Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 62: Thank You
In the Governor's Hall, all the ministers had left, leaving only a few people standing.

Li Yongmao stood in the hall with a gloomy look on his face. The ministers passing by were all startled when they saw Li Yongmao's expression, and then they quietly quickened their pace and hurriedly left the hall.
Although Li Yongmao has already decided to leave the court, His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo has already said that Li Yongmao is being granted clothes to return home to observe mourning, not being dismissed from office and returning home.
When Li Yongmao returns in the future, he may directly enter the cabinet and become an assistant minister.
The fun of these big shots is not something that ordinary officials like them can watch.
Li Yongmao stood in the middle of the field. All the officials took detours when they passed by. With Li Yongmao as the center, a blank area was formed.

Everyone dodged, but at this time, two old men in red robes walked directly towards Li Yongmao in the field. They were Lu Daqi and He Wuzuo.
The officials in the field saw the two men coming and sped up their pace.
In a blink of an eye, all the officials in the hall had disappeared.

Lu Daqi took off the crown on his head, revealing his slightly gray hair, and spoke softly.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, you are really too reckless this time"

Upon hearing this, Li Yongmao looked over immediately and spoke loudly

"I am speaking out in a fair and honest manner, how can this be considered reckless?"

Li Yongmao was furious. How dare Wang Kun, the treacherous villain, stop him from promoting talents for the country?
This time he did not hesitate to protect Liu Xiangke at the cost of his own official position, but he still failed to save him and was even expelled from the court. This was really a big defeat.
Thinking of this, Li Yongmao could no longer hold back and continued to speak loudly

"Others may not know, but you also don't know Wang Kun. Wang Kun is a flatterer. He has been doing whatever he wants since the reign of Emperor Chongzhen because of his favor in the palace. Now, taking advantage of the chaos in the country, he has been promoted to the chief minister of the inner court. How can I allow him to do whatever he wants?"

Lu Daqi looked at Li Yongmao who was still furious, and then looked at He Wuzuo who was standing beside him. He Wuzuo took his gaze and nodded slightly.
He Wuzuo was also holding Liang Guan at this time, thinking for a moment, and then he spoke in a deep voice

"That Wang Kun is certainly a treacherous villain, but Brother Xiaoyuan shouldn't have spoken to His Highness in this way today."

"Brother Xiaoyuan has been a minister for several dynasties. If it were during the reign of Chongzhen, would you have thought about the consequences if you had made such a response?"

The more He Wuzuo spoke, the more serious his tone became. As Li Yongmao listened to He Wuzuo's words, his anger subsided a little and he became silent.

Although war broke out in the country during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, he was the only one who had the final say in the court. Almost no one could resist the orders of Emperor Chongzhen.

If he had dared to speak to Chongzhen like this during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, he would probably be in prison now.

In the final analysis, the Ming Dynasty was in decline, and Zhu Lang's prestige had not yet been established. Therefore, not only did the military officials have their own thoughts, but even these civil officials began to be arrogant and self-respecting because of their own qualifications.

Seeing that Li Yongmao had finally calmed down, Lu Daqi also continued to speak.
"Fortunately, Your Highness is magnanimous and benevolent. He is a rare wise ruler who can control his anger and identify traitors. Brother Xiaoyuan is only returning to his hometown to observe mourning this time. He can still return to the court in the future. When Brother Xiaoyuan returns, he will..."

When Lu Daqi was halfway through his words, Li Yongmao's face showed anger again. He interrupted Lu Daqi and said

"Your Highness is a wise ruler, but I am even more puzzled. Why does Your Highness, who is so smart and intelligent, still listen to the words of Wang Kun, the treacherous minister, and drive the wise minister out of the court?"

Seeing that his words were interrupted, Lu Daqi's face flashed with displeasure, and his expression darkened as he spoke.
"We can tell whether Wang Kun is loyal or treacherous because we have been through many things and know Wang Kun's background well."

"Your Highness, the Regent, is new to government affairs. How can you tell the loyal from the treacherous? As Your Highness experiences more affairs and Wang Kun's evil deeds become more apparent, Your Highness will be able to tell who is loyal and who is treacherous."

Seeing that Li Yongmao was about to protest, Lu Daqi interrupted him with a wave of his hand and spoke in a deep voice

"Your Highness is one of the few wise rulers in the Ming Dynasty, and now there are treacherous people all around. We, the upright ministers, should do our best to assist Your Highness and prevent the treacherous people from deceiving the wise ruler."

"If Brother Xiaoyuan continues to speak out and make frank remarks, and really anger His Highness again, how will Brother Xiaoyuan deal with it in the future?"

"Brother Xiaoyuan, are you really planning to return to the mountains and forests and never ask about the affairs of the court again?"

When Lu Daqi said this, he also stared at Li Yongmao in front of him. When Li Yongmao heard this, his expression changed several times, and finally he fell silent.
Seeing the hesitation on Li Yongmao's face, Lu Daqi's eyes flashed with a smile, but he didn't show it on his face and continued to speak.

"Listen to my advice, and go back and write a letter of thanks to present to the palace."

"Your Highness, granting me clothes to return home is a rare favor. I should present a letter of thanks. When Brother Xiaoyuan returns from mourning in the future, there will still be a chance to restore order."

Li Yongmao stood there and looked at the two people staring at him.

He knew that this was not only an exhortation from Lu Daqi and He Wuzuo, but also a request from them.

If he was still prepared to resist after returning, if he really angered His Royal Highness Gui, these two people would probably also make Gui displeased and be implicated.

At the court meeting, the two of them clearly supported Li Yongmao. After what happened today, everyone knew that the three of them were at least on the same side on this matter. If there were any more troubles, none of the three of them would be able to escape responsibility.

"I will submit a petition after I return. When I return to the court in the future, I will definitely sweep Wang Kun and his group of treacherous villains out of the court."

Li Yongmao was silent for a moment, then spoke in a cold voice, and then waved his sleeves, ignoring the two people in the field, and turned around and left.

Lu Daqi and He Wuzuo looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief. Then a wry smile appeared on their faces, and they also took steps to chase the figure in front and left with Li Yongmao.

Ding Kuichu and Wang Kun are sitting in the hall, on the left and right.
Ding Kuichu took off his Liang Guan and looked at Wang Kun, who looked relaxed, with a hint of dissatisfaction on his face. He said in a deep voice:
"Why did Eunuch Wang stop me from speaking today? How can the right to garrison troops in the city be given up so easily?" Wang Kun looked at Ding Kuichu, who had a bad look on his face, but his expression remained unchanged, and asked

"Does Lord Ding really think he can stop the imperial guards from entering the city?"

Wang Kun stared at Ding Kuichu opposite him. Ding Kuichu's face flashed with hesitation, but in the end he did not speak. Instead, he sat in silence.

Wang Kun looked at Ding Kuichu in silence, a smile flashed across his face, and he said

"Then Jiao Lian leads the Imperial Guards. Now that the imperial court has been established and Zhaoqing has become the central government, according to the rules, the Imperial Guards are supposed to enter the city. The Imperial Guards hold great justice in their hands, how can Lord Ding stop them?"

"Even so, we cannot give up the right to garrison the city so easily. The more soldiers from the governor's office stay in the city, the more peace of mind I can have."

Ding Kuichu spoke in silence, and then stopped talking. He did not say why he could not feel at ease when the governor's soldiers were not in the city.
Wang Kun's eyes flashed with understanding, but he did not respond to what Ding Kuichu said. Instead, he talked about another matter.

"I have already gone to the court a few days ago to test His Royal Highness Gui, the Regent. He is not very concerned about court affairs, but is obsessed with firearms and military affairs."

"Gui Jianguo has already said that from now on, unless it is a memorial submitted by a cabinet minister, all other matters will be handled by our family."

"really"

Ding Kuichu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately asked

"Of course it's true. As long as Jiao Lian leads his troops into the city, His Royal Highness Gui will definitely be obsessed with the army and playing with firearms, and will have no time to take care of the affairs of the court."

"By then, this court will be ours"

A smile appeared on Wang Kun's face, and he took a sip of the teacup.

Ding Kuichu's eyes flashed with a gleam of brilliance. Now he is the chief minister of the outer court. If the palace is really as Wang Kun said, Gui Regent is ready to hand over the government affairs to Wang Kun, then the Ming Dynasty will really be their world.
Ding Kuichu thought about how Gui Jianguo had tried to protect Wang Kun today, and even dismissed Li Yongmao for this, and he believed Wang Kun's words even more.

Wang Kun was indeed a long-time eunuch. In a short period of time, he won the favor of Regent Gui and became his confidant.

"As long as Lord Ding is not really planning to merge the two thousand soldiers in the city into the imperial guards, the soldiers in the city will have to move out sooner or later."

"The Imperial Guards cannot be stationed outside the city for long. Since they will eventually have to move out, what difference does it make if they move out a few days earlier or later? Why should we anger His Royal Highness the Regent for this?" Wang Kun continued.
Ding Kuichu heard this and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
Although Gui Jianguo gave two plans, how could he possibly merge his own soldiers into the imperial army? These 20,000 soldiers were his foundation, and he would never allow anyone to get involved.
Ding Kuichu had previously not allowed Su Guansheng to lead his troops into the city because the imperial court had not yet been established, and he was afraid that Su Guansheng and Qu Shisi and others would collude to check and balance him, affecting his bid for the position of Prime Minister.
Now that the imperial court has been established and he has obtained the position of Prime Minister, he does not attach as much importance to the garrison in the city as before.
In the final analysis, Ding Kuichu had never thought of starting a rebellion. He held on to the military power only to consolidate his own power.

If Zhu Lang was going to forcefully take over these 2,000 soldiers, Ding Kuichu would definitely strongly resist. But now Zhu Lang was only going to transfer the soldiers out of the city. These 2,000 soldiers were already under Ding Kuichu's control, so Ding Kuichu did not think this was unacceptable.
As long as the military power in his hands remains unchanged, Ding Kuichu will still be the most powerful prime minister in the court, and no one dares to ignore his opinions.
When Ding Kuichu thought of this, he realized that moving troops out of the city would not affect his power, so his expression relaxed.

He looked at Wang Kun, who was holding a teacup and looking very happy, and his eyes turned and he spoke softly.
"I haven't congratulated Eunuch Wang on his great victory today. Today, Eunuch Wang defeated a cabinet minister with just one move. Who in the court will dare to underestimate Eunuch Wang in the future?"

Wang Kun saw that Ding Kuichu no longer talked about the garrison in the city, and he knew that Ding Kuichu had figured it out. Compared with gaining the trust of the King of Gui and controlling the court, it didn't matter whether these one or two thousand soldiers lived in the city or outside the city.

"It's all thanks to your highness's grace. In the future, I will serve your highness the regent, and Lord Ding will be in charge of court affairs. We still have a long way to go," Wang Kun also raised his teacup, gestured, and smiled softly.
Wang Kun saw that Ding Kuichu, who was standing opposite him, also had a smile on his face. He suddenly said,
"Speaking of this, I remembered something and would like to ask Lord Ding for a favor."

"Please speak, Eunuch Wang."

"I wonder if there is anyone in Lord Ding's department who can be the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War."

Ding Kuichu looked at Wang Kun, who was smiling, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes. He knew that since Wang Kun asked this question, he must want to ask him for the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
He thought about it for a moment. Wang Kun had already gained Gui Jianguo's trust. In the future, Wang Kun would control the power of the Silijian. He would need Wang Kun's help. It was worthwhile to use the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War to befriend Wang Kun.

Thinking of this, Ding Kuichu also smiled and spoke

"It has not been decided yet, but someone has asked the eunuch Wang for help."

"Who says it's not true? Wang Huacheng, the provincial governor of Guangdong, came to visit me a few days ago. I talked with him and found out that Wang Huacheng is actually from the same hometown as me."

"We are from the same village. Now that he has asked, we don't know how to refuse. Of course, this matter still depends on Lord Ding. If Lord Ding has already chosen a candidate, then we will just pretend that we didn't say anything," Wang Kun said with a smile on his face, staring at Ding Kuichu opposite him.
Ding Kuichu did not answer immediately, but took a sip of the teacup, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
The person Wang Kun wanted to put in the Ministry of War should be Wang Huacheng. He had met Wang Huacheng several times and heard from others that this man was also a good maker.

Ding Kuichu recalled the message from Wang Huacheng. This was the first time Wang Kun had formally asked him to help with something, so it was hard to refuse.
Moreover, this person was born in Guangdong Province, so he was half of our own. Ding Kuichu thought about it for a while and made a decision.
"I have met Wang Huacheng several times, and I heard that he is capable of doing things. Since he was recommended by Eunuch Wang, I think he is a rare and virtuous person. It is very suitable for him to be the right vice minister of the Ministry of War."

Wang Kun smiled even more when he heard what Ding Kuichu said. At this time, Ding Kuichu on the opposite side suddenly spoke.

"Come to think of it, I have something that I would like to ask Eunuch Wang for help..."

The two of them were talking in low voices in the hall, and laughter could be heard from time to time.
The appointments of officials in the court were finalized, and the high-ranking officials in the court became just a matter of personal gain.
(End of this chapter)