The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 685

The jailer looked at everyone and said.

The jailers felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, boss, we didn't see anything."

One of the jailers hurriedly spoke.

The jailer nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

After Wen Zhengming and the other two were released from the prison, the eunuch led them to an extremely secluded courtyard.

"Some of His Majesty's warhorses are kept here. His Majesty loves horses, but after establishing the Toungoo Dynasty, he rarely went to war, so these warhorses were left idle and have now been bred for several generations."

The eunuch led Wen Zhengming and the other two into the courtyard.

There weren't many people in the courtyard, but from their actions, it was clear that Wen Zhengming, Hu Zongxian, and Zhao Zhenji were all extremely skilled horse breeders.

"Greetings, Father-in-law."

Upon seeing the eunuch, these people hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

This eunuch usually handles the horse-raising affairs here, so these people basically only recognize this eunuch and Mang Jisui.

"Select three of the best warhorses for the gentlemen."

The eunuch nodded and said.

Upon hearing this, the stable boys dared not delay. Although somewhat reluctant, they led out the three most magnificent warhorses among them.

Wen Zhengming and the others mounted their horses, and the eunuch handed the Mang Ji Sui token to Wen Zhengming.

"The envoy has this token. Now that the king has just passed away, this token is still useful. When you arrive at the city gate, you only need to show the token, and no one will dare to stop you."

The eunuch knew very well that at this time, Mang Ruiti was still in the palace pretending to mourn and preparing for his coronation. The coronation would take at least three days, and by then, these envoys might have already led their troops to attack.

Wen Zhengming didn't stand on ceremony and put the token away.

"I take my leave now, and I will certainly fulfill the promise I made to you, sir."

Wen Zhengming clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said.

"Your Majesty, your words are strong."

Upon hearing this, the eunuch breathed a sigh of relief. All his efforts were for this promise.

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhengming had no time to be coy anymore. He pulled on the reins and followed the path the eunuch pointed out, heading straight for the city gate.

With the token of Mang Ji Sui, Wen Zhengming and his party had no obstacles and arrived in Champa in less than half a day.

Wen Zhengming even deliberately bypassed the army of the Toungoo Dynasty and entered the city through the south gate of Champa.

His status as a Ming Dynasty envoy allowed him to travel without hindrance. The garrison commander of Champa had met Wen Zhengming before, and was both surprised and delighted to see him appear. He hurriedly reported the news to Bo Jie.

When Bo Jie learned that Wen Zhengming and the others had escaped and returned, he was overjoyed. Although he had some expectations, he did not expect that Mang Ruiti would be so audacious as to arrest the Ming Dynasty's envoys.

This made Bo Jie live in constant fear, lest Champa be affected by the Ming Dynasty.

Bo Jie did not dare to conceal the matter of Wen Zhengming's abduction and immediately sent someone to Annam to report to the Annamite governor.

Bo Jie stumbled and crawled to Wen Zhengming's side.

"It's wonderful that you're back, Your Excellency. I haven't been able to sleep these past two nights, wishing I could rush to the Toungoo Dynasty to rescue you."

Bo Jie looked on with lingering fear.

In order to get the eunuchs to rescue Wen Zhengming and the others as soon as possible, Mang Jisui did not actually wait for himself to starve to death. As the founding monarch of the Dongyu Dynasty, he would not allow himself to die so undignifiedly, so he simply asked the eunuchs to ask Mang Ruiti for a poison pill and swallowed it to die.

Mang Jisui did this partly to retaliate against Mang Ruiti, but mainly to seek a way out for the Mang family's descendants.

Mang Jisui knew very well that if you didn't touch the Ming envoy, he would rather die here than leave you alone. Now that you've arrested them, if the Ming envoys were to die in the imperial prison, then not only the Mang family, but the entire capital would probably be in dire straits.

Mang Ruiti may not understand this when he is young, but Mang Jisui sees it very clearly. Didn't he see how the Li Dynasty was destroyed?

So when Mang Ruiti learned that he had captured the Ming envoy, Mang Jisui felt a chill run down his spine.

"I have come here to borrow troops. The Toungoo Dynasty has humiliated me too much. If I do not personally wipe out the Toungoo Dynasty, I will have no face to return to the Ming Dynasty."

Wen Zhengming sat on his horse, looking down at Bo Jiedao.

He chose to ignore Bo Jie's performance.

Upon hearing this, Bo Jie looked troubled.

“It’s not that I don’t want to lend it, but the envoy knows that the area outside the city is now full of people from the Toungoo Dynasty.”

"Mang Jisui is dead, and Mang Ruiti is busy with his ascension to the throne. He will not attack you in the next few days. Moreover, I will not borrow much. Just prepare six hundred light cavalry for me before tomorrow."

Wen Zhengming said.

Upon hearing this, Bo Jie realized that he could no longer refuse. Although the Dongyu Dynasty was attacking them, hearing Wen Zhengming say that he wanted to destroy the Dongyu Dynasty made him feel a sense of impending doom.

Regardless of whether the Ming envoys in front of us can destroy the Toungoo Dynasty, the Toungoo Dynasty is definitely finished, and Bo Jie is very clear about this.

Therefore, Bo Jie had no objection to borrowing troops. Since he was destined to perish, he might as well add fuel to the fire and take this opportunity to make a contribution to the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Excellency, rest assured, there's no need for tomorrow, it can be done today. My city of Champa has a total of over eight hundred light cavalry, you can take them all with you."

Bo Jie gritted his teeth and said.

"So good."

Wen Zhengming nodded.

On the other hand, Hu Zongxian did not follow Wen Zhengming back to Champa, but went straight to Annam. Annam did not have many troops stationed there. After Hu Zongxian explained his purpose, the Annamite governor did not dare to neglect him and helped Hu Zongxian mobilize two thousand infantrymen and six hundred light cavalry.

"It's wonderful that Lord Wen is safe and sound. I have already reported this matter to the court. Shall we wait for the imperial army to arrive before taking action?"

"That's what the provincial governor said."

Hu Zongxian shook his head upon hearing this.

"Thank you for your kind offer, sir. However, Lord Wen is of a strong character. If we cannot help him save face, he may not have the face to return to the Ming Dynasty."

Hu Zongxian bowed and said.

Hu Zongxian was able to mobilize troops because he had a secret edict from Jiajing Emperor that he had given to them from the beginning, which had four words written on it: "Act as you see fit!"