The evil forces roaming the heavens

Chapter 1297 Neither you nor the money matters to me!

Inside the palace, in the imperial study,
The Hongde Emperor, who was writing, slowly raised his head and said, "You've arrived?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

With a forced smile, Zhang Cheng kept his hands hidden in his sleeves, appearing quite unladylike.

With a twitching mouth, Emperor Hongde put down his pen and said to Zhang Cheng, "You, who are supposed to be a third-rank marquis, how can you be so disgraceful!"

"Your Majesty, even if I were ranked third, I would only be seventeen now!"

With a grin, Zhang Cheng revealed his bright white teeth.
"Snapped!"

Slapping his forehead, Emperor Hongde said helplessly, "Look at you, I've almost forgotten how old you are!"

With that, Emperor Hongde stepped down and said, "Please take a seat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! I won't stand on ceremony!"

Addressing the Hongde Emperor, Zhang Cheng sat directly on the soft seat that had been brought over.

Seeing Zhang Cheng's unseemly appearance, Emperor Hongde asked, "You gave the Emperor Emeritus a precious sword? What about mine?"

"Your Majesty possesses the wealth of the entire world; how could you possibly ask your subjects for gifts!"

Looking at Emperor Hongde, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Upon hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Emperor Hongde glared at him and said, "If I were truly rich enough to rule the world, I would just sit back and watch you conquer the capital of the Rus'!"

"Your Majesty, I have had to pawn and sell a considerable amount of farmland and estates to help the Ministry of Revenue pay off its debts!"

When Zhang Cheng pleaded poverty before Emperor Hongde, he immediately said, "My father told me this since I was a child."

"Stop, stop, stop! I'm not here to listen to your complaints!"

Emperor Hongde waved his hand to refuse Zhang Cheng's next words, and his expression turned serious.
"Well, although I cannot give you a gift, that doesn't mean I can't give one to the Empress! So, Your Majesty, why don't you go back and ask Her Majesty the Empress?"

With a broad smile, Zhang Cheng looked at Emperor Hongde and knew he could no longer bully the "poor."

After all, the current Hongde Emperor is so poor that he has to confiscate all his property. If you dare to offend him, he will really keep a record of it!
"Oh? Really?"

Emperor Hongde looked at Zhang Cheng in surprise. He hadn't expected that this kid would be so sensible and know to take the Empress's route!

After all, if they openly and honestly gave him gifts, the entire court would know and start making a fuss again!
"How could I dare to deceive Your Majesty? After all, the people of Great Qian do not deceive the people of Great Qian!"

Looking intently at Emperor Hongde, Zhang Cheng smiled.
Upon hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Emperor Hongde and Xia Shouzhong couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Because during the war with the Rus', there was a rumor that Zhang Cheng, facing the 200,000-strong army that came to reinforce, agreed not to attack for five days, and that they could negotiate or even retreat. But that very night, Zhang Cheng led his army to break through the enemy's lines!

Even the Rus' royal general who came to their aid was shot down by him and hung on the flagpole.

What Zhang Cheng said back then was exactly what it meant: the people of Daqian do not lie to the people of Daqian!
"I remember you said the same thing when you were in the Western Regions, my dear minister."

Looking at Zhang Cheng with a broad smile, Emperor Hongde couldn't help but tease him.

"Your Majesty, I meant that the people of Daqian do not deceive the people of Daqian, not that they do not deceive the people of Rus'!"

When Zhang Cheng addressed the Hongde Emperor, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Given the circumstances at the time, with 30,000 against 200,000, the advantage lay with him!
However, to be on the safe side, Zhang Cheng still "showed weakness."

After all, he wasn't like some of those guys next door who were playing a three-on-one game and almost got knocked off the table in a game where the cards were out in the open!
Li Mu: What kind of class do you think you are, daring to have sex with me in the wild?

Even though he feigned weakness, Zhang Cheng remained determined to exact revenge, launching a full-scale surprise attack that very night.
Compared to the Jurchens who were defeated by him in Liaodong and dared not raise their banners, the Rus' people were still naive, and he directly attacked them!
Dai Shan: Thirty thousand defeated two hundred thousand, and even slew generals on the battlefield? Is this guy even human? Liu Bang: Why don't you come and see mine?

"Alright, alright, you may leave now. I will give you a gift on your wedding day!"

When Emperor Hongde spoke to Zhang Cheng, he laughed.

Although he was the emperor, he was well aware of the dangers of war. Deceiving someone was no big deal. If he could personally intervene, Emperor Hongde would have sent Zhang Cheng to poison the person.
After leaving the palace, Zhang Cheng looked at the gem in his palm and immediately stroked his chin, saying, "This stuff is more useful than gold beans. I'll have someone send some more over later!"

In the inner palace, when Emperor Hongde arrived, the Empress immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you have arrived!"

"If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known that Zitong had struck it rich today!"

Looking at the Empress with a broad smile, Emperor Hongde laughed.
"Your Majesty is joking. Isn't what belongs to Zitong still yours?"

With a radiant smile, the Empress handed the gift list to Emperor Hongde.
However, Emperor Hongde was stunned when he saw the gifts. He never expected that Zhang Cheng's gifts would be so "simple": ten chests of gold, thirty chests of silver, and countless rare treasures.

"Have you calculated it, Zitong?"

Emperor Hongde was shocked as he stared at the Empress in astonishment.
"Your Majesty, I've already had it calculated; it's worth a total of three million taels of silver."

When the Empress addressed the Hongde Emperor, she couldn't help but smile.
"Three million taels, doesn't that mean my imperial treasury is full?"

Laughing heartily, even Emperor Hongde became excited.

Seeing Emperor Hongde's expression, the Empress said, "I suspect that Jue'er has given all the spoils from the wars in Liaodong and the Western Regions to His Majesty! He's going to be hated by many!"

Hearing the Empress say this, Emperor Hongde also spoke up: "Everyone says this boy is ignorant, but isn't he quite sensible? He knows I have no money in my hands!"

"Then Your Majesty must bestow a generous reward upon you!"

When she spoke to Emperor Hongde, the Empress laughed.

"That's for sure, I'm not a petty person!"

With a broad smile, Emperor Hongde couldn't help but feel happy, because with silver in hand, he wasn't worried at all!

Ningguo Mansion, amidst pavilions and waterside terraces,
The heavy snowfall seemed to have covered everything in a silver coat.
Beside the fireplace, Zhang Cheng toyed with two azure gemstones in his hands, his eyes full of mockery.
Kneeling before Zhang Cheng, Wu Jinxiao, who was in charge of managing the peasant households in Liaodong, was filled with fear.
Because Lai Er, who had previously worked with him, had his home ransacked, and many acquaintances had been beaten to death, it would be a lie to say that Wu Jinxiao was not afraid of this new master, because he knew all too well Jia Jue's prestige in the Liaodong military town!

"I have a chess set here. You play a game with me. If you win, I'll pretend nothing happened before. How about it?"

Zhang Cheng looked at Wu Jinxiao with a broad smile.
"Yes, sir!"

Shaking, Wu Jinxiao rose to his feet and began playing chess, his movements shaky and unsteady.
Standing to the side, Jia Wei looked speechless, because Wu Jinxiao was really daring!
Half an hour later, Zhang Cheng rubbed his chin, looking at the piece with nowhere to place it, and immediately exclaimed in surprise, "No way, you really dare to win!"

"what!"

Staring at Zhang Cheng in astonishment, Wu Jinxiao was dumbfounded.
"Oh!"

With a divine move, Zhang Cheng seized the chessboard and slammed it down on Wu Jinxiao's head, blood splattering onto the snow beside him.

Standing up, Zhang Cheng walked up to Wu Jinxiao, slammed his hand on the chessboard, and said, "Are you brainless? I let you win, and you actually dared to win? Do you think I don't know anything about chess?"

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng smashed the chessboard repeatedly, finally throwing the blood-stained board on the ground and saying, "You and the silver are not important to me, but the fact that you dare to beat me is very important!"

Looking at Wu Jinxiao's appearance, Jia Wei felt helpless, because when he learned that his uncle was going to play chess, he guessed that Wu Jinxiao was going to die.

Jia Wei: My uncle is bad at chess, but he's fast at smashing the chessboard!

Liu Qi: Victory or defeat is never determined on the chessboard!
(End of this chapter)