The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Huamachi.

For several days, Zhang Mao sent people outside the border to inquire about the news. He wanted to know whether his son had won or lost the battle. However, Zhang Rui and Ma Yi did not go south at all. Zhang Mao had taken great pains here. Couldn't find out any more information.

Until the official document reporting victory was sent to him from Yansui.

Zhong Decai and Liu Jing each stood beside him, and the three of them seemed to appreciate this official document together, with different expressions on their faces.

Zhang Mao was confused.

Zhong Decai had a look of joy on his face, as if he was about to flatter him.

As for Liu Jing, he seemed to have eaten bitter melon. He was so shocked by what happened in front of him that he couldn't even say a word for a long time.

"My lord, I am very happy to congratulate you. My young lord, he has not lived up to the expectations of the public. This is a show of prestige for the British Duke. After this battle, the position of the British Duke in the Governor's Mansion has become more stable. In the future, others will definitely sigh with emotion. This young Ming Dynasty No one can win, and the British government is indispensable..."

As a guest, Zhong Decai also had advisory responsibilities with Zhang Rui. He instinctively felt that he also contributed to this victory.

Liu Jing glanced at Zhong Decai and couldn't help frowning. He couldn't help but wonder why this guy was so shameless?
Zhang Maoze asked directly: "Are you indispensable for Duke Cai Guo and Uncle Xin Xin, or am I, the British Duke, indispensable? Decai, I understand what you said, but did you think through it before speaking?"

Zhong Decai looked slightly embarrassed and said: "My lord, this is a good news. You have a share of the British government. What else do you have to worry about? No matter how interested Cai Guogong and Xin Xinbo are, they are not personally involved in it? Who is allowed to lead the troops? Who is going to win the battle? Where is your beloved son?”

"But……"

Zhang Mao is really a bit hard to say.

Liu Jing said for Zhang Mao: "This British prince has just finished impeaching Ma Yi and Wang Shouren, and Ma Yi leads his troops to victory. What does this make His Majesty think, and how does it make the officials in the DPRK feel?"

Zhong Decai said: "My father-in-law worked so hard on the Ming Dynasty's border war, all to inspire General Ma Yi. Besides, if my father-in-law didn't trust Ma Yi at all, would he send his beloved son to go on the war with him? If my father-in-law does this, then what? It’s thoughtful.”

"You..." Liu Jing was even more speechless towards Zhong Decai.

Your change of thinking can be said to be straight up and down, leaving no room for turning.

Zhang Mao picked up the official letter commemorating victory and muttered: "More than ten thousand Tatars were killed and captured... Why do I not believe it so much? Could it be that Ma Yi knew that I was involved in his involvement, and he deliberately lied about the military situation and waited for me When I go to claim credit, what if he exposes me again and makes me feel miserable?"

"No. He doesn't have the courage." Zhong Decai smiled.

The British public is also a bit unfounded at the moment.

Liu Jingdao: "Master, we have to be on guard. This official document was sent from Yansui. You previously sent a letter to Wang Zhitai asking him to cooperate with you, but now he only gives you this one." , who knows whether it is true or not? From what I can see, you have been pretending to be deaf recently and just waited for His Majesty to issue an order to discuss it."

Zhang Mao frowned and looked at Liu Jing and said: "You mean, when I was impeaching others, I rushed forward. Now it's time to receive the merit and reward, so let me stand up and be a tortoise, right? What do you think?"

"This..." Liu Jing didn't know how to continue.

Zhong Decai hurriedly persuaded: "My lord, please explain to your majesty and the court immediately that the previous participation in the impeachment was just to cooperate with General Ma and the young lord to send troops to paralyze the Tatars. Also, it is your encouragement to the two of them. , and you should also send troops out to patrol a few more times, pretending that we are here to clean up the battlefield."

Zhang Mao said: "I know what you mean, now I have to pretend that I am a prophet. But you are a virtuous man. Your Majesty is not stupid. No matter how much I explain, I may just be a clown to Your Majesty."

"Haha." Liu Jing smiled bitterly and said in his heart, you still know that you are a clown.

Zhang Mao glared at Liu Jing again and said, "I'm afraid we are all clowns. Who told me to sever ties with Ma Yi?"

Liu Jing instantly wilted again.

This is a form of flattery. Flattery is a hornet's nest.

"If your Majesty pursues me, see if I don't turn out those people who like to gossip and let him plow the fields in Hetao! I worked hard to cultivate a son and almost died. I finally achieved what I am today, but I was almost destroyed by me! Can I still trust those ignorant and ignorant people now?" Zhang Maoran seemed to be angry.

The words were harsh, but there was no anger on his face.

Because he and Zhong Decai had the same idea, they both felt that his son led the troops to victory, so even if the father made a "small mistake", it shouldn't affect the family's reputation and status, right?

No fault, just merit.

Liu Jing was scolded beside him and was a little unable to stand, so he hurriedly explained: "I was just assessing the situation at the time. Who would have thought that we would end up like this?"

"You damn thing have no vision! Not only do you have no vision, you also don't have the foresight! How did Zhu Dongyang collapse without you behind his back? You pushed him into the mud, and you wanted to push my head into the mud again. It’s a good thing, my son is doing well, right?”

Zhang Mao pretended to grit his teeth.

Liu Jing quickly explained: "My lord, I have all good intentions. From the beginning to the end, do I mean to harm you? Wasn't the purpose of impeaching Ma Yi earlier to allow you to advance and retreat in a controlled manner? What if I get the news of the defeat now? , you can also stand up and teach. No matter if you win now... you can still be prosperous now, right?"

Zhang Mao didn't respond for a while.

Zhong Decai also hurriedly spoke up and said: "My lord, actually the Marquis is right. Before, you just wanted to have peace of mind. Now even if the situation is not pretty, you are still invincible. The Marquis has always been We are doing our best for you.”

Liu Jing originally thought that Zhong De would add insult to injury, but when he heard this, he was a little moved.

It seems that this friend can be made.

Zhang Maodao: "You still have the mind to discuss this here? Send someone quickly to ask what is going on! Even if we win the battle, my son should come back, right? Did he fly away? Tell me out of thin air that he After winning the battle, I should be allowed to see my son, right?"

Zhong Decai said: "My lord, don't be impatient. I'll find someone to ask. But... I don't know what Wang Zitai means now. How about you..."

"Okay, I'll write to him again and explain to him that I have foresight and guard the Huama Pond in order to prevent the Tatars from invading the country and to pave the way for my son and Ma Yi to lead their troops to victory... and... The good old man is not Zhu Dongyang. Zhu Dongyang’s family is full of unsatisfactory sons. I have a good son and a good grandson here!”

Zhang Mao felt relieved when he mentioned this.

Liu Jingdao: "My lord, you are also a sword that will never grow old."

"Humph!"

Zhang Mao glanced at Liu Jing and said, "I don't know who it is. You thought I was a sick cat before? Send troops...send troops. Tomorrow...no, today, I have ordered all the generals and went out for a walk with me. I It can also be used on the battlefield.”

To pretend to be a tiger, you need to pretend to be a complete tiger.

Zhang Maoming knew that he was not the material to lead the army, but now that the news of his son's victory was hanging over his head, he, as a father, seemed not to be far behind.

Liu Jingdao: "Master, if you want, please tell your family in Beijing quickly and send some gifts to Duke Cai to thank him for helping you support your son. And..." "Wait a minute."

Zhang Mao raised his hand to interrupt Liu Jing's words and frowned, "Why do I think this thing looks familiar? Did you also give him the same advice when Zhu Dongyang was about to be in trouble?"

"This……"

When Liu Jing thought about it, it seemed that this was really the case.

As a martial artist, it is customary to curry favor with the powerful in the court.

And right now, isn’t the most powerful dignitary in the Ming Dynasty Zhang Zhou? Is it wrong to flatter Zhang Zhou? My suggestion is simply reasonable.

Zhong Decai said hurriedly: "My lord, I feel that the Marquis is also thinking about you. Previously, Baoguo Gong failed to do this well, which led to the ruin of the family. If he had established a good relationship with Cai Guogong in time, he would have ended up in this situation today. field?"

"Earlier, I was asked to sever the relationship with Zhang Bingkuan, but now I have to... am I just a faggot? Today I am facing civil servants, and tomorrow I am facing Zhang Bingkuan?" Zhang Mao was also very depressed.

When he impeached Ma Yi before, he was prepared to fight Zhang Zhou to the end.

Because it involved control of the Beijing camp, he felt that he and Zhang Zhou were already at loggerheads.

As a result, I turned around...

It seems that he has inherited Zhang Zhou's favor and has to stand on the same front.

Zhong Decai said: "Master, what's the use of face? Besides, that Cai Guogong... is at the peak of the sun now. Even if your son and Ma Yi lead the troops to victory, Your Majesty will attribute most of the credit to Cai Guogong. Cai Guogong promoted him No one can stand alone... It is really unwise to go against Cai Guogong! "

Liu Jingdao: "Mr. Zhong is right."

"You are all right, and I am the only clown, okay? Go, go, write a letter to the capital, and give gifts if you want... At worst, you can give up the entire Duke of Ying's Mansion! You can also give up the Beijing Camp! Give them all to him! Should I give him my life as well? Ahem... "

Zhang Mao still seemed a bit tough in his attitude towards Zhang Zhou.

After all, it is a matter of trade-offs. Even though his son has already won, he still wants to curry favor with Zhang Zhou. Zhang Mao will feel unwilling to do so if he thinks about it.

But he is actually wise in his heart, knowing that there is no benefit in going against Zhang Zhou, and even the situation in front of him forces him to curry favor with Zhang Zhou.

Inner hope and actual situation are two different things, which makes him unable to do anything but rage.

Liu Jing smiled and said, "When giving gifts, you have to be sincere. I also have a little granddaughter who is quite pretty, so I plan to give it to him as a girl or something."

"Your granddaughter? Pretty? Hum!" Zhang Mao looked disdainful.

It's like saying, look at your face, can you give birth to a beautiful granddaughter?
Liu Jing smiled and said: "I can't help but that my son has good taste and my wife is beautiful. And...ahem, let's not talk about it anymore. I have to send a letter to the capital as soon as possible, and at the same time, I have to tell the Queen Mother the good news. By the way, sir. , how do you think our team will succeed?"

"What did you say?" Zhang Mao frowned and looked at Liu Jing.

There's nothing going on here, and you actually asked me to do it? Isn’t that deceiving the emperor and deceiving the government and the public?

Liu Jingdao: "We can't send out troops without harvesting anything, right? Clean the battlefield, capture some herdsmen, and then offer sacrifices or...do something. Get in touch with the young master quickly and ask him to bring more A few heads coming back...that's good too."

Zhang Mao blinked, and he seemed to understand what Liu Jing meant.

My son has already made great achievements, so I can't look too cowardly.

Of course, you can't falsely report your military exploits. You have to put gold on your face after all.

Zhong Decai also said: "Since the Tatars have lost the battle, they will definitely not dare to fight us head-on. There is probably no trace of the Tatars within a few hundred miles to the north. It is not easy to capture the Tatars, but we must do something about the border issues." It’s still feasible to click on articles. It’s best to grab a few... uh..."

Just say the words "kill good people and take credit for their merits".

Zhang Mao said in embarrassment: "I can't do such a shameless thing. Let's go out and take a look first. Maybe the Tatars are waiting for me to lead my troops to attack them? What's going on... Why not?" How can anyone give me an accurate message? It’s hard for me...”

……

……

Ministry of Punishment.

Wang Shi, the Minister of Punishment, met with Cheng Minzheng who came to inquire about the case.

By now, both Li Dongyang and Liu Jian knew that they had avoided suspicion, and it was also a matter of life and death for Xie Qian. Cheng Minzheng was also entrusted by Li Dongyang.

Wang Shi said in a low mood: "Mr. Cheng Ge, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but this case is actually of great importance. The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple have sent people there. According to the Jin Yiwei, this case was personally handled by His Majesty. , What I said before was that I could just let Mr. Xie Ge resign and go back to his hometown, and he could even live out his old age in peace, but now I may have to investigate... If it ends well, one person can take charge without involving the clan members. If it doesn’t work well, I’m afraid it will be impossible for anyone in the Xie family to become an official in the future!”

Cheng Minzheng also seemed very emotional and said: "No matter what Yu Qiao did, there was no malice. It was just that the way he handled the matter was inappropriate."

Wang Shi said: "Do you really think so?"

In Wang Shi's opinion, shouldn't Cheng Minzheng be on the opposite side of Xie Qian?

We can all see that after you joined the cabinet, the cabinet's iron triangle didn't treat you as a human being. Are you still speaking for Xie Qian like this now?

Cheng Minzheng sighed: "Actually, I also know how to resolve this matter. As long as Zhang Budang comes forward and says a few words, your Majesty may be given a lighter sentence."

"Yes." Wang Shi also nodded, "It doesn't mean that this is the only way. We can find more people to jointly submit the memorial and intercede for Mr. Xie Ge."

"No! That's just adding fuel to the fire! Don't do that!"

Cheng Minzheng's attitude suddenly became very tough and said, "Your Majesty is already upset. If people from the court join forces to intercede, it will be clear that they are against Your Majesty, and they still join forces to prevent Your Majesty from getting down the stairs. Then Yu Qiao's situation Can it be cured? Now even the cabinet has begun to be indifferent to this matter, just to minimize the big issue, and now it is afraid that some people will come out to be smart. "

With that said, Cheng Minzheng stood up and was about to leave.

"Mr. Cheng Ge, are you leaving?" Wang Shi seemed to have other things to say.

"No more!" Cheng Minzheng said, "I haven't seen Zhang Butang recently. If I have free time, I plan to go and sit with him. I won't stand idly by if I can help, but I'm afraid It’s beyond my power! Now everyone wants to avoid suspicion, but I’m afraid I’m the only one who can stop running around with this old face!” (End of Chapter)