The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 82 Zhu Yuanzhang's Officials, Even Dogs Disliked (Please Subscribe)

Painted boats on the Qinhuai River.

The sound of the zither is melodious, and the fragrance of incense wafts gently.

Several dancers draped in light gauze were dancing gracefully in the cabin, their flowing sleeves creating a fragrant breeze.

Li Jinglong reclined on a soft chair, with two beautiful women in his arms. The one on the left fed him wine, while the one on the right picked up a grape with her slender fingers and fed it to him.

Li Shou, holding a wine cup, said, "Sixth Brother, let me toast you. I was rash before, I didn't recognize your greatness and offended you. Now that you are the head of the beggars, it is a blessing for all the brothers."

Li Jinglong downed a cup with gusto and continued to embrace women on either side: "Gentlemen, although we are beggars, we must promote positive energy and not force good women into prostitution."

The two beautiful women in his arms giggled incessantly upon hearing this.

Everyone burst into laughter and raised their glasses: "Sixth Brother is awesome! Follow Sixth Brother and learn how to be a person. If you don't listen to Sixth Brother, teach him a lesson!"

""

Li Jinglong waved his hand grandly and said, "Today I've booked this pleasure boat. Brothers, drink to your hearts' content. Tomorrow, we'll get back to begging."

"Sixth Brother! Sixth Brother!" The cabin was filled with cheers.

Zhang Laojiu, holding his cup, sidled up to Li Jinglong and chuckled, "Sixth Brother, I'd like to toast you too."

"Ninth Brother, you're not hiding anything behind that smile, are you? Just say what you have to say." Li Jinglong glanced at him.

Zhang Laojiu said in a low voice, "It's still about the matter we mentioned before: saving that person."

"Can we talk about that here?" Li Jinglong warned.

Zhang Laojiu raised his hand and slapped himself: "I misspoke, I will punish myself with a cup of wine."

"Ninth Brother, didn't you say that among the beggars were former Yuan Dynasty officials such as the Chancellor, Left Chancellor, and Right Chancellor?" Li Jinglong asked.

Where is he? Did you call him today?

Zhang Lao Jiu was waving towards the lower left corner: "Come here, come here, Sixth Brother is calling you."

Three elderly men, who had been sitting in the corner, walked over and bowed slightly to Li Jinglong.

Zhang Laojiu introduced: "This is Fu Shou, the former Pingzhang Zhengshi of the Yuan Dynasty in Yingtian; this is Zhang Jian, the former Zuo Cheng."

This is Yang Ying, the Right Chancellor back then. These three were all very important figures in their time.

Fu Shou lowered his head slightly: "These are all old stories, not worth mentioning."

Li Jinglong's eyes lit up, and he patted the couch next to him: "They're all seniors, come, come, sit down, don't be shy."

The three sat down calmly. Fu Shou sat to Li Jinglong's left, Zhang Jian next to him, and Yang Ying sat on the far side.

"When Yingtian City fell, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't kill you?" Li Jinglong asked with curiosity.

Zhang Lao Jiu was startled and whispered a reminder: "Sixth Brother, please don't address His Majesty by his given name directly."

"Hey, there are no outsiders here." Li Jinglong waved his hand dismissively.

Fu Shou wasn't surprised. He sighed with a wry smile, "Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang was just a rebel army commander. When his army entered Yingtian, they were very disciplined and didn't commit any offenses. They didn't kill us who surrendered either."

"A trick to win people's hearts," Li Jinglong scoffed. "Killing surrendered generals right after capturing Yingtian would make you seem petty and make it harder to recruit newcomers. I can see right through that."

Zhang Jian nodded in agreement: "It's just a trick. If he really believed us, why would he label us as beggars?"

"Do you still want to be an official under Zhu Yuanzhang?" Yang Ying asked coldly.

"Even dogs would disdain Zhu Yuanzhang's officials," Li Jinglong said disdainfully.

The three of them were all taken aback.

Li Jinglong spread his hands: "You three are in the capital, can't you see? The Hu Weiyong case, heads rolled around; the Empty Seal case, heads rolled around again. Officials in the Hongwu era would go to court in the morning to tell their wives their final wishes, and if they could even get home unscathed at night, it was a miracle. You three are beggars now, but at least you still have your heads, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes." The three nodded repeatedly.

After three cups of wine...

The three elderly people were all a little dizzy.

"Seniors, are there any other important figures in the beggar household? Tell me about them, I love hearing about them." Li Jinglong revealed a harmless and curious expression.

Fu Shou pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "There probably aren't any left. The former officials who were incorporated into the beggar households back then are either dead or old; many of their graves are overgrown with weeds. However, last year, I ran into Zhang Liangzuo at the entrance of a dilapidated temple in Yongchang Ward in the south of the city."

"Who is it? I've never heard of them," Li Jinglong asked.

Zhang Jian continued, "Sixth Brother is young, so it's normal that he hasn't heard of him. Zhang Liangzuo is Zhang Liangbi's younger brother. He's one of the seven Zhang brothers. They're not afraid of the Golden Medal Zhang, but they are afraid of the seven spears."

Li Jinglong was secretly alarmed.

Holy crap! The Zhang brothers actually showed up in Beijing.

"Weren't they already dead?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

Yang Ying shook her head: "Of the seven guns of the Zhang family, five died in battle, and the other two disappeared without a trace. They should be the brothers Zhang Liangbi and Zhang Liangzuo. But how did they end up in the capital?"

"Ha! So many years have passed, who cares! The Yuan Dynasty is long gone, and the Northern Yuan is just sitting on the grasslands eating sand. Nobody cares about a former general on the street." Li Jinglong waved his hand.

Fu Shou nodded slowly: "That's true. Back then, they were indeed heroes, holding considerable military power and able to mobilize tens of thousands of troops with a single call in Guanzhong. But now, it's the Zhu family's world."

"Back then, Zhang Liangbi led the heroes of Guanzhong, elected Li Siqi as their leader, and together they resisted Kökö Temür. How powerful they were then! When the proclamation was issued, Guanzhong was shaken; it was a true struggle for supremacy among heroes."

Yang Ying snorted: "Who would have thought that in the end, it would be Zhu Chongba, that monk, who would gain the throne? Back then, when we looked down from the top of Yingtian City, we saw a bald man leading a bunch of peasants charging up the city wall. Who took him seriously?"

"That's not quite right. I admire Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to unify the country from south to north," Zhang Jian said with a smile.

Yang Ying remained silent for a while, unusually refraining from arguing: "Putting everything else aside, I won't say anything about his recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. He took back the territory that had been lost for four hundred years."

"Shall we raise a toast to this monk Zhu?" Li Jinglong asked with a playful smile.

He shared a drink with the three old men, his gaze sweeping across the cabin.

The musicians were still playing their instruments, the dancers were still dancing, and there was laughter all around.

There must have been Imperial Guards among them, right?

"Sixth Brother." Li Shou walked over with a girl. "This is Miss Zhao Qing, who has come to serve you, Sixth Brother."

Li Jinglong waved his hand: "I'm a gentleman, what are you saying?"

"Sixth Brother, Miss Zhao is no ordinary person," Li Shou said in a low voice.

Li Jinglong raised an eyebrow: "What makes it extraordinary?"

"Her younger brother is the Marquis of Chongli," Li Shou said.

"Marquis Chongli? Who is that? I've never heard of him." Li Jinglong genuinely had no idea.

Li Shou sighed and said, “Marquis Chongli, Mai Delibala, was the grandson of Emperor Shun of Yuan. He was captured in the third year of Hongwu, and His Majesty enfeoffed him as Marquis Chongli.”

In the seventh year of the Hongwu reign, he was released back to the Northern Yuan.

Li Jinglong was startled and his gaze fell on Zhao Qing.

She wore a fitted long dress that accentuated her curves, and her exotic heterochromatic eyes were extremely alluring.

P.S.: I'll post it again this afternoon and evening.