Zhu Houzhao laughed loudly, turned around to draw an arrow from the arrow pot, and saw Zhang Yanling standing under the corridor. He suddenly showed a look of surprise, put down his bow and arrow and said loudly: "Uncle is here."
Zhang Yanling smiled and stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, Zhang Yanling, has met the Emperor."
Zhu Houzhao hurriedly smiled and said: "Uncle, you are free of charge. You are finally back."
Zhang Yanling nodded and looked at Liu Jin. Liu Jin stepped forward and bowed: "I have met Mr. Hou."
Zhang Yanling cupped her hands and said, "Hello, Eunuch Liu. He looks good."
Liu Jin said: "Thanks to the Marquis, the Marquis looks good too."
Zhang Yanling chuckled, turned to look at Zhu Houzhao and said, "Is the emperor practicing archery? He is quite diligent."
Zhu Houzhao said: "Yes, I want to practice my martial arts and improve my ability to kill enemies. Next time I go on patrol and encounter Tatars, I will be more able to do it with ease."
Zhang Yanling was stunned and said: "The next border patrol?"
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, next time I will be better prepared and bring more troops, then there will be no danger like this time."
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "The emperor seems to be much stronger than me. I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed about the scene of fighting in Dushi City, and I still have lingering fear in my heart. I don't want it to happen again."
Zhu Houzhao smiled, leaned close to Zhang Yanling's ear and said: "I didn't expect that my uncle would be like this. To be honest with my uncle, I had nightmares for several days. I didn't dare to say it out for fear of being laughed at."
Zhang Yanling looked at Zhu Houzhao, and the two burst into laughter at the same time.
"Liu Jin, ordered people to remove the archery target, and we will be here today. Uncle, please come into the study to drink tea and talk." Zhu Houzhao ordered.
Liu Jin bowed in agreement and ordered the young eunuch to carry several human-shaped archery targets away. Zhang Yanling looked at one of the figures with several arrows stuck in the target and felt that it looked familiar. He stopped and squinted to take a closer look, and was suddenly stunned.
.
"That target portrait... seems to be of Bachelor Xie." Zhang Yanling asked.
"It doesn't seem like he is the one painted." Zhu Houzhao said solemnly.
Zhang Yanling looked at Zhu Houzhao with a wry smile and said, "Your Majesty, why is this?"
Zhu Houzhao sneered and said: "Let's talk after we enter the house. I just invited my uncle here because I want to discuss something with him."
The monarch and his ministers sat down in the imperial study. Liu Jin personally made tea and brought it to the table, then stood aside with his hands down.
"Uncle, you didn't come back until yesterday afternoon. I'm afraid you don't know what happened in the past few days after I came back. Let me tell you carefully. I had just left Juyongguan that day, and Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and the others were blocked in Nankou Town.
I. I thought they were here to greet you.
Yes, but it turned out that they went out to attack me on the way. They didn't even have time to wait for me to return to the capital. They couldn't wait to make me admit my mistake in front of one hundred thousand soldiers in the capital and all the civil and military officials. What do you think?
, do they still have me in their eyes?"
"...Although I did secretly leave the capital this time and did not follow their advice. But did I embarrass the Ming Dynasty? I experienced life and death and returned from bloody killings. These people started without even saying a word of greeting.
Accusing me, is this what a minister should do?"
"Uncle, you don't even know how arrogant they are. Liu Jin just said a few words for me. Guess what? That old... old... old man Xie Qian actually slapped Liu Jin three times in front of me.
Liu Jin had one of his teeth knocked out. He was so angry that he wanted to hang himself that night. Uncle, do you think they are so rude and rude?"
Zhu Houzhao started to scold angrily.
Zhang Yanling turned to look at Liu Jin, and saw Liu Jin standing aside with a sad face, with tears streaming down his face like a little daughter-in-law who had been greatly wronged. If you look closely at his cheeks, it seemed that they were quite swollen.
"Your Majesty... It's nothing for your slave to be humiliated. I've only disgraced you and damaged your reputation. As the saying goes, it depends on the master when you beat a dog. Even if your slave is a dog raised by the Emperor, they can't do it in front of you.
Emperor
They beat the slaves in front of the emperor. It is false that they beat the slaves, they are disrespectful to the emperor, and they even threaten the emperor. These people rely on their old age and sell themselves off, and they have reached the point of lawlessness. The emperor..." Liu Jin knelt down and cried.
Zhang Yong hurriedly helped him up and said repeatedly: "Eunuch Liu, the emperor is talking to the Marquis, don't do this. You have said this not once or twice, and the emperor understands it very well.
Get up quickly."
Liu Jin said angrily: "You didn't get slapped for your feelings. I got slapped that day, and you, Zhang Yong, won't be able to run away anymore. Everyone will get slapped, and maybe even a knife."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and shouted: "What's the noise? I'm talking to the Marquis of Jianchang, so don't make any noise."
Liu Jin's voice suddenly stopped, as if someone had strangled his throat.
Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhang Yanling and said: "Uncle, although Liu Jin's words are unreasonable, I think they are reasonable. How could they do such a thing if they respect me? After returning to Beijing, they refused to forgive me.
, I must admit my mistake. That morning, Liu Shoufu
They forced me to issue an edict to admit my mistake. I didn't agree, so they went to pay homage to their father's mausoleum and cried bitterly, saying that they had failed to live up to their father's instructions. What's the difference between them doing this and those rough and tumble women on the street? Uncle?
, you give me some comment, is there such a minister in the world?"
The more Zhu Houzhao talked, the angrier he became. His hands banged on the desk, and his little face turned red.
Zhang Yanling said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Zhu Houzhao breathed a sigh of relief, took a few sips of tea, and slowly calmed down.
"Uncle, what should I do about this matter?" Zhu Houzhao said in a deep voice.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "What does the emperor want to do?"
Liu Jin said from the side: "We want them to apologize to the emperor. As ministers, how can we be so presumptuous? They must admit that they are disrespectful to the emperor. And... they also have to apologize to our family. That Xie Qian is rude and rude, saying that he beat people
Do you want to beat people? The imperial court has its own royal laws. If I, Liu Jin, are guilty, I will have my own laws and the emperor's punishment. When will it be his turn to thank me? These people in the outer court just want to force the emperor to bow his head."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Eunuch Liu, should I listen to the emperor or you? The emperor hasn't spoken yet."
Zhu Houzhao said: "Uncle, I think Liu Jin's words are correct. Do I really want to punish myself? Do I really want to be forced by them to admit my mistakes? I know that I have made mistakes, and I can admit them, but I cannot accept them.
This attitude and behavior are used to force me. If I succumb to them, won’t they have to make further progress in the future?”
Zhang Yanling muttered: "Your Majesty, you can't issue an edict if you blame yourself. Although this patrol was reckless, it was not a sin. The Tatars' desire to spy on me, the Ming Dynasty, was the culprit that ultimately caused the catastrophe in Xuanfu Town.
It’s not the emperor’s fault. That is
Even if the emperor doesn't patrol the border, aren't the Tatars also making trouble in the border towns? The fault cannot be put on the emperor. The officials in the outer court tried to use this matter to blame the emperor, which is untenable. Minister
I think there is some selfishness involved."
Zhu Houzhao clapped his hands and said, "What uncle said touches my heart. This is the truth."
Liu Jin also said: "What the Marquis said is very true. Xie Qian, Liu Jian and the others are just annoyed that the emperor did not listen to their dissuasion to leave the capital, and it is not the battle in Xuanfu Town. Your Majesty, please forgive me for beheading my slaves."
If so, if the Emperor unfortunately falls into the hands of the Tatars this time, I am sure that Liu Jian and the others will never care about the Emperor’s sex.
Order, they will immediately establish a new emperor and abandon you, Your Majesty. These civil servants of our Ming Dynasty all have this kind of virtue. In the Battle of Tumubao, Emperor Yingzong unfortunately fell into the hands of the Waci people. The Minister of War, Yu Qian,
Wouldn’t we just establish a new emperor immediately? If the emperor is like this, what will happen to Liu Jian and Xie Qian and the others? One can imagine.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's face turned livid and he stood up immediately.
"Liu Jin is right. If I were captured by the Tatars, they would definitely do this. I came back alive and they still did this."
Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes and thought: Sure enough, the treacherous ministers around the emperor are very harmful. Liu Jin's words hit the soft spot. Although Emperor Yingzong was captured and all the elites in the court were lost, Yu Qian and others established the new emperor.
It was a wise move to stabilize the people of the Ming Dynasty and prevent them from being blackmailed by the Wazai people. But how can this matter be explained clearly?
Liu Jin could not fail to understand this truth. What he said completely added fuel to the fire and aroused Zhu Houzhao's anger.
"Your Majesty, you cannot speculate on the outcome based on things that have not happened. You should discuss the matter based on the facts." Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
Zhu Houzhao said: "Uncle, don't you think so? If they are really captured, do you think they will risk their lives to rescue me? I don't think so."
Zhang Yanling said: "Your Majesty, you don't have to think like this, it won't help anything. I dare to ask the Emperor, does the Emperor hope to fight to the end, or does he hope to ease the matter? Does the Emperor really want to make the ministers in the outer court an enemy?
What about shooting them with arrows?”
Zhu Houzhao was stunned, pondered for a moment, and then sat down slowly and said: "I don't regard them as enemies. The Ming Dynasty still needs them to support it. Although they are hateful, they are still diligent in doing things. Not to mention...most of them are
A veteran of the former dynasty, my father is here
Before he died, he told me that he must be tolerant to his ministers and consider the overall situation of the Ming Dynasty. I don’t want the court to be in chaos. Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others are also very famous, and they are ministers who care about life. I... I
I don’t want to get into too much trouble with them.”
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's it. Since the emperor has such an attitude, there is no need to get into trouble. I believe that it is best to treat this matter as a major matter and turn it into a trivial matter. It is best for both sides to take a step back and stabilize."
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and said: "Uncle, how about this? You go talk to them on my behalf and tell them what I mean. I don't want the court to be in turmoil, let alone get into a stalemate with them over this matter. I
Don’t blame them for being disrespectful to me, and don’t let them hold on to my patrol. Can you agree?”
Zhang Yanling stood up and saluted: "I obey the decree. I am willing to convey the emperor's wishes to them and be a conciliator. I hope this matter can have a good result."