stubborn thief

Zuo Liangyu had a mental breakdown.

Nine years ago, there was a mutiny in Ningyuan, and Qiu Lei robbed military supplies with him.

After the incident, Qiu Lei took the blame alone, while Zuo Liangyu remained free.

He joined the army as a lackey of Hou Xun, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War. He spent a lot of money and fought in battles, all he wanted was to save Qiu Lei's life.

Hou Xun treated him very well, giving him a future, an official position, soldiers, and food and wages, but it was impossible for him to do his utmost to help him rescue Qiu Lei.

Being recognized and appreciated is a great favor. No one would risk his or her own political future to save someone who is irrelevant.

There were many ministers in the Chongzhen Dynasty who went out to rescue death row prisoners, but that was a mutual rescue among the offensive and defensive alliances in the court. A low-ranking officer with no status like Qiu Lei was not worth being rescued.

In fact, his greatest value was to be a rope holding Zuo Liangyu in prison.

Of course, it is hard to say who is doing better between Zuo Liangyu and Qiu Lei.

After all, Qiu Lei was able to spend nine years in the prison during the Chongzhen period, so this qualification is actually top-notch.

The prison during the Chongzhen period was a place of great ups and downs, and was the Ming Dynasty's most powerful talent reserve base.

When Qiu Lei first went in, the cells were full of eunuchs who were waiting to be killed or exiled. Later, when most of the eunuchs had been sent away, Yuan Chonghuan and the governors and governors who had supported the emperor during the Ji Si Rebellion took their places. Even Qian Longxi, Qian Shisheng's mentor, spent six months in there for recommending Yuan Chonghuan.

As soon as this group of people left, they were replaced by Wu Xiang's group of people who were defeated in the battle of Dalinghhe.

There were also countless governors, generals, prefects and county magistrates from various places.

Some were killed and some were released. The Minister of Justice changed four times. Qiao Yunsheng and Han Jisi, the two former Ministers of Justice, put themselves in prison one after another and became neighbors with Qiu Lei.

The prison guards have all taken over their father's jobs, but Qiu Lei is still the prison bully.

Hi, we are all acquaintances.

Qiu Lei has probably seen a lot more of the world than Zuo Liangyu, who is just hacking people around outside.

Later, when Zuo Liangyu followed Hong Chengchou to fight, he no longer had the obsession to rescue Qiu Lei. He just wanted his brother to live well in prison. If he gave him more silver, he could save his life and have good food and drink. That would be enough.

That was why Zuo Liangyu looked at Hong Chengchou meaningfully when he was making trouble in Ningxia.

Even from washing horses to leading troops, Zuo Liangyu ran to Hetuala, and when he came back he did not abandon Feng Rang and escape to Beijing. He was thinking in his heart that maybe he could really rescue Qiu Lei by following Liu Chengzong.

What if Liu Chengzong wants to attack Beijing someday?
If we break in, won’t Qiu Lei be fished out?
Of course, this was just Zuo Liangyu's fantasy. Nine years had long worn away his confidence in rescuing Qiu Lei.

So much so that when Liu Chengzong asked Zuo Liangyu to deliver something to Qian Shisheng, he was still secretly cursing Liu Chengzong in his heart.

"This bastard is really evil!"

In Zuo Liangyu's opinion, there was no need to guess about this matter. He had been avoiding Qian Shisheng and even didn't want Qian Shisheng to know his name.

He just didn't want the court to know that he had surrendered.

Now Liu Chengzong specifically called him up, it must be intentional.

We also moved three boxes of gold bars, and the last box weighed at least 50 kilograms!
Zuo Liangyu thought to himself, so many soldiers have fought for you and risked their lives, but I have never seen you reward them with gold bars, you just send them off with silver bars.

Now, for Qian Shisheng, an old man who has done nothing and is of no use, he took out more than a hundred kilograms of gold as a parting gift!

This beast’s rewards and punishments are very chaotic!

Although you can win the battle, you still need to consider more. If you are too devoted, your future may be bleak.

But he never expected that the heaviest box of gold would be used by Qian Shisheng to mediate and release Qiu Lei!
Zuo Liangyu felt as if his head had been crushed by a cavalry troop and tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes. He felt that he was such a villain that he even cursed Liu Chengzong in his heart.

He really deserves to die.

He knelt down and kowtowed on the spot, saying, "Liang Yu has no father, the Marshal is like a father!" and wanted to be Liu Chengzong's adopted son.

"If this money is given to Qian Shisheng, then it's 'this guy rewards and punishes very chaotically! ', but if it's spent on me, then the same thing comes back..."

Even his own father wouldn't help him save a friend.

Liu Shizi looked normal and didn't think there was anything strange. With Qian Shisheng's witness, he accepted his adopted son who was eleven years older than him.

As for Qian Shisheng, this matter...it was normal for Liu Chengzong to do this.

To be precise, no matter what Liu Chengzong did at this moment, it would not be surprising to Qian Shisheng.

On the contrary, it was Zuo Liangyu's act of recognizing him as his adoptive father that made him look up to him.

He had never thought that Zuo Liangyu was anything special before, but this time it was different. He was so good at taking advantage.

Originally, Liu Chengzong had intended to help him release Qiu Lei, which was already a big profit for him, and he took this opportunity to acknowledge him as his godfather.

Win twice.

It is not uncommon for the ages of adoptive father and son to be reversed, because the adoptive father is not the father, and the one who actually has a father-son relationship is called the foster father.

For example, Mao Wenlong from Dongjiang Town has both an adopted son and a foster son. The adopted son is the real son he is raised by, while the foster son is the foster father recognized by others in return for saving his life.

In fact, it means that there is a difference between the ruler and his subjects, and they cannot become brothers.

As for the Cheng Jing that Liu Chengzong gave him, Qian Shisheng did not refuse it, but he did not accept it either. He just said that if he wanted to give it to him, he had to give it in front of Gao Qiquan.

Qian Shisheng was not a young man like Zuo Liangyu. A man in his sixties had seen too many things and it was difficult for him to be moved by such small favors.

In fact, I was not only touched, but even a little angry.

Because he really admired Liu Chengzong, including the parting gift he prepared for Liu Chengzong, which was the essay he wrote for the palace examination.

As a cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how much he admired Liu Chengzong and was optimistic about the Marshal's Army, even if they sympathized with each other, they each served their own master. It was impossible for him to offer Liu Chengzong a great strategy to enrich the country, strengthen the army, and conquer the Ming Dynasty in just one diplomatic mission.

That policy essay was of no use to Liu Chengzong. It was just an examination at the end of the Wanli period, and it was some answers to Emperor Wanli's questions about the development of state affairs.

But that was an important step that changed Qian Shisheng's life path. It was a very important thing to give such a precious thing to a cherished friend regardless of age difference.

As for the thing that Liu Chengzong gave him, to be honest, Qian Shisheng was very satisfied with the sable fur coat.

Gifts should be worthless.

If you add a little soul to something that has no value, it will become the most precious gift between people.

But gold bars are different.

Because gold bars have a price, and if they have a price, they are cheap.

Qian Shisheng was a cabinet minister of the Ming Empire. Not to mention thirty gold bars, even thirty thousand gold bars would not mean much to him.

He even has to put it on display and find a way to free up the house...he can't spend it.

Of course, if the 30,000 gold bars were handed over to the emperor's treasury, they might be able to solve some real-world problems for the Ming Dynasty, but they were meaningless to Qian Shisheng's spiritual world.

Because he has power, which is invisible, but far superior to gold and silver.

This left him with no place to spend money. He didn't need to carry money wherever he went. In other words, even if there were expenses that needed to be spent, his salary was enough.

Why did Liu Chengzong give him the gold bars? The Marshal's Office was a typical regime based on regional factions. Excluding the Mongols, 90% of the people in power were Liu Chengzong's fellow Shaanxi people.

Liu Chengzong had money, power, and an army. He had everything he needed except a good reputation.

Qian Shisheng was a high-ranking official in the imperial court who was about to retire, had complicated interpersonal relationships, and had a high reputation among the literati. He was also an official from the south of the Yangtze River who the Shaanxi heroes had no way of contacting.

Liu Chengzong mentioned again and again that he wanted to send him back to the court, and even gave him gold bars before leaving. What did he want to do?
It’s easy to guess.

This is quite boring.

Qian Shisheng didn't even need to take the initiative to do anything. When he returned to the capital during his tenure or returned to his hometown after resigning, he would inevitably spread Liu Chengzong's good reputation through his conversations with friends.

Because no one would not be curious about the battle in Lingdong that changed the situation in the world. This half of the world outside the Marshal's Office had tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, and Qian Shisheng was the only one who had witnessed the battle.

Liu Chengzong was not ashamed to keep him, but it would be better for the development of the Marshal's Office if he didn't keep him.

Your grandma's a political animal!

Lord Qian was furious, but he had no way to refuse. He could only say that if he wanted to give it, he should give it in front of Gao Qiquan.

Because Emperor Chongzhen also had thirty gold bars, he had to go back and place all sixty gold bars in front of the emperor. Some were for the emperor, and some were for his ministers.

It was Chongzhen's business to arrange the whereabouts of the gold bars.

Otherwise, if he only took thirty back, Chongzhen would definitely think that Liu Chengzong gave him fifty... no, one hundred, he must have embezzled at least seventy.

Qian Shisheng even suggested that the gold bars prepared for Qiu Lei should be divided equally between him and Gao Qiquan in front of each other.

Releasing Qiu Lei is both easy and difficult, and he really doesn't dare to guarantee that he can do it.

It is easy to release Qiu Lei, but things become difficult now that Zuo Liangyu is with Liu Chengzong.

No one can tell what the emperor will think.

Chongzhen was unreasonable and lawless. He would kill whomever he wanted to kill. It was really hard to say.

But since Liu Chengzong brought it up, and it was the last one, and it seemed to be the most important request, Qian Shisheng did not refuse.

He made two plans. After returning to Beijing, he would mobilize his friends in the court and find a way to bypass the emperor and rescue Qiu Lei.

If the rescue is impossible, then we will try to use high altitude diving and diplomatic means.

Qian Shisheng suggested that Liu Chengzong had placed a Ming hero named Ma Shaoyou under house arrest in Xi'an Prefecture. Ma Shaoyou was a Sichuanese fellow of Chen Xinjia, the governor of Xuanfu. Chen Xinjia could probably persuade Yang Sichang, and with Gao Qiquan, he should be able to persuade the emperor to exchange hostages.

When Liu Chengzong heard that it was so troublesome, he didn't want to do it anymore.

"Why don't you blackmail him? I'll station my troops outside Miyun. If you tell me that Qiu Lei isn't released, I'll attack him."

But Zuo Liangyu dared not to do so and quickly advised: "Father, you can't do that!"

Isn't this a joke? Qiu Lei was a prison boss in the jail, but suddenly something happened at the border. Isn't this putting his good brother in danger?
The key point is that even if Chongzhen was confused, the court officials were not confused and could not be threatened like this.

The more we lose on the battlefield, the less we can afford to make concessions. This is not a matter of face, but a real consideration of interests.

The Ming Dynasty was the largest one, and it suffered such a big defeat. Concessions would only make the opponent stronger, while fighting to the death would make the opponent pay a price, big or small.

In terms of cost, the Ming Dynasty could bear it better than others.

So Zuo Liangyu was afraid, what if Chongzhen’s strong character came out and he executed Qiu Lei?
Liu Chengzong listened to Zuo Liangyu's analysis and couldn't help thinking, the emperor executed Qiu Lei, this... is a good thing!

He was concerned about Qiu Lei, not because Qiu Lei was important, but because Zuo Liangyu was important.

Since Zuo Liangyu has already joined the Marshal's Army, he has several lieutenant generals leading troops under him. Qiu Lei is imprisoned in the Ming prison, which is the weakness of Liu Chengzong's armed forces.

If Ming Dynasty lets Qiu Lei lead the troops, what will happen to Zuo Liangyu?
If Zuo Liangyu had problems, it would be difficult to deal with people like Xu Yong. If they rebelled, it would be easy to deal with them, just fight them. Liu Chengzong was a professional in this regard.

The key is that it would be troublesome if they don’t resist, as it would divert more attention.

If Daming could really chop Qiu Lei to death with one knife, Liu Chengzong would feel relieved.

Liu Chengzong suddenly felt that he was really stupid. He shouldn't have let Qian Shisheng save Qiu Lei.

He should have brought Zuo Liangyu to show off in front of Gao Qiquan. Maybe when Chongzhen heard about it, he would get so angry that he would kill Qiu Lei.

This is much easier than getting someone out of jail.

However, things have come to this point, and there are too many people who know the truth. I cannot expose the dark side of my heart and can only do as Qian Shisheng says.

June twenty-seventh.

Sixty miles outside the border of Miyun, Gao Qiquan received the news that Qian Shisheng was coming back to the court, and he deployed his troops and set up six camps to wait for him.

He pulled all the 7,000 Guanning troops from the Liaodong defense line out from the border.

There was no way, Gao Qiquan was extremely scared.

Logically speaking, this matter could be done near the border wall. He didn't need to mobilize all the soldiers. He could just send a ceremonial cavalry corps to welcome Qian Shisheng back from outside.

However, Liu Chengzong gave more than 10,000 heads to the border troops of Jizhen Xixie, so he didn't dare to let Liu Chengzong get close to the border wall.

Emperor Chongzhen wrote a letter yesterday to scold him, saying that he was not good at defending the border and even allowed the border troops to take the head of the border leader Liu Chengzong without authorization.

Gao Qiquan was scolded so much that he was confused and felt extremely aggrieved. He thought that he had only been in Miyun for two days and he was not familiar with any of the soldiers here. Even if he did not allow the soldiers to go out, they had to listen to him.

What's more, even the Liao soldiers he sent to convey the order were killed.

Can this kind of thing be prohibited?

There is silver on the ground, why don’t you pick it up?
But to be honest, Gao Qiquan felt that the Liao soldiers were better. They only cared about taking advantage. If they could get the head, they would take it. If they couldn't, they would deceive the Jizhen soldiers and say that it was Gao who would collect the head. If they couldn't deceive them, they would rob him and then hide his own head to show that he didn't recognize any relatives.

The soldiers in Jizhen are not good enough. They are grateful and superstitious.

Ever since he captured the heads of the captives outside the border, they all regarded Liu Chengzong as the god who was in charge of the captives outside the border.

After reading the inscription which said that 18,000 heads had been beheaded, they believed that Liu Chengzong still had some unused heads.

There were even rumors in the army that some soldiers in Miyun secretly carved a wooden man and called it the Captive Head God, and they worshipped him morning and evening, hoping that he would show his powers and give them more blessings.

Gao Qiquan thought to himself, isn't this crazy? There is no such thing as a barbarian god. This is purely an obscene worship!

The next step is to create a demon book and demon words to rebel.

Until Gao Qiquan met Liu Chengzong.

There were soldiers in fine armor and strong horses in front, ten carts of captives on the side, and a small wooden box was opened in front of him. Twenty-five gold bars were neatly arranged, reflecting the midday sunlight, almost blinding people's eyes.

Liu Chengzong, shining in the golden light, was majestic and full of divinity: "I have been supervising the Guanning Army to defend against the invaders for many years. The officers and soldiers have worked hard. These heads are a little gift from me. I hope you will not refuse."

Gao Qiquan was dazzled by the golden light.

At this moment he thought to himself, whoever dares to say there is no Lutou God, Lutou God will appear sooner or later to take your head away! (End of this chapter)