Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 673: Future Choice
After the Ming army and herdsmen had packed up, they began to move.

To go to Pianguan, one must first return to the starting pass. After retrieving cloth and other supplies from the nearby earthen fort, the team can then follow the post road inside the Great Wall all the way west to Pianguan.

The way back was not very far, only about thirty or forty miles in total. One section of the way went around a mountain, descending in a zigzag manner.

It was already bright outside, and Qin Chang was in high spirits. He sat on his horse, enjoying the scenery of the border, and said to Li Zisheng, who was dozing off, with a smile, "Sir Li, it is only because of a calm and capable person like you to lead the troops that the soldiers can be convinced!"

"Ah!? What did you say?"

Li Zisheng seemed to be awakened from his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked around. Then he let out a long sigh and shook his head, saying, "Fortunately, Eunuch Tan woke me up in time. Otherwise, I would have fallen asleep completely and fallen off the horse. With the steep cliffs beside the road, I would have probably lost my life. How could I have the chance to enjoy the honor of fighting?"

Qin Chang smiled and said, "No, no, with Lord Li's outstanding riding skills, it would be difficult for him to fall even in his sleep. Besides, there are bushes beside the road, so it is difficult for him to fall into the abyss. You are so friendly to others, no wonder the people below listen to you and obey your orders. Even my family admires you very much."

Li Zisheng smiled and waved his hands, saying modestly: "Eunuch Tan is overpraising me. I know I don't have much ability, so I value those who have ability the most. When Zhang Laizhan first came to the capital, I knew he was a rare genius, so I deliberately made friends with him. Later, he really lived up to everyone's expectations. I often showed my face in front of the late emperor through his prophecy and divination skills. Now I rely on him more...

"Besides, I like to share tangible benefits with people who do practical things. I never bother to threaten, punish or even suppress them."

"hehe."

Qin Chang had a warm smile on his face, but he was thinking in his heart, those court officials who offended you in the past didn't seem to have a good end, right?

How many people were expelled from the court because of you?

You said nice things, but in the end you did bad things, which is why you earned their hatred? Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, these people have returned to the court and are treating you as a bitter and vengeful enemy.

Li Zisheng seemed to have guessed what Tan Chang was thinking, and sighed, "I have offended many people, but I have never taken the initiative to make enemies with anyone... Eunuch Tan is in the Forbidden Palace, so he should know that what I said is true, right?"

Qin Chang took a deep breath.

Then he understood Li Zisheng's intention.

Even if some court officials were dismissed and punished by Li Zisheng, it was at the behest of Emperor Chenghua. As the white glove of the late emperor, he often played the role of scapegoat.

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "In fact, these border soldiers are easy to get along with. They don't care about wealth and glory, but just want to be able to settle down, or hope to make further progress one day in the future, and to have a wife and children. They think much more simply than the ministers in the court. After all, those people... you don't know what they need from beginning to end."

"It's nothing but fame, fortune and wealth." Tan Chang said casually.

"That's not necessarily true."

Li Zisheng smiled and looked at Tan Chang, expectantly saying, "It's like I've never been able to figure out what exactly you, Eunuch Tan, want... You were demoted by the late emperor and were laid off at home, and it was Zhang Guozhang who tried his best to recommend you to return to the throne, but you turned around and turned against him... If you're doing this for yourself, why would you be an enemy of Zhang Guozhang?"

"what!?"

Tan Chang's body shuddered, his face changed greatly, but he was speechless. Li Zisheng said: "I am a straightforward person, please forgive me, Master Tan... Let's not talk about anything else, I know exactly what Zhang Guozhang needs... He just wants to help his daughter and son-in-law more. He is a person who attaches great importance to family, so he does everything according to his own will and never cares about fame."

Qin Chang thought, Zhang Laizhan attaches great importance to family, are you kidding?

Don't think I don't know you found a bunch of women for him.

Li Zisheng said with emotion: "So Zhang Guozhang is more like a warrior, with a simple character and he acts on impulse. Actually, there is nothing wrong with this. At least I don't have to worry about him saying one thing in front of me and another behind my back, and defending him after being betrayed.

"If I had the chance to choose, I wouldn't want to spend all my time scheming against those evil-minded scholars. Not only would it be exhausting, but I'd also be no match for them. Sometimes I feel sick just thinking about it!"

Tan Chang asked cautiously, "So... Minister Li wants to stay in the northwest border town to command the army and follow Wang Weining's old path?"

"Oh my, I don't dare to have such delusion."

Li Zisheng shook his head and denied it, "I am far inferior to Wang Yuelai. I have never had any experience in commanding an army in my first half of life. I don't even know the military books such as "The Art of War" and "Thirty-Six Stratagems". If the Tatar army comes and I lose the battle on the front line because of my incompetence in commanding the army, I will be ashamed of Zhang Guozhang, Your Majesty, and even more so, the people of the world.

"Besides, after I return to Beijing, I have a more important task to do, which is to go to Henan to repair the river immediately, promote the diversion of the Yellow River, and completely eliminate the risk of flooding in the Yellow River. Sometimes I think about it... I am quite looking forward to it..."

Qin Chang asked in confusion: "Repairing the Yellow River is a thankless task. The government is currently in a tight financial situation, and local governments will not fully cooperate. Living in the open air is probably not much better than commanding troops in the northwest... Do you really plan to live on the life path that Zhang Guozhang has laid out for you in advance?"

Li Zisheng shrugged and said with a smile: "I have to say something about you, Eunuch Tan... Why do you care about so many vain things when you are in the court? Is it so important who paves the way for whom? Do you, Eunuch Tan, hope that you will always be controlled by Eunuch Huai in the future?

"By the way, Eunuch Huai is not as simple as you think. During the reign of the previous emperor, he seemed to be upright in everything, but he also often flattered me. Sometimes I was amazed at his flexibility and boldness... Don't let others use you without knowing it."

Whenever Li Zisheng said these things in the past, Qin Chang simply thought he was talking nonsense.

After all, people with different ideals cannot work together. No matter how powerful Li Zisheng is, he cannot reach into the inner court of the imperial palace. In the past, the only person who could compete with the Imperial Household Department in the inner court was Liang Fang, Li Zisheng's big backer. What's more, Li Zisheng is now attacking Huai En, who has the image of a "perfect man" in Qin Chang's mind.

But right now...

Qin Changgang had just followed Li Zisheng to achieve an incredible "great victory". Li Zisheng, regardless of past grudges, led him to accomplish such a feat. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably think that even Li Zisheng's fart was fragrant, not to mention that Li Zisheng was now speaking from his heart and giving advice in a kind way.

This made Qin Chang, who had been extremely determined, begin to waver.

Who am I, where am I, and was what I did right or wrong?

Why did I silently give so much, and took great pains to find Zhang Luan to treat Huai'en's illness, and even went to great lengths to suppress Zhang Luan's prestige, hoping to expel him from the civil service team and completely lose the right to speak on court affairs, but in the end I was banished to the northwest to bear all the blame?
Am I doing those things for myself?

It was clearly for the court, for His Majesty, and for our small interest group of eunuchs, so why do I have to bear the blame alone in the end?

unfair!
(End of this chapter)