Chapter 117: Treasury! Huge Profit! Shaking the Korean Sticks!

Liaodong!

With the Great Ming army breaking through Liaoyang City, this recovery battle no longer had much suspense, and the overall situation was basically settled.

For the Great Ming, this piece of ancestral Han land was finally recovered, and the lost territory of the past was re-incorporated into the Great Ming's map. This was naturally incomparably glorious for the Great Ming army, and even more so for the Great Ming people who cared about their country.

Of course.

For the Northern Yuan, a sharp blade hanging over the Great Ming's head was now decisively stripped away, and their strength suffered a huge loss.

After losing Liaodong, for a long time to come, the Northern Yuan would lose the opportunity to actively move troops against the Great Ming, and their strategic advantage of being able to fight or retreat instantly vanished.

South of Liaodong, in a quiet and deep forest on the border bordering the Goryeo Kingdom.

The four hundred personal guard cavalry under Zhu Ying, like a group of secret hunters, slowly patrolled through the forest.

They were agile, their gazes vigilant, and each of them exuded the murderous aura of having been through many battles.

Stepping into the depths of this dense forest!

The deeper they went.

The trees around them grew taller and denser, their branches and leaves intertwined, almost completely blocking the sky, only allowing starlight-like sunlight to sprinkle through the layers of branches and leaves.

In this era, there was no theft or logging, so the forest was naturally very lush.

And this place was very secret, one could say that there was no one for miles around.

Zhu Ying dismounted and handed the reins to the personal guard cavalry beside him. The personal guard cavalry steadily took the reins, led the warhorse to the side, and his gaze always vigilantly observed the surroundings.

"You all wait here."

"I'll go in and take a look." Zhu Ying instructed his personal guard cavalry.

"This subordinate obeys the order."

The personal guards responded in unison.

Subsequently.

Zhu Ying walked alone with steady steps toward the deeper part of the forest, his eyes revealing a hint of urgency and anticipation.

After walking for a while, Zhu Ying came to a hillside, and his steps stopped abruptly.

He stared intently at the hillside ahead, seemingly having found something.

At this time.

The corners of Zhu Ying's mouth slowly revealed a joyful smile, and he whispered to himself: "According to the map, it should be here."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and in his hand was a slightly old map.

This map was exactly the treasure map obtained after beheading Nahachu.

Now, although the Liaodong war was basically settled and there were not many obstacles, the Great Ming army marching on Liaodong was still busy pacifying all parts of Liaodong, fully resolving the remaining Yuan forces.

And Zhu Ying cleverly used this as an excuse to wander outside with his personal guard cavalry.

On the surface, they were searching for and clearing out Yuan remnants.

But in reality, Zhu Ying's true purpose was to search for the treasure left by Nahachu.

Nahachu had managed Liaodong for many years with a deep foundation. If there really was a treasure, the quantity must be astonishing.

"I don't know how much gold and silver Nahachu hid!"

"If I get it, I must definitely utilize it well."

"The great war is about to end, and Liaodong will be unstable for a long time. This is exactly an opportunity for me."

Zhu Ying thought to himself.

Thinking of this batch of wealth stored by Nahachu!

Not to mention anything else, this treasure would definitely be much more than the gold and silver obtained in Man Jier'

By now, Zhu Ying's total attributes had already surpassed five thousand, and his storage space had also grown to fifty-nine cubic meters; eighty percent of it was currently vacant, just waiting to be filled with these precious treasures.

Zhu Ying swept his gaze around the surroundings.

Finally!

With his gaze fixed, he followed the map's guidance and walked steadily toward the hillside.

After taking a careful look at the map, Zhu Ying's gaze finally fell upon the ground beneath his feet; he leaned over slightly and gave it a light tap with his foot. The ground did not transmit a solid sensation, but rather a hollow sound, as if a massive secret space were hidden underneath.

"Found it."

"It's right here." Zhu Ying felt a surge of joy in his heart; clearly, this batch of treasures was hidden underground.

Zhu Ying swiftly drew the Qinghong Sword from his waist.

Then he slowly squatted down, his eyes focused, and carefully felt around on the ground for a while.

Subsequently.

Zhu Ying targeted a specific spot and thrust the sword in his hand down with force.

With a 'Crack!' sound!

The sword body pierced directly through the ground and sank into it.

"Rise!"

Zhu Ying gave a low shout, reached out both hands, gripped the hilt tightly, and pried upward with force.

Instantly!

Following a flurry of dust, a hidden trapdoor underground was opened, revealing a staircase extending downward.

A damp aura permeated the stairwell; clearly, in this forest where sunlight struggled to penetrate, it was far too humid.

"It really is here."

Zhu Ying's face revealed joy, and his eyes shimmered with excitement.

Immediately.

He took out the Night-Shining Pearl he had obtained from opening the treasure chest earlier from his storage space.

He held it in his hand.

The Night-Shining Pearl emitted a soft and bright radiance, instantly illuminating the staircase leading to the underground.

Holding the Night-Shining Pearl, Zhu Ying slowly walked down the stairs step by step.

He did not walk for long.

After walking only a few meters down the stairs, a long, dark passage appeared before his eyes.

Zhu Ying proceeded along the dark passage, his footsteps echoing within the enclosed space.

After walking another dozen meters or so, the view suddenly opened up, and a massive space appeared before his eyes.

Inside the space.

At first glance.

Mountains of gold and silver glittered with brilliant light, so dazzling that one could hardly keep their eyes open.

Especially under the illumination of the Night-Shining Pearl, the golden light was even more resplendent.

At a glance.

There were at least a hundred thousand gold and five or six hundred thousand silver stored here, perhaps even more, because scattered among the piles of gold and silver were many precious jewels and jade artifacts, each one exquisitely carved and looking of extraordinary value.

"The General is divine and martial!"

"This is far more treasure than what was in General Agunu's treasury."

"Or rather, General Agunu's treasury likely belonged to Nahachu as well, it's just that there wasn't enough time to transport it."

"With so much gold and silver, not to mention anything else, it is enough to raise a massive army of one hundred thousand; if it were just for simple expenses, it would be worry-free for several years."

"Nahachu, oh Nahachu..."

Zhu Ying looked at these gold and silver treasures, a triumphant smile appearing on his face, and he chuckled softly: "I really must thank you. You managed Liaodong for so many years, living frugally, and now it has all benefited me."

Zhu Ying's laughter echoed within the empty treasure vault.

Then.

Naturally, Zhu Ying would not be the least bit polite.

"Collect it all."

Zhu Ying quickened his pace, directly collecting these gold and silver treasures into his storage space one by one.

In his heart, these items could only truly be considered his once they were inside his own space.

Moreover, with Nahachu's cleverness, following the fall of Liaodong, he would certainly have arranged a backup plan for this batch of treasure, and he would definitely have notified the Northern Yuan; in the future, someone would surely come to retrieve it in secret.

Therefore, Zhu Ying had to take it first.

As for whether the Northern Yuan would send someone to retrieve it later, that was no concern of Zhu Ying's.

Once it reached Zhu Ying's hands, it was his, and no one could snatch it away.

Time passed second by second.

Zhu Ying's busy figure shuttled back and forth within the treasure vault.

Collecting treasure, never tiring of it.

After continuing for a period of time, the treasure vault that was originally piled high with gold and silver had now become empty.

It had been completely emptied out by Zhu Ying.

"The entire storage space is now full of gold and silver treasures."

Zhu Ying looked at the wealth that was nearly filling his storage space, let out a long, satisfied breath, and his face was brimming with a contented smile: "I've struck it rich."

Although his storage space was already piled with gold and silver, who would ever complain about having too much money?

Subsequently.

Zhu Ying swept a glance over the empty vault, and after confirming there were no oversights, he turned and left, feeling fully satisfied.

Leaving the location of the vault, Zhu Ying had just walked a short distance when he saw Liu Lei leading the horse, looking around, seemingly on guard, and also seemingly waiting for Zhu Ying.

Seeing Zhu Ying emerge, Liu Lei immediately came up to meet him, his face bearing a look of concern, and he said: "General."

Zhu Ying vaulted onto the horse, sat in the saddle, and immediately issued an order: "Let's go, back to Liaoyang."

"Yes." Liu Lei immediately accepted the order without any wasted words.

Just at this moment, an urgent shout broke the tranquility of the mountain forest: "Report."

Only to see Xiao Han with an anxious expression, riding his horse as if flying to catch up.

When he reached Zhu Ying, he swiftly pulled on the reins; the horse let out a long neigh, its front hooves raised high, and it came to a stop.

Xiao Han reported urgently: "Reporting to the General, traces of an army gathering have been discovered outside the border, it seems to be coming from the direction of Gao Li, and the target appears to be Liaodong."

"Gao Li?"

Zhu Ying's brows furrowed slightly, and the previous intelligence flashed rapidly through his mind.

During the previous attack on Liaoyang, the Great Ming had already received intelligence that Nahachu had issued an order commanding Gao Li and other tribes like the Jianzhou Jurchens to send troops to reinforce Liaodong.

But after they received Nahachu's order, they kept delaying; now that Liaodong was about to be completely secured by the Great Ming and Nahachu was already dead, they had finally arrived late—it was quite interesting.

"Let's go, let's go meet them."

Zhu Ying said without the slightest hesitation, his eyes devoid of any fear.

"General." Xiao Han was shocked, and asked in astonishment: "According to what this subordinate just scouted, this Gao Li army has no fewer than ten thousand troops, and we only have a few hundred; if we were to engage, the strength disparity would be too great."

"Liaodong is already Great Ming territory."

Zhu Ying's expression was solemn, and he said in a deep voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable majesty: "As soldiers of the Great Ming, we are duty-bound to defend our Great Ming territory."

Having said that.

Zhu Ying squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs and galloped out of the forest.

"Follow the General."

"Giddyap."

Liu Lei gave a loud shout, his eyes full of the determination to follow, and immediately spurred his horse to follow.

All four hundred personal guards followed one after another; there was no fear in their eyes, but rather a burning battle intent.

Having followed Zhu Ying for so long, they had been through countless bloody battles of life and death; they were all men who had crawled out of piles of corpses, and there was nothing to fear.

At the border location!

An army flying battle flags with the character 'Li' was advancing toward Liaodong in a grand and mighty fashion.

This army appeared to have significant strength; the vanguard consisted of ten thousand cavalry, wearing the same standard armor as the Northern Yuan, holding long spears and sabers.

They were indeed quite imposing.

Behind the cavalry, there were still many troops in the rear guard arriving in batches; at a glance, this Gao Li army was no fewer than forty or fifty thousand.

"Grand General."

In the vanguard of this cavalry, a Gao Li officer looked at the middle-aged general wearing heavy armor beside him with a face full of confusion, and asked respectfully: "It is said that the Ming army has already captured the Liaodong prefectural city, and the Northern Yuan Chancellor has already died in battle; what can we still do by going over now? Could it be that we really intend to go to war with the Ming?"

"The land of Liaodong has belonged to our Gao Li since ancient times."

The middle-aged general's expression was cold and stern, and he said with a sense of arrogance.

Hearing this.

Several officers beside him nodded.

"It's just that back then, the Central Plains were filled with powerful nations that forcibly snatched it from our people's hands. Since Nahachu is already dead, and the Ming army has not yet completely secured control of Liaodong, we naturally must take advantage of this opportunity to seize some cities back."

"Once word reaches back to our country, it will surely make all the people revere us! And besides..."

This middle-aged general wore a thoughtful expression, his eyes glinting with calculating light: "Our Gao Li is, after all, a vassal state of the Great Yuan; do you not know how powerful the Great Yuan is? If we do not comply and send troops, the Great Yuan will surely be enraged! Therefore, no matter what, our Gao Li must send troops."

Upon hearing this!

The deputy general beside him was lost in thought, seemingly understanding the deep meaning within, and immediately said with reverence: "The Grand General is wise."

Clearly, the identity of this middle-aged general was now evident; he was none other than the Gao Li Grand General, Li Chenggui.

"The land of Liaodong."

"The Great Yuan."

As Li Chenggui rode forward, he murmured softly to himself, but a glint of ambition appeared in his eyes.

What he had just said to his subordinates was not his true intention.

The reason he had obeyed the Gao Li King's decree to lead troops to Liaodong was certainly not to sincerely help Nahachu fight against the Great Ming!

If that were truly the case, he would not have kept delaying the marching speed along the way.

His only goal was one thing: military power!

Just as Li Chenggui was leading these ten thousand cavalry forward, rapidly approaching the Liaodong border.

Whoosh!

A sharp, piercing sound of an arrow cutting through the air suddenly rang out.

A signal arrow, like a meteor, tore through the void and shot down directly less than a yard in front of Li Chenggui.

With a 'Thwack!' sound.

It plunged deeply into the soil at the border, the arrowhead buried in the earth, and the fletching still trembling slightly.

"Whoa."

Seeing this arrow land, Li Chenggui's face turned deathly pale in an instant; shocked in his heart, he hurriedly pulled on the reins with force.

His warhorse let out a long neigh, its front hooves raised high, and after carving an arc in the air, it landed heavily.

If he had taken one more step forward just now, that arrow would have landed on him.

The Gao Li cavalry following behind Li Chenggui also reacted one after another, hurriedly pulling on their reins; for a time, the sounds of hooves and neighing horses intertwined, and the scene was slightly chaotic.

"This is the territory of our Great Ming."

"One more step forward."

"And you die."

Following the landing of the arrow, a cold voice filled with infinite killing intent exploded in the void, like a great bell, resounding across the border.

Following the gaze of Li Chenggui and the ten thousand Gao Li cavalry, they saw several hundred red-armored cavalry like a surging tide, rapidly trampling toward the border.

The person in the lead rode a pure black, tall warhorse; the warhorse's four hooves were galloping, and the general atop it was even more imposing.

This person was also holding a bow in his hand, the bow body gleaming with a cold light; clearly, it was he who had just fired that signal arrow.

In just the blink of an eye, these several hundred red-armored cavalry all stood before the border line, uniform and orderly, like a Great Wall of steel.

The leading general stood at the very front, majestic and awe-inspiring, with a row of cavalry standing behind him.

Every one of them was filled with killing intent, their eyes revealing infinite murderous desire, like a pack of beasts ready to pounce on their prey at any moment.

"The Ming army has already reached this place."

"Liaodong has been completely captured by the Ming."

Upon seeing this Ming cavalry unit, Li Chenggui already understood the situation in Liaodong in his heart.

However, looking at the Ming cavalry of only a few hundred people before him, a trace of disdain flashed in Li Chenggui's eyes, and he did not feel much fear.

"Who are you?" Li Chenggui stared at Zhu Ying, his face gloomy, and asked coldly.

"Who this General is has nothing to do with you."

Zhu Ying's gaze was icy, like a sharp blade, staring straight at Li Chenggui, and he shouted coldly: "Those who cross the border, die!"

"Those who cross the border, die!"

"Those who cross the border, die!"

Behind Zhu Ying, four hundred cavalry shouted in unison, their voices resounding through the clouds.

They held their weapons high, the weapons flashing with cold light under the sunlight.

The killing intent erupted from this unison shout was as if it were tangible, permeating the air.

These four hundred personal guards had all followed Zhu Ying out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; each of them had at least seven or eight Yuan soldiers' lives on their hands.

Whenever Zhu Ying charged, the personal guards were always the first to follow; they had been baptized by countless battles, and the killing intent on their bodies had long since seeped into their marrow.

In terms of killing intent and combat power, they were the strongest of the border troops.

With such an angry shout and the eruption of killing intent!

Li Chenggui's face turned extremely ugly in an instant, and the expressions of the Gao Li cavalry behind him also changed drastically.

Many of the warhorses they were riding also seemed to be startled by this killing intent, becoming restless and agitated, their hooves pawing the ground and making constant sounds.

"This Ming army has such strong killing intent."

"I wonder which Ming army this is."

Li Chenggui thought secretly in his heart, a look of solemnity appearing on his face.

At this moment, the intention to retreat had already arisen in his heart.

Now that the Ming army had reached this place, it proved that Liaodong had been completely captured by the Great Ming, and there was no point in him entering Liaodong territory anymore.

Li Chenggui was not clear about the combat power of the Great Ming army.

But he knew clearly of the power of the Northern Yuan, and even more so of Nahachu's capability.

When Nahachu held Liaodong, many battle tactics and even weapons were sold from Liaodong to Gao Li.

And now Nahachu was dead, and the hundreds of thousands of Yuan troops under his command could not stop the Ming army's blade!

One could imagine the combat power of the Ming army just by thinking about it.

Being able to serve as the Grand General commanding troops for Gao Li, Li Chenggui was naturally not stupid.

However, seeing Zhu Ying so arrogant, using only a few hundred soldiers to threaten him, Li Chenggui was naturally somewhat dissatisfied in his heart.

"Your Excellency is being too arrogant."

Li Chenggui stared at Zhu Ying, his face livid, and said coldly: "With a mere few hundred soldiers, do you still intend to block my ten thousand Gao Li cavalry?"

"You can try and see!"

Zhu Ying raised an eyebrow, shook the saber in his hand, the blade sharp and flashing with cold light.

He stared at Li Chenggui, his eyes very cold, as if Li Chenggui and his ten thousand cavalry before him were not worth mentioning at all.

Gao Li! Those Gao Li bastards!

Whether in this era or in later generations, in Zhu Ying's heart, they were always so detestable!

The first impression they gave Zhu Ying was extremely poor.

As Zhu Ying moved his saber, the four hundred personal guards also gripped their own sabers tightly.

Their gazes were firm; although the Gao Li cavalry ahead numbered ten thousand, dozens of times their own strength, they did not have the slightest fear, their eyes full of burning battle intent.

At this moment!

In this Liaodong borderland, the cold wind blew, causing pain to one's face.

The vastly disparate forces of the two sides faced each other at this border line, forming a stark contrast.

A strange atmosphere spread along the border line, as if the air itself had frozen.

However.

Facing a Ming army that was dozens of times smaller than his own side, Li Chenggui and his ten thousand Gao Li cavalry felt a silent panic.

Even with the advantage in numbers, in terms of momentum and battle intent, they were completely inferior to these mere few hundred Ming soldiers before them.

"Are these Ming soldiers not afraid of death?"

"I have ten thousand cavalry here, and he has only a few hundred."

Watching Zhu Ying and the few hundred Ming cavalry beside him acting this way, Li Chenggui was greatly shocked, completely startled by Zhu Ying's momentum.

However, a difficult problem now lay before Li Chenggui.

To be threatened into leaving like this was somewhat shameful. Or to continue the standoff with Zhu Ying.

With ten thousand troops watching, if he were really scolded into retreating by Zhu Ying just like this, it would also greatly damage his prestige as Grand General.

"If I retreat just like this," Li Chenggui pondered secretly in his heart, his face becoming increasingly ugly: "Then how will I, Li Chenggui, stand in the army?"

After thinking it over, Li Chenggui's heart turned cold, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

Subsequently, he stared fixedly at Zhu Ying and shouted loudly: "I am the Grand General of Gao Li, Li Chenggui! Do you truly dare to take action against my army?"

But this time, Zhu Ying did not speak again, only watching coldly, a trace of contempt revealing itself in his eyes, as if he were waiting for Li Chenggui's next move.

"First Thousand-Man Battalion, take orders."

Li Chenggui drew the sword from his waist, the sword body flashing with cold light, and he shouted coldly: "Charge into Liaodong and recover our Gao Li ancestral land."

"Wait."

The deputy general beside Li Chenggui hurriedly shouted.

Subsequently, he rode his horse to Li Chenggui's side, leaned his body forward slightly, and whispered: "Grand General! Do we really intend to enter Liaodong?"

"Now that the Ming has completely captured Liaodong, Chancellor Nahachu should already be dead."

"It will be of no use for us to enter Liaodong now."

"And... and the Ming army's combat power is fierce; they even routed the hundreds of thousands of troops under Chancellor Nahachu. If we provoke the Ming, it will not be a good thing for us."

The deputy general's expression was solemn, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead.

"This Ming general is so arrogant."

Li Chenggui's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth as he said: "Are we to just retreat like this? If I, the Grand General, order a retreat, how will the soldiers in the army view me?"

Li Chenggui's tone carried a trace of unwillingness.

In short, the meaning Li Chenggui was expressing now was only one thing: he needed a way out.

He could not just be threatened by these few hundred Ming soldiers and retreat in a dejected manner; that would have a significant impact on his prestige as Grand General.

Realizing this, the deputy general understood immediately.

"Grand General." The deputy general raised his voice, appearing sincere and urgent: "We cannot enter Liaodong. Now that the Great Yuan Chancellor has died in battle, the Great Yuan has lost Liaodong; if our army enters Liaodong, we will surely be completely annihilated by the Ming army."

"I implore the Grand General to think thrice!"

And the surrounding officers also understood immediately.

"This subordinate seconds that."

"The Great Yuan has already been defeated."

"Even if our army goes to Liaodong, it cannot change anything."

"Correct."

"Our mission was to go to Liaodong to reinforce the Chancellor; now that the Chancellor is dead and the Yuan troops in Liaodong are also gone, we have no justification to go anymore."

"Once we step into this Liaodong, it is equivalent to declaring war on the Ming."

"Grand General, let us withdraw our troops..."

One officer after another advised Li Chenggui, their voices rising one after another.

Under these successive calls, Li Chenggui's ugly expression finally began to relax.

"Fine!"

Li Chenggui gave a loud shout, which counted as his agreement. But his gaze turned toward Zhu Ying within the Liaodong territory ahead, his eyes carrying a trace of unwillingness and resentment.

"Ming General." Li Chenggui shouted coldly: "Remember this. Today, I, Li Chenggui, am withdrawing my troops not because I fear you, and certainly not because I fear your Ming."

"Since the Chancellor has already died in battle, our army has no justification."

"I will not tangle with you further today."

"Retreat!"

Li Chenggui gave a loud shout and turned his horse around directly.

The army beside him saw this.

They also turned their horses around one after another.

They came quickly.

And they left quickly.

Very soon, they were withdrawing toward the direction of Gao Li.

"Li Chenggui."

"Usurper of Gao Li, founder of Joseon."

"He is quite a character."

Zhu Ying watched the direction Li Chenggui left in calmly, thinking secretly in his heart.

This person.

Is the future founding monarch of the Joseon Kingdom!

Responding to Nahachu's order this time to campaign in Liaodong.

It seemed like he was truly here to reinforce Nahachu, but according to what Zhu Ying knew, the Gao Li King had long since dispatched Li Chenggui to lead troops to reinforce, yet he had delayed for a month or two without ever entering Liaodong; one could imagine that Li Chenggui did not want to enter Liaodong, and there was only one thing on his mind: usurping the Gao Li King.

"But it's a pity."

"If only he had crossed this border."

"In that case, it would have been logical to behead him."

However.

Zhu Ying was also somewhat disappointed.

(End of chapter)