Chapter 10: An Earnest Appeal (Please Collect and Recommend)

  "Brother Zhu!" The boat shook again, and another urgent cry was heard. Zhu Yongxing's eyes rolled over, and he suddenly lifted his head up, his gaze gradually clearing up.

  Mengzhu had also arrived at the side of the boat in a small wooden boat, she stood on the boat with a pretty face, looking at Zhu Yongxing with deep affection, her eyes showing concern and anxiety, revealing everything.

  "Halt the boat!" Zhu Yongxing stood up, although he hadn't thought through what would happen next, but one thing he had already decided on was that he couldn't follow these people to go to Ava City, which was no different from jumping into the water and drowning. Moreover, it was something that would happen very soon.

  According to historical records, Pan Shiren led the Ming officials and soldiers who took the land route south to arrive at the opposite bank of the city of Ava in Mandalay. Due to the commotion caused by the crowd, the King of Burma became uneasy and said: "This is not avoiding chaos, but plotting against our country!" He then dispatched troops to surround them, forcibly dispersing these Southern Ming personnel among nearby villages, with one person per household, prohibiting any contact between them. In an instant, these Southern Ming people were separated from their wives and children, lost all their property, and lost their personal freedom; many also lost their lives.

  But these reasons are unspeakable, and people who travel through time always encounter such difficulties. If they speak out, no one will believe them. When the event occurs, everyone believes it, but by then it's too late to change the course of events.

  "I won't be going any deeper into Myanmar." Zhu Yongxing, facing the stunned expressions of the crowd, hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "Fleeing to a foreign land and living as a guest under someone else's roof isn't exactly a good idea."

  "Your Highness is worrying too much. The Ming Dynasty is the suzerain state, how can Burma have any other intentions?" Minister Zhu Yunjin came forward to advise.

  "Sovereign state, huh? Escaping to a foreign land and still deceiving oneself." Zhu Yongxing curled his lip and said: "Those who are not of our kind must have different hearts. The Burmese are two-faced and ultimately cannot be trusted. I advise you not to leave either, this is the Myanmar border, going back to Yunnan would allow you to live a longer life."

  "The Qing army is powerful, and if we return to Yunnan, won't it be even more dangerous?" Xiong Shirong continued to advise: "Although the King of Jin is loyal and righteous, he has few soldiers and weak generals, I fear that he cannot protect us."

  "Look, in the end it's all about being afraid of death. All this fuss, isn't it just about worrying about your own life, trying to live one more day? Zhu Yongxing's thoughts became clearer and clearer, with a hint of disdain on his face: "You're a general, a military man, where is your sword? Without arms, you have no power, unable to protect the Emperor or the court, nor can you save yourself. Your life and death are in someone else's hands, I'm not like you, resigned to fate!"

  "Your Highness, you, you—" Zhao Guo Wei saw Zhu Yong Xing insist on leaving and became anxious, stamping his feet and grabbing onto Zhu's sleeve.

  "Let go!" Zhu Yongxing forcibly pried open Zhao Guowei's hand and said urgently, "At such a big age, how can you not understand even this little bit of reason? Burma's attitude is external but not internal. As long as the Ming army doesn't suffer a crushing defeat, Burma will certainly maintain a neutral position and won't dare to be too contemptuous of the imperial court. If the Ming army is defeated, do you think Burma will fearlessly resist the Qing army's attack and protect the imperial court? Don't dream about it! Alright, if you want to leave, then leave, I won't follow you on a path of self-destruction."

  Seeing Zhu Yongxing waving at her, Mengzhu's face cleared up and revealed a bright smile. In an instant, she leaned against the wooden boat, stretched out the oar to Zhu Yongxing, who grabbed it with his hand and jumped onto the solo canoe.

  "Your Highness." General Xiong Shirong was rebuked by Zhu Yongxing, his face flushing red with anger. But seeing that Zhu had made up his mind, he took a step forward, glanced at Mengzhu and said: "You must not be misled by feminine charm! Moreover, as a member of the imperial family, I have been entrusted with the duty to protect you. If you were to go elsewhere, how could I explain it to the Emperor?"

  Zhu Yongxing furrowed his brow, glanced at Mengzhu, and obviously thought Xiong Shirong was mistaken. He didn't want to explain it either. After a moment of contemplation, he said loudly: "You go back and report to the Emperor, today if we abandon our country and flee to Burma, then the flag of Ming will be half lowered, and there will be no hope for restoring the king's power. If we live in fear and seek temporary comfort, we will surely regret it one day. I said I would return to Yunnan, and I must go back. Even if there are a thousand difficulties, I will still go find Li Jinwang, then drive out the stench, restore our divine state, and welcome the Emperor's return to the country. The gods of all sides are watching above, if I, Zhu Yongxing, break this oath, I will be struck by thunder and my corpse will not exist."

  The preceding words are utterly unreasonable and can be said to be a direct rebuke of Emperor Yongli's cowardice, abandoning the country for personal safety. However, the latter part of the speech, with its grandiose words and solemn oaths, made these people feel ashamed and lost the courage to criticize Zhu Yujun.

  "Your Highness, I'll stay behind and take care of you." Zhao Guo Wei stepped forward with a bitter face, despite his reluctance in his heart, this old eunuch still had some loyalty to the master.

  Zhu Yongxing shrugged and beckoned to Yan Bao to row the dugout canoe over to pick them up.

  The wooden boat sailed away from the ship, and the people on the ship were still staring blankly at Zhu Yongxing. They had hired a boat to search for Zhu Yongxing's whereabouts with great difficulty, but they never expected it would end like this.

  Alas, Zhu Yongxing turned his head and took a look, seeing that except for Zhao Guowei, no one else was following him. He couldn't help but sigh and say in a low voice: "Two hundred thousand people all laid down their armor, not a single one is a real man."

  Mengzhu smiled and said in a crisp voice, "The Han family's poetry is what I like best. However, the ones I've read are not quite the same. Go to my bamboo building, let me show you the Chinese characters I wrote, the Chinese poems I copied, even the great witch says they're good!"

  "It doesn't matter whether it's 140,000 or 200,000. Oh, you're also good at calligraphy? This is better than me." Zhu Yongxing shook his head with a mixture of emotions, how could he have the mood to discuss poetry and appreciate calligraphy when faced with such drastic changes.

  ……

  At dusk, Zhu Yongxing, who had been shut in his room thinking deeply all the time, was invited out by Meng He and came to that large house with a thick grass door again, and saw that somewhat strange tribal chief once more.

  After Zhu Yongxing finished his courtesy, he sat there and stopped talking. Firstly, he was a bit wary of the old man, secondly, he didn't know what the old man wanted to say to him. However, the old man's prophecy did come true, as he really couldn't leave the village for the time being.

  "Expel the stench and revive the divine state." The old man opened his eyes and said faintly, "Is that what Your Highness meant to say?"

  The cowhide has been blown up! Zhu Yongxing scratched his head, smiled awkwardly and said: "Old man, I'm sorry to make you laugh. Is my tone a bit too big?"

  Hehe, the old man burst out laughing, but judging from his expression, there was no hint of ridicule, instead it seemed like he was extremely pleased.

  As expected, the old man finished laughing and said seriously: "You don't have a big tone, but you're actually quite humble. We have an ancient saying in our Měng Shān Kè tribe: One thread cannot weave fabric, one person cannot build a house. There are still several hundred strong men in our tribe, would Your Highness be willing to accept this small force?"