Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 12: Marquisship
"People from the Central Plains should return to the Central Plains. I do not wish to be rich and noble in other places."

Li Mingzhong was silent for a moment, then spoke loudly
Zhu Lang looked at Li Mingzhong with a solemn expression, and his face became more and more satisfied.

Zhu Lang slammed the table and said loudly

"A man from the Central Plains should return to the Central Plains. The general is indeed a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. If all the officials in the court were like the general, the Ming Dynasty would prosper."

"What is the general's current position?"

Zhu Lang did not wait for Li Mingzhong to respond, and then asked

"Thanks to the imperial court's grace, I am now the general of Wuzhou, leading the Left Military Governor's Office as the deputy governor," Li Mingzhong replied respectfully.

"The imperial court's reward is so meager. Kong Youde, a traitor, was granted the title of a prince. How could such a loyal general only be given the rank of a second-rank governor?"

"I will report this to the court in the future. In my opinion, the general is so loyal and diligent in serving the king that it is not excessive to make him a marquis."

Zhu Lang said indignantly, but his eyes were piercing as he looked at Li Mingzhong.

"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. I am just a soldier, how can I be worthy of the reward of a title?"

Li Mingzhong hurriedly bowed in return and responded calmly:
A strange look flashed across Li Mingzhong's face, knowing that today's main event was finally coming.

The King of Gui really wanted to win him over, and the price he offered was already announced: a title of nobility.
The Prince of Gui said that although he would report to the court, everyone knows that the Prince of Gui is the future emperor. When he reports, isn't he reporting to himself?

It is not the end of the Southern Ming Dynasty more than a decade later. There are dozens or even hundreds of generals and dukes, and they are given out as if they were free. A few years ago, when Hongguang ascended the throne, the four towns in Jiangbei had tens of thousands of troops, but they were just dukes.
Although a new batch of dukes and marquises were issued during the Longwu Dynasty last year, the title of duke and marquis still has some weight.
Although the title of Duke and Marquis still has value, it can only be said that it has value, but not much.
Li Mingzhong estimated that even if he did nothing, the new court would give him an earldom in order to appease his six thousand people.

Although the King of Gui has promised to make him a marquis, Li Mingzhong is still a little hesitant.

If he surrendered to the King of Gui, it would mean offending Ding Kuichu, who controlled the money and grain of Zhaoqing. Although he was only willing to pay half of the money and grain now, if he offended him, it would be difficult to say whether he would even pay half of the money and grain in a short time.
Li Mingzhong's expression changed slightly. For a moment, he couldn't figure out whether this deal was worthwhile or not.
Zhu Lang looked at Li Mingzhong who was hesitant, and did not urge him, but he was slightly happy in his heart.

He was not afraid that Li Mingzhong would be tempted. Instead, he was afraid that Li Mingzhong would not be tempted. After the test just now, Zhu Lang also had the intention of really winning over Li Mingzhong.

He was hesitating now because he felt that Zhu Lang's price was not high enough. Thinking of this, Zhu Lang spoke again.
"Actually, I asked you to come here today because I have a personal matter that I would like to ask you for help with."

"Your Highness, please speak."

Li Mingzhong was still calculating the gains and losses of the Marquis and the half of the money and grain. When he heard Zhu Lang's words, he was stunned for a moment before he bowed his hand in response.
"General, you also know that my Guiwang Mansion has been constantly relocated in recent years, and the people in the mansion are sparse. I am not afraid of being laughed at by the general. Now the palace is relying on the people sent by the masters of the previous dynasty to keep it running."

"A few days ago, I heard from Wu Hujun of the palace that there were not enough guards in the palace. I heard that the general's army has elite soldiers. If there are trustworthy people around the general, can you provide some to serve as guards for the palace?" Zhu Lang said with a smile.

Li Mingzhong had a strange look on his face. Although Zhu Lang asked for his help, he was actually offering a price to win him over.

Everyone knows that the Prince of Gui is about to be promoted to the position of Regent. Not to mention whether the palace needs guards, even if it really needs them, as long as the palace releases a little news, I'm afraid a lot of people will want to squeeze into the palace even if they pay money. How can it be his turn, Li Mingzhong, to provide manpower?
The King of Gui is about to become the regent, and now he is entering the palace as a guard. What is this? This is the real merit of following the dragon.

The King of Gui said that he was providing manpower, but the key point was the word "around" in the front.
The King of Gui was saying that he would not only confer a title of nobility upon him, but also give his children a chance to follow the emperor.
With this qualification, the children of Li Mingzhong's family will be the old ministers of the new dynasty in the future. As long as they don't make mistakes, their future is limitless.

Li Mingzhong was wavering in his heart. In fact, even if he did not surrender to the King of Gui, he would not hand over his soldiers to Ding Kuichu. That was his capital for survival.
There is no one around the King of Gui. If he surrenders to the King of Gui, he will be the King of Gui's confidant. The King of Gui will most likely have to rely on him to lead the army. He can still retain the command of the army to the greatest extent possible.

Although Ding Kuichu controls the money and grain of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhu Lang is the future emperor after all. There is no need to choose between joining a minister in the court or joining the emperor.

Thinking of this, Li Mingzhong no longer hesitated, stood up and bowed solemnly.
"Your Majesty's kindness is beyond my ability to repay. If Your Majesty orders me to do something in the future, I will die to repay Your Majesty's kindness."

"Well, why do you need to die? General, you are the pillar of the Ming Dynasty. You should take care of yourself and serve the Ming Dynasty loyally."

Zhu Lang also looked delighted and helped Li Mingzhong, who was bowing, to stand up.

"Yes, I will do my best to follow the prince and revitalize our Ming Dynasty," Li Mingzhong bowed slightly and replied respectfully.
The two of them sat down in the room again. Compared to before, the atmosphere in the room was a little more intimate.
Zhu Lang's mind turned, and he suddenly said

"General, do you think the army has enough food and money?"

Li Mingzhong's expression changed, and he secretly glanced at the young man above him. His face suddenly fell, and he suddenly cried out in pain.

"Your Majesty, you don't know that we have moved thousands of miles to carry out the king's business, and the soldiers in the army dare not complain."

"It's just that the court clearly agreed to provide food and wages along the way when we set out, but the food and wages that Lord Ding gave us are less than half of what's on the account. The soldiers in the army are now starving, and I really don't know what to do."

"I thought it was a rumor that the general's army was short of food, but I never thought it was true."

The young prince above also looked unhappy.

"Yes, let's not talk about the salary for now, but the food and grass should be fully supplied, but Lord Ding only provides half of it. I wonder if the prince can ask Lord Ding to give more food and grass." Li Mingzhong quickly echoed the complaint, looking expectantly at the young prince above.

"All the affairs of the court are handled by Lord Ding and other ministers of the previous dynasty. I am just a vassal king and have no right to ask about the affairs of the court. I can't do anything about this matter."

The young prince's face changed for a while, and he spoke after a while. His face was full of anger.
"Your Highness, don't be discouraged. The Ming Dynasty will eventually rely on you. As for the military affairs, I will find a way. Your Highness, don't worry."

Li Mingzhong looked at the gloomy young man above him and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Although I knew that the King of Gui would not be able to help with this matter, I couldn't help but feel a little sad when I saw that the King of Gui, a regent, was in such a difficult situation.

That group of court officials was too domineering. Even the future emperor was powerless against them, not to mention these low-ranking warriors. This was also the reason why Li Mingzhong had always been hesitant about joining the King of Gui.
The young prince behind the table seemed to have made up his mind. He stood up suddenly and shouted to the outside of the room.

"Wu Hujun"

Wu Jisi, who had been waiting outside the room, heard the sound, opened the door, and walked into the room holding a box.

Wu Jisi hugged the box tightly, staring at Zhu Lang behind the table with a bitter face, until Zhu Lang glared at him fiercely, then he reluctantly put down the box and stepped aside.

"General, this is eight hundred taels of silver. It's not much, so you can use it to buy food and fodder."

Li Mingzhong looked at the scattered silver coins of all sizes in the alley, and was stunned. Then he quickly stood up and refused.

"How can I do this? Even if I am short of money, there is no reason for me to take it from you. I can still handle military affairs. I dare not accept this silver."

Li Mingzhong was about to return the box, but was stopped by Zhu Lang.

"General, please don't refuse. This money is not for you, but for the soldiers in the army."

"If the soldiers who have come thousands of miles to serve the king still have to endure hunger, how can we let them protect our Ming Dynasty?"

Li Mingzhong wanted to refuse, but the young prince's face suddenly darkened.

"General, please don't think it's too little. The palace has been displaced several times and all the property in the palace has been lost. Now all the expenses are allocated by the previous dynasty. There is really no extra money in the palace."

"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by the general. Only 300 taels of silver in this box came from the mansion. The remaining 500 taels were borrowed from General Wu. I could only get this much silver in such a hurry."

The young prince pointed to the scattered silver coins in the box. Four of them were silver ingots of fifty taels each, and the rest were five silver ingots of ten taels each.
The rest was a pile of broken silver pieces, of varying sizes, some even worth a few cents, and no one knew how they were put together.
Li Mingzhong looked stunned. He looked at the silver in the box, then looked at Wu Jisi who was standing beside him with a painful look on his face. He immediately believed it 70% of the time.

He was very familiar with the expression on Wu Jisi's face. Every time he gave money to the military supervisors, he would have this expression on his face.

Li Mingzhong felt a surge of sympathy for Wu Jisi, but then he realized something was wrong, and came to his senses and quickly explained.

"No, that's not what I meant. I can't give you this silver..."

"Okay, it's settled. When you return, General, hurry up and buy food. Don't let the soldiers go hungry."

But the young prince did not give him a chance at this time. He interrupted him directly, closed the box and walked back to the table. It was obvious that he did not want to talk about this matter anymore.

Li Mingzhong opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refuse.

What else could he say? The King of Gui said that this was not silver for him, but for the Ming soldiers to buy food. How could he refuse?
You can't say that although the army is short of silver and food now, I have saved a lot of silver from my previous work, so I don't care about your little silver.
"Your Majesty is kind and benevolent. I will announce it to the army. If the soldiers know that Your Majesty loves them so much, they will definitely serve Your Majesty with all their heart..."

Li Mingzhong expressed his gratitude, but Zhu Lang just smiled and listened without saying much.

Although he said that the silver was for the soldiers, it was actually for Li Mingzhong.
As for Li Mingzhong's suggestion to let the army know about his kindness, it was enough to just listen to it. He couldn't send military supervisors into the camp now, so who knows what they would say or do.

In fact, unless Zhu Lang is really able to provide food and wages to these 6,000 people every month, Zhu Lang will never be able to truly control this army.

Zhu Lang listened to Li Mingzhong's expression of loyalty, and then talked to Li Mingzhong about the situation in the army. He learned the names of several generals in Li Mingzhong's army, and then ended the meeting.
At the door of the study, Li Mingzhong was holding a small box, while Zhu Lang stood on one side and took out a round mutton-fat jade pendant from his waist.

"When I met you today, I felt that we were like-minded and it was a pity that we met too late. I am shy and don't have any precious gifts for you. I have carried this jade pendant with me for many years, and I will give it to you today."

"The ancients said that a gentleman is like jade. I hope that the relationship between me and the general can be like this jade, bright and clean, with a beginning and an end."

Li Mingzhong looked at the jade pendant that was stuffed into his hand and was speechless. He could only bow to Zhu Lang again before leaving with Wu Jisi.

Li Mingzhong walked out of the courtyard and suddenly looked back.
Sweet osmanthus flowers flourished in the courtyard. A breeze blew, casting a golden glow. In the golden rain of flowers, a handsome young man stood at the door, not turning back for a long time, as if he was still looking at the figure going away.

Li Mingzhong smiled bitterly in his heart. He hunted geese all day long, but this time he was afraid that he had been tricked by someone else.
(End of this chapter)