Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 662: If you have milk, you are a mother

"Crazy, crazy! The Li guy must be crazy! Just like Zhang Laizhan, he is almost crazy in order to earn military merits!"

Qin Chang did not complain in front of Li Zisheng, but when he returned to his tent, he exploded instantly.

There was a little eunuch standing next to him holding a wooden basin in his hand. The basin was filled with freshly boiled hot water that was emitting curls of steam.

In such a remote place, Qin Chang was the only one in the camp who could enjoy such treatment and have hot water to wash.

Although Qin Chang has lost his power now, as the chief of the Imperial Household Department, he still has the right to bring servants with him when he travels. Due to the special nature of eunuchs, it would have been best for him to bring a maid to take care of him, but according to the rule that female relatives cannot be brought into the army, he can only bring a young eunuch to serve him.

At least they have the same physical structure and don't dislike each other, especially when it comes to things like serving tea, water, or chamber pots, there still needs to be someone "close to you".

Hearing that he was going to the battlefield, the young eunuch was a little scared and asked tremblingly: "War is dangerous, eunuch, why don't we escape..."

"Escape? Where to escape? Little Lianzi, I know you are afraid. With your small body, you may lose your life in a battle with a volley of arrows. But this is the situation. Staying in the army may give you a chance to survive. If you run away, you will die!"

Qin Chang said with emotion, "It seems that our decision was correct. No matter how well some people disguise themselves, they will eventually bring disaster to the Ming Dynasty. Don't you think it's good for Zhang Laizhan, a relative of the emperor, to live a peaceful life? Why does he have to get involved in the military affairs of the northwest... Is this something he should be in charge of?"

The young eunuch, who was called Little Lotus, raised his head and asked timidly, "Eunuch, are we really going to follow the troops out of the border?"

"Correct."

Qin Chang sat there, took off his socks, and put his feet in the wooden basin.

After his feet touched the hot water, he sighed with satisfaction and said, "After walking all the way, the blisters on my feet have appeared and broken, dried up and appeared again. I can only ride in a carriage occasionally, but my whole body feels like it's falling apart.

"Over the years, our family has never been so tired. If Mr. Li had not been so polite to our family, sometimes I would have suspected that he had teamed up with Zhang Luan to mess with our family!"

Little Lianzi helped Tan Chang wash his feet while begging, "Father, I want to stay in the fortress."

Qin Chang flatly refused and said, "We don't want to harm you, but the situation does not allow it. After we pass the border, we will not go too far, ten or twenty miles, find a place to ambush and wait for the Tartars to come.

"If our prediction is correct, the Tartars will definitely not arrive as Zhang Luan predicted. Otherwise, what will happen? Besides being able to predict the heavens, can Zhang Luan also read people's minds?"

"Ah."

Little Lianzi looked a little sad.

Qin Chang looked at the young eunuch who lowered his head and said, "The reason why I brought you here is probably because you were born in Yansui and have only been in the palace for a few years. Tell me, can you trust those people who are grazing at the pass, who are not sure whether they are Ming people or Hu people?"

As a former giant in the Imperial Household Department, Qin Chang would have grabbed a lot of people to serve him. The reason why this young eunuch in front of him could get this "honor" was more because he was born in the northwest and was more familiar with the situation here.

"When I came out, I didn't remember much and didn't know these things."

Little Lianzi replied timidly.

Tan Chang asked, "Didn't you serve Eunuch Liao An before? You have been over ten years old since you left the northwest and came to the capital! Just tell me, and we won't blame you if you are wrong."

Little Lotus replied, "Ever since Marshal Wang defeated the Tartars, they have fled the Hetao region. I heard there is a large grassland called Ordos with abundant grass and water, which is a natural pasture. Some tribes were jealous and moved south there. Successive military commanders were worried about the potential safety risks on the border, so they moved them to the frontier, and no one cared about them later."

"Oh."

Qin Chang suddenly realized, "This is the result of the previous emperor's repeated defeats of the Tartars. What a pity..."

Little Lianzi asked, "Father, what's the pity?"

Tan Chang sighed, "It's a pity that things are different now. After the late emperor left, those evil spirits on the grassland are ready to make a move again. But it makes sense. It hasn't been long since the Tatar chieftain Yesen invaded the capital. Maybe they want to recreate the grand occasion of the past.

"Hurry up and buy us a new pair of socks and a softer insole. We want to see what Mr. Li is up to."

……

...We rested briefly that day and then prepared to march again.

When Qin Chang met Li Zisheng again, Li Zisheng, introduced by Captain Zhu Yu, was chatting with a boy of about eleven or twelve years old with a tiger skin wrapped around his waist.

"You are such a good-looking guy... You look so strong and brave, you might be able to achieve great things in the future. Follow me and work hard, I guarantee you will have a bright future!"

Li Zisheng said with a smile.

Qin Chang got a headache when he saw it.

After Zhu Yu took the foreign boy away, Qin Chang walked over and asked, "Minister Li, could that little guy be one of the foreign herdsmen?"

"Yes what's the matter?"

Li Zisheng looked as normal as could be.

Qin Chang seemed speechless and said, "We know that Minister Li is good at socializing, but you can't even communicate with that kid, so why do you want to recruit him? Is that necessary?"

What I mean is, are you, Li Zisheng, too pretentious?
Your methods of winning people over are really used wherever you go. You actually plan to get a foreign kid who can't even understand Chinese to find a job for you by promising him a blank check?
Do you believe that he will sell us out?

Li Zisheng said: "Eunuch Tan may not know that this boy's uncle was killed by foreigners, and he has an irreconcilable hatred for the Tartars."

"Wait, uncle?"

Qin Chang frowned and asked, "Not father?"

"Of course not. His father died of illness a long time ago. The people of the grassland have peculiar customs. His mother followed his uncle and was raised by his uncle... On the grassland, the grace of giving birth and raising a child is very great, so he has a deep hatred for the Tartars!"

Li Zisheng explained, "Captain Zhu said that this boy had long been ready to join the Ming border army to seek revenge on the Tartars, but he just had no chance. Don't think that he can't understand Chinese. He can understand it, but he just doesn't speak it fluently."

Qin Chang said helplessly: "You expect a kid like this to help us win the battle?"

Li Zisheng said, "Eunuch Tan, I know you don't like my social skills, but I think that group of herdsmen don't trust us, so we have to find a way out, right? Otherwise, how can we disguise ourselves as them, live in harmony with them, and prevent the invading Tartars from noticing anything?"

"This……"

Tan Chang frowned slightly.

In Qin Chang's view, Li Zisheng seemed to be living in his own world, or in other words, living in the world that Zhang Luan had built for him, and was unable to extricate himself.

Li Zisheng described the future to himself and said, "After passing the front pass, there is a valley with very tall grass. It is only ten miles away from the Yellow River. He pointed out the hiding place for us. We will ambush there..."

"Minister Li, aren't you afraid that he will secretly communicate with the Tartars and inform the enemy of our whereabouts, and then we will be the ones ambushed? Once you are outside the border, you will be unfamiliar with the people and the place, and it will be difficult to be a hunter."

Tan Chang reminded.

Li Zisheng said: "If you doubt someone, don't use him. If you don't doubt him, don't use him. There's nothing good about me, but there is one thing. I am confident that I can see people from a low level. I know which ones can be used and which ones can't be used. Over the past few years, I have never made a wrong judgment. I believe in my own judgment."

Qin Chang almost wanted to yell, but in the end he patiently said, "You have seen many court officials and have rich experience in judging people. It is understandable that you are confident, but the problem is that you are now facing a group of foreigners who are not on our side! Besides, even if that guy is willing to cooperate with us, will his people be willing?"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "During this snowstorm, who wouldn't want to have a good pasture to get through this cold season safely? If they help us, we will give them pasture and shelter! Not to mention that they are not pure Hu people, even if they are, we can still buy them over as long as we give them favors! This is how the world is, whoever gives you milk is your mother!"

Qin Chang was very excited. He wanted to refute, but he felt that Li Zisheng was possessed and he could not persuade him any more.

He raised his thumb and said angrily, "I hope Minister Li really has the ability to see through people and not harm us. It would be a great sin to let the people at the border be trampled by the Tartars!"

"Don't worry, don't worry! I'll take care of everything. We will definitely win this battle!"

Li Zisheng seemed like a newborn calf, patting his chest confidently to make promises, his eyes full of expectations, as if he was already planning for a bright future.

(End of this chapter)