The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 133 I Don’t Want to Become a Marquis

Yuan Yingtai's head, along with that of the military supervisor Zhang Quan, was hung at the gate of the governor's residence by the "mob" in Shenyang.

On that day, Deng Changxiong, Wang Erhu and Qi Jin led their troops to block the gates of Shenyang. Armored soldiers entered the city and began to search for rioters throughout the city. Yuan Yingtai's standard-bearing battalion had never seen such a scene before and quickly fled towards western Liaoning.

~~~~~
On November 20th, the 47th year of the Wanli reign, at the Golden Terrace of Huangji Gate in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The early winter morning was bleak and cold, and the officials came earlier than usual.

It was rare for the throne to be raised on the golden platform.

Lu Shou, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, holding a bronze beast incense burner, slowly came to the front of the imperial couch and whispered:
"Your Majesty, it's settled!"

Emperor Wanli, sitting on the throne, opened his eyes with great effort, looked at his ministers with tired eyes, and just waved gently.

He was wearing a green dragon robe with green piping. His obese body looked like a mountain of flesh as he sat limply on the dragon throne.

Compared with when Liu Zhaosun surrendered the captives to the capital half a year ago, Zhu Yijun's physical condition is now even worse. He started coughing up blood since the beginning of autumn this year. The Imperial Hospital offered him several prescriptions, but they were ineffective. His old life was swaying like a candle in the wind.

Emperor Wanli, who has been on the throne for forty-seven years, is unlikely to survive this winter.

The two eunuchs swung their long whips and hit the ground, causing the bluestone slabs to make crisp sounds.

The officials in Beijing who had been waiting for a long time could finally report their affairs.

The old emperor closed his eyes to rest, and the buzzing sound of officials rang in his ears. There was a flood somewhere, a civil uprising somewhere, and the position of county magistrate in a certain place was vacant.

Most of the affairs involved asking the old emperor for money.

The emperor just gave General Xuanwu a large sum of money as compensation, and now he is short of money.

Zhu Yijun lowered his head and closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting far away. Occasionally, he would think of Mr. Zhang (Zhang Juzheng) many years ago, and the winter when Mr. Zhang took him to study.

The Ming Dynasty at that time was different from what it is now. Although there were some civil unrest and disasters, it was still thriving overall and had never seen the apocalypse like it does now.

The ministers from the six ministries came forward one after another to report their respective government affairs to the emperor, but the old emperor remained silent.

Until the Minister of War Huang Kezun stepped forward and took out a copy of the Tang newspaper from his sleeve.

"I have my heart and I want to report it."

Wanli remained silent.

"It's a report from Liaodong Governor Zhou Yuchun."

Wanli raised his hand and asked him to come forward.

The old emperor opened his eyes with difficulty, and his fat body leaned forward slightly.

An eunuch stepped forward quickly, took the report from Minister Huang, and handed it to the emperor.

Emperor Wanli slowly opened the newspaper and listened to Huang Kezun's report.

"The Ministry of War received an urgent report from the Liaodong Governor, arriving eight hundred miles away. He stated that the Liaodong Governor, despite the advice of the Military Supervisors He Tingkui, Cui Ruxiu, and General Liu Zhaosun, insisted on accepting the Yehe and Mongolian people into Shenyang, treating the foreign tribes leniently and persecuting the Liao people. This led to a civil uprising in Shenyang on the sixth day of the eleventh month."

Wanli waved his hand to interrupt the military official, his face full of confusion:
"Just go to Shenyang to provide relief to the army and give them silver and rewards. Why recruit foreigners? Where is Yuan Yingtai now?"

Huang Kezun wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly replied:

"Your Majesty, both Yuan Jinglue and Zhang Yushi were killed, as well as Guangning Lieutenant General Huang Demin."

Wanli sat on the dragon throne in a daze. After a while, he murmured:

"died?"

Huang Kezun stole a glance at the emperor and explained:
"Your Majesty, during the bloody battle at Hunhe, the Nu chieftain once sent Yehe into Shenyang to massacre the city. Yehe killed countless people, leaving nine out of ten houses empty."

"Yuan Jinglüe rebuked General Xuanwu for the excessive slaughter and suggested recruiting foreign tribes to bolster Shenyang's population. Later, somehow, word spread that he was calling for the Yehe people to return and kill the Liao people. The treacherous people seized the opportunity to riot, instigating the Liao people to storm the Jinglüe residence and confront Yuan Jinglüe. Yuan Jinglüe and Censor Zhang were killed by the rioters, and Huang Demin also tragically died. The rioters fled, and General Liu sent pacification troops to pursue them, but they have yet to be apprehended."

"The officials sent by the Ministry of War reported that there are also civil uprisings in Kaiyuan, Liaoyang, Tieling and other places. In the recently recovered Fushun and Qinghe, there are Jiannu spies active. There are rumors that the Later Jin army will make a comeback..."

Wanli waved his hand to interrupt Huang Kezun and asked:

"Where's Liu Zhaosun?"

The Minister of War replied:

"General Xuanwu is sending troops to quell the rebellion, but both military supervisors say that after the bloody battle at Hunhe, the Kaiyuan and Sichuan-Zhejiang troops suffered heavy casualties and are short of food and wages. They may not be able to continue fighting."

"I understand."

Wanli's eyes were a little dazed. He suddenly coughed, spit out blood, and fell to one side.

The eunuchs and palace maids around him immediately stepped forward to support the emperor. A palace maid brought him some medicine. The old emperor drank it with difficulty and said breathlessly:

"go on."

Huang Kezun touched his forehead and said cautiously:
"The Ministry of War reported that on that day, Liao civilians discovered two unidentified bodies south of Tieling City. They were wearing flying fish clothing and had been hacked to death."

Wanli struggled to sit up, glaring angrily.

"Whose gear is this!"

Huang Kezun lowered his voice to the lowest level, but it could still be heard clearly.

"Your Majesty, the two Jinyiwei who died seem to be Liu Yuesheng and Wen Dengqiang, who were sent by the East Factory."

Wanli chuckled and turned to stare at Lu Shou.

Lu Shou came to Wanli respectfully, squinting his eyes, waiting for the emperor to ask questions.

"Did the East Factory send people? You are so anxious, do you want to arrest people or take money?" Lu Shou knelt on the ground, swung his palms, slapped himself left and right, and slapped himself more than ten times in a row, making a slapping sound on the golden stage.

The old emperor stared at him in silence. After a while, he waved his hand and said:
"Okay, where's Xiong Tingbi's money?"

Lu Shou stopped immediately and tears started streaming down his face.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent and unable to manage the East Factory. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to go to Nanjing to grow vegetables and guard the mausoleum of Taizu!"

Wanli said hurriedly:
"If it wasn't you, then who did it?"

Lu Shou said with a look of grievance:

"I dare not speak. Last month, Eunuch Wei of the Imperial Household Department contradicted that man and was nearly beaten to death..."

Wanli sneered:

"Stop spreading rumors here. If you don't, I'll send you to Nanjing tomorrow!"

"Your Majesty, it's Eunuch Wang."

Wanli waved his hand to let Lu Shou leave, and looked up at Huang Kexun who was still kneeling.

"Where are the six hundred thousand taels of silver for General Xuanwu's compensation and the bounty for his head? Where did Yuan Yingtai take my money?!"

"We just asked them to knock around a bit, why are they making such a big fuss?"

Huang Kezun was sweating profusely and looked sideways at the Prime Minister Fang Congzhe. Prime Minister Fang seemed not to see him and ignored him completely. He shrank his neck and stroked the tablet in his hand.

"Your Majesty, the Liaodong Governor only gave General Xuanwu 100,000 taels of silver. I don't know the remaining 500,000 taels. The more than 1 million taels of Liao military pay left by Xiong Tingbi entered Liaoxi and its whereabouts are unknown..."

The old emperor gripped the handle of the dragon throne tightly, his brows trembling and his teeth chattering.

"This group of rats... The East Factory should arrest them immediately..."

Wanli coughed violently, his head felt heavy and his feet felt light-headed. He fell headfirst onto the bluestone slab in front of the dragon throne. Blood gushed out of his mouth and his body shook rhythmically.

"Send it to the doctor quickly!"

·······
"Quickly call the prince!"

Half a month later, Shenyang South Gate City Wall.

The tall and mighty Wei Zhongxian, supported by two young eunuchs, quickly got off the carriage.

Looking around, I saw that the Kaiyuan army was in neat order. A group of civil and military officials, led by General Xuanwu Liu Zhaosun, knelt in front of the moat, welcoming the angel from afar.

Wei Zhongxian was very proud and nodded with satisfaction. He shook off the eunuch who was supporting him and went straight to General Liu.

He pulled Liu Zhaosun for more than ten steps, leaving everyone behind. He leaned close to Liu Zhaosun's ear and whispered:
"Brother, you did a great job this time! You helped me a lot!"

"what?"

Liu Zhaosun looked confused.

"Yuan Yingtai and Zhang Quan's homes were raided! I sent the Imperial Guards to seize 900,000 taels of silver from their homes. The new emperor will keep 300,000 taels and give you 600,000 taels as compensation."

Liu Zhaosun stared blankly at this elder brother who came from a martial arts background. He continued:

"Wang An has been trying to kill me every day. This time, he's colluding with the Yuans to embezzle 500,000 taels of your pension. The Emperor is furious with them. Not a single one of the Wang family's more than 100 members survived. And Wei Chao, the eunuch who used to look down on the Miscellaneous Family, was also eliminated. Lu Shou was so frightened that he wanted to escape to Nanjing. How can he escape? Kill him too, brother!"

Wei Zhongxian shook Liu Zhaosun hard. Liu Zhaosun imagined the Nine Thousand Years Old Man killing people like crazy and began to worry about the Donglin gentlemen.

"The new emperor will give me the Pacification Office and give you Liaodong. Let's build a great future together, brothers. From now on, we can kill whoever we want without having to worry about other people's opinions!"

Liu Zhaosun had a blank expression on his face.

"You said the emperor died?"

"He died half a month ago. The one who has now ascended the throne is Emperor Taichang, the emperor's eldest son."

"Oh, how could he die early?"

It feels like a dream.

Wei Zhongxian didn't listen to his brother's words. He grabbed Liu Zhaosun and dragged him towards the city wall.

"Let's go, it's time to read the imperial edict. From now on, you are the King of Liaodong! The Liaodong funds will come through your hands! Let's work together, brothers, make money together, and kill all the Donglin, Chu and Zhejiang factions!"

Liu Zhaosun was dragged by Jiuqiansui and moved forward involuntarily.

This day has come too early.

In front of an incense table facing north, Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, slowly unfolded an imperial edict engraved on a rhinoceros horn scroll.

Emperor Fengtian Chengyun
The system says:

Unwavering loyalty and dedication are the inherent duties of a minister; honoring virtue and rewarding merit are the true ways of encouraging the state. Furthermore, the ranks of marquises and nobles are extended, and those second only to dukes are exalted. And the honor of frugality and benevolence surpasses that of a magnificent robe. Matters must be discussed and resolved; how can grace be allowed to remain unfulfilled for long?

Liu Zhaosun, formerly General Xuanwu, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Kaiyuan, and Deputy Governor of the Sanwanwei Guards, was a young man of heroic stature and striking appearance. He was skilled in martial arts and devoted to his country. He was generous and prudent, honest and righteous, and a man of integrity. He was blessed by the spirit of the gods and a life blessed by Heaven. From his youth, he rose to prominence as a hero; he aided Liaodong and single-handedly led the royal army with might. His will grew stronger in the face of danger, and his teachings deepened in adversity. He inherited the teachings of Yao and Confucius, expounding them in subtle words; he championed the teachings of Zhou and Cheng, and sought to learn from them. He held the isolated city of Kaiyuan, risking his life to turn the tide; he annihilated the Jiannu in Liaodong, achieving a surprising victory and sweeping away the barbarians. He also met the rebellion in Shenyang, armed to the teeth and leading a triumphant victory, surpassing the Wu and Chu armies by three months. He was hereby granted the title of "Marquis of Ping Liao," granted five cities (Kaiyuan, Tieling, Fushun, Qinghe, Kuandian), and promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong.

Liu Zhaosun's wife, Yang Qing'er, possessed a gentle and virtuous nature. She supported her husband in Kaiyuan and was promoted to the rank of Second Rank Imperial Lady. His concubine, Jin Yuji, was a native of Korea, a woman of romantic fame and a valiant spirit. Unprecedented in history, a woman dedicated to Liaodong. Her loyalty and military prowess put men to shame! She fought bloody battles in Kaiyuan, charging the enemy lines; she beat drums at Hunhe, defeating the Eastern Invasion! Jin Yuji was specially granted the rank of Third Rank General Anyuan and the title of Third Class Lady. Her achievements at Hunhe will be celebrated on bells and tripods, her legacy; her contributions to the Li court will be remembered for generations to come! She will forever be a loyal minister, a true radiant figure in history!
Admire this!

Liu Zhaosun knelt to thank the emperor for the grace, took the imperial edict, held it above his head, and knelt for a long time. Wei Zhongxian laughed and helped his sworn brother to his feet.

When Ping Liaohou looked up, his face was already covered with tears.

(End of this chapter)