Chapter 49: Unfathomable

After hearing Mu Ying's words, not only Old Zhu, but also Mao Xiang in the dark and Fu Youde in front of Mu Ying frowned.

"Mu Ying, do you really think it's worth such a huge price to pay for a city full of barbarians? Is Songming City more powerful than Chen Youliang?"

Hearing Lao Zhu calling him by his name, Mu Ying knew that Lao Zhu was suspicious again, and he quickly knelt down to explain.

"Father, every word I say is true. You once taught me that we must never take any enemy lightly, or we will pay a price tenfold, or even a hundredfold, and by then, it will be too late to regret."

"I have always remembered my father's teachings, so I have put a lot of thought into Songming City this time."

"Father, can you imagine a crossbow array firing a hundred times in less than a cup of tea? Can you imagine a city the size of Yingtian Prefecture being filled with crossbows?"

"I used the divine cannon and chariot cannon at that time, bombarding Songming City with over a hundred rounds, but I couldn't even make a hole in the city wall. That's why I said what I said just now."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu frowned even more tightly, while Fu Youde and Mao Xiang were more shocked. They had never heard of such a strong city.

Mu Ying's words made Zhu Yuanzhang somewhat hesitant, but based on Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding of Mu Ying, although his adopted son was young and had not been in charge of the army for a long time, he was still very loyal to him.

In a situation like the current one, it was impossible for him to lie to himself. Moreover, the reply letters from the Jinyiwei and the delegation also proved Mu Ying's words in many aspects, and not a single one of them was false.

But is it really worth it to mobilize half of the country's firearms just for a city in a wild land?

The key is that once it is deployed, what should be done if anyone in the army has a rebellious heart? After all, this time Zhu intends to let Fu Youde, a brave general, lead Mu Ying and others to Yunnan and Yunnan to quell the rebellion.

Xu Da and others in the north have already defeated the small Northern Yuan Dynasty and are currently clearing out the remaining enemies. The only talented general Zhu Yuanzhang can use is Fu Youde.

But Fu Youde has abilities, but also obvious flaws. The most important thing is that he is too much of a traitor.

At the beginning, Fu Youde did not follow Zhu Yuanzhang to fight for the throne, but served as a general under Liu Futong, one of the three major red armies at that time. Later, he was defeated by Ming Yuzhen and surrendered to Ming Yuzhen.

As a result, because he was not valued by Ming Yuzhen, Fu Youde directly defected to Chen Youliang, but Chen Youliang still did not value him. So Fu Youde defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, so Zhu Yuanzhang always had complicated feelings towards Fu Youde.

Zhu Yuanzhang certainly couldn't believe that Fu Youde would always be loyal to him. In addition, Fu Youde didn't know how to advance or retreat and didn't understand politics. The most important thing about him was that he hated greed the most.

After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he promulgated a series of policies that were beneficial to the country and the people because he was deeply influenced by the suffering of the people since childhood. Zhu Yuanzhang's hatred for corrupt officials reached the extreme, and his methods of dealing with corrupt officials were so cruel that they were unprecedented and unparalleled!

As a military general, Fu Youde had all the potential to be a corrupt official. The files on corruption involving Fu Youde and his relatives that were presented to Zhu Yuanzhang's desk by the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already piled up into a mountain.

If it weren't for the fact that Old Zhu still needed him, given his suspicious nature and his deep hatred for corrupt officials, the grass on Fu Youde's grave would have been so tall that no one would know how high it would be.

Of course, it was also because Fu Youde did not have enough prestige in the army. He mostly participated in the war as a deputy general, and usually worked beside Chang Yuchun and Xu Da, or Li Wenzhong and Deng Yu.

Therefore, Fu Youde's prestige in the army could not be compared with that of Xu Da and others. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang was just wary of Fu Youde and did not take him too seriously.

However, Mu Ying said that he would mobilize half of the country's firearms and military equipment to go to Yunnan and Yunnan to deal with Songming City, which put Zhu Yuanzhang in a difficult position.

You have to know that half of the country's firearms are not a small number. To be honest, Zhu Yuanzhang was not very reassured about Fu Youde leading the army to mobilize them all. The main reason was that using so many firearms to deal with Songming City seemed a bit like overkill.

After hesitating for a while, Old Zhu said to Mu Ying, "This is a serious matter. I will consider your suggestion. The true situation of Songming City is still unclear. It won't be too late to make plans after we understand the enemy situation."

"Your Majesty is wise." Mu Ying could guess a little about Zhu's hesitation, but when facing the enemy in battle, it is indeed important to know both yourself and the enemy in order to win every battle, so Mu Ying did not insist.

Seeing his adopted son understand his meaning, Lao Zhu's mood became better. He waved his hand and said, "That's it for today. You can leave."

Upon hearing this, Mu Ying and Fu Youde immediately took their leave. After they left, Old Zhu sighed softly, "Mao Xiang, do you think it was right or wrong for us to send Fu Youde to lead the army this time?"

Mao Xiang had been with Lao Zhu for such a long time that he certainly understood the meaning behind Lao Zhu's words. He did not answer Lao Zhu's question immediately, but instead avoided the question.

"Your Majesty, I was in Yingtian Prefecture today and happened to run into Prince Zhou and Prince Yan helping Duke Cao teach military affairs to the Imperial College students. I benefited greatly from their guidance and feel that both princes are truly exceptional generals."

"The land of Yunnan and Dian is just a place where barbarians have lived for generations. Sending General Fu for the sake of Songming City is a bit of an overreaction. I think that King Zhou and King Yan are both capable of taking on this important task!"

Hearing Mao Xiang recommend his sons, he was quite surprised, but after careful consideration, he smiled slightly, "Little Four and Little Five are quite good. To receive your praise, it seems that they have made progress recently."

Hearing what Lao Zhu said, Mao Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his answer would not make Lao Zhu have any other thoughts about him.

This is really Zhu's question, and it is really not easy to answer. Everyone knows that Zhu is very suspicious. He hates court officials forming cliques and dividing the power in his hands the most. Mao Xiang is now under the supervision of Zhu and several court officials are under investigation by Zhu for this reason.

"Well, then let Xiao Si and Xiao Wu come to the palace and have a good talk with them. With them going to Yunnan together, I don't think Fu Youde will be able to cause any trouble."

When Mao Xiang heard Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly say this, his heart skipped a beat and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. He was becoming more and more confused about the emperor in front of him.

At Zhu Yuanzhang's command, Prince of Zhou Zhu Su and Prince of Yan Zhu Di immediately came to the palace to meet Zhu Yuanzhang. The imperial guards also began to dispatch personnel at Zhu Yuanzhang's instruction.

The Beijing camp quickly allocated 300,000 troops. Zhu Yuanzhang secretly handed the imperial edict in charge of the military to Zhu Su, Zhu Di and Mu Ying. At the same time, he also issued an edict to appoint Fu Youde as the general of the southern expedition to control King Zhou and others.