The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 397 A worthy death
Let’s go back to March.

March 23rd is the birthday of Mazu, and also the biggest and most solemn festival of Mazu belief.

Ever since the imperial court established Mazu as the patron saint of the ocean and used state power to promote related worship, the belief in Mazu has flourished.

With the development of maritime trade and the spread of the Ming Dynasty's influence, the belief in Mazu spread throughout Southeast Asia and became the largest belief in the local area.

And quickly spread to all parts of the world.

However, at present, Nanyang is still the main area of ​​Mazu belief.

The southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty and various countries and forces in Southeast Asia would hold grand sacrificial activities on the birthday of Mazu.

The most grand and ceremonious event is undoubtedly the celebration held on Temasek Island.

After all, the real ruler of Nanyang, the Temasek Governor's Office of the Ming Dynasty, is here.

In the past, perhaps some people dared to look down on Temasek Governor's House.

After Qin King Zhu Chong came once, no one dared to disobey the orders issued here.

Every year for the Mazu Christmas event, the Governor of Temasek would invite various countries and forces to participate, and would also invite celebrities and the like.

Therefore, this sacrifice was given another meaning, a symbol of identity and status.

Those who have the honor to participate are all proud of it.

The invitation letter from Temasek Governor's House is the best proof of identity.

For many small and medium-sized forces, that invitation letter is a pass.

Many things that were impossible before may be accomplished now with that invitation letter.

People you couldn't meet before can now be easily met with an invitation letter.

Especially now that the situation in Southeast Asia is tense, this invitation may be a life-saving straw.

I don’t know how many people are racking their brains to get one.

The Wu family of Borneo in Nanyang is one of the six major Han merchant families in Nanyang.

It has a strong influence among the local Ming people and indigenous people.

He can be called the local emperor of Borneo.

However, at this moment, the local emperor and his family were sitting together with sad faces, as if a disaster was about to happen.

Wu Yuan looked at his eldest son and asked, "Still no response?"

Wu Xianghai shook his head and said, "I have used all the connections I could find and promised to donate half of my property. I just want an invitation."

"There was no response from the Governor's Office... not even a word of rejection."

To put it bluntly, it was simply ignored.

Even though he already knew this would be the result, Wu Yuan still couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart.

He turned his gaze to his second son, Wu Xiangyang, and asked, "What about the Kingdom of Boro? Didn't they invite us to join them?"

Wu Xiangyang nodded: "No, those people's attitudes are very ambiguous... It's like they are looking at prey."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

Wu Xiangyang is responsible for helping the family deal with some shady matters and is most familiar with these matters.

In matters like this, his judgment is rarely wrong.

In addition, the attitude of Borneo towards them has changed drastically this year, and they are not allowed to participate in even important events such as the Mazu Birthday.

The signs were too obvious.

Wu Yuan held on to his last glimmer of hope and asked his third son, Wu Xiangjiang:
"What about Chu? Didn't Xu Chai Lao return to Chu? What did he say?"

Wu Xiangjiang was furious: "Xu didn't even show up. I tried to stop him halfway, but his men beat me with clubs. I almost didn't make it back."

Wu Xianghai said sarcastically: "Didn't you swear before that Xu Chai Lao would definitely give you face? Is this your face?"

Wu Xiangjiang counterattacked: "You were the one who called Xu Chai Lao a brother, right? Why don't you go to your good brother for help now?"

"Is it because they don't want to see you?"

The two were not born from the same mother, so their relationship was not good. For the sake of family inheritance, it can even be said that they had a deep hatred for each other.

Quarrels were a common occurrence between the two.

Wu Xianghai's face froze, and he said angrily: "I said at the beginning that the situation has changed when the Ming Dynasty opened up the South China Sea. We should do business honestly and honestly."

"It was you who insisted on getting involved with those people. Not only did you offend Mr. Xu Chai, but you also put the family in danger."

Wu Xiangjiang said, "What do you mean I should get involved with them? If my family doesn't allow me to..."

Wu Yuan frowned and shouted, "Shut up, it's already this time, why are you still arguing?"

Then he looked at Wu Xiangjiang and scolded, "When did the family agree to you doing those things?"

Wu Xiangjiang wanted to refute, but he also knew that some things could not be said openly, so he opened his mouth and swallowed it back.

But Wu Yuan didn't give up and continued:

"Also, how do you talk to your eldest brother? Is there any respect for superiors and subordinates?"

Unexpectedly, this sentence really touched the thorn in Wu Xiangjiang's heart.

Wu Yuan had many wives and concubines. Wu Xianghai and Wu Xiangyang were born to his wife, while Wu Xiangjiang's mother was a concubine.

One can imagine the status of a concubine's child in the family, and both mother and son suffered from discrimination.

It was not until Wu Xiangjiang demonstrated his outstanding abilities that he gradually gained a certain status.

However, he was then suppressed by the Wu Xianghai brothers and suffered a lot.

This is also the main reason why he has a bad relationship with Wu Xianghai and Wu Xiangyang.

Wu Yuan naturally favored the legitimate son and always took sides.

It can be said that Wu Xiangjiang's heart is full of resentment towards his father and brother.

It’s just that his family was so powerful in the past that he didn’t dare to show it.

The situation in Nanyang is tense now and the family is in danger, so the shackles in his heart have been partially removed.

At this moment, the scar in his heart was revealed by Wu Yuan, and the hatred of many years finally broke out, and his brain was completely overwhelmed.

"What big brother? Does he deserve it? He is still doing business honestly..."

"Oh, you really think you are a law-abiding and kind person."

"Do you think you can clear your name by building a few bridges, paving a few roads, and establishing a few orphanages?"

"Don't dream. The entire Wu family drinks human blood. They can never be cleared of this."

"The number of people who were deceived by the Wu family under the guise of mutual assistance among fellow villagers and killed was at least 800 if not 1,000."

"You tell the pile of bones in the well in the back mountain that we should be honest and behave ourselves. Do you think they will believe you?"

"Bang..." Wu Yuan slapped the table heavily and shouted angrily:
"Rebellious son, what nonsense are you talking about."

A young woman in her twenties heard the sound and walked in. She helped Wu Yuan calm down with a distressed look, and then complained to Wu Xiangjiang:

"Third brother, if you have something to say, why don't you just say it nicely? Look how angry your father is."

But Wu Xiangjiang pointed at her as if he was watching a huge joke:
"Haha...you poor woman, you don't even know..."

Wu Yuan's face changed drastically, and he quickly shouted, "Evil beast, shut up..."

Wu Xiangjiang lost his mind in anger and ignored him. He said loudly:
"Your father believed what this old man said and brought his whole family to Southeast Asia to make a fortune."

"Then this old man teamed up with the local barbarians to kill and rob people."

Wu Xiangyang also reacted and quickly called out to stop him:

"Old Third, stop talking nonsense."

Wu Xiangjiang immediately pointed the gun at him: "If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten about you... He was the one who personally led the group to do it."

"Your mother and sister-in-law were both raped and killed by him."

"You don't believe it, right? Your mother has a mole on her left breast..."

"He was bragging about this to others, and I happened to hear it."

"If you weren't so pretty, this old man would have been tempted by you and I don't know which brothel you'd be working in right now."

Hearing this, the girl was struck by lightning.

Her mother did have a mole on her chest, and such a private matter could not possibly be known by others.

So how do they know?
"You rebellious son, I will kill you." Wu Yuan grabbed the tea tray on the table and threw it at him.

The brothers Wu Xianghai and Wu Xiangyang also knew that they couldn't let him continue talking, so they quickly stood up and controlled him.

Wu Yuan then turned around and said gently:

"Wanrong, he's crazy and talking nonsense, don't believe him."

After saying that, he reached out to grab her.

Wang Wanrong subconsciously took a few steps back and forced a smile:
"How can I believe what he said... Master, I feel a little dizzy. I'm going to go back and rest first. You guys can chat."

After saying this, he left in a hurry.

Looking at her back, a hint of coldness flashed in Wu Yuan's eyes.

Then he said to Wu Xiangyang: "Deal with it. It's a pity to lose such a good woman."

Wu Xiangyang nodded, then pointed at Wu Xiangjiang and said, "What should we do with him?"

Wu Yuan looked at him with disgust and said, "Deal with them all together and accuse them of adultery."

Wu Xiangjiang showed an expression of disbelief. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. He didn't expect that this old beast could be so cruel.

If he had known that Wu Yuan was so vicious, he would definitely not have dared to make such a noise.

However, there is no medicine for regret in the world, and no matter how he struggled, it was of no avail.

On the other side, Wang Wanrong fled all the way back to her house, her eyes filled with disbelief, nausea, panic and other emotions.

Looking back on the whole thing, it was indeed full of strangeness.

Four years ago, Wu Yuan returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors. He spent money wherever he went, and lived a very glorious life.

The local businesses held a collective banquet for him, and her father also went.

After learning about the status of the Wu family in Nanyang, many people were tempted and wanted to get rich together.

Wu Yuan was very generous and said that they were all from the same village and he would give all possible help to anyone who was willing to come.

Her family was originally a small local businessman. Her father thought that the opportunity had come, so he sold his property regardless of the clan’s opposition and brought his entire family to Southeast Asia.

There were several other families along the way, and they encountered pirates halfway.

She only remembered that she was knocked unconscious by someone from behind, and she didn't know what happened after that.

When I woke up again, I was already on the Wu family's boat.

Wu Yuan told her that he came to pick them up, but he arrived too late.

She was only fourteen years old at the time (actually twelve), and had suffered a great disaster far away from home. She was so frightened that she had lost her judgment.

I didn't hear any loopholes in his words at all.

After that she was sent to the Wu family.

Wu Yuan took great care of her...and before long she became Wu Yuan's eleventh concubine.

Much loved over the years.

It was precisely because of these reasons that she never suspected the Wu family and only thought that they had encountered pirates.

Little did he know that the real murderer was right next to him.

The thought of having served her enemy for so many years and still being grateful to him made her feel sick and want to vomit.

But she is no longer the little girl she was back then. She knows that she is in danger and must find a way to save herself.

Only if you survive will you have a chance to take revenge.

Unfortunately, before she could take any action, Wu Xiangyang appeared at the door with his men.

At that moment she thought she was dead.

But to her surprise, Wu Xiangyang did not kill her, but took her away from the Wu family and hid her in a villa.

She would be tortured every few days.

She tried to resist, but it was all in vain.

Just when she was in despair, suddenly one day there was a deafening sound of fighting outside.

Although there was no way to witness it with my own eyes, I knew from the noise that it was the local indigenous people who were slaughtering the Ming people.

She immediately remembered some news she had heard before. Because of the Temasek incident, the imperial court was very dissatisfied with the Nanyang clans.

This also caused the barbarians who had always coveted the wealth of the Nanyang clans to become restless.

Could it be that they took action?

Thinking of this, she became very excited and wanted to go out and see the details.

But she was chained in the cellar and couldn't get out.

She could only try to listen to the sounds outside to figure out what was going on.

During this period, someone broke into the house and from the sound, they seemed to have smashed, looted and then left.

Then the sound gradually faded away, and nothing could be heard after that.

This made her very anxious. What on earth had happened?

However, since then, no one has come here again, not even Wu Xiangyang has appeared again.

This made her think a lot, could it be that the barbarians really took action?
The Wu family is gone?

When she thought of this, she couldn't help but get excited.

It doesn’t matter whether I did it myself or not, as long as all the members of the Wu family are killed.

In order to confirm her guess and to save herself, she picked up a stone and smashed it at her hand that was bound by the chain.
-
Temasek, Government House.

Fu An felt a headache when he saw the new captain of the Imperial Guard in front of him.

There were only ten centurions in the Jinyiwei...well, now there are twenty.

Except for the six who stayed at the headquarters, the remaining fourteen were all sent to guard local areas.

Wherever the influence of the Ming Dynasty reached, there were basically traces of the Jinyiwei.

You can imagine how powerful they are.

Such an important person was assigned one to Temasek.

As a civil servant, he really didn't like the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It’s a pity that he couldn’t change the decision whether he liked it or not.

What's more, it is rumored in the martial arts world that this Captain Jia Siyi is Chen Bandu's confidant.

Back then, I followed Du Tongli to the Gold Banknote Bureau and then to the Quanzhou Maritime Customs.

This time, Du Tongli was promoted to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was also given an important position and became a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Then I was assigned to work here.

However, Fu An also knew that Temasek was the core of the Ming Dynasty's rule over Southeast Asia, so it was only natural to send a centurion to take charge.

However, the situation in Nanyang is complicated at the moment, and for such an important institution as the Jinyiwei, a sudden change of leadership is not necessarily a good thing.

Didn't the above take this into consideration?
This is also the reason for his headache.

But now that things have come to this, there is nothing much to say. I just hope that Captain Jia will not do anything rash.

However, he soon realized that Jia Siyi was sent here not only because of his strong background, but also because of his outstanding abilities.

In a very short period of time, he completely took control of the Nanyang Jinyiwei.

Then he deployed all his forces to conduct a comprehensive survey of the power of the major Nanyang clans.

Not only did he obtain detailed data about Nanyang, he even found out the time when the barbarian forces would take action.

"Five days before Mazu's birthday, which is March 17th, the Pala Kingdom will attack the Ming people in their country."

Fu An's expression was very serious: "Is the news accurate?"

Jia Siyi said affirmatively: "When I was in Quanzhou Maritime Customs, I met a noble from the Kingdom of Boro and had a deep friendship with him."

Deep friendship?

Fu An immediately understood that the so-called noble from the Kingdom of Borneo was most likely a secret agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

At this moment, he finally understood why Chen Bandu let this person take charge of Temasek.

"Do you know why they chose this time?"

Jia Siyi showed a hint of anger and said, "The ruler of the Bharata Kingdom believes in Islam."

Needless to say, the other party was deliberately blaspheming Mazu.

Having lived in the southeast for so long, he has become a believer in Mazu, so naturally he does not want to see anyone blaspheming Mazu.

Upon learning the truth, Fu An was also very angry.

Temasek owns the world's largest Mazu temple and Mazu statue, both of which were built after he took over.

He also used his connections to invite famous writers to write articles.

He asked Zhu Biao to write the inscription and then carve it.

Now the monument is erected in the square of Mazu Temple.

He would personally attend the Mazu birthday celebration every year and invite as many dignitaries and celebrities as possible to attend.

This is to build momentum.

The ultimate goal is to transform Temasek into a holy place for Mazu.

As far as he knew, many religions celebrated Christmas.

He had an ambition to make Christmas a special name for Mazu.

When people talk about Christmas in the future, the first person they think of is Mazu.

If this move is successful, Temasek's position will be completely consolidated.

It was also a great achievement for him personally.

He also hoped that with this achievement, he could catch the eye of Chen Bandu and then have a chance to enter the cabinet.

Now that someone actually wanted to cause trouble, he was naturally angry.

He said coldly, "King Bharata deserves death."

Jia Siyi nodded, then asked, "What should we do now? Should we disrupt their plan?"

Fu An shook his head and said, "No, not only can we not stop it, but we will also leak this news to other countries and forces in private."

"Try to have them do it at the same time so that it will be easier for us to handle it."

At this point, he seemed to think of something and said:

"Captain Jia, please sort out all the forces that believe in Islam for me."

Jia Siyi asked, “Oh, what does Governor Fu want to do?”

Fu An said viciously: "I will give this list to the navy and ask them to clean out all the pagans."

"There can only be one deity in Nanyang, and that is Mazu."

Jia Siyi couldn't help but laugh. It was true that when scholars became ruthless, they were more thorough.

But he likes this.

As a believer of Mazu, he had long been dissatisfied with Islam.

Therefore, a detailed list was quickly handed over to Fu An.

Not only are there forces that believe in Islam, but there are also some local religious beliefs.

Fu An gave it to Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding, the commander of the Nanyang Navy.

All that's left is waiting.

Half a month later, news came that King Pala had issued an order on March 17 to eliminate all the Nanyang tribes in the country.

Other forces also became eager to take action upon hearing the news, but they were still wary of the Ming Dynasty's reaction and chose to wait and see for a few days.

It was discovered that there was no reaction from the Temasek Governor's Office and the Nanyang Navy, and the Mazu worship ceremony was held as scheduled.

Now they finally felt relieved and raised their knives against the Ming clans within their sphere of influence.

But it was not just the big families who were killed; ordinary people were also affected, and countless people died.

For a time, the entire Nanyang was plunged into blood and rain.

(End of this chapter)