The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 72: Presenting Prisoners to the Palace
On May 22, the 47th year of the Wanli reign, 300 Kaiyuan soldiers, led by the Five Military Camps of the Capital, entered the capital through Zuoanmen.

Some injured eunuchs who had not yet escaped sat cross-legged in front of the moat near Zuoanmen, glaring at Liu Zhaosun and others.

Three days ago, several fierce fights broke out at the nine gates of the capital. Three thousand eunuchs and soldiers from the military department fought each other, leaving their heads broken and bleeding. The scene was extremely tragic.

It wasn't until May 20th that the eunuchs' enthusiasm for job hunting finally moved the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of War. They sent the Beijing Battalion to reinforce the Military Commissioner, and with a multi-pronged approach, they finally drove this group of fanatical job seekers out of the capital.

Liu Zhaosun looked at the eunuch crawling on the ground in front of him and felt very uncomfortable.

Kang Yingqian looked relaxed, and from time to time he would tutor the lieutenant general on some anecdotes from the Qing dynasty.

"Lieutenant General Liu, you should know that our dynasty, unlike the Yuan and Song dynasties, strictly forbids private castration. Except for Emperor Chengzu's campaign against rebellion, when he used eunuchs as soldiers and castrated some men, the reigns of Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong repeatedly forbade civilians from self-castration. If anyone engaged in private castration, upon discovery, the punishment would range from beating with a stick to exile." (See note 1)

"I remembered something and wanted to share it to make Lieutenant General Liu laugh. In the first year of the Zhengtong era, a monk from Tianjin garrison castrated himself and infiltrated the Imperial Household Department. When Emperor Yingzong learned of this, he expelled the monk from the palace and revoked his exemption from corvée labor. He was then exiled to Liaodong, perhaps to our Kaiyuan. Hahahaha."

Seeing Kang Yinggan laughing so happily, Liu Zhaosun thought that this man was quite interesting. He gave up his good job as a civil servant and insisted on going to Liaodong to join him. This spirit of using any means to gain power was something that ordinary people could not match.

"If that's the case, then why can't we prohibit it? I just heard from the captain of the Fifth Army Battalion that nearly 10,000 people are clamoring to enter the palace to serve the emperor this year, and the number will increase next year."

Kang Yinggan stroked his beard and said with a smile:
"You don't know this. Besides the Forbidden City in the capital, how many princes, royal families, nobles, and relatives of the emperor are there in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty? These gentlemen all need eunuchs to serve them. They sell what they want. I have also heard that in the remote areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, powerful landlords like to castrate their tenants. It's very evil. For all these reasons, the people of our dynasty castrate themselves, and it is hard to stop despite repeated bans."

"In short, Lieutenant General Liu, you must remember that our Ming Dynasty has no shortage of eunuchs. I advise you to keep some eunuchs. The eunuchs from Northern Zhili are good-looking and cheap. They are the most loyal when they are around. Sometimes."

Kang Yingqian said this, turned his head and glanced at Jin Yuji, laughing lewdly in a low voice:

"Sometimes, it's even more useful than your Korean beauty."

Liu Zhaosun was speechless.

When everyone entered the city wall, Liu Zhaosun ordered the soldiers to rest on the spot.

From afar, they saw officials from the Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Horse Department, and the Ministry of War coming to greet them. Kang Yingqian was worried that this warrior didn't know the rules of the capital, so he quickly pointed at the people opposite and whispered to Liu Zhaosun to explain.

The two sides approached each other quickly, and Liu Zhaosun saluted each superior according to Kang Yingqian's instructions.

He found that the officials who went to Kaiyuan to inspect the performance last time were also among this group of people. Compared with others, they were quite polite to Liu Zhaosun and Kang Yingqian.

Other eunuchs and civil servants also asked about Brigadier General Liu's well-being. Upon hearing that he had come by sea, an official from the Ministry of War asked him if he was seasick.

Liu Zhaosun was only a lieutenant general at that time, and was far away in Liaodong. In the past, such a small character would not be taken seriously by the officials in the capital.

However, in the past two months, he had achieved several victories in Liaodong, greatly boosting Ming army morale and even beheading the Nu chieftain Amin. Leading his troops to the capital to present captives would surely earn the emperor's favor. Everyone had heard that this warrior had also secured the support of the Chu Party (Xiong Tingbi), so naturally, he must be treated with respect and not be neglected.

The Imperial Horse Administration and the Ministry of War quickly dispatched food and tents. Liu Zhaosun quickly ordered Wang Erhu and Deng Changxiong to organize the soldiers to set up camp in the Wengcheng. He also ordered Pei Dahu to lead the guards to guard the prisoners and heads. The prisoners would be presented tomorrow, so there couldn't be any mistakes.

There was never a shortage of people watching the fun in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. When the people in the capital heard that a group of elite soldiers from Liaodong who had defeated the Jiannu had arrived and were escorting prisoners and heads to be presented to the emperor today, they were shocked.

The area around Zuo'anmen was already bustling with people, and the people of the capital were pouring in from all directions, as if the dead soldiers of the Later Jin Dynasty were attacking the city. No one even came to watch the beheading of the defeated soldiers at Caishikou. The Jinyiwei and the Wucheng Bingmasi were on high alert, and all of them were arranged to guard the gate of the city wall. Due to lack of manpower, they had to ask the Beijing camp for help and asked them to transfer personnel to evacuate the crowd.

Liu Zhaosun sat on a stool, looking up at the sky above the square courtyard of the city wall, feeling like he was looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.

This was the first time Liu Zhaosun came to the capital, this mysterious and majestic center of imperial power.

Although he has the knowledge of a time traveler, to be fair, his understanding of Liaodong and the Ming Dynasty is not comprehensive enough, and he is even biased, just like looking at the sky from a well at this moment.

Jin Yuji, dressed in military uniform, stood quietly beside the official to protect him. Like other soldiers, this was her first time in the capital.

But she was not like others, staring at the towering city wall and watchtower with a look of awe on her face.

In Jin Yuji's view, the layout of the Ming Dynasty capital was basically similar to that of Seoul, with a central axis running through it and divided into two sections, north and south.

Of course, this place is much bigger than Seoul.

Kang Yingqian was busy exchanging greetings and returning greetings with the officials in the capital. Since Liu Zhaosun was a military general, some of the etiquette between civil officials was exempted.

Kang Yingqian kept bowing and clasping like a tumbler.

Taking advantage of Kang Yingqian's free time to socialize, Liu Zhaosun hurriedly approached Wei Zhongxian to learn about the situation in the capital.

"Where will we present the prisoners tomorrow?"

"At the Meridian Gate, the Minister of Justice, Huang Kezun, has arrived in person, and officials from the six ministries will also be present."

"What about the emperor?"

Wei Zhongxian looked back at the Meridian Gate Tower. When he heard Liu Zhaosun ask the emperor, the fierce eunuch who came from the fighting business suddenly looked sad:

"It's hard to say. His Majesty has had severe foot pain lately, and he gets dizzy at night. The Imperial Hospital said it's a cold, and the medicine they prescribed hasn't helped."

Having said that, Wei Zhongxian quickly glanced around. About ten steps away from the two of them, Lord Kang was pulling Lu Shou's sleeve and laughing. Lu Shou tried to turn his head to look over here several times, but was pulled back by Kang Yingqian.

"You said the emperor..."

Liu Zhaosun remembered that Emperor Shenzong died in the 48th year of Wanli. Could it be that because he traveled through time and changed history, he also had to change Zhu Yijun's life span?
Logically speaking, Eunuch Wei is now being oppressed by Eunuch Lu, and he should be looking forward to the emperor's death. After all, a new emperor means new ministers.

After Lu Shou stepped down, he also had the opportunity to take the throne. However, when Eunuch Wei mentioned that the emperor was seriously ill, his face was full of sorrow.

Liu Zhaosun couldn't help but have a new understanding of this elder brother. It seemed that his father-in-law still had feelings for Wanli.

Wei Zhongxian leaned close to Liu Zhaosun's ear and said:
"I'm afraid our family won't survive this year."

"My dear brother, listen to my advice and cut off all ties with Xiong Tingbi. The day the new emperor ascends the throne will be the day of his death, and no one can guarantee it." Liu Zhaosun wanted to ask who was behind the impeachment of the governor, but at this time, a loud noise came from the other side of the city wall corridor.

People from the Five Cities Army, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Beijing Camp all knelt down to greet them. Wei Zhongxian stopped talking, hurriedly gave Liu Zhaosun a few instructions, and then went towards Lu Shou. Liu Zhaosun turned around and hurried towards the corridor to greet him. He knew that it must be an important cabinet official who had arrived.

The surrounding Kaiyuan soldiers immediately lined up, and Kang Yingqian and several Beijing officials also walked over there.

A senior civil servant with a hunched body and slow movements, surrounded by a group of civil and military officials, walked through the corridor of Zuoanmen City Wall and slowly came towards Liu Zhaosun. Liu Zhaosun saw Xiong Tingbi following the civil servant. The tall Xiong Manzi stood out among the group of civil servants.

The hunchbacked civil servant walking slowly in front had a bird patch on the chest of his official uniform.

Because it was too far away, I couldn't tell whether it was a first-grade crane or a second-grade pheasant.

At this time, all the fourth and fifth rank officials around knelt down together. Kang Yingqian, who was of the fourth rank, also knelt down and pulled Liu Zhaosun's sleeve. Liu Zhaosun did not dare to be negligent and quickly knelt down on the ground as well.

"This is Prime Minister Fang. Lord Xiong was recommended by Lord Fang to take charge of Liaodong this time! Make friends with him, and you will have enough Liaodong funds to spend in the future!"

Kang Yinggan looked up and smiled at the civil servant walking towards him, while secretly giving instructions to Liu Zhaosun and chattering endlessly.

The old and frail Prime Minister Fang slowly walked up to Liu Zhaosun.

Prime Minister Fang waved his hand to push away the two subordinates who were supporting him, and without even looking at the civil servants kneeling on the ground in front of him, he walked straight forward to help Liu Zhaosun up.

"I, Lieutenant General Liu Zhaosun of Kaiyuan, pay my respects to the Prime Minister!"

Liu Zhaosun looked at his staggering figure and was worried that Old Man Fang might fall. Fang Congzhe had already sprung up and rushed forward, grabbed Liu Zhaosun's arm and helped him up.

"Please stand up quickly! He is indeed a fierce general!"

Fang Congzhe's mouth, which had been crooked by a stroke, trembled slightly. He looked Liu Zhaosun up and down and laughed:

"Tsk tsk tsk, these past few days, when I saw the reports sent back by the Ministry of War, I thought it was a general like Zhang Fei or Fan Kuai, but I didn't expect him to be so handsome. I think Pan An and Ji Kang would be no more than this if they were still alive!"

After interacting with all the superiors, Liu Zhaosun had long been numb to such rhetoric, but today these words came from the mouth of the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, which still made him flattered.

Liu Zhaosun was about to kneel down again, but was stopped by Fang Congzhe. He clasped his hands together, saluted, and said loudly:

"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, is overly kind. How dare I compare myself to Ji Zhongsan? I only take Ji Yanzu (Ji Shao) as my role model, working hard to kill the enemy and serve the country!"

When the civil servants around heard this, they all looked towards Liu Zhaosun, and several tribute students from the Imperial College behind Fang Congzhe were even more surprised.

Among the people present, only Xiong Tingbi and Kang Yingqian nodded slightly.

This is no wonder. No one would believe that a warrior who came from a general family would know the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, and would also emulate Ji Kang's son Ji Shao and use his flesh and blood to shield the monarch from arrows.

Fang Congzhe's beard twitched, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Liu Zhaosun changed slightly. He turned back to look at Xiong Tingbi, then turned around and said with a smile:

"Haha, I've heard from Lord Xiong a long time ago that you, Lieutenant General Liu, are so young yet you possess both military and literary skills, and are well versed in Confucianism and Buddhism. You have the demeanor of an ancient gentleman, and are not comparable to ordinary warriors. It's true, it's true."

Liu Zhaosun wanted to say a few more humble words, but Old Master Fang grabbed his arm, lowered his voice, and said in a confidant tone:
"Lieutenant General Liu, I originally wanted to give your troops a couple of days to rest and recuperate. As you saw when you entered the city, the rioters are still causing trouble. The Jinyiwei of the Military Affairs Department are very busy and cannot afford to delay. Tomorrow, I will have you go to the Meridian Gate to announce your victory. His Majesty will be watching the ceremony from the Meridian Gate Tower."

After Fang Congzhe finished speaking, he looked up at Liu Zhaosun with a slight smile.

Although it was just a few brief greetings, the young lieutenant general in front of him left a very deep impression on Fang Congzhe.

Although Fang Congzhe adhered to the principles of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, he also enjoyed visiting bamboo forests on weekdays.

Especially when he met a "diligent and wise monarch" like Wanli, he had been involved in the disputes between the Donglin Chu Party and the Zhejiang Party in recent years, and was already exhausted physically and mentally. He yearned for the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and fantasized about escaping from this quagmire.

So when we talked about the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, I suddenly felt closer to this warrior.

In fact, during the late Ming Dynasty when Emperor Shenzong was inactive and the economy was booming, the pursuit of scholars was no longer just to actively participate in the world. Some were obsessed with Catholicism, while others devoted themselves to studying Western science...
Of course, a civil servant like Kang Yingqian who is eager for power and willing to act as a poisonous scholar is definitely an outlier in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, but this is related to Lord Kang's early experience.

Early in the morning of the 22nd, just as the sky was getting light, the Ming army's trumpets and drums rang out from the city walls next to Zuoanmen.

Under the command of Captain Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu, the three hundred Kaiyuan soldiers began to train in formation as usual.

Three hundred soldiers, armored and armed, stood in meticulous formation, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if performed by a single individual.

This is the result of Liu Zhaosun's strict military discipline. In terms of momentum alone, the Kaiyuan soldiers are stronger than many Ming Dynasty troops.

The soldiers of the Beijing camp were awakened by the shouts and cries of killing from the city wall. They stood on the city wall and watched blankly, while the officers pointed at the Kaiyuan army.

Fang Congzhe is old and frail and cannot get up early, so Lu Shou came early today.

Lu Shou is now the chief eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and in charge of the East Factory. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that he is not the emperor's confidant.

It was reasonable that Lu Shou was later replaced by Wei Zhongxian because he had little qualifications and no followers.

The last time the censor impeached Yang Hao, he failed to respond in time, which made Wanli distrust him even more.

Yesterday, Liu Zhaosun entered the city, but Lu Shou failed to go with Fang Congzhe, which explains the problem.

At this moment, Eunuch Lu was standing on the city wall, looking at the troops under Liu Zhaosun's command. He felt that this army was no less imposing than the border troops of the Beijing camp, and its combat effectiveness was no less than that of the Zhejiang soldiers and local chieftains.

With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, Lu Shou's tenure as the eunuch holding the seal would come to an end. Liu Zhaosun came to the capital this time with the intention of befriending this young hero. If he ever lost power in the future and was exiled to Liaodong as a military supervisor, he would have a safe place to stay.

Note:
(1) Ming History, vol. 307, biography no. 195, Favorites; see also Taizong Shilu, vol. 31, September nd year of Yongle

(End of this chapter)