Chapter 427: The Spring Flows Long and Flowers Bloom, Birds Are Not Startled by People in the Quiet Courtyard

Wang Wang Chonggu did not have the stubborn integrity of a martyr. Facing Imperial power, his choice was not to shout, "What does it matter if you kill my ten clans!"

After all, in the writings of Great Ming scholars, Fang Fang Xiaoru's stubborn integrity when facing the Emperor Chengzu Emperor Wen entering Nanjing, that roar of anger, was a moral model shaped by scholars. The tyrant image of the Emperor Chengzu Emperor Wen also appeared vividly on the paper, and Fang Fang Xiaoru's experience also became a story that made people sigh and regret.

Of course, the reality is that Fang Fang Xiaoru was not killed to the ten clans. As early as after the Renzong Emperor ascended the throne, the family members of Fang Fang Xiaoru, who had been reduced to slaves in the official register, were all released as commoners and had their land returned to them.

In the early years of the Emperor Wanli reign, there were still people making noise, wanting the court to praise and compile the loyal ministers of the Jianwen reign, and to build a shrine to show their loyalty and bravery. Among the list of those praised, Xu Xu Hui Zu was at the head, followed by Fang Fang Xiaoru.

Zhu Zhu Yijun's comment on this was: "If you want to be loyal to the Jianwen monarch, go ahead and be buried with him."

The meaning of this was that if there was any more noise of this kind, he would physically send them down to be loyal. After that, no one mentioned this matter again.

Xu Xu Hui Zu was tricked by the pig-teammate Zhu Zhu Yunwen, and this Fang Fang Xiaoru's "Loyal minister expresses anger, blood and tears flow, what else is there to seek by being loyal to the monarch," Wan Wan Shihe told Zhu Zhu Yijun very clearly, was also fake.

When the Emperor Chengzu Emperor Wen entered the capital, the Imperial Palace was on fire. At that time, there were quite a few people in Nanjing who hanged themselves to be buried with the Jianwen monarch. This Fang Fang Xiaoru escaped from Nanjing and was caught and brought back.

Interestingly, the loyal minister image that Great Ming scholars tried their best to shape was illusory, because the rumor of killing ten clans originated from Zhu Zhishan's "Zhishan Wild Records," which mainly told of Fang Fang Xiaoru's descendants turning into snake demons to take revenge.

But when the illusory shone into reality, scholars began to fear.

In the 44th year of Emperor Jiajing, Hence Hai Rui carried a coffin to remonstrate: "Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing, every family is clean."

This act of Hence Hai Rui was a typical example of the illusory shining into reality. When reality really appeared, when the model of a loyal minister expressing anger appeared, scholars found that they didn't want this hero after all. Hence Hai Rui cleared up Xu Xu Jie's corruption and annexation, and finally ended up being promoted and resigning.

When heroes did not appear, Great Ming scholars looked forward to their appearance, even sparing no effort to shape a fake hero. But when heroes appeared, they feared them, slandered them, and harmed them.

Great Ming scholars were always so contradictory.

Wang Wang Chonggu certainly wouldn't shout, "What does it matter if you kill my ten clans!" because he knew the Emperor Chengzu Emperor Wen wouldn't kill ten clans, but the Emperor really would execute his whole family. So Wang Wang Chonggu had been conducting internal investigations, and he did it more strictly and thoroughly than the court.

These 20,000 catties of saltpeter from the Bai family of Yangcheng were found by Wang Qian. Not only in Zezhou Prefecture, but also in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission, there were people responsible for this matter. Wang Wang Chonggu was purging the party.

Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, was a member of the Jin Party, and a direct line at that. But when facing the key choice of a key issue, Wang Wang Chonggu did not give any hints. Once Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing failed to report truthfully, Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing would definitely die.

"Second Grand Secretary Wang really has a ruthless heart." Zhu Zhu Yijun said with some emotion.

"If my father isn't ruthless, my family would be in trouble. This kind of thing simply cannot be hidden. Once the case really breaks, even if Your Majesty is willing to forgive privately, the court officials will pursue and kill us." After Wang Qian finished reading the "Class Theory," he immediately understood his family's situation. Once the matter of private trade with foreigners was confirmed, no matter whether the Great Ming won or lost the war, their old Wang family would definitely lose.

Therefore, Wang Wang Chonggu had to purge the party. It was fine if people didn't submit to Wang Wang Chonggu; Wang Wang Jiaping and Fan Fan Yingqi were both Ge Ge Shouli's closed-door disciples and were at odds with Wang Wang Chonggu. Wang Wang Chonggu didn't intend to deal with them either. Having different opinions was normal, but private trade with foreigners was not allowed, because it would really lead to death.

Wang Qian changed the subject and whispered, "Your Majesty, your subject has obtained a volume of books."

"What is it?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked with bright eyes.

Wang Qian handed the volume of books in his hand to Zhang Hong, his eyes shining, and said, "It is a storybook written by the Minister of Revenue Wang Wang Guoguang before he passed the imperial examination, named 'Jingkang Reminiscences.' It is close to history rather than oral talk, similar but not combined, totaling 54 chapters. The Minister of Revenue's family background was not wealthy. Before passing the imperial examination, he used the pseudonym 'Shuan Mountain Hermit' to write this work, letting bookshops publish and sell it to support his family."

"It is truly soul-stirring and full of ups and downs. The only pity is that before this book was finished, the Minister of Revenue passed the imperial examination. After passing, he never wrote it again."

Wang Qian had already finished reading this storybook. It was indeed a storybook, but it was very close to a history book. Everything was based on evidence, not empty talk. The main content was about the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji, and the Song Emperor Qinzong Zhao Huo Huan being destroyed by the Jin Dynasty and captured to Wuguo City.

The most interesting thing was that what Wang Wang Guoguang wrote in his early years was a storybook, and the protagonist inside was Grandmaster Yue Xie Pengju, who was the reincarnation of the Kunpeng of the Nether Sea. It was that "In the Northern Sea there is a fish, its name is Kun, transformed into a bird, its name is Peng," the Kunpeng of the Nether Sea. The prototype of this Grandmaster Yue Xie Pengju was undoubtedly Grandmaster Yue Fei.

"Heaven and earth chaos combined, separating heaven and earth is Kunpeng."

Zhu Zhu Yijun read a section with great relish and was immediately attracted. He didn't expect that the thick-browed and big-eyed Wang Wang Guoguang also had this period of youthful years. He had even written it. Although it wasn't finished, looking at this structure, it was aimed at 100 chapters, but he only wrote to 54 chapters before passing the imperial examination.

In the process of investigating the cause of Li Li Qingwan's death, Wang Qian thoroughly understood Wang Wang Guoguang's life. When Wang Wang Guoguang was young, he was already very talented. He was also a handsome young man in the ten miles and eight villages. After reaching adulthood, the matchmakers were almost breaking the threshold.

Wang Qian shared the gossip he obtained for His Majesty, and Zhu Zhu Yijun also gained a lot.

"Minister Wang, you say, are treacherous officials difficult to deal with, or are loyal and capable officials difficult to deal with?" Zhu Zhu Yijun was also idle, so he chatted with Wang Qian for a few words. His purpose in summoning Wang Qian was idle talk, but Wang Qian's purpose was not idle talk; he was here to show his loyalty.

The war between the Great Ming and Altan Khan had moved from intelligence gathering and confrontation to the breakthrough stage. The Great Ming army was strong and the horses were sturdy, advancing step by step. Altan Khan had very few opportunities. He couldn't even gnaw down Dong Sheng Guard, so the only place where the Great Ming could possibly lose was if there were traitors in the Great Ming.

In this war, the most likely people to be traitors, to be "someone in China," were their Jin Party. Wang Wang Chonggu had to make a full gesture, and he had to truly find these traitors to prevent them from affecting the balance of victory in the war.

After showing his loyalty, Wang Qian relaxed a little. Facing the Emperor's question, he pondered for a moment and said, "Look at the person."

"Look at the person?"

Wang Qian said solemnly, "If it is a wise monarch, then loyal and capable officials are difficult to deal with. A gentleman can be deceived by the square, but the next sentence is that it is difficult to deceive him with non-righteous ways. If there is a wise master, the ambitions of loyal and capable officials can be displayed, and they are almost invincible."

"If it is a foolish master, then treacherous officials are difficult to deal with."

"Then what kind of official do you say Second Grand Secretary Wang is?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked with a smile. This was the fundamental purpose of Wang Qian not drinking or looking for girls today: to show loyalty for the Wang family. Zhu Zhu Yijun talked about today's key issue.

"A treacherous official!" Wang Qian said quite definitely, "Whether it was before or after Your Majesty ascended the throne, my father has always been a treacherous official."

"My father told me, don't be clever and mock those seemingly foolish persistence, because the light won by those people's persistence will also shine on us weak people."

The Emperor is a wise master, so in this situation, loyal and capable officials are the most difficult to deal with, just like Zhang Zhang Juzheng, Wang Wang Guoguang, Tan Lun, Qi Qi Jiguang, and others. After the Daoist master burned incense and ignored state affairs, treacherous officials were in power. Yan Song and Yan Yan Shifan, father and son, brought disaster to the world, yet they always stood firm.

And Wang Wang Chonggu is a treacherous official. In the current environment, he is the kind of person who is easy to deal with. Officials who cause the Emperor's fear are criminals, and officials who are easy to deal with are loyal officials.

Wang Wang Chonggu really said that. What he said was: "Evil words mock the gentleman, the long night is hard to clear, blaming the fluttering."

"Great loyalty looks like treachery, great treachery looks like loyalty. Minister Wang, the two words loyalty and treachery, how can they be so easily divided? If the world's affairs were all one is one, two is two, it would be simple instead." Zhu Zhu Yijun stood up, looked at Wang Qian, and said with a smile, "Second Grand Secretary Wang is a loyal official in my eyes. Since he returned to Xuanfu and Datong in the first year of Emperor Wanli to plug the hole in the Great Wall, he has been a loyal official. In the eyes of court officials, Second Grand Secretary Wang was a loyal official before, and now he is a treacherous official who offers to the Emperor."

"This is all Second Grand Secretary Wang."

"Your subject kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your great kindness. Respectfully send off Your Majesty!" Wang Qian breathed a heavy sigh of relief, hurriedly paid his respects, and respectfully sent off the Emperor.

The Emperor's words were very clear. Second Grand Secretary Wang was still in the Emperor's favor and was a loyal official. This was great news for the old Wang family.

Wang Wang Chonggu was not afraid of the attacks of court officials. What did it matter if court officials scolded him as a treacherous official through the ages? They couldn't cause harm to Wang Wang Chonggu. Wang Wang Chonggu was not the kind of person who was cautious when alone like Wang Wang Guoguang, who would resign because of some moral flaws. As a treacherous official, not wanting face and reputation was very reasonable.

Wang Wang Chonggu was only afraid of the unreasonable Imperial power.

Recently, there had been a wave of impeachment against Wang Wang Guoguang in the court, which made Wang Wang Chonggu quite worried, fearing that this mess had something to do with him. After all, Wang Wang Guoguang was a traitor to the Jin Party, and Wang Wang Chonggu, the leader of the Jin Party, had sufficient motivation to take action.

Zhu Zhu Yijun finished reading the storybook written by Wang Wang Guoguang in his early years and liked it very much. He didn't issue a decree for anyone to complete it, nor did he let Wang Wang Guoguang continue writing it, because that was Wang Wang Guoguang's youthful spirit. The current Wang Wang Guoguang couldn't write such an article anymore.

The attacks on Wang Wang Guoguang in the court were also part of the Great Ming's foreign war. This mutual attack did not form party strife; it could only be counted as a breeze. Altan Khan was a very capable person. When he couldn't win on the frontal battlefield, he followed the previous path dependency, attempting to internally disintegrate the Great Ming's offensive.

But Altan Khan still failed.

In April of the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, the Great Ming had entered early summer, and the weather had become a bit sultry. There was the sound of cicadas on the roadside. After the temperature and light conditions were relatively stable, the winter wheat began to head. By this time, if the rainfall was not sufficient, the wheat grains would shrivel, and the yield would decrease. Farmers had to irrigate. Xu Xu Zhenming told Zhu Zhu Yijun that this was called "filling the grains." Every year at this time, it was also the time when fighting for water was the most intense.

This year, on the fourth day of the third lunar month, there was a peach blossom snow, which made the winter wheat head more than twenty days earlier. If the rainfall in April was not enough, one had to be careful about this year's grain yield.

Heaven was beautiful, and the rainfall in the north this year increased from the end of the third month to the beginning of the fourth month.

The Great Ming was thriving and prosperous.

Zhu Zhu Yijun, who had waited for a long time, finally did not wait for the memorial from Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, reporting the Bai family's private trade with foreigners, which made Zhu Zhu Yijun very disappointed, and also made Wang Wang Chonggu extremely disappointed. Soon, the mouthpiece of the Jin Party began to impeach Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, the Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi. Rather than letting others discover the problem, it was better to take action himself.

A memorial of impeachment from Zhang Zhang Dingsi, a Censor of the Shaanxi Circuit, entered the court, causing a huge uproar in the capital. Wang Wang Guoguang remained unmoved in this attack, while Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing was impeached by his own party and fellow townsmen. The court's actions were very fast. This was part of Wang Wang Chonggu's leading the purge of the party. Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing fell, and along with him, nearly 70 officials and 12 prominent Shanxi families were investigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Rumors circulated: The Emperor insisted on using force, the State Treasury and Inner Treasury were empty, confiscating families to fill the State Treasury, the Second Grand Secretary offered donations, and prominent families used the Surveillance Commissioner to resist to no avail. Confiscation and beheading had become a foregone conclusion.

This rumor was very, very reasonable, because the cause of the matter also started with Wang Wang Guoguang being impeached. Wang Wang Guoguang was ordered to raise money everywhere, and targeting prominent families was reasonable. It was really a rumor with a nose and eyes, and logical self-consistency.

With the successive arrival of Chen Qiao Chen Qiao Bixing, Bai Zhili, and a group of criminals in the capital, this court struggle could be considered to have come to an end. Wang Wang Guoguang also knew the true cause of Li Li Qingwan's death back then, but Wang Wang Guoguang did not pursue the matter from back then, just wrote a calligraphy copybook and handed it to Wang Wang Chonggu, which could be considered as accepting the favor of investigating the truth.

"The spring flows long and flowers bloom, birds are not startled by people in the quiet courtyard."

The endless spring water is like the sun rising and falling. The flowers by the spring are also blooming as they were back then. In this lonely and deep courtyard, even if people come, the birds will not be startled and fly away.

Perhaps Zhu Zhu Yijun was over-interpreting it, always feeling that Wang Wang Guoguang was lamenting that things are different and people have changed. The spring day is still there, the spring water is still there, the flowers are there, only the people are gone. And at his age and status, true feelings have long been covered by layers of masks, just like that winding and deep courtyard.

With Wang Wang Guoguang's character, he would accept the favor, but he would never help Wang Wang Chonggu in party strife. However! The favor of the Minister of Revenue was still very valuable.

After the war in the rear came to an end, the war on the front lines had another breakthrough.

Li Li Rusong led three cavalry battalions and had already invaded Jining Jining Hai Zi. Jining Jining Hai Zi was a lake and one of Altan Khan's important pastures. Although the ten-thousand-household commander Khan Chahan Chahan Naoer under Altan Khan tried his best to resist, facing the cavalry battalions that were also cavalry, all advantages were swept away. If it weren't for Altan Khan mobilizing a ten-thousand-man team from the western Datong Prefecture front line to support, Khan Chahan Chahan Naoer would have already been defeated.

Although the front line was stabilized, Li Li Rusong was like a sharp knife inserted into Jining Jining Hai Zi, leaving Altan Khan in a dilemma. The idea of breaking through Datong Prefecture to force the Great Ming to withdraw its troops had completely gone bankrupt. The temple calculation judged that Altan Khan would likely prepare to flee west, fleeing to the Western Regions from the two directions of the Hetao and the Yinshan Mountains.

But the judgment of Qi Qi Jiguang, Li Li Rusong, Liang Liang Menglong, Wu Wu Baipeng, and Jiao Su Chengxun on the front lines was diametrically opposite to that of the Great Ming court. Qi Qi Jiguang judged that Altan Khan would concentrate his elite forces in the Datong direction and launch a decisive battle with the Great Ming.

Altan Khan was about to die. He couldn't run anymore. He built the city of Bansheng. If he left here, he would no longer be a Khan, but a stray dog.

The court did not understand the situation on the front lines. The situation on the front lines changed day by day. Simply put, they delegated power to Qi Qi Jiguang and others who were commanding on the front lines, letting them judge and adjust tactics themselves.

The war situation was still extremely favorable to the Great Ming. The main force of the Capital Battalion was still advancing. Altan Khan was like a trapped beast. The balance of the war had long since tilted toward the Great Ming along with Zhenwu. Because of the arrears in pay, the Great Ming border troops, who had performed poorly, performed extremely well this time, firmly holding the front line and not letting Altan Khan advance even an inch.

When the situation was excellent, Tan Lun, the Tan Sima and Grand Marshal, fell ill. It was not that the busy ministry affairs made Tan Lun's condition worse; the great physicians of the Dissection Institute had strictly regulated Tan Lun's daily routine. It was that Tan Lun's condition was naturally worsening along with his old age.

On the 13th day of the fourth month of the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, Tan Lun attended the court session as usual. Before he could walk back to the Ministry of War, he rested while panting heavily against the wall. His waist and back, which had been strong all his life, slowly bent, and he squatted down along the corner of the wall, and then became unconscious.

When the great physicians of the Dissection Institute arrived, Tan Lun had already woken up, but symptoms of memory confusion appeared. It was mainly manifested by a deep memory of past events and a very blurred memory of recent events. He picked up his brush and forgot what he wanted to write. When Tan Lun and his family discussed recovering the Hetao and the necessity of conquering Altan Khan, his family members discovered that Tan Lun had even forgotten about the Great Ming army going out of the pass to fight.

From this moment on, Tan Lun had to leave the court. Even being the leader of the Zhe Party was no longer suitable for him to continue. Tan Lun was not anyone's puppet. When his body could no longer hold up, he naturally had to choose to leave.

On the 17th day of the fourth month of the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, Tan Lun submitted the resignation memorial he had written long ago to the Left Shun Gate. The Left and Right Transmitting Officials sent the memorial to the Zhang Wenyuan Pavilion and only received a blank floating slip. The appointment of personnel for the six ministries in the capital was the core of Imperial power. Tan Lun's position was extremely critical, and he had been looking for a suitable candidate for Tan Sima: Yin Yin Zhengmao, Ling Ling Yunyi, Liang Liang Menglong, Liu Liu Yingjie, etc.

Zhu Zhu Yijun received the memorial, pondered for a long time, and took the memorial to Tan Lun's Quanzhe Guild Hall. Tan Lun did not value the status of the leader of the Zhe Party, nor did he like to form cliques for private interests, so the Quanzhe Guild Hall only had ten acres of land. Every imperial examination, he would not entertain the southern scholars who entered the capital, but the southern scholars would hold hometown associations, teacher-thanking banquets, and the like here, and Tan Lun did not refuse.

The Quanzhe Guild Hall and the Quanchu and Quanjin Guild Halls had completely different layouts. It lacked a bit of the elegance of a garden and had a bit more murderous aura. After the shadow wall at the entrance, there was a wide drill ground. The side rooms on both sides of the drill ground had weapon racks, on which long and short weapons were placed. Nine years ago, Tan Lun could still beat Li Li Rusong when Li Li Rusong was careless.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty." Tan Lun led his family to pay respects. Zhu Zhu Yijun supported Tan Lun. A long, long time ago, Zhu Zhu Yijun had exempted Tan Lun from the kneeling ceremony in private, but obviously, Tan Lun had forgotten. His illness had already affected his memory.

Zhu Zhu Yijun saw strangeness and turbidity in Tan Lun's eyes. Obviously, his memory of the Emperor had some deviations. Perhaps in his impression, the Emperor was still a slightly chubby child, not the strong and powerful young man he was now.

When Zhu Zhu Yijun saw this strangeness, his heart felt like it was being grabbed and pinched hard by someone. The Imperial Teacher repeatedly told Zhu Zhu Yijun that birth, old age, sickness, and death are the common feelings of human beings. The Emperor ascended the throne at the age of ten and would face countless such scenes in his life, the life-and-death separations of those familiar faces leaving one by one.

For Great Ming officials to climb to the status of meeting the Emperor every day, the youngest would have to be fifty years old.

But every time, Zhu Zhu Yijun would still be sad, wanting to catch something but unable to catch it, wanting to keep it but unable to keep it. This kind of separation also constantly reminded Zhu Zhu Yijun that he was a human monarch, a human monarch.

"Exempt from bowing, exempt from bowing." Zhu Zhu Yijun supported Tan Lun and said with a smile, "Grand Marshal, our Great Ming army has gone out of the pass, led by Qi Shuai. You should rest assured and treat your illness. Don't worry about the court's affairs."

"Can we win?" Tan Lun said with great worry, "These Tatars rely on fast soldiers and fast horses. They always flee far away if they don't hit the target. Going out of the pass to fight is still too risky."

Tan Lun rambled about his worries. Zhu Zhu Yijun had no impatience and listened patiently to Tan Lun's words. These words were not applicable to the current Great Ming, but Zhu Zhu Yijun remembered every word.

"Your Majesty has grown so big." Tan Lun looked at the monarch with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, full of heroic spirit, and still said with some disbelief, "That old man Gao always said Your Majesty was not fit to be a monarch. He should see Your Majesty now."

"If Master Xinzheng Gong heard you say that about him, he wouldn't be happy." Zhu Zhu Yijun chatted with him.

"Even if I saw him, I would say the same." Tan Lun sat on the stool, feeling both familiar and strange. What was strange was that the official sat down to answer, and what was familiar was that it seemed to have always been like this.

Tan Lun obviously forgot that Gao Gong had already passed away.

"Grand Marshal, regarding this position of Tan Sima, Liang Liang Menglong, Liu Liu Yingjie, Zeng Ceng Shengwu, who do you think should be chosen?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked for Tan Lun's thoughts. Tan Lun was indeed ill, but he had known these people for a long time. Zhu Zhu Yijun wanted to refer to his opinion.

"Liang Liang Menglong, he is the most suitable. Liu Liu Yingjie is not very good. Zeng Ceng Shengwu is also fine." Tan Lun was not amnesiac; his memory was confused. He knew his physical condition very well and had long ago written the resignation memorial and the backup candidates.

Liu Liu Yingjie had just been re-employed and was not suitable to directly serve as Tan Sima. Zeng Ceng Shengwu had military achievements, and his resume and qualifications were sufficient.

Zhu Zhu Yijun talked with Tan Lun for a long time. This was a visit. Tan Lun's words had lost their logical coherence of the past, always jumping here and there, occasionally talking about the pacification of the Japanese pirates back then. Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at the time and saw Tan Lun's fatigue, so he chose to leave.

"How is the Grand Marshal's condition?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked Li Li Shizhen and Chen Chen Shigong.

"After the Grand Marshal wakes up, he says he's hot for a while, then cold for a while. The quilt is lifted and covered, covered and lifted. Since the day before yesterday, his hands and feet have become uncoordinated, and he has become moody, with intermittent inability to see." Li Li Shizhen answered this question truthfully. Tan Lun's root of illness was too deep, and even the great physicians could not cure it. In the first year of Emperor Longqing, Tuman Khan invaded, and Tan Lun didn't close his eyes for seven days, which was a precursor to a stroke.

This coma on the 13th was a typical stroke. Multiple functions such as motor control, language, cognition, and emotion began to lose control. That was not Tan Lun's own wish, but the person could no longer control himself.

"How much... longer?" Zhu Zhu Yijun took a deep breath, pursed his lips, and asked.

"Short as three months, long as a year." Chen Chen Shigong answered this question truthfully. Tan Lun's body was not just a stroke, but also accumulated illnesses, old wounds from being at the forefront of pacifying the Japanese pirates, making his illness incurable by medicine.

"Take good care of the Grand Marshal." Zhu Zhu Yijun left the Quanzhe Guild Hall.

After Tan Lun left office, he would also move out of the Quanzhe Guild Hall. Zhu Zhu Yijun had long ago built a home for Tan Lun next to the Grand General's Mansion. It was not big, just a little bigger than the Ryukyu Prince's Mansion.

That afternoon, Zhu Zhu Yijun's Imperial decree was sent to the Cabinet, and then Feng Bao, with two supervising secretaries from the Six Offices, went to the Quanzhe Guild Hall to announce the decree.

Feng Bao looked at the unfolded Imperial decree, quickly browsed through it, and said loudly, "By the order of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

"Grand Marshal Tan Lun has exhausted his heart and strength, planning and calculating between the public soldiers, controlling the various chieftains in the palm of his hand."

"He is filial to his children, loyal to his monarch, friendly to his brothers, respectful to his younger brothers. He is broad and strict with the people, kind and powerful with his generals. He has been respectful for a long time with others, and never talks about merit and profit. His capacity is enough to encompass the world, his sincerity is enough to convince the world, his integrity is enough to serve the world, and his knowledge is enough to benefit the world. He also has real talent, real strategy, and real achievements for the world. He has been dedicated to his work for three dynasties and his name will flow for ten thousand ages."

"The long sword is buried in the prison, but its light is still in the sky. The dragon returns to the river, but its liquid is still in the field."

"Added the title of Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, gifted a residence in the Great Merit Ward of the Western City, ordered the eldest son to inherit the position of Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, and the second son to inherit the position of Imperial Academy Supervisor."

"The established constitution of the successive dynasties, spreading virtue and bestowing grace, the decree is announced to the world, so that all may hear and know."

"Respect this."

Added the title of Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, resigned as Tan Sima, gifted a residence, and granted the eldest son Tan Tan Hetu the hereditary position of Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, and the second son Tan Luoshu the hereditary position of Imperial Academy Supervisor. What was more special was that besides this, Zhu Zhu Yijun also specially organized an opera troupe.

Tan Lun, who had been on the battlefield all his life, had no other hobbies, but he liked listening to operas, was elegant in music, and loved opera. Zhu Zhu Yijun specially organized an opera troupe for him. After busy and running for the Great Ming all his life, he should think about himself.

Zhu Zhu Yijun didn't blame the great physicians. In the original history, Tan Lun had already passed away in the fifth year of Emperor Wanli. The exquisite medical skills of the great physicians allowed him to live clearly and soberly for another four years, seeing the Great Ming recover Ning Guard with his own eyes, and seeing the Great Ming army go out of the pass with the intention of recovering the Hetao.

Zhu Zhu Yijun didn't urge Qi Qi Jiguang to accelerate the advance because Tan Lun was ill. If Tan Lun knew, he would definitely stop such a chaotic order. Recovering the Hetao was the biggest claim of the radical faction. Tan Lun himself didn't want any accidents to happen to the recovery of the Hetao.

Zeng Ceng Shengwu took office, promoted from Vice Tan Sima to Tan Sima, becoming the official in charge of the Ministry of War. Zeng Ceng Shengwu and Liang Liang Menglong were both Zhang Party. Until Tan Lun left office, he had never considered the interests of the Zhe Party. This Zhe Party of his was established from the beginning to redress the grievances of Hu Hai Zongxian. After Hu Hai Zongxian was redressed, the Zhe Party became even looser.

Liu Liu Yingjie had just been re-employed. Even if it was an Imperial decree for him to parachute in, he couldn't control the Ministry of War, which was unfavorable to the war on the front lines.

The only pity was that Zeng Ceng Shengwu was not a radical.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 428 =====