Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

When Emperor Chongzhen was reading the memorial written by Zhang Shikang, Wang Chengen was standing beside him.

Regarding Lu Xiangsheng's defeat, not only was the group led by Yang Sichang impeaching him, but the Donglin Party members such as Liu Yuliang, the chief minister of the cabinet, also impeached him. Emperor Chongzhen almost ordered Lu Xiangsheng to be executed.

But after reading Zhang Shikang's letter, he changed his mind after all. Wang Chengen knew that the emperor generally looked down on Lu Xiangsheng, but he just didn't want to disappoint Zhang Shikang, who had made great contributions in the battles outside.

"That's right, Lord Lu, I racked my brains to say a lot of good things, and I almost bit my pen to pieces!

You must buy me this dinner!" Zhang Shikang said cheerfully.

Wang Chengen curled his lips. Master Zhang really spoke without thinking and racked his brains to say a lot of good things. The emperor had let him read the letter, and there was only one sentence about Lu Xiangsheng.

"Lu Xiangsheng must stay, otherwise I will quit."

If it were someone else who made such shameless remarks, he would have been chopped off seven or eight times by the emperor, but the emperor seemed to be afraid of this.

Hu Dawei, Yang Guozhu and other border army soldiers looked at Zhang Shikang again. This time, there was not only envy in their eyes, but also a kind of gratitude.

They could ignore how unreliable this young admiral was, but the fact that he saved their lives and saved Governor Lu’s favor was real.

Lu Xiangsheng bowed solemnly and was about to bow to Zhang Shikang, but Zhang Shikang stopped him with his hand. He smiled and said:

"You're kidding! It's just a small matter, it's not worth mentioning. Lord Lu, you are my idol, you must not do this again."

Whether in terms of age, knowledge or character, Zhang Shikang felt inferior to Lu Xiangsheng. Although he saved Lu Xiangsheng because he couldn't stand that group of people,

But in fact, the most important thing is that Lu Xiangsheng is really good at fighting.

If all the nine frontiers of the Ming Dynasty were staffed by powerful men like Lu Xiangsheng, there would be no need for him to sleep in the open and eat dirt. He would have returned to the Duke's Mansion to eat meat and drink wine and enjoy himself every day.

"Sir Zhang, what is an idol?" Hu Dawei, as his name suggests, looks similar to Sun Weifan, a rough guy, but he asked even though he didn't understand.

"He is a role model. Yes, Governor Lu is a role model for me!" Zhang Shikang said nonsense, and then looked around at the border soldiers around him:

“I know you envy the rewards of the Beijing Camp, but envy alone is useless. Military merits are earned with one’s own life.

However, His Majesty has good intentions in bestowing such rewards. His Majesty wants to use practical actions to let you know that His Majesty is no longer the same Majesty as before.

A few months ago, His Majesty said in front of all the nobles in the court that the limits on conferring titles would be lifted. As long as you dare to fight hard and as long as you can win the battle, everyone has the chance to be conferred a title!

The Beijing camp was just lucky."

Zhang Shikang's words were beautiful, and many soldiers were excited about it. However, border army generals such as Hu Dawei did not seem to agree.

They still firmly believed that this had nothing to do with luck, but because the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp was you, Zhang Shikang.

After saying this, Zhang Shikang bowed to the soldiers around him and left the barracks.

Today is a good day. After all, he has become an earl. It is impossible for Zhang Shikang to let the not-so-rich Lu Xiangsheng treat him to a meal, so he just grabbed a few pieces of gold from the three hundred taels of gold rewarded to him by his brother Chongzhen.

He planned to have a good meal today. As a rich young man, he hadn't eaten out in a long time.

"Sir Lu, His Majesty has also given an oral order, ordering all the Xuanda tribes to be under the command of the Governor-General of the Beijing Camp until the Jiannu are completely defeated." On the way, Wang Chengen whispered to Lu Xiangsheng.

Yang Sichang participated in the impeachment of Lu Xiangsheng, and he must not wish Lu Xiangsheng well. Emperor Chongzhen knew this clearly, and since he had decided to protect Lu Xiangsheng for Zhang Shikang, he would naturally be a good person to the end.

But who knew that Zhang Shikang said:

"Master Lu, don't listen to him. Your Majesty doesn't know anything about military affairs. When our troops are together, the Beijing Camp should be under your command."

"How can this be? This is the order of His Majesty, Lord Zhang should be careful with what you say!" Upon hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng quickly declined. The people in the palace were still around him. Admiral Zhang was really disobeying the order openly. You have the emperor's favor, but he doesn't.

He knew that Zhang Shikang was not joking and was grateful for his trust, but he was a criminal after all.

Zhang Shikang smiled and didn't care much. Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu followed behind Lu Xiangsheng with confusion on their faces. They had only heard of military generals trying their best to gain more power, but had never seen anyone voluntarily give up military power.

Just in this respect, he is much better than that power-hungry and vicious Yang Gebu. No, there is no comparison with Yang Gebu at all!

This young admiral is truly... a strange man.

Thinking of this, Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu looked at each other, and quietly tugged at Lu Xiangsheng's sleeve, as if they had something to say to him.

Lu Xiangsheng frowned and stopped.

Hu Dawei smiled darkly, glanced at Zhang Shikang who was walking in front, and said:

"Lord Lu, Admiral Zhang is a wonderful man. He is so favored by the emperor. If Admiral Zhang helps us, then Minister Yang will definitely not dare to make things difficult for us in the future."

"Yes, Master Lu, I see that Master Zhang has great trust in you, how about..."

The two men understood clearly what they meant. They knew that Lu Xiangsheng was loyal to the emperor and the country, but this defeat showed that being loyal to the emperor and the country was useless. If one wanted to be loyal to the emperor and the country, one still had to have someone in the court.

After saying this, Hu Dawei and the other man didn't dare to say anything more. They certainly understood Lu Xiangsheng's temper. It was not like those people had not extended olive branches to Lu Xiangsheng before. If they wanted to form a party, they would have done so long ago. But the two men still wanted to give it a try.

If it were usual, Lu Xiangsheng would have yelled at them, but this time Lu Xiangsheng was very calm.

"Master Zhang said a few days ago that from now on, we should just go into battle and kill the enemy, and no longer have to worry about others doing bad things behind our backs.

Don't underestimate Mr. Zhang because he is young. Although he speaks rashly, he never makes mistakes when it comes to important matters.

I think that's why Your Majesty thinks so highly of Mr. Zhang."

After Lu Xiangsheng finished speaking, he no longer paid attention to his two subordinates. He did not think that this was forming a clique or surrendering. The two of them were just working towards the same great goal - to revive the Ming Dynasty.

If we have to call them something, according to Zhang Shikang, they are comrades.

Comrade, comrade, we have the same aspirations. Mr. Zhang is indeed a wonderful man. He can come up with this word so easily.

Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu were so happy when they heard this that their mouths were split open. They had no idea what comrade meant. They only knew that they would have someone to back them up in the future.

No wonder Lord Zhang always takes them with him when he drinks, it turns out he treats them as his own people, hehe.

Zhang Shikang booked the banquet at Chunfenglou, the best restaurant in Zhao County. Although it was the best in Zhao County, it was actually quite far behind the one in the capital. It was even inferior to Zhou Baopi's Chenjia Restaurant.

Speaking of the Chen Family Restaurant, it is said that Zhou Paopi fainted on the spot after he took away the owner and the chef.

Later, it was said that he went to ask his brother Chongzhen for justice, but in the end nothing was done. Zhou Baopi was so angry that he burned down the restaurant.

This is not the most amazing thing. His father wrote to him saying that after burning down the restaurant, this guy felt regretful and heartbroken. He was bedridden for half a month, but unfortunately he did not die.

Although the taste was not as good as that in the capital, it was much better than that in the military camp. After inviting everyone to start eating, Zhang Shikang did not hesitate and started eating immediately.

He ate a chicken leg and some braised pork. He didn't look anxious, but he didn't say anything. He just gestured for everyone to eat.

Wang Chengen smiled and occasionally picked up something with chopsticks, while Lu Xiangsheng sat quietly and occasionally drank a sip of tea.

Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu were not so calm. The delicacies on the table had already aroused their taste buds, but they just picked up the dishes carefully like scholars, taking a bite occasionally, and dared not take too much at a time.

They are rough people and they know it themselves, but they are afraid that others will know it, especially their big backer Zhang Shikang.

Sun Weifan from the Beijing camp was also there, but he was not polite. Zhang Shikang ate whatever he wanted, and he ate whatever he wanted too. Anyway, they each ate their own food and they could eat their fill first.

This is the tradition of the Beijing Camp.

hiccup~

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhang Shikang burped.

"I say, you two, why are you pretending to be scholars in front of me? If you don't eat it, it will all go to Huaining Hou. Don't be polite. This admiral hates politeness the most."

Zhang Shikang wiped his mouth and teased Hu Dawei and the others.

The two men gave an awkward but polite smile. Since the big backer had spoken, there was nothing else to argue about. Then they started fighting with Sun Weifan.

After Zhang Shikang had his fill, he got down to business.

"Eunuch Wang, we must not be careless about the reward and pension. What did His Majesty say?"

……