Chapter 2: The White Lotus Sect (Part 1)

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  Borjigit Bumbutai was the only gain from this trip to Liaodong, so Zhu Yinglong ordered everyone to keep a tight lip, whether it was his cheap brother or Huang Taiji who knew about it, they would have no good days ahead of them. The mountain potato is hot, very hot, and extremely hot. Take advantage of Bumbutai's ignorance of her identity to send her back, but he himself was unwilling, not sending her back would be troublesome if the news leaked out, and before becoming emperor, his head might have already been moved. This really proved that old saying, "lust is reckless"!

  Zhu Yinglong was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He didn't sleep all night, and as soon as it dawned, he got up. He wanted to discuss with Xiong Tingbi, this matter is not trivial, now it's still possible to make a decision, once they go south, there will be no room for maneuver.

  Xiong Tingbi seemed to have expected Zhu Yinglong would come looking for him early in the morning, and as soon as Zhu Yinglong knocked on the door, it opened. Inside the room were not only Xiong Tingbi but also Lu Haotian and Shen Xi, all dressed up neatly.

  "What's going on here?" Zhu Yinglong asked in surprise.

  "Your Highness, don't blame us for being cautious. To be honest, we're all worried that the woman is a jinx and can't stay with us. It's better to quietly send her back." Xiong Tingyi spoke on behalf of the three.

  "Yes, Your Highness, a knife on the head of the word 'lust'!" Lu Haotian also chimed in.

  Chen Xi also earnestly advised: "Your Majesty likes beauties, and old Shen can find you many more beautiful ones than her. Why ruin your great cause for a married woman?"

  "Yes, Your Highness, if the imperial court finds out about this woman, you will be in danger. I humbly request that you send her away!" Xiong Tingyi led the way and knelt down to say sincerely to Zhu Yinglong.

  "You?" Zhu Yinglong was both angry and anxious, what they said wasn't unreasonable, he couldn't refute it at all. "Sigh!" Zhu Yinglong sat down dejectedly.

  "Your Highness, taking this woman away may seem like a small matter, but it will bring great disaster. Your Highness, please think thrice!" Xiong Tingyi advised once again.

  Zhu Yinglong's brain was racing, Nurhaci was not surprised, after this serious injury, he would certainly die, and the Later Jin dynasty would inevitably have a power struggle. According to historical trajectory, it should be Huang Taiji who ascends to the throne, and Bumbutai's status would rise with the tide. Although there are few records of Fulin's enthronement before history, her son was able to ascend to the throne after Huang Taiji's death, which is absolutely not a coincidence. This woman's wisdom and cunning are rare in the world. If she were to be released like this, Huang Taiji's harem would have an extremely intelligent strategist. Such a foolish thing would never be done by Zhu Yinglong, who regarded Huang Taiji as his greatest enemy. Due to the male chauvinist mentality, Xiong Tingbi and others did not recognize Bumbutai's ferocity at all. Doing so would undoubtedly be releasing a tiger back into the mountains. In her own time and space, she was considered one of the most extraordinary women, even surpassing Wu Zetian. Making such a mistake would have severe consequences in the future, perhaps costing tens of thousands of lives. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible to let Bumbutai go back. He suddenly stood up and calmly said: "The Master said, food and sex are human nature, and I am no exception. However, there is another hidden situation with this woman, please forgive me for not being able to say it now. You will understand later, so she must follow us!"

  "Prince Wang?" The three of them looked at Zhu Yinglong in unison, puzzled.

  "No need to say more, let's set off back to Zhongyuan!" Zhu Yinglong's words stopped the three from persuading him again.

  After Zhu Yinglong left, Lu Haotian sat down in anger and said dissatisfied: "The king is so stubborn, isn't he putting us all in a desperate situation? How old is he, where does he know the severity of this relationship?"

  Shen Xi stood silently on one side, speechless. He was just a merchant, and the two men beside him were seasoned generals; what right did he have to speak?

  "I think King Wang doesn't seem to be shooting randomly, we've been following him for a long time, haven't we discovered that he seems to have endless secrets on his body? What he did in Kaifeng wasn't something that a young man who had been confined to the palace for over a decade could do. His own understanding has also exceeded our imagination and cognition!" Xiong Tingyi seemed to have realized.

  Xiong Tingbi said this, and Lu Haotian and Shen Xi both thought seriously about it, as if it were really the case. Building a separate garden, establishing a military academy that had never been seen before, promoting miscellaneous studies, integrating hundreds of schools of thought, manufacturing cement, and smelting new steel - which one of these wasn't a shocking and unconventional move? If they had learned about them from books, why hadn't the imperial court brought out such good things to use? They suddenly realized that standing in front of them was not a teenager, but a towering mountain that they couldn't surpass, and they had to look up to see the peak!

  It was possible that Xiong Hu had overheard Zhu Yinglong and Bu Mu Butei's conversation in the house, and the next day when they set out on their journey, Zhu Yinglong found that Xiong Hu was even colder towards him, like a block of ice, which made his mood sink to an all-time low.

  Zhu Yinglong and others set out from Shanhai Pass and headed towards Tianjin Garrison.

  On the tenth day after the Battle of Ningyuan, the good news arrived in Beijing. Yuan Chonghuan was rewarded for his contributions to the defense of Ningyuan City, but he was also held responsible for the loss of Juehua Island and the defeat of the army and civilians, although it was not directly related to him. As a result, he was only given a concurrent appointment as Right Vice Minister of War, while the other generals who defended the city were rewarded. The Grand Coordinator of Liaodong, Gao Di, was sacrificed by the court and dismissed from his post. A eunuch named Wang Zhi-Chen succeeded him as Grand Coordinator of Liaodong, and two other eunuchs, Liu Yingkui and Ji Yong, were sent to supervise the military in Liaodong. Meanwhile, Wei Zhongxian's great-grandson, Wei Pengyi, was enfeoffed as Marquess of Anping, while his grandson, Wei Liangdeng, was made Earl of Dong'an and Grand Preceptor. Wei Liangchen was also promoted to the position of Grand Secretary, and Cui Chengxiu was promoted from Governor of Henan to Minister of War and Left Vice Minister of War. Furthermore, Wei Liangchen was entrusted with offering sacrifices on behalf of the emperor at the southern and northern suburbs, as well as at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. As a result, people throughout the land began to suspect that Wei Zhongxian was plotting to usurp the throne.

  Upon hearing the news, Xiong Tingbi was so enraged that he smashed a table to pieces on the spot. Zhu Yinglong knew that Wei Zhongxian had begun his plot to usurp the Zhu family's power without any reservations.

  Passing through Cangzhou, Zhu Yinglong and others wanted to go south to Jiangnan via Shandong, but Bu Mu Bute and Sun Shenxing were not convenient to follow, so Zhu Yinglong decided to let Xiong Hu lead the Hu Benying camp to escort them back to Kaifeng, he and Xiong Tingbi, Lu Haotian and Shen Xi three people took a shortcut to Shandong south.

  Xiong Hu led a large team to start their journey back to Kaifeng, while Zhu Yinglong and the other three went south to Jiangnan. The two teams parted ways outside the city of Cangzhou. They were going to meet up with Xiong Daxi in Jiangnan, so there was no need to bring a large team, and having fewer people would also avoid arousing suspicion, making it easier for them to act.

  After parting with Xiong Hu, Zhu Yinglong felt a sense of relaxation, as if the sky was high and the birds were flying freely, and the sea was wide and the fish were jumping. He felt that freedom was so beautiful, and he had two powerful martial artists by his side to protect him. Although he saw some scenes that made him unhappy from time to time, this journey to Jinan was the happiest day for him, because he even forgot that he was still a prince!