Chapter 382: Send Nurhaci to the Dissection Institute

The loyal and patriotic Hou Yuzhao did not take too long to persuade the Liaodong Provincial Governor Zhou Yong. He reasoned with him and explained things well.

Hou Yuzhao trekked from Daning Guard to Liaoyang and met Zhou Yong. It only took three sentences to persuade this somewhat stubborn person to go to the Flower Tower to play together.

The reason Hou Yuzhao was willing to take this trouble was entirely because Zhou Yong was not a "cheap Confucian." The conflict between the Regional Commander and the Provincial Governor could be reconciled.

"The situation in Liaodong has deteriorated, starting from the discord between the Regional Commander and the Provincial Governor." Hou Yuzhao took off his cloak and said very confidently to Zhou Yong.

After Li Chengliang welcomed Zhou Yong into the door, he chose to leave. It wasn't that Li Chengliang lacked hospitality; it was just that Li Chengliang had just sat down and hadn't started the pleasantries when he received a wolf-smoke warning. On this day when the heavy snow blocked the mountains and neither people nor horses could move, a group of Jianzhou Jurchens appeared outside the Great Wall, their intentions unknown. This was not a small matter. Li Chengliang had to go personally to sit in command to prevent changes.

Zhou Yong wanted to go together, but was refused by Li Chengliang, because this group of Jurchens only numbered one hundred, and most were women and children. Li Chengliang went just to prevent the situation from further deteriorating. If there was nothing, he would return that day. Zhou Yong, a scholar, could neither lift with his hands nor carry with his shoulders. Going to the front line was too much suffering. Better to stay in the "gentle village."

"What Inspecting Censor Hou says is very true." Zhou Yong was willing to come from Liaoyang to Tieling Guard because he actually knew that the discord between civil and military officials was not conducive to the situation in Liaodong. Li Chengliang was a hereditary marquis of the Great Ming. Letting Li Chengliang bow his head would only make things worse and worse, eventually leading to an unmanageable situation.

Provincial Governors and Governors-General were usually filled by civil officials. These civil officials held capital official positions and patrolled one side on behalf of the Son of Heaven. They represented the imperial court. When the Liaodong Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander were in discord, the direct result was that the imperial court became more cautious in its support for Liaodong. And at this time, the Liaodong Regional Commander had to rely more on the barbarians.

Because Liaodong could not get strong and powerful support from the imperial court, it meant this war zone could not get a sufficient number of Han people, so it could only rely more on barbarians, which in turn caused the situation to further deteriorate. Using barbarians to control barbarians requires paying a price. It requires supporting the Eastern Barbarians, ultimately leading to the continuous strengthening of the Eastern Barbarians.

Zhou Yong looked at the heavy snow blocking the mountains outside the window and sighed, saying: "What Inspecting Censor Hou said, I am very clear about. But you also know that the Marquis of Ningyuan is a hereditary marquis, and combined with these three thousand guest soldiers, he is the mountain king of this Liaodong. As Provincial Governor, if I am a little indulgent here, it will lead to a great disaster."

A military general who was conferred a marquis because of military achievements is not so easy to restrain. "Using civil officials to control military officials" sounds good, but that requires the military general to have no one in the court. Just based on Li Chengliang's imperial favor, as long as Li Chengliang does not raise a flag and rebel in Liaodong, there will be no substantial punishment.

Li Rusong is a hostage in the Capital Battalion, and Li Chengliang is a typical feudal lord in Liaodong. The most capable fighters in the entire Liaodong are his retainers.

This job of Zhou Yong is not easy to do. Managing it a little strictly is civil-military discord; managing it a little loosely is creating another An Lushan for the Great Ming. Giving this job to anyone is a dilemma.

Hou Yuzhao also knew how difficult this job of Zhou Yong was. He shook his head and said: "Difficult, all difficult. Everyone can only do their best."

Zhou Yong stood up, took off his cloak, and put it on, saying: "I am still not at ease. I have to go and see. The Marquis of Ningyuan has a violent temperament, and there are many surrendered barbarians under his command. If he falls into the enemy's provocation trap and goes out of the pass to fight easily, I fear a great disaster will occur. Inspecting Censor Hou, please wait here for a moment. I will go and see."

Zhang Xueyan advised Li Chengliang in Liaodong not to underestimate the enemy, advance rashly, or act on impulse. Li Chengliang felt warm in his heart.

For Zhou Yong to say this, it was just "managing too broadly." This life is truly very difficult!

Zhang Xueyan handled logistics for you. Didn't Zhou Yong handle logistics? Did he handle it poorly?

Zhou Yong left with his cloak. Hou Yuzhao yawned, let the serving maid leave, rolled himself in a quilt, and fell into a deep sleep. He had received the imperial decree and rushed over in a hurry. The car and horse were exhausted all the way, combined with his worry about the situation in Liaodong, he was restless. Only after seeing Zhou Yong did he realize that things were not as serious as he had imagined. Only then did he put down his worry.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that Hou Yuzhao woke up in a daze. He wasn't woken up; he was woken up by hunger. He washed up a little, ate something, and found that Li Chengliang and Zhou Yong had not yet returned, and even the Flower Tower was several times quieter. Except for the women, all the guest soldiers had received orders to leave the Flower Tower and head to the Tieling Great Wall.

Hou Yuzhao immediately realized something was wrong. This group of Eastern Barbarians was probably not that simple!

Waiting until the seventh day, Hou Yuzhao finally saw Li Chengliang and Zhou Yong, bringing hundreds of guest soldiers, return to Tieling Guard. The thousand-jin gate of Tieling Guard's city gate was slowly pulled open in the wind and snow, and people and horses began to enter Tieling continuously. On the dozen or so carts lying were corpses, and behind the carts were wounded soldiers. Only after the dead and wounded soldiers did the people, horses, and heavy baggage begin to enter the city.

Border incidents are the main theme of the border regions. The shadow of death always shrouds every border soldier. Hou Yuzhao began to receive these corpses, record their names and deeds, report to the imperial court, and build a Loyalty and Bravery Shrine. Afterward, Hou Yuzhao also learned the details of this small-scale conflict.

The Jurchens captured two beacon tower scouts. These two scouts were hung in the woods outside the Great Wall at Tieling. They were still alive but hanging upside down; if not rescued, they would certainly die. If they were to be rescued, one would have to go beyond the frontier. Because they collected intelligence, these scouts held a very special status in the border regions. Seven guest soldiers guarding the Great Wall beacon tower took over seventy military guards and went beyond the frontier to rescue them.

An encounter battle and a surprise attack broke out just like this. Li Chengliang originally only brought three hundred people, but the next day he transferred all the guest soldiers of Tieling Guard to the Tieling Great Wall.

In the end, the two distant scouts died in the dense forest. Twelve of the guest soldiers and military guards who went to rescue them died. Li Chengliang led the guest soldiers and fiercely went out of the pass, pursuing for three days, killing 174 enemies.

That day, the Flower Tower became lively again. The warblers and swallows tried their best to please the returning soldiers. The soldiers lingered and forgot to return, seemingly forgetting the fatigue and toil of yesterday, and also forgetting death.

Hou Yuzhao silently recorded all the merits and buried the sacrificed distant scouts, guest soldiers, and military guards on the mountain behind Tieling Guard.

"Green hills everywhere bury loyal bones; why need horse leather to wrap the corpse and return."

Hou Yuzhao only hoped that the imperial court could approve the Loyalty and Bravery Shrine and issue the full pension for the sacrificed soldiers. Under the shadow of war, Zhou Yong finally stopped mentioning the matter of closing the Flower Tower.

Soldiers with their heads tied to their waistbands indeed need a place to vent. This place is indeed a devil's den, but isn't it also a place to rest briefly and forget pain?

Inside the Flower Tower, Li Chengliang stuck out his general's belly, with wine and dishes in front of him. The wine was the "National Cellar" bestowed by the Great Ming Emperor; it was strong liquor.

It was usually used when injured on the battlefield. If injured, use snow to wipe it, contain a mouthful of strong liquor, spray it on the wound, and continue to fight. If you win, you might die because of wound infection. And the burning of strong liquor is really very, very painful—the kind that hurts people to death. But if you lose the battle, you will definitely die.

The reason he took out the National Cellar was because Zhou Yong, the Confucian scholar who hung books, finally colluded with them and came to the Flower Tower as a guest. It was also to welcome Hou Yuzhao.

"Provincial Governor Zhou, Inspecting Censor Hou, you two have also seen it. When our brothers are not fighting, they like this bit of wine and color. I, Li Chengliang, have no other skills. It's all about fighting for life on the battlefield. After leaving the battle, have fun when you should." Li Chengliang raised his wine glass and had a drink with Zhou Yong and Hou Yuzhao.

Zhou Yong was not good at drinking, let alone strong liquor. After one cup, his face was red and his ears were red.

Li Chengliang drank it all in one gulp, looked at Zhou Yong's appearance, laughed loudly twice, and then continued: "Today, I, Li Chengliang, am the host. We won't return until we are drunk. Today, I've arranged a few beauties for you two, hehehe."

"The General is truly sea-like in capacity!" Zhou Yong looked at Li Chengliang drinking a full cup without changing his expression and said sincerely. This strong liquor was so spicy; Li Chengliang could actually drink it like this, drinking like drinking water.

Hou Yuzhao smiled, looked at Li Chengliang, and then smiled and said: "Is there a possibility that the General is drinking water?"

"Ah?" Zhou Yong was stunned for a moment and looked at Li Chengliang for an answer.

"What I'm drinking is indeed water." Li Chengliang smiled, shook his head, and said: "Drinking is forbidden in the army. I am the Regional Commander; I won't take the lead in violating military discipline."

"Then what they are drinking is also water?!" Zhou Yong was shocked. He looked around at those assistant regional commanders and some soldiers and asked in a daze.

Li Chengliang said happily: "Hmm, there is no wine in the Flower Tower. Wine and color ruin things, so I've quit drinking."

He, Li Chengliang, as one of the only two generals in the northern garrisons who could go out of the pass to fight and win, although he was indeed not as good as Qi Jiguang in governing the army and needed some means to maintain military discipline, he also had his own pride. "South Qi, North Li"—it wasn't just a name. His governing of the army was also very strict. The environment and treatment in Liaodong were not as good as the Capital Battalion, but his Tieling Guard was truly not a bandit den.

Zhou Yong had never been to Tieling Guard, so the bandit den and devil's den in his eyes were just what he thought.

Hou Yuzhao had seen Li Chengliang several times in Daning Guard and knew that Li Chengliang and the soldiers generally did not drink. Military discipline was high. Historical lessons about drinking ruining things were not just one or two. However, Li Chengliang's eldest son, Li Rusong, was addicted to alcohol for several years, but later, under Qi Jiguang's command, he completely corrected this bad habit.

"So it turns out only the two of us are drinking wine?" Zhou Yong spread his hands, looked at Hou Yuzhao, and realized this problem.

"Hmm." Hou Yuzhao raised his glass. What was in his glass was indeed wine. He didn't let Zhou Yong sit alone. He grabbed the wine glass and said somewhat distractedly: "Liaodong is bitter and cold. Where is there so much grain to brew wine? This prohibition is firstly to prevent ruining things, and secondly, there really isn't any. A small amount of wine is given to the distant scouts."

Hou Yuzhao had been reclaiming land in Daning Guard for five years. He knew the shortage of grain in Liaodong and also knew the bitterness and cold of Liaodong. Regarding the Flower Tower, Hou Yuzhao thought it was harmless. In the past, he might have clamored a few times about it being an insult to refinement, but after a long time, he slowly felt it was nothing. Standing and talking, of course, doesn't hurt the waist, but Hou Yuzhao was working in the fields.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the host and guests were happy, and the atmosphere was completely eased.

Li Chengliang didn't want to offend Zhou Yong completely, because the matter of military merit in Liaodong still required Zhou Yong's signature and seal. If Zhou Yong was really prepared to tear his face off with Li Chengliang, he wouldn't need to not report it; he just needed to report it two days late or report more, and Li Chengliang would suffer a muffled loss.

Li Chengliang had suffered many losses from scholars, so when Zhou Yong appeared at Tieling Guard, Li Chengliang was immediately very polite. Life has to go on, right? If they give each other face, then they both have it. They are all working for the imperial court; there is no need to be so tense.

This Tieling Guard is a military camp. Besides beauty, it is about fighting and killing. After eating and drinking, how can there be no martial arts fighting to help the fun?

"Who is this person?" Hou Yuzhao looked at the two people fighting on the stage to help the fun, one of whom was a Jurchen, and asked somewhat puzzled.

"The grandson of the hereditary commander of the Jianzhou Left Guard, Nurhaci." Li Chengliang's eyes flickered, and there was even a hint of killing intent.

The Jianzhou Guard was established in the third year of Yongle by the Great Ming to appease the former Yuan ten-thousand-household official Möngke Temür. By the fourteenth year of Zhengtong, the Jurchen slave chiefs Li Manzhu and Dong Shan heard that the Great Ming Emperor had been captured and the myth of the Great Ming being invincible had been completely broken. The Jianzhou Jurchens changed from being the Great Ming's dogs to wolves and leopards that bit their masters, starting to continuously harass Fushun, Benxi, Liaoyang, and other places, burning, killing, and looting without doing any evil. Only then did the Chenghua Plow Court happen, with the Great Ming sending 60,000 troops to pacify the Jianzhou Jurchens.

Li Chengliang's killing intent toward this Nurhaci in front of him mainly came from his discovery that this twenty-year-old young man had extremely strong military talent, not at all inferior to his eldest son, Li Rusong. It is actually very easy to see a person's military talent. At twenty, his arms are wide, he can pull a tiger-force bow, and after the rebel chief Wang Gao died, the Jianzhou Left Guard was continuously growing stronger.

From the intelligence collected by the distant scouts, Nurhaci's father Taksi and grandfather Giocangga had no talent at all. On the contrary, this twenty-year-old Nurhaci had quite a bit of talent. The strength of the Jianzhou Left Guard was inseparable from this young man.

Li Chengliang introduced the other one: "The other one is named Jaisai. He is also a Jurchen and is the number one fierce general under Nikan Wailan, with the title of 'Brave Batulu'."

Li Chengliang breaking through Gule Fortress also had a guide. This Nikan Wailan was his guide. Originally, Li Chengliang could only capture the rebel chief Wang Gao himself, but because of Nikan Wailan's surrender, the battle of Gule Fortress in the second year of Wanli resulted in Li Chengliang capturing Wang Gao's son Atai together, pulling them to the capital to be beheaded for all to see.

Outside Fushun Pass, the strongest force of the Jianzhou Jurchens was this Nikan Wailan. This Nikan Wailan was wolf-hearted and dog-lunged. Good horses, ginseng, sable fur, deer antler—whatever was precious, Nikan Wailan sent it to Li Chengliang. Relying on Li Chengliang's protection, Nikan Wailan did whatever he wanted outside the pass.

"These two people's martial arts fight today is both to help the fun and to compete for tribute." Li Chengliang sat steadily on the fishing platform, smiling and saying to Zhou Yong and Hou Yuzhao: "None of these Jurchen rebel chiefs can be tamed. They are all wolf cubs. This Nurhaci's great-grandfather's father, Dong Shan, was a dog raised by our Great Ming. After the Tumu Crisis in the fourteenth year of Zhengtong, Dong Shan began to harass the border."

"His father, Möngke Temür, was already appeased in the third year of Yongle, and he also disobeyed the imperial edicts of the Chengzu Wen Emperor."

"Competing for tribute?" Hou Yuzhao asked with great interest.

Li Chengliang explained: "This year, they are going to the capital to pay tribute. The Jianzhou Guard wants to send people to the capital to pay tribute. To compete for this quota of tribute, they fought each other. To prevent them from fighting, I set up a ring for them. Whoever wins goes. Now it is Jaisai and Nurhaci competing for tribute. The winner goes to the capital."

"Speaking of which, it is interesting. Jaisai, the Batulu under Nikan Wailan, is actually the sworn brother of this Nurhaci."

Li Chengliang knew the situation outside the pass very well. Nikan Wailan didn't know at all that the dog he raised had already colluded with his competitor. So this farce of competing for tribute today was actually a performance.

Hou Yuzhao sorted out this relationship and frowned, saying: "Doesn't this mean Jaisai will deliberately lose to Nurhaci and give this qualification to go to the capital to pay tribute to Nurhaci?"

"Exactly." Li Chengliang frowned and said: "Now the various Jurchen tribes outside the pass are quite dissatisfied with Nikan Wailan, because Nikan Wailan surrendered to the Great Ming, so they think Nikan Wailan is the Great Ming's running dog."

Nikan Wailan's life outside the pass was actually not good. Even his number one warrior was turned against him.

The martial arts fight began. There were no weapons. They competed in fists and feet. It looked like a very anxious back-and-forth. Hou Yuzhao and Zhou Yong did not practice martial arts, so they couldn't see anything. But an old battlefield general like Li Chengliang could still see that Jaisai was letting water. It wasn't obvious, but letting water was letting water.

Nurhaci grabbed Jaisai's arm, placed the arm on his shoulder, reached his hand around to the opponent's armpit, locked Jaisai's arm firmly, leaned forward and squatted, and with the other hand hugged the opponent's leg, turned around, threw Jaisai over his shoulder, and then locked him firmly on the ground. This move was called "Golden Gate Rotation."

"I won!" After Nurhaci threw him down, he suddenly raised his hands and waved his fists forcefully into the air, causing many people to cheer and shout well.

Li Chengliang's mouth twitched. Jaisai's strength was very strong. Being grabbed by the arm was obviously a flaw Jaisai deliberately exposed. But if Jaisai had used a little force in this punch, he wouldn't have been grabbed. Jaisai's behavior was actually very easy to understand: let Nurhaci step on his Batulu identity to become famous.

"A bet is a bet. This year, Nurhaci of the Jianzhou Left Guard will go to the capital to pay tribute." Li Chengliang stood up and announced the result loudly.

Li Chengliang wrote a memorial, detailing the situation outside the pass very thoroughly, especially the various details of Nurhaci's victory. Jaisai betraying the Nikan Wailan force supported by the Great Ming represented that the anti-Great Ming resistance force outside the pass that was hit in the second year of Wanli had revived again. This was a worrying problem.

Nurhaci left Tieling Guard amidst cheers. Early the next morning, he took the gifts for the Great Ming Emperor and set off from the official road and post road, heading toward the capital.

Nurhaci, a rising star outside the pass, did not know what fate awaited him.

Zhu Yijun received Li Chengliang's memorial on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of the seventh year of Wanli. The first thing was strange—strange about the relationship between Li Chengliang and Nurhaci. Nurhaci had been a retainer for Li Chengliang and had made military achievements. Nurhaci even had a name called "Li Ruzhi" (Li Pig).

But in Li Chengliang's memorial, Zhu Yijun keenly sensed Li Chengliang's worry about Nurhaci: "The slave chief is tricky and hard to control, skilled in using troops and has strategy, I fear he will be a great disaster."

"Has strategy"—a descendant of a slave chief outside the pass has strategy, and he even informed the imperial court. It proved that Li Chengliang had already seen Nurhaci's strength and wanted to dispose of him, but because of the strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians," Li Chengliang was a bit hesitant and couldn't take action.

Zhu Yijun thought carefully for a while and immediately understood.

At the end of the 34th year of Wanli, Li Chengliang abandoned the land outside the pass of the Kuandian Six Forts, which he had developed and operated for nearly thirty years, and expelled the seven thousand Han people who had been reclaiming land and living there for decades, handing over the eight hundred li of land to the Jianzhou Jurchens led by Nurhaci. This matter caused an uproar in the court and the public. Remonstrating officials submitted memorials to the Emperor one after another, demanding that personnel be sent to Liaodong to investigate and severely punish Li Chengliang.

Abandoning the Kuandian land was also the turning point for Li Chengliang from the Great Ming's Liaodong God of War to a treacherous official who raised bandits to maintain his own importance, raised tigers to cause trouble, and was the number one treacherous official of the Great Ming.

In the 34th year of Wanli, the Wanli Emperor sent someone to investigate, and that person was Xiong Tingbi.

And Xiong Tingbi, in a memorial and a letter, clarified that the time Li Chengliang took Nurhaci as a running dog was the 11th year of Wanli, when Li Chengliang pacified Gule Fortress for the second time, killing Nurhaci's father and grandfather. Nurhaci knelt and begged for death, and Li Chengliang took Nurhaci as his foster son.

In the 11th year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng had already passed away. The Zhang faction in the court was repeatedly impeached and suppressed. Even Zhou Yong, who was not on good terms with Li Chengliang, was labeled as a Zhang faction member and dismissed. Qi Jiguang had already left the northern border and headed to Guangzhou. At this point in time, Li Chengliang taking Nurhaci as his foster son was obviously because he had already made up his mind to raise bandits to maintain his own importance in order to protect himself.

People will change.

Zhu Yijun was not thin to Li Chengliang. The first time he pacified Gule Fortress, in order to let Li Chengliang fight with peace of mind, Zhu Yijun took silver from the inner treasury to make up for the arrears of Liaodong. After two battles in Daning Guard, Li Chengliang and Li Rusong made several achievements. Now Li Chengliang was already the Marquis of Ningyuan with a hereditary certificate. The Great Ming's wind of strengthening the military was in full swing. Li Chengliang entered the capital twice to report his duties, and Zhu Yijun gave him enough, super-standard respect, which could be said to have given him enough face.

Li Rusong was deeply valued in the Capital Battalion and received Qi Jiguang's vigorous training. And the Emperor and Li Rusong were both disciples of Qi Jiguang, disciples of the same master.

In the conflict between the Provincial Governor and the Regional Commander, the Great Ming Emperor was very biased, not even questioning the Flower Tower matter, and even sent Hou Yuzhao to mediate the conflict.

Putting himself in his shoes, if Zhu Yijun were Li Chengliang at this time, he would also have some fantasies that the Great Ming Emperor was a wise ruler. And now the Great Ming had expelled the Tümen Khan and occupied Yingchang, physically isolating the Tümen Khan and the Eastern Barbarian Jurchens from merging, making the situation in Liaodong much easier.

This killing intent of Li Chengliang was not surprising.

Zhu Yijun finished reading Li Chengliang's memorial and wrote with a vermilion brush: "I have fully understood the concerns of Li Shuai. Do not worry. Li Shuai has been in the bitter and cold place of Liaodong for a long time. I only pray for his health."

"I understand what you mean. You are not easy to dispose of. Do not worry. I will do it. Liaodong is a bird-doesn't-lay-eggs place; it has been hard for you. I only hope you pay attention to taking care of your body."

"How many days until Nurhaci arrives in the capital to pay tribute?" Zhu Yijun reviewed Li Chengliang's memorial and asked where Nurhaci had arrived.

Feng Bao bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, there are still five days until he arrives in the capital."

Zhu Yijun blew the ink dry and said calmly: "The day he arrives at the Four Barbarian Hostel, take him directly and send him to the Dissection Institute."

"Ah?" Feng Bao was somewhat puzzled, and then hurriedly bowed his head and said: "Your servant obeys the decree."

Feng Bao was somewhat puzzled because the Emperor's attitude toward foreign envoys before was an attitude of openness, tolerance, and exchange. The Third Lady, Buyan, Li Yashi, Antonio, Shah Muhammad, Diego de, Rui de, and envoys from Ryukyu, Korea, and Japan were all like this. That Rui de clamored in the Wenhua Palace, and that Takahashi Shigetora provoked in the Four Barbarian Hostel, but the Emperor didn't send anyone to the Dissection Institute.

This sudden sending to the Dissection Institute made Feng Bao somewhat puzzled, but it was just somewhat puzzled. The Emperor's holy decree must be resolutely executed!

Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao and continued: "Feng Bao, I entrust this matter to you and the Commander Zhao Mengyou. There must be no negligence. If the ruler is not secret, he loses his ministers; if the minister is not secret, he loses his life; if the matter is not secret, it becomes a disaster. I believe in Li Shuai's vision. Since he feels this monster is a great disaster, then naturally we must walk in front."

"Before taking action on this matter, only the Master and General Qi can know about it in the outer court. If the Master asks why, I will explain it myself."

Plan ahead, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and plan for the long term.

Zhu Yijun was not afraid of being scolded as a muddled or tyrannical emperor. He was afraid of being laughed at. What about the face of the Great Heavenly Kingdom? What about "not beheading the envoy when two countries are at war"? How much trouble did this Nurhaci lineage bring to the Great Ming? Without Nurhaci, the Jianzhou Jurchens would definitely still cause chaos, but without this Nurhaci who had military talent and could fight very well, the Great Ming would be several times easier to deal with.

Throw Nurhaci into the Dissection Institute first. As for the aftermath, leave it to Wan Shihe to clean up the mess.

"Your servant obeys Your Majesty's teachings!" Feng Bao and Zhao Mengyou heard the Emperor give such instructions and immediately realized the importance the Emperor attached to this matter.

Feng Bao went to the Wenyuan Pavilion and whispered a few words to Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng immediately went to the Imperial Study of the Li Palace for an audience. Seeing that the middle secretary had gone to the toilet, Zhang Juzheng asked his question.

"Your servant fears it will tire the holy reputation, so I ask in person." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said.

Zhu Yijun said very definitely: "The barbarians are different from the Great Ming. Barbarians advocate force and do not rely on systems to gather, but rely on personal prestige. In short, I don't want to see another Altan Khan. Altan Khan is very capable of fighting, punching Oirat, kicking the Western Regions, and even looting the capital. Li Shuai has been in the border region for a long time. Since he says he has strategy, then we cannot turn a blind eye."

Zhang Juzheng was deliberating. His fingers were constantly moving up and down on his index and middle fingers. He was thinking about the situation. After a long time, he bowed his head and said: "This move will inevitably make the Eastern Barbarians hate the imperial court. And if the Marquis of Ningyuan uses this hatred to seek self-reliance, I fear there will also be disaster. I have thought about it. It is worth doing. Even if the Marquis of Ningyuan is truly borrowing a knife to kill someone, he is after all the Great Ming's Marquis of Ningyuan. If they really fight, it is also a matter within the family."

If Li Chengliang really became An Lushan, the Emperor was not Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Zhang Juzheng still didn't believe it. Qi Jiguang was still there; Li Chengliang dared to rebel! That would be too stupid. Not being a hereditary marquis, but wanting to be a rebel.

This matter is very worthwhile—eliminating danger in the bud and strangling disaster in the cradle!

Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng were very similar. Since they had made up their minds to take action, they would not hesitate.

Xiong Tingbi said in a memorial: "The slave chief hugged Chengliang's horse's feet and begged for death." The old slave chief was begging for life here, not for death. It was Li Chengliang who killed Nurhaci's father and grandfather. If he didn't beg for death, he feared Li Chengliang would exterminate them. From Li Chengliang's extermination of Wang Gao and Wang Tai's father and son, Li Chengliang was not a person of gentle benevolence. In the 11th year of Wanli, Li Chengliang kept Nurhaci and Šurhaci. Obviously, at that time, Li Chengliang had already made up his mind to raise bandits to maintain his own importance in order to protect himself. Begging for monthly tickets, Awoo!!!!!!!! ===== CHAPTER 384 =====