I'm really not doing business

Chapter 936: Killing to protect life, killing karma and killing people
In the eyes of the vast majority of court officials, the sky of the Ming Dynasty has always been bright and cloudless. The danger of a young ruler and a country in doubt seemed to have been completely resolved under the influence of order. The emperor thrived under the protection of the iron triangle and became a responsible master of the country. Everything was so natural.

The emperor's growth process conforms to the ultimate fantasy of the literati about a wise ruler and virtuous ministers.

Fantasy is fantasy, reality is reality. Zhu Yijun was well aware of the dangers along the way. From the emperor's perspective, Wang Chonggu and Wang Qian were both meritorious officials who followed him.

The last time the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil due to a young ruler was when Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne at the age of ten, which completely changed the overall order of the Ming Dynasty.

Only those involved and those who have experienced it know clearly how dangerous it was.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng, an eyewitness and Wang Chonggu's biggest political enemy, chose to protect Wang Chonggu's posthumous reputation after Wang Chonggu left. Not only did he not lead Zhang's party to add insult to injury, he even prepared to stop the funeral of Xishan Coal Bureau and make a big move.

If Zhang Juzheng really led his party to add insult to injury to Wang Chonggu, the Ming Dynasty would fall into a situation where the emperor and the prime minister would be torn apart, and Wang Chonggu's coffin would stay at home for a very long time.

As for the struggle between the emperor and the prime minister, who will win? No one knows, but the Ming Dynasty will definitely lose.

Shen Li, who was not involved in the incident or an eyewitness, still felt that Wang Chonggu did not deserve to be respected by the emperor. Zhu Yijun did not intend to blame Shen Li. Shen Li did not know some of the situations very clearly.

But this Li Shida could never be forgiven.

Li Shida, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was a native of Jingyang, Shaanxi. He was a juren in the 31st year of Jiajing and a jinshi in the 35th year. At a very young age, Li Shida already had a position. Everyone was saying that Li Shida was born with genius, could read at a young age, and could recite thousands of words a day.

This young genius became a scholar at the age of twelve and was given a high position by the educational commissioner.

In the 25th year of Jiajing, Yang Shouqian, then deputy envoy of Shaanxi Province, heard of Li Shida's talent and invited him to study in Xi'an; the governor of Shizhou, Hu Youze, met Li Shida and became a close friend with him regardless of their age difference.

Judging from his growth experience, Li Shida was even more talented than the young genius Zhang Juzheng. After all, when he was very young, Zhang Juzheng was still catching grasshoppers between the ridges of the fields, while Li Shida had already become a child prodigy who could recite thousands of words a day.

It's not that Li Shida was really that talented, it's just that Li Shida came from a good family, and he was a child prodigy, a man-made miracle. Yang Shouqian's invitation and Hu Youze's friendship regardless of age difference were all for hype.

Li Shida became a juren at the age of nineteen and a jinshi at the age of twenty-three. After he entered the officialdom, he never stopped creating momentum. No matter where he served as an official, he would receive the Wanmin Umbrella before leaving, and his reputation spread far and wide.

In this way, Li Shida came to the power center of the Ming Dynasty smoothly and became a court official who could participate in court discussions in the Wenhua Palace.

Wang Chonggu was very good to Li Shida. Li Shida made mistakes several times, but it was Wang Chonggu's protection that enabled him to overcome all obstacles and climb up almost without any hindrance.

For those Jinshi who came from poor backgrounds and had no famous teachers, becoming officials was like crossing the Flaming Mountain in the hottest days of summer, without even a place to shelter from the sun. Li Shida's official career could be described as being like fireworks in March in Yangzhou, surrounded by flowers.

On the 18th day of the first lunar month in the 18th year of the Wanli reign, Li Shida was thrown into prison. Li Shida originally thought that he would be able to turn danger into safety like the previous times, but he forgot that Wang Chonggu was dead and there was no one in the court to protect him.

When a person dies, he cannot even protect himself, let alone protect others.

On the 23rd, Ling Yunyi appeared in front of the Northern Pacification Office. After the legal advisor showed his official badge to the Pacification Office's guards, Ling Yunyi walked into the Pacification Office with the gait of a dragon and a tiger. This time he came to interrogate Li Shida.

"This deputy prime minister is much more murderous than the previous one." A Tiqi whispered to another Tiqi. The Tiqi could see Ling Yunyi's murderous nature from his eyes.

The soldiers who rolled out from the corpses on the battlefield would regard killing as a way to solve problems and did not value human lives. On the battlefield, there were thousands of lives lost every day. It was really not a rare thing. It was not like in the heart of the Ming Dynasty, where a murder case would cause a lot of excitement for a long time.

Ling Yunyi's eyes could not conceal his disrespect for life, or murderous intent, especially when he heard the news about the Japanese pirates.

"Hush, huh? Ling Ci Fu was in Korea and issued an order to distribute land equally. The Korean landowners refused to comply. Ling Ci Fu only gave them seven days to hand in the land deeds. Those who did not hand in the land deeds would be beheaded. The Han River was red with killings for several days!"

"Oh my God, is this true? Didn't this Korean landowner rebel?"

"They rebelled, but it was put down. Ling Butang personally led the troops there. The next year, the grain harvest in that area increased by 30%. A group of Japanese prisoners mutinied. There were about 1,100 of them. Ling Butang ordered them all to be killed. They were all made into compost!"

"It seems that Ling Ci Fu was very kind to the Koreans and did not compost the rebellious traitors who refused to obey. Look, these Japanese slaves have been composted."

"Now that you put it that way, it seems to be the case. Ling Ci Fu still has some mercy, but not much."

"Killing is to protect life, and killing karma is also killing people. The Koreans all say that Ling Cifu is the wrathful Mingwang, a bodhisattva who transcends compassion through killing. How can these landowners welcome the Great Mingwang if they don't kill?"

"Is Ling Cifu's favor not over yet?"

"Stop talking nonsense! If you want to die, don't take me with you!"

……

The discussion of the imperial guards did not affect Ling Yunyi's entry into the Zhenfusi Yamen to try the case. He was of quite tall stature, with broad shoulders. Years of war had carved two deep grooves under his brows. His eye sockets were sunken like an eagle's, his eyes were as sharp as knives, and his glances were cold and decisive.

"Ling Ci Fu, the criminal is here." A Ti cavalryman escorted Li Shida into the interrogation room.

"Li Shida, others call you Li Mingzhu. Did you really have a pearl in a dream given by Emperor Taizu Gao when you were young?" Ling Yunyi asked curiously, looking at a pearl on the table.

This is Li Shida’s treasure, a pearl, and also the origin of his nickname.

It is said that when Li Shida was six years old, he dreamed of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang gave Li Shida a pearl and told him to "treasure it and it will become a national treasure in the future." The most interesting thing about this legendary story is that there really is such a pearl that looks very expensive.

This bead is the size of a quail egg, with a very smooth surface and looks crystal clear. It weighs 4 liang, 2 qian and 7 fen and is a diamond without many impurities.

"My great-grandfather spent twelve thousand taels of silver to buy it from a merchant in the Western Regions. It was not so smooth at first, but it became so round after being played with for a long time." Li Shida took a look at the bead and chose to tell the truth without much struggle.

Someone offered this pearl for 1.2 million silver coins, but Li Shida refused to sell it.

Li Shida hesitated and asked, "Ling Cifu, when can I go out?"

Li Shida never thought that this time, he would really be in trouble, because before, his master, relatives and friends always helped him to get out, but this time he was a little careless and got caught. If he was not caught, the price he paid would be smaller, but if he was caught, the price he paid would be higher.

Ling Yunyi looked at Li Shida with a little surprise, a little bit of disbelief, and a little bit of relief.

Ling Yunyi said with emotion: "In the first year of the Wanli reign, Yuan Fu gave a lecture to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty asked Yuan Fu a question. Your Majesty was still young at that time."

"Your Majesty asks, if you get three coins for punching someone, fifty coins for punching ten times, one ounce of silver for killing someone, or even nothing at all, and no one punishes the person who kills him, and someone covers up for him, and he does not even realize that he has done evil, then does this person still treat others as human beings?"

"Obviously not. In this person's eyes, people are not as valuable as the objects in his home. If he breaks an object, he will be scolded. Gradually, this person will treat everyone as an object."

"People are all objects, so what's the point of being arrogant and spoiled, or being rich and studious?"

"At that time, the prime minister could not answer, and to this day, the prime minister still cannot answer."

Ling Yunyi has read the Wanli Diary several times over the years, and to this day, there are still no answers to the strange questions raised by the emperor.

The idea that poverty breeds treachery and wealth breeds conscience is probably a scam. People's morality is strongly related to their education, and family background only provides people with a moral foundation, not a causal relationship.

Ling Yunyi also thought about the questions in the lecture, but he didn't have an answer. The only answer he could give was one word: kill.

Ling Yunyi now meets such a person.

Li Shida got into so many troubles since he was a child, but there was always someone to clean up the mess for him and save him from punishment. When he was very young, it was Li Shida's grandfather, then his father, and later it was Wang Chonggu.

Ling Yunyi shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for you this time. Wang Chonggu is gone. This time, I'm afraid no one will protect you. I find it hard to understand why you want to impeach Wang Ci Fu?"

"He's just a hypocritical hypocrite!" Li Shida was extremely emotional. He waved his hands in the air twice and said forcefully: "Why should he hand over the Shanxi Party and the Labor Party to Wang Jiaping! Who is Wang Jiaping? He is just a peasant!"

Wang Jiaping knew how to farm. He was from Shanyin County, Datong City, Shanxi Province. His ancestors had been wealthy, but by the time of Wang Jiaping's father's generation, the family had already declined. Wang Jiaping was still farming until the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign, when he passed the imperial examination and stopped farming.

Wang Jiaping was one of the few ministers in the court who could talk to the emperor about farming.

At the end of the first year of the Longqing reign, Wang Jiaping was sponsored by Ge Shouli's steward Ge San and went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. He ranked second in the second class and became a Jinshi.

The scholars in Ming Dynasty were generally divided into two types. One type was Wang Jiaping, who was extremely poor in his early years, Xu Chengchu had a big tumor, Shen Shixing changed his surname, and Wang Jiaping worked as a farmer, but his life turned around.

Or they could be like Li Shida, who was born with special abilities and was a child prodigy, with a life that seemed like a cheat, favored by the county magistrate and valued by famous scholars.

"Oh." Ling Yunyi sighed. In fact, his experience was more similar to Li Shida's, but as time went by, he, Ling Yunyi, became the Wrathful King.

Li Shida's father made a fortune following Wang Chonggu. They went to the grassland to do business and sold tea bricks to Wala and Khorum. They set up banks all over the country and traded in private salt. Half of the money the Li family earned was given to Wang Chonggu.

Politics is based on bribery, and Li Shida's family property quickly expanded several times during the generation of Li Shida's father!
In order to please Wang Chonggu, Li Shida planned to marry his younger sister to Wang Chonggu as a concubine, but Wang Chonggu refused to remarry and did not agree.

Looking closely at Wang Chonggu's life, most of the time he was not disgraceful but full of evil.

He did not hide this shameful behavior from the emperor. Before his death, he handed over all the IOUs he had earned from lending money at high interest rates on the grassland to His Majesty for disposal. If the emperor really wanted to settle accounts with him, he did not need to go through the trouble of collecting evidence. He could have given the evidence to the emperor himself.

It can be said that before his death, Wang Chonggu left everything to the emperor to decide, betting that the emperor had a conscience and would really fulfill his promise.

The grassland was extremely poor, with no place to cook. There were IOUs for more than two million silver coins, and no one knew how many lives were lost behind them.

"Wang Chonggu has given you the best arrangement, but you can't take on that porcelain job if you don't have the skills. After the craftsmen went down the mountain, Wang Jiaping is now organizing production at the Xishan Coal Bureau. Do you have the courage to do it?" Ling Yunyi shook his head. It was not that he looked down on Li Shida, but Li Shida's hands, which had never worked in his life, were not cut out for the job.

The day after the craftsmen came down the mountain, Wang Jiaping went to the Xishan Coal Bureau to appease the craftsmen, resume production, and complete the half-opened craftsmen's meeting. This year's start-up salary was smoothly distributed, and the craftsmen were being organized to participate in the public trial.

"Why can't I do it?" Li Shida's mouth twitched, but he was still being stubborn.

"You? You even let your legal advisor write memorials for you, and you still manage the Xishan Coal Bureau?" Ling Yunyi sneered. He was just mocking Li Shida's laziness.

Li Shida's hands were white and clean, without even a callus. He had calluses on his hands from working at a desk for a long time, but Li Shida didn't have any, because Li Shida's memorials were written by his advisor after he expressed his ideas, and then he asked someone to correct them before submitting them. Li Shida only read them once. Not to mention managing the Xishan Coal Bureau, Li Shida didn't even understand the affairs of the Ministry of Justice.

Li Shida's legal advisor was from Shaoxing. Zhejiang had a prosperous cultural heritage and the competition for the imperial examinations was too fierce. Many scholars who could have passed the examinations were stuck at the first step and could not pass the examinations, so they could only work as legal advisors.

Li Shida's former advisor advised Li Shida not to attack Wang Chonggu and asked Li Shida to ask for a posthumous title for Wang Chonggu. Li Shida was furious and drove the advisor away and replaced him with an obedient second advisor.

The second master did prepare a complete plan, but this complete plan ultimately failed to achieve its goal and also involved Li Shida.

"When did you and Lin Qing meet?" Ling Yunyi began to investigate the case.

"In the first year of the Wanli reign, after the mourning period, I was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Household in Nanjing. When I was in Nanjing, I met Lin Qing." Li Shida was silent for a long time before answering this question. He whispered, "At that time, Lin Qing gave me a woman named Cao Duanlan, who now lives in Xiujin Street."

Ling Yunyi flipped through the case files, exhaled, and said in a somewhat stern tone: "A geisha left over by a businessman, you treat her like a treasure and keep her in your outer house!"

"She is different." Li Shida hesitated and said, "I have been with her for seventeen years. To this day, I still go there often, listening to the guzheng, tuning the parrot, sitting cross-legged with my hair down, and even talking all night long. She understands everything I say."

"No, she's different."

Ling Yunyi sneered and handed a case file to the imperial guard. After the imperial guard handed it to Li Shida, Ling Yunyi said, "This Cao Duanlan is indeed different from others. She took money from you and kept some lovers. She is very handsome and has a fair complexion. Do you want to meet these pretty boys?"

The investigating imperial guards placed the case file in front of Li Shida. The case file contained all the names of the pretty boys that Cao Duanlan had kept, and there were more than one of them.

During these seventeen years, Cao Duanlan also kept four or five such gigolos, and the money was naturally provided by Li Shida.

"This, this, this..." Li Shida looked at the case file in front of him in horror and shouted at the top of his lungs, "This is impossible. How could she...how could she be like this? How could it be possible?"

"Bring the witnesses." Ling Yunyi waved his hand, and Cao Duanlan and several men were brought in. They explained everything in detail.

These pretty boys were all actors in the opera troupe and were quite expensive. Cao Duanlan had some money, which she spent on these actors. They were all very good-looking, but some were too feminine.

After Cao Duanlan was taken away, Li Shida was distraught and stood there in a daze.

Looking at Li Shida's expression, Ling Yunyi knew that he had succeeded in conquering his heart. Using torture instruments in trying a case was a low-level approach, and conquering his heart was the best approach. He began to interrogate Li Shida. Li Shida's emotions had already collapsed, and he would answer whatever he was asked.

Li Shida was responsible for three murders. One of them was a servant of the Li family. Li Shida beat the servant to death when he was seventeen years old. This case happened decades ago. Li Shida's father used twenty taels of silver to settle the case with the servant's family. Since no one reported it to the authorities, naturally no one cared.

The second murder case was that of Li Shida's childhood servant. Li Shida had a tendency to be a pedophile, so the relationship between the servant and Li Shida was a little strange. After Li Shida passed the imperial examination, Li Shida's family arranged a marriage for him, but the servant was somewhat dissatisfied, so Li Shida beat him to death.

The third murder occurred in the seventh year of Wanli, when Li Shida was the governor-general of the grain transport system. The embankment of Siguang Lake in Baoying County, Yangzhou was built by Li Shida, but this section of the embankment was destroyed by floods due to shoddy workmanship.

On the one hand, Li Shida put pressure on his subordinates to block the news, and on the other hand, he reported to the court that the flood this year was serious and that the Yue River should be opened to reduce the water level and that a waterway should be built to dredge the water.

The blame for the flood that destroyed the dike eventually fell on the head of the magistrate of Baoying County. Naturally, the magistrate was unwilling to take the blame and wanted to submit the evidence of Li Shida's corruption to the court. However, the magistrate did not send the evidence and committed suicide not long after out of fear of punishment.

"In the case of the murder of Liu Huaibo, the magistrate of Baoying County, was it Wang Ci Fu who helped you to get rid of the crime?" Ling Yunyi asked about the details of the case. The magistrate committed suicide, the lake embankment was washed away, and the fertile fields were submerged. This major case that happened ten years ago was actually suppressed. Ling Yunyi was really curious about who was helping Li Shida to get rid of the crime.

Li Shida lowered his head and said, "It was Wang Ci Fu who protected me. He asked the Ministry of Justice to suppress the case and told me to handle it on my own. He didn't want the case to be brought before the emperor. As long as it wasn't brought before the emperor, he would cover it for me."

When Ling Yunyi heard this, he knew that it was not Wang Chonggu who was shielding him, but Li Shida who was just trying to take advantage of him.

Li Shida usually relies on his advisor to do work for him while he enjoys his life. However, Ling Yunyi is not an official like that. He is very clear about the logic of the exercise of power. He knows that if the case really reaches the Ministry of Justice, Wang Chonggu will not be able to suppress it no matter how powerful he is.

Because there were censors and criminal officials in the court, who were the power to correct mistakes. For such a big case, Wang Chonggu, as the second-in-command, pushed the pressure down. Did he treat Zhang Juzheng as if he didn't exist?
The seventh year of Wanli was the time when Zhang Juzheng was at the peak of his career, and at that time Zhang Juzheng was still returning to power.

"Lin Qing is quite capable." Ling Yunyi took a look at the case file and gained a new understanding of the strength of this gang of rebels. At that time, the Southern Yamen had not yet been split up and there were six yamen in the Southern Yamen. This case had to be handled in the Southern Yamen, but it was eventually stuck in the Southern Yamen and there was no further movement.

The Nanjing government office has been maintained by the Ming Dynasty for more than 170 years. It is like raising a dog that knows to bark when thieves come.

But the literati and officials in the Southern Court felt that they were not dogs. They always thought that they were the masters. The Northern Court was eating the food of the Southern Court. As for the military garrisons in the north, they were all slaves hired by the literati and officials in the Southern Court to guard their homes.

This is how these scholars and officials understood the relationship between the North and the South, and this strange cognition existed in the Southern Court for more than 170 years and even became a consensus.

Regarding this phenomenon, Ling Yunyi believes that it is all due to bad habits and they deserve to be slaughtered.

Ling Yunyi had witnessed with his own eyes that the thoughts of the civil and military classes in Korea were no different from those of these people. In the eyes of these nobles, the Ming Dynasty soldiers were just security guards they hired. As a result, these security guards did not leave after they arrived and even wanted to occupy the country. This was simply outrageous!

Even some nobles in both the civil and military classes thought that if the Ming army had not been holding back, the Korean army would have destroyed Japan and occupied all of Japan long ago. The Ming army did not allow the Korean army to attack and destroy Japan in order to keep Japan alive and prevent Korea from resisting!

Ling Yunyi could not understand the thinking of the Korean civil and military leaders. They had not even paid their food and wages. The Ming army did not think they could accomplish such a brutal idea as destroying Japan in one battle, but these Korean civil and military leaders thought it was possible.

Ling Yunyi was too lazy to understand. After he washed it twice, no one talked nonsense anymore. His approach was too violent. After returning to Ming Dynasty, he changed a little. At least he was willing to investigate before killing.

Li Shida was somewhat desperate. He couldn't even make a move. In addition to the three murders, he was also involved in other cases.

"Shuangtang private market." Ling Yunyi began to interrogate the next case. Shuangtang, Hengshan Port, Yinzhou, and Ningbo, this smuggling route was discovered during the house search.

Shuangtang is part of the Zhoushan Islands, located southeast of Shuangyu Private Market. After delivering goods from Shuangtang, the ship goes to Xiaoshun Yangdong Island, enters Xiangshan Bay in Xiangshan County, delivers the goods at Hengshan Port, and then goes to Yinzhou and enters Ningbo for distribution of goods.

"It's not me, it's the Yinzhou Jin family who is in charge. I just took some silver." Li Shida said hurriedly. He knew about this private market, but he was not the mastermind. It was the three brothers of the Yinzhou Jin family who opened it and maintained its operation. Li Shida felt that he just took some silver.

Li Shida did take some money, but the dirty work was done by the lawyer.

The Shuangtang private market is not far from the Shuangyu private market. The coastal defense patrol inspects it every year, but every time they go to inspect, someone tips off the inside story. In addition, the coastal defense patrol has discovered suspected smuggling activities several times, but the case was quickly suppressed by the Ningbo government.

The case was finally solved after Ling Yunyi seized evidence during a house search. Li Shida kept several letters between him and the three Jin brothers.

The interrogation lasted for two hours. Most of the evidence was solid, but when asked for a confession, Li Shida was dishonest and evasive in his words. He really didn't think he had done anything wrong.

Isn't it just some silver?

Ling Yunyi ordered the imperial guards to take the criminal away, and rushed to Tonghe Palace with the case file, and reported the results of the investigation.

"Your Majesty, there may be someone who will rescue Li Shida." Ling Yunyi expressed his opinion. During the interrogation, Li Shida had a fearless mood. Obviously, Li Shida did not think that he would die. At most, the emperor would strip him of his official title and fame, but he was still the eldest son of the Li family.

"He thinks too much. Wang Jiaping and the officials of the Jin Party and the Labor Party have completely cut ties with Li Shida." Zhu Yijun shook his head and handed several memorials to Ling Yunyi.

Wang Jiaping angrily denounced Li Shida's behavior and demanded fair punishment. He asked officials from the Shanxi Party and the Labor Party to express their stance together. Anyone who was unwilling to submit a joint petition would be imprisoned with Li Shida.

At this point, open rescue has become impossible. If he rescues secretly and bribes Ling Yunyi, he will probably be arrested as a criminal by Ling Yunyi.

"Where is the Prime Minister?" Ling Yunyi considered carefully, and after hesitating, he expressed his concerns.

In the past, Zhang Juzheng was decisive in killing people, but now that he is older, he is becoming more and more conservative, and he pays attention to harmony in everything.

There were three murders with established evidence and one illegal trade case. Even if Li Shida became a cabinet minister, he could not escape the guilt.

According to the anti-corruption rules left by Hai Rui, if one embezzled less than 500,000 silver coins, he would basically be dismissed and stripped of his official title and honors, but he would not be punished or killed.

Being greedy for a little silver and being a rebel are two completely different things. Not to mention that this private market violates the national law, the stolen silver is used to pay the customs duties, and half of these customs duties go into the treasury. This is simply stealing His Majesty's money!
If Zhang Juzheng came out to play the role of a balance master and said something like the treatment was too hasty, the changes were too sudden, and it was too radical and inhumane, things would become more complicated.

"Sir, you did submit a memorial to advise me to be merciful and forgiving. This Li Shida has indeed been included in the category of counselors of nobility, which means he is a third-rank official. But I have convinced you that you will not interfere." Zhu Yijun nodded. Zhang Juzheng did make peace, but it was just a token gesture.

As the Prime Minister, Zhang Juzheng had to protect the interests of high-ranking officials and he also had to stand up and smooth things over. However, his sincerity was quite insufficient and he submitted a memorial full of empty words and clichés. After the emperor's instructions, Zhang Juzheng never spoke again.

Typical routine.

"Then I can do my job with peace of mind." When Ling Yunyi heard that the emperor had persuaded Zhang Juzheng, he knew that there would be no obstacles in this case. The emperor's attitude towards the rebels had been clearly expressed through the killing, and the public trial process could be arranged.

Zhu Yijun looked at Ling Yunyi, thought for a moment, and then explained solemnly: "Ling Ci Fu, there is no discord between me and you, you are overthinking it."

Ling Yunyi led his troops back to Beijing, and even had confrontations with the Ming army in Tianjin Prefecture, Tongzhou, and Chaoyang Gate. The confrontation ended only after Ling Yunyi met the emperor at Chaoyang Gate.

There was a misunderstanding here, so Zhu Yijun clarified it in person to avoid causing more trouble.

"I originally thought that Your Majesty urgently summoned me to the capital because Yuan Fu wanted to add insult to injury to Wang Ci Fu, so I returned to Tianjin with 1,500 foreign soldiers." Ling Yunyi avoided the main point. The reason why he wanted to lead the troops was really not because of Wang Ci Fu's posthumous reputation.

Ling Yunyi was in Korea and only knew that Wang Chonggu was dead. He also thought that Zhang Juzheng could no longer hold back and was about to usurp the throne. Qi Jiguang, as a former disciple of Zhang Juzheng, just stood by and watched. The emperor was already in danger.

Although the possibility is very small, Ling Yunyi brought 1,500 foreign soldiers and traveled day and night to return to the capital to protect the emperor!
Ling Yunyi thought he had obtained the secret decree, and he was extremely anxious, even ready to perish along with his foe.

Zhang Juzheng had been the Prime Minister for 18 years. He had previously acted loyal to the emperor, but now he wanted to usurp the throne? Isn't this speculation a bit too ridiculous?

But it’s actually really hard to say, because Sima Yi was quite honest and seemed to be a loyal minister before he started the rebellion.

He rushed back to the capital, only to find that this was not the case at all.

Not to mention usurping the throne, even if there were disagreements on state affairs, His Majesty had the final say. Qi Jiguang, the Duke of Fengguo, only accepted orders from His Majesty the Emperor.

In Ling Yunyi's opinion, as long as the emperor and the prime minister don't fight, everything else is trivial.

(End of this chapter)