Father can be an enemy to the country

Zhu Zhen and Mu De and his son chatted for a long time about the issue of Luchuan Kingdom, and told them to keep their eyes open and help the court keep an eye on Luchuan, and to report any disturbance in time.

Then he was rewarded with all kinds of rare things from the Central Plains and the West before he and his son resigned.

Back at the post house, Mu Chu played with the telescope given by the prince and asked his father in confusion: "Why is dad reluctant to be promoted to the prefect of Lijiang?"

"Alas, this is the prince's conspiracy." Mu De sighed and said: "When we go back now, we will have a strong relationship with the Wu family and the Bai people."

"That's true." Mu Chu nodded to express understanding: "If the Wu family loses the position of prefect, no matter what we say, they will hate us. There are more Bai people than us. If we want to stabilize the situation, we can only embrace Tighten the thighs of the imperial court and the prince."

"If you can understand this, you won't be so worried as a father." Mu De smiled bitterly and said: "The prince promoted me to the prefect, granted you a hundred households, and promised to resume the tea and horse business. This is to show off. Mingming tied us to the court's chariot and we were not allowed to get off."

"Now that we're on the bus, we should sit all the way to the end and not keep thinking about getting off the bus." Mu Chu said solemnly: "The Ming Dynasty is so strong and the country's destiny is long. We just need to sit back and sit tight."

"Hehehe..." Mu De said with a happy beard: "Yes, my son is more knowledgeable than Wu Qi and those chieftains. They are still clinging to their old ways, and they are still the same as they have been for decades, but they have forgotten that they are new students now. The Ming Dynasty is not the end of the Yuan Dynasty."

"Look at the Marquis of Yingchuan, Marquis of Xiping, Marquis of Yongchang, and those brave generals, and look at the young but sophisticated Prince of Dian. They managed Yunnan obediently, sooner or later. Mu De said slowly: "Rather than wait until the end and become as embarrassed as a dog. It is better to be the court's dog from the beginning, whether it is wagging its tail to beg for mercy, to look after the court's house and courtyard, or to be a hunting dog chasing rabbits. You can all eat the best bones.”

"So my father has long been determined to win over the prefect of Lijiang?" Mu Chu understood what Mu De meant.

"Of course." A hint of domineering appeared on Mu De's old face: "The years when the Bai people ruled northwest Yunnan are gone forever. It's time for us Naxi people to take charge!"

"Don't look at it. There is only one word difference between magistrate and tongzhi, but there is a huge difference between official and deputy. All dealings with the court and the province are all the matter of the magistrate. Tongzhi can only listen to the excitement on the side." Mu. De laughed happily and said: "If we don't seize this position while the overall situation is still uncertain, and then try to replace it when the situation is stable in the future, it will be a daydream!"

He could no longer conceal his happiness and was so happy that he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. "Otherwise, your father and I are already eighty years old, why do we have to work day and night to win the first place?"

"Aren't you afraid of making trouble with the Wu family and the Bai people?" Mu Chu asked with a smile.

"We were tolerant to them before because they had the support of the Duan family in Dali. Now that the Duan family is gone, there is no reason for us to tolerate them anymore. So sooner or later we will have a conflict with them." Mu De said calmly:

"In this case, of course it is better for us to take the initiative than to remain passive."

"Then father still..." Mu Chu whispered.

"No superior would like an ambitious subordinate." Mu De replied calmly: "A subordinate who abides by the rules and is even a little conservative can make the superiors more at ease."

"I understand." Mu Chu nodded.

"But please remember not to be clever with the prince. Even though he is young, his eyes can see through people's hearts." Mu De said with a regretful sigh and said: "I didn't realize that the prince ignored me later and only talked to you. Do you want to talk? That’s because the prince doesn’t like me and acting.”

"I see, I still feel strange, why is the prince suddenly interested in me, even though he ignored me at first." Mu Chu said suddenly.

He finally understood why the prince suddenly said that his father was old and could not work too hard, and asked him to take the initiative to take on important responsibilities... It turned out that he disliked his father.

"There's nothing I can do about it, dad. If I show too much concern for this prefect, even our actions of coming to see him in the first place, as well as our previous achievements, will all change." Mu De gave a bitter smile.

"It's really hard for me, dad." Mu Chu said softly.

"But it's not a big problem." Mu De was very open-minded and said with a smile: "Your father is already eighty years old, and the prince will not be as knowledgeable as an old fool like me. Besides, the prince has personally set a father as a role model. , as long as you work harder, our...Mu family will still be honored and favored."

"Father, don't worry, my son will try his best to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty." Mu Chu responded.

"Okay." Mu De nodded, pondered for a moment and then said, "The prince asked A Tu, right?"

"Yes." Mu Chu nodded and said, "I just asked casually when I said my last name."

"Every word of such a big man has a purpose, how can he say anything casually?" Mu De shook his head slowly.

"What does father mean?" Mu Chu asked anxiously.

"We should ask us to send Ah Tu to Kunming as a hostage." Mu De sighed softly and said: "The imperial court established two Dali Erhai officers in Dali, but there was no garrison in Lijiang, and the prefect and the magistrates were all native officials. It can be said that the whole of Lijiang has been handed over to us. If you are the prince instead, can you rest assured?"

"No." Mu Chu shook his head.

"Isn't this the end?" Mu De said softly: "So it is right for the prince to want Atu to come to Kunming, but it is both disrespectful and hurtful to say it, so the prince will stop it. I hope we can be smarter and take the initiative to send Ah Tu over."

"Is that so?" Mu Chu scratched his head, feeling that it made sense, but worried that his father was overthinking.

"It can't be wrong. If you don't believe it, I will take the initiative to mention it when I meet you next time and ask Ah Tu to come to Kunming to study. Let's see what the prince's attitude is." Mu De said firmly.

"Well, let me mention it." Mu Chu thought for a moment and said, "Should I mention it again and ask the imperial court to send some officials to Lijiang?"

"It's necessary." Mu De nodded and said, "Rather than letting the court become suspicious for a long time, it's better to take the initiative to ask the court to send officials down. Such openness will win the trust of the court."

"Okay, then I'll talk about it together next time." Mu Chu responded.

In fact, the Mu family father and son were able to have such a pleasant chat with Lao Liu. In addition to the fact that he and his son are smart people, another important reason is that Lijiang is located in the northwest corner of Yunnan. The imperial court was too far away and was unwilling to send troops to garrison. Anyway, with the Dali Guards and Erhai Guards in the south watching, they are not worried that Lijiang will cause trouble.

If they are not stationed in the camp, the land issue will not be involved. There will be no land disputes. Just ask them to be honest and not make trouble. Of course, the discussion will be pleasant.

But most prefectures and counties have disputes, so it is naturally impossible to be happy.