On the afternoon of the fourth day of May, Li Zhi welcomed a special guest in his tent outside the city.
He Shishou's nephew Xu Mince came to Li Zhi's tent alone. Seeing that it was an old friend, Li Zhi stepped back and took off his official robe, and stood outside the Chinese army's tent to wait for Xu Mince.
When he saw Li Zhi, who was wearing cotton clothes and came out of the camp, Chief Xu Min bowed his arms to the ground, but was speechless.
Li Zhi stepped forward to help Xu Mince up. After not seeing each other for several years, Xu Mince had aged a lot, his temples were stained white with frost, and there were a few more wrinkles on his forehead. Probably because of He Shishou's incident, Xu Mince's face was very haggard.
Apparently I haven't slept well for several days.
He Shishou was Xu Mince's backer. Once He Shishou fell, Xu Mince's business territory would be over. It was foreseeable that he would be swarmed and robbed. Xu Mince no longer had the confidence he had in the past when he raised his hands and feet. His back was a little hunched, and his face was
A little more intimidated.
Seeing Li Zhi coming up to help him up, Xu Mince was frightened and raised his hands and said, "How dare you trouble the Duke of Jin to help up your students?"
Li Zhi laughed heartily, walked into the camp holding Xu Mince's shoulder, and said with a smile: "What Duke of Jin? Brother Xu calls me your wise brother just like before. Without brother Xu, where would Li Zhi be today? As early as in Tianjin
The family property was robbed by local powerful men!"
Xu Mince said nothing, and followed Li Zhi into the camp with a hunched back.
Entering the camp, Xu Mince took out a bag of tea from his arms and said, "Brother Jin, this is the finest Hangzhou Longjing. I'll give it to you to drink in the army. A small gift is not a sign of respect."
The relationship between Xu Mince and Li Zhi is very close, and Xu Mince didn't even prepare a big gift when he came to see Li Zhi. A bag of tea leaves made him even more sincere.
Li Zhi laughed, took the tea from Xu Mince, and said with a smile: "Then I will have a taste."
Li Zhi called a personal guard to get a pot of hot water and brewed Longjing tea on the spot. He carefully handled the tea set, and finally handed Xu Mince a cup and kept one cup for himself.
When Xu Mince saw Li Zhi serving him tea, he was so frightened that he leaned forward and accepted it respectfully with both hands. There was no hint of the boldness of Brother Xu back then.
Li Zhi took a sip of Xu Mince's Longjing tea and said with a smile: "It is indeed good tea."
Xu Mince was in a heavy heart, with a wry smile on his face. He also held the tea in both hands and took a careful sip.
Li Zhi put down his tea cup and asked, "Brother Xu, how is your business now?"
He Shishou will definitely fall this time, and Xu Mince's business in the capital will not be able to continue. Li Zhi thought that Xu Mince was a businessman after all, and would always care about money.
Xu Mince didn't care about this at all, and said calmly: "Those yellow and white things are all external things, why do you mention them?"
Li Zhi was stunned and thought to himself that Xu Mince is really a hero. As a businessman, how many people can do this without putting money into new products?
However, only people like Xu Mince would support him at the beginning. If Xu Mince was greedy for money, he would have swallowed up Li Zhi's property with his power at that time, and sparing Li Zhi's life would be considered virtuous.
Li Zhi smiled and turned to ask: "How is Brother Xu's child? How are my three nephews and two nieces?"
Xu Mince didn't seem to care much about his children. He pondered for a while and said: "The youngest son died in infancy, but the other four are all good. The eldest son participated in the imperial examination in the capital last year and won the title of scholar."
Li Zhi was stunned for a moment and said: "I didn't expect that Brother Xu's youngest son did not survive. It is really a pity."
Xu Mince said calmly: "I am lucky to be able to support four out of five these days. It is also because I live a rich life that I can live so much. I am content to have four children."
Li Zhi nodded and said nothing more.
The two of them sat in the big tent and didn't speak for a while, but fell silent. Now that Li Zhi not only sent troops to the outskirts of the capital, but also affected the public opinion within the capital, the emperor had no reason not to kill. The defeat of He Shishou and other officials was also
It's been a few days. Li Zhi knew that Xu Mince came here to plead for He Shishou. He took a sip of tea and waited for Xu Mince to speak.
Xu Mince sat on the chair, silent, and actually shed two lines of tears as he sat. He smiled bitterly, wiped his tears, and said mockingly:
"Xu Mince, the big brother, can't save his face no matter what!"
Li Zhi put down the tea cup and took a breath.
Xu Mince stood up with difficulty, walked to Li Zhi, and knelt down in front of Li Zhi with a thud.
Li Zhi closed his eyes helplessly. After a long time, he opened his eyes and said, "How did Brother Xu do this?"
Xu Mince prostrated on the ground and cried while saying: "Since brother Xian calls me big brother and recognizes the favor that big brother has helped you, this time you must help brother out of gratitude in the past. If you help me this time, Xian will do it in the future."
Even if I regard my eldest brother as a villain or a passerby, Xu Mince will accept him."
Xu Mince had always been a bit arrogant and rarely asked for help in his life, especially when he was begging for help on his knees like this. As he was talking, he burst into tears and wiped his tears and said: "I don't tell you, my dear brother, you know what I am here for! Please help me."
Brother, no, I ask the Duke of Jin to show mercy and spare the lives of my uncle He Shishou and his family."
Xu Mince lowered his head and said loudly: "Brother Xian, you must help me this time no matter what!"
Li Zhi sighed and said helplessly: "Brother Xu regards money as dirt. Since he doesn't care about business, why should he plead for He Shishou?"
Xu Mince burst into tears and said loudly: "Why do you say this, good brother? If a person has no loyalty, what is the difference between a human and an animal? I lost my father when I was young, and it was my second uncle who supported my life and gave me money to study in school.
He allowed me to pass the exam. Without my second uncle He Shishou in the past few decades, how could Xu Mince’s family be as prosperous as he was? I’m not afraid of my brother’s jokes, even Xu Mince’s meritorious service was only possible because of my second uncle He Shishou’s many activities, so he barely passed the exam!”
Li Zhi sighed and looked at the door of the tent speechless.
"Without my second uncle's congratulations to Shishou, what is Xu Mince? I am just a naughty boy who starved to death in the countryside! One cannot repay kindness. What is money? What are children? If I can save my second uncle with these things, who am I, Xu Mince?"
No more!"
"Xu Mince begs my dear brother to give me a way out and spare my second uncle He Shishou's family. My dear brother is now in a high position, so sparing my second uncle is just a matter of words. I hope my dear brother will show mercy for the sake of our past friendship."
!”
After Xu Mince said this, he knelt on the ground and couldn't get up.
Li Zhi sat on the chair, feeling as if he was sitting on pins and needles for the first time.
After a long time, Li Zhi said slowly: "Brother Xu's business can be transferred to Tianjin and Shandong in the future. In both places, I can take care of Brother Xu and make your business run smoothly."
When Xu Mince heard this, his body trembled, and the tears on his face suddenly stopped. He lay on the ground without raising his head, and said loudly: "Brother, please don't humiliate Xu Mince! Is Xu Mince a money-grubbing person? If you are
If you still remember a little bit of my kindness in helping you, don't say such things. No matter if you take away my second uncle's official position or demote him to the army, as long as you spare the lives of his family, I, Xu Mince, will remember you for the rest of my life.
Loyalty!”
Li Zhi said helplessly: "He Shishou hid Ma Zheng's money and killed countless soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country. How could Li Zhi spare him? Li Zhi was dedicated to establishing an utopia where everyone has public morality, how could he spare He Shishou for his own selfish interests? Li Zhi
If we do this, how will the people of the world think of Li Zhi? What will the people of Tianjin think of Li Zhi? How will the parents, wives and children of the soldiers who died in battle think of Li Zhi?"
"Those soldiers fought to the death and died heroically. If they had known that Li Zhi had let the culprit go for personal gain, he would not have let Li Zhi go."
Xu Mince kowtowed to Li Zhi fiercely and said miserably: "Brother Xian, I know you are a person who wants to do great things, and you cannot harm the public interest for selfish reasons. But this time is different, this time I am begging you! You
Out of compassion, I will make an exception for my brother. After this time, you will still be your Duke of Jin, with a high and powerful position, and no one will dare to say an idle word."
Li Zhi was silent for a long time, struggling a little in his heart. After a long time, Li Zhi smiled bitterly and said helplessly: "Brother, Li Zhi can't do it."
Xu Mince laughed suddenly, got up suddenly and took a step back. His eyes were already blood red, he pointed at Li Zhi and shouted angrily: "Li Zhi, who do you think you are? If my brother hadn't saved you, if it hadn't been for my second uncle,
Congratulations to you, you are already dead at the hands of Lu Huarong who took away your property. Your idea of Duke Jin and your idea of an utopia are all bullshit!"
Li Zhi turned pale after being scolded by Xu Mince. He stood up and said, "Brother Xu, He Shishou has brought disaster to the country and the people. He really deserves to be killed. Why are you so persistent?"
Xu Mince waved his sleeves angrily and shouted loudly: "I don't care how much He Shishou brings disaster to the country and the people, he is my benefactor, Xu Mince. People must be loyal! Otherwise, what is the difference between him and a pig or dog? I will save him even if he is shattered to pieces!"
"I, Xu Mince, saved you Li Zhi. If you don't repay me once, what's the difference between you and an animal?"
Li Zhi sat down helplessly and said in a deep voice: "I can only take care of Brother Xu's business and take care of Brother Xu's family. If I want to let He Shishou go, Li Zhi can't do it!"
Xu Mince was furious, jumped up, pointed at Li Zhi and shouted: "Villain! Li Zhi! Everyone in the world says you are a hero who saves the country, but only I, Xu Mince, know that you are a villain!"
Xu Mince was extremely angry and was not afraid of Li Zhi's high position and power. He broke up with Li Zhi in words.
Li Zhi sat on the chair with his eyes closed, speechless.
"Villain! You are a villain!"
Xu Mince angrily threw the Confucian scarf on his head to the ground and shouted loudly: "If I can't save my second uncle, what use does my second uncle have in raising my Xu Mince family? What do I need this fame for?"
"It's all because of me, Xu Mince, who made a mistake! I saved such a wolf-hearted villain like you. If Lu Huarong had killed you, how could my second uncle be defeated today?"
Li Zhi took a breath and said, "Brother Xu! If you hadn't saved Li Zhi back then, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty would be over, and countless people would die in the world!"
"Strong words!"
"It was me, Xu Mince, who misunderstood and helped a villain to kill my second uncle! It was me who killed my second uncle!"
Xu Mince started crying again as he talked. He stood there with disheveled hair and cried, and finally burst out laughing again, crying and laughing, as if he was crazy.
He laughed miserably, ran out of Li Zhi's tent with disheveled hair, and ran out of the tent alone without looking back.
