Chapter 296: The Plot to Overthrow the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 296: The Plot to Overthrow the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 296: The Plot to Overthrow the Ming Dynasty
After midnight, the gate of the southern stronghold of Youyu tribe opened wide and the Ming army entered the stronghold.

The flag of the Fish God on the Sifang Fortress has been changed to white.

The guards had no weapons in their hands.
Instead, he stood there alone, looking a little listless, with a hunched back.

On the contrary, the scouts of the vanguard army entered the city in full armor.

The tall figure and black armor made the people of Youyu tribe look fearful.

The winding path, which was originally narrow, now seems particularly wide.

The people standing on both sides stepped back, backed back, and backed back again.

The soldiers of the front scout unit seemed particularly excited. It was the first time for them to fight such a battle.

There is no need for fighting or killing.

Now their energy is particularly strong. After entering the fortress, they quickly dispersed to various locations of the Fishing Department.

Carefully investigate and search, and confiscate the weapons
As military orders were issued one after another, the Youyu tribe offered no resistance.

All the soldiers stayed in the central square obediently.

The weapons and armor on his body had long disappeared and were piled aside, and were currently being counted by the clerk.

After nearly an hour, the fishermen finally finished counting everything.

All the people were gathered in the central square of the Yuyu tribe and stood under the huge statue of the Yuyu god.

Outside the city, Lu Yunyi and Li Jinglong rode on their war horses, waiting there quietly without entering the city.

Although the fish tribe has surrendered,
But Li Jinglong's status is extraordinary, so it is better for him to be cautious.

Li Jinglong looked at the four sides of the fortress where the guards had been changed and the Ming army flags had been hung up, and he could not help but sigh:

"Yun Yi, did you take it down just like that? I thought it would take a lot of effort."

Lu Yunyi's face was calm and he smiled gently:
"From the information from Yunlongzhou and Dali, the chief of the Youyu tribe is undoubtedly a smart man.

For smart people, the best way is not to attack them directly, but to make them retreat when they see the difficulty.

Now the Fishing Department has been forced into a corner.
If he doesn't surrender, he will die. Apuzha sees this clearly and he will convince himself. "

When these words were spoken, not only Li Jinglong showed admiration, but also some generals around him.

The scouts of the front army always kill as many people as possible wherever they go.

Facing the usually fierce Youyu tribe, I thought it would be a hearty fight.

However, they did not expect it to be much simpler than any previous battle and they took it down without any effort.

Li Jinglong laughed for no reason:
"I have lived for so many years, but I still don't know that a little bit of writing or a piece of paper can have such power.
This Duke is really not in vain. "

The battle in Dali had initially ended, and Li Jinglong was somewhat excited, speaking without restraint.

Since everyone around me was close to me, I had nothing to worry about and everyone started laughing as well.

At this moment, Zhang Yu rushed out from the fortress, with a respectful look on his face, and handed over a booklet:
"Duke Cao, General Lu,

This is the headcount of the Fishing Department and the number of weapons and armor.

The fort has been cleaned up and nothing has been left out, you can enter now!"

Li Jinglong took the booklet and handed it to Lu Yunyi without even looking at it.
"Duke Cao, you'd better take a look.
If you want to understand a tribe or ethnic group, you can get a lot of clues from its population structure.
How many old, weak, women and children are there, how many soldiers are there, how many young and strong are there?
With these numbers under control, there will be no secrets in the Fish and Game Department.”

Li Jinglong blinked and quickly took the book back.

He waved goodbye and walked into the village, flipping through the books in the light of the fire.

The team slowly entered the village.

Lu Yunyi was wearing ordinary black armor.

Li Jinglong put on the gilded armor that symbolized power.
The team walked on the gravel road of the Fishing Department.
Illuminated by the firelight on both sides, the young face was revealed, with a heroic air.

All the people in the Fishing Club were gathered together, and the road seemed a little quiet at the moment.
The war horses were walking on top, and the sound of their hooves seemed particularly majestic.

Li Jinglong looked at the book in his hand, frowning to the extreme, with a puzzled look on his face, and said in a low voice:

"Yun Yi, there are no old people in the Youyu tribe?"

Ok?
Lu Yunyi looked over, an inexplicable look flashed in his eyes.
"what?"

Li Jinglong also looked a little strange, and handed the booklet over:

"Yun Yi, look, this Yu Yu tribe is really weird. There are no old people.

There are 2,000 young men, 1,500 women, and nearly 2,000 children."

Lu Yunyi took the booklet, looked at it carefully, and his face suddenly became serious.

“Why are there so many children?”

The normal population structure of a tribe of 5,000 people is that children account for 20% to 30% of the population.

Young adults account for 50%, and the remaining 20% ​​are elderly people.

The Yuyu Department only has 5,000 people, and having more than 1,000 children is already the best.
But now it accounts for nearly 40%, which is obviously wrong.

As for the absence of old people, Lu Yunyi was not surprised.
On the grassland, old people who are considered a burden are often abandoned by the tribe.

In the southwest, where fighting is more intense, it is only natural that such a situation would occur.

Seeing his serious expression, Li Jinglong couldn't help but ask:
"Yun Yi, what is the reason?"

Lu Yunyi shook his head slowly:
"We still know too little about the Fishing Department. We still have to meet them to find out the truth."

Li Jinglong nodded gently:
"you're right."

Soon, nearly 500 soldiers escorted Lu Yunyi and Li Jinglong to the central square of the Youyu Department.

The two of them saw the lifelike and huge statue of the swimming fish at first sight.

Li Jinglong's pupils slightly dilated, and a look of disbelief flashed in his eyes.

He looked at the houses around him, most of which were thatched huts. It was amazing that such a poor tribe had such lifelike statues.

Lu Yunyi's pupils also slightly dilated, and his brows immediately furrowed.

Judging from the level of carving of this swimming fish,
It doesn't look like something that the Yuyu Tribe can possess, but rather looks like it was cast by craftsmen from the Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, because of their arrival, the huge square became a little more noisy.
The members of the Yuyu tribe turned their eyes to the two young men riding on the war horses.
Most of the eyes were on Li Jinglong, who was wearing gilded armor. There was obvious fear on their faces, simply because his outfit was too majestic.

Li Jinglong noticed the gaze and immediately restrained his expression, pretending to be indifferent, and looked around quietly.
Whenever the people looked at him, they would be filled with fear and lower their heads silently.

Only the children in the center of the square opened their big and bright eyes and met Li Jinglong's eyes.

They looked at the tall horses and armor with curiosity and inquisitiveness in their eyes, with greedy looks on their faces.

Seeing these children, not only Li Jinglong was stunned, but even Lu Yunyi was stunned.

These children were not like the people from Luchuan, who were dark, skinny, and had cracked skin.
Instead, they gathered together like porcelain dolls,
The older one is seven or eight years old, and the younger one is still in swaddling clothes, wrapped tightly.

They have fair skin and strong bodies.
Even the clothes they wore were exquisite, completely different from the ragged Youyu tribesmen around them.

More importantly, these children have handsome features.

His face doesn't look like that of a Luchuan person, but more like a Ming Dynasty child.

Lu Yunyi frowned extremely, thinking carefully about the official reports of Dali Prefecture in recent years, but did not find any large number of documents lost by the child.

Where did these children come from?

At this time, Liu Heiying, who was in charge of handling the surrender of Youyu Tribe, rushed over after hearing the news.

His already dark face became even darker and solemn at this moment, and he exuded a fierce murderous intent.

Seeing him coming, Lu Yunyi pointed at the children and asked:
"Black Hawk, what's going on?"

Liu Heiying took a deep breath, looked serious, and said in a low voice:

"Brother Yun'er, this is a serious matter. This is not the place to talk. Follow me."

Lu Yunyi looked solemn, and looked at Li Jinglong who also looked solemn.
Not long after, the three men appeared in Apuzha's bamboo house, and they could smell a faint smell of blood in the air.

It was not until this time that Liu Heiying spoke in a deep voice:
"Brother Yun'er, this Youyu tribe has a big secret. Those children outside are all born to Ming people."

"Akito?"

Li Jinglong exclaimed, his eyes slightly widened.

No wonder he felt somewhat familiar with those children, it turned out they were Ming people’s offspring.

Lu Yunyi's face was solemn: "Go on."

Liu Heiying handed over a piece of paper in his hand, his face looked extremely ugly:
"The fathers of these children are Ming people, the women are from the Youyu tribe, and there are some refugees from the southwest. What's more important is that the fathers of most of the children are not ordinary people.
There were all kinds of people, some of whom were officials in the court and held important positions in various government offices.

This is the list, and the Yuyu Department hopes to use it to gain forgiveness from the court."

Lu Yunyi looked ridiculous as he took the document and opened it to check. Names appeared one by one.

The fathers of these two thousand children were scattered all over Dali Prefecture.

The jobs they do are also different.

There were court officials, clerks, merchant owners, porters, beggars, refugees, and soldiers.

Lu Yunyi looked at the names one by one, and more and more familiar names came into his sight.
Du Yutao, the garrison commander of Yunlong Prefecture, Zhao Dongping, the garrison commander of Dali City,

Kong Renjing, the centurion of Dingyuan Guard, Shi Wenguang, the owner of Baiyan Commercial Bank, and Liu Changshi, the captain of Tianbao Carriage and Horse Driving Team
Yunlongzhou Postmaster, Yongping Inspector, Dali Prefecture Dianshi, Dali Prefecture Governor
Lu Yunyi's pupils had shrunk to the extreme.
He exudes an indescribable aura of danger.

Li Jinglong on the side tilted his head to look at the clerk, his pupils shaking violently, and an unprecedented dullness appeared on his face.

The atmosphere in the bamboo building was extremely solemn, and everyone was silent for a long time.

It was unknown how long it took for Li Jinglong to recover from his shock.
Although the room was extremely warm, he still shuddered as if he was enveloped by the cold.

Conspiracy, conspiracy, this is the conspiracy of the Youyu tribe against the Dali Prefecture!
Child and father, the most delicate bond in the world, has now become the soil for conspiracy to gather and be exploited.

Li Jinglong only felt his throat dry. He tried to purse his lips and swallow his saliva, but it still didn't relieve the pain.

"This, this, him, them, me, us"

Li Jinglong didn't know why he stuttered and he stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Lu Yunyi did not speak, but he took a long breath and closed the book.

He stood up and walked to the window of the bamboo building.

From here, you can see the huge statue in the center of the Fish Club.
The exquisite craftsmanship is so exquisite that even in the Ming Dynasty,

To carve such a huge statue, it would cost ten thousand taels of silver.

But now, the Fishing Department doesn't need to spend a penny to have someone carve a statue for it.

Lu Yunyi's eyes were deep as he looked up at the many people of the Youyu tribe below.
At this moment, they had sincere looks on their faces, standing there quietly, with their hands clasped together, praying to the Fish God.

The children looked at the soldiers and horses with longing in their eyes.

But when he looked at the huge statue, fanaticism appeared in his eyes.

"Fish God" Lu Yunyi murmured,
The solemnity on his face melted away like ice and snow, revealing a faint smile:
"What a plan."

The Fishing Department has taken a new path.
This road is more dangerous than Luchuan and grassland, but it is also the closest to success.

Give the Yuyu Department another ten years, until all these children grow up,
The Yuyu tribe not only has fanatical fighters, but also countless powers.

"Yun Yi, what should we do?"

Li Jinglong suppressed his shock and returned to normal. He rushed over and spoke hastily:
"What should we do with these children? What should we do with their fathers?
The Yunnan Provincial Administration is now facing war.

If all the people on the list were arrested, it would cause a huge uproar.
If something goes wrong, what should we do?"

As he spoke, Li Jinglong showed some regret on his face.

The Fishing Department is not a popular thing, but a mess that cannot be gotten rid of.

Lu Yunyi's face was calm, without any change in expression, and he spoke calmly:
"Duke Cao, the most important thing about this matter is not these two thousand people. Even if we kill them all, Yunnan will not be in chaos."

After hearing this, Li Jinglong finally calmed down, breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked:
"What's the important thing?"

“This method.”

The voice was crisp and brief, but it stunned Li Jinglong. A huge uproar broke out in his heart and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Yes, a small tribe like Youyu has achieved such a great success.
If Luchuan were to do it, Beiyuan would do it.
Or maybe some bigwigs in the court did it.
The borders of the Ming Dynasty extend over tens of thousands of miles. How powerful will the plan be if it is implemented?

Some of them have money, soldiers and land, so how can they not accomplish it?
Or, already doing it?
Instantly, Li Jinglong felt as if he was enveloped in darkness, and the dangerous aura coming from all directions made his hair stand on end.

He looked at the children in the Fishing Department Square, and his breathing became a little faster.

This is not a child at all, he is clearly a powerful assassin.

"What. What should I do?"

There was a hint of panic in Li Jinglong's voice.
The trembling sound made him look like a young man of twenty, not the powerful Duke Cao.

Lu Yunyi looked calm and asked Liu Heiying:
“How many people know about this book?”

Liu Heiying replied: "There are only three of us in the army, and the Yuyu tribe has more than ten people.

I don’t know if Shi Wenguang, the Chamber of Commerce owner who is handling this matter, has a backup copy. It is still unclear.”

Lu Yunyi nodded gently and walked quickly to the brazier placed on the side.

As the two of them stared in astonishment, he threw the booklet in.

The blinding flames instantly engulfed the booklet, and thick smoke billowed.

But the three of them didn't seem to care and just stood there in a daze.

"Yun Yi, what are you doing?"

After a long while, Li Jinglong finally reacted.

Rushing forward hastily, he seized the brazier,

He remained unmoved by the scorching heat and watched the booklet burn up bit by bit.

Liu Heiying stepped forward and pulled Li Jinglong up. There were already red burns on his hands.
Lu Yunyi looked at Liu Heiying and said in a cold voice:
"Kill all those who know this booklet, especially Apza, who must not be spared!"

Liu Heiying's expression looked a little strange:
"Apuza is dead. He committed suicide in this bamboo house. This list was given to me by his sister Hongji."

Lu Yunyi's face was calm and he nodded slightly:

"Got it. Go ahead and do it. It's better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go."

Liu Heiying immediately understood and walked out silently.

When he finally arrived, there were only two people left in the room.

Li Jinglong then felt the burning pain in his palm. He stepped forward and grabbed Lu Yunyi's shoulder, and asked hurriedly:
"Yun Yi, why do we need to burn the list?"

"Duke Cao, wherever there is an investigation, there must be traces.

This matter must not be known to outsiders, whether it is a one-time punishment or a batch of punishments,

As long as one pays attention to the court's movements, one can immediately detect clues.

So, the best thing to do is to pretend that nothing happened.”

Li Jinglong stood still, his face changing from gloomy to bright, and suddenly he understood a lot.

I have to say, this seems to be the best solution at the moment.

But he soon thought of something:

"The court can't know either?"

Lu Yunyi looked calm and nodded gently:

"Yes, but your majesty can know."

Li Jinglong realized that the court was now turbulent, and countless people were struggling.

God knows what kind of uproar this will cause.
If the imperial court knew about it and sent out a notice widely, I wonder how many people would follow suit.

In the eyes of the bigwigs in the court, many of the methods of the Youyu Department seem as childish as those of a child.

Li Jinglong felt depressed and involuntarily touched the Jinyiwei badge on his waist with a gloomy face.

"Those Jinyiwei?"

He was extremely grateful at this moment. Fortunately, the scouts in the front army deceived themselves and others, and no one knew the real direction of attack.
Otherwise, with such internal and external cooperation,
We don’t know what kind of trouble will arise and how much damage will be caused.

"The Jinyiwei are the twelve guards of the upper guard, your majesty's personal army.
It is not our turn to punish them. Arrest these people and wait for your majesty to punish them."

"it is good"

"Then how do we resettle these people from the Fishing Tribe?" Li Jinglong asked again.

Lu Yunyi narrowed his eyes, his expression was extremely serious, and his mind was full of thoughts.

There were countless emotions in his eyes, but they finally calmed down.

"Don't worry, Lord Cao, I will take care of this matter."

(End of this chapter)