Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 186 Testing
In the elegant pavilion on the second floor of Juchunyuan Restaurant, Wu Jisi and Shi Lang sat at the table, with the sound of stringed instruments constantly playing in the room.
The table in the room was filled with dishes, including steamed sea bass, drunken chicken, lychee meat, smoked goose, and conch slices. All kinds of delicacies were available, making people salivate.

After three rounds of drinking, the sound of stringed instruments in the room gradually faded away, and the dancing girls who accompanied the wine also left the room.

Wu Jisi watched the young lady in gauze leave the room, and a trace of reluctance flashed in his eyes.

Shi Lang saw Wu Jisi's appearance and was moved. He said:
"These maids are all from my family. I bought them from Suyang. They are good at singing and dancing. If you are interested, I will send them to your house later."

Wu Jisi's face flashed with a hint of desire, but after a slight hesitation, he waved his hand and said

"Forget it. After all, I have an errand to do. If I bring it back to the mansion, I will inevitably be scolded by Minister Zhang again. Besides, I don't like this very much."

"Lord Wu has remained calm and self-disciplined, and is truly a good minister. I admire you."

Shi Lang complimented him, but seeing that Wu Jisi did not show much reluctance in his eyes, he did not force him to do so.

This afternoon, Shi Lang and his party had already brought Gui Jianguo and his party to Xicheng. After Zhang Tongchang and his party settled in Xicheng, they happily went to the welcoming banquet hosted by Shi Fu and other generals of other surnames.
However, it was the first time for both parties to meet. Shi Fu and others only made some tentative attempts at the banquet, and then just talked about some old stories and romances, without going into any more details.

Shi Lang accompanied the guests at the banquet, but after some probing, he found that it was extremely difficult to contact Gui Jianguo and his party.

Among the leaders of the delegation, Zhang Tongchang, needless to say, dared to rush straight to Zheng's mansion even though he knew that Zheng Zhilong had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. It was obvious that he was a minister with a solitary and straightforward character.
Liu Xiangke was born as an imperial censor, so it was even more difficult to get any information out of him. As an imperial censor, if he kept silent, it would be fatal.
The same is true for the Jinyi Tongzhi Deng Mingwu. You can tell at a glance that he is from the military. He is a taciturn person and hardly spoke a word during the banquet. He looks like a very difficult person to get along with.
Originally, the easiest person to get information from was Lin Cha, who was from Fujian Province. However, Lin Cha was also very cautious. They tried to probe him several times during the meal, but he was very tight-lipped and did not reveal any useful information.
I don't know if Lin Cha is trying to avoid suspicion or if he really doesn't know the core of the mission.

After some contact, Shi Lang found that among the members of the delegation, Wu Jisi, the so-called military leader, was the easiest to contact.

Shi Lang originally knew that Wu Jisi was the commander of the Jinyiwei and thought that he must be a shrewd and ruthless person. However, after some contact during the banquet, he found that he was just an ordinary person with no scheming at all.

After the banquet, Shi Lang tried to invite Wu Jisi out for a drink, but Wu Jisi agreed straight away.

So Shi Lang also took the opportunity to invite Wu Jisi to the restaurant.

Shi Lang looked at Wu Jisi, who was drinking and humming a tune, with a gleam in his eyes. After several encounters, he had already discovered that Wu Jisi was definitely not a loyal minister.

Judging from his familiar appearance in the restaurant just now, this person is probably a veteran who has been hanging around in the entertainment industry for many years. Such a person must have some experience with wine, sex, money and anger.

Since this person is not interested in beauty, he is probably greedy for money.
Shi Lang thought of this, so he waved his hand gently, and soon the servant beside him brought a tray to the table.

On the tray were ten palm-sized gold ingots, emitting brilliant golden light under the dim light.
Sure enough, when Wu Jisi saw the gold on the tray, his eyes lit up immediately and a look of fascination flashed across his face.
Shi Lang saw the expression on Wu Jisi's face, and a smile flashed across his face. He immediately felt

Wu Jisi stared at the gold on the tray for a while, then slowly shifted his gaze to Shi Lang at the table and said,
"General Shi, what do you mean?"

"Mr. Wu has traveled thousands of miles from Guangdong to Fujian. It must be very tiring. But today I was unable to arrive in time, causing Mr. Wu to be frightened."

"This is a small gift from my Shi family. It is just to calm Lord Wu down. Please accept it."

Shi Lang looked sincere, while Wu Jisi looked at the gold in the tray, swallowed his saliva, but soon forced his eyes away and said hesitantly:
"It's not good to not receive rewards without merit..."

When Shi Lang saw Wu Jisi's expression, his smile widened and he interrupted him directly:
"What are you talking about, Lord Wu? When I came here, my uncle Wu Yibo specifically told me to explain to Lord Wu that my Shi family had no involvement in the siege of the mansion and had never heard of it."

"If Lord Wu is unwilling to accept this gift at this time, I will be punished by my uncle when I return. Lord Wu, please consider it as helping me a favor, okay?"

As Shi Lang spoke, he pushed the tray of gold ingots in front of Wu Jisi. At this moment, Wu Jisi's eyes flashed with satisfaction. He placed his palm on the tray of gold ingots and said softly:
"Since this is a kind gesture from Lord Wu Yi, I will accept it on behalf of the delegation."

"Yes, sir, please accept it."

Wu Jisi put the tray aside, picked up the wine glass and took a sip, glanced at Shi Lang beside him, and said
"Since I came to Anping City, I have met so many people, but it is Brother Shi who suits my taste the most!"

"Brother Shi, please stop calling me an adult from now on. Let's just call each other brothers!"

Wu Jisi waved his hand with a generous look on his face, and Shi Lang also responded directly and said

"Then I will ask Brother Wu to take care of me from now on."

"We are all brothers. If you have anything to say, just talk to me. There is nothing you, Angkor Wu, can't do in the Guangdong Province."

Wu Jisi looked very proud and drank the wine in the glass.
Shi Lang also smiled and responded in a low voice, accompanying this good brother who had spent a thousand taels of silver to recognize him, and drank the wine in the cup.
Wu Jisi put down his wine glass, snorted coldly, and said

"The Zheng family is really unworthy of being dukes. I think the entire Zheng family is not as knowledgeable about etiquette as Brother Shi."

"I came all the way here to make them king, and they actually sent troops to surround me. If this happened in Guangdong Province, I would have killed them overnight. What the hell!"

Shi Fu heard this, but did not respond to Wu Jisi's words, but just smiled and poured wine.

The two drank a few more cups. Seeing that Wu Jisi's face had turned red, Shi Lang's eyes turned and he said:

"To be honest, I invited Brother Wu to the banquet this time not only to welcome him, but I also have something else I would like to ask Brother Wu for help."

"I knew you must have something wrong and wanted to ask our Old Wu for help."

"Just tell me what you want. As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it for you."

A hint of understanding flashed across Wu Jisi's face. He then placed his hand on the gold ingot and patted it gently.
Shi Lang also understood Wu Jisi's meaning instantly. He could do what he could, but he could not do anything about what he could not do.
And if the difficulty of this matter is more than one thousand taels of silver, then Shi Lang had better not ask for it.

When Shi Lang saw Wu Jisi's appearance, he was not angry at all, but instead a hint of satisfaction flashed across his face.

He was not afraid that Wu Jisi was greedy, he was afraid that Wu Jisi was not greedy. Now the Shi family's army was surrounded by all parties, and the slightest mistake could lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

As long as they could get some useful information at this time and let the Shi family make the right choice, they would spend 10,000 taels and the Shi family would not blink an eye.

Although his Shi family is now in charge of the landing division, Shi Fu is the one who built a family on the sea with Zheng Zhilong.

His Shi family also runs a maritime trade fleet. Although it is not as big as the Zheng family, this mere ten thousand taels of silver is not a big sum of money for them. "Brother Wu, you are too serious. It's not a big deal."

"Brother Wu, you also know that my Shi family is on the front line in Fujian Province, and we have not had any news with Guangdong Province for a long time. To be honest, before Brother Wu came to Fujian, my Shi family didn't even know that His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo had succeeded to the throne."

"So before the banquet today, my uncle specifically told me to ask Brother Wu carefully about the personnel situation in the Guangdong Provincial Court."

"But Brother Wu also knows that I am a soldier and have always been straightforward. How can I understand the twists and turns of my uncle and his people?"

"Besides, Brother Wu and I hit it off right away, so there's no way I could do anything deceitful or probing. So after thinking it over, I decided to just tell him the whole thing."

"Brother Wu, please tell me some of the things that Minister Zhang didn't say during the dinner today, so that I can report to my uncle when I return."

After Shi Lang finished speaking, he pretended to be generous and drank the wine in the glass, but his eyes were fixed on Wu Jisi who was standing beside him.

Wu Jisi's mind turned when he heard what Shi Lang said, and then a smile appeared on his face. He waved his hand and said
"I was wondering what was going on, it turns out to be this"

"If it's about other things, you, Angkor, may not be able to help, but when it comes to the news of the court, who knows better than you, Angkor?"

"Who are you, Wu Ge? You are the commander of the Imperial Guard. There is nothing in the court that you, Wu Ge, don't know!"

Wu Jisi had a heroic look on his face, and Shi Lang was relieved to see Wu Jisi agree, and then he also agreed.
Wu Jisi picked up Shi Lang's full wine glass, took a sip, squinted his eyes, and said:

"I'm sure Zhang Tongchang has already told Wu Yibo about the identity of His Royal Highness the Regent, so I won't say more. Since you want to listen, then Brother Wu will tell you about the situation of several ministers in the court."

When Shi Lang heard Wu Jisi address Zhang Tongchang, his heart was slightly moved, but his expression remained unchanged. He listened quietly to Wu Jisi's explanation of the situation during Gui's reign.
"The Prime Minister of the court is naturally the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ding Kuichu. He commands a large army in Guangdong Province and has suppressed the rebellion of Prince Jingjiang. He has tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command. He is a good minister of the country. Moreover, he participated in the enthronement this time. The Prime Minister of the court is naturally the right person."

"Under Ding Kuichu is the Governor of Guangxi Province, Qu Shisi. He also suppressed the rebellion of Prince Jingjiang. People in Guangxi Province, such as General Chen Bangfu, the General of Guilin, Jiao Lian, are all generals under Qu Ge Lao's command."

"It can be said that the Guangdong Province is under the control of Elder Ding, while the Guangxi Province is under the control of Elder Qu."

"Before the late emperor ascended the throne, this Lord Qu had been advocating for Gui's line to ascend the throne, but the late emperor succeeded first, so Lord Qu had to give up. Lord Qu has a very good relationship with my regent, and he will naturally serve as the second assistant after he is enthroned this time."

"Although he is the second assistant minister, this Lord Qu is no less important than Lord Ding in the court. Zhang Tongchang is Lord Qu's disciple. It was thanks to Lord Qu's relationship that he was able to grab the position of the chief envoy of this delegation. Ugh..."

When Wu Jisi said this, he was also angry and drank the wine in the cup.
Shi Lang's eyes flickered when he heard this, and his face looked thoughtful, but Wu Jisi ignored him and continued to speak.

"The next person you should be familiar with is Lü Daqi, the elder from Fujian Province."

"Although your Lord Lu was a minister of the previous emperor, he only brought a group of civil servants with him when he came to Fujian Province, such as Liu Yuansheng, Wu Bing, Wu Zhenyu, and Li Yongmao. He was also a minister of the cabinet, but he was on mourning leave. When he arrived in Guangdong Province, he went back home to observe mourning."

"Anyway, it's that group of people. Although Lord Lu has many officials under his tutelage, their influence is far less than Lord Ding and Lord Qu's."

Shi Lang nodded slightly upon hearing this, and instantly understood what Wu Jisi said. Although Lü Daqi was a cabinet elder of the previous dynasty, he had brought a group of civil officials to Guangdong, while Ding Qu and the other two were important local officials with a large army. What could Lü Daqi use to compete with them?

It is not like a decade ago. Civil servants alone cannot make a difference.

Wu Jisi glanced at Shi Lang beside him, and suddenly said
"Now that Elder Lu is in a bad situation in the court, after your Shi family joins the court, you can keep in touch with Elder Lu more often."

"Thank you for your advice, Angkor. However, this matter is not for me to decide. I will report the truth to my uncle when I return."

Shi Lang bowed and replied, and Wu Jisi felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw that Shi Lang had not uttered a word at this point.

But Wu Jisi's expression remained unchanged. He continued to speak.

"The next three is Su Guansheng, the elder Su. It is said that he was sent by the late emperor to Guangdong Province to recruit soldiers to aid Jiangxi. However, just as Su had recruited the soldiers, he heard the news that the late emperor had suffered a disaster, so he also stayed in Guangdong Province to participate in the enthronement."

"Although this Lord Su also has an army, his background is problematic and he cannot compete with Lord Lu, so he can only be ranked fourth."

"Next up are He Wuzuo, Chen Zizhuang and other ordinary cabinet ministers. These are all famous local officials in Guangdong Province, so Your Highness also recruited them to the court. There is nothing much to say about these people."

Wu Jisi drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, but was not prepared to say anything else. However, Shi Lang's eyes turned and he said:

"I heard that the Governor of Huguang also participated in the enthronement. He was very famous in the previous dynasty. Why didn't Wu Ge mention him?"

"What is there to mention about this person? Although he also submitted a petition to support the throne, it was really just a petition."

"I heard that this person was very domineering in the previous dynasty. Now it turns out to be true. The court is now helpless against He Tengjiao."

When Shi Lang heard what Wu Jisi said, he immediately sketched out the image of Gui Jianguo.

This is a new court jointly supported by the powerful factions of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. With these two provinces as a foundation, the power of the Gui Regent Dynasty will not be too weak. Although it certainly cannot be compared with the Longwu period, it is definitely stronger than the Lu Regent who lost Zhejiang Province.
After Wu Jisi told the story of the series of officials from Fujian and Guangdong, Shi Lang no longer had any doubts about the authenticity of Gui's reign. If he had not met him personally, who could have named so many officials in the court?

Shi Lang thought of this, his eyes turned, and he spoke again

"After hearing what Brother Wu said, I instantly understood most of the court."

"Wu Angkor is indeed the commander-in-chief of the imperial court. For Wu Angkor, the complicated situation in the court is as clear as reading the lines on the palm of his hand. I really admire him."

Shi Lang looked at the smug look on Wu Jisi's face, but secretly cursed him in his heart, "What a fool!" For a mere 1,000 taels of silver, Wu Jisi had sold out all the power of Gui Jianguo. Now he even explained the background and relationship of the ministers in the court clearly. Could such a thing be easily said?
This kind of person could actually become the Jinyi Commander. I really don't know what the Regent Gui was thinking.
Shi Lang was disdainful in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he spoke again

"I have something else in mind, and I want to ask Brother Wu for advice."

"I wonder how many troops are available in the imperial court right now."

Shi Lang looked at Wu Jisi in front of him, with a gleam of brilliance in his eyes. When Wu Jisi heard this, his expression suddenly became alert.

(End of this chapter)