Daming talker

Chapter 556 What a thief!

Seeing that the entourage was complete, the team set off, first to Xuanfu Town, and then rushed to the outside of the wall of Zhangjiakou Fort.

He was not tired at the beginning, because Li Tingji did not take the carriage but rode a horse and chatted with the guard Lin Tailai.

"This is my first time as an envoy, so I'm a little nervous." Li Tingji asked, "Didn't you also serve as an envoy last year? Can you share your experience?"

After thinking it over, Lin Tailai answered truthfully, "I am in good health."

Li Tingji: “.”

Your "good health" refers to having killed two big chiefs with your own hands, or having worked like a slave for the Queen Mother and King of the Northern Tartars?

Suddenly, an attendant reported nervously, "There are dozens of riders following us, and they don't look good!"

Li Tingji was very surprised. How many miles away from the capital? It was a peaceful time. Could there still be a large number of bandits who dared to rob the official road?
"Don't panic." Lin Tailai said calmly: "Those are the servants of my Lin Mansion. They brought their own dry food to Xuan Mansion and happened to be on the same road as us."

Li Tingji: “.”

There was no more trouble along the way until we reached Xuanfu Town, 350 miles away.

Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Xuanfu, Li Yingen, the general commander of Xuanfu Town, and Bu Zhong, the commander-in-chief of Wanquandusi, and other local giants welcomed him at the south gate outside Changping Gate.

Li Tingji was socializing with local tycoons and speaking polite words.

Behind Li Tingji were his attendants, and behind them were the soldiers.

While the local giants flattered Li Tingji, they frequently looked towards the soldiers guarding the delegation.

Li Tingji waved his hand sympathetically and ordered, "Call Lin Jiuyuan over!"

Looking at Lin Tailai, the strong soldier wearing a red coat and holding a spear, Governor Wang wanted to laugh but didn't dare to.

Finally, he couldn't help but tease, "Last year you left Xuanfu in a prisoner's cart, and this year you came to Xuanfu as a criminal. You might as well have stayed in Xuanfu last year and saved a year of detours."

After the welcoming ceremony, the delegation's escort soldier Lin Tailai met with Xuanfu Governor Wang Xianggan alone.

Governor Wang said with some yearning: "If the tribute ceremony was held outside the border wall of Xuanfu, I should have been the envoy."

Lin Xiaobing acted like an elder and taught him, "What's so great about this kind of formalistic ceremony? It's the right thing to do to be a good governor!
Xuanfu Town is a good place, very close to the capital, and has a tribute market, it is worthy of your wholehearted investment! "

Governor Wang could only reply, "You are right."

Lin Xiaobing asked again: "Nowadays, the governor of the border town adopts a long-term appointment system, and it is normal for him to serve for six or seven years, or even seven or eight years.

With so much time, you should cultivate your own power. Do you know how to do it?"

Governor Wang replied again: "Respect the wise and show kindness to the lower ones?"

Lin Xiaobing instructed: "The best way is to smuggle together! Only by smuggling with you can we become one of your own!"

Governor Wang: "."

Whenever I talk to my uncle, these three views are overturned.

The mission's final destination was certainly not Xuanfu Town. Accompanied by Governor Wang, they continued to move north.

Sixty miles away is the increasingly prosperous Zhangjiakou Fort, which is administratively under the jurisdiction of Wanquan Youwei.

Hei Xiao, who had been promoted to the commander of Wanquan Youwei, and Zhang Shoubei, the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou Fort, greeted them at the east gate.

The two men complimented Li Tingji and kept looking behind him.

Lin Tailai, who was standing behind as a guard, said lazily: "Why are you looking at me? I'm just a soldier."

The delegation did not stay at Zhangjiakou Fort, but passed through the wall beside the mountain pass and went directly outside the wall.

A temporary camp has been built here in advance, and the envoys can move in directly after arriving.

The tribute reward has been carried out for twenty years, and everything has been regulated and the preparations are in order.

The general process was that the Ming Dynasty would certify the titles given to the generals, commanders, and thousand-man commanders of the Northern Tartars. The Northern Tartar leaders would offer a certain amount of livestock, and the Ming Dynasty would give back a certain amount as rewards.

In addition, the Ming officials and the Northern Barbarian leaders ate and drank together as a treat.

Such a tribute ceremony is held once every spring, and then the border market for the year is officially opened and lasts until the market is closed in September.

In previous years, the tribute ceremony was mostly held outside the border wall of Datong Town, but in the past two years it was held outside the border wall of Xuanfu Town.

Of course, the above has nothing to do with Lin Tailai, and he doesn’t worry about it. After all, he is just a small soldier.

Before the ceremony, the envoy Li Tingji hosted a banquet to entertain Zhong Jinhatun, who came to participate in the tribute ceremony on behalf of the King of Lu, Bushitu.

After all, Bu Shitu is only ten years old and cannot perform on stage yet.

At the banquet, Zhong Jinhatun frequently looked behind Li Tingji.

Li Tingji has become completely accustomed to the phenomenon that others always look behind him.

Sometimes, he would even vaguely feel that he was just a shadow substitute, with his real body behind him.

After the banquet, Zhong Jinhatun asked Lin Zhuangshi to escort him back to the camp.

After consulting Lin Zhuangshi himself, Li Tingji agreed.

Back at the tent several miles away, Zhong Jinhatun dismissed the maids on both sides and asked Lin Tailai curiously, "What happened? How did you end up like this?"

Lin Tailai replied solemnly: "It's hard to explain. You barbarians may not understand the twists and turns. It's hard to explain. Wait, why are you taking off your clothes?"

Zhong Jinhatun quickly unbuttoned his clothes and responded, "Since it's hard to explain, then don't say it!"

Lin Tailai sighed, this is what it means to be like a wolf at thirty and like a tiger at forty.

But when Lin Tailai was about to unbutton his red coat, Zhong Jinhatun hurriedly called out:

"Don't touch the jacket! Just take off the pants! Put on the soldier's jacket first! It will be more enjoyable to watch this way!"

Lin Tailai: "."

What's wrong with this? Is it more sensual to see yourself wearing the uniform of a Ming soldier?

Half an hour later, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed.

Zhong Jinhatun asked lazily: "How long can you stay outside the border wall this time?"

Lin Tailai replied: "It depends on God's will."

Zhong Jinhatun touched his belly and said, "I really want to have your child sooner rather than later. He will definitely be the strongest and smartest person in the whole grassland."

Lin Tailai calmly replied, "Why rush? Bu Shitu is only ten years old and can't provide cover. It will take at least two years."

Two days later, when the envoy Li Tingji invited the northern barbarian female chief Zhong Jinhatun to meet, she declined both times on the grounds of "feeling unwell".

"It's really affecting state affairs!" Li Tingji complained to his attendants, "Empress Dowager Xiao wasn't dragged down like this by Han Derang!" The attendants replied, "It's not a big impact. Let us handle it. It's actually less troublesome than having a meeting between the two sides."

On the day of the tribute ceremony, Zhong Jinhatun showed up, then left in a hurry and did not appear at the subsequent banquet.

Then the official ceremony was basically over and the border market opened.

At this point, the mission was basically completed and they could retreat.

However, one of the guards of the delegation was staying at the Northern Barbarians' tent for a long time and had not returned, which made Li Tingji a little upset.

There is no trivial matter in diplomacy. It must be clear how many people are on the delegation when it goes and how many people are on the delegation when it returns.

What we are trying to prevent is someone defecting or spies sneaking in.

Li Tingji was a little unsure. Should he follow the record of fleeing to the northern frontier or the record of abduction and disappearance this time?

Fortunately, this place is close to the capital, and after Li Tingji reported the matter to the court, he soon received instructions from the court that he did not need to rush back and should continue to inspect the border cities and find out what was missing.

We should give full play to our subjective initiative. After inspecting the Zhangjiakoubao Horse Market, we can also go to the Deshengbao Horse Market in Datong Town.

Li Tingji finally understood that the imperial court did not want Lin Tailai to go back, so they asked the entire delegation to accompany Lin Tailai to wander around the border town.

As one of the most politically minded figures in the Northern Tartars, Zhong Jinhatun was also very sensitive to the attitude of the Ming court.

"Your court doesn't seem to be in a hurry to let you go back?" Zhong Jinhatun asked, "They would rather you stay outside the border wall and not return?"

Lin Tailai said disdainfully: "They are a bunch of scoundrels. Most likely they haven't figured out how to divide the spoils yet and don't want to be disturbed by a righteous man like me."

"You? A righteous person?" Zhong Jinhatun expressed his doubt.

Lin Tailai said mysteriously: "You don't understand the value of justice sent from heaven."

Then Zhong Jinhatun secretly wrote a letter and submitted it to the Ming court.

This kind of document was usually submitted by the governor of the border town, so it soon fell into the hands of Governor Wang.

After reading the contents of the letter, Governor Wang was completely stunned.

The Queen of Shunyi of the Northern Tartars actually requested the Ming court to give her the exiled criminal Lin.

Governor Wang had no right to stop the letter, so while submitting his memorial, he sent an envoy to inquire about Zhong Jinhatun, and Lin Tailai found out.

"Are you sick? Are you childish?" Lin Tailai was also shocked by Zhong Jinhatun's actions.

You are an old politician in your thirties. How can you still do such childish tricks?
When it comes to issues between countries, don’t mix personal emotions and novel jokes into it!
Zhong Jinhatun replied expectantly: "You said that we should still have dreams, what if they come true?

If you come here, I will never treat you unfairly and will make you the real Grand Master!"

Lin Tailai directly shattered the young woman's dream, "Don't be so wishful thinking. At most, I can wait for another half a month, and the court will beg me to go back!"

Zhong Jinhatun had heard this many times, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What on earth is going to happen? It makes you so confident."

Lin Tailai replied: "I don't know what will happen, I just have a hunch."

Zhong Jinhatun said unhappily: "If you don't want to say it, forget it. Don't be so mysterious all day long!"

Lin Tailai was helpless, he really didn't know what had happened.

He just inferred from some historical materials that something would definitely happen in April, and he was waiting.

Anyone who has studied the history of the fifteen-year struggle for the national foundation in detail can find that during this long period of time, the specific content and form of the struggle were not static.

In other words, the battle for the national capital is also divided into stages, and each stage has its own exclusive theme and climax.

For example, in the spring of the eighteenth year of the Wanli reign in history, which is the current stage, the theme of the dispute over the national foundation was "Let the eldest prince study quickly", and the dispute had lasted for several months since the first month of the year.

In this time and space, the climax of this stage revolves around Lin Tailai, but in the original time and space where there was no Lin Tailai, how did the climax come about?

Lin Tailai had a vague impression of this. Many historical materials on the current stage of the national foundation dispute revolved around "disasters".

In the eyes of the ancients, "disasters" were warnings from heaven. In addition to the formalism of the emperor confessing his sins and the prime minister resigning, "disasters" also had to be interpreted.

At that time, ministers submitted memorials one after another saying that the "disasters" sent from heaven were because the emperor was lazy in governing his country, did not establish a crown prince, and did not allow his eldest son to go to school.

All the ministers of the cabinet resigned and apologized for the "disasters" around the end of April and the beginning of May.

The historical records in Lin Tailai's memory did not explain in detail what the "disasters" were. He could only infer the time of occurrence of the so-called "disasters" based on the approximate time when the ministers submitted memorials.

From the end of April to the beginning of May, all the grand secretaries submitted their resignations, which indicates that the disaster occurred in April.

Interpersonal relationships may change because of the butterfly effect, but disasters are mostly natural phenomena, so they shouldn’t be affected by the butterfly effect, right?
This is what Lin Tailai was waiting for, but he really didn't know what would happen specifically, so he didn't lie to Zhong Jinhatun.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a rumbling noise coming from the sky. Lin Tailai looked up and said in a lost voice, "What the hell! Could it be that it's coming as soon as it's said?"

In the Wenyuan Pavilion opposite the Wenhua Palace, four hundred miles away in the capital city, which is both far away and yet close, an office meeting was finally held.

Seeing Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping returning to their posts, Prime Minister Shen felt quite gratified.

Being alone in the cabinet was not a pleasant experience, but he finally made it through! Finally, someone was going to take the blame and be the cannon fodder!
The two Lord Wangs were also filled with emotion. Although they had completely different positions, they both felt as if they had survived a great catastrophe.

The number of grand secretaries in the cabinet was reduced from four to three. Wang Xijue was officially promoted from Wang San to Wang Er, and Wang Jiaping was also promoted from Wang Si to Wang San.

The hard days are over and we can have peace for a while!

The ranking was promoted one place, and Lin Tailai was fired. There is always a good thing in a bad thing.

Shen Shixing took out several memorials and said to the two kings: "Recently, several northern provinces and Huguang have reported that there is a severe drought this spring.

The scope is so wide and the drought is so severe that we have to take it seriously and treat it as the top priority.

However, I think this is not a disaster, and normal disaster relief will suffice. Do you agree?"

The Second Prince nodded in tacit understanding, "The Prime Minister is right!"

Although the drought is so severe and covers such a large area, it really cannot be considered a disaster!
Otherwise, they would have to submit their resignation letters right after returning to work and then go home again!
The court needs stability and the cabinet cannot be in turmoil anymore!
Although the three cabinet ministers had different political positions, they reached a consensus on this issue.

"Then let's start discussing how to provide disaster relief," Prime Minister Shen said again.

Suddenly, a secretary of the Central Secretariat rushed to the door of Wenyuan Pavilion holding a memorial and shouted, "Urgent news from six hundred miles away!"

Prime Minister Shen asked, "What kind of urgent news? What happened?"

There are many kinds of urgent reports within six hundred miles, such as border warnings, rebellions, civil unrest, and the kind that the ministers least want to hear.

The secretary shouted, "Disasters and anomalies have been reported from places around the capital, such as Beizhili and Xuanfu!
There was a sound like a drum in the sky of Zhending Prefecture. A stream of white cloud hung down from the sky to the ground, like the sound of a strong wind. There were also falling stars that hit the ground, and a half-foot pit was sunk!
"Everywhere in Xuanfu, people heard the sound of the heavenly drums, saw flames piercing the sky, and stars falling like buckets!"

The elders: “.”

Oh my god!

(End of this chapter)