Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 147 A new journey
At dawn one day, Qian Liang was awakened by a burst of hurried footsteps.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he rubbed his blurry eyes and looked carefully.

Four or five lieutenants in black boots were already standing outside the door, staring at him grimly.

Qian Liang was just wondering when a lieutenant said with a smile, "Butler Qian, it's time to get going."

"Oh, Han San, that's right. Why are you letting us go so late? I haven't slept well and haven't eaten well these past few days. Come on, go on, take him out quickly. We have to go back quickly to help Wu Qing Hou with his errands." Qian Liang didn't hear what was said. He stood up and walked out with a relaxed look on his face.

A few strong men in brocade clothes laughed strangely, took out black hoods and put them on Qian Liang.

"Hey, hey. What are you doing? Where are you taking us? Han San, Han San!!" Qian Liang was anxious, twisting his body and shouting loudly. A kid was annoyed by him and picked up a piece of rag and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

"Uh huh"

Qian Liang's shouting suddenly became unclear.

In a trance, he suddenly felt that the air around him became fresh and refreshing, and the sounds became louder.

He realized that he had escaped from the Jinyiwei prison.

The Marquis is really thoughtful, and he is still trying to cover me up. This time, I was badly tricked by Sun Xiang. When I get out, I must have a fight with him!

Qian Liang still thought that it was Wuqing Hou Li Wei who was behind this and brought him out.

At the same time, in order to conceal his identity, he was specially covered with a black hood.

Thinking of this, Qian Liang instantly felt relieved, and without making any noise, he followed the black guards forward. However, the further he walked, the more he felt something was wrong, but his mouth was blocked, so he couldn't say anything.

Suddenly, he heard crying and shouting outside.

"I am wronged, sir. It is wronged."

"Please spare my life, sir. I won't dare to do it again. I won't dare to do it again."

"Wuwuwu, I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Sir, please spare my life."

Is this a place of execution?!
Qian Liang's heart skipped a beat and he twisted his body, trying desperately to look outside.

Several strong men of the Jinyiwei held him down. He struggled but couldn't move. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his calf and fell to his knees on the ground, crying out in pain.

At this time, his hood was also torn off.

Looking around, he was surrounded by prisoners in prison uniforms, kneeling on the ground.

On the high platform in front, an official in a green official robe sat at a desk, with a row of executioners holding broadswords lined up in front of him.

On the periphery, the people watching the fun were chattering and pointing at the prisoners inside.

"You deserve it! You dare to do something that will cost you your life. You are really fearless."

"Yes, it is said that many nobles were also arrested this time. I have lived for more than 40 years, and this is the first time I have seen such a scene."

"Well, the imperial court is only trying to deceive common people like you. Look among them, who is a noble? They are the ones who make money, but in the end, it is these gloves that suffer."

"That's better than ignoring it!"

"."

The voices of the crowd were heard without reservation at the execution ground. Qian Liang's body was already shaking like a sieve.

He understood that he had been betrayed by Wu Qinghou.

He became the scapegoat of the old marquis and took all the blame.

In an instant, Qian Liang felt a surge of hot blood rushing to his head and his whole body became hot.

He covered his throat, his face as red as a cooked shrimp, tilted his neck back and spat out a mouthful of blood, then fell to the ground, twitching.

The scene was in chaos. Some people were laughing crazily, some were begging for mercy, and some were cursing loudly.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the cold wind was blowing the snow particles down in large flakes.

The official in charge of the execution stretched his neck, looked up at the sky, and cursed the bad weather inwardly.

But the execution was still to be carried out. He straightened his clothes, sat back in his seat, took out a command arrow from the bamboo tube, threw it out, and shouted, "The time has come, execute!"

"Yes!" The executioner raised his sword and stepped forward. With a swing of his sword, heads fell to the ground one by one, blood gushing from the broken necks, staining the bluestone floor red.

Hundreds of heads fell to the ground, and a strong smell of blood gushed out.

It dyed all the clouds in the sky red.

Some timid ones turned their heads away and almost vomited their bile with a "wow" sound.

"Collect the bodies!"

The blue-robed official seemed to be accustomed to it. He just waved his hand and walked away.

Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Wanli, who had just finished lunch, strolled to the east warm room, followed closely by Wei Qing.

The two men walked into the study, and Emperor Wanli sat down on the main seat. He dismissed the eunuchs on duty and left only Wei Qing to serve him.

"Wei Qing, is minting silver coins really a big sin?" Emperor Wanli rubbed his palms and asked Wei Qing.

"Yes." Wei Qing nodded, and then said, "Your Majesty, think about it, the silver dollar is less than two taels, and it is all supported by the word 'credit'. If anyone privately mints silver dollars, where is the word 'credit'?"

"Does the word credit really work like this?"

"Of course. Common people still value honesty when doing business. If you try to be clever and cunning, you may make some money, but it won't last long."

Wei Qing replied with a smile, and glanced at the emperor's face. Seeing that he tilted his head and didn't say anything, he took the opportunity to continue, "The ancients said, 'A hundred ounces of gold is not as good as Ji Bu's promise.' This is the word credit."

"Okay, I understand." Emperor Wanli nodded dejectedly, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, where is Zhang Yunxiu? Why haven't I seen him in the past few days?"

"Oh, Zhang Sicheng went to Tianjin to supervise the construction of large ships and inspect the navy, preparing to visit the Japanese island next year." Wei Qing answered respectfully.

"So there's a Japanese island with a mountain of silver there?"

"Yes, I heard that this tiny island is also in the midst of a fierce fighting right now."

"Okay!" Emperor Wanli sat up from his chair, paced back and forth twice, then stared at Wei Qing and said with a smile: "Let him train quickly and fight these Japanese in their hometown. I want to tell the world! The Ming Dynasty is not so easy to bully."

"There is another problem here." Wei Qing shook his head and said in a low voice.

"what is the problem?"

"The cabinet is most likely against sending troops. After all, in their view, fighting a war requires money, and they spend all day trying to save money, so how can they be willing to spend money?"

"I don't care. I'm going to fight anyway!" Emperor Wanli frowned and said domineeringly, "Not only will I fight, I'm also going to dispatch Qi Jiguang to lead the army."

"Your Majesty, you can't do that!" Wei Qing hurriedly advised.

"Why?"

"Jizhou is the northern barrier of the capital. We are as stable as a rock here because Marshal Qi is here to guard it. If he leaves rashly, those scoundrels in the north will become restless again."

"This is a problem."

Emperor Wanli rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself. Wei Qing, who was standing beside him, saw the opportunity, stepped forward with a smile and clasped his fists, saying, "Your Majesty, Marshal Qi and Marshal Li are both old. As the saying goes, a tiger father will have a dog son. Why not let Marshal Qi's son Qi Guozuo and Marshal Li's son Li Rusong lead the troops?"

"Can they do it?" Emperor Wanli looked worried.

"A good father will have a good son. Besides, there is no need to use a butcher knife to kill a chicken. With two generals taking action, the Japanese pirates will surely be terrified." Wei Qing held his head high and chest puffed out, answering with great complacency.

"Okay, I will appoint them as generals when we go to war next year."

"Your Majesty, what about the cabinet?"

Emperor Wanli shook his head, a sly look flashing across his dark eyes: "Anyway, I have already issued an imperial decree to Zhang Yunxiu. If he doesn't do it, it will be disobeying the imperial decree. As for whether to pass the cabinet or not, and how to convince the cabinet, that is his own business."

Wei Qing grinned and gave the emperor a thumbs up: "Your Majesty is so smart and capable, and I admire you for what you have done."

"Enough, you flatterer." Emperor Wanli smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to continue speaking, someone came to report that Feng Bao wanted to see him.

Emperor Wanli suppressed his smile, straightened his clothes and looked serious, then he instructed the eunuch, "Go and call in your companion."

(End of this chapter)