Yanjing, and then borrowed troops from Zhu Quan.
But now, Zhu Di is not short of money, and he has already borrowed 100,000 troops. Yanjing is also working day and night to produce armor, weapons, and flintlock guns, and various Ores are being mined.
What Zhu Di currently lacks is provisions, but with Zhu Quan's help, his preparations are going very smoothly.
…
Bang—
Zhu Yunwen only learned of Zhu Di's disappearance a month later.
After all, Zhu Di's residence was guarded by his people, and Zhu Di's movements, wherever he went, could not escape his notice.
Zhu Di had not left his residence for a month, and no one had inquired, simply assuming Zhu Di did not wish to go out.
Who would have thought that he would suddenly receive news that Zhu Di had disappeared?
This news directly infuriated Zhu Yunwen to the point of smoke coming out of his seven orifices.
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan has likely escaped back to Shuntian Prefecture. The most urgent task is to apprehend him and bring him back to the capital," Law Ming said.
"Zhu Di has long harbored rebellious intentions. This escape, I fear, means he has already prepared to raise an army." Zhu Yunwen slumped back into his seat.
"Then we must be even more prepared. Notify all city garrisons to be ready to defend against the enemy, to avoid being caught off guard. Secondly, the Prince of Yan only has 30,000 troops. No matter how he raises an army, he will struggle to achieve anything without money and provisions. Moreover, after this rebellion is quelled, Your Majesty's reduction of the feudal lords' power will appear even more reasonable."
After a moment of thought, Zhu Yunwen also felt that Law Ming's words made sense.
Zhu Yuanzhang had repeatedly warned him before his death not to reduce the power of the feudal lords.
Yet, three months after his ascension to the throne, he began to do so.
Many ministers in the imperial court were now condemning him, but he was still forcefully pushing for the reduction of feudal lords' power, facing considerable pressure.
If the Prince of Yan were to raise an army at this time, he would have an even more legitimate reason to reduce the power of the feudal lords.
Therefore, at this moment, he was even more anticipating Zhu Di raising an army.
"Your Majesty, I will personally go to Shuntian Prefecture to reprimand the Prince of Yan and force him to raise an army. This way, you will hold the moral high ground."
"No, this journey is extremely dangerous. I absolutely cannot allow you to take such a risk." Zhu Yunwen refused without hesitation: "Moreover, you and Princess Hanshan are newly married. If she were to know that I sent you to Shuntian Prefecture, she would surely come to me to make a fuss."
Zhu Di clearly intended to show his blade now. If Law Ming went to Shuntian Prefecture at this time, he would likely be cut down by Zhu Di. Zhu Yunwen did not want to risk his trusted minister.
"Alright then."
Law Ming thought of his wife and gave up on his idea.
Princess Hanshan, Zhu Mingxi, although she married Law Ming, she did not move to the princess's residence, but instead lived under the same roof with the Old Man and Ron.
Zhu Mingxi would come to pay her respects to Rosen and Ron every day.
It could be said that Zhu Mingxi fulfilled all the duties of a daughter-in-law in this era.
In truth, Rosen did not like these formalities.
After all, apart from Law Ming, everyone in the family had nothing to do, so it was better to sleep until they woke up naturally.
But it was Zhu Mingxi's daily greetings that forced Rosen to wake up early every morning.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"