The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 802: Poor Dong Xiaowan
"Are you really a palace maid?"

"Your Highness, I am."

Qi Meng looked at the woman in front of him with suspicion. He had been in a hurry to take a shower just now and didn't look at her closely. But now, when he looked at her again, he found that she was extremely beautiful.

Although she was only fourteen or fifteen years old, she was very graceful. Her swan-like slender neck was revealed under her black hair as black as clouds, which made people's hearts beat faster.

However, the King of Liao had already seen all the beauties in the world over the years, and he also called himself a hero of all ages. How could he be like other time travelers who had the attribute of a bootlicker and could not move their feet when they saw a woman?

"What are you dawdling for? Useless thing, hurry up and help me change my clothes!"

Dong Xiaowan opened her eyes wide, her clear eyes like water were shimmering with stars, and she was about to burst into tears the next moment.

She hesitated for a while, and finally mustered up the courage to reach out and untie the belt of her leather jacket and began to take off the four-dragon python robe.

The Liao prince stood six feet three inches (about 1 meters), about a foot taller than Dong Xiaowan. Dong Xiaowan's eyebrows were just level with Qi Meng's shoulders. The cuffs of the Liao prince's fur coat exuded a strong scent of ambergris, and a faint odor of sweat could be smelled beneath his python robe. Dong Xiaowan felt her heart flutter, something she had never experienced before.

Being so close to a strange man.

She was in a panic, her fingers trembling as she untied her belt, like a lost deer.

Qi Meng saw Dong Xiaowan's unusual behavior and guessed she must be from a wealthy official family, so he casually asked, "Where are you from? How old were you when you entered the palace?"

"Your Highness, I am from Gusu and entered the palace at the age of twelve."

"Outside Gusu City, the bells of Hanshan Temple ring at midnight, reaching the passenger ship. Is that the Gusu?"

"That's right." Dong Xiaowan nodded.

After that, she said thoughtfully, "I haven't been back to Suzhou for a long time. I wonder how my parents are doing."

"Are you the only one at home?"

"Your Highness, that's right."

"Your parents are really cruel."

Dong Xiaowan blushed as she heard the King of Liao accusing her parents. She immediately argued, "My family is a family of Suzhou embroidery. When I was ten years old, my father suffered from dysentery and the medicine was ineffective. After my father died, my mother was reminded of him by his possessions and entrusted the embroidery business to a clerk. Unexpectedly, the clerk colluded with the county clerk and stole our property..."

Qi Meng listened patiently and said, "So, you were deceived by the official protected by Ruan Dacheng, and then sold into the palace at a low price?"

Dong Xiaowan nodded silently, took off the outer dragon robe, and began to pull off the King of Liao's innermost leather hat.

A burly and strong body appeared in front of the girl, clearly visible.

His entire body was covered with scars of various shapes and sizes. The cross-shaped ones were arrow wounds, the round holes were left by lead bullets from muskets, and there were several shocking knife wounds near his chest.

"Scared?"

Dong Xiaowan was stunned and stood there motionless. When she heard the King of Liao's question, she nodded quickly, but soon began to shake her head vigorously.

"The storyteller said that you were wounded fifty-six times on the battlefield of Hunhe..."

Qi Meng said impatiently, "It's fake. There are only two knife wounds. You believe the storyteller's words? Are you stupid?"

Dong Xiaowan asked cautiously, "The storyteller said that you killed two tigers and three dragons with your bare hands, and you can eat half a pig in one meal..."

"They also said that I could ride a horse at the age of three, hunt at the age of eight, passed the imperial examination at the age of ten, and conquered Japan at the age of twelve, right?"

The King of Liao suddenly looked serious and walked around in front of Dong Xiaowan: "This is all nonsense. They want to make me a god. Look, am I a god?"

This is the true King of Liao, a time traveler who has been fighting bloody battles on the battlefield since the time of Emperor Shenzong. For eighteen years, his will has been as hard as a rock. He has overcome all obstacles, defeated all opponents, and finally reached the pinnacle of power in the Ming Dynasty.

However, even if there is a fierce tiger in your heart, you will still smell the roses.

Dong Xiaowan's eyes were filled with tears. For some reason, she suddenly thought of Zhou Chu (Note 1), who had reformed himself and, after eliminating two evils in the county, remained loyal to his country and ultimately shed his blood on the battlefield.

"What's wrong?" Qi Meng stared at her slightly red eyes and asked curiously.

"The wind was strong and sand came in."

Qi Meng nodded in agreement. "The wind and sand in the capital are so strong that I have to take a shower every day! We need to plant more trees in Mongolia!"

Dong Xiaowan was still in a daze when King Liao remembered something: "Hurry up! If you dare to dawdle again, Queen Yi'an will send you to the laundry department." Dong Xiaowan cried even harder.

The King of Liao had no sympathy for women and practically commanded, "Stay outside first and don't leave! After you've finished washing, follow me to the Huangji Palace."

"Ah?" Dong Xiaowan wiped away her tears, looking incredulous.

The King of Liao did not explain any further. He turned, walked into the bathhouse and jumped in.

Dong Xiaowan, who was secretly worried that the King of Liao would order her to rub his back, looked up and saw that the King of Liao was swimming back and forth in the hot spring pool like a frog. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and began to bend down to pick up the mess of clothes on the ground.

~~~~~
Half an hour later, in the Huangji Hall of the Forbidden City, the King of Liao, feeling refreshed after bathing, sat beside the empty dragon throne. Dongfang Zhu and Cao Huachun stood on his left and right with a few young eunuchs. The hall was filled with civil and military officials who had hurried over.

"Let them in!"

Qi Meng waved to the Han general standing beside him, and the Han general immediately shouted outside the hall:
"Send the Nanjing envoy into the palace!"

All the ministers looked towards the entrance of the hall. After a while, two civil servants who looked like envoys stepped into the Huangji Hall under the protection of a group of Jinyiwei.

"I, the Minister of War Ruan Dacheng, and the Vice Minister of Personnel Du Yongxi, have come here by order of the Emperor..."

Before Ruan Dacheng and Du Yinxi could finish, Kang Yingqian winked, and the Left Vice-Chief Censor Yang Lian immediately jumped out, took two steps at a time, pointed at the two men's noses and cursed:

"Son of Heaven? Which Son of Heaven? All under heaven belongs to the king. There can be no two suns under the sky, and no country can have two rulers! There is only one Son of Heaven in the Ming Dynasty, and that is our Emperor Mingqi, the son of Emperor Tianqi! The traitor Zhu Youjian murdered his brother and raped his mother, lingering on in his dwindling power, separatist in the southeast. Such a warlike villain who has brought disaster to the country and the people, how dare he be called the Son of Heaven!"

"Now that you have been defeated repeatedly by the royal army and are at your wit's end, you are only now thinking of negotiating peace with the imperial court!"

"Last year, the King of Liao, for the sake of the people of the world, repeatedly sent Minister Qian (Qian Qianyi) and Minister Ma (Ma Shiying) south to negotiate peace, but you rejected them all and even killed your entourage. Now it's too late to talk about peace!"

The speaker was Chen Zizhuang, an editor of the Hanlin Academy. He was the runner-up chosen by the King of Liao when he presided over the palace examination last year, and was considered a disciple of the King of Liao.

After Chen Zizhuang finished speaking, the hall suddenly became like a boiling hot pot. The loyal ministers and generals of Emperor Mingqi all raised their arms and shouted, as if to drive away the two Southern Ming rebels.

Ruan Dacheng knew the fine tradition of civil officials in his dynasty fighting each other in public. Seeing this, he was frightened. His face flushed and he stammered, "Don't be angry, everyone. My master said that as long as we stop the war and negotiate peace, the Southern Dynasty will offer 800,000 taels of silver, 10,000 dan of tea, and 10,000 rolls of silk every year..."

Kang Yingqian slammed the table and stood up: "This is like sending away a beggar! Go back and tell Zhu Youjian to keep 800,000 taels for his coffin! Give him 80 million taels every year! Not a penny less! Otherwise, a million-strong army will crush Nanjing!"

······
Du Yinxi, who had been silent the whole time, looked towards the Liao King who was sitting solemnly in the center of the hall. He took two steps forward, stared into Qi Meng's eyes, and said word by word:

"Our dynasty has recognized the Marshal's power. The Emperor has promised that from now on, no one will be separated from the north, and we will put aside our past grudges and work together to deal with the vines. The Emperor said that he has what you want..."

Kang Yingqian and the others were still trying to bargain, but the King of Liao dismissed the ministers and looked back at Du Yinxi, rubbing his hands together. "It's rare that your emperor is so understanding. Since both sides are sincere, I won't make things difficult for you. The compensation is 1.8 million taels of silver, and the tea and silk will remain unchanged. Go back and tell Chongzhen that I will meet with him in Xuzhou City on the sixth day of June to discuss further cooperation. I hope your emperor can attend on time."

"The Ministry of Rites, please treat your distinguished guests well. You must host a banquet according to the standards of a prince, and then bring them to the Music Bureau to let the two adults experience the charm of Yanyun..."

After saying this, he was about to dismiss all the ministers. Just as he stood up, he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, Minister Ruan, please stay first."

When he heard that he was going to the Jiaofangsi to experience the charm of Yanyun, Ruan Dacheng immediately became interested and his steps became more brisk. He was still the same young man without any change.

Suddenly he heard the King of Liao calling him and stopped immediately.

Qi Meng clapped his hands, and a pitiful palace maid came out from behind the curtain.

Ruan Dacheng was overjoyed, thinking the King of Liao was going to reward him with a beautiful woman. He quickly said humbly, "Oh, the King of Liao is truly... Your humble servant has been sent on a diplomatic mission to Yanjing. I have done nothing of value, so how can I accept such a generous gift?"

Qi Meng chuckled: "Then I'll give you antique calligraphy and paintings?"

Only then did Ruan Dacheng realize that something was wrong. He shook his heads repeatedly and said he dared not.

The King of Liao was furious: "You don't want jewelry, you don't want beauties, what do you want?"

"minister·····"

"Open your dog eyes and see who this person is!"

Note:
1. Zhou Chu (240-297), courtesy name Ziyin, was a native of Yangxian, Wu Commandery (present-day Yixing, Jiangsu). He was a minister and general of the Western Jin Dynasty and the son of Zhou Cang, the prefect of Poyang during the Eastern Wu Dynasty. In his youth, he indulged in lust and brought disaster to his hometown. He later reformed himself, visiting the renowned figures Lu Ji and Lu Yun, and returned to study, leaving behind the legend of "Zhou Chu Eliminating the Three Evils." He was appointed Left Chancellor of the Eastern Palace and later Governor of Wunan, surpassing his father in achievements. After the fall of the Wu Kingdom, he served in the Western Jin Dynasty, serving as Prefect of Xinping and then Guanghan, demonstrating effective governance. He later became a Palace Attendant and later Chief Censor, demonstrating his integrity and integrity. However, he fell foul of Sima Rong, King Xiao of Liang. In the seventh year of the Yuankang reign, he was appointed General Jianwei and marched to Guanzhong to suppress the Qi Wannian Rebellion. He was killed on the battlefield. He was posthumously awarded the title of General Pingxi and the posthumous title of "Xiao."

(End of this chapter)