Chapter 61 Carpenter
"Ancestors, is there any other Tartar chieftain named Daishan? Congratulations to the ancestors, congratulations to the ancestors. No amount of midwives would be enough to announce the good news. Thanks to the ancestors, our sons will be promoted to a great position."

Liu Yingkun said a few auspicious words and then added important details of the Ningyuan victory and the agreement he reached with General Li.

The eunuch Wei, who was in charge of writing, hurriedly read the letter written to him by Ningqian Bingbeidao, slowly sat down on the pearwood chair, stared at Liu Yingkun's dirty face and coarse cotton-padded jacket for a long time, and finally showed a satisfied smile.

"San Liu, you did a great job. You did a great job. Have you reached an agreement with Li Hao?"

Liu Zhong, Liu Chao and Liu Yingkun are the three eunuchs with the surname Liu in the palace. They are called Big Liu, Second Liu and Third Liu according to their age. Of course, the subordinates have to have the word "Gong" added.

Eunuch Liu, who was very impressive in front of the Ningyuan generals, bowed and smiled and replied: "The general is a rough man who only wants to kill the Tartars and avenge his father. As long as we promote him according to his merits, everything will be fine. Now if we arrange for a niece of our ancestor, everything will be fine."

"He is a descendant of a loyal and righteous man." Wei Changgong recalled the relevant statements. "Yuan Chonghuan said that he suppressed the memorial reporting the victory of Ningyuan just to give you time to travel. You estimate when the memorials from Gao Di and Yang Lin from Shanhaiguan will arrive."

The news of the Ningyuan victory could not be concealed, but if the eunuchs rushed into the palace to announce the good news first, and the memorials from the Ji-Liao General and the Shanhaiguan General arrived a few days later, even a fool could see the trick.

"Today, I specially sent people to guard the express delivery shops along the way. The memorials of Gao Di, Yang Lin, and Yuan Chonghuan have passed Tongzhou but have not yet entered the city."

Since this concerns his future, Eunuch Liu is very concerned about it.

Wei Zhongxian asked his godson to go over the specific words again, and after thinking for a moment, he made up his mind.

"Immediately go to the palace to see the emperor. You should come with me and take Daishan's head with you. You'd better wash your honor a little, so as not to show that you are asking for a reward too obviously."

The eunuchs who could gain a foothold in the palace were all top-notch human beings. Wei Zhongxian could naturally see that Liu Yingkun dressed up like this in order to show off his hard work.

Eunuch Liu naturally followed the instructions. After the two eunuchs were ready, they took their trusted followers and left the Imperial Household Department. They went south along Wansui Mountain, passed through the Xuanwu Gate of the Forbidden City, and went straight to the Qianqing Palace.

The current emperor likes to build houses and often uses an axe and saw to do carpentry work. He also particularly likes to paint wooden furniture. All of his belongings are kept in the Qianqing Palace.

"Great joy, victory outside the Great Wall, great victory in Ningyuan."

As soon as they entered the Qianqing Palace, the two eunuchs Wei and Liu asked their followers to shout in unison, and when they reached the outside of the main hall, they also followed to report the victory.

Wei Zhongxian did not need to be notified when he met the current emperor, but others did not have this privilege, so Wei Changgong went in first, and the other eunuchs waited outside the hall.

In the hall, dozens of braziers were burning with coal, and several eunuchs were helping with the preliminary processing of the wood. The Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao, wearing a scarlet dragon robe, was holding a chisel, rolling up his sleeves with his sleeves, and concentrating on carving a wooden chair.

His Shanyi crown was placed on a small table beside him, just like the Ming Dynasty, which was not favored by him.

Wei Zhongxian walked over quickly and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Liu Yingkun brought good news. Great victories were won outside the Great Wall and in Ningyuan. More than 8,000 enemies were killed and hundreds of Tatar heads were captured. I was driven back to Hedong."

The Hedong he mentioned refers to the area east of the Liao River.

Emperor Tianqi took the chisel and chiseled seven or eight times before he put down his work and turned to look at the old eunuch.

"Why are you the one reporting the victory? Are Gao Di and the generals all dead? Aren't the civil officials on duty?"

Although he was only twenty-one years old, he still knew a thing or two about the operation of the two capitals.

This kind of great victory in the border town should be reported to the governor-general and the garrisoning military generals. If there are eunuchs garrisoning the town, then the Imperial Stables and the civil and military officials should report it together.

However, there is currently no eunuch garrisoning Shanhaiguan, only a few military supervisors. No matter how you look at it, it is not the turn of the Silijian to handle this matter.

"Your Majesty, this is the victory report brought by Liu Yingkun. He is still waiting outside the palace for the order. This victory is extraordinary. A brave general charged into the battle and killed Daishan, the second son of this old slave. This has never happened in the past seven or eight years. It is enough to make the frontier proud." Emperor Tianqi listened and sat down on a chair he had made.

"Ask Liu Yingkun to come in, and I will interrogate him in detail."

If there is no other evidence, it can basically be concluded that this was a great victory fabricated by Wei Zhongxian's side.

"Your Majesty, Liu Yingkun traveled overnight and brought you the head of Chief Daishan. Would you like to present it as a tribute as well?"

Emperor Tianqi was a little surprised and nodded slightly to show his agreement.

Footsteps were heard, and a middle-aged eunuch holding a plate with the head in his hands and Liu Yingkun walked in together, then knelt down obediently.

After Duke Wei figured out the emperor's intention, he waved his hand, and Eunuch Liu reported everything clearly.

"On the 14th day of the first lunar month, I led an army of 80,000 Tartars from Shenyang...On the afternoon of the 22nd, the vanguard Daishan led thousands of elite cavalry to the city of Ningyuan. Li Hao, the captain of the Bingbei Daobiao Battalion, led all the generals and servants to fight, and in one fell swoop, they attacked Daishan's banner and fought against hundreds of Tartars. General Li knew the importance of the chief's head, so he saved it under the siege of the Zhenghong Banner Tartars...On the 24th, there was a fierce battle on the city all day, and Li Hao killed hundreds of Tartars and captured 150 Tartar heads..."

With Liu Yingkun's voice in the background, Emperor Tianqi gently turned over a corner of the red cloth covering the head.

A boiled and lacquered middle-aged head appeared before him.

Zhu Youxiao could not tell whether this was Daishan, the great Tartar prince. The inspection after this incident was extremely strict. The Ministry of War, the Censorate, and the Imperial Stables had to conduct repeated inspections. It seemed that there was not much room for falsification.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to report, but I am not sure whether I should report it now."

Liu Yingkun took the lead in bringing up the most important matter. He and Yuan Chonghuan had agreed that the victory report from the Ningqian Military Preparations Department would also include the planning and moves of Duke Wei, but it seemed a little unreliable to let the civil servants submit the report.

"Hurry up and tell me, I have something important to tell you!"

Liu Yingkun then fluently recited the prepared speech, in which he emphasized the fact that Duke Wei was impartial and impartial in placing Li Hao, a brave general recommended by his relative.

When Liu Yingkun was almost halfway through his speech, Wei Changgong interrupted him and said, "This is a trivial matter, not worth mentioning. Liu Yingkun has been increasingly ignorant of the rules recently. I will issue a decree tomorrow and order the Imperial Horse Supervisor to discipline him."

Emperor Tianqi certainly understood that these three Lius were Wei Zhongxian's men, but he did not point it out. He only ordered the eunuchs to go to Prince Xin's Mansion on Shiwangfu Street (now Wangfujing) and summon his brother Zhu Youjian into the palace.

Of course, important officials such as cabinet ministers, the prime minister, and officials of the Ministry of War who are serving opposite the Wenhua Hall will also be summoned in.

"Prince Xin is very concerned about the Liao affairs. You can tell him the whole story in detail."

After saying this, he drove away the eunuchs, picked up the chisel again and started working.

His carpentry work was never put off until the next day.

It took only two quarters of an hour to get from Prince Xin's mansion to the palace, and half an hour in total, and all the important officials of the Ming Dynasty had arrived.

Coincidentally, the memorials from Gao Di, the governor of Ji-Liao, Yang Lin, the general of Shanhaiguan, Yuan Chonghuan, the military governor of Ningqian, and others arrived at the Tongzhengshisi almost at the same time. They were not copied but presented directly to the important officials.

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(End of this chapter)