The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 559 Zhang Dai's Love in Yinzhou

Li Dingguo and Eunuch Cao traveled quickly northward and arrived at Junzhou Prefecture three days later.

The emperor's brother-in-law Jin Dajiu, the Minister of Works Xu Guangqi, the Marquis of Shunyi Zhu Youxiao and others went out of the city to welcome him. They were not there to welcome Li Dingguo - Li Youji was not that arrogant - but because Cao Tengzhuo was carrying the imperial edict issued by the retired emperor to Tianxin City, so naturally no one dared to neglect him.

Seeing this group of royal relatives, Cao Tengzhuo did not dare to put on airs. He read the imperial edict hastily and commended all the construction workers of the capital on behalf of the retired emperor. Then, accompanied by Zhu Youxiao and others, he went to inspect the Tianxin City construction site.

"This time, our family has been instructed by the Emperor to first bring this person back to Liaodong for him. More importantly, we are to come to Junzhou to see Tianxin City and see how the construction is progressing."

Thirty miles east of Junzhou City is the Tianxin City construction site.

The scorching sun baked the earth, and the sand and dust seemed to be smoking. Cao Tengzhuo, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, rode limply on a black horse, following behind Zhu Youxiao. Because of his obesity and the hot weather, sweat soon flowed down his cheeks.

Zhu Youxiao repeatedly requested the fat eunuch to ride in a sedan chair, but he refused every time. His reason for refusal was that the emperor had sent him to inspect Tianxin City, so how could he do so without riding a horse and being there in person?
In front of this powerful eunuch who held the seal, Zhu Youxiao showed no trace of his previous imperial demeanor. Not only that, his attitude was very humble, just like a carpenter.

Eunuch Cao held out for less than a quarter of an hour before he could no longer hold on and had to hide in a pavilion by the roadside. He took the tea handed to him by his personal soldiers and drank it all in one gulp while holding the teapot.

Looking at the laborers who were toiling in the scorching heat, Eunuch Cao couldn't help but feel pity.

"Your Majesty asks, how long will it take you to complete the work?"

The empire spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build the new capital, Tianxin City. The money spent on transporting timber from Yunnan and Guizhou alone amounted to more than 100,000 taels of silver. It was really money spent like water.

"Your Excellency, we have only completed the main structure of the new city. It will take about six years to complete."

Eunuch Cao was speechless.

At this time, Jin Dajiu pulled Eunuch Cao to his side with a strange smile on his face.

As soon as Li Dingguo saw it, he knew that his brother-in-law was going to give a gift to his father-in-law again.

Corruption has been growing secretly in every corner of Da Qi. I wonder if the emperor knows this.

Li Dingguo stayed in Junzhou for two days and took Yin Susu to visit Wudang Mountain and pray to the God of Zhenwu.

On the third day, everyone left Junzhou and continued north, embarking on the long journey back to Liaodong.

The imperial post stations were well-connected, centered in Junzhou, Huguang, and radiating to all parts of the country. The density of post roads in the Liaodong provinces was even more insane. All villages were connected by post roads, comparable to the infrastructure mania of the Celestial Empire in later generations.

There was no conversation along the way. In early June, Cao Tengzhuo and Li Dingguo returned to Shenyang.

On the night of arriving in Shenyang, Li Dingguo had a long talk with Emperor Wuding. Liu Zhaosun was furious when he learned that Zheng Chenggong not only refused to pay the ransom but also killed his people.

He asked Zheng Zhilong to attend as an observer. Upon seeing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately expressed his loyalty to the Great Qi.

Liu Zhaosun dismissed Zheng Zhilong and told Li Dingguo that he would not believe a word the Zheng father and son said.

For Zheng Chenggong, as long as he continued to cause trouble for the Qi fleet on the sea and as long as he led troops to invade Shandong every now and then, Qi would not dare to kill his father.

"I will not kill Zheng Zhilong, not because I am afraid of pirate retaliation, but because he understands maritime affairs and has a more important role to play."

Li Dingguo looked puzzled.

Liu Zhaosun explained, "Yinzhou has been away from China for too long. Recovering the homeland is a century-long project, which may take decades, or even hundreds of years. Before that, the Great Qi will deal with Annan, Jiaozhi and other countries. Zheng Zhilong is quite familiar with southeastern affairs, and it is the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period. Keeping him will have more advantages than disadvantages."

Li Dingguo thought of Zheng Chenggong, who had killed his brother in Fujian, and was about to speak when the Emperor continued:
"I heard that you visited Kang Yingqian on your way back?"

"It is true,"

"Is he okay now?"

"Everything is fine. He married two more concubines last month."

Liu Zhaosun was speechless. "General Kang asked me to deliver a message to Your Majesty."

"Go ahead."

Li Dingguo thought for a moment before saying, "General Kang said that your Majesty's 'Qi Dynasty Land System' has many drawbacks in its implementation in prefectures and counties. Many officials pretend to obey but secretly disobey, and even some generals..."

The Emperor interrupted unhappily, "I understand. We'll talk about this later. Don't ask about it."

Liu Zhaosun changed the subject and continued:

"Zheng Sen is stubborn and unrepentant. He has no moral principles. He wanted to kill my men before I even killed them. I will never let such a man live."

"Your journey to Yinzhou this time was a life-or-death experience. Everyone has to die, some as heavy as Mount Tai, some as light as a feather. Dying for the benefit of the empire is a meaningful death."

Li Dingguo looked at the emperor with a pious face.

"You are about to face Indians who are even more ferocious than the Jiannu. Of course, the real enemy is those blond-haired, blue-eyed, white-skinned European bandits."

Hearing this, he couldn't help but interrupt:

"Your Majesty, didn't you say that the Indians are friends of Da Qi?"

"That was announced to the outside world, deceiving the world."

Liu Zhaosun's expression remained unchanged: "No matter how powerful the king is, if you run into someone else's territory, you are still a robber. These Indians have been slaughtered many times by European robbers. They don't trust anyone now, so..."

The emperor hesitated to speak. He wanted Li Dingguo to say that sentence, but seeing that Li Dingguo was indifferent, he had no choice but to continue:
"If you can't live in harmony, you should know what to do. Remember, Da Qi's primary enemy is the white-skinned European bandits."

After listening to Emperor Wuding's earnest teachings, Li Dingguo's original confusion suddenly disappeared, and he became more determined to regain the territory of Yinzhou.

"Oh, I almost forgot,"

Emperor Wu Ding winked, and Dongfang Zhu screamed:
"Bring Zhang Dai to the palace!"

Li Dingguo looked surprised.

A moment later, a bearded and ragged prisoner was brought into the hall by the imperial guards. When he saw the Empress Dowager, he immediately knelt on the ground with a rough and hoarse voice.

"The sinner Zhang Weicheng kowtows to the Supreme Emperor. Long live the Emperor!"

The retired emperor asked Zhang Dai to stand up and briefly introduced to Li Dingguo this unfortunate man who was sent to Ningguta in order to marry a wife.

Three years have passed in a flash, and the temperament of the famous scholar in Jiangnan has completely changed. He no longer twists his fingers when speaking, and his face and legs are covered with hair.

He totally possesses the temperament of a toe-picking guy.

Liu Zhaosun smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that it was necessary for intellectuals to walk to Ningguta and go to the countryside and mountains to receive re-education from serfs.

"Zhang Dai, I asked you to come back because I wanted to let you go. I forgot to tell you. Emperor Hongguang has listed you as a wanted criminal and is posting notices everywhere to capture you. He wants to execute you by slow slicing."

Zhang Dai knelt down and kowtowed, nodding like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Please, His Majesty, give me a way to live!"

There was only one way to survive, and that was to go to Yinzhou and work as a clerk to assist Li Dingguo in recording their activities in Yinzhou. In other words, he would be one of the spies sent to Yinzhou by the retired emperor.

"Haven't you always wanted me to grant you a marriage? This is an opportunity. I can help you find love in Yinzhou."

Zhang Dai was so terrified that he dared not look up. The Emperor continued:
"When you get to Yinzhou, you can marry the daughter of the local chieftain and become a son-in-law of Yinzhou. There's a lot you can do."

(End of this chapter)