Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1070 1065 [The guide is the kindhearted and righteous person]

(Correction: The "Jiaoyuan" in the previous chapter is a Buddhist name. Gao Jiaoyuan's secular name is Gao Chengzong. Historically, after his father lost his title and position as prime minister, Gao Chengzong was forced to become a monk at the age of 20.)
The only territories actually controlled by Gao Liangcheng faction are Shanchan (Kunming), Weichou (Chuxiong) and Shicheng (Qujing).

Among them, Chuxiong is Gao Liangcheng’s hometown, where he grew up.

Kunming is the base camp of the Gao family. More than 20 years ago, the 37 barbarians rebelled, broke through Kunming, killed the head of the Gao family, and looted all the Gao family's property in Kunming. Gao Liangcheng was ordered to defeat the 37 barbarians, and became the prime minister of Dali and the head of the Gao family, and thus controlled the military power in Kunming.

As for Qujing, it was originally the territory of the Duan family, but now it was controlled by Gao Liangcheng's nephew. Surrounded by rebellious barbarians, the siege lasted for half a year, and the Dali army no longer dared to leave the city.

The envoys sent by the new ruler of Dali to Luoyang to request the title did not dare to go north from Sichuan (that route was controlled by Gao Liangcheng's political enemies), nor did they dare to go through Guizhou or Guangxi (these two routes were blocked by the thirty-seven barbarian tribes). So they crossed the mountains and ridges pitifully and quietly went southeast to enter the territory of Jiaozhi.

When he arrived at the provincial capital of Jiaozhi, Gao Chengzong was in tears. He had never suffered such a torture before.
"The Ming Empire annexed Annan, but there was no rebellion?"

Dong Mingshou, the nominal envoy of the Dali Kingdom, was quite surprised to see that Daluo City (Thang Long City) had regained its prosperity.

Gao Chengzong, who was not yet fully grown, glanced at the streets and said, "It's not as prosperous as Dali City."

Dong Mingshou said, "I heard that there was a general named Yang in the Ming Dynasty who abducted 100,000 people from this city. I think it has not recovered yet."

The two men led a delegation and went to the Governor's Office under the guidance of Jiaozhi officials.

In the Dali Kingdom, the Dong family's status was second only to the Gao family.

During the Nanzhao Kingdom period, Dong Jialuo, who was the imperial teacher, used magic to help Geluofeng defeat the Tang army.

"Ga Luo" is a title of honor, not a name.

During the Five Dynasties period, another Dong Jialuo assisted Duan Siping in establishing the Dali Kingdom and became the founding imperial teacher of Dali.

They believe in Tantra!
Gao Liangcheng intends to be the guide, and so does Dong Mingshou?

When it comes to changing one's fortune, the Dong family are professionals.

These guys are very insightful, from the prestige of Nanzhao to the Dali Kingdom. In another time and space, the Dong family was successively canonized by the Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty, and was later deprived of the right to cast spells and became a secular chieftain.

The Dong family is gradually declining.

There are three main sects of Buddhism in the Dali Kingdom.

At the beginning, Tantric Buddhism developed the fastest, after all, the Dong family was the hereditary national master.

But gradually, Theravada and Zen Buddhism caught up. Today, Theravada Buddhism is the only dominant one, followed by Zen Buddhism, and Tantric Buddhism is the lagging behind.

The Duan and Gao families no longer believe in Tantric Buddhism!

Moreover, the Gao family deliberately suppressed Tantric Buddhism. When the Gao family usurped the throne, they directly abolished the title of National Master, simply to eliminate the Duan family's arms.

The Duan family became king again, but did not reinstate the Dong family as the national teacher.

Today, Dong Mingshou's title is only "The Master of Doubtful Principles". If this continues, his descendants will probably not even have the title, and can only inherit the title of Qingping official (this position was originally the prime minister of Nanzhao State, and became an honorary position in Dali State).

In another time and space, the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty restored Dong as the Imperial Preceptor and named him "the founding hero and Imperial Preceptor of Shunying."

Gao Liangcheng and Dong Mingshou are both losers in the political struggle. Now they have formed an alliance of losers to collude with the Ming Dynasty.

"Greetings to Mr. Xiang, the governor of the Ming Dynasty!"

Dong Mingshou led Gao Chengzong forward, he put his hands together, and Gao Chengzong bowed.

Xiang Zizhen had been officially appointed as the Left Governor of Jiaozhi. He bowed in return and invited the two to sit inside.

After a few pleasantries, Dong Mingshou said, "Our country's new king has ascended the throne, and this time I went to Luoyang to ask for a title. Because the roads to the north and east are blocked, I have to go through Annan..."

"It's Jiaozhi." Xiang Zizhen corrected.

Dong Mingshou quickly changed his words: "So I'm going to pass through Jiaozhi. Please, sir, make some arrangements."

Xiang Zizhen said, "You can go by land to Guangxi, and then enter the Yangtze River from Hunan. But you two should rest for a while, wait for the trade winds to come, take a ship by sea, and then go straight into the Yangtze River to transport it to the north."

Dong Mingshou had never seen the sea, so he naturally didn't know how dangerous it was. He agreed without saying much.

They were arranged to stay in a hotel and would go out shopping from time to time and gather some information.

Just a few days later, a large number of soldiers suddenly entered the city to arrest people.

Dong Mingshou and Gao Chengzong ran to watch the excitement, only to see several officials being arrested from the provincial government and Daluofu government offices.

"You two should go back to the hotel. This little mess can be resolved quickly." Xiang Zizhen appeared behind them without them noticing.

It was indeed a minor disturbance, and only one right councillor, one prefectural judge, and several provincial and prefectural officials were arrested. In the process of Annan's transformation into Jiaozhi, they did not get a satisfactory official position, and went from being an important official of a country to an official of Jiaozhi Province.

He then secretly contacted frustrated civil and military officials to prepare for a rebellion, and also wrote letters to local gentry and prominent families.

One of the gentlemen reported them...

Many people were killed, and all those involved in the case were confiscated and executed, without even having to be sent to the Ministry of Justice for review.

When the Dali envoys left, Xiang Zizhen did not come to see them off in person.

The one who saw him off was the Jiaozhi Provincial Criminal Envoy, who also explained, "Governor Xiang was assassinated two days ago and is bedridden. It is not convenient for him to travel. Please forgive me, the two envoys."

Gao Chengzong asked in surprise: "Did you catch the assassin?" "He was captured on the spot, and the person behind the scenes has been interrogated," the Chief Justice smiled, "I personally interrogated him, and no one can escape!"

Gao Chengzong didn't ask any more questions and smiled as he boarded the ship and left.

They changed to a seagoing ship at the mouth of the Taiping River, followed the coastline all the way to the Yangtze River, and then took the entire inland river journey straight to Luoyang.

"It is worthy of being the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty!"

After staying in Kaifeng for a day and strolling on the streets of Luoyang, the young Gao Chengzong was conquered by the wealth and prosperity of the Central Plains.

In the past, he thought that no matter how good Kaifeng and Luoyang were, they were at most slightly bigger than Dali City.

Gao Chengzong wanted to move to the Central Plains, either Kaifeng or Luoyang.

Dong Mingshou thought more. Although the Central Plains was good, it was not his. He wanted to join the Ming Dynasty as a guide, and then cultivate his own base camp and continue to be a "local emperor" from generation to generation.

After living in Luoyang for half a month and meeting some officials from the Ministry of Rites, the two were finally received by Emperor Zhu.

Stand up and take a seat.

Dong Mingshou explained his purpose and asked the emperor to confer the title of King of Dali on him.

Zhu Ming praised Duan Yu a few times, and then casually said, "Shicheng County was conquered by the Wuman."

"What?" Gao Chengzong stood up in shock.

Zhu Ming said: "Your cousin was defeated and the city was captured, and he was killed by Wu Man."

After the fall of Shicheng County, the next target of the thirty-seven barbarian tribes is Gao’s base camp Kunming!

As the Prime Minister of Dali and the head of the Gao family, Gao Liangcheng will be under tremendous pressure. If he fails to send troops to defeat the barbarians, he will be blamed by everyone, and more and more forces will turn to his political enemies.

Gao Chengzong knelt down and cried out: "Your Majesty, Dali is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. I beg the Celestial Empire to send troops to rescue us as soon as possible!"

Zhu Ming sneered: "The Gao family's sons all stayed put, yet they want the Ming Dynasty to send troops to rescue them?"

Dong Mingshou was shocked when he heard this.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty even knew everything about the internal strife within the Gao family. It seemed that Dali was already full of Ming spies, and Emperor Zhu was determined to annex Dali.

Fortunately, I came to Luoyang, and fortunately, Dong had decided to sell out his country for personal gain!
Dong Mingshou bowed and said, "As long as the Ming Dynasty sends troops to rescue us, the Dong family will obey the emperor's orders! As for the Gao family's thieves, they harbor evil intentions and are rebellious against the emperor. I beg the Ming Dynasty to station troops to wipe out the treacherous people."

Zhu Ming raised his eyebrows.

Interesting, this Dong guy is showing his loyalty, he's just short of saying he wants to be a guide.

Zhu Ming asked, "Is this just what Dong said, or is it what the ruler of Dali thinks?"

Gao Chengzong took out a piece of silk from his bosom and handed it to the eunuch with both hands: "This is a letter requesting troops. I hope the Holy Emperor will send troops quickly to save the people from their misery!"

Zhu Ming took it and examined it carefully.

It was indeed a letter of authority, signed by the King of Dali and stamped with the seal of the King of Dali.

This gave the Ming Dynasty sufficient reason to send troops, and Gao Liangcheng also cleared himself from the blame - it was the king who summoned the Ming army, and it had nothing to do with him, Gao Liangcheng.

It is estimated that even the signature of the King of Dali on this letter was forged.

Zhu Ming threw the letter back and said, "Gao Liangcheng is trying to put me in an unfair position. If I accept the letter, I will send troops to rescue the vassal state. If the troops refuse to leave, it will be considered as going back on their word, and Gao Liangcheng will not have to bear the infamy of betraying the master and the country. If I withdraw the troops for the sake of face, Gao Liangcheng will become Dali's number one hero. In any case, he will not lose, right?"

"That's not what my father meant!" Gao Chengzong was so scared that he trembled all over.

Zhu Ming said: "If I send troops, it is justified. Dali has been a Han territory since ancient times. The Duan family has stolen the land and established a country for more than 200 years. If they can implement benevolent policies and educate the people, I will allow Dali to exist as a vassal. But the Duan family is cowardly and incompetent, and they are bullied by the powerful officials in the country. They don't think about eliminating evil, but only know to become monks to avoid disaster. As a result, warlords in the country are divided, and the people are bullied by barbarians. The Ming Dynasty should naturally take back their homeland!"

After saying this, Gao Chengzong's body collapsed, and he thought to himself that he was doomed.

Zhu Ming changed the subject and said, "If there are still kind-hearted people in Dali, they should support the Heavenly Soldiers and help the King's Army to save the people from their misery."

Dong Mingshou quickly expressed his position: "The Dong family does not dare to call themselves benevolent people, but they also understand the Confucian righteousness. We should welcome the royal army to recover our homeland with our entire family!"

Gao Chengzong also said: "My father will also be happy to welcome the royal army and offer Shanchan (Kunming) and Weichu (Chuxiong) to the royal army."

Zhu Ming nodded in approval: "Very good. I will certainly reward such kind-hearted people with lofty ideals. I heard that the Dong family has been the Dali Imperial Master for generations, but now they have lost the title of Imperial Master. I will immediately ask the cabinet to recruit and confer the title."

Dong Mingshou felt both worried and happy when he heard this.

Xi naturally regained the title of national teacher, and the Dong family's future wealth and status were preserved.

But the worry was that Emperor Zhu conferred the title too early. It was possible that Dong would become the target of public criticism before the Ming army arrived. Moreover, the person conferred the title was the Dali State Master. What would happen if the Dali State was destroyed?

Zhu Ming also said to Gao Chengzong: "Your father's title of 'Duke of China' is really too presumptuous. Go back and tell him this, and he will naturally know what to do."

Accepting these two dogs has both advantages and disadvantages for the Ming Dynasty.

The advantage is that places like Kunming and Chuxiong can be taken without bloodshed.

The disadvantage is that it will force Gao Liangcheng's political enemies to band together, preferring death to surrender, and stubbornly fighting a bloody battle with the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)