Wang Chengen's eyes turned red when he heard this. He suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud, and tears suddenly flowed down. He lowered his head and wiped his tears, sobbed and said: "Your Majesty is the emperor, and he works hard and long for national affairs.
We have worked hard and devoted ourselves to everything. However, we still have to bear the humiliation and burden in front of the powerful ministers and warlords, and we have to give in at every turn. It is all our fault that we are incompetent and cannot share the emperor's worries."
Zhu Youjian took a breath.
However, his mood was not as heavy as Wang Chengen's. He shook his head and said: "Wang Chengen, the Duke of Jin is loyal after all. Which of the general soldiers of our Ming Dynasty is not a warlord? Which of these figures, Zu Dashou and Zheng Zhilong, obeys the orders?
They are all entrenched in one place."
"In the final analysis, the Duke of Jin's military remonstrance was because he worked hard for the country, so he was angry at the traitor who tried to murder him. If Li Zhi had refused to obey orders like Zheng Zhilong did, he would not have been murdered by the traitor in Jinzhou, nor would he.
Even if he gets angry, the 160,000 border troops will not heed his call to send troops to the outskirts of Beijing."
"But in that case, no one would be able to contribute to the country. In that case, Jinzhou would have been defeated, and the Ming Dynasty would be in danger. Rather than saying that the Duke of Jin is aggressive, it is better to say that he has really contributed a lot to the country!"
Wang Chengen wiped his tears and said: "What the Holy One said is absolutely true, but I really can't stand the so-called master's humiliation of his ministers' death. Li Zhi's demeanor has become less and less like that of a minister. What's going to happen if this continues?"
Zhu Youjian looked at the palace in the distance and was silent for a while.
After a long time, he said: "If the situation comes to the worst and the imperial court attacks the Duke of Jin, and the war lasts for a long time, both sides will suffer losses. Not only will the military leaders from various places outside the imperial court be ready to take action, but the civil servants above the imperial court will probably not take action anymore."
I take it seriously. The Duke of Jin is aggressive today just because of his outstanding merits. If the world is peaceful in the future and there is no place for his meritorious service, his momentum will naturally fade."
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Youjian said again: "This time, thirty-seven traitorous officials were executed and a large amount of money was confiscated. In addition, the silver hidden in Taipu Temple was exposed, and the imperial court was suddenly rich. The training of new soldiers was done some time ago.
We stopped because there is no money, but now we can start again. I want to build hundreds of Hongyi cannons. With these soldiers and horses to protect the royal family in the future, Duke Jin's domineering spirit will be restrained a lot."
Hearing that the emperor was going to restart the training of new recruits, Wang Chengen broke down in tears and smiled, wiped his tears, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, your Majesty! It is expected that after one hundred thousand recruits are trained, Li Zhi will not dare to take a step beyond the rules."
Zhu Youjian looked into the distance and smiled. He was full of confidence and strode into Qianqing Palace.
####
Zheng Zhilong rode slowly out of the capital with his generals and entourage.
Zheng Zhilong's younger brother Zheng Zhibao looked at the capital behind him, shook his head and said, "Brother, I really spent a lot of money this time to go to Beijing to do some business."
Zheng Zhilong said calmly: "What is this money? As long as we occupy Fujian and occupy the southeastern sea area, how much money can't be earned? In recent years, our ships and soldiers have increased. In a few years, Fujian will be the capital of civil servants and the imperial court.
If you want to listen to me, Zheng Zhilong, why bother with this little money?"
Zheng Zhibao still felt a little sorry for the money. He thought about it and said, "Brother, is Li Zhi willing to give up Hsinchu's profits?"
Zheng Zhilong shook his head.
Zheng Zhibao rolled his eyes and said angrily: "This Li Zhi is so brave. He doesn't know what his big brother on the sea says? If our thousands of warships cut off his channel in Hsinchu, his 100,000 people will be trapped and die in the small island."
Ryukyu Island!”
Zheng Zhilong smiled and said: "This Li Zhi probably thinks that his dozens of ships can fight against us!"
Zheng Zhibao said: "Brother, let's rob Li Zhi's ship? Let him know what the Zheng family is."
Zheng Zhilong smiled and said: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious. Our men are all pirates and have no rules. They can fight and rob, but they can't start reclamation. Li Zhi is busy for us in Xiaoliuqiu, so why should we rush to break it up?"
His sweet dream? Let him continue to make Hsinchu bigger and richer, and we will go get it after some time!"
Zheng Zhibao looked at Zheng Zhilong and was stunned for a long time before he laughed: "Brother, you are so courageous!"
Zheng Zhilong pursed his lips and said, "Now that we are at sea, I, Zheng Zhilong, still keep my word."
####
Li Zhi's army slowly moved towards Tianjin. On May 20th, it returned to Tianjin and entered Fanjiazhuang.
Tianjin Governor Feng Yuanyang led Tianjin civil and military officials to march thirty miles to greet Li Zhi in the outer suburbs of Fanjiazhuang. The team was waiting on the road carrying pigs, sheep, rice wine, and beating gongs and drums.
Although the celebrities and Confucian scholars in Tianjin were somewhat dissatisfied with Li Zhi, Li Zhi firmly ruled Tianjin. How could these people dare to express their dissatisfaction in Tianjin? If they made a mistake and were heard by Li Zhi's secret guards, they would be in trouble.
At this time, Li Zhi was promoted to Duke of Jin, and his power was even greater. In order to curry favor with Li Zhi, they all stood on both sides of the road and waited.
From the early morning to the morning, everyone finally waited for Li Zhi. As soon as they saw the front line of the army, Feng Yuanyang and others trotted towards him. Several hundred civil and military officials and well-dressed people trotted quickly under the leadership of Feng Yuanyang. The scene was a bit funny.
Hundreds of people ran to both sides of Li Zhi's bodyguards. They all bowed to the ground and loudly welcomed Li Zhi's triumphant return.
Li Zhi looked at the fawning expressions of these officials and scribes, smiled, and nodded to everyone on his horse, which was regarded as saying hello.
Feng Yuanyang saw Duke Jin's nod, and secretly thought that the Duke of Jin saw his favor and was overjoyed. He waved vigorously to the gongs and drums team behind him, asking the musicians to make louder sounds, making the welcoming atmosphere even more enthusiastic.
Some.
Li Zhi led the army and continued to move forward. When they arrived ten miles away from Fanjiazhuang, they saw the people who had gathered here.
These people also came to welcome the Tiger Army's triumphant return. Many of the tens of thousands of people were family members of Tiger Army soldiers. They crowded on both sides of the road to watch their children go home. They searched carefully in the queue until they confirmed their children.
Only when they were truly alive and triumphant did everyone rejoice. Some young people cheered for joy, while some old people burst into tears.
Li Zhi was watching the excited crowd immediately, but he saw a family standing on both sides of the road with tears in their eyes. Seeing Li Zhi riding over, the family knelt on the roadside.
Li Zhi didn't know why the family was crying so sadly. He stopped his horse and said, "Fathers, please get up, why are you crying!"
The head of the family, an old white man, climbed up tremblingly, leaning on a cane and said: "My second son went on an expedition with the general and died in Hutouba! He was buried in the Martyrs Cemetery half a month ago.
"
Li Zhi's face sank, and he raised his hands and said, "Li Zhi failed to bring back all the children from Tianjin. I'm sorry!"
The old man smiled, but more tears fell on his face. He wiped away his tears and said: "Since ancient times, how many people can fight on the battlefield? My family is here to welcome the Duke of Guo in his triumphant return. I want to fight with the Duke of Guo.
He said, "My son died in a glorious battle to protect our country and our family is proud of him." 8
