Di Ming

Chapter 468 With the heroes of the Han dynasty still alive, what heroes are left among the barbarians?
The Qi family members could hardly remain calm when Zhang Juzheng's son was mentioned.

Because Zhang Juzheng was once Qi Jiguang's benefactor. In the words of the civil officials, Qi Jiguang was Zhang Juzheng's henchman, or even his lackey.

Back then, Qi Jiguang and Zhang Juzheng had a close relationship. Every time he returned to Beijing, he would visit Zhang's residence to pay his respects and exchange pleasantries. With Zhang Juzheng's support in the court, he was able to command respect among the Mongol tribes on the nine borders and train troops.

"Is it an imposter?" Old Madam Wang said. "Although Zhihu pardoned Zhang Juzheng's surviving family members, didn't he say that Zhang Juzheng's sons were all dead?"

"Besides, didn't Zhihu order the search for Zhang Juzheng's descendants to bestow titles and rewards? Why is he coming to our house?"

Qi Zuoguo also asked in confusion, "Father, Zhihu ordered relief for disaster victims and refugees before, and money and grain were distributed to various places. There are no people freezing or starving to death in Nanjing now, and we can't even see beggars. How could a family starve to death at our doorstep? This is strange."

Qi Jiguang said, "That man claims to be Zhang Jingxiu, which is the same name as the sixth son of Zhang Jiangling. He also claims to be the son of an old friend. He is most likely not an imposter."

"I'll go out and see for myself! If it really is him, then he's the son of an old friend, and my family can't just ignore him!"

Qi Jiguang was a man of great loyalty and affection, so he stopped eating and went straight out of the mansion to meet her.

The Qi family members also quickly followed them out.

...

Outside the gate of the Duke of Qi's mansion, four people dressed in thin clothes were slumped weakly in front of the gate.

The servants of the Duke's mansion quickly brought out hot tea and steamed buns, and helped them to the corridor to avoid the wind, fearing that they would freeze or starve to death in front of the door.

The four people, two men and two women, all had bluish lips from the cold. The eldest man was in his early thirties, frail and scholarly. The eldest woman was also in her thirties, dressed simply in plain clothes, and although her face was sallow, she still possessed a certain charm.

There were also two boys and girls, the girl was about ten years old and the boy was twelve or thirteen years old, both of them were frozen like quails and looked very pitiful.

The four of them drank hot water and then began to devour steamed buns. The boy, who was eating the most, even choked, coughing until his face turned red. The little girl quickly raised her small fist and pounded the boy's back, saying weakly:

"Brother, eat slowly."

The gatekeeper of the Duke's mansion, his hands tucked into his thick cotton robe, looked at the four men with a sympathetic expression and said:
"Don't rush, eat slowly. Regardless of whether they are the sons of the Duke's old friends, you won't freeze or starve to death here. This is Nanjing, the Regent is benevolent, and the Emperor is wise; refugees won't starve."

At this point, he quickly withdrew his hands, cupped them, and bowed, saying, "My lord!"

Qi Jiguang grunted in acknowledgment, strode out of the mansion gate, looked at the thin scholar of about thirty years old under the eaves, stared at him for a moment, and then his expression changed slightly.

Those eyebrows and eyes…

When the man saw Qi Jiguang leave the mansion, he also struggled to stand up.

"This junior, Zhang Jingxiu, pays his respects to the State of Qi..."

"It really is the Sixth Young Master!" Qi Jiguang strode forward and grabbed the scholar's hand. "Oh! Sixth Young Master, it's been more than ten years since we last met. You were still a handsome young man back then. I never expected to see you again today!"

He would never be mistaken again; the scholar was indeed Zhang Juzheng's sixth son, Zhang Jingxiu.

Back then, when he visited Zhang Juzheng at the Prime Minister's residence, the Prime Minister's son even learned to ride a horse from him. In the ninth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, this sixth son also accompanied him to the frontier, representing Zhang Juzheng to visit the soldiers.

He led his army three hundred li beyond the Great Wall, into the Mongolian territory of the Doyan tribe, and stationed them at the ruins of the Khitan capital. Zhang Jingxiu also stayed with him in the border region for a period of time and had interactions with Mongolian herdsmen.

It's been more than a decade. The dashing, confident, and ambitious young nobleman of the prime minister's mansion, the boy who composed poems in the ancient city of Khitan, has now fallen to this state.

Zhang Jingxiu said with great emotion, "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Uncle! It's been so many years, but you still look as dashing as ever. I recognized you immediately."

"Seeing you today, Uncle, I can't help but recall what happened back then. It feels like a lifetime ago, like a dream..."

When he spoke of this, he was saddened by the vicissitudes of life and the changes in his family, and he couldn't help but shed tears.

Qi Jiguang looked at Zhang Jingxiu, who looked disheveled, and held his icy hands, warming and shaking them as he said:

"It's good that the Sixth Young Master is alive! Seeing you today is like seeing Prime Minister Zhang again. The Sixth Young Master looks just like your father, it's like Prime Minister Zhang has been reborn."

"Forty years ago, I first met your father in Beijing, and we hit it off immediately. At that time, your father was about your age, and I still remember him vividly. He gave me a calligraphy piece that read 'Loyalty to Heaven and Earth,' which has been in my study ever since."

Qi Jiguang wasn't just saying that; Zhang Jingxiu and his father Zhang Juzheng bore a striking resemblance, almost identical to Zhang Juzheng back then.

When Qi Jiguang saw him, he was momentarily stunned, thinking that time had reversed and his old friend had come back to life.

The woman quickly gathered her robes and bowed, saying, "This humble servant, Xia, greets Elder Uncle!"

Then he said to the two children, "Quickly! Mi Niang, Zhi Xu, quickly pay your respects to Lord Qi!"

Zhang Mi and his sister Zhang Zhixu bowed together, their clear, childish voices trembling as they said, "Your children pay their respects to Lord Qi!"

Qi Jiguang laughed and said, "It's cold outside, don't let the child get cold, let's go inside and talk!"

While inviting the Zhang family into the mansion, they made arrangements to provide them with a good reception.

Madam Xia, the wife of the Zhang family, was initially anxious, worried that she wouldn't be accepted by Qi Jiguang. But seeing how warmly Qi Jiguang was welcoming her, she finally felt relieved.

What a close call! We're finally out of danger. Recalling what happened last night, she was still filled with lingering fear.

The two children were overjoyed to be able to enter the mansion.

The Zhang family of four first ate their fill, then took a bath and changed into warm cotton-padded coats and fox fur coats, looking completely refreshed.

Zhang Jingxiu had enjoyed such a life of luxury before his family's property was confiscated, and now, more than a decade later, he was truly unaccustomed to it.

Only after the four had settled down did Qi Jiguang invite Zhang Jingxiu to his study to talk.

After changing his clothes, Zhang Jingxiu's entire demeanor became completely different, exuding a noble air. He was, after all, once a wealthy and dashing young master of the Prime Minister's mansion; he was no longer the same.

Qi Jiguang nodded secretly. Although Zhang Jingxiu was down on his luck, he seemed to have a decent character. He had been through more than ten years of worldly experience and didn't seem like the kind of arrogant but incompetent young master.

"Sixth Young Master," Qi Jiguang personally poured tea for Zhang Jingxiu, "Come here, this is your home, there's no need to be reserved."

Zhang Jingxiu remained calm and composed, bowing respectfully and saying:

"My family is deeply grateful to you, Uncle, for your kindness in providing us with food and clothing. It is as good as saving our lives. You are an elder and an old friend. Please address me by my courtesy name. I dare not accept the title of Sixth Young Master. I am ashamed and have no place to hide."

Qi Jiguang nodded and stroked his beard, saying, "Very well. Beichen, sit down and let's talk. I have a question for you: Didn't the Regent already provide relief? Why has your family fallen into such a state? This is the capital, after all."

"Could it be that someone is embezzling funds and grain, causing people in the capital to starve? If your family is like this, what about the entire capital? What about the areas outside the city? This is unacceptable!"

Since it concerned relief and governance, he naturally wanted to find out the truth. If someone was indeed embezzling against the rules, they were courting death, and it would be another major case.

Zhang Jingxiu's scholarly air was barely concealed, and under the lamplight, his face became serene, seemingly full of untold stories. He spoke slowly:

"I also want to let you know, Uncle, that my family was captured and taken to Nanjing. Just yesterday, my family was locked in the woodshed. My family of four escaped not long ago. Because we had just escaped from prison, we didn't know about relief efforts. At that time, we only had one thought: to find you, Uncle."

That's it!

Qi Jiguang then realized that the problem wasn't with the relief funds and supplies.

"Who arrested you and brought you to the capital? Was it the Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Qi Jiguang asked with a gloomy expression.

Zhang Jingxiu shook his head. "It's not the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it's the Great Bao'en Temple! The Great Bao'en Temple has set up a private prison, lends money at exorbitant interest rates, and has taken in nearly a hundred fake monks without ordination certificates. They also employ a large number of thugs and villains, secretly engaging in heinous acts. The current abbot is called Da Hui, who was originally a wicked monk from Jingzhou. By some accounts, he's my nephew's fellow townsman from Jiangling." "Back then, Da Hui even went to the Zhang family to beg for alms, wanting to take me as a disciple, but my elder brother refused, so he held a grudge. Fourteen years ago, the Zhang family was raided, and Da Hui heard rumors from somewhere that my father had taken 800,000 taels of silver from the Prince of Liao and hid it in the Zhang family's old house."

"But later, the Zhang family's property was confiscated, and they only had a total of a few hundred thousand taels of silver. The rumored 'eight hundred thousand taels' of silver was never found, which became the so-called 'mystery of the hidden silver in Zhang Jiangling,' which is utterly absurd."

Qi Jiguang nodded and said, "I know the truth of this matter. It's pure nonsense and a case of misinformation spreading. Your father would not take the Liao King's silver, let alone a huge sum of 800,000 taels. Rumors are like knives, and repeated slander can destroy a person."

Zhang Jingxiu smiled bitterly: "But many people don't believe it. They don't believe that my father, who served as Grand Secretary for more than ten years and as Chief Grand Secretary for ten years, wielding immense power, only had a few hundred thousand in assets. They say Yan Song had millions, Xu Jie had millions, Feng Bao had millions, so it's impossible that Zhang Taiyue only had a few hundred thousand. The hidden silver must be real!"

"When the retired emperor confiscated the Zhang family's property, he thought the Zhang family had a lot of money. But what happened? The retired emperor was disappointed."

"Don't they realize that if my father really had hidden silver, wouldn't he have told my elder brother? Since my elder brother knew, how could he possibly keep the secret after being arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Why don't I, as his son, know anything about it?"

Qi Jiguang narrowed his eyes. "The monk Dahui doesn't believe it? He thinks you know the secret of the hidden silver? That's why he arrested and tortured you?"

Zhang Jingxiu nodded: "Uncle, you are truly a prophet. That's right. Da Hui is from Jingzhou and is familiar with the Zhang family. He has been inquiring about the Zhang family's hidden silver. He actually believes that my father told his youngest son the secret before he died. Firstly, I was with my father at the time, and secondly, I was only seventeen at the time, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion."

"A while ago, I heard the Regent's pardon in Yunnan and Guizhou, which also exonerated my father and gave him the posthumous title of Wenzheng. I immediately brought my family to Nanjing. As a result, I met Da Hui at Yuhuatai in the outer city of Nanjing! I never expected that more than ten years later he would become the abbot of the Great Bao'en Temple in Nanjing."

"As the saying goes, it's not the enemy's actions that are scary, but the enemy's people. Da Hui was overjoyed and, under cover of darkness, had us stuffed into sacks and taken to the Great Bao'en Temple to interrogate us about the fictitious secret of the Zhang family's hidden silver. But where is it? Even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn't just make something up out of nothing."

"Doesn't he realize that if there really were hidden silver, I wouldn't be in such a destitute state, without food or clothing? This man is truly blinded by greed."

"Just as he was about to use vulgar and cruel methods to interrogate me, a fire suddenly broke out in the temple. The people secretly imprisoned in the dungeon took the opportunity to rush out, and the entire temple was in chaos. I grabbed my wife and children and desperately escaped from the woodshed. Luckily, we managed to escape..."

"Right now, the thugs and bullies of the Great Bao'en Temple are probably looking for me everywhere. I dare not go to the government offices because the Great Bao'en Temple is powerful, and I'm afraid the officials are colluding with the evil monks. So I can only come to find my uncle..."

Qi Jiguang sneered, "I never imagined that the Great Bao'en Temple, a grand royal temple, would be so despicable in secret. Even their bells sound grating to my ears now. I will immediately issue a warrant to raid the Great Bao'en Temple and arrest the treacherous monks!"

"Beichen, you can stay at the Duke of Qi's residence for now without worry. I will inform the Regent about this matter, and he may see you."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Zhang Jingxiu bowed in thanks. "I won't consider myself an outsider."

Qi Jiguang waved his hand, "It's best not to be polite. I've practically watched you grow up; I'm the one who taught you to ride a horse. Back then, at the ruins of the ancient Khitan city of Zhongjing beyond the Great Wall, you were only sixteen. Do you remember the poem you wrote then?"

Zhang Jingxiu thought for a moment, "I remember now. What my nephew wrote back then was: 'A famous general approaches the capital, a scholar laments the ancient city. The heroes of the Han dynasty are still here, what barbarians are left?'"

Qi Jiguang clapped his hands and laughed, "What a fine line, 'With the heroes of the Han dynasty here, what are the barbarians?' The Regent will surely like your poem. The Regent is a man who cherishes talent and is not bound by convention. You are not without a chance."

“Beichen, you were sixteen years old then, but the poem you wrote for me was so powerful and inspiring that I was very pleased with it. That’s why I remember it so well. You are the son who is most like your father. Although you are over thirty now, your luck has turned around and you still have the opportunity to achieve great things. Do it well, do it well.”

Zhang Jingxiu replied, "Yes! I will remember it!"

He had previously felt grateful to Regent Zhu Yin, and now, in addition to gratitude, he was filled with anticipation.

What kind of person is the Regent?

Qi Jiguang immediately issued a hand order in his capacity as Right Grand Commander to Cao Xin, the commander of the Jinghai Army responsible for security and inspection, instructing him to leave the city immediately, lead his troops to surround the Great Bao'en Temple, and search the temple overnight.

With a single order from the Duke of Qi, the two-hundred-year-old Great Bao'en Temple was suddenly met with a storm!
...

In an alley not far from the Qi State Mansion, several men with headscarves and tattoos on their faces peered around, holding ropes and wooden sticks.

The lights were so dim here that almost no one noticed them.

"Damn it!" one of them cursed. "We haven't seen a soul in ages. Could they have really gone into the Duke of Qi's mansion?"

"It must be. What should we do?"

"What else can we do? We can only watch helplessly!"

"Sigh, how did we manage to let them escape and even enter the Duke of Qi's mansion? This is troublesome."

"It's a pity I didn't get to sleep with that still-attractive woman last night, the Prime Minister's wife, the Prime Minister's daughter-in-law. The experience must have been quite different..."

"Different farts!"

"Alright! Tell me what to do? Is it possible that the Duke of Qi might... try to get revenge for Zhang Jingxiu, which would be detrimental to the Great Bao'en Temple?"

"Probably not. Even if the Duke of Qi and the Zhang family have a past relationship, and the Zhang family has been exonerated, they are still impoverished and destitute. But the Qi family is at the height of its power. At most, the Qi family will provide some assistance; would they really help the Zhang family deal with the Great Bao'en Temple?"

"No, that shouldn't be the case. The Great Bao'en Temple is the highest-ranking royal temple in the Ming Dynasty! It was built by Emperor Chengzu, a temple to commemorate Emperor Taizu and Empress Xiaoci, and it also enshrines the Buddha's skull relic. It is the foremost temple in Jiangnan, and the abbot is a third-rank monk official, equivalent to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

"Yes, yes, it's not worth it for the Duke of Qi to target the Great Bao'en Temple for the sake of a down-and-out family. It would easily incite public anger! The Emperor and the Empress would not agree, and neither would the Regent."

“Alas, I heard... I heard it from a high monk in the temple, that there is something being suppressed in the temple, something related to Emperor Jianwen and the Regent.”

Shh—don't talk nonsense!

"Keep your voice down... I'm not making this up. That big monk got drunk one time and let it slip. He said the underground palace beneath the tower suppresses something related to the Jianwen Emperor, hoping that the Yongle Emperor's descendants will all become emperors, and that the Jianwen lineage will never be able to rise again..."

"Alright, that's enough, it's creepy! Let's go back. We've waited all night and no one's come out, there's no point in hoping anymore. Let's go back and report."

Just as the man finished speaking, he suddenly heard a commotion not far away, then saw a cluster of lights near the city gate, followed by the clanging sound of a large army of soldiers leaving the city.

"This is..." A group of thugs rushed out of the alley and looked south, only to see a large number of soldiers heading towards Juxian Gate!

Is this... going to Dabaoguo Temple?

...

Yuhuatai.

The night was deep, and the wind was as cold as a knife.

The Great Bao'en Temple in Yuhuatai is still dimly lit. Yesterday, the temple was engulfed in flames, causing considerable chaos, but today it has returned to its solemn tranquility.

Inside the solemn and magnificent Imperial Stele Hall, the ever-burning lamps shone like stars, resembling a divine temple.

This is the ceremonial hall of the Great Bao'en Temple, where distinguished guests are received.

Two monks dressed in gold-embroidered robes were accompanying two distinguished guests with blond hair, blue eyes, high noses, deep-set eyes, wearing black robes and crosses hanging around their necks.

What are they talking about so late at night?
A large, stout monk's voice echoed in the magnificent Imperial Stele Hall:

"The attitude of the Jiang Ning family towards your religion has always been unknown to outsiders. But in my opinion, he must despise people from your country. How easy would it be to persuade him to build a cathedral in Nanjing and allow missionary work? It would be better to persuade the other two than to persuade the Jiang Ning family."

"If these two agree, Jiang Ningshi should not object."

A Western missionary made the sign of the cross on his chest and said in broken Chinese, "May I ask Master Dahui, who... should we persuade?"

The monk Dahui smiled slightly, as if he had everything under control, and said, "All we need to do is persuade Princess Ning, her sister... the Holy Mother Qingchen!"

……

P.S.: Thank you, goodnight! I'm in a bad mood today, and I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I haven't been able to update much. I wish everyone a happy holiday, good health, and all the best! Also, I'm sorry, I was in a bad mood during the day today. I just have a bad temper, sorry.

(End of this chapter)