Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 655 Self-Destruction of the Great Wall

After interrogating the Imperial Guards and completely unraveling the mystery of Li Fei's origins, Li Fei led the group to leave the Hall of Heroes. As for Wei Zhong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, they hadn't yet decided what to do with him, so they took him along as well.

Zhu Meichu suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked cautiously, "Brother, are you leaving?"

Liu Ye thought she was worried about his fate, so he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, my business went very smoothly. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold it against you for offending me."

“That’s not what I meant…” Zhu Meichu nervously twisted her clothes with her fingers.

"Hehe, it's rare to see the lawless Ninth Prince be shy." Liu Ye laughed. "While I'm in a good mood, I might just do something for you if you need anything. Speak quickly, or I won't wait."

"Really?" Zhu Meichu's eyes lit up. "You're fearless and the only person I've ever met who doesn't take my father and the Embroidered Uniform Guard seriously. Why don't you take me out of the capital? I want to see what the outside world is like."

Liu Ye, who was smiling, was almost speechless with shock upon hearing this.

"Ninth Young Master, you must be joking. If I were to take you away in secret, your father and mother would search the entire capital for you. Although I'm not afraid of them, I don't want to get into trouble for someone unrelated to me!"

Tears welled up in Zhu Meichu's bright eyes. She glanced at Liu Ye with a mournful look, then lowered her head. "In your eyes, I'm naturally an unrelated person. But do you know? You're the first person who dared to reprimand me to my face. I've never had that experience since I can remember. I was unsupervised growing up. From the Prince Xin's residence to the palace, the eunuchs and maids dared not utter a sound no matter how much trouble I caused. I longed for my father to talk to me, even if it was just to scold me. But he always had endless memorials to read and countless state affairs to handle. He never even came to see me once before I left the palace. And the way you throw a tantrum, it's like an older brother, and it's like a father..."

Liu Ye's heart skipped a beat. This was a classic sign of a lack of fatherly love. A rebellious girl growing up in such an environment was prone to developing a father complex and becoming infatuated with men more mature than herself. He had scolded her in the street and even fired a shot to scare her; he never expected things to develop this way. However, he didn't want any connection with a Ming Dynasty princess; such thoughts needed to be nipped in the bud.

"Ahem, Ninth Young Master..."

Zhu Meichu interrupted him resentfully, "I've already said, 'Ninth Young Master' is just a title to deceive people. Now that you know my identity, you can call me by my name, Meichu..."

Although Zhu Meichu had delicate features and fair skin, she was currently dressed as a man, resembling a handsome young gentleman. Her resentful tone made it feel rather odd. Liu Ye couldn't help but shiver.

"Well, then I'll still call you Princess Kunxing. Princess, you were born into an imperial family, so there are many things you can't do as you please. Although, according to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's prophecy, your upbringing is different from that of other princes and princesses, there is one thing in common: even your father, the Emperor, cannot leave the capital or even the palace at will, so it's even less likely that you can leave the capital. No matter how much trouble you cause outside the palace, once you decide to leave the city, you must be prepared to bear all the consequences. I advise you to give up this idea."

Zhu Meichu pouted, "So what if he doesn't want me to go with you? He's making up a whole bunch of excuses..."

Liu Ye shook his head, lifted his foot and walked out, saying as he went, "Believe it or not, I'm not going to go crazy with you. Thanks for providing the place today, thanks, goodbye for today, and I hope we never meet again!"

With that, he strode out of the room, and the soldiers accompanying him followed suit, disappearing into the distance in an instant. Zhu Meichu couldn't catch up, and stared resentfully at his retreating figure. After a long while, she stamped her foot and said, "You just wait, I'll make you agree to my terms willingly."

Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen asked Yang Sichang, "Did he really say that?"

“Every word I have said is true, without any exaggeration,” Yang Sichang replied. “Although his reasons are plausible—serving as the General of Qionghai and concurrently the General of Dengzhou and Laizhou to suppress the bandits, and being willing to use the navy to contain the Tartars through Lushun—I absolutely do not believe that he is acting out of public interest. The unrestricted expansion of the army is the best evidence—all the troops in the country belong to the court, and their provisions are also paid by the court. Why would Liu Ye voluntarily propose that troops exceeding the quota should not be paid by the court? Isn’t this a clear indication that he does not intend to obey the court’s orders and is using his army for personal gain?”

Emperor Chongzhen frowned. "In your opinion, does he intend to establish himself as king, or to carve out his own territory?"

"It's hard to say, anything is possible. Of course, there's an even worse possibility, which is..." Yang Sichang looked around to make sure no palace maids or eunuchs were present, and said in a low voice, "He wants to emulate An Lushan and his ilk and start a rebellion!"

Emperor Chongzhen was alarmed. With the fighting power of the Qionghai Army, if the army were expanded several times over, almost no one in the country could control it. Upon further reflection, he realized that demanding control of the strategically important Shandong region and having a legitimate reason to expand the army, with its manpower and supplies not subject to the control of the imperial court, was exactly the same as the regional military governors of the Tang Dynasty! It should be noted that a significant reason for the decline of the Tang Dynasty was the fact that regional military governors held considerable power and were not controlled by the central government in terms of military, finance, and personnel, which led to the An Lushan Rebellion.

He firmly declared, "No, the Ming Dynasty must never have regional military governors, and I will not become like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang!"

Yang Sichang was delighted to see that Chongzhen had made his stance clear and echoed, "That's right, Your Majesty cannot be led by the nose. In my opinion, it is better to cripple yourself and lose this powerful army than to nip this hidden danger in the bud."

"what do you mean?"

Yang Sichang gestured with his hand across his neck: "Let's go all the way and kill him while he's still in the capital to prevent future troubles!"

Upon hearing this suggestion, Chongzhen hesitated. "Didn't Changqing say that if we rashly kill Liu Ye, his army outside the city will be forced to rebel?"

“What Grand Secretary Wen said is nothing but womanly compassion.” A sharp glint flashed in Yang Sichang’s eyes. “Your Majesty, if we let the tiger return to the mountain, there is a 70-80% chance that Qionghai Town will become a powerful warlord with its own army. But if we kill Liu Ye, there is at least a 30-50% chance that we can subdue the Qionghai Army. Although there are risks, it is worthwhile. The choice is up to Your Majesty.”

Emperor Chongzhen hesitated. If his judgment was correct, then this risky venture was worth trying. But if he misjudged, and Liu Ye was merely arrogant and domineering, with no intention of secession or rebellion, then forcing Qionghai Town into rebellion would be a double loss.