Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 499: Old Salary Rekindled
Arriving at the gate of the mansion, Fang Congzhe personally knocked on the door of the Li family.

The door quickly opened, and out came an elderly man, still tall and straight, his eyes sharp. This was one of the personal soldiers Li Chengliang had brought back from Liaodong when he left office. These men had fought alongside Li Chengliang in battles, and now the Li family had given them a job to provide for their retirement.

"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" The old guard quickly glanced at the group. His gaze finally settled on Shen Yourong, who was at the end of the line. His intuition told him that this person must be a military man, perhaps even a general.

Fang Congzhe smiled and said, "We are looking for Li Zizhen. Is he home?"

"Excuse me, sir, who are you?" asked the old soldier.

Fang Congzhe didn't answer. Instead, he untied the rope holding his cloak and showed him the crane patch on his chest. "Is Li Zizhen here?"

The old guard's pupils shrank, and he opened the door directly. "The second master is at home, gentlemen, please come in!"

Fang Congzhe tied a rope and led everyone into the Li family's gate.

The Ningyuan Earl's residence, after several expansions, now boasts a considerable size. It boasts six independent courtyards. While Li Chengliang was still alive, these courtyards belonged to him, his eldest son Li Rusong, his second son Li Rubai, his third son Li Ruzhen, his fourth son Li Ruzhang, and his fifth son Li Rumei. Now that Li Chengliang, Li Rusong, and Li Rumei have passed away, their courtyards have been divided among their descendants.

The courtyard where Li Rubai lived was located to the right of the main courtyard. After Li Chengliang's death, Li Shizhong, Li Rusong's eldest son and Li Rubai's great nephew, once suggested that his second uncle move into his grandfather's courtyard to take charge. However, Li Rubai did not want to compete with his nephew for the title of Earl of Ningyuan, nor did he want to manage the household, so he explicitly refused. Before he received the title, Li Shizhong himself did not dare to consider himself the head of the family. Because if the emperor insisted on conferring the title of Earl of Ningyuan on his second son Li Rubai according to the rule of inheritance from father to son, then Li Shizhong would have no way to stop it, so the middle courtyard remained vacant. It remained vacant until Liaodong became increasingly chaotic, and the possibility of inheriting the title of Earl of Ningyuan became increasingly small.

When the old guard found Li Rubai, he was still lying on a reclining chair in the yard, looking dejected, staring blankly at the sky. He was waiting for dinner and thinking about his past life.

Although the benevolent new emperor publicly set the tone for the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Sarhu during the court meeting last year and rejected the accusations against Li Rubai by the court and the public on the spot, he was no longer in that state of panic and helplessness.

But that was all. The emperor did not use him again, nor did he even convey any instructions to him, as if he had completely forgotten him.

At first, Li Rubai thought the emperor was simply considering where to place him. But six months later, Li Rubai realized there was no place for him. From Liaozhen to Shaanxi, from Shandong to Guangdong and Guangxi, there were so many other suitable talents in the country. Why would he have to brave the pressure of public opinion and use a controversial veteran like him? The emperor's protection of him was more of a political ploy, a political show.

The Emperor didn't need him, but rather needed to protect him to set the political tone for regulating public opinion and fully support Xiong Tingbi's defensive strategy. This was both brilliant and correct. However, it left Li Rubai deeply frustrated.

Li Rubai realized with frustration that he had degenerated from a gun barrel to a flagpole, which only needed to stand there without having to stab anyone with the tip of the gun.

Li Rubai felt his life was over, so he considered writing an autobiography or memoir to chronicle his life. However, while Li Rubai had many memories, he didn't have much ink. A myriad of thoughts flooded his pen, leaving only the words "difficult to put pen to paper."

But even if it were written down, what would it matter? After a turbulent and passionate first half of his life, the final chapter would probably be nothing more than a reversal of the pen, writing down the eight words "without fighting, one can avoid death through sage wisdom."

Failure, truly failure! Sometimes, Li Rubai really wanted to be like his reckless brother, dying on the march. Even if there was only a cenotaph, it would be a cenotaph with glory.

However, if time could truly turn back and Li Rubai were to return to that snowy battlefield, he would still not have been so stubborn as to refuse Yang Hao's order to withdraw his troops and take his men with him to fight and die in the name of honor. That wouldn't be supporting friendly forces, but rather seeking his own death.

"Second Master." The old soldier trotted to Li Rubai's side and called softly.

"Well, what's the matter?" Li Rubai didn't even stand up, but just turned his head and looked at the old guard with a dead look. "Is it time to eat?"

"What are you eating?" the old guard said excitedly, "Someone came to the door and said he wanted to see you."

"Oh, someone else is coming to the Li family's door?" Li Rubai scoffed. "Who? Could it be the Imperial Guards and the City Patrol Censor again?" Ever since Li Rubai and Li Ruzhen were successively imprisoned for the Liao incident, the Li family's door had been deserted. The last time they were approached was when the City Patrol Censor, accompanied by the Imperial Guards from the street office and soldiers from the Military Affairs Department, came to investigate the permanent residents of his family.

"I don't know who those people are, but at least the leader is not the Jinyiwei, but an old man wearing a crane patch." The old soldier shook his head.

"Crane!?" Li Rubai suddenly became stiff and shouted, "Someone come here!" It must be no small matter if a first-rank civil servant came to his door!

"Second Master." Soon a relatively young servant came running over in response.

"Hurry, hurry, help me change clothes," Li Rubai leaned on the armrest of the recliner and jumped up from the chair. "Give me my most respectable clothes!"

"Yes!" The servant turned and ran, and Li Rubai followed the servant towards the main room.

But after taking just two steps, Li Rubai stopped. He turned around and looked at the old guard: "What are you still standing there for? Go and invite him! Please come to the reception room in the courtyard and serve tea and snacks! Bring out the best treats, don't be slow."

"Please come in, we're waiting for you there." The old soldier smiled knowingly.

"You old rascal, you are not senile after all, you are sensible!" Li Rubai stopped talking nonsense, turned around and went straight to the main room.

--------

Fang Congzhe and the others didn't have to wait too long. As soon as the servants served tea, Li Rubai came over.

As soon as he entered the reception room, Li Rubai was stunned.

He immediately recognized the Prime Minister Fang Congzhe, who sat at the head of the guest seats. Glancing down, he spotted his own soldier Cui Jingrong and the Secretary of Rites Xu Guangqi. As for Yuan Keli and Shen Yourong, who sat opposite Fang, Cui, and Xu, Li Rubai didn't recognize any of them, but they looked familiar, as if he had seen them before.

What are these people planning to do together?

Li Rubai began to get nervous. He continued to walk forward, and his hands and feet unconsciously began to turn slightly.

"Zizhen, long time no see." Fang Congzhe stood up and led everyone to greet Li Rubai.

"I greet Prime Minister Fang, Grand Marshal Cui, and Grand Minister Xu," Li Rubai said, bowing politely to Fang Congzhe, Cui Jingrong, and Xu Guangqi before turning to Yuan Keli and Shen Yourong. "I, Li Rubai, may I ask your names?"

"I am Yuan Keli, the Left Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. My humble courtesy name is Liqing." Yuan Keli bowed and said, "Greetings to General Li."

"I am Shen Yourong, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Shandong's Coastal Defense Force. My humble courtesy name is Shihong." Shen Yourong saluted and said, "Greetings, General Li."

Li Rubai was shocked again. Without thinking too much, he quickly returned the greeting, "It's Yuan Shaoyintai and Deputy General Shen. I've heard a lot about you two. My apologies for your rudeness."

"No." Yuan Keli and Shen Yourong bowed again. After the ceremony, Li Rubai turned to Fang Congzhe. His old eyes, still bright, seemed to flicker with eagerness. "What brings Prime Minister Fang and other ministers to my humble abode?"

"Zizhen, can we talk somewhere else?" Fang Congzhe asked with a smile.

"What place do we want to change to?" Li Rubai was stunned.

"Let's go to a quiet place. We want to talk to you alone." Fang Congzhe glanced at the Li family servant behind Li Rubai.

"Is Prime Minister Fang afraid someone might be listening?" Li Rubai glanced around and said, "But these are all my family members."

"Let's change," Fang Congzhe insisted. "What we have to say can only be heard by those who are willing to listen. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here wearing this cloak."

"Alright." Li Rubai wasn't offended, but rather excited. The Prime Minister had come personally with his troops, and they wanted to speak privately. This clearly meant something extremely important. Perhaps it was the Emperor's order. If he could truly return, his life wouldn't be over yet!

Li Rubai immediately dismissed the servants and came to his yard alone with Fang Congzhe and others.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, a servant came to greet him. "Second Master, gentlemen."

"Call everyone out of the yard and have them stay outside," Li Rubai ordered sternly, "No one can come in without my permission!"

"Yes." The servant ran to call for help. Li Rubai also led Fang Congzhe and others towards the tea room in the backyard.

The clearing was very efficient. Before long, most of Li Rubai's family and servants had been cleared out. However, Li Rubai's two legitimate sons, Li Huaizhong and Li Xiaozhong, took the initiative to approach him.

"Dad, what are you going to do?" Li Huaizhong came to the tea room without knocking on the door, and pushed it open and walked in. As soon as they entered the door, the two brothers were stunned, and the words that were about to come out were stuck in their throats.

Isn’t that old man in the lead Fang Congzhe! And there are Minister Cui and Minister Xu!
Li Huaizhong blinked twice blankly, and suddenly a line of poetry popped up in his mind: Immortals are as numerous as hemp!
"Who let you in?" Li Rubai glared at his two sons and shouted, "Get out!"

"Oh." Li Huaizhong was almost fifty years old, but he immediately became dispirited after hearing his father yell at him.

"General Li, there's no need to be so harsh," Yuan Keli, who was sitting at the last seat, suddenly spoke up. "Let them in too."

"Is it okay?" Li Rubai looked at Fang Congzhe.

"Of course. Li Qing is the one in charge. I'm just assisting." Fang Congzhe nodded with a smile. The emperor granted Yuan Keli considerable authority, not only granting him authority almost equivalent to that of the "Grand King" of Korea, but also allowing him to select and recommend suitable generals according to his needs.

The first person Yuan Keli wanted was Li Huaizhong, Li Rubai's eldest son and former deputy general of Yizhou. As long as the loyalty of the Li family was not an issue, there was no reason to leave these middle-aged generals idle.

Li Rubai looked at Yuan Keli deeply.

A slightly surprised realization dawned on him: the imperial court might be removing Xiong Tingbi. And this Yuan Keli might be the new governor of Liaodong.

But why was Xiong Tingbi dismissed? Li Rubai couldn't understand.

Li Rubai disliked the Jiangxia barbarian, very much. However, in his opinion, there was no one more suitable to govern Liaodong than Xiong Manzi at this moment. Given the current situation in Liaodong, someone with strong connections was absolutely necessary. Was this Yuan Keli strong enough?

"Why are you still standing outside? Come in and stand here." Li Rubai retracted his gaze and waved to his two sons.

"Yes." Li Huaizhong and Li Xiaozhong walked into the tea room with their heads lowered.

"Stop," Li Rubai said dissatisfiedly, "Are you two toads? You jump when I poke you."

"Dad" Li Huaizhong looked at his father with resentment, his eyes full of begging: There are so many people here, please give me some face!

"Dad, what dad? Close the door!"

"Yes." Li Xiaozhong turned around and closed the door, then he and his brother came to stand behind his father.

--------

Silence returned to the tea room until the footsteps outside completely ceased. Fang Congzhe then turned to look at Li Rubai, who sat in the main seat. "This morning, the Emperor summoned us to the palace to discuss an important matter. He also mentioned you. However, before we discuss this, we'd like to ask you about an old story."

Li Rubai laughed at himself and asked, "Are you going to talk about Bao Zhong?"

"Yes." Fang Congzhe nodded.

"You should call that guy Li Qizhen as well. I can confront him face to face!" Li Rubai said nonchalantly.

Li Qizhen, a native of Jiashan County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, passed the imperial examination in the Jiawu year of the 22nd year of the Wanli reign. In the Wuxu year of the 26th year of the Wanli reign, he ranked 66th. Due to mourning, he did not take the palace examination. In the 29th year of the Wanli reign, he took the supplementary examination and was awarded the third-place Jinshi degree.

In the 47th year of the Wanli reign, Li Qizhen was appointed Imperial Secretary of the Household Department. In March, the Battle of Sarhu was defeated. In May, Li Qizhen submitted a memorial stating that Rubai had taken the daughter of Nu's brother, Suerhachi, as a concubine, and had a third son. Rumors persisted that "the Nu chief's son-in-law is now serving as garrison commander, and it remains unknown who will seize Liaodong." He should be immediately arrested to appease public outrage.

Although Li Qizhen's memorial was unsurprisingly treated as "no report", the rumor that "the son-in-law of the chieftain is the garrison commander and it is unknown who will take over Liaodong" spread.

"He is not qualified to hear about this, at least not now. You just talk and we listen." Fang Congzhe said.

Li Rubai sighed and turned to look at Li Xiaozhong: "Go call your third brother and his mother."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)