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

Chapter 163 Meeting a Noble Person
Hei Mingzhong and Hei Longyun received the decree together. When the eunuch who announced the decree finished reading it, Hei Longyun was shocked by the content of the decree, while Hei Mingzhong, who was kneeling beside him, was extremely surprised. Seeing that his father did not come back to his senses for a while and was still kneeling on the ground motionless, Hei Mingzhong hurriedly reminded him softly.

Hei Yunlong immediately came to his senses and quickly kowtowed to the eunuch who announced the decree, shouting slogans such as "I thank the emperor for his grace" and "Long live the emperor."

After that, when the eunuch said "Please stand up", Hei Yunlong got up and respectfully took the imperial edict from the eunuch. At the same time, his eldest son, who had been prepared, took two steps forward with a gift and handed it to the eunuch.

"My dear eunuch, Zhangjiakou is located in a remote area and cannot compare to the prosperity of the capital. We only have a few local specialties. I am not a respectful gift. Please do not despise it."

The eunuch took the plate with a smile, and felt a weight in his hand. The smile on his face grew even wider when he felt the weight.

"General Hei is so polite. How can we accept this?"

"Your Excellency has come a long way and worked hard. These local specialties are just a small token of my appreciation."

"Hahaha, in that case, we won't be polite?" The eunuch's eyes were smiling into slits, and he waved his left hand behind him. Someone helped to receive this "local specialty". Then Hei Yunlong warmly entertained the eunuch and held a banquet in the garrison.

At the banquet, Hei Yunlong warmly received and flattered the eunuch who announced the imperial edict. This was someone close to the emperor, and the content of the imperial edict was really beyond Hei Yunlong's expectations. He originally thought that he was defeated in Liaodong and then captured by the Mongols on the grassland. According to the court's usual precedents, he would definitely not be able to serve as a garrison commander.

Not only would he lose his job, but there might be even more severe punishments, and Hei Yunlong had already prepared for all of this. He had arranged for others to speak for him, just to get a break. If he was just fired, Hei Yunlong would be willing to do so. If he was unlucky and was held accountable, he and his son might even go to jail.

But Hei Yunlong never expected that this imperial edict not only did not hold him and his son responsible, but also contained many praises. He had just heard clearly the content of the imperial edict. The emperor believed that the defeat in Liaodong was not caused by him, Hei Yunlong and his son. On the contrary, in that situation, Hei Yunlong and his son knew that Shenyang had fallen, the Later Jin was on the verge of attack, and the Ming army was outnumbered, but they were still able to lead their troops to fight against the Later Jin. This alone made them much better than other generals.

Although they were defeated, they still won glory. As for their subsequent escape to the grasslands and their capture by the Mongols, this was not something that Hei Yunlong and his son could control. The key point is that even though Hei Yunlong and his son were reduced to the grasslands, they still maintained the integrity of the Ming Dynasty's ministers, resolutely refused the Mongols' recruitment, and were determined to return to the Ming Dynasty.

Although Hei Yunlong and his son were military generals rather than civil officials, their integrity is worthy of praise. In ancient times, there was Su Wu, who did not lose the character of the Han Dynasty. Today, although Hei Yunlong and his son are not as good as Su Wu, they are not greedy for fame and wealth and resolutely return to the Ming Dynasty after going through thousands of hardships. Not only did they not make mistakes, but they also made contributions. How can the court not praise such loyal officials?

In the end, the imperial edict not only did not hold Hei Yunlong and his son accountable, but instead praised them greatly. Hei Yunlong not only did not lose his job but was promoted instead.

He was previously the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou, and now he has been promoted to the position of assistant secretary of Xuanfu Dusi and given the rank of guerrilla commander, and is in charge of Dushi's affairs. As for the position of garrison commander of Zhangjiakou, he will continue to hold the position concurrently.

Hei Yunlong was previously the deputy commander of the Xuanfu vanguard, and was later transferred to the garrison of Zhangjiakou. But now he has been promoted to the deputy secretary of the Xuanfu Dusi and the rank of guerrilla.

The position of Dusi Qianshu is generally a transitional position from garrison to guerrilla general. Although this is a small step, it is an important step from a mid-level officer to a senior officer.

Moreover, Hei Yunlong was directly given the rank of guerrilla, which means that he is now an official guerrilla general. Not to mention the rank of Lieutenant General Guan Dushi, which is the highest honor of this title. Dushi City, like Zhangjiakou, is an important fortress of the Nine Frontiers, and is more famous for being the isolated Jiuzhaigou. During the Jiajing period, there were more than 5000 troops stationed here, which is an important military and political place. Although it is not as good as during the Jiajing period, there are still 4303 registered soldiers.

In addition, Hei Yunlong still holds the post of garrison of Zhangjiakou, which means that he is directly in charge of the military affairs of the two places. He is also given the title of Lieutenant General in charge of Dushi. From this point of view, the power held by Hei Yunlong is no different from that of a formal Lieutenant General.

This result surprised Hei Yunlong greatly. He never understood why the emperor and the court would issue such an order. He had been prepared to lose his job, but in the end, not only did he not lose his job, but he got such a great benefit instead.

For a moment, Hei Yunlong felt dizzy. His first thought was whether the person he found and the money he spent had played a role. But after careful consideration, he felt something was wrong. He did find someone and spend a lot of money, but the person he found and the money he spent were completely disproportionate to the huge return he got now.

Hei Yunlong was only a mid-level officer before, and the level he could reach was not high. Even if he had connections in the army, at best he could find the general of Xuanfu and the commander-in-chief to say a few good words for him. But even so, whether it was the general of Xuanfu or the commander-in-chief, they were barely considered big shots in Xuanfu, but they were nothing in the court.

In the eyes of the bigwigs in the court, let alone the Xuanfu General and the Commander-in-Chief, even the Governor-General of Xuanda would not be given face. As for the emperor, let alone, how could Hei Yunlong have the connection with the emperor? He had never even been to the capital in his life, and he didn't even know which way the gate of the Forbidden City opened. How could he possibly have the connection with the emperor?

But the reality was right in front of him, and Hei Yunlong had to believe it. With such a strange result, Hei Yunlong was filled with doubts. Taking the opportunity of entertaining the eunuch, Hei Yunlong asked about his doubts indirectly. The eunuch accepted the gift and drank the wine, and was in a good mood, so he didn't evade Hei Yunlong.

He told Hei Yunlong with a smile that, according to reason, he was definitely guilty in his situation, and if the bigwigs in the court insisted on pursuing the matter, the guilt would be quite serious.

The defeat in Liaodong shocked the court. After the war, the court punished many generals. I think Hei Yunlong also knew about this.

Hei Yunlong nodded repeatedly to show that he understood. He had heard something about this matter after he came back. Due to the tragic defeat in Liaodong, the emperor was furious and the court punished many people. Some generals who were afraid of the enemy and did not advance were killed, some were imprisoned, and even more were dismissed.

However, Hei Yunlong was an exception. First, when he returned, the court had already finished dealing with Liaodong. Second, Hei Yunlong's rank was not high, he was just a garrison commander, and he was a reinforcement from Xuanfu to Liaodong, so the mistakes made by Liaodong in the Liaodong battle could not be blamed on him.

Moreover, Hei Yunlong and the Later Jin had fought with real swords and guns. Although he was defeated, he was much stronger than those generals who fled without fighting. Afterwards, Hei Yunlong fled Liaodong, mistakenly entered the grassland, and returned to the Ming Dynasty with untold hardships. Although he made mistakes, they were not his own fault, and his loyalty and integrity were also remarkable.

But all these can only be said to be the balance between Hei Yunlong's merits and demerits. If we seriously investigate, I am afraid that there are still more merits than demerits. Even if Hei Yunlong is not dismissed, severely reprimanding him and demoting him to retain his position is already a great favor from the emperor.

But for some unknown reason, a big shot spoke up for Hei Yunlong at this time. It was for this reason that the emperor considered carefully and felt that not only should Hei Yunlong not be punished, but on the contrary, his loyalty should be publicized and he should be set up as an example to inspire the Ming army whose morale was low after the defeat in Liaodong.

In this way, the emperor finally made the final decision and issued an edict.

"Excuse me, sir, who is this big shot you are talking about...?" Hei Yunlong couldn't help but ask.

The eunuch laughed, picked up the wine glass in front of him and asked Hei Yunlong: "This important person is naturally Eunuch Wei."

"Eunuch Wei? That Eunuch Wei?" Hei Yunlong was confused.

The eunuch knew that Hei Yunlong didn't know the situation in the capital, so he didn't get angry. He smiled and said, "There is only one emperor in this world, and there is only one eunuch Wei in this palace. You, I don't know how many lifetimes of blessings you have accumulated in your previous life, to be favored by eunuch Wei, otherwise how could you have such a good fortune?"

"Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch. I am very grateful to Eunuch Wei. Please help me convey a message to Eunuch Wei when you return to Beijing. If Eunuch Wei needs any orders in the future, I will serve you wholeheartedly!" Hei Yunlong still didn't understand who the Eunuch Wei the other party was talking about, but he had been an official for so many years, so he naturally showed an expression of realization, and then expressed his attitude respectfully. Seeing his attitude, the eunuch was quite satisfied, and said with a smile that everyone was working for the emperor and Eunuch Wei, so there was no need to do this. Hei Yunlong's loyalty would be reported to Eunuch Wei after he returned to Beijing, and asked Hei Yunlong to do a good job in the future and not let Eunuch Wei down.

After the eunuch announced the imperial decree, he stayed in Zhangjiakou for a day before returning to Beijing. After Hei Yunlong saw the eunuch off, he began to inquire about the news of Eunuch Wei.

Soon the news came, and he knew who the Eunuch Wei mentioned by the eunuch was.

It turns out that this eunuch Wei is none other than Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch who is now the Chief of the Imperial Household Department and in charge of the Eastern Depot. This eunuch Wei is a very extraordinary person. He was born as a close companion of the emperor. Not long after Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, Eunuch Wei became the most popular person around the emperor. Then Emperor Tianqi let him enter the Imperial Household Department and take charge of the Eastern Depot. In today's inner court, he is considered the number one person except the emperor.

Such a great man spoke for him, so there was such an imperial edict for Hei Yunlong. After knowing this, Hei Yunlong secretly sighed that he was lucky, but at the same time, his doubts were not completely gone, because on the surface, it seemed that there was nothing wrong, but if you think about it carefully, it is still a bit strange.

Hei Yunlong's status and position were far inferior to Wei Zhongxian. How could the eunuch Wei, who controlled the inner court and was known as the internal minister, think so highly of him? Hei Yunlong had been at the border for decades, working his way up from a low-ranking general to a garrison commander. He was not a young man who knew nothing. If he was just told that the eunuch Wei had helped him out on a whim, Hei Yunlong would never believe it.

But now the fact is before him again, and Hei Yunlong just can't figure it out. After thinking about it over and over again, he can't bear to think about it any more. Anyway, a good outcome is better than a bad one. As for why Eunuch Wei did this, the mystery will be solved one day.

(End of this chapter)