Late Ming Dynasty: From the Defeated Soldiers at Daling River to Ascending the Throne

After pondering for a long time, Chen Feng raised his head and looked directly at He Kegang, saying, "General, I have a favor to ask of you."

He Kegang smiled warmly, "Please speak, Mr. Chen. As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse."

Chen Feng organized his thoughts, "This humble servant would like to request that General Song invite General Song's strategist, Mr. Zhang, the Imperial Guard Commander Li, and the military supervisor, Eunuch Gao, to a meal."

Upon hearing Chen Feng's request, He Kegang's warm smile faltered, and his gaze towards Chen Feng became more scrutinizing.

"Invite them to dinner?" he repeated, his voice low. "Why?"

Chen Feng sighed and slowly said, "Now, it's not just Commander Zu who's eyeing my military achievements. General Song wants them, the Embroidered Uniform Guard wants them, the Imperial Horse Administration wants them, and Governor Qiu wants them too. Everyone wants to take them all for themselves, but how could the others be willing? Some have even said that if I don't cooperate, they'll make sure I die a horrible death."

He Kegang's eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "But even Commander Kezu cannot let go. General Wu's guilt is not small."

Chen Feng nodded. "I understand. General Wu is Commander Zu's brother-in-law. If he is executed for fleeing, Liaoxi will be in chaos."

He didn't dare to say it outright, but He Kegang understood.

Besides being Zu Dashou's brother-in-law, Wu Xiang was also the financial backer of Zu's army. If Wu Xiang were to die while rescuing Zu Dashou, Zu Dashou would certainly develop a rift with the Ming Dynasty, and might actually side with Huang Taiji.

But the one sitting on the dragon throne might not be able to see through this.

Those powerful figures who could see through this were only interested in vying for power and would eagerly await the opportunity to eliminate military leaders like Zu Dashou, so they would never bother to remind Chongzhen.

Chen Feng continued, "If it's just about saving one's life, I think Commander Wang's contribution should be enough."

He Kegang's eyelids twitched, and he stared intently at Chen Feng. "Did General Wu's centurion really have such a great achievement?"

"That's right." Chen Feng and He Kegang looked at each other, but his eyelids twitched slightly, indicating that he could cooperate when verifying military merits.

He Kegang understood his meaning and fell into deep thought.

Chen Feng changed the subject, "It's enough to save his life, but not enough to save his rank. General Wu was the first to flee and disobeyed military orders. These two offenses are enough to get him executed three times over. If he wants to save his rank, it's only if Supervisor Zhang comes back to life."

He Kegang nodded slowly. "You see things very clearly, but are you really willing to share that great credit?"

"This subordinate is willing," Chen Feng replied without the slightest hesitation.

Although Chen Feng was displeased with Wang Jie's final actions, it did not prevent Chen Feng from believing that Wang Jie deserved the military merit, after all, they were both people who were willing to risk their lives to kill the enemy.

He Kegang's eyes flickered, as if he was somewhat surprised, and he began to re-examine the person in front of him.

Chen Feng steered the conversation back to himself, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Horse Administration want credit, while Mr. Zhang wants to save General Song. If they don't get what they want, I will die. I am but a rootless duckweed, and I have no chance against these behemoths."

He Kegang slammed his hand on the table. "With Marshal Zu here, no one can touch you."

Chen Feng shook his head and sighed, "It's not that I don't trust Commander Zu, but the Imperial Horse Administration, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Zhang family of Loudong have immense power in the court. If they target me and Commander Zu every few days, even Commander Zu won't be able to withstand it."

He Kegang's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

He was a military general, skilled in warfare, but he couldn't quite grasp the intricacies of court politics.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondered for a long time, and then asked, "What do you want to do?"

"This humble servant wishes to ask the General to invite them here so that we can sit down and have a proper talk," Chen Feng said. "The General is a second-rank official, and this humble servant only asks the General to act as a mediator to reconcile the relationships between the parties and save this humble servant's life."

After saying that, Chen Feng got up and knelt down, banging his head on the ground.

He Kegang looked at Chen Feng kneeling on the ground and did not respond immediately.

He paced around the room a couple of times with his hands behind his back, his boots making a dull thud on the brick floor.

"Are you really willing to share the credit with Wang Jie?" He stopped and turned around to ask.

"I'm willing! I would even say that Wang Jie's contributions are greater than mine!"

He Kegang stared at him for a long time, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Okay." He helped Chen Feng up. "I'll take on the role of middleman."

Chen Feng bowed deeply, "Thank you, General."

As he straightened up, the tension that had been building up inside him for days eased slightly.

He asked He Kegang to intervene, not just because the other party had enough influence.

Furthermore, because the situation has changed.

Previously, there were only two families, Changwei and Songwei. When two tigers fight, the side that backs down will lose everything, and there is little room for reconciliation.

But things are different now.

With Qiu Hejia and Zu Dashou both involved, the four forces are now entangled, making the situation muddy.

When the water is murky, it's easier to catch fish.

The imperial guards want credit, and they might not be willing to fight to the death with the other three for credit.

Even though the Imperial Guards were close advisors to the emperor, they dared not offend Zhang Lan, a powerful military family in Liaoxi with deep connections, and Qiu Hejia, who wanted to save his own life, at the same time.

Zhang Lan's priority is to save Song Wei's life. As long as he is willing to share enough credit for saving Song Wei, Zhang Lan has no reason to take all the credit for himself while offending others.

As for Zu Dashou...

He glanced at He Kegang in front of him. As long as he was willing to cooperate with the Ministry of War's investigation, there wouldn't be too much of a problem with Wu Xiang.

Moreover, he could see that He Kegang genuinely wanted to save his own life; otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a risky decision for Zu Dashou just to be on the safe side.

Now he needs to find a balance among the four factions that satisfies everyone; if he acts alone, no one will listen to him.

But with He Kegang, things are different. He Kegang has enough influence, and the others will find their own balance.

He Kegang patted Chen Feng on the shoulder and sighed for the young man's hard work: "Tonight, I'll invite them over. Think about what you're going to say."

Chen Feng nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"My promise to bring you to Jinzhou still stands." He paused, then added, "That was my promise, not Commander Zu's."

Chen Feng bowed deeply once more, "This humble subordinate thanks the General!"

He Kegang waved his hand and strode out.

Chen Feng followed him out and saw him off at the gate of the courtyard.

The dozen or so servants sent by Zhang Lan were still guarding outside the door. When they saw He Kegang come out, they all stood up straight.

Chen Feng noticed that these people didn't dare to breathe loudly when facing He Kegang, and it seemed that none of them even went to inform Zhang Lan.

He Kegang ignored them and, with a few personal guards, mounted his horse.

After the horse had taken a few steps, he suddenly pulled on the reins and looked back at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching He Kegang disappear at the street corner.

The early winter wind blew through the streets, making Chen Feng shiver.

He originally thought he had a good hand, but he never expected it to turn out like this.

Fortunately, He Kegang appeared, giving him the opportunity to play all the bad cards in his hand.