The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 375

Zhang Zhou probably knew what he heard.

Is there anyone in Jiangnan who wants to rebel?who?Zhu Chenhao who just won the throne?Or those princes from all over the world who have lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time and don't know the cold winter in the north?
Lu Wan didn't say it too clearly, maybe Lu Wan also knew that if he said something too convincingly, then he, the whistleblower, might be connected with someone behind him, and others' suspicion of him would deepen. .

Immediately Zhang Zhou wrote to Tang Yin who was on his way to Shenyang, asking him to arrive in Shenyang as soon as possible, as if he didn't pay attention to Tang Yin's thoughts at all.

At this time, the team of Tang Yin and his party was already exhausted, especially those North Koreans who followed the new leader of North Korea, Li Yi. Many of them didn't even have cars and horses, so they had to walk this distance. I can't keep up with the team.

In the afternoon, the team had already been ordered to station, but they received a temporary notice that they had to travel overnight.

On the North Korean side, some women, children and family members were told to get in the car and drive to Daming.

"Auntie, what are they talking about?" A seven or eight-year-old girl asked Zhang Lushui who had just communicated with the Ming soldiers.

The little girl can't understand Daming's language very well. She is also learning from Zhang Lvshui along the way. Her childish face is full of innocence and uncertainty about the future. She left home at a young age. Although she was ordered to bring her family with her, she only had an adoptive father and mother by her side, and her adoptive parents were responsible for cooking for the North Korean followers who followed the team.

Zhang Lvshui said: "We are going to travel at night, so that we can go to Shenyang in Ming Dynasty before sunset tomorrow. Do you know what I have taught you?"

"Ah."

The little girl tried, taught Zhang Lushui to her Chinese, and said it again: "The daughter of the people sees the Duke of Lai, and I wish the Duke of Lai a long life, a great minister, and an official promotion. I wish Lai Your Majesty is in harmony with each other...then...then..."

Zhang Lvshui shook his head and said, "You still don't speak fluently enough. How can you make a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty like this?"

Tears were shining in the little girl's eyes, she seemed a little anxious about her poor performance, she asked: "But why, do I want to get his favor?"

Zhang Lushui stopped asking this question.

From Zhang Lushui's background and experience, what she has been pursuing for half her life is how to attract men's attention and how to use her physical condition to obtain resources for survival.

Now she was sent to Tang Yin first, and now she was ordered to follow the Daming envoy team to Daming. She knew that the second half of her life would be no different from the first half of her life.

She didn't know what to say to a little girl with whom she "depended on each other for life".

"Jang Geum, I have a daughter, but she is not as old as you. She is still in North Korea and did not come with me." Zhang Lushui said, "I treat you as a daughter and a niece. You will have a lot of things in the future. Follow me, you have to remember, I will not harm you."

"Yeah." The little girl nodded.

"Practice a few more times. Remember, you are the girl Lai Guogong found in North Korea. I don't know why he is looking for you. Even Mr. Park Yuanzong doesn't know his intentions. Since you are the one he chose , we must do things according to the ideas of Ming Dynasty people, they like to hear such words."

"understood."

The two got into the carriage together.

There is a carriage prepared separately for them, and there is even a woman in her 40s who takes care of their daily life.

In the team of North Korean envoys, the status of the second daughter will be relatively higher, and they will be regarded as "tributes" of North Korea. Protecting their safety along the way is what the North Korean side focuses on.

The carriage creaked forward, but it was not fast, because it had rained and the road was still a bit muddy. The team often needed to stop, and they didn't know where it got stuck and delayed.

"Girl, I went to look for Aunt earlier, and I saw a carriage on their side, which was tightly closed, and only Aunt delivered food inside. I took a look, and there was a luxuriously dressed woman inside. She is Who?" the little girl asked.

Zhang Lvshui said: "Maybe it was a gift from an adult in North Korea to a high official in the Ming Dynasty."

The little girl said: "But I saw that Auntie respected her very much, saying that she came from a noble family, and some people even knelt down to her. She is very young, many years younger than my aunt."

"Then I don't know." Zhang Lvshui said, "She is different from us, we just mind our own business. Now that you are learning the language of the Ming Dynasty from me, you must learn it carefully. In the future, even if it is just serving tea and water, You must also learn the basic language, otherwise you will not be able to understand what the adults are saying, and you will be punished."

"Ok."

"Listen to me, tea, tables, chairs..."

……

……

When the team arrived in Shenyang, Zhang Zhou and Lu Wan led people out of the Acropolis to greet them in person.

Accompanied by Tang Yin and Xu Jing, the official envoy of the Joseon Dynasty, Jin Shoutong, the criminal Cao Shenjuan, came to greet Zhang Zhou.

"Where is Jincheng Majesty?" Zhang Zhou asked with a smile.

Jin Shoutong was stunned, he could tell that as long as Zhang Zhou still called Li Yi "Jincheng Maharaja", it meant that Li Yi's position as the king had not been officially recognized by Ming Dynasty, and now Li Yi was at best only the crown prince.

Xu Jing rushed to say: "In the four-horse carriage behind, it's really inappropriate to say, I'm sick on the road, and I can't see the wind."

Jin Shoutong also hurriedly explained to their future king: "Forgive me, Lord Lai, my lord is still recovering from illness."

"Haha." Zhang Zhou smiled.

Lu Wan, who was next to him, said, "Is it recuperation, or is it deliberately claiming that you will not be sick? We have to meet sooner or later. Do you need to push back and forth when you meet Lai Guogong?"

"This..." Jin Shoutong was very embarrassed.

Obviously the one who came with me was the king of North Korea, but in front of the Duke of Ming Dynasty, the North Koreans seemed to have no face at all.

This depends on the strength of the military, and it is also related to the fact that the "Yasukuni incident" in North Korea was facilitated by Tang Yin.

Originally, the envoys of the suzerain state were very powerful, if they were still the Duke of Lai...then there was no way to criticize them.

Tang Yin said: "It has been diagnosed, it is sick."

Zhang Zhou nodded with a smile and said: "Bohu, this time you go to North Korea, you can be regarded as winning for Daming. I have already reported to His Majesty, and I will add an official to you after returning."

"No need." Tang Yin really didn't want to be promoted this time.

Although he didn't say much, the subtext of these two words is, please don't trouble me again, senior brother.

In the past six months, I will die or live, and I will burn my incense if I come back alive. If being promoted to an official means that I will continue to be tossed by you in the future, then I would rather be a small official in the local area than risk my life The danger continues to run in the sea of ​​swords and flames.

……

……

A group of people entered the city.

Many soldiers and civilians in the city came out to greet him, even merchants beat drums and gongs.

Liaodong was never valued by Ming in the past, and Shenyang was nominally the largest trading city in Liaodong, but it was not the capital of Liaodong in Ming Dynasty. From the perspective of the chief envoy, it belongs to Shandong, and it is only used as a military city. The region exists, and most of the common people are coerced by military households, and it is normal to arrest strong men during wars.

Now through Zhang Zhou, Liaodong seems to be showing signs of revitalization.

Residents in the city also have a sense of pride, especially when the North Korean king came to the Ming court as a "captive".

After Li Yi moved into the posthouse, Zhang Zhou still went to visit him in person. After all, his main purpose of staying in Shenyang was to accompany Li Yi to the capital. Zhang Zhou was in charge of Li Yi’s safety along the way... If Li Yi really In the event of an accident, being assassinated or dying on the way, Zhang Zhou has no major responsibilities. At most, he sent someone back to inform North Korea, and asked them to choose another master to send it over.

"My subject, Li Yi, I have met Duke Lai, please forgive me for not being able to stay here to welcome you." Li Yi lay on the bed, looking at the group of people who came in with a dead face, and the leader was naturally Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are being polite. You don't need to be a minister before seeing Your Majesty. Does it mean that he hasn't learned Chinese yet?"

Zhang Zhou said while looking at Jin Shoutong next to him.

Jin Shoutong hurriedly said: "The master is proficient in Chinese, but... still needs to be perfected."

This shows that Li Yi was not valued by the royal family in the past. In other words, after he lost his father when he was young, his elder brother Yanshan Jun did not pay close attention to his education in order to prevent him from usurping power in the future. Instead, he imposed various restrictions.

"Then teach them well along the way. In the future, as the lord of the Daming vassal state, you must also pay attention to using the Daming etiquette to govern the country." Zhang Zhou gave instructions with a smile.

"minister……"

When Jin Shoutong heard that Li Yi was about to make a mistake in addressing him again, he hurried up to give advice.

Li Yi then changed his words: "The students have been taught."

As the lord of North Korea, but calling himself a student in front of the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty, to the generals of the Ming Dynasty, it seems that the lord of Korea is degrading himself.

But in fact, Zhang Zhou knew that the so-called address didn't mean anything. The most important thing was not to rely on people's verbal respect, but to rely on fear in their hearts.

……

……

Zhang Zhou brought a doctor, but Zhang Zhou himself could be a doctor himself.

It was diagnosed by Li Yi, but it was just an ordinary cold. The so-called inability to see the wind was more of an excuse Li Yi wanted to avoid seeing him.

You can't see the wind when you have a cold... This reason is also reasonable.

"The fatigue of the journey, and some psychological things made him feel aggrieved. I don't know why."

Zhang Zhou came out and met Cheng Xiyan who was recommended by Jin Shoutong.

Cheng Xiyan is not acting as an envoy this time, but as Li Yi's personal guard. Cheng Xiyan is not representing North Korea, but more Park Yuanzong. Some private matters are not in charge of Jin Shoutong, or Jin Shoutong does not As a "Meritorious Minister of the Yasukuni", his right to speak appears to be very low.

Cheng Xiyan said: "Maybe it's because of the Princess."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said: "I heard that the concubine Yuan of the Jincheng Maharaja, who is also a daughter of the Shen family, was forced to make peace with her, and she got the consent of the Empress Cishun, right?"

Cheng Xiyan replied: "Based on precedents, although Maharaja Yuanfei's family has lost virtue, she is not at fault, and it is not a reasonable reason to give up."

Tang Yin said: "Cheng Zuoxiang, you can't talk nonsense about this."

"Yes." Cheng Xiyan quickly lowered her head.

The current Cheng Xiyan has already become the Minister of "Left Discussion of Political Affairs". Although this official position is only temporary, it also shows that Park Yuanzong intends to pay more attention to Cheng Xiyan in the future.

Tang Yin leaned over and said in a low voice: "Daughter of the Shen family is also in the team. But Jincheng Majesty doesn't know."

"Well." Zhang Zhou nodded, and then said loudly, "Although Maharaja Jincheng is unwell, his succession is also for the sake of the stability of North Korea, so there should be no delay. We will leave before noon tomorrow and continue to the capital. And go. No problem?"

Jin Shoutong asked: "Can you wait a day or two later and let the Lord take a rest?"

"I can't wait any longer." Tang Yin talked a lot now, and in front of the North Koreans, he looked tough, "This is His Majesty's order, so we can't delay it."

Jin Shoutong looked at Cheng Xiyan, and even Cheng Xiyan didn't object, so he could only bow his head and approve the plan.

……

……

That night, Zhang Zhou held a banquet in the tent of the military camp where he lived, and invited Tang Yin and Xu Jing to have a feast.

On the wine table, Xu Jing kept coming over to toast Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "You two, this trip has been hard."

"It's not hard." Xu Jing said with a smile, "Master Zhang, you worked harder. You traveled thousands of miles to Liaodong. Now the places in Liaodong are really clean, and the people everywhere are praising your meritorious deeds."

Tang Yin glanced at Xu Jing, and couldn't help frowning.

You don't have to be so servile to flatter Zhang Zhou and mess with your future, right?
Can't learn from me?

Zhang Zhoudao: "Just don't blame me. There are some things I didn't expect, such as North Korea only sending [-] soldiers and horses, and what happened to you in Duobi City. Although I have never sent reinforcements, I have said hello to Bo'an." , once the Jurchens make any changes to Dowall City, he will attack in an all-round way to help. It will be useless in the end."

Tang Yinxin said, I believe you are a big-headed ghost.

We were trapped in Duobi City for several months, and we didn’t see a single reinforcement. In the end, you personally brought people to deliver some food and weapons, and then let us go to North Korea to rebel, and you said you didn’t cheat us?

Zhang Zhou seemed to be ignorant of Tang Yin's mental activities, and sighed: "But because of this, it can be regarded as stimulating the potential in your heart, Bohu. See how well you performed this time? I might as well tell you, I have brought Your Majesty, if you can, you can go back to the capital with me, and when you come back... you will be the governor of Liaodong."

"what?"

Tang Yin stood up as soon as he heard it.

He looked very excited.

Zhang Zhou said: "Don't get too excited, this is all part of being a senior brother."

Xu Jing next to him is really envious.

How many people dream of being a governor by following Zhang Zhou?Wanting Wang Shouren to be the governor, he also had to rely on the meritorious service of the Weininghai World War I, but Tang Yin only went to North Korea... to help the North Koreans create a counterfeit, and the meritorious service to Ming Dynasty is almost nothing.

Tang Yin hastily argued: "I was born in the south of the Yangtze River, so I'm not used to the weather in the north."

"Snapped!"

Zhang Zhou patted the table, looking startled, and said, "You won't believe me when you say it, and I think so too, so I plan to let you go to Zhejiang to be the governor, and let you train the navy. You see, didn't our brothers and sisters think about it?" One piece gone?"

"..."

Tang Yin was speechless for a moment.

He seemed to understand that Zhang Zhou just said that he was the governor of Liaodong, and his feelings were digging holes for him.

Just wait for him to say that he is not used to the weather in the north, and then tell you that there is still a "hard" job in the south of the Yangtze River waiting for you to do it.

Seeing Tang Yin's reaction, Xu Jing asked tentatively, "Jiangnan...is it too far away?"

"Oh." Zhang Zhou seemed to be thinking, "Actually, you need to build a ship and train a navy, and you don't have to go to Zhejiang. How about this? I will set up a good job for you at Tanggukou in the Bohai Sea. Your Majesty, please give you the status of governor. , Let you build a ship and train the navy at the same time, and observe the situation in the south of the Yangtze River at any time, what do you think?"

Tang Yin swallowed and asked, "Is there any other choice?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head: "It's better not to have other choices."

Xu Jing said with a smile: "It's better to be in Bohai Sea, it's close, and there's Duke Lai to take care of you. Come, Bohu, I'll toast you too."

Tang Yin suddenly felt that he was about to sink into the mud again, but no matter how he thought about it this time, it seemed that it was not that complicated.

Just doing something and contributing a little bit, it doesn't look like life is in danger.

This time Zhang Zhou raised the jug and poured wine for Tang Yin himself. When Tang Yin reacted and wanted to stop him, Zhang Zhou had already filled a glass of wine: "Bohu, I know you yearn for ease, but as an official, where are you going?" Can you do nothing? If you do nothing, you won’t be able to leave your name through the ages.”

Tang Yin wanted to say that my goal in life is not to leave a name forever.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Although your future errands are still very hard to think about, isn't it nothing after thinking about it after experiencing the two battles of Duobi City and Hanyang City? After experiencing major events, the mentality must be more mature. , I will rely on you in the future, so you have to save face."

Tang Yin picked up the wine glass, it was Zhang Zhou's wine, he had to drink it if he didn't drink it.

Otherwise, it will really become a toast without eating and eating fine wine.

……

……

after midnight.

Zhang Zhou just finished the banquet, and after Tang Yin and Xu Jing were sent away, Zhang Zhou, who drank a lot of wine, continued to write his prelude to Zhu Youtang as if nothing had happened.

In fact, he didn't think about Tang Yin's call in advance, and he made it after discussing with Tang Yin.

Next, Zhang Zhou has another big goal...

"Set sail, even if you can't send troops overseas, at least let me figure out the situation in the New World. The maritime trade of Ming Dynasty still needs me to guarantee it. It can't be derailed from the world."

Zhang Zhou is conceiving grand plans for the future.

Liu Gui's voice came from the door: "Master, I'm back."

"Come in. Come in."

Zhang Zhou put down his pen and went to meet Liu Gui at the door in person.

Liu Gui appeared in front of Zhang Zhou with a smile on his face. When he saw Zhang Zhou, it was like seeing a relative, with tears in his eyes.

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "It's not easy. I have experienced a lot this time, and I have grown a lot. I will give you a big reward when I go back. At least I am a deputy of Jinyiwei Qianhu. You can go in and mess around in the East Factory."

"It's okay, the little one just wants to be by Master's side." Liu Gui said.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It's not a problem to follow me all the time. If you want to join the army, try to help you become a general or something. But you don't have a Wu Jinshi, it's a bit difficult. Why don't you take a martial arts exam?"

"The little one doesn't have that ability." Liu Gui immediately wept.

"Then don't take the exam, and continue to be a Jinyiwei. In the future, it is better to be a leader in the capital than to go out to fight." Zhang Zhou smiled and patted Liu Gui on the shoulder.

Liu Guidao: "Master, I brought you all the people, all of whom can sing, and I plan to search for a few more Korean girls for you, but Lord Tang doesn't allow it."

Zhang Zhoubai glanced at him and said: "The life of the North Koreans is life, do you really think of yourself as a bandit? Get a good rest tonight, and when you return to the capital, you will be rewarded for your meritorious deeds!"

(End of this chapter)