The sun shines brightly, pouring out golden light, crowning the world, neither favoring one nor discriminating another, and everything is shining.
"You have done a great job. I will ask Duke Wei for credit for you." Zhu Ping'an was bathed in the golden light of the sun. He smiled and nodded to the meat shield soldiers, then stepped into the commander's tent under their admiring gazes.
"My dear nephew, you are truly a god. You have resolved such a crisis and a mutiny without any effort."
"They have already killed Minister Huang. There is no turning back. I didn't expect that you would persuade them to lay down their weapons and return to their camps. Nephew, how did you do it?!"
"Master Xiao Zhu, you are really something! Heroes have always emerged from youth. I really didn't make a mistake in choosing you."
As soon as Zhu Ping'an walked into the commander's tent, Duke Wei, Marquis Linhuai and Eunuch He excitedly surrounded him. One of them stroked Zhu Ping'an's hair, one punched him on the shoulder, and one pointed at Zhu Ping'an's chest with his index finger raised. The three of them had expressions of ecstasy, excitement and curiosity on their faces that were beyond words.
For a moment, Zhu Ping'an had a sense of déjà vu similar to that of Master Yan Chan being teased by a group of monkeys in front of Mount Emei.
"Nephew, how did you do that?!"
"Nephew, how did you convince them?!"
"Master Xiao Zhu, tell me quickly, what clever trick did you use? You dealt with more than 3,000 rebellious soldiers!"
The three of Duke Wei surrounded Zhu Ping'an, with curiosity on their faces, and couldn't help asking Zhu Ping'an over and over again.
"It's nothing, actually. I told them five things, and they laid down their weapons and went back to camp."
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and explained with a relaxed look.
"Five things?! Which five things?! Tell us quickly..." Duke Wei and the others felt like their curious hearts were being scratched by a cat, and they couldn't help themselves.
"The first thing I told them was that Huang Shilang fell off his horse and died. It had nothing to do with them. They would not be charged with the crime of killing an official appointed by the court, nor would they be slandered with the crime of treason..."
Zhu Pingan said lightly.
"What?! Minister Huang fell off his horse and died?!"
"My dear nephew, you are mistaken! Minister Huang was clearly hacked to death by the chaotic soldiers, how could it be said that he died from falling off his horse?!"
"How is it possible? I came here with Minister Huang. He didn't even ride a horse, so how could he have fallen off his horse and died? I saw him being hacked to pieces by the random soldiers. It was such a tragic scene..."
Duke Wei was struck by lightning when he heard Zhu Ping'an's casual words. He was so stunned that he couldn't help but exclaimed repeatedly.
"No, I am not wrong. Minister Huang died from falling off a horse." Zhu Ping'an replied seriously.
"My dear nephew, you are lying with your eyes open."
"Master Xiao Zhu, you are talking nonsense. I saw with my own eyes that Minister Huang was hacked to death by the chaotic soldiers."
When Duke Wei and his companions saw that Zhu Ping'an insisted that Minister Huang fell off his horse and died, they could not help but correct him repeatedly.
"Uncle, Eunuch He. Minister Huang was the only one who fell off his horse and died..." Zhu Ping'an stared at Duke Wei and the others with his ink-black eyes, and said meaningfully.
"Um?!"
Duke Wei and the others were stunned for a moment, chewing over Zhu Ping'an's words thoughtfully, and suddenly widened their eyes after a moment. They were all old foxes, and after Zhu Ping'an's reminder, how could they not understand the deep meaning
"Yes, yes, that's right. Hehe, my dear nephew was not mistaken. We were wrong. Minister Huang really fell off his horse and died."
"I have long reminded Minister Huang to be careful when riding a horse and not to ride too fast, but he didn't listen and ended up falling off his horse and dying..."
The Duke of Wei, the Marquis of Linhuai, and Eunuch He nodded vigorously, clapped their hands, and laughed.
The premise for quelling the mutiny is that Huang Shilang died by falling off his horse, and it had nothing to do with the rebels. This way, the rebels would have a way to retreat and survive, and the mutiny would have a chance to be quelled. Anyway, Huang Shilang asked for his own death, and he deserved it! Being killed by the rebels is also death, falling off a horse is also death, waiting to die is no different.
Zhu Ping'an's eyes lit up... He was worthy of being the top scholar, no wonder he was valued by the emperor and was awarded the honor of secret memorial. His thinking was really extraordinary and beyond the reach of ordinary people. He actually thought of breaking the impasse in this way!
"But, nephew, can they believe what you said? After all, it's them..." Duke Wei raised a question.
Huang Shilang was killed by the rebels themselves. We said that Huang Shilang fell off his horse and died. Although it is in their favor, won’t they suspect that this is a delaying tactic? ! Can they believe us? !
Marquis Linhuai and Eunuch He also looked at Zhu Ping'an, waiting for his answer. They had also thought of this question.
"They didn't believe it, but they still believed it." Zhu Ping'an's words were a bit confusing.
"What do you mean?" Duke Wei was stunned.
"That brings me to the second thing. The second thing I told them was to give them the death exemption certificates." Zhu Ping'an explained softly, "Uncle and Eunuch He wrote the death exemption certificates. With the death exemption certificates, they believed it."
Duke Wei and the others thought about it for a moment and immediately understood. If the first thing was just words, and they were worried about being held accountable in the future, then the death exemption certificate was genuine. We wrote it with our own hands and it was stamped with a bright red seal. With this death exemption certificate, they dared to believe and believed Zhu Ping'an's words.
"But my dear nephew, even though the death of Mr. Huang has nothing to do with them, this alone cannot make them lay down their weapons and return to the camp."
Duke Wei raised another question.
"The reason they revolted was ultimately due to the issue of silver, food for wives, and military pay."
Zhu Pingan said softly.
"Yes, that's right." Marquis Linhuai, Eunuch He and others nodded vigorously, knowing this very well.
"How do we solve this problem?!" Duke Wei and the others all looked at Zhu Ping'an.
"Simple. I told them that the silver discount and wife rations will be restored to normal, and an extra 1 or 2 taels of silver will be given as a discount. The soldiers' salaries will be paid tomorrow..." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and replied nonchalantly.
"What?! The silver and wife's rations will be restored to the same level as before?! An extra tael of silver will be issued to make up for the discount, and the soldiers' salaries will be distributed tomorrow?! My dear nephew, are you crazy? It's okay to pay the soldiers, we can make up for it if we work hard! An extra tael of silver is not a big problem! But the silver and wife's rations are restored to the same level as before, how can we decide? This requires the Ministry of War to issue an order! The Ministry of War hasn't issued a word, how can you make the decision on your own and make promises to them without thinking?! My dear nephew, you are smart all your life but you are foolish for a moment. You have fooled them now. After a few days, they will find out that something is wrong. The silver and wife's rations have not been restored to the same level as before. They will definitely rebel again. At that time, even gods can't stop them. My dear nephew, what should you do..."
Upon hearing this, Duke Wei was horrified and trembling all over. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back. He slapped his thigh hard and complained.
Upon hearing this, Linhuai Hou and Eunuch He were also terrified and worried. They had already stepped into this muddy water. If Zhenwu Camp rebelled again in a few days, they would be in big trouble...
"Uncle, Eunuch He, don't worry at all. The Ministry of War will restore the silver and wife's food as before tomorrow at the earliest or three to five days at the latest."
Zhu Ping'an looked at the three of Duke Wei calmly, smiled slightly, and said with certainty.