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

Chapter 162 Father and Son
Zhangjiakou, garrison.

Hei Yunlong and his son Hei Mingzhong finally returned. Their return made Hei Yunlong's other sons and subordinates who stayed in Zhangjiakou overjoyed.

The Liaodong war had been over for more than two months. The Ming Dynasty ended in a disastrous defeat in the Liaodong war. Xiong Tingbi's previous careful planning for Liaodong had all gone to waste. Yuan Yingtai, the governor of Liaodong, not only died for his country, but also lost the Ming Dynasty's most elite troops and a large area of ​​territory in Liaodong.

When the news of Liaodong's defeat came, Zhangjiakou was shocked, especially when they learned that Zhangjiakou's reinforcements to Liaodong were defeated by the Later Jin Dynasty and the whereabouts of the garrison leader Hei Yunlong and the fifth son Hei Mingzhong were unknown, everyone in Zhangjiakou was extremely nervous.

No one knew what the situation was like in Liaodong, let alone whether Hei Yunlong and his son were still alive. In the following days, everyone waited anxiously, hoping that Hei Yunlong and his son would return safely.

But as the days passed, some people returned from Liaodong one after another, but there was still no sign of Hei Yunlong and his son.

Those who came back said all kinds of things. Some said they saw Hei Yunlong and his son breaking out to the north, some said they ran to the west, some said they died in the battle, and some even said they were captured by the Later Jin...

There were all kinds of stories, but none of them were conclusive. The several sons of the Hei family and Hei Yunlong's subordinates were in a panic because of these true and false news. Although they knew that the hope of survival was slim, they still had a glimmer of hope in their hearts because the news had not been confirmed.

As time went by, fewer and fewer people escaped from Liaodong, and the hope of Hei Yunlong and his son surviving became smaller and smaller.

Until more than two months after the end of the Liaodong War, everyone had given up hope on Hei Yunlong and his son. They were even preparing to hold a funeral for them, pack up their belongings and build a cenotaph. But no one expected that Hei Yunlong and his son would suddenly come back.

Moreover, they did not come back from the east, but entered Zhangjiakou from the grassland in the north.

The return of Hei Yunlong and his son made the Hei brothers and his subordinates overjoyed. No matter what, it was good that the people came back. As for how they came back, why they were delayed for so long, and how they came back from the grassland, although everyone was curious, they could not help but refrain from asking.

"Dad, in my opinion, there is no need to report these things to the court." Hei Mingzhong advised Hei Yunlong. It had been two days since they came back. During these two days, they met a lot of people, not only people from the Hei family, but also subordinates from Zhangjiakou, and even colleagues from Xuanfu who rushed over after hearing the news.

Two days later, Hei Yunlong and his son recovered and looked much better. Although they were released by the Mongols and given a map of the route back, they did not dare to be careless on the way back. After all, the grassland was the territory of the Mongols. If they fell into the hands of other Mongolian tribes, they might not be so lucky.

After untold hardships, they finally returned to Ming Dynasty. The moment they entered the Great Wall, Hei Yunlong and his son finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the familiar people and things, and recalling the journey from Liaodong to the grassland and back from the grassland, it seemed like a lifetime ago.

After resting for two days, Hei Yunlong prepared to report his situation to the court. As the garrison of Zhangjiakou and one of the frontier troops supporting the Liaodong battlefield, he had suffered a defeat in Liaodong and had been missing for such a long time. All of these needed to be reported truthfully.

In addition, although he returned, the court did not investigate him. He was still the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou in name, but this was because of the disappearance of Hei Yunlong and his son. Now that they were not dead, while reporting the situation to the court, he was still under criminal detention according to the rules, and he needed to wait for the court's opinion on how to deal with him.

When Hei Yunlong was about to write down the details and report it to the court, Hei Mingzhong couldn't help but come to find his father.

"Don't report to the court?" Hei Yunlong asked back.

"Yes, Dad. We are back anyway. Besides, the court will not know about what happened on the grassland unless you tell it. Just tell the court the situation in Liaodong and the defeat. As for the rest, just find an excuse to cover it up. What if the court finds out that my father and I ended up on the grassland and were captured by the Mongols, and it was the Mongols who took the initiative to release us, then..." Hei Mingzhong said worriedly, looking at Hei Yunlong nervously while speaking.

"Zhong'er!"

"father!"

"Do you think Dad wants to report the truth?" Hei Yunlong asked back.

Hei Mingzhong was stunned, not knowing how to answer for a moment. Seeing his expression, Hei Yunlong smiled bitterly and said, "You are too young, and there are some things you don't understand. This is not something your father can do regardless of whether he wants to or not." "In the Liaodong War, our Ming Dynasty suffered such a loss. In this case, deceiving the court is a serious crime. There is no wall that is impenetrable. The fact that you and I have fallen into the hands of the Mongols will eventually be known by the court. If you deceive and don't report it, you may be able to escape now, but if the court knows about this in the future, do you know what the consequences will be?"

After hearing this, Hei Mingzhong was speechless, but after thinking about it, he still said: "Dad, but if you do this, what if the court..."

"It's inevitable. Dad has made arrangements with the court. Besides, the court is in need of people right now. The Liaodong war has been over for some time. Your father and I are not the commander of an army. The court may punish us, but it won't be too harsh. As long as we can save our lives and make meritorious contributions, we may be able to turn things around in the future. But if we deceive the court, it will be different. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Dad..." Hei Mingzhong nodded silently. Hei Yunlong was right. The Ming Dynasty controlled the military with civil officials. The civil officials in the court had never been fond of the military generals and suppressed them severely on a daily basis. Moreover, Liaodong had just been defeated, and they, father and son, were now in prison. If they deceived the court on this matter, the consequences would be quite serious.

Although Hei Mingzhong thought that the things that happened on the grassland might not be spread to the Ming Dynasty after they ran back, who could guarantee that this matter would not be known to others in the future? If it is not made clear now, it will be even more unclear in the future. Hei Yunlong's approach seems risky, but it is the most appropriate if you think about it carefully. Doing so can reassure the civil servants and show his loyalty to the court.

Just as Hei Yunlong said, as long as the crime is not serious, the Hei family still has a chance to rise. Besides, the Hei family is a hereditary military family. Even if they have no merits, they have worked hard for so many years. Moreover, Hei Yunlong and his son are not big shots. A mere garrison is nothing to the adults in the court. This risk is worth taking.

Seeing that Hei Mingzhong understood, Hei Yunlong nodded slightly and waved his hand to signal him to go down. He had to continue writing the report and submit it according to the procedure after finishing it.

In addition, Hei Yunlong has a lot to do. Writing this thing is one thing, and he must find someone to take care of it as soon as possible. No matter whether it is the superiors in Xuanfu or the bigwigs in Beijing, someone has to speak for them and their son when this thing is handed over, right?
If no one spoke up for them, what if they ended up making things worse? Although Hei Yunlong was a military commander, he was not completely ignorant of this kind of operation. This was a major event concerning himself and his son, and even the entire Hei family, so he could not be careless at all.

"Wait!" Hei Mingzhong bowed to Hei Yunlong. When he was about to leave, Hei Yunlong suddenly called him.

"father?"

"Let me ask you, do you know the Mongolian nobleman I met on the grassland before?" Hei Yunlong asked in a low voice.

Hei Mingzhong had a puzzled look on his face and shook his head, saying, "I was thinking about this on the way back. At that time, I heard that person say that he guessed Dad's identity because of me. But I still can't figure out when I met this Mongolian nobleman. And Dad, except for this time, I have never been to the grassland before, let alone dealt with Mongolians. How did he know me?"

"Really have no impression?" Hei Yunlong asked.

Hei Mingzhong shook his head: "I really have no impression, Dad! I really don't know how he recognized me. It shouldn't be possible. I have never seen this person before. I was thinking about this on the way back, but I couldn't figure it out no matter how hard I thought."

"This is strange..." Hei Yunlong frowned. Although he had returned to Ming Dynasty now, Zhu Shenzhui's figure still appeared in his mind, especially the faint smile on Zhu Shenzhui's face when he said that he would let them father and son return to Ming Dynasty.

For some reason, Hei Yunlong always felt that this matter was not so simple, but he could not figure out why it was not so simple. Today, he asked Hei Mingzhong to find out how Zhu Shenzhui guessed their father-son identities. Unfortunately, even Hei Mingzhong did not know. However, it was clear from what Zhu Shenzhui said that he knew he was Hei Yunlong because he recognized Hei Mingzhong.

He waved his hand and asked Hei Mingzhong to leave. After he left the room, Hei Yunlong was still in deep thought. After a long time, he sighed and continued to write this document. Although he put Zhu Shenzhu's matter aside for the time being, Hei Yunlong felt vaguely in his heart at this moment that this matter was far from over.

A few days later, Hei Yunlong submitted the written report and started to find people to make things easier, spending a lot of money. After spending the money, Hei Yunlong finally felt relieved, because the superior accepted his money. If he didn't accept it, he would still be worried, but if he accepted it, at least he was willing to help him speak a little.

In Hei Yunlong's opinion, he might lose his garrison post, and the court would soon make a decision, with the best outcome being dismissal. But that was nothing, as he was a hereditary military commander, and even if he lost his garrison post, he still had the title of the vanguard commander.

As long as he doesn't risk his life, everything can start over again. Besides, there are many Hei family members in the army, and his sons will not be implicated. In the future, as long as the court remembers him, Hei Yunlong, he can still be reinstated.

But Hei Yunlong never expected that when he was anxiously waiting for the court's result and had already prepared to leave Zhangjiakou, the court's edict came down in less than half a month. When the edict was delivered to Zhangjiakou, Hei Yunlong was stunned when he heard its content.

(End of this chapter)