Li Jinglong was now truly regretting his actions, and he glared angrily at the soldiers around him.

He never expected these soldiers to turn on him so ruthlessly.

He originally thought he had established a very good image and authority in the eyes of these soldiers, but now he realized that it was all in vain.

These soldiers didn't recognize him, the general who trained them every day, at all; instead, they were more loyal to Zhu Yunwen, whom they had never met.

Even when faced with Li Jinglong's very confident words, these soldiers chose not to believe him and unconditionally trusted Zhu Yunwen.

This is perhaps what faith is, because Zhu Yunwen has now become the faith of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Not only did the common people have an unparalleled admiration for Zhu Yunwen, but the soldiers also had an unconditional, blind trust and worship of him.

Once the seed of faith was planted in their hearts and they recognized Zhu Yunwen as their person, then Zhu Yunwen would become their only belief.

This belief is destined to be unshakable by anyone.

So, Li Jinglong looked at Zhu Yunwen with considerable despair and said:

"Your Highness, I was wrong. Could you please give me another chance?"

Zhu Yunwen put his hands behind his back and said calmly:

"Opportunities are not given by others; sometimes it is more important to strive for them. Obviously, you do not understand this principle."

Little did you know that when I sent you to Annam as a garrison commander, it was precisely to give you an opportunity to prove yourself.

It's a pity that you not only failed to make good use of it, but also let down the little hope I had for your existence.

Now you're reaping what you sowed; you have no one else to blame but yourself.

Hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Li Jinglong lowered his head helplessly. He knew that perhaps there really was no chance.

"But actually, there are opportunities."

Zhu Yunwen suddenly said something that made Li Jinglong's eyes light up, and he looked at Zhu Yunwen and said:

"If Your Highness can give me a chance, I will repent and turn over a new leaf." Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said, "I can give you a chance, but from now on, you can only save your life. Wealth and honor will have nothing to do with you."

Li Jinglong immediately spoke up:

"Thank you, Your Highness. I am already extremely grateful that you spared my life."

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said:

"If that's what you think, then that's for the best. Since that's the case, I'll tell you what you can do. Since you and the Annamite governor intend to rebel, then you must perform meritorious service in this matter to lessen your sins."

Therefore, I need you to spread false information to the Provincial Governor, inducing him to rebel. Then help me capture him; only in this way can you atone for your crimes and save your life.

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Li Jinglong agreed without hesitation:

“That’s no problem at all. I’m willing to assist His Highness the Crown Prince in eliminating the rebels.”

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "Weren't you a traitor yourself? Yet you've changed your tune so quickly. This kind of person is truly opportunistic and treacherous."

Zhu Yunwen saw through it all but didn't reveal it, instead carefully telling Li Jinglong his own plan.

The plan was simple: to have Li Jinglong contact the Annamite governor and expedite their so-called rebellion.

In this way, Zhu Yunwen can take advantage of his time in Annam to resolve this matter as soon as possible, so that his trip will not have been in vain.

After the plan was completed, Li Jinglong quickly wrote a letter to the Annam Provincial Governor as Zhu Yunwen had instructed.

The letter urgently urged the provincial governor to complete their rebellion plan as soon as possible.

At this moment, the provincial governor was also thinking that the sooner the rebellion was started, the better.

He immediately replied to Li Jinglong, expressing that he shared the same idea and planned to send troops to the vital passage between Annam and the Ming Dynasty to destroy the railway tracks, cement roads, and all important transportation hubs.

Li Jinglong quickly replied, expressing his support and willingness to provide the greatest assistance.

The two also discussed the distribution of power after taking control of Annam.

They even said that Annam would be divided equally among them, and they would jointly rule over a region.

However, to deal with the Ming Dynasty, we must work together.

It must be said that the commander of the Annamite army was not a very smart person.

He only holds political power in Annam and has no military power. If he really succeeds in cooperating with Li Jinglong, would Li Jinglong, who holds the military power, really be willing to share the country with him?

That's obviously unrealistic.

Of course, the Annamite governor may have had his own ideas, or he may have his own schemes, to eliminate Li Jinglong after his success and seize power for himself.

Of course, there's no need to go into all of this, because their rebellion plan was destined to fail.

With Zhu Yunwen's encouragement and Li Jinglong's inside help, the Annamite governor quickly took the bait.

Then, on a chosen day, he issued a direct order to mobilize the prefects of several places in Annam, as well as some county magistrates.

It's impossible to say that the Annamite governor lacked skill; the fact that he could single-handedly get many officials in Annam to work for him is a miracle in itself.

After all, everyone knows the current state of the Ming Dynasty. Power is extremely concentrated, and Zhu Yuanzhang was already very formidable. Under his rule, virtually no one in the Ming Dynasty dared to have any ideas.

Later, an even more powerful grandson of the emperor appeared, driving countless people of the Ming Dynasty into a frenzy and making them regard him as a faith.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!