Chapter 166 Vulnerable

The shadows of the spear and the chopping sword quickly intertwined.

Then, blood rained down from the sky.

uh...

Clouds of blood mist spurted out.

The first ones to scream out in agony were the few family generals who were rushing in the front.

Such family generals have been in battle for a long time and they know best that the brave will win when two meet in a narrow road. Because in most battles, the more courageous you are, the more likely you are to make the enemy timid.

Therefore, they are often brave and aggressive, always rushing to the front.

Moreover, in their eyes, these captains were just a group of new recruits. As long as they showed their bravery, they could quickly disperse them.

It’s just a pity... they unexpectedly discovered that these new soldiers in front of them did not retreat at all and charged forward with spears in hand.

There wasn't even a single gap in this dense forest of spears.

Then the spears came and the first one, a family general, was quickly pierced through the body by the sharp spear. He let out a howl and blood flowed down the shaft of the spear.

What is even more terrifying is that even so, once they have the upper hand, they will never linger in the fight, but will continue to move forward and backward freely. Once the assassination is successful, they will immediately take a step back together, and then continue to accumulate strength and sprint forward to assassinate.

The family generals suddenly felt despair.

In this narrow space, the spear formation was almost invincible, and... these people had no desire to fight, and these dozens or hundreds of people moved forward and backward in tacit coordination, thrusting out their spears in unison as if they were one.

This... is definitely not something a group of rookies can do.

As for the family generals, no matter how they attacked, they had no chance to exploit except for the people around them falling down one by one.

Deng Qianqiu stood at the back to supervise the battle and carefully observed the situation. Seeing these officers move forward and backward freely, he couldn't help but cheer for them: "Zhu Di, you are really amazing."

Zhu Di was eager to try, but after hearing Deng Qianqiu's praise, he raised his head slightly and said disdainfully: "This is nothing, not to mention that they underestimated the enemy, we also have the advantage of terrain, even if it is a fair fight, even though they are old soldiers, I can still beat them to a pulp."

"Humble, humble..." Deng Qianqiu said, "I want to teach you a lesson now."

Zhu Di restrained his arrogance a little bit and said, "Please enlighten me, Master."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Don't be so ignorant of the world just because you have learned a little skill. Think about it, without your guidance, would you be where you are today? So even if you brag in the future, please bring your teacher with you. Don't be greedy and only think about eating alone."

Zhu Di: "..."

Zhu Di did not say anything more. He shouted, "The formation cannot be changed. Pay attention to the comrades on the left and right. Go forward, rush forward, and disperse them!"

…………

street corner.

Zhou Han rode on a tall horse, looking at everything from afar. The two sides were fighting very quickly, and the original... ending that he had expected... did not seem to appear.

Not only did it not appear, but even...what was happening before his eyes had already surprised him greatly.

Who could have thought that the dignified Marquis Ji'an and his one hundred and fifty generals could not only fail to defeat a mere group of new recruits, but that the situation would become one-sided if the trend continued.

His face began to become uncertain.

A pair of eyes, flickering.

A captain came hurriedly and whispered, "Zhou Tongzhi... now... what do you say?"

Zhou Han's heart was in turmoil at this moment. He couldn't help feeling a little confused.

I had planned everything, but I never expected this outcome.

Marquis Ji'an, this good-for-nothing!

"Wait a little longer, and see..." Zhou Han continued to hesitate. Things were beyond his expectations. What should he do next?
Lead the troops to take advantage of the situation to attack Deng Qianqiu?
Regardless of whether he could succeed or not, he had already felt a fierce murderous aura from these captains.

What's more... once he starts taking action, it would be equivalent to... involving himself.

The order he received was to let Lu Zhongheng attack and kill Deng Qianqiu, and then take the opportunity to kill Lu Zhongheng to silence him.

But once he starts to join the game, who can guarantee that the final outcome will be that he attacks and kills Deng Qianqiu, and then... someone will come to silence him?
But...if Deng Qianqiu didn't die today...then...

Just when he was upset.

In the distance, Deng Qianqiu suddenly shouted, "You bold thieves! His Royal Highness Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, is right here. How dare you attack the prince? Your crime is unforgivable! Come on, whoever dares to resist will be killed. If there are still those who dare to resist, their entire family will be killed, and no one will be spared!"

This was a loud shout.

This caused the family generals, who were already struggling to hold out, to become even more confused.

At this moment, Zhou Han's expression suddenly changed.

He could not help but whisper to the captain beside him: "Go quickly... Go and inform Lord Hu... Quickly, quickly... Something big is going to happen, something big is going to happen."

"Yes." The captain did not dare to hesitate and went there quickly.

…………In the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the side hall. After coming back from court, he showed an angry look and couldn't help cursing: "Thousands of acres of fertile land, more than thirty foreign concubines, and... and that thing..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was walking quickly, and the people behind him should also follow him in small steps.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Why did you just report the wasteland in Qixia? How much land and gold and silver did this bastard hide secretly?"

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang became extremely angry.

Good fellow... I asked you to accept bribes, but you actually accepted them secretly.

If it hadn't been revealed over there, I would have laughed at people like Marquis Ji'an for not being able to afford gifts.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and glared at her: "Didn't the Yiluansi know about this in advance?"

Ye Dian said hurriedly: "There is no news about this from the Yiluansi."

"Waste, good-for-nothing!" Zhu Yuanzhang cursed.

Then he suddenly stopped, as if thinking about something.

I should see that His Majesty is unhappy. After hesitating for a while, I comforted him, "Your Majesty, now... since we are going to start a thorough investigation, and now that the incident has become so serious, by then... the truth about how much benefits Deng Qianqiu has received will soon be revealed. Your Majesty... don't worry."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "What I am afraid of now is the investigation... What if they find out too much?"

Should also first: "..."

Zhu Yuanzhang severely punished corruption, which has been almost an unshakable national policy since the Hongwu period.

Zhu Yuanzhang would show no mercy to anyone who dared to take action. He would kill them if they deserved to be killed...with no mercy.

But now... if Deng Qianqiu is really to be found out about many things... then...

Should the punishment be severe or not?
If we don’t punish severely... then how can we justifiably fight corruption in the future?
But if it is a severe punishment...

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and looked even more anxious: "It's time to..."

You should also hurry up and say, "The servant is here."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a quick look, then looked off into the distance, as if thinking about something, and said, "Quickly pass on an imperial decree to me."

When he heard that it was an imperial decree, his eyes suddenly widened a little, and then he nodded.

This imperial edict was actually the emperor's direct order, which did not go through the Secretariat and completely represented the emperor's will.

Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly: "Deng Qianqiu... has worked hard and made great contributions. Although he did not have the merit of founding the country, his merits are also numerous. In consideration of his loyalty, bravery and diligence, I specially order Deng Qianqiu to..."

Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment before speaking again, slowly saying, "I am the Earl of Wuwei County. I respect you."

He was stunned for a moment. He looked up and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in surprise.

Among the titles of nobility in the Ming Dynasty, there are duke, marquis, and earl, and earl... is further divided into county earl and county earl.

But you have to know that even the title of county earl can only be granted to those who have made great contributions to the founding of the country.

Emperor Hongwu remembered the lesson of the Yuan Dynasty's indiscriminate granting of titles, so he was very stingy with titles. When the country was founded, there were only six dukes, twenty-eight marquises, and eleven earls.

Even so, many of these people were awarded titles posthumously. Among the eleven earls alone, three died on the battlefield and were only awarded posthumously after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, there were only eight earls left in the world, and the leader was the famous Earl of Chengyi Liu Ji.

Of course, Liu Ji was a county earl, a second-rank title, while the earl appointed by Deng Qianqiu was a third-rank county earl.

However, for Deng Qianqiu, who did not participate in the founding war, even being conferred the title of county earl was already very exaggerated. This was almost equivalent to telling the world that this completely unexpected reward proved Zhu Yuanzhang's special care for Deng Qianqiu.

But this... obviously breaks the rules.

Zhu Yuanzhang could naturally see what Yesen was thinking from his face.

So he said, "Do you think I broke the rules I set?"

She was also frightened at first, and quickly restrained her expression and said, "I dare not."

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly, "I want to break this rule. Now things have reached a point where they are out of control. Next... we have to investigate thoroughly. Next... countless people and countless eyes will definitely be watching this kid. If something is really found out about this kid, what should we do?"

"Xiuying was saved by him. Besides... my sons are still relying on him for discipline, not to mention this kid's talent for managing the economy. If this kid dares to embezzle, I will naturally punish him severely. But... right now, I can't let him be found out... otherwise, I will lose face."

It's time to suddenly understand something.

Your Majesty wants to use this reward to show it to the people of the world.

Let those who want to take advantage of this opportunity to push down the emperor know that Deng Qianqiu still has the emperor's favor.

At this time, if you still want to investigate, or want to pursue something, then you should weigh your own weight.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang should confer the title, and others can investigate if they want. It depends on whether you dare to go against His Majesty when His Majesty has just conferred the title. If you dare to do this even if something is found out, you are really audacious.

(End of this chapter)