I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 69 Gao Shanwei Incident

Hu Zongxian's intrusion threw the noisy and bustling hall into chaos.

The dancers and singers screamed in fear.

The generals who were still immersed in wine and sex quickly stood up and knelt in the middle of the hall.

The seven or eight businessmen who were accompanying him turned pale with fear and huddled to one side, not daring to say a word.

There was only one scholar in his thirties who seemed very calm.

"Lin Zhengbiao, deputy general of Gaoshan, Yanghe and Tiancheng guards, pays respect to Hu Butang."

"You also know this person, Censor Pan, the Patrol Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate."

"Meet Censor Pan."

"Lin Zhengbiao, send all the idlers away."

"Yes."

Lin Zhengbiao quickly turned around and ordered his men to take the dancers, singers, and merchants out, leaving only five of his subordinates.

"What are you doing? Are you holding a celebration banquet?" Hu Zongxian asked.

Lin Zhengbiao replied cautiously: "To answer the minister, today the local gentry is here to entertain the troops."

"Consoling the troops? Consoling you for your hard work and great contributions!"

Lin Zhengbiao lowered his head and dared not answer.

"Minister, we are grateful to Vice General Lin for guarding the border for the country and protecting the people. He is really working hard, so we volunteered to come here to comfort him."

A voice came from the side. Hu Zongxian turned around and saw that it was the scholar in his thirties.

Hu Zongxian asked unkindly, "Everyone else has left, why are you staying here?"

"I am the owner of Hengyuantai in Qi County. I was a juren in the 39th year of the Jiajing reign. My name is Bai Liangcai, and my courtesy name is Bai Liangcai."

Hu Zongxian interrupted him rudely: "I am here to discuss military secrets with the border generals. You are not an official or a general. What is your intention to stay here and eavesdrop on the secrets?"

Bai Liangcai didn't know Hu Zongxian's temperament, and thought the Minister of War was just pretending. He said lightly, "I just admire Hu Zongxian's talent, so I stayed to ask for advice."

After saying this, he added recklessly, "I am related to Chen Xili, the younger brother of Minister Chen of the Ministry of Justice, by marriage."

Hu Zongxian laughed out loud: "Spying on military secrets has reached such a rampant level! Come, arrest this spy for me!"

Bai Liangcai panicked and quickly explained: "Mr. Bu, I really just admire your talent and knowledge, and I have no other intentions. I will leave immediately."

"Come if you want, stay if you want, leave if you want. Do you think you are a northern barbarian outside the Great Wall? Capture him!"

"Yes!"

The ferocious personal soldiers stepped forward, pinned Bai Liangcai down, tied him up tightly, and dragged him away.

Pan Jixun saw it all but said nothing.

He knew that Bai Liangcai was not only arrogant, but also thought that he was a relative of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, so he established a relationship with all the civil and military officials in the court.

Especially lack of eyesight.

When he saw the Minister of War rushing in with a bad look on his face, as if he was scolding the border general, not only did he not leave quickly, he also stayed beside him to try to build a relationship with him.

You are so ignorant of the consequences.

Hu Zongxian sat down at the head of the hall and asked, "Liang Yong, the captain of Gaoshan Guard, was surrounded outside the pass and sent people to ask for help. Lin Zhengbiao, why didn't you send reinforcements?"

Lin Zhengbiao's heart skipped a beat. Oh my god, how come Hu Bingbu got into this? This is not a good thing.

He managed to answer, "To answer what Hu Butang said, Liang Yong left the border without permission and ended up being surrounded by the northern barbarians. He deserved it. Moreover, the situation outside the border is unclear. If we rashly send troops out, we may encounter unexpected events.

After careful consideration, I decided to wait and see what happens."

Hu Zongxian weighed the wine glass on the table, glanced at the mess of lamb legs and beef on it, and sneered, "That's how you think over and over again!"

Lin Zhengbiao lowered his head and dared not speak.

Hu Zongxian asked again: "Okay, let's assume that Liang Yong left the country without permission.

Since I took office, I have issued repeated strict orders to rectify the border checkpoints. No one and no horse can be allowed to leave the checkpoints without pass documents and military orders.

Liang Yong was able to lead fifty cavalrymen to leave the pass without permission. Is this how you, the deputy general, manage the passes of Gaoshan, Yanghe, and Tiancheng? You treat the orders of your headquarters as waste paper!"

Hu Zongxian asked sternly.

Lin Zhengbiao was so frightened that he could only kowtow, "I dare not! Liang Yong has a good relationship with the garrison of Hukou Valley. It is possible that he gave benefits privately and committed corruption for personal gain, so he was able to leave the border."

Hu Zongxian sneered a few times, "Good! Good! Good!" He looked up and asked, "Are Ma Gui and Fu Yingjia here?"

The guards responded, "Deputy General Ma has arrived with his troops and is taking over Gaoshan Guard. Lieutenant General Fu is waiting outside with his guards."

"Call in."

"Yes!"

Fu Yingjia was from Fujian, with the courtesy name Debi. He was a military scholar and one of the brave generals who emerged during the suppression of Japanese pirates in the southeast. He was brought to the Nine Frontiers by Hu Zongxian and took charge of the Personal Guard Camp.

He was dressed in armor and walked in with a dozen personal soldiers.

"Budo!"

"Lin Zhengbiao and other generals drank and made trouble before the battle. They will be detained first and then punished by military law. Debi, you take people to guard them and strictly prohibit outsiders from communicating with them privately.

"Yes!"

Half a day and a night passed, and the next morning, Dong Yiyuan and Chen Wu returned with their troops.

"Budo!"

"You're back. Thank you for your hard work. Did you rescue Liang Yong?"

Dong Yiyuan replied: "To the Minister, the man has been saved. He is only injured. Ask the doctor to apply medicine and bandage him. Change into clean clothes and come back to see the Minister."

"Well, you guys are very thoughtful. Tell me about the scene when you rescued him."

Dong Yiyuan replied: "Yes. When I arrived with a thousand light cavalry, Liang Yong and his men were already in danger. Of the fifty men, less than ten were left, and all of them were injured."

Chen Wu continued, "But the Northerners are not much better. The hillside is full of Northerner corpses, dozens of them. The rest of the people are also exhausted.

We rushed over, and the northern barbarians fled in panic. We captured a few of them, and then we learned that they had been attacking for two days and two nights without gaining any advantage. They were really helpless, so they surrounded the hills, hoping to kill Liang Yong and others with thirst and starvation. "

Hu Zongxian and Pan Jixun looked at each other.

The Northern Tartars were certain that Liang Yong would not receive any reinforcements.

Chen Wu continued: "Liang Yong's troops are so brave that they fought to the death with the Northern Tartars who are ten times their number. This is really admirable."

Chen Wu was also a trusted general brought by Hu Zongxian from the southeast.

Hu Zongxian nodded: "Your Highness is right. Most of the soldiers in the Nine Frontiers have the ambition to defend their country and serve the emperor, but some people are blinded by greed and seek personal gain at the expense of the public."

Ma Gui, who was standing nearby, felt his heart pounding.

His family was a military general family of Datong, and he had made many military achievements before, but was excluded by the Jin Party. So under the persuasion of Hu Zongxian, he quickly changed his mind and joined the sect.

He knew the inside story of the border affairs in Shanxi very well, and was shocked when he heard Hu Zongxian's words.

Soon, Liang Yong was brought in.

"Liang Yong, the captain of Gaoshan Guard, pays his respects to Hu Butang."

"Sit up. You are injured."

"Thank you, Minister!"

"Liang Yong, did you leave the city on orders or on your own?"

Liang Yong answered firmly: "To reply to the minister, I am here to leave the country on orders."

"But Lin Zhengbiao insisted that you left the country without permission."

Liang Yong was silent.

Hu Zongxian knew what was going on and continued, "Liang Yong, I don't think you are a fool. You must be clear now why someone wants to kill you."

Liang Yong remained silent.

Hu Zongxian was not in a hurry and waited patiently.

After waiting for a while, Liang Yong spoke up and said sadly: "Hu Bu Tang, why did I become a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh? They want to get rid of me as soon as possible. I know the reason."

"Pan Jixun and Pan Shiliang were both military officials and inspectors of Shanxi, Datong, and Xuanfu. They were known to be honest and upright.

Dong Yiyuan, Lieutenant General of Xuanfu. Ma Gui, son of Ma Lu, the general of Datong Town, is currently the deputy general of the Central Army Camp led by me. Chen Wu, deputy general of Zhejiang, and Fu Yingjia, Lieutenant General of Fujian, were all brought by me from the southeast.

Everyone present here is one of us, Liang Yong, you can speak freely!"

Liang Yong took two deep breaths and mustered up the courage to speak.

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(End of this chapter)