Zhu Yuanzhang did not expect that his eldest grandson would respect Mu Ying so much.

"Let's let Mu Ying guard Yunnan for generations. Then Da Sun will have nothing to fear."

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a smile.

Zhu Ying said: "Why should I be afraid? Although my grandson has never met Uncle Mu Ying, I have heard of his great reputation. It's a pity that I have no chance to meet him."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "He is a good child. At that time, my elder sister and I didn't have a son yet. We felt sorry for him, so we adopted him as our adopted son."

"He was only eight years old at the time, and he followed us on our expeditions and wandered around."

"Ying'er is extremely smart and very filial to me. He always completes things without my instructions."

"When he was ten years old, your grandmother gave birth to your father."

"He is our adopted son and the oldest. We could see the joy in his eyes when the eldest was born."

"Your father has a very good relationship with him. Although they are not blood brothers, they are no different from blood brothers."

"I am busy arranging matters for the war every day, and your grandmother is also busy helping us. When your father was a child, Ying'er helped to take care of him. She spent much more time with Biao'er than I, his father, did."

"I have always been very confident in Ying'er. Although some officials have advised me not to do so, I believe that Ying'er will never do anything to let me down."

"Later, we established the Ming Dynasty, and Ying'er also made many contributions, so we asked him what reward he wanted."

"At that time, we took out the map of Ming Dynasty and asked him to choose a place to be crowned king, but he refused."

"Ying'er told us that his merits are not enough to make him a king, not even a duke. He can only be a marquis at best."

"And the first thing he asked us to do was to ask for the restoration of his surname Mu."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Come to think of it, when Ying'er followed me, she also changed her surname to Zhu."

"It is true that there is some fate between me and my eldest grandson."

In other words, Mu Ying changed his surname back to Mu. Otherwise, if his surname was Zhu and he became an imperial citizen, he would have the same name and surname as Zhu Ying.

The old man's words also reflected his deep affection for Mu Ying.

Mu Ying was a founding hero who helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty. He was both civil and military, and extremely tough, but he only lived to the age of 48 before dying of illness.

However, compared with other founding heroes, he had a good ending.

Zhu Yuanzhang can be said to be the most ruthless emperor in history. He was famous for killing his meritorious officials, especially after the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao. It can be said that almost all the founding heroes were killed.

Mu Ying was quite successful and was always valued by Zhu Yuanzhang, guarding the important area in the southwest.

Even now, after Mu Ying's death, people still trust Mu Ying's descendants.

Mu Ying's background could be said to be as tragic as it could be. He was a baby, and when he was on the verge of life and death, he was adopted by Zhu Yuanzhang and became his adopted son.

At the age of twelve, he followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world. He was invincible, made many military achievements, and made great contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang's conquest of the world.

When Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, Mu Ying, as the emperor's adopted son, should at least be given the title of king.

However, when he went to Yunnan, an old, poor and remote area to guard the border and fight against the barbarians of various ethnic groups in the southwest, Mu Ying never complained and always defended the southwestern territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Mu Ying devoted himself to the southwest and put down many rebellions of ethnic minorities. Zhu Yuanzhang said: Since you have been in charge, I don't have to worry about the southwest.

Mu Ying always had a grateful heart. Although he was in the southwest, he was very grateful to Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma for saving his life and supporting him.

Once they won a battle and gained some spoils or local specialties, they would select some top-quality gifts to give to Zhu Yuanzhang to repay his kindness.

Mu Ying's generations of guarding Yunnan were actually a well-considered choice by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Yunnan is far away from the capital, has many ethnic minorities, is close to foreign countries, is infested with snakes, insects, rats and ants, has a rugged terrain and is filled with miasma. All these unfavorable conditions restricted the Ming central government from registering Yunnan's people.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a dilemma in governing Yunnan.

In fact, in the 15th year of Hongwu when Yunnan was conquered, Yunnan established a provincial administration and garrisons, just like the inland areas, but the effect was not good.

The Yunnan native language was hidden by the local chieftains, who totally ignored the governor's advice.

In addition, chieftain rebellions occurred one after another, and the Ming army stationed in Yunnan was exhausted from fighting wars in the east and the west. Zhu Yuanzhang was forced to rethink his rule over Yunnan.

In the 16th year of Hongwu, after more than a year of preparation, Zhu Yuanzhang finally made the decision to select "famous ministers and respected people" to garrison Yunnan.

Since then, this policy has become the national policy that has never changed throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Who is the “famous official”?

At that time, the three great generals in Yunnan were Fu Youde, Lan Yu and Mu Ying.

In terms of closeness, it can only be Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son Mu Ying, because if an outsider is chosen to guard Yunnan, which is far away from the emperor, it will easily develop into a separatist force.

Given Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicious nature, he would never feel at ease no matter who it was, except Mu Ying.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang recalled Generals Fu Youde and Lan Yu and explicitly ordered Mu Ying to guard Yunnan.

Since the 16th year of Hongwu, when Mu Ying officially "guarded Yunnan", the Ming Dynasty's system in Yunnan actually underwent major changes. Although the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office still existed, the highest authority became General Mu Ying, who actually controlled Yunnan from the military.

Mu Ying was the highest local authority in Yunnan and had the power to make all administrative decisions. The generals stationed in various prefectures and counties could also interfere in local administration.

This is actually no different from being a local emperor.

Even if the imperial censor from the capital went there, he could only act according to Mu Ying's expression.

The only other person with such authority is Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Even Zhu Chong, the Prince of Qin, Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin, and even Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, were far from reaching such a level of trust.

This is the territory of an entire province, and Yunnan is already very large.

In the 19th year of Hongwu, Mu Ying wrote a letter requesting to establish military farms in Yunnan. His military farm policy was to establish three garrisons and seven garrisons, and to establish both garrisons and garrisons. The military farms covered all parts of Yunnan, and the military farm soldiers served as a suppressive force.

Doing so would not only allow the Ming army to be self-sufficient, but also strengthen the local suppression capabilities.

This move won the continuous praise of Zhu Yuanzhang, who said that military farming could "relieve the people's strength, provide food for the soldiers, and there is no better strategy for border defense."

The military farming system was then widely implemented in Yunnan. It was this move that made Zhu Yuanzhang feel that Mu Ying was capable of accomplishing things, so he was more confident in letting him guard Yunnan.

But from another perspective, Mu Ying's military farming system was equivalent to raising troops for his own family.

Most of these soldiers who settled in the fields were not Han people, but local chieftains.

In Yunnan, everyone only recognized Mu Ying. If this continues, it will be disastrous.

When this matter was approved by Zhu Yuanzhang, the court meeting that day was in an uproar.

A large number of civil servants knelt in the Fengtian Hall and begged Zhu Yuanzhang to restrain Mu Ying, saying that he should not give him such great power, as it would be no different from a country within a country.

Logically speaking, the suspicious Zhu Yuanzhang should have taken back Mu Ying's power.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang did not even hold back. He rejected all the impeachments of civil servants on the spot and forbade them to talk about the matter again in the future.

This shows his trust in Mu Ying.

He really treated Mu Ying as his own son.

Today, facts have proved that Mu Ying did not disappoint Zhu Yuanzhang's expectations.

There is no possibility of being questioned about loyalty.

Among these, the most important one is filial piety.

"Grandson, don't you remember? When you were a kid, you loved playing with your uncle Mu Ying the most."

"Your father often has to review memorials due to our arrangements, so every time Ying'er comes over, he will play with her for a long time. At that time, you like to ride on Ying'er's back and play horse riding games the most."

"We were all shocked at the time. That was the tenth year of Hongwu, when we conferred him the title of Marquis of Xiping. I didn't expect that he would become your horse the moment he got the title of Marquis in Fengtian Palace."

As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he began to laugh, as if he was recalling the scene he had seen at the beginning which surprised and pleased him.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this incident that Zhu Yuanzhang always trusted Mu Ying from the bottom of his heart without any wavering.

The accumulation of many small things like this made it possible for Mu Ying to guard Yunnan in the 15th year of Hongwu.

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little sad:

"He is a good and filial child. When your grandmother passed away, it was July. Ying'er was still on the foreign expedition. He led his army back to Dianchi Lake and joined forces with Fu Youde to pacify the Wusa, Dongchuan, Jianchang, and Mangbu barbarians separately, and established the Wusa Guard and Bijie Guard."

"We later learned that Ying'er fainted in the barracks after hearing the news of her elder sister's death. She didn't eat for three days and fell seriously ill. She almost died."

"Last year, Ying'er was also hit hard by Biao'er's death and couldn't hold on."

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was already slightly choked with sobs.

The eldest sister, Zhu Biao, Mu Ying.

These were the people he had ever been closest to.

The two younger sons, Zhu Chong, Prince of Qin, and Zhu Gang, Prince of Jin, were also Zhu Yuanzhang's legitimate sons, but emotionally speaking, they were not as close to him as Mu Ying.

The biggest key here is filial piety.

No one can question Mu Ying's filial piety.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also deeply moved by the ancestral teachings that Mu Ying left for his descendants before his death.

"All my descendants must be loyal to the country, be diligent and careful in their work, and be humble to their colleagues. Special instructions. Be careful! Be vigilant!"

Zhu Ying also felt a little sad at this time.

Mu Ying's family is full of loyal and brave people. Starting from Mu Ying, they have followed the Ming Dynasty for nearly three hundred years and have never been disunited.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty, Mu Sheng died in Chuxiong after being defeated in the attack on Gaoligong Mountain.

The imperial court posthumously awarded him the title of King of Dingyuan, and his youngest son Mu Bin inherited the title and lived in the capital, while his younger brother Mu Ang took over as governor of Yunnan.

After Mu Ang's death, he was posthumously conferred the title of Dingbian Earl and was succeeded by his nephew Mu Bin.

Starting from Mu Ang, although the Mu family's titles were gradually lowered, the imperial court still relied heavily on the Mu family's generals to quell the frequent wars on the border.

It can be said that with the Mu family guarding the border, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty felt particularly at ease sitting on the throne in the Golden Palace in Beijing.

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Southern Ming regime established by the royal family of the Zhu clan remained in the south and was lingering on. As a vassal of Yunnan, Mu Tianbo chose to follow the last emperor of the Southern Ming, Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang, and began his life in exile.

Mu Tianbo is the eleventh-generation grandson of Mu Ying. In the first year of Chongzhen, his father Mu Qiyuan died suddenly. Mu Tianbo, who was only ten years old, inherited the title and served as the General of the Southern Expedition.

In the 18th year of Shunzhi, the Qing army advanced into Yunnan. The chieftain of Kaiyuan, Yunnan took the opportunity to rebel. Mu Tianbo was forced to flee, and almost all of the Mu family was slaughtered.

With the assistance of Mu Tianbo and others, Zhu Youlang fled to Burma.

The Burmese King Mangdala tolerated them, but Mangbai killed Mangdala and established himself as king. The new king Mangbai had long wanted to abandon these Ming Dynasty veterans, but he had to pretend on the surface.

In July of that year, the Burmese king Mangbai sent someone to deliver a message, agreeing that Emperor Yongli would cross the river, and the two would drink the cursed water together and swear an oath to be together forever.

Emperor Yongli also had doubts, but he had to obey the arrangements of others. Emperor Yongli and some civil and military officials including General Mu Tianbo and Grand Secretary Ma Jixiang hurried to the place, but they were surrounded by 3,000 Burmese troops.

At the critical moment, Mu Tianbo grabbed the knife and resisted.

Unfortunately, they were outnumbered and all 42 Southern Ming officials were killed. The Burmese army then rushed to the residence of Emperor Yongli and killed all 300 of his followers. This incident is known in history as the "Curse Water Incident."

At this point, the Ming Dynasty, to which the 16th Duke of Qian from the 12th generation of the Mu family had been loyal, came to an end.