Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 126 Liaodong Storm
The next morning, Li Liangcai got up early as usual and went to the duty room to work.

After reading two files from the county, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the duty room, and Wei Ming's voice came in first: "Zhang Sicheng, this is the duty room of County Magistrate Li."

Li Liangcai stood up straight and was about to look outside.

Then he saw a young man in a green Taoist robe, surrounded by a group of officials, walking into his duty room.

The person who came was none other than Zhang Yunxiu.

The two looked at each other, and Zhang Yunxiu asked, "Are you Li Liangcai?"

"I am Li Liangcai." Li Liangcai asked in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Who are you? It is duty time now, and you are leading the county magistrate to wander around. If something big happens in the county, do you know your crime?"

Wei Ming's face twitched. He knew that Li Liangcai was making a veiled accusation.

Zhang Yunxiu became interested and looked at Li Liangcai with narrowed eyes.

But Te stood there with his back straight, neither humble nor arrogant, just like an angry-looking arhat made of copper or iron.

He thought to himself: Being a local official is indeed a waste of his talent. It seems that he is the only one qualified to be the Maritime Customs Officer.

Stroking his chin and looking at Li Liangcai for a few seconds, Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said, "It doesn't matter who I am. I just want to ask you, if you were the head of the Maritime Customs, could you guard this checkpoint?"

"The court has its own laws, and we just need to act in accordance with them," Li Liangcai said in a sonorous and forceful manner.

"Okay, let's act according to the court's laws!"

Zhang Yunxiu clapped his hands and smiled.

"Then please obey the law and don't fall into my hands."

Li Liangcai frowned and said coldly, while Wei Ming on the side was about to open his mouth to refute.

Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand to interrupt him, then looked at Li Liangcai with a smile and replied, "Okay, we'll wait for your impartial recommendation."

After saying that, without delaying Li Liangcai from handling government affairs, he moved to Wei Ming's duty room.

As soon as the two of them sat down, Wei Ming bent down to pour a cup of tea for Zhang Yunxiu and complained, "Zhang Sicheng, this Li Liangcai is just like this. He is also a man who has his nose cut off and doesn't know which side is facing forward."

"The more he does this, the happier I am." Zhang Yunxiu picked up the teacup, raised his neck and drank it, smiling and responding to Wei Ming, "I really don't care about the 10% tax. If the tax revenue of Songjiang Prefecture increases, we will only make more money."

"Si Cheng, you set an example and are strict with yourself, so the other villains won't dare to cause trouble." Wei Ming smiled flatteringly and flattered Zhang Yunxiu at the same time.

This man was trying to take advantage of every opportunity and had a lot of auspicious words in his mind. Zhang Yunxiu didn't want to talk about wild cotton anymore, so he waved his hand and interrupted him: "If the tax revenue of the Maritime Customs is high, it will be a great opportunity not only for the court, but also for the entire Songjiang Prefecture."

Wei Ming nodded repeatedly.

Then, Zhang Yunxiu gave a few more instructions, then looked outside at the sky and saw that it was gray.

I suddenly wanted to leave.

He smiled and nodded, saying, "County Magistrate Wei, work hard. The Governor of Songjiang can take office as early as June. This period of time is a great opportunity for you to show your abilities."

"Hey."

Wei Ming smiled humbly and tried to keep him, but Zhang Yunxiu smiled and waved his hand, then walked out of the duty room.

Wei Ming followed closely behind him and sent Zhang Yunxiu all the way to the gate of the county government office.

"Stay, County Magistrate Wei." Zhang Yunxiu stopped Wei Ming and turned around to say jokingly, "Did you forget just now? Li Liangcai said that the county magistrate should be on duty at this time. If you leave and something big happens in the county and they can't find you, who will be responsible?"

"Mr. Zhang is right." Wei Ming smiled awkwardly, bowed, and walked towards the government office.

After bidding farewell to Wei Ming, Zhang Yunxiu ordered his followers to pack up and bid farewell to the Xu family. This time he came mainly to see Li Erhu and Zhao Dalong off on their long voyage.

And meet my young wife by the way.

Now that the business is done, it is time to return.

After walking for more than a quarter of an hour, Zhang Yunxiu arrived at the Xu family's back garden with ease. Xu Ruoxi sat upright on the stone bench with her back straight, and gently plucked the strings in front of her.

The intoxicating celestial music was transmitted.

As Zhang Yunxiu walked in, the beauty suddenly pressed the strings of the zither with both hands, looked up at the visitor, and asked timidly, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah." Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly, "I still have some things to do."

"Oh, then go ahead. I'll be waiting for you here." Xu Ruoxi held back her tears and snorted stubbornly.

Zhang Yunxiu looked at this weak little woman, and his heart warmed. He said with some reluctance, "I have something to tell you."

"what's up?"

"Xi'er is pregnant. I know I can't hide this from you, and it's not easy to hide it from you, so I told you first."

Xu Ruoxi frowned, a sour feeling crept into her heart. In order not to be looked down upon, she raised her slender neck and said, "She is your concubine. It is naturally a good thing that she is pregnant."

"Aren't you angry?" Zhang Yunxiu asked.

"I'm not angry. If I were angry about this, I would be so angry that I would die." Xu Ruoxi curled her lips, turned her back quickly, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes while Zhang Yunxiu was not paying attention.

"Don't worry, I know everyone's position." Zhang Yunxiu was very pleased to see his wife being so sensible, and added, "Xi'er has her place, and you have your place. I will never do anything to favor a concubine over my wife."

What are you telling me?

Xu Ruoxi bit her cheek and said nothing.

"Then you have a good rest, I won't disturb you." Zhang Yunxiu nodded, turned and left.

"Hey, wait."

Xu Ruoxi shouted and hurriedly caught up with Zhang Yunxiu, then took out a sachet and said sweetly, "This is the amulet I prayed for, it's very effective, you must always carry it with you."

"it is good."

Zhang Yunxiu took it, bent down and touched Xu Ruoxi's forehead, and said softly, "Go back, eat well, sleep well, and make you plump and white, and then wait for me to marry you."

Hearing her lover's sweet words, Xu Ruoxi felt as sweet as if she had eaten candied fruit.

When he looked at Zhang Yunxiu again, his eyes were almost about to pull out a thread.

After a hasty farewell, Zhang Yunxiu returned to the capital.

More than twenty days later, Zhang Yunxiu and his party returned to Beijing.

When he stepped into the mansion, Zheng Xier was sitting in the small hall, looking down at the accounts.

Although she didn't need to check the accounts for the time being, Zhang Fu still brought the account books of various shops to Zheng Xier for verification every seven days. "Yipinxuan: The profit in March was 1,324 taels and 3 coins."

"Rouge Shop: Profit of 895 taels and 4 coins in March."

"Xilaishun: The profit in March was 1,235 taels and 7 coins."

"."

After checking and verifying everything one by one and confirming that everything was correct, Zheng Xier finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This account book has three copies, one for the shop, one for her, and one for Zhang Fu. Every once in a while, the account book will be updated at the same time, if the difference exceeds ten taels of silver.

Then we need to investigate and find out where the mistake was made.

Although this is troublesome and cumbersome, it can greatly ensure that the store manager does not play tricks.

After finishing her work, she stood up, holding her belly with one hand, and looked at it lovingly. There, a new life was quietly nurtured with the bulge of her belly.

"Little Baoer, you have to make me proud. The rest of my life depends on you."

Muttering softly, Zheng Xier walked around the small hall with a silly smile.

Zhang Yunzheng happened to come in and saw Zheng Xier, whose figure was plump and whose cheeks were becoming more and more rosy and charming, and he couldn't help feeling happy.

Excitedly, he shouted, "Xi'er."

"Hmm?" Zheng Xier looked back and saw Zhang Yunxiu standing at the door. She was immediately surprised and delighted, and shouted, "Sir, why didn't you inform me when you came back so that I could go and greet you."

"What are you welcoming?" Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand, walked to the beauty, helped her sit on the chair, and warned her, "Don't move now. If you get pregnant, it will be very bad."

"If I don't move, I'll become as fat as a pig." Zheng Xier chuckled, pinched her cheeks, and pulled out a ball of fat.

Ever since she became pregnant, Zhang Fu and her father had sent her some nourishing food every now and then.

I eat a lot and exercise little, so my originally oval face has turned into a chubby one.

If this trend continues, she is really afraid that after giving birth, Zhang Yunxiu will dislike her because she is fat.

"Who said you're fat?" Zhang Yunxiu shook his head, pinched Zheng Xier's chubby face, and snorted, "You're just plump enough. I'm not a dog that likes bones. Now I'm beautiful and charming."

"Your chin was so sharp that it almost killed me, and your collarbone hurt my chest."

Hearing this, Zheng Xier covered her lips and burst out laughing, saying angrily: "Young Master, you are right now, but don't wait until Xier gives birth to the baby and then you become a coward."

"Am I that kind of person?"

Zhang Yunxiu said as he squatted down and put his head against Zheng Xier's belly, feeling the warmth from above. He said seriously, "Xier, did you feel it? She seems to be kicking you."

"Young Master is truly a god. Xier didn't feel it, but you did." Zheng Xier pouted, her face full of disbelief.

"This is called a father-daughter bond." Zhang Yunxiu said stubbornly.

"Sir, do you really hope it's a daughter?"

Zheng Xier asked softly, but there was a hint of disappointment in her words. Zhang Yunxiu smiled and nodded, comforting her, "Although we hope she is a daughter, don't worry, we will treat her equally well whether she is a boy or a girl."

"Yeah." Zheng Xier nodded slightly and stretched out her jade hand to gently stroke Zhang Yunxiu's neck.

The two of them stayed like this for a long time, one sitting on a chair and the other squatting on the ground with his head resting on the woman's belly.

Zhang Fu knew that Zhang Yunxiu had returned, and rushed over in a hurry.

Seeing the scene between the two of them, it was difficult to know whether to advance or retreat.

"Come in, don't hide at the door." Zhang Yunxiu smiled, stood up from the ground, rubbed his numb legs, and asked Zhang Fu to sit down: "Tell me what's the matter?"

"Hey." Zhang Fu smiled at the two of them, then sat on the left side of Zhang Yunxiu.

Zheng Xier knew that the two wanted to talk about something, so she tactfully took the account book and moved to the small bedroom at the side.

"explain."

"That's the guy you said you wanted to deal with last time, his name is Li Ruhui."

"Who?"

"Oh, he has another name, Nurhaci. He is the grandson of Wang Gao, the right commander of Jianzhou Guards."

"Did he kill her?"

Zhang Yunxiu's heart was in his throat and he asked nervously.

In the 11th year of the Wanli reign, Wang Gao's son Ata reclaimed Gule Village and rebelled against the Ming Dynasty again. Li Chengliang, the general of Liaodong, led 60,000 troops to attack Ata's lair. After the city was broken, the Ming army massacred the people.

Nurhaci's father Taksi and grandfather Juexianchang, who came to persuade him to surrender, were all taken away.

This is the first of the seven great hatreds raised by Nurhaci when he later rebelled against the Ming Dynasty.

Although Jianzhou is still very weak and extremely submissive to the Ming Dynasty, how can Zhang Yunxiu allow this scourge to grow?

In March, Han San was dispatched directly to Liaodong with more than ten Jinyiwei.

Now that I've received a reply, there should be good news.

Seeing his master so anxious, Zhang Fu did not keep him in suspense and quickly said, "Han San's letter said that Nurhaci is dead."

"How did he die?" Zhang Yunxiu asked, "Where's the body? Bring it back to us."

"I'm afraid we can't bring the body back. It's been burned in the fire, and I'm afraid we won't be able to recognize it even if we bring it back." Zhang Fu smiled embarrassedly.

"Good-for-nothing!" Zhang Yunxiu was so angry that he stamped his feet and cursed, "How did he know that this was Nurhaci? What if it was someone else? What if he let him run away and left behind a disaster? Can he bear the guilt?"

He asked three or four questions in a row, almost shouting them out.

It was the first time that Zhang Fu saw the young master so angry. He was frightened and said timidly, "Young master, the Jianzhou Jurchens are just a small tribe with no more than a thousand soldiers and a population of just over 10,000. Do you really have to treat them like this?"

"You know nothing. Go and tell Han San that if he can't bring back the body, he doesn't have to come back." Zhang Yunxiu said, with a hint of viciousness in his eyes. "If necessary, uproot the entire Jianzhou Jurchens."

"I would rather kill three thousand people by mistake than let one go."

"Oh, yes." Zhang Fu nodded and replied.

(End of this chapter)