According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, no vassal king could leave his fiefdom except under special circumstances.
In other words, even if Zhu Gui was ordered by the court to send troops to assist Su Wang Zhu Kai, he himself could not go with him.
However, although Zhu Gui was very sure of Xu Yingxu's ability to lead troops, he still wanted to experience leading troops in battle himself.
This incident made him very sad.
But he didn't dare to blatantly violate this rule.
This is different from the salt tax. Once discovered, he may be accused of "rebellion" and may be directly executed on the spot by other feudal kings.
So Zhu Gui is weighing whether to take the risk.
At noon that day, he and Xu Miaoqing were eating with different thoughts.
"Right."
"Zhu Gui."
The two suddenly spoke at the same time.
"What's the matter with you?"
"You go ahead and say it."
The two said at the same time again, and then they laughed.
There seems to be a tacit understanding between the two.
Zhu Gui nodded towards the other party, Xu Miaoqing put down her chopsticks and began to scan around with her eyes.
Seeing her like this, Zhu Gui started to worry.
"Are you bored again?"
Xu Miaoqing looked at Zhu Gui and nodded quickly.
"Then where do you want to go?"
Zhu Gui sighed and said, fortunately, after Xu Miaoqing experienced the incident with the robber, she would tell him whenever she wanted to go out again.
"I think, I want to go to the front line to see..."
Xu Miaoqing said softly.
"front?"
Zhu Gui frowned and asked in a deep voice.
Just as Xu Miaoqing was about to explain, Zhu Gui suddenly said: "You have the same idea as me."
"Ah?" This time it was Xu Miaoqing's turn to be dumbfounded.
Zhu Gui glanced around and immediately drove out Butler Wang, other servants and soldiers.
"Actually, I want to see how the war is going."
Zhu Gui said softly.
"No, absolutely not. I have to be careful enough by myself. It would be weird if I didn't get discovered if you were added to the mix."
Xu Miaoqing quickly waved her hands and shook her head.
The reason for her refusal turned out to be just fear of being discovered.
When Zhu Gui heard this, he immediately said: "Things in Datong Mansion have gradually got on track. All that's left is to build roads and trade with the Mongols. In fact, it doesn't matter whether the king is here or not."
Xu Miaoqing lowered her face and said: "You think so? But don't forget your identity. You are the vassal king. If you are discovered by others, it will be a serious crime equivalent to conspiracy. Don't you want to live?"
"And the transaction with the Mongols won't work without you. My brother will definitely lead the army to the war. Who will you let to trade with the Mongols then? Aren't you afraid that they will know about your transaction of salt and iron with the Mongols?
"
Xu Miaoqing said with her fingers.
"I, the King, know this. The worst case scenario is that you can come back before the next transaction."
Zhu Gui said with a bitter face.
"That won't work, unless you can get the emperor's imperial edict to go to the battlefield, otherwise it's absolutely not possible."
Xu Miaoqing said decisively.
She still knows how to distinguish between right and wrong, and she must not let Zhu Gui act recklessly.
"Imperial decree? Don't be ridiculous. How could the emperor let me go to the battlefield? Unless..."
Zhu Gui said at the end and suddenly began to ponder.
"Unless what? There is no such possibility." Xu Miaoqing did not notice Zhu Gui's abnormal expression.
"Unless this war is impossible without my firearms, then I will naturally have reason to supervise the army."
Zhu Gui clapped his hands and said excitedly.
"Firearms? But hasn't the Emperor always disapproved of your research on firearms?"
Xu Miaoqing tilted her head and thought for a moment, the possibility of what Zhu Gui said seemed to be slim.
"That was indeed the case originally, but now if King Yan speaks for me, it would be different. Yes, that's it."
Zhu Gui figured something out, and immediately went to the study to write three letters and a memorial, and then asked the soldiers to mount fast horses and send them out as quickly as possible.
These three letters are respectively addressed to the Crown Prince, King Yan and Duke Xu.
The letter to King Yan was very simple. It just explained the seriousness of this war, and then asked him to write a few words in his favor.
As for the prince and Duke Xu, they had the same idea, but Zhu Guiyan made it clear that he had already received the recommendation of King Yan and was only going to the battlefield to test his firearms.
The letter and the memorial are on their way, and all that's left is to wait.
Three days later, Xu Yingxu had organized his troops and baggage, and came to the palace to ask Zhu Gui to resign.
Zhu Gui hesitated to speak, but in the end he could only nod.
He originally wanted Xu Yingxu to wait for two more days, and then wait for the imperial edict to come down and go with him.
But it was he who said at the beginning that soldiers need to be quick, so that they can collect enough intelligence and gain the upper hand.
Now he could only personally send Xu Yingxu and three thousand cavalry out of Datong Mansion.
After another four days, Zhu Gui finally received the imperial edict. Zhu Yuanzhang allowed him to go to the battlefield as a "supervisor of the army", but he had to pay a military salary of one hundred thousand taels.
This little money is nothing to Zhu Gui, but it also shows Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards him.
Obviously he was going to support the front line, but he ended up spending money to 'buy' an official position, which left Zhu Gui speechless.
Along with the imperial edict came two letters from the prince and Duke Xu.
The situation of this war is introduced above.
The Mongols in the entire northwest suddenly gathered together and began a massive attack on the fiefdom of King Su Zhu Kai.
Zhu Gai lost several battles, and even the border passes were captured. In the end, he had no choice but to move to Ganzhou (today's Gansu). Moreover, he was already short of troops and food. The imperial court had sent an army of 50,000 to win the battle.
Only then did Zhu Gui understand why Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to pay.
It turned out that Zhu Yuanzhang had not counted on him in the first place, because the situation in Datong Mansion was not as good as the strength of Prince Su's fiefdom.
However, once the Mongols break through Ganzhou, Datong Prefecture will also be implicated.
That's why I agreed to Zhu Gui's request.
But no matter what, Zhu Gui was very excited to participate in this war.
But he can no longer mobilize the garrison at the garrison, otherwise the security of Datong Mansion cannot be guaranteed.
In the end, he could only take a hundred soldiers on the road.
And this time he also brought Xu Miaoqing with him.
Because he knows that even if he disagrees, the other party will sneak into the team.
Rather than letting her endure all kinds of dangers without him knowing, it would be better to just take her with him.
This made Xu Miaoqing very happy.
Zhu Gui divided the team into two parts. He, Xu Miaoqing and a hundred soldiers from the government rode on horseback first, followed by a team of 500 militiamen escorting the baggage behind.
On the third day after the imperial edict was issued, Zhu Gui was already on his way.
He was afraid that the war would end before he arrived.
However, he did not forget about the affairs of Datong Mansion. After everything was settled, one hundred cavalry finally left Datong Mansion and headed northwest.