Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1210 Loyalty and Righteousness
Zhu Shenzhui remained silent, his left hand resting on the low table, tapping lightly on the surface. His expression was calm, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Zhang Xianzhong did not raise his head, remaining in the same posture, but his heart was filled with unease.

After a long while, Zhu Shenzhui spoke up: "Zhang Xianzhong!"

"Chen is here!"

"Here's a memorial; take a look." With that, Zhu Shenzhui handed over the memorial he had just been reading.

Zhang Xianzhong was somewhat confused about the emperor's intentions. What did this memorial from the court have to do with him? Could it be an impeachment memorial against him? That shouldn't be the case! Over the years, he had behaved himself well in the capital, keeping a low profile in both his personal conduct and his work. Apart from what he said in the General Council today in a moment of impulsiveness, there shouldn't be any other problems. Besides, even if the censors wanted to impeach him, they shouldn't be doing it so quickly, right? How much time had passed!

But since the emperor wanted him to see the memorial, he couldn't refuse. He could only stand up, step forward, and accept the memorial with both hands. After sitting back down, Zhang Xianzhong nervously opened the memorial. However, after glancing at it, he was immediately stunned and hurriedly began to read it carefully.

The contents of the memorial surprised Zhang Xianzhong. It wasn't a memorial from an official, but from Zhu Mincheng, the Prince of Song. The problem was that the Prince of Song had long since been granted overseas fiefdoms, supposedly having gone to the New World thousands of miles away. This was something that almost everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew, not just Zhang Xianzhong.

As the current emperor's eldest son, the Prince of Song holds a noble status. According to the precedent set by Emperor Taizu of Ming, it was perfectly normal for princes to be granted fiefdoms outside the capital. In the past, given the Prince of Song's status, his fiefdom would likely have been no different from that of the Prince of Fu. Choosing a prosperous region in the Ming Dynasty as the Prince of Song's fiefdom, along with his title, would have been perfectly reasonable for him to be enfeoffed in Southern Zhili, which is Jiangnan.

But Zhu Shenzhui didn't do that. Instead, he directly enfeoffed his eldest son overseas, to a new continent thousands of miles away. This action baffled everyone. If it were just Zhu Cizhao, the son of Chongzhen, the current retired emperor, being enfeoffed overseas, everyone would have thought it was perfectly reasonable. Although Emperor Chongzhen was currently the retired emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with an extremely noble status, everyone knew how he came to be the retired emperor and how he became the retired emperor.

Even though the current emperor has long since secured his throne and Emperor Chongzhen, the retired emperor, is no longer a threat, his princes are still a potential problem. Therefore, under the pretext of enfeoffing them overseas, Chongzhen's princes were sent abroad. Whether they could return from such a distant place in this lifetime was uncertain. In this way, some problems were resolved, and the emperor's magnanimity was also demonstrated.

The problem wasn't just that Zhu Cizhao was enfeoffed to the New World; even the Prince of Song, born to the Empress, was enfeoffed there. This practice raised many questions. When news of the simultaneous enfeoffment of Prince of Song, Zhu Mincheng, and Zhu Cizhao spread, it sparked much speculation not only in the court but also among the common people. Many believed it was related to the imperial succession, suggesting that the relationship between the Crown Prince and Prince of Song was not as harmonious as it appeared, but rather a fierce struggle behind the scenes, with the ultimate goal being the throne.

There is no kinship in the royal family, even among brothers born of the same mother; this has been the case in every dynasty, though some inside stories remain unknown to outsiders. The Prince of Song's enfeoffment was likely due to his failure to secure the imperial succession; the emperor, to ensure the stability of the crown prince's position, sent the Prince of Song far away.

The Prince of Song went to the New World, thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty's homeland. He had very few chances of returning in his lifetime. Moreover, the other princes born to the emperor in recent years were still young, while the crown prince was older and had a stable position. In this way, there would be no situation of fratricide.

This was the opinion of most people, including Zhang Xianzhong. However, after reading the memorial in his hand today, Zhang Xianzhong began to doubt his previous judgment. The content and words written by the Prince of Song in the memorial contained not a trace of resentment, but also expressed a lot of longing for the Crown Prince and brotherly affection. This showed that there was no conflict between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Song, and that they had a very good brotherly relationship, which could not be faked.

In addition, the Song king's memorial detailed how they arrived at the New World, what they encountered there, and how they established themselves, providing a wealth of specific accounts. The Song king's writing was excellent, and the content was very engaging. Zhang Xianzhong was captivated by it and gained his first direct impression of the distant New World.

Besides these, in his memorial to the emperor, the Song King also mentioned Li Dingguo, praising him highly. Li Dingguo was currently deeply trusted by the Song King and was already the Song King's Protector General. Moreover, in this memorial to the emperor, the Song King also requested the court to grant Li Dingguo a reward, hoping that the court could promote Li Dingguo to the rank of General Dingguo. This rank was not low. It should be noted that Zhang Xianzhong was initially appointed as General Dingguo. Not only him, but also Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, Lu Yisheng, Hu Lin and others did not hold this rank until they made meritorious contributions and gained more seniority, and then they were promoted from General Dingguo to General of the Cavalry.

Li Dingguo was Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son, and also his foster son. He was arguably the one Zhang Xianzhong valued and respected most among his four adopted sons. The relationship between Zhang Xianzhong and Li Dingguo was almost indistinguishable from that of a biological father and son. Zhang Xianzhong even considered entrusting everything to Li Dingguo after his death if he had no children.

Although Zhang Xianzhong now has a son, Li Dingguo still holds a high place in his heart. Moreover, father and son have been separated for many years. Apart from seeing Li Dingguo once in the capital when he accompanied the Prince of Song on his fiefdom, Zhang Xianzhong has never seen Li Dingguo again. He often misses his son. Today, he actually saw Li Dingguo's name in the Prince of Song's memorial, and especially the Prince of Song's high regard and trust in Li Dingguo, which greatly comforted Zhang Xianzhong and made him happy.

After reading the memorial, Zhang Xianzhong respectfully placed it back on the low table beside Zhu Shenzhui and then withdrew. "Li Dingguo has done a good job in the New World. His abilities are outstanding, and he is extremely loyal to the Song King. I am very pleased," Zhu Shenzhui said calmly.

“This is what he should do. Dingguo is a subject of the Ming Dynasty and a subordinate of the Prince of Song. He was just doing his duty. Moreover, Dingguo has always been a reliable and loyal man. It is his good fortune to be valued by His Highness the Prince of Song and to achieve merit overseas.” Zhang Xianzhong replied with a smile. What father doesn’t like others praising his son? Especially when the praise comes from the current emperor. Although Li Dingguo is not his biological son, in Zhang Xianzhong’s heart, he is no different from his own son.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded, his gaze turning towards Zhang Xianzhong. He was well aware of Li Dingguo's abilities and capabilities; Li Dingguo was a figure who had left a significant mark on history and was a banner of the Southern Ming's resistance against the Manchus.

Had Li Dingguo not succumbed to illness in his prime, the fate of the Manchu Qing dynasty might have been uncertain. His death ultimately led to the Southern Ming falling into Manchu hands, plunging China into three hundred years of darkness – a deep wound in the heart of every Chinese person.
The reason Zhu Shenzhui accepted Zhang Xianzhong's surrender and settled him in the capital was twofold. Firstly, Zhang Xianzhong made the most opportune decision based on his assessment of the situation. Secondly, Zhu Shenzhui spared Zhang Xianzhong out of consideration for his adopted son. Otherwise, other bandit leaders would either have been killed on the battlefield or captured and executed, while Zhang Xianzhong, known as the "Eighth King," not only lived a good life but also received a title and enjoyed wealth and honor. Li Dingguo was partly responsible for this.

Of course, Zhang Xianzhong was unaware of this matter, and Zhu Shenzhui never mentioned it to anyone. Later, when Zhu Mincheng asked Zhu Shenzhui for Li Dingguo, Zhu Shenzhui hesitated and didn't intend to hand Li Dingguo over to Zhu Mincheng. However, after careful consideration, he felt that since the Ming Dynasty wanted to expand overseas, especially by appointing princes to foreign lands, it was inappropriate for Zhu Mincheng not to have suitable generals capable of leading independently. Moreover, Li Dingguo's official rank was not high at that time, and it was unnecessary to send him to the Liaodong battlefield for experience. Therefore, Zhu Shenzhui ultimately agreed to Zhu Mincheng's request and transferred Li Dingguo to the command of the Prince of Song.

With Li Dingguo accompanying Zhu Mincheng in the New World, Zhu Shenzhui could feel much more at ease. After all, he knew Li Dingguo's abilities very well, and although Li Dingguo came from a humble background, he was indeed loyal and righteous, a reliable person. Keeping him by Zhu Mincheng's side was the best choice.

As expected, Li Dingguo quickly achieved success after following Zhu Mincheng to the New World. His talent stood out, and he became one of Zhu Mincheng's most trusted and valued subordinates. Judging from the contents of the memorial, Zhu Mincheng not only valued Li Dingguo highly but also requested an official title for him, which shows that Li Dingguo was doing a very good job.

Just as Zhang Xianzhong was rejoicing over Li Dingguo's promising future, Zhu Shenzhui asked, "I heard you recently had a son?"

Zhang Xianzhong was taken aback, and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I did not expect that you, with your many duties, would still care about such a trivial matter as mine. My concubine did indeed give birth to a son, who is almost a year old now."

"Have you chosen a name yet?"

"Your Majesty, I have given the child the nickname 'Dog Egg,' haha, a humble name is easier to raise. I plan to choose a formal name for the child when he turns one year old."

"Dog Egg? Hahaha!" Upon hearing this name, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but laugh. Although Zhang Xianzhong was now a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty and a General of the Cavalry, he was, after all, from an ordinary family and had been a bandit. He had this son when he was nearly fifty, so naturally he cherished him dearly and specially gave the child this nickname, intending for the child to establish himself with this humble name. This also shows Zhang Xianzhong's importance and love for this son.

"Since the child has no formal name, how about I bestow one upon him?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

Zhang Xianzhong hurriedly stood up and knelt before the emperor, saying, "What virtue or ability do I possess to deserve Your Majesty bestowing a name upon my son? I..."

"Alright, it's just a name." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and laughed, "I know you come from a humble background and are in an awkward position in the court. You've been quite dutiful in the capital all these years, and now you're a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty with a respectable military rank. It doesn't matter if a great man comes from a humble background. Even the founding emperor was once a monk and begged for food. He also came from a rebel army, and he still managed to rule the country and build the Ming Dynasty we have today. Your name is Zhang Xianzhong, and I hope you live up to it, serving the Ming Dynasty well in the future, with loyalty and righteousness in your heart..."

At this point, Zhu Shenzhui paused for a moment, then continued to Zhang Xianzhong, "As for your son, let's bestow upon him the words 'loyalty and righteousness.' Zhang Zhongyi, what do you say?"

"Loyalty is good! Loyalty is good!" Zhang Xianzhong quickly expressed his gratitude, saying that from today onwards, his son would be named Zhang Zhongyi.

(End of this chapter)