Needless to say, these tails must be from King Jing's group, and only they can stalk him in the capital at night. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been stopped by the people from Shuntian Mansion who are responsible for public security.
"Stay in the sedan chair!" Wu Jie thought for a while, then stretched his head out to let the sedan chair listen.
Now in this situation, there is no way to go to Prince Yu¡¯s Mansion anymore. Otherwise, once it falls into the eyes of King Jing and others, with Xu Wei's resourcefulness, he will definitely guess that Jiajing is in ruins. Otherwise, how could Wu Jie wear casual clothes and sneak to the palace in the middle of the night? Is there anything that cannot be done openly?
Wu Jie couldn't take this risk, but if he went back like this, Xu Wei would still be suspicious.
? ? Nowadays, the best thing to do is to find a valid reason.
But where to go?
It¡¯s fair to say, but it doesn¡¯t arouse Xu Wei¡¯s vigilance.
Wu Jie¡¯s head hurt slightly, and he knew he couldn¡¯t stay here any longer.
In the midst of anxiety, Wu Jie suddenly remembered Li Chengliang who was kneeling to plead guilty in his large flower hall this afternoon, and his heart suddenly moved.
Why not go there?
"Nowadays, the two hostile camps of King Jing and King Yu are making plans, placing their own manpower in key departments, and are eager to seize as many resources as possible before a big change. This is already a conspiracy.
Li Chengliang received the favor of me, Wu Jie. From the beginning, the word "Wu Jie" was written on his forehead. In this life, his origins in the Yuwang Party cannot be washed away.
This person is a famous general in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and he is also a useful talent. He may not be unable to play his due role if he is recruited into our camp.
¡°Well, it¡¯s good luck for Li Chengliang to meet this noble man like me, Wu Jie.
Thinking of this, Wu Jie stuck his head out and asked Lian Laosan: "Old Lian, where does Li Chengliang live?"
Lian Laosan replied: "My lord, Li Chengliang lives in Pancake Alley in the south of the city. He told me this when he came to my house a few days ago to submit a post."
"That's good to go there." Wu Jie smiled. As far as he knew, the southern part of Beijing was very shabby, and many places still retained their old appearance from the Yuan Dynasty. They had always been a gathering place for refugees and shabby households. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a slum: "It seems that Li Chengliang's life is not easy!"
Having led troops in the southeast for more than half a year, Wu Jie became accustomed to the wealth of the generals under Qi Jiguang. None of those guys are wealthy. Not long ago, an officer came to Beijing to pay Wu Jie a New Year's greeting. In order to facilitate living, I bought a house directly in the capital. In fact, he only lived there for a few days a year.
But I didn¡¯t expect that a mid-level officer like Li Chengliang would be so poor that he would live in a slum.
The sedan chair was lifted up and walked slowly towards the south.
Lian Laosan said: "To tell you the truth, who can say otherwise? The Liaodong Army has been fighting Mongolia all year round, but it is not a frontier army. No matter in terms of supplies or military pay, it is not as good as that of Jiubian. Guard officers like Li Chengliang, even more You are very poor. This time you came to my house to visit me, but you couldn't bring out any charcoal fire. Instead, you got a lot of local products. No wonder the concierges made things difficult for you."
"Actually, I like the game and native products of the Northeast. Some things cannot be bought with money. By the way, how effective are Li Chengliang's soldiers? How do they compare to the tails following us?" Wu Jie asked in a low voice. .
Lian Laosan: "Li Chengliang's soldiers have all seen blood. In terms of martial arts, they may not be as good as the tail behind them, but if they really have life and death in their hands, they will definitely win."
Wu Jie: "Very good, later you can think of a way to lure Li Chengliang's soldiers into a fight with the tail behind. It's best to kill a few of them." Since you are interested in supporting Li Chengliang, okay, let him fully invest. Our camp.
Lian Laosan nodded: "I understand, don't worry, sir."
After walking for a while, when he saw that he was about to reach the end of the field, Lian Lao San ducked and disappeared into the darkness. With his martial arts skills, it is very easy to hide his body from being discovered by the tail behind him.
This area is really shabby, with narrow alleys on both sides, and there are few lights in the middle of the night.
The cold wind howled through the alley, swirling snowflakes all over the sky.
In a moment, we arrived in front of a large courtyard. Looking at the size of this courtyard, it should have been a high-rise mansion two hundred years ago, but now it looks a bit rough. Several sections of the wall have collapsed, the paint on the gate has fallen off, and the pits and tangles look like diarrhea.
One of Wu Jie¡¯s followers stepped forward and knocked on the door: ¡°Does General Li Chengliang live here?¡±
A loud voice came from inside, and the tone sounded very unacceptable, even a little drunk: "Why are you shouting, mourning? You are here without sleeping in the middle of the night."?What to do, yes, we, General Li, live inside. What's the matter? If it's nothing important, get out. Don't stop us from having a drink. "
Wu Jie smiled in his heart when he heard this, and thought to himself: Li Chengliang is originally a descendant of the Korean ethnic group, and he has a hint of toughness in his veins. The soldiers under him are all elites who have fought in many battles, and their origins are also very complex. They include Han Chinese, Jurchens, Koreans, and Hezhe people who invaded the Northeast. These people are so barbaric that they do not understand the etiquette of the Central Plains at all. However, when it comes to fighting, it is indeed very powerful. When it comes to the quality of individual soldiers, they are probably much better than Qi Jiguang's men. Of course, the battle on the battlefield does not have much to do with the bravery of others.
Wu Jie did not take this rude curse to heart, but his entourage did not.
As bachelors of the Hanlin Academy and disciples of the future Prime Minister, they walk in the homes of ministers and officials all year round. When ordinary officials meet them, they are polite, for fear of offending, let alone such uncivilized warriors.
Hearing this rude curse, the entourage was furious and yelled: "General Li, you are nothing in our eyes. Why don't you open the middle gate to welcome him? Your destiny has arrived."
"What the hell are you talking about? Say one more thing!" Suddenly there was a commotion inside, followed by the sound of tables and chairs falling to the ground.
Then a group of shirtless strong men opened the side door and came out. They all smelled of alcohol and were holding two lanterns in their hands.
The leader pointed at Wu Jie¡¯s entourage and cursed: ¡°Where are you from? You dare to make a noise in front of the military master? I can¡¯t beat you to death!¡±
Wu Jie watched in the sedan and nodded secretly: He's tough enough, maybe he can be used.
The entourage was frightened by this group of murderous soldiers and took a step back. He accidentally stepped on a stone, staggered a few steps and almost fell to the ground.
Several soldiers laughed heartily.
Wu Jie's entourage was livid with anger and shouted: "You don't know whether to live or die. Why don't you hurry up and report it. My eldest master is here."
After saying that, he threw a piece of film over contemptuously. A soldier caught it and looked at it for a long time. He didn't recognize him, so he passed it on to someone next to him: "Master Liu, you are the general's secretary. Look what kind of birdman is here."
A clerk who was so drunk that he could not open his eyes took the film and read: "Wu Jie, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, a doctor in the household department of Zhejiang Province what a mess ah, you are Mr. Wu the great master!"
The clerk stuttered and knelt on the ground with a plop: "Little boy, little boy, pay homage to the great master."
Several soldiers nearby were still laughing: "Master Liu, if you can't drink, don't drink so much. Look at you, you can't even stand still."
Master Liu jumped up from the ground and shouted: "Open the middle gate. Go and ask the general to come out to greet Mr. Wu."
Wu Jie walked out of the sedan: "No, I'll go see him myself."
After saying that, he walked straight inside.
The noise at the entrance of the courtyard naturally alarmed Li Chengliang inside.
Talk about it. These days are difficult for Li Chengliang. It was like falling into a strange dream, and I didn't know whether it was happiness or sadness.
The current Li Chengliang can only be summed up by the word "poor". Two years ago, he served as a junior officer in the Liaodong Army. Because of his reputation for bravery, he had accumulated some merit.
In fact, given his background, it is not that he has not been able to develop in the army. After all, he still has a hereditary position as commander of the Tieling Guards. However, because he was too poor, he could not afford to come to the capital to take up his post.
If you want to get a position somewhere in the capital, not to mention getting a recommendation from the local government, you need to spend a lot of money. After arriving in the capital, I walked around the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Officials and found that I could not get away with more than 12,000 taels of silver. Those adults who are directly in charge of the promotion of officials are very worried. If you don¡¯t see money, who will blame you?
Fortunately, Li Chengliang was destined to meet a noble man. Because he was brave in battle and knew how to behave, he actually won the favor of the governor. He wrote a letter of recommendation with a stroke of his pen and gave Li Chengliang two thousand taels of silver to help him attack the capital. job.
¡°After all, over the years, Li Chengliang has won many battles and gained a lot of political capital for the governor. To reciprocate the favor, the governor also felt that it was time to support General Li.
After getting the money and the handwritten letter from me, Li Chengliang was so happy that he almost floated to the sky.
In his opinion, the dignified governor was a person as big as the sky. With his letter, the people in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel would not settle their affairs as soon as possible.
But it turned out that Li Chengliang was too naive. In the capital, a governor really meant nothing.
Seeing the letter Li Chengliang handed over, the people from the Ministry of War only glanced at it casually and asked him to go back and wait. Their expressions were also extremely cold.
This wait lasted for more than two months. During this period, LiLiang kept running there, but what awaited him were endless blank stares. It was really difficult to get in, to do things, and to look ugly.
The people from the Ministry of War were annoyed, so they said: Although this matter has to be handled by the Ministry of War, the decision-making power lies in the hands of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Let him go to the official department and ask.
People from the Ministry of War felt that this man named Li was really ignorant. How could he come here to ask someone to do something for him with just a letter? He didn¡¯t give him any benefits at all, so he deserved to be sent to you and owed to him? Come on, you are annoying me, I am not polite to you anymore, this time I want to show you the power of the officials, and I also want you to see what the majesty of the heavenly official is.
At that time, people from the Ministry of War were interested in Li Chengliang's joke and said: The governor has a high and powerful position. After you go there, report yourself to your family, and they will definitely give you face.
Li Chengliang did not doubt that he was there, so he ran to the official department, handed over the letter, and explained his origins. Unexpectedly, the young man in charge of the official department didn't even look at it, just threw it back and asked him to go back and wait.
Li Chengliang became anxious and said, I have been waiting at the Ministry of War for several months, why should I still wait when I come to the Ministry of Personnel? I have been recommended by the governor.
Seeing that Li Chengliang was so rude, the chief was furious and was about to scold him. At this time, the governor of Henan came to do something, and happened to encounter the chief executive who was in a bad mood.
The principal was not polite, pointed at the Henan governor¡¯s nose and cursed him loudly.
But the governor of Henan didn't dare to get angry, so he stayed with him carefully for a long time, and then he got the matter done.
Li Chengliang was dumbfounded. He was a dignified governor of Henan and a high-ranking official in the border areas. He was a high-ranking official in the world, but he was scolded like a grandson by a small sixth-rank official. The power of this official department is probably too great.
At this time, he realized that the governor¡¯s autographed letter in his hand was nothing at all.
When he entered the capital and went deep into the sea, he thought he was a real man when he was running around in Liaodong. But when he came to the capital, he suddenly discovered that he was just a little person like a mustard seed.
After all, he was a man who had led soldiers and seen blood. Li Chengliang had a bad temper in his heart and was determined to get this done. At that time, he had a big fight with the person in charge and was kicked out.
After he came out, he was still not convinced and went to the Ministry of War to ask for an explanation.
At the beginning, people from the Ministry of War ignored him.
But Li Chengliang went to the military headquarters every day to sit in, and the trouble lasted for another half a year.
The Ministry of War now has a headache just looking at him. It feels like there is nothing he can do if he continues to pester him like this. When he encounters such a barbarian, there is really nothing he can do about him. So, Li Chengliang was simply given the green light. However, I still reminded him that it doesn't matter if the Ministry of War agrees to this matter, it still needs the approval of the Ministry of Personnel, and you still have to go back there. Of course, the people in the official department are not as easy to talk to as we are here. I'm afraid you won't be able to just make trouble. If you really piss them off, I'll beat you to the bottom and send you to be a big-headed soldier. It'll be troublesome.
Li Chengliang had been in the capital for almost a year, and his eyes and ears were stained. No matter how stupid he was, he knew some things, so he asked politely what he should do.
"Money, give me money!" The people from the Ministry of War said with a helpless smile: "You just want to get a hereditary military position with empty words. How can there be such a cheap thing in the world?"
Li Chengliang finally came to his senses and started to take care of himself.
But just because he offended the officials so badly last time, after one year, not only did he use up the two thousand taels of silver donated by the governor, but he also filled up all the more than one thousand taels of wealth he had accumulated, and even Not even a ripple was seen.
This time he went to Beijing with more than thirty soldiers, all of whom he brought out with his own hands. Unlike Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang's military management relied on military records and systems, but more on personal charm. These people are his wealth team, so naturally they cannot be abandoned.
With so many people eating and drinking in the capital for two years, he would have been impoverished long ago.
Li Chengliang threw a lot of money into it and went to the official department every day, but it had no effect.
The attitude of the officials is getting worse day by day. Seeing him is like seeing a ghost.
Seeing that he was about to sit down in Chou City, on this day, when he just arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, the chief who had always had a bad attitude towards him smiled and asked him to sit down, politely called General Li several times, and then complimented him for a long time, which made him confused. Li Chengliang Zhang Er Jingang was confused.
Then the chief officer handed over a document: "General Li, the document for your hereditary military position is here."
"Ah!" Li Chengliang jumped up excitedly and couldn't help but ask: "Where is my appointment letter for the post of Dangerous Mountain Counselor?"
"You may not be able to go to the dangerous mountain." The chief smiled and handed over another document with an even more serious attitude.Respectfully: "General Li, we have known each other for almost a year or two, and we have become acquaintances. I have been disrespectful in the past, so please don't take it to heart."
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