Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 213 The Emperor's Deadline! Zhang Chonghui's Favor!

Nurhaci's face was full of concern, but in his heart he was already cursing:

"Damn it! If I had known I would have come a little later!"

Nurhaci did not expect that Li Rusong was so lucky!

He delayed for so long before sending troops, and originally wanted to come directly to collect Li Rusong's body!

Unexpectedly, the body was not found, but the person was rescued by a woman named Qin Liangyu!

Nurhaci was furious! But something happened that made him even angrier!
Li Rusong glanced at him from head to toe and asked three words in confusion:
"who are you?"

Nurhaci: "..."

Li Rusong was not pretending. He really didn't know who the person who came up and called him "big brother" was.

Although I guessed that it might be one of the godsons adopted by his father Li Chengliang, his father had too many godsons.

The arrogant Young Master Li already has so many biological brothers, but he is too lazy to acknowledge them, and he doesn't even bother to acknowledge these bastard brothers.

"Brother, I am Snur!" Nurhaci said as he took off the hat on his head.

Looking at the bald forehead and the iconic rat-tail braid, Li Rusong suddenly realized:
"I remember now, you are a slave!"

"Yes, yes, it's me!" Nurhaci put on his hat again, ready to talk about something else to delay time and make Li Rusong, who seemed to be seriously injured, more seriously injured!

Who knows, if you delay it for a long time, the person might die?

However, Nurhaci's idea was shattered because there was Qin Liangyu who was in the way!

……

Two days later.

The news that Liaodong general Li Rusong almost died in Fushun reached the central government.

At the same time, the news that Nurhaci "took the initiative" to lead the Jurchens to provide support also reached the cabinet.

……

Qianqing Palace.

After learning that Li Rusong had escaped death, Zhu Yijun did not show shock or worry, but instead became suspicious of something.

"Why is there another ambush?" Zhu Yijun frowned and asked suspiciously:

"Li Rusong shouldn't be such a careless person. It's okay that he encountered an ambush in Biti Pavilion before, but why didn't he learn his lesson this time? Could there be a spy inside?

And Nurhaci, how did he know that Li Rusong would support him? I remember that his father and grandfather seemed to have died at the hands of Li Chengliang. How could he repay evil with kindness? "

Facing the Emperor's continuous questions, Zhang Cheng replied:

"Your Majesty, I don't understand what happens on the battlefield, but when you walk by the river, your shoes will get wet. Even a victorious general will lose a battle sometimes.

In addition, I remember that Nurhaci had taken the initiative to submit a memorial to the court shortly before this battle, saying that the Mongolian invaders seemed to have ambushed the border and he was willing to send troops to support them.

"How did he know there was an ambush?" Zhu Yijun asked again, "He, a barbarian, could see there was an ambush, so how could Li Rusong not see it?"

"Your Majesty, what you mean is..." Zhang Cheng asked carefully, "This ambush was directed and staged by Nurhaci himself?"

"That's not the case." Zhu Yijun said, "I just find it strange. The memorial said that Nurhaci came to the Liaodong border only to exchange goods with the Ming Dynasty. In this case, how could he know so much?"

Zhang Cheng didn't quite understand what the Emperor said, so he could only say, "Your Majesty, I am stupid."

Zhu Yijun did not blame Zhang Cheng for not understanding what he meant. After all, he himself did not quite understand what he meant.

I don’t know why, but Zhu Yijun always felt that this ambush was not simple!
It seemed that this was not only aimed at Li Rusong, the frontier army general, but more like it was aimed at him, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
After all, everyone knew that he, the emperor, liked Li Rusong very much. Apart from obeying his orders, Li Rusong was extremely rude to other officials, especially civil servants!
"Zhang Cheng, send some people to Liaodong to visit Li Rusong and tell him that I am very worried about his injury. Let him recover first and then come to Beijing to see the emperor."

The reason why Zhu Yijun was so persistent in getting Li Rusong to come to Beijing in person was because there were some things that were not convenient to say in the letter, and he had to ask Li Rusong in person.

"In addition," Zhu Yijun ordered again, "Since Nurhaci has made contributions, he should be rewarded. Let him be summoned to the capital and be rewarded by the court in person!"

After explaining everything, Zhu Yijun still felt something was wrong.

He didn't know if he was overthinking it, but he always felt that the reason why Nurhaci was so "warm-hearted" and took the initiative to lead the Jurchens to support was that someone was involved behind the scenes...

"And more." Zhu Yijun suddenly remembered something and said to Zhang Cheng beside him:
"The one-year deadline is almost up. Tell Zhang Chonghui that if he doesn't do anything, I will be angry!"

This time, Zhang Cheng was obviously stunned for a moment, but soon he nodded and took note of it.

Although Zhang Cheng didn't know what the "one-year deadline" that the Emperor was talking about meant, he could probably guess a little.

It seems that I have to spread some news to Guo Zhengyu again.

……

At the same time, in Wenyuan Pavilion.

The four cabinet ministers were also discussing the ambush that Li Rusong had suffered.

However, the four of them seemed somewhat absent-minded, as if they were just discussing the matter as a routine matter.

The one with the ugliest expression was Yu Shenxing, because many people died in this battle, and the dead had to be compensated with pensions.

"I roughly calculated it." Yu Shenxing said weakly:
"The military pay in Liaodong has been in arrears for more than half a year. Adding the pensions for the fallen soldiers, the minimum required in silver is..."

Yu Shenxing started to settle the accounts in this way, and the other three just listened silently without saying a word.

They knew very well that Yu Shenxing's plan was to get them to find a way to collect the long-overdue taxes that had been difficult to collect from various places.

After calculating for a long time, Yu Shenxing finally sighed: "Yang Yinglong of Bozhou has not been eliminated yet, and the court still has to fight. If the war continues like this, how long can the national treasury last..."

The three of them still said nothing, just sighed, “Ah…ah…ah…”

Yu Shenxing could see that the three were playing dumb. He was already under great pressure and suddenly became annoyed. He simply slammed the table and said:

"This cabinet is not just my cabinet. Right now, the country is at war both inside and outside, and money is flowing like water! Taxes from all provinces and regions cannot be collected! Are we going to keep living off our savings and living beyond our means?

And! You can all see how the three main halls have been burned! The emperor's palace has become a ruin. Are we going to leave this mess alone?

You guys should stop playing dumb and keep silent! Just tell me what to do!"

Yu Shenxing was really angry. Since he entered the cabinet, he was almost the only one who offended people!

The remaining three were either watching the show or fighting among themselves, and when something happened they all pretended to be dead!

"Keyuan, don't be angry. Don't get yourself hurt by it." Prime Minister Zhu Geng consoled him kindly, "We are trying to find a solution for you."

"What do you mean by help me find a solution?" Yu Shenxing suddenly became even more angry and said directly:
"Zhu Yuanfu, don't forget that you are the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty!

The things I am talking about now are what you, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, should be most concerned about! "

Seeing that the Prime Minister was about to cry because of the scolding of the Deputy Prime Minister, Guo Zhengyu on the side could not stand it anymore and said bluntly:
"We can only think of a solution to the tax issue slowly. Right now we are discussing the Liaodong issue. Why are you bringing this up, Lord Yu?

Besides, Zhu Yuanfu is your superior after all, you shouldn't talk to him like this."

Guo Zhengyu didn't want to speak for Zhu Geng, he was just unhappy that Yu Shenxing always suppressed all of them.

Fang Congzhe also came out at this time, but he helped Yu Shenxing and said: "Don't those Liaodong soldiers who died in the battle need pensions? In the final analysis, where the money comes from is the most important thing now!"

"Ha!" Guo Zhengyu smiled and said, "In that case, I propose to increase Zhejiang's taxes for one year!"

At this point, Fang Congzhe, who was from Zhejiang, became anxious and asked back, "Why don't you say to increase taxes in Huguang?"

Guo Zhengyu said calmly, "The Dragon Boat Festival flood season is coming. Two days ago, the imperial censor who was inspecting Huguang submitted a memorial saying that many places have been experiencing heavy rain for more than half a month. If it continues like this, there will definitely be floods! Lord Fang, do you mean to increase taxes on the victims? Don't you feel guilty?"

Fang Congzhe hurriedly said, "Huguang is so big, it's impossible for it to rain in both Hubei and Guangxi, right?"

Guo Zhengyu also asked back: "You mean that all the taxes that the Ming Dynasty cannot collect must be collected from Huguang?"

"I didn't mean it!"

"Then what do you mean?" Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Yu Shenxing yelled in anger: "That's enough! Stop quarreling!"

At this point, Yu Shenxing no longer expected these three people to be able to solve any problems, so he simply took the account book and went directly to the Ministry of Revenue.

But before leaving, Yu Shenxing left a meaningful remark:
"The defeat in Liaodong this time is clearly due to a spy inside. You should first think about how to explain this to the emperor!"

……

Zhang Chonghui is a bit busy today. He first met Zhang Cheng, and now Yu Shenxing has come. He will meet another person later.

Yu Shenxing didn't waste time this time. He just asked Zhang Chonghui, "You know about the Liaodong incident, right?"

"Ah?" Zhang Chonghui looked confused: "What's the matter?"

Yu Shenxing smiled knowingly and said, "If you hadn't played dumb, I wouldn't have doubted you, but now I'm almost certain that you know."

"Yes, I know." Zhang Chonghui spread his hands and said bluntly: "Someone wants Li Rusong dead, and you have known about this for a long time, right?"

This time it was Yu Shenxing's turn to play dumb: "I don't know what you are talking about."

Zhang Chonghui smiled and retaliated: "If you didn't play dumb, I would still doubt you, but now I am almost sure that you know it."

Yu Shenxing remained silent, but Zhang Chonghui continued to expose:
"You don't like Li Rusong either, so you let the spy pass the message to the enemy. You want to wait until Li Rusong dies, and then re-employ Li Chengliang, right?"

Yu Shenxing's expression gradually froze, and he had nothing to say and could only remain silent.

"Okay, don't be afraid, I won't betray you." Zhang Chonghui patted Yu Shenxing's shoulder as if to comfort him and said with a smile:
"By the way, has Wulang's admission to the Imperial Academy been finalized?"

Yu Shenxing shook his head, then nodded: "I have written his name into the list of Shujishi, but I don't know whether the emperor will approve it or not."

"Just write it." Zhang Chonghui nodded and put forward another condition: "By the way, I have another thing to trouble you with."

"What's the matter?" Yu Shenxing became alert.

"Please help my father-in-law transfer to the Ministry of Industry." Zhang Chonghui said:

"He is a talent in firearms. It is a pity to waste his talent by making him a clerk. This can also contribute to the military development of the court."

Yu Shenxing did not refuse: "Since it is for the court, I will submit a petition to the emperor."

The matter seemed to have been said, but Yu Shenxing did not leave. Instead, he hesitated again like last time.

"Is there anything else?" Zhang Chonghui asked.

"You know what I want to say." Yu Shenxing didn't want to say it in person.

Zhang Chonghui played dumb and said, "I'm not the worm in your stomach, how would I know?"

"Then I'll be frank." Yu Shenxing hesitated for a while before he said:
"Li Rusong is the emperor's man, he is only loyal to the emperor. It is obvious that Li Chengliang is more suitable to be the commander of Liaodong than him!"

Yu Shenxing's meaning was very clear. He didn't understand why Zhang Chonghui wanted to save Li Rusong, when it was obvious that Li Chengliang was more suitable to be his own man!

"Keyuan, why do you think Li Rusong is only loyal to the emperor?" Zhang Chonghui asked.

"What else?" Yu Shenxing said, "Li Rusong has always been disrespectful to civil officials, but the more domineering he is, the more the emperor likes him and the more he protects him. It's obvious that he is just a loyal dog to the emperor!"

"Keyuan, you are wrong." Zhang Chonghui said with a smile: "Only dogs are absolutely loyal to their masters. Humans are not dogs. Humans are only loyal to what is beneficial to themselves."

Yu Shenxing: "What you mean is..."

"My meaning is very clear," Zhang Chonghui explained:
"Why is Li Rusong so loyal to the emperor? Because he has no other choice!
If he wasn't so arrogant and domineering and wasn't on good terms with the civil servants, would the emperor trust him?
He chose to be loyal to the emperor because the emperor could give him everything he wanted! He could give the Li family everything they wanted!
What would he do if one day... the emperor couldn't give him what he wanted, or... was no longer able to give him what he wanted?
So, Li Chengliang is old, but Li Rusong is still young, so he is no worse than Li Chengliang."

Yu Shenxing's face gradually became full of panic. Seeing that Zhang Chonghui was about to say something treasonous again, he was frightened and fled once again!

……

Yu Shenxing escaped again, and Zhao Shizhen, who happened to pass by and saw this scene, was also puzzled.

The last time, he saw Yu Shenxing running out in panic.

This time, he saw this absurd scene again.

"No, dear son-in-law, what did you say to Lord Yu? Why did he get scared away by you twice in a row?"

Zhao Shizhen simply asked about his son-in-law Zhang Chonghui.

"It's nothing. I just asked him to help you, my father-in-law, get promoted." Zhang Chonghui replied.

"This..." Zhao Shizhen felt a little embarrassed, thinking that as a father-in-law, he had to rely on his son-in-law who had no official position to help him with everything in order to get promoted.

Zhao Shizhen felt both ashamed and secretly pleased with himself for having reaped the benefits.

However, not long after he felt secretly happy, he heard his son-in-law asking him a question.

"Father-in-law, have you ever thought about taking the imperial examination?"

"Ah...ah? I already hold an official position, so there's no need for me to take the imperial examination..."

"You can't say that. Learning never ends. Didn't my fifth uncle also get his official title back and take the imperial examination?"

"This... But I'm already in my fifties and almost sixty. If I were to participate in the scientific expedition at such an old age, I'd be afraid..."

"In my fifties, it's a good time to go out and explore the world!"

"Forehead……"

"Father-in-law, I believe you can do it! I am still waiting for the day when you will be appointed as a prime minister, so that I can get an official position for my child with Yingniang!"

"This……"

……

Zhao Shizhen didn't know whether he was fooled or just loved his grandson so much, he actually went back to the study and started reading.

"My dear son-in-law is right! Fifty-something is a good age to go out and explore the world!"

……

Liaodong, Li Mansion.

Li Rusong's injuries have stabilized.

At the same time, he also learned from his father Li Chengliang that it was the letter from Zhang Juzheng to his father that saved his life.

After learning the whole story, Li Rusong smiled and called Qin Liangyu to ask:
"Does that kid have anything else to tell you? Or...does he have any conditions?"

Qin Liangyu shook her head and said, "General, no."

"No?" Li Rusong was surprised. He thought that Zhang Chonghui would use this life-saving favor to make some conditions with him, but he didn't expect that he didn't.

"Really?" Li Rusong asked again without giving up. He didn't believe that Zhang Chonghui would be so kind.

Qin Liangyu was somewhat helpless: "General, I really don't have any..."

Li Rusong still didn't believe it, but after thinking about it carefully, he knew why.

"Ha... So that's how it is..." Li Rusong smiled helplessly:

"It seems like he wants me to owe him a favor."

As we all know, favors are the hardest to repay!
"What about you? What reward do you want?"

Li Rusong looked at Qin Liangyu. He knew very well that if the other party had not arrived in time, he would have been dead.

Qin Liangyu hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up the courage to speak:

"General, I want to go to Bozhou to help the court suppress the traitor Yang Yinglong!"

She wants to win the battle! She wants to make achievements! She also wants to make progress!!
(End of this chapter)