Chapter 1024 The imperial commander’s personal expedition
The Prince Mu's Mansion is a staunchly loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Su Mingzhe had long anticipated the rebellion in Prince Mu's Palace.

Therefore, before the change of dynasty, he sent Dongfang Bubai to guard against them strictly.

Under the siege of the Sun and Moon Sect.

In the end, only the prince of Mu and a few retainers escaped from the Mu Palace.

Of course, when the officers and soldiers conducted the final search, they discovered that all the young sons of the mechanical retainers in Prince Mu’s mansion had disappeared.

It was obvious that Prince Mu anticipated that he might fail, so he sent the children out early.

Dongfang Bubai reported that the descendants of Prince Mu's palace should have fled south to countries such as Nanyue and Siam.

Because the new dynasty had just been established, Su Mingzhe could only send envoys to order these countries to hand over the people from Prince Mu's Palace.

It will take some time before we really need to send out a large army.

On the other hand, Yue Buqun of the Huashan Sect actually defected to the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. This fact still surprised Su Mingzhe.

"Isn't this like being in the imperial palace for 10 years and serving in the national army for 48 years?"

Yue Buqun is too much of a gambler and has no sense of the overall situation at all. He is going to destroy the Huashan Sect.

After Su Mingzhe sighed, he still ordered Zuo Lengchan to lead his fellow outlaws to hunt down the Huashan Sect.

In a blink of an eye, another full moon rose from the east.

After a busy day, Su Mingzhe came to Kunning Palace and saw Queen Zhu Xuan'an having dinner with her two sons.

Crown Prince Su Xi was kneeling on the mat with his legs together, looking so serious that anyone could feel sorry for him.

The second child, Su Zheng, was much more casual. He was already six years old, but he still let the queen hold him and feed him.

Su Mingzhe was naturally unhappy when he saw it:

"Zheng'er, do you still need someone to feed you before you eat?"

"No, Your Majesty, Zheng'er can eat by himself now, but he has been feeling sick these past two days and has caught a cold, so..."

When Zhu Xuan'an saw that the man seemed to have a bad look on his face, she quickly put her youngest son down and explained.

Ever since the man ascended the throne and became emperor, every word and action he made gave people a strong sense of oppression.

Not to mention Zhu Xuan'an, even other women rarely dare to talk and laugh with men anymore.

"Xi'er, Zheng'er, both of you come here."

Su Mingzhe casually sat cross-legged beside Zhu Xuan'an, called his two sons to his side, and felt their pulses before he heaving a sigh of relief:

"Zheng'er has indeed caught a cold, but it's not a big problem. I asked the Imperial Hospital to make a pill of the Yuan-nourishing Pill. Let Zheng'er take it and he will be fine after a good sleep."

Seeing the man about to feed the elixir to his son, Zhu Xuan'an finally lost her composure:
"Your Majesty, this Pei Yuan Pill is very valuable. Zheng'er just caught a cold. So he doesn't need to take the pill, right?"

Ordinary people all know a simple truth, which is that "all medicines are poisonous to some extent."

So generally speaking, people who are sick are a bit reluctant to see a doctor, and choose to fight the disease on their own instead of taking medicine directly.

Su Mingzhe saw the woman's expression change drastically, and knew that she was worried that the pill might be poisonous, so he couldn't help but said with a smile:

"Don't worry. Starting tomorrow, I will personally teach Xi'er and Zheng'er how to practice martial arts. It's just a Peiyuan Pill. The medicinal effect will be absorbed quickly."

Seeing that the man's words were unquestionable, Zhu Xuan'an had no choice but to give in and asked the nanny to take out the Peiyuan Pill that she had hidden, dissolve it in clean water, and give it to her youngest son.

After taking the medicine, Su Zheng soon felt sleepy.

At this time, Su Xi obediently took her brother to the outer room to rest, leaving the space for her parents.

Without his son to act as a light bulb, Su Mingzhe immediately turned into a tyrant. He did not allow Zhu Xuanmei to resist and pressed her under him.

The princesses and eunuchs who were serving nearby quickly retreated and guarded the door to prevent anyone from coming in and disturbing the two.

This Zhu Xuan'an is so pure and sexy, her every frown and smile can captivate people.

After enjoying it, Su Mingzhe played with the woman's white and tender hands and couldn't help but sigh secretly. This Zhu Xuan'an must have inherited the true teachings of Concubine Zheng. She was becoming more and more like a vixen and could easily absorb his yang energy. Other women didn't have this ability.

Zhu Xuanwei, who was already exhausted and weak, had no idea that a man would think so highly of her. She was so sleepy now that she just wanted to take a shower and go to bed early!

"Princess, I want to discuss something with you!" Su Mingzhe pulled over a backrest, letting himself and the woman lie down, and then he said to himself:
"Now that the Great Zheng has been established, although there has been a rebellion, the state system has not changed, and many internal and external troubles still exist. The internal troubles are easy to deal with. The ministers and ministers in the court are all the pillars of the country. With them, the Great Zheng will not have any major problems."

"But no external threats!"

"Last year, the Jianzhou Jurchens attacked the grasslands and unified most of them. The remaining grassland tribes were no match for the Jianzhou Jurchens and have all gone south for help. The Jinyiwei sent a message that the Eight Banners of the Jurchens are gathering 300,000 troops and preparing to march south in summer and autumn! I want to lead the army in person... During my absence, I'll have to trouble you and the other ministers with state affairs!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely protect Da Zheng."

Seeing that the man spoke so seriously, Zhu Xuan'an had no choice but to agree.

The grassland tribes have always been a major concern for the Central Plains dynasties.

Now that the grassland has been unified again, Da Zheng should indeed pay attention.

As for the emperor's intention to lead the army in person, the empress agreed, but she also wanted to seek the opinions of the cabinet ministers.

The chief minister of the Great Zheng was Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi at the age of 42. He was first appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, and later was appointed by Emperor Wanli as Shengzhongyun, Yude, and Xima (actually the prince's teacher).

While teaching the crown prince, Sun Chengzong also taught other princes and princesses, including Princess Shouning.

Later, the crown prince died, and Emperor Wanli adopted Princess Shouning's son as the crown prince. Sun Chengzong regarded the grandson of Emperor Wanli as the legitimate heir of the Ming Dynasty and devoted himself to assisting him.

In official history, this Lord Sun was also the imperial tutor of two generations and the last pillar of the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Emperor Tianqi did not make good use of it and finally had to withdraw from the court in disgrace.

In recent years, the Donglin Party has been trying to win over court officials and support other princes in their rebellions. They also approached Sun Chengzong, but were rejected by him.

Later, when Su Mingzhe wanted to usurp the throne, the first person he had to persuade was Sun Chengzong.

At that time, Su Mingzhe promised him that after he changed the dynasty, he would make Su Xi the crown prince, which was equivalent to the future emperor of Da Zheng continuing to have the blood of the Ming Dynasty Zhu family flowing in his veins.

This is why Sun Chengzong continued to serve in the court and was even appointed as the chief minister by Su Mingzhe.

Su Mingzhe summoned Sun Chengzong and told him about his plan to lead the army in person.

"Lord Sun, the Jurchens have already assembled a large army and can march south at any time. We cannot passively take the attack, we must take the initiative!"

"I only need 50,000 cavalrymen, along with rations and baggage, to be sent directly to Yuguan. We will set out in May and return in October."

"Lord Sun, I'm going to trouble you to take care of these matters!"

"Old minister accepts the order!"

Sun Chengzong did not refuse.

After all, Su Mingzhe was right. If we just wait for the Jurchens to come and fight, it would be too passive.

It would be better to take advantage of the founding emperor's ambition and go directly out of the country to keep the enemy out of the country.

On this point, there are still differences between the Zheng Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty was about to end, and the problem of seniority-based promotion was very serious.

If you want to lead troops to fight, various interests will definitely be involved.

And in Da Zheng, now is a new era of the Xin Dynasty.

Under Su Mingzhe's strong suppression, the capable ones are promoted and the mediocre ones are demoted.

There is no trace of those termites in the court now.

As the chief minister, Sun Chengzong sometimes had an illusion.

They are the same group of people, so why has their work efficiency increased several times?

May, the first year of Taichang.

After two months of preparation.

Su Mingzhe rushed to Yuguan under the protection of three thousand Han generals.

At Yuguan, an army of 100,000 had been assembled, of which 50,000 were Ming cavalry and the other 50,000 were grassland warriors who surrendered last year.

(End of this chapter)