The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 10 The Emperor and the Qi Family
The main room of the warm room in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Occasionally, the soft whispers of palace maids could be heard from the depths, and the air in the hall was filled with a faint fragrance.

Zhou Daofeng sat outside the hall, leaning against the back of his chair. Two handsome young eunuchs knelt on the ground, each holding up one of the Prime Minister's legs and rubbing it gently. The Prime Minister was old, and the retired emperor felt pity for the hard work of his old ministers.

The eunuch's technique was skillful and his strength was moderate, so Zhou Daofeng closed his eyes slightly.

"hehe."

"Grandpa Huang."

Suddenly, a woman laughed out loud from behind the curtain.

Zhou Daofeng was not surprised. After a while, when there was no movement, Zhou Daofeng suddenly opened his eyes and waved his hand gently. The two eunuchs got up and left obediently.

Sure enough, not long after, an old man walked out from the curtain.

The old man was wearing a cow-head robe, and his exposed arms and calves were as skinny as sticks, showing his old skin.

Zhou Daofeng quickly stood up.

"Sit down, sit down."

The old man patted the Prime Minister's shoulder and pressed the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Cabinet down again. He actually stood behind Zhou Daofeng himself and put his hands on Zhou Daofeng's shoulders and began to rub them.

Zhou Daofeng didn't move.

"Zhou Daofeng, how many years have you followed me?"

The old man seemed to be chatting about family matters.

Zhou Daofeng sat upright, his old eyes cloudy. After thinking for a moment, he replied tremblingly, "I have served in the Ministry for twenty years, been in the cabinet for thirty years, and served as Prime Minister for twenty years."

"Fifty years."

The old man sighed and jokingly said, "When you were young, you had a photographic memory. You would never forget anything you saw. I could ask you anything at any time, and you could answer it immediately. It seems you are old now."

Zhou Daofeng said calmly, "I am indeed old."

Hearing Zhou Daofeng's answer, the old man stopped and patted Zhou Daofeng's shoulder again.

Zhou Daofeng was able to stand up this time and bowed his head towards the old man.

for a long time.

The old man sighed deeply and said slowly, "We have been king and subject for fifty years, and the Great Zhou still cannot do without you."

"The Great Zhou can leave anyone, but not the Emperor."

Zhou Daofeng said.

"Hahaha."

The old man couldn't help laughing and pointed at Zhou Daofeng and said, "I didn't expect that an old fellow like you would also learn to flatter."

Zhou Daofeng looked sincere.

"I speak truthfully."

"Speaking truthfully is a good thing."

The old man patted Zhou Daofeng on the shoulder again.

Zhou Daofeng sat back down.

The old man returned to the jade steps with his hands behind his back and faced Zhou Daofeng. "The emperor is already thirty years old, but he still doesn't know how to handle things. He has re-employed Luo Ming this time. I hope he can put an end to the Japanese invasion."

"The Emperor can't pacify it."

Zhou Daofeng was still so calm.

"You take care of it."

The emperor is tired.

If the Prime Minister says that the Emperor cannot quell the rebellion, then he definitely cannot.

Why can't the world be at peace?

Nothing in the palace or outside the palace was reassuring. After Zhou Daofeng left, the emperor asked Dai Quan to kill the two eunuchs.

Zhou Daofeng returned from the Yangxin Palace and walked along the straight road next to the Jianji Palace.

Several eunuchs led the cabinet ministers.

Zhou Daofeng stopped at Wenzhao Gate, came to his senses and was lost in thought for a long time.

The retired emperor ascended the throne at a young age and ruled for nearly seventy years.

No matter what the character of the retired emperor is, whether he is cruel or good, people who have come into contact with him cannot deny one thing, that is, the retired emperor is very smart, and now he is extremely clear about people's hearts.

With the methods used by the emperor, the country shouldn't be like this.

It just so happens that success and failure are both due to Xiao He.

The emperor, who was smart and understood human nature since childhood, also indulged his own nature without any restraint and tried every erotic thing in the world, so that he had no offspring.

After trying many methods, we finally had to choose from the royal family.

Many years ago, there was a big disturbance. Prince Yizhong, who was originally the popular choice, was punished for violating the taboo of the retired emperor. The nobles of the court were also severely punished. It was from that time that I was promoted to the cabinet. The retired emperor, who was still the emperor at the time, chose to use civil officials to check and balance the nobles.

During those years, there were droughts in the north, snowstorms in the south, civil uprisings in Jiangnan, Guangdong, Datong, Liaodong, Guangning, Tatar invasions, and border raids by the Oirat.
The emperor chose to abdicate and selected a young man from the royal family to ascend the throne.

now.

The situation on the northern border was somewhat calmer, but the Japanese threat arose again in the south.

A few years ago, we gathered the best troops from all over the country, but we failed in the southeast. Some died, some were imprisoned, and everyone was afraid of the Japanese pirates. As a result, the Japanese pirates became more rampant last year and even dared to offend Nanjing.

"Mr. Ge?"

The eunuch leading the way in front called out softly.

Zhou Daofeng came back to his senses, sighed deeply, and then returned to the cabinet calmly with his expression as usual. He then wrote a letter and had it delivered to Jinling.

Zhenjiang Prefecture.

Dantu County, Qi Family Compound.

Locals call it Qibancheng.

Because the inspection office in the north of Dantu County, also known as the Qi Family Inspection Office, guards the Yangtze River and is responsible for local public security. From this, we can see how powerful the Qi family is in the local area.

Qi Laosan hurriedly found his eldest brother and told him what he was worried about.

Qi Laosan is the youngest of three brothers and is less than 30 years old.

The eldest son of the Qi family is already fifty years old.

The eldest son of the Qi family had a kind face and expression, which was totally inconsistent with the vicious reputation spread by the outside world, and it was impossible to connect them at all.

"Why panic?"

"How can I not panic? I may take advantage of others, but they are the Wang Family Army. Big Brother, you don't know that I have witnessed the power of the Wang Family Army with my own eyes. It is indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Seeing that his elder brother looked normal, Qi Yingshe said dissatisfiedly: "Brother, don't you believe me?"

"Although you are a bit impatient, you are sensible and have seen a lot of the world. So if you think the Wang family army is extraordinary, how could I underestimate them, big brother?"

Qi Yingyong, the head of the Qi family, saw that his younger brother was getting angry again and said with a helpless smile.

There are too many things to do at home, and outsiders are worried, so I can only train my younger brothers. The second brother is steady but not smart enough, and the third brother is energetic but has a bad temper.

"Since you know that the Wang family army is difficult to deal with, why is Big Brother so rude?"

Qi Yingshe asked curiously.

Qi Yingyong, the head of the Qi family, laughed and said, "There are many powerful people, but no matter how powerful they are, they are just pawns. Soon there will be no Wang family army anymore."

"what?"

Qi Yingshe was shocked and asked what was going on.

Qi Yingyong, the patriarch of the Qi family, then explained, "Do you remember Luo Ming, the former Zhejiang general?"

"How could I not remember? This man was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice two years ago, and all our investment in him was lost."

"He has returned to the battlefield, ordered to suppress the Japanese invaders. He is short of troops and has been mobilizing troops everywhere. He has long been targeting the Wang Clan Army you mentioned."

Qi Yingshe was stunned.

After a while, he came to his senses and asked hurriedly, "I heard that General Wang is backed by the Lin family. Although Master Lin is only the Imperial Censor of Salt, he is of noble status and has the support of the four great families. How can Luo Ming snatch meat from the Lin family's mouth?"

"It's a complicated matter."

Qi Yingyong sighed.

How many years old is this?

"Then I will no longer care about this matter?" Qi Yingshe was the most impatient. Seeing that Wang's army was about to be wiped out, he didn't want to waste his energy.

"I asked your second brother to do it. General Wang Xin does have something to ask of us, and we've agreed to meet at Yizhen Ferry."

"Why is this?"

"Leave some incense and love."

"It's clearly a business matter. Big Brother is doing a favor today and another one tomorrow. Everyone knows that our Qi family is easy to bully, and everyone dares to come to our door to ask for money."

Qi Yingshe was very dissatisfied.

Now that my eldest brother is still alive, we can maintain it. But what will the Qi family do if he is gone one day and can’t feed so many mouths?

Wang Xin gave up nearly ten thousand taels of silver in profit, so he probably asked for a lot from the Qi family.

Let the second brother do it. The second brother never refuses anyone. The eldest brother's meaning is very clear, so Qi Yingshe is unhappy. The money has not even warmed up in his hand, but he turns around and wants to return it with interest.

Even if you have mountains of gold and silver at home, you can’t keep them.

Qi Yingyong patted his younger brother's shoulder.

I am still not sensible.

(End of this chapter)