The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 736: The Secret of Bozhou in the th Year of Wanli
On the second day of June in the seventh year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde issued an edict ordering Duke Chengguo to return to the interior of the country and Chief Instructor Xing Zhongyi to lead the army to garrison Liaodong.

A decree deprived Deng Changxiong of his military power.

On the eighth day of July, Duke Chengguo arrived in the capital with several of his personal soldiers. Prime Minister Kang Jingxiu and eunuch Li Juying went to Longsheng Pass to greet them.

Having lost his military power, the emperor did not personally welcome him. In addition, there were recent rumors that the court was tracking down the remnants of the princess, which made Deng Changxiong feel anxious.

At the beginning, Liu Yufei and her followers planned to purge the emperor and rebel. The rebels repeatedly invited Deng Changxiong to join them in the rebellion. Although Deng Changxiong refused, he did not expose or report them in the end.

Now that the eldest princess has lost power and has been imprisoned in the Cining Palace, her followers have scattered like monkeys, some have joined other factions, and some have fled overseas.

Deng Changxiong knew that the court's reckoning with the princess's followers would come sooner or later. He worried that the letters he had sent to the rebels might have fallen into the hands of the emperor, and given Liu Kan's harsh and unkind nature, he was unlikely to let it go.

Of the six surviving corps after the disarmament, the First, Second, and Third Corps were directly controlled by Emperor Guangde. Wu Aheng was Emperor Guangde's confidant, and the court was preparing to take action against Qin Jianxun's Fourth Corps.

In this way, the most elite troops of the Great Qi will all fall into Liu Kan's hands.

One wrong step leads to another. If we had listened to Pu Gang's advice and jointly raised an army to force Liu Kan to abdicate, we would not have ended up in this situation.

After returning to Nanjing, Deng Changxiong hid in his own mansion, closed the door to visitors, lived in seclusion, and spent his days like years, waiting for the emperor to punish him.

The generals and officers who stayed in the capital came to visit Deng's house, but Duke Chengguo always used illness as an excuse to avoid them.

~~~

"General, please go back. I've already said that my master is ill and will not be seeing guests today."

"What about tomorrow? I will be leaving the capital in a few days. I only wish to see Duke Cheng."

"Tomorrow is not an option! There are so many people in Nanjing who want to see my master. Let's go back."

The old housekeeper of the Deng Mansion poked his head out from the crack of the door, looked at the tall and strong general, waved his hand, and sent the man away quickly as if he was shooing away a fly.

The man shook his head helplessly and turned to leave. Two Ryukyu soldiers whispered something and handed him the reins.

The general took the reins and was about to mount the horse when he felt a little unwilling. He threw the reins to his personal soldier, turned around and strode to the gate.

The vermilion gate creaked shut. The general grabbed the door knocker and pushed hard. There was a thud in the yard and the gate was pushed open by a huge force. The housekeeper of the Deng Mansion flew five or six steps away like a cannonball and fell on his back.

The giant stepped over the threshold and was about to help the old butler. The butler backed away as if he had seen a ghost, pointed at the person who came, and shouted to the servants who were watching the excitement:
"What are you standing there for? Why don't you kick this idiot out..."

Five or six servants rushed forward. The general was big and strong, a head taller than everyone else. Although he was surrounded in the center with bare hands, he was calm and composed, not afraid at all.

Two Ryukyu soldiers watched from behind the door, but did not come in to help. One of them laughed and said, "I'm afraid these are not enough for the general to fight."

Just as the two sides were about to fight, an old and hoarse voice came from the courtyard:

"stop!"

The old butler struggled to get up and waved his hand to let the servants stop.

"Master, this guy said he came to visit you, but he barged in after a disagreement and even injured me..."

Deng Changxiong carefully examined the general opposite him. Seeing that he had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and an extraordinary appearance, he frowned and asked, "Zhennan Hou Lin Yu, who are you?"

The young general put away his sandbag fist, saluted, and said in a voice as loud as a bell:

"I am Lin Zhenyu, son of the Marquis of Zhennan and Lieutenant General of Ryukyu. I heard that Duke Cheng had returned to the capital, so I came here today to pay him a visit. I accidentally knocked over the butler just now, and I apologize for the offense. May I know who you are?"

"So it's my dear nephew Zhenyu. I just returned to the capital and am so busy that I won't see any outsiders. Please don't be surprised, nephew."

As he spoke, Deng Changxiong walked up to him, examined him carefully, nodded, and said with a smile:
"Like, really like. I didn't expect Lin Yu's son to be this big. The young are formidable! The young are formidable! Come into the house and talk. Butler Zhao, serve the tea!"

Lin Yu had a close relationship with Deng Changxiong during his lifetime. Butler Zhao bowed and said with a smile on his face:

"General Lin, you are a young talent. Your military exploits in Ryukyu have been reported in the official gazette. The people of Nanjing regard you as a figure like Huo Qubing. After meeting you today, I find you are indeed extraordinary..."

……

Deng Changxiong led Lin Zhenyu into the side room and they sat around a coffee table. The maid brought them tea. Duke Cheng Guo dismissed everyone and only left Butler Zhao by his side.

The two chatted about some battlefield matters. Deng Changxiong asked Lin Zhenyu in detail about how he defeated the red-haired barbarians in Ryukyu. Lin Zhenyu finished his story one by one and then talked about how Emperor Guangde appointed him to lead the Fourth Corps to quell the rebellion. Deng Changxiong put down his teacup and said leisurely:
"My dear nephew, although your uncle is a rough man, he knows that Yunyang is a place of exile for criminals, with its poor mountains and harsh waters. The commander of the Fourth Corps, Qin Jianxun, has always had a complicated relationship with the various chieftains in Sichuan. When the retired emperor was on the throne, he was not eager to attack Sichuan, so he never changed the Fourth Corps. Now I am sending you to command the battalion to pacify the chieftains. You are a new officer with no confidants and no support. Your uncle is worried about your safety."

Lin Zhenyu clasped his fists and said, "Nephew understands, but it's hard to disobey the emperor's order. Things are in our hands, so it's worth a try."

Deng Changxiong coughed and sighed:

"It's a pity that my uncle has lost his power and his military authority. My words carry little weight... Yunyang is a dangerous place. Military achievements are secondary. If I go there, I must protect myself."

Lin Zhenyu had been stranded in Nanjing for the past few days and had heard rumors from the imperial court that the emperor was investigating the eldest princess's followers, implicating various military units. It seemed Deng Changxiong was also involved. "Uncle, don't worry. As long as the court has use for me, His Majesty will listen to me. I've made some contributions in Ryukyu, and if anyone frames you, I will clear your name."

"Hahaha."

Deng Changxiong coughed twice, the scar on his face trembled slightly, and the wrinkles on his face stretched out.

"It's rare for my nephew to have such a heart. He's better than my unfilial son. When he heard I was back, he avoided me for fear of ruining his career... Old Zhao, tell the servants to invite Zhenyu to dinner at your house tonight."

Butler Zhao nodded without saying anything and left tactfully.

After Butler Zhao left and there was no one else around, Deng Changxiong stood up trembling.

"Wait here for a moment, my dear nephew. I'll be right back."

After Deng Changxiong finished speaking, he turned around and walked into a secret room inside the wing and took out a wooden box.

Lin Zhenyu looked at the wooden box curiously, feeling confused.

Deng Changxiong looked around to see if there was anyone around, stuffed the wooden box into Lin Zhenyu's arms, and said solemnly:
"Keep it safe. Open it when you get to Yunyang. You'll know everything then. Go back and don't let the Mino Guard see it."

"Uncle..." Lin Zhenyu hesitated to speak.

"Go back. I'm living out my days in Nanjing. That's enough."

Lin Zhenyu no longer asked what was in the box. He stuffed the box into his armor and saluted Deng Changxiong.

"See you later, take care, uncle!"

Deng Changxiong coughed violently and patted the giant's shoulder.

"See you later."

Watching Lin Zhenyu's back gradually walking away, Deng Changxiong murmured:
"General Liu, I can only keep the secret of Bozhou in the 29th year of Wanli for you until now..."

·~~~~~
On July 23, the seventh year of Guangde, half a month after Duke Chengguo returned to the capital, Emperor Guangde summoned the soldiers who had suppressed the rebellion in Liaodong to the Fengtian Hall to reward them according to their merits.

"This time, the rebellion in Liaodong was suppressed thanks to the dedicated service of the three armies. Heaven has blessed the Great Qi, and the royal army has achieved immediate success. Duke Chengguo's contribution is immeasurable."

Liu Kan's eyes slowly swept across the ministers in the hall, and finally fell on Duke Chengguo.

"Duke Cheng, I heard that you led the troops to suppress the rebellion this time. You first cut off the enemy's food supply, then took advantage of their rest to wait for them to tire themselves out. With a thunderous strike, you took Shenyang in one battle, Liaoyang in two, and Tieling and Kaiyuan surrendered in a matter of days. Within three to five days, 100,000 rebels were wiped out. Even if Wu Qi and Sun Bin were reborn, they would not be more capable than this."

Deng Changxiong knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, "How dare I take credit for what I have done? This time, the pacification of Liaodong was entirely due to Your Majesty's strategic planning. The royal army was highly motivated, well-trained, and well-equipped with incendiary bombs and other powerful weapons. This was not the work of me alone. Instructor Xing Zhongyi led the troops and killed the bandit leader Pu Gang in battle. His contribution was immeasurable..."

Emperor Guangde nodded slightly, a satisfied smile on his face. He was about to ask Li Juying to announce the reward for Duke Chengguo when he suddenly heard a voice:

"After this battle, hundreds of thousands of civilians in Liao, Shen, Tieling, and other places were killed or injured. The vitality of the Liaodong region was severely damaged, the fields were barren, and nine out of ten houses were empty. The late emperor used Liaodong as his foundation to achieve his current hegemony. I earnestly request Your Majesty to reduce the taxes of the Liao people for three years..."

There was deathly silence in the hall.

Why not bring up this matter? Emphasizing the retired emperor at this time is clearly questioning the authority of Emperor Guangde. As for reducing taxes, is it to win people's hearts?
No one would have thought that these childish words would come out of the mouth of an old minister, and the person who said these words was a meritorious general who controlled the three major military groups of the Great Qi!
The ministers were silent.

The professional smile on Emperor Guangde's face froze instantly.

Kang Guangxu, the Minister of Rites, was about to jump out, but was frightened by Liu Kan's murderous look.

"Good, good, good. Duke Cheng is not only a master at military command, but he also cares deeply about the people. He is truly a trusted and trusted minister left behind by the late emperor."

Duke Chengguo was so frightened that he knelt for a long time and could not get up.

Liu Kan looked around and said with a pleasant face, "Duke Cheng, please stand up. I have called everyone here today not only to reward the three armies, but also for another matter."

"October 18th is an auspicious day. I will confer the title of Imperial Consort of Great Qi upon the daughter of Duke Cheng."

Civil and military officials all congratulated Duke Cheng and the future father-in-law of the Great Qi.

Duke Chengguo thanked the emperor again and stood up with cold sweat all over his body.

Deng Changxiong became more and more uneasy after he failed to seek death in the court today and inexplicably became the father-in-law of the Great Qi.

Since the first year of Wuding, there have been three fathers-in-law of the state in Da Qi. The first two were Yang Hao, the father of Empress Dowager Yang Qing'er, and Zhang Guoji, the father of Empress Dowager Zhang Yan, the Earl of Taikang.

The first two fathers-in-law of the emperor met a very tragic end. Yang Hao was killed in the Wanggongchang explosion, and Zhang Guoji was later ordered by the emperor to commit suicide.

Deng Changxiong looked at the new nobles of Daqi in Fengtian Hall and murmured in his heart, "What will be the end of this old man?"

(End of this chapter)