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

Chapter 605 Li Guorui Plays Pitiable

Li Guorui was submissive in front of Chongzhen, but after leaving the palace and returning home, he started cursing behind closed doors and was so angry that he smashed his beloved tea set.

In Li Guorui's opinion, Emperor Chongzhen was clearly picking on the weak. He chose to pick on himself, a relative of honor, instead of looking for so many princes and dukes. Although the Wuqing Marquis family was the most honorable relative, the problem was that Empress Dowager Li had died a long time ago, and the Li family had no background. Although the Wuqing Marquis family sounded famous, they had no foundation in the court.

If it were not so, how could Emperor Chongzhen tell Li Guorui about this and let Wuqinghou Family be an example? If we are talking about in-laws, wouldn't Zhou Kui, the father of Emperor Chongzhen's empress, be more suitable? After Zhou Kui became the father-in-law of the emperor, he made a lot of money in the past few years. Especially after being named the Earl of Jiading, Zhou Kui took advantage of his daughter being the empress to buy a lot of land in various places. His family wealth was much more than that of Li Guorui.

But Emperor Chongzhen did not look for Zhou Kui, but for himself. Isn't this bullying the Li family, who now has no one? It sounds good to say "with the help of others", but even a fool knows what is going on. Li Guorui, let alone being distressed about the silver, is unwilling to give it to the court even if he really has silver.

After Li Guorui lost his temper, he gradually calmed down and thought about this matter carefully. He thought that it was impossible to resist by force. It seemed that it was impossible not to bleed this time. Li Guorui planned to delay for a while, and when he really couldn't bear it, he would take out some silver to make it look like a show. As for how much to take, Li Guorui had also thought about it. It was impossible to take more. At most, it would be a few thousand taels, which was also considered to give the emperor face.

But Li Guorui didn't know that while he was angry and cursing at home, Li Guorui's half-brother Li Guochen heard about this.

The previous generation Wuqing Hou Li Chengming had just passed away. Li Chengming had only two sons, one was Li Guorui and the other was Li Guochen.

Although Li Guochen was the eldest son, he was born to Li Chengming's wife, Ru, and was not a legitimate son. Therefore, after Li Chengming's death, the title of Marquis Wuqing fell into the hands of Li Guorui.

Li Guochen was very dissatisfied for not being able to inherit the family business, and his relationship with his younger brother Li Guorui was not good. The two had quarreled several times over the division of Wuqing Marquis's property. However, compared with Li Guorui who had already inherited the title, Li Guochen was always at a disadvantage. Even the government favored Li Guorui, which made Li Guochen very angry.

That day, he happened to hear from the servants' chat that Li Guorui got angry in the study room after returning from the palace, hitting, smashing and cursing. Hearing this, Li Guochen's heart suddenly moved, and he hurriedly asked someone to inquire about the situation. Soon after, he learned that Emperor Chongzhen asked Li Guorui to come to the palace to discuss a request for help.

After understanding the situation, Li Guochen's eyes rolled around and he suddenly had an idea in his mind. He, Li Guochen, could not defeat Li Guorui. He did not get much of the family fortune after his father's death. These days, he was suppressed by his younger brother and had no way to complain. He felt very aggrieved.

Now that the emperor has asked Wuqinghou Mansion for help, Li Guochen immediately thought of a way to vent his anger. Didn't you, Li Guorui, refuse to give me more of the family property? Well, I don't want it either, but I won't let you off easily if I don't get it. I have to teach you a lesson.

So, having made up his mind, Li Guochen went to the palace early the next morning and asked to see the emperor in the name of a noble relative.

Although the Li family no longer had the status it had during the Wanli period, as the best among the nobles and relatives by marriage, their connections in the palace were still strong. Moreover, as Li Guochen was the eldest son of the former Marquis of Wuqing, Emperor Chongzhen had to give him some face.

Upon learning that Li Guochen wanted to see him, Emperor Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen to bring him in. After arriving and meeting Emperor Chongzhen, Li Guochen knelt down with a plop without waiting for Emperor Chongzhen to ask any questions.

Li Guochen told Emperor Chongzhen that he had heard about seeking help from the Wuqing Marquisate. Although he, Li Guochen, did not inherit the title, he was still a member of the Wuqing Marquisate. As a relative of the Ming Dynasty, Li Guochen was willing to share weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty was in financial difficulties and the emperor was worried about it, Li Guochen would naturally not sit idly by.

Li Guochen himself was willing to donate 1,000 taels of silver, which was not borrowed but donated directly to the emperor. In addition, Li Guochen also said that his father had a will before his death, and the Wuqing Marquisate left behind a legacy of 400,000 taels of silver. Now, according to his father's will, this legacy will be divided equally between him, Li Guochen, and Li Guorui, which means that he, Li Guochen, can get 200,000 taels of the legacy.

Li Guochen said that he did not want the 200,000 taels of silver, and could lend it all to the court to show the loyalty of the Li family to the Ming Dynasty. When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Li Guochen was asking for 200,000 taels of silver, he immediately became interested and became very excited.

"Two hundred thousand taels? Are you serious?"

"I dare not deceive Your Majesty. I am willing to lend these two hundred thousand taels to the court. In addition, I would like to persuade my brother Li Guorui to lend the two hundred thousand he has earned to the court to repay the emperor's grace." Li Guochen answered solemnly, and by the way, he also brought Li Guorui in.

"Good! Good!" Emperor Chongzhen was beaming. He had not expected Li Guochen to be so loyal. His 200,000 taels plus Li Guorui's 200,000 taels would add up to 400,000 taels. If he could get this money, it would greatly ease the financial problem, and it would also be a great start for him to borrow money. Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen was very happy to praise Li Guochen, and told him that he would take care of this matter, and asked him to go back and discuss with Li Guorui, and send the money to the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible, and he was also impatient to notify the Ministry of Revenue to prepare to take over the money and store it in the warehouse.

After receiving the commendation from Emperor Chongzhen, Li Guochen happily left the palace and returned to Wuqing Marquis Mansion. His plan was simple, that is, what he couldn't get, you, Li Guorui, would never get either. He wanted to use this incident to make you, Li Guorui, suffer a loss. Li Guorui thought that he had taken the family wealth after inheriting the title, but the family didn't give him a penny. Now, you can't keep the money, you have to send it all to the Ministry of Revenue. He, Li Guochen, had to fight for his reputation even if he had to make a living. Who allowed you, Li Guorui, to bully him by relying on being the legitimate son and the title?
When Li Guorui learned about this, he was dumbfounded. He could never have imagined that his half-brother would do such a thing. Four hundred thousand taels of silver! Such a large sum of money was promised out like this? And it was not his, Li Guochen's, money that was promised out, but his, Li Guorui's!

Li Guorui was so angry that he wanted to fight Li Guochen on the spot. But Li Guochen had been prepared for this. After saying this, he ran away without waiting for Li Guorui to react. While running, he shouted that the emperor had agreed to this matter and let Li Guorui do it himself. If he didn't send the silver to the Ministry of Revenue on time, he would have to bear the consequences himself. In a short time, everyone in the capital knew about it.

Li Guorui was immediately in trouble after being tricked by his half-brother. Although he was furious, he had to face the problems that were to come.

It was not a question of whether he could come up with 400,000 taels of silver, and even if he could, Li Guorui was unwilling to do so. This kind of help was not his idea at all, but now he was stuck in mid-air and could not get down.

In desperation, Li Guorui could only go to Emperor Chongzhen to explain the situation, saying that he really couldn't afford such a large sum of money. What Li Guochen did was simply to retaliate against him. How could he promise something that didn't belong to him in front of others? He hoped that Emperor Chongzhen would reduce the amount a little for the sake of his relatives. Wuqing Marquis's Mansion really didn't have that much money!
But Emperor Chongzhen refused, because he had already informed the Ministry of Revenue, and in his opinion, the matter had already been decided. Besides, Li Guochen was also a Wuqing Marquis, and he was also Li Guorui's elder brother. As for their conflict, it was an internal conflict within Wuqing Marquis. What did it have to do with Emperor Chongzhen? Since he had made a promise, he had to do it. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen was also clear about Wuqing Marquis's mansion. Although 400,000 taels of silver was not a small amount, he could still get it with the foundation of Wuqing Marquis's mansion.

More importantly, the Emperor Chongzhen had to make a move this time, as it was of great importance, and it had to be done in one go. Wuqing Marquisate was the first shot, and it must not go silent. Even though he knew that Li Guochen and Li Guorui had conflicts, and that Li Guochen's promise was intended to set a trap for Li Guorui, the Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about that at all. As long as he achieved his goal, the brothers' affairs had nothing to do with him.

In desperation, Li Guorui had no other choice but to seek help from others and unite the nobles, relatives and maternal relatives in Beijing to find a way to persuade Emperor Chongzhen to revoke his order and no longer allow the Wuqing Marquisate to borrow money, or to reduce the amount of money to be borrowed.

But at this time, Emperor Chongzhen had made up his mind. Not only did he reject those who came to intercede, but he repeatedly urged Li Guorui to hand over the silver to the Ministry of Revenue as soon as possible. As for the Ministry of Revenue, they didn't care about this matter at all. The civil servants were happy to watch the fun of the emperor and his relatives. Not only did they not sympathize with Li Guorui, they also deliberately urged him several times under the banner of the emperor, making Li Guorui miserable.

Li Guorui didn't want to pay the money. He was neither willing nor willing to do so. He was left with no other choice but to play the victim.

In order to force Emperor Chongzhen to stop asking Wuqing Marquis' Mansion for help, Li Guorui took his family, wearing tattered clothes, and pulled the tables, chairs, benches, bottles and jars in the house to the street on a cart to sell them, saying that he had no money because the court needed help, so he had no choice but to sell his property to raise money.

His action instantly became big news in the capital. Common people in the capital, including civil and military officials, nobles, relatives of the emperor and other relatives, all ran to watch the fun. They surrounded the palace in three layers, and it was almost impossible to get in. In less than an hour, the news spread from outside the palace to inside.

When the news reached the ears of Emperor Chongzhen, he was stunned at first, then he became furious. He was so angry that he swept all the memorials on the table to the ground and kicked over the table with one foot.

"This is rebellion! This is rebellion! What a great Wuqing Marquis, what a great Li Guorui, good! Good!" Emperor Chongzhen gritted his teeth and shouted in triumph: "Wang Chengen!"

"The slave is here!"

"Go! Take your Dongchang men and capture Li Guorui! Throw him directly into the Imperial Prison!"

"Your Majesty, this..."

"Hurry up and go!" Seeing that Wang Chengen seemed to be trying to dissuade him, Emperor Chongzhen glared at him and shouted sternly.

Wang Chengen didn't dare to say anything else. He took the order and hurried out of the palace with his men.

(End of this chapter)