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

Chapter 591 Backer
Because of this incident, Gao Jie and Xing Qiaoer abandoned such a promising career as rebellion, and instead boarded the leaky ship of the Ming Dynasty. I don't know whether the future will be a blessing or a curse.

But now it seems that their choice is the only one, and surrendering to Wang Rong is indeed the best way.

Wang Rong kept his promise and after settling Gao Jie and Xing Qiaoer, he sent a message to Dai Jun'en, the governor of Shanxi, to explain the matter. At the same time, Wang Rong also reported the matter to the court by express horse, informing the cabinet, the Imperial Household Department and Emperor Chongzhen.

Just as Wang Rong judged, Emperor Chongzhen was very happy when he learned that Gao Jie and Xing Qiaoer had turned to the light. After all, these two were the first to voluntarily surrender to the court after the bandits' rebellion. Moreover, Gao Jie and Xing Qiaoer both had extraordinary identities. One was a general under Li Zicheng, and the other was Li Zicheng's wife. Li Zicheng was one of the Eight Vajras under Gao Yingxiang. Their surrender to the court had greater political significance than military significance.

Especially when he heard about the "complicated" relationship between Gao Jie, Xing Qiaoer and Li Zicheng, Emperor Chongzhen laughed out loud with joy. He had never expected that such a thing would exist in the world.

In order to appease Gao Jie, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to give Gao Jie the title of Commander-in-Chief, the title of General Xuanwu, and the title of General of Guerrilla, and ordered the court and the Shanxi local government to treat him well. At the same time, Emperor Chongzhen also specifically mentioned in the edict that Xing Qiaoer should be betrothed to Gao Jie and given the title of a fourth-rank lady.

The imperial edict was sent to Luzhou Wei. Gao Jie and Xing Qiaoer were overjoyed after kneeling to receive it. They never thought that the court would treat them so well. Not only did they get high positions, but they also got married. Even Xing Qiaoer was now under great pressure.

After receiving the imperial edict and sending off the angel, Gao Jie returned to his residence and looked at the brand new official robes in front of him. His face was filled with joy, and the same was true for Xing Qiaoer beside him. It was not easy to be a fourth-rank official. You know, the wives of ordinary civil servants did not necessarily have such an honor. In the Ming Dynasty, where civil officials were valued and military officials were despised, she was really grateful that Emperor Chongzhen treated her and her husband like this.

"Husband, the court has treated you and me so well, we must repay the court well!" Xing Qiaoer said to Gao Jie in a serious tone.

Gao Jie nodded vigorously, took Xing Qiaoer's hand and said, "You and I are where we are today because of the grace of the court, so of course we should serve you to the utmost. Thanks to your guidance that day, otherwise how could we be so rich today? Don't worry, madam, I am now a military general of the court, and I will serve the court, wipe out the rebellion for your majesty, and pacify the world!"

"Good! This is my husband!" Xing Qiaoer was very pleased and extremely happy in her heart.

As Li Zicheng's wife, although she had a high status in the rebel army, Xing Qiaoer, who came from a merchant family, had never been optimistic about the future of the rebel army.

In her opinion, whether it was Gao Yingxiang or Li Zicheng, although these people had some influence, they were just bandits after all. Moreover, Xing Qiaoer, who had read books, knew very well that no one had ever done such a thing as Gao Yingxiang in any change of dynasty. How could a rebellion be successful as a bandit? Relying on wandering around and plundering for a living, their downfall was only a matter of time.

In addition to her relationship with Gao Jie, her disdain for the rebels was also an important reason, which is why she persuaded Gao Jie to leave the rebels and surrender to the court. And everything she got now also confirmed her vision. The court not only did not wrong them, but gave them official positions and preferential treatment. Now Gao Jie has transformed himself from a bandit to a serious court general, and even has a mission from the court.

The future is bright and no longer as bleak and precarious as it was when she was in the rebel army. This is what makes Xing Qiaoer happiest.

Now that he has received the grace of the court, Gao Jie will be a military general of the Ming Dynasty. Right now, Gao Yingxiang and other troops are still on the run. Since Gao Jie is a military general, he must go into battle and fight with his former rebel brothers. This is not only his job, but also allows the court to see their attitude and determination after surrendering.

According to the imperial court, Gao Jie would not stay in Luzhou Wei for too long. He would soon be assigned to a certain department of the imperial court and then lead his troops with other government troops to continue to encircle and suppress Gao Yingxiang or Zhang Xianzhong's troops.

However, what to do next still requires waiting for news from Shanxi Governor Dai Jun'en or the capital. As for Gao Jie's subordinates, in addition to the more than a thousand people who originally worked under him, the court will also transfer some troops to supplement and reorganize them.

Calculating the time, Gao Jie's next arrangement is expected to be decided soon. No matter who he is transferred to, it is not up to Gao Jie and Xing Qiaoer. But Xing Qiaoer is a very smart woman. She knows that she and Gao Jie are different from other Ming generals. After all, they surrendered from the rebel army, not the original government army.

Although there was the imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen, they might be ostracized after becoming officers and soldiers due to their different backgrounds, especially if they became subordinates of generals like Zuo Liangyu or Cao Wenzhao. Their future days might not be easy. After all, these generals had fought against the rebels many times and there was a lot of hatred between the two sides. In particular, Zuo Liangyu had suffered a defeat at the hands of Gao Yingxiang not long ago and almost lost his life. Once they became subordinates of Zuo Liangyu, it would be strange if he would have a good face for them given Zuo Liangyu's temper.

Since she had been granted marriage to Gao Jie, Xing Qiaoer and Gao Jie were now truly one, and she had to plan for Gao Jie and her own future.

After a while of rejoicing, Xing Qiaoer discussed the future arrangements with Gao Jie and told him about her concerns. Gao Jie frowned after hearing this. He had not expected this. He thought about it carefully and said, "It seems that we can only take one step at a time. As the saying goes, you have to bow your head under someone else's roof. Besides, I am now an official appointed by the court and a general of the Ming Dynasty. With a different status, I naturally cannot do the same things as before." "Be careful in doing things, do your best to suppress the bandits, and spend some money to clear the way. I think they will not do anything to me. As for making things difficult for me, it is probably inevitable, but I just need to be cautious. Zuo Liangyu and others can't ignore your majesty's thoughts and force me to do it, right?"

"Having said that, we still need to make some preparations. In this world, one should be prepared for the worst. Zuo Liangyu and Cao Wenzhao are ruthless and are known as the King of Hell. All of their men are Liao soldiers. Once you go under their command, what can they do to punish you? You must remember that a general is not bound by the orders of his king when he is away from the battlefield. If something unexpected happens on the battlefield, you won't be able to get help from heaven or earth!" Xing Qiaoer said worriedly.

Gao Jie also became nervous when he heard this. Xing Qiaoer's concerns were reasonable. This kind of thing was very likely to happen. But he couldn't change it. The two of them had just surrendered from the rebel army. Everything they had now was given by the court. Could they still go against the court's orders?

Gao Jie was a little anxious for a while. He stood up and walked around the room for a few times, but couldn't think of a good solution. He looked back at Xing Qiaoer, but was surprised to find that Xing Qiaoer was not as worried as he was. Instead, she was smiling. An idea flashed in his mind, and Gao Jie hurriedly asked Xing Qiaoer if she had any good ideas.

"I've thought about this over and over again, and the key is that you and I don't have a background. Being an official in the court is the same as doing business. If you don't have a background, you won't be able to be an official for a long time, and you won't be able to do business for a long time. You and I didn't come from a legitimate background. Although we are accepted by the court and given official positions, we are powerless to suppress us. But if you and I have someone backing us up and speaking for us, it would be completely different. Even if I don't like you, I can only give up for this reason."

"That's a good idea." Gao Jie clasped his hands together and his face lit up, but he soon became dejected again: "Although the idea is good, where can I get any support? The court is in the dark, and I can't find any connections at all. Besides, I'm a bandit who surrendered, so even if I want to find connections, I have no way, not to mention whether others are willing to accept me."

"You, you seem smart on weekdays, but why do you become so confused when the time comes? Is there really no relationship?"

"How could that be? How come I don't know?" Gao Jie asked in surprise.

Xing Qiaoer pointed to the door and said, "It's so far away, yet so close before our eyes!"

"The horizon? In front of you?" Gao Jie was even more confused. Who was Xing Qiaoer talking about?

Seeing that Gao Jie still didn't understand, Xing Qiaoer laughed angrily and waved at him. When Gao Jie put his ear closer, Xing Qiaoer told him who she was referring to.

"Commander Wang? This...can this work?" Gao Jie never expected that the backer Xing Qiaoer was talking about was actually Wang Rong.

Although Wang Rong's official position was not low, he was the commander of the garrison and a third-rank military officer. Wang Rong also held the rank of General Dingguo, a second-rank officer. The entire Luzhou Garrison was under his jurisdiction, so he was considered a high-ranking official in the local area.

But the problem is that Wang Rong is not the top leader among the three local officials, because he has the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Wei Suo above him. In addition, the current Wei Suo is no longer the Wei Suo of the early Ming Dynasty. As a military organization of the Ming Dynasty, its functions are not as good as before. At best, it is an ordinary local official. Except for nominally controlling the Wei Suo army, it basically has no much power on weekdays.

With the decay of the garrisons, the Ming Dynasty is now mainly based on border troops, and most of the troops are led by military positions, such as generals, deputy generals, lieutenant generals, guerrillas, etc. On the other hand, the presence of the garrisons is not high, so although Wang Rong's official position is not low, compared with officials of the level of governors and generals, it can only be said to be ordinary.

"What do you know!" Xing Qiaoer rolled her eyes at Gao Jie. Of course, she knew the situation of the garrison, but the problem was that no matter how bad the garrison was, this skinny camel was still bigger than a horse. Although the general had a high position and had troops under him, the general's military position could be replaced at any time, but the garrison commander was different. As the head of the garrison, he was a local emperor. Didn't Emperor Chongzhen kill many officials because of the war in the Ming Dynasty? Among them were civil officials and military generals. The governor and the general, including the lieutenant general, were better, but there was one thing that no one noticed, that is, Emperor Chongzhen never dealt with the garrison commander.

Is there any deeper meaning in this? Moreover, the military posts of the guards have always been hereditary, and the relationships within the guards are complicated. To be a commander requires a huge network of relationships, which stretches from the local areas to the capital, and is not something that ordinary people can know.

In addition, Wang Rong is not just an ordinary garrison commander. As early as when Xing Qiaoer decided to persuade Gao Jie to surrender to the court and chose to go to Shanxi to join Luzhou Garrison, Xing Qiaoer had specially learned about Wang Rong's situation. According to what she knew before and the information she had obtained, Commander Wang Rong has a very deep background and extensive connections in the court. It is even said that Wang Rong is a clan relative. Such a person may look inconspicuous, but he may have great potential. If Wang Rong is willing to protect them, then even if the couple has a background and backing in officialdom in the future, at least they will not be bullied.

(End of this chapter)