Cheng Qiyun wore a light green silk gown. Her black eyebrows were like fog and her posture was graceful and delicate. She lightly walked to the window and slowly pushed open the window made of water chestnut flowers. She gazed at Zhengde, who was sitting against a rock in a light white robe, and Tang Yixian, who was standing gracefully under the tree.
Under the tree was a large, flat stone. Zhengde had a guqin on his knees, and Tang Yixian held a purple bamboo flute in her hand. As the wind blew, crimson petals gently fell. It was as if they were in a fairyland.
"There are few people in high positions who recognize Miss Tang. In the past, Daren took a woman into the military camp. Because of His Majesty's favor, this matter was handled in a very low-key manner. The court only knew that something had happened to Daren's woman, but no one had heard her name. That was enough. Who would have thought that General Yang's cousin would be the unknown woman who had fallen off the cliff and disappeared?"
Cheng Qiyun suddenly turned her head and said with a light smile, "So it is easy for me to restore her innocence. 'Silk Flower House', 'Musical House', I know all the details like the back of my hand. With the power of the inner court, I can change all the records. Even if there are those who are not afraid of death, with just one mouth, who would dare to make irresponsible remarks about His Majesty's beloved concubine?"
"But … but …" Cheng Qiyun faintly glanced at Yang Ling, hesitating and not saying a word.
Yang Ling leaned against a square table with a mahogany inlaid shell carvings and a marble surface. He raised a cup and took a sip of tea, saying with a smile, "What? What is there not to say? "
Cheng Qiyun bit her lip and said in a low voice, "This lowly concubine is just afraid … my painstaking efforts will not be understood by Daren."
Her words were soft and delicate, moving people's hearts. Yang Ling raised his eyes to glance at her. He saw that she was leaning against the window, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if she was really worried. He couldn't help but put down the teacup, withdrawing his smile, saying, "Qiyun, if you have something to say, just say it. At this point, with your pair of wise eyes, can't you see if Yang trusts you or not?"
It sounded like she was speaking her heart out, but it lacked … the affection that he wanted. Cheng Qiyun glanced at him with a seemingly angry and resentful look before saying, "This lowly officer is only worried about one thing. Daren's leap is too fast. A big shot of a region, in the local area, in the imperial court, painstakingly managed for many years, the number of people he knew, the number of officials loyal to him was innumerable, but Daren lacked such a thick foundation.
Since ancient times, if daren was a high-ranking official, or had painstakingly worked for decades to reach your current official position, no one would care if you sent a relative into the palace as a concubine. But daren is young and frail, your position is already extremely high. At this time, if you have a cousin who has become His Majesty's most beloved, you will be condemned by thousands of people and feared by the entire country. Although daren is trusted by His Majesty, but three people will make a tiger, who knows in the future … … the principle of fortune and misfortune coming hand in hand cannot be forgotten. " When Yang Ling heard Cheng Qiyun's words, his heart was moved. He originally thought that it was good that Zhengde had made him acknowledge Yixian as his cousin in a moment of desperation. With the status of a cousin, he could take care of Xian 'er and did not think too much about it. Now that he was walking slowly with his hands behind his back, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was rash of him to do so.
Yang Ling was silent for a moment before saying: "In your opinion, what do you think?"
Cheng Qiyun's eyes turned and she said: "She came from Datong and was originally called Liu Liangnv. Why not let the acting wang fei acknowledge her as her adopted daughter? This way, just the barrier of the wang fu, if someone really wanted to investigate her identity, it would be a very difficult hurdle to pass. What does daren think?"
Yang Ling stopped walking and stared at Cheng Qiyun's pointy silver shoes in silence for a while. Cheng Qiyun shrunk her feet in embarrassment. Yang Ling nodded his head and said: "That makes sense. I will go see Yixian. This matter has to be decided by her opinion first."
Ever since Tang Yixian had confirmed her feelings, she had originally wanted to tease her two good sisters and then tell them the truth about the recovery of her memory. But ever since Gao Wenxin had cured Wang Long's automatic sleeping sickness, she seemed to have some confidence. Every day, she would bring a box of shining silver needles to see her for treatment. Tang Yixian was really afraid and could only beg for mercy and tell the truth.
Hearing the news, the inexplicably surprised Yutang Chun and Sheridan ran over and hugged her. The three talked and laughed. In the end, they hugged each other and cried bitterly. At the same time, they recognized Yang Ling as big brother. Because she already knew her identity, Yang Ling was not worried about how to ask her to acknowledge her as the acting wang's adopted daughter.
Yang Ling moved out of the room and slowly strolled to the side of the pond.
Tang Yixian was practicing with Zhengde as she studied the second half of "Killing the Border's Joy", wanting to work together to create a wonderful piece of music. A beautiful figure stood under the tree, her graceful reflection reflected in the water. Tang Yixian saw Yang Ling and cheerfully came forward to greet him. "Da Ge."
Yang Ling nodded. Standing under the wisteria, he told Cheng Qiyun's idea to Tang Yixian. Then he said, "Qiyun's thoughts are reasonable. Entering the palace as the adopted daughter of wang fei, you will have fewer taboos. Otherwise, as the sister of an important official of the outer court, your every action will attract the attention of the court and the public. Xian 'er, what do you think?"
Tang Yixian silently thought for a moment and then turned to look at Zhengde. Zhengde was playing the zither. Seeing her turn back, he gave her a small smile. Tang Yixian sighed lightly and said, "Marrying the Emperor will lessen the troubles of the regular family, but it will still increase the troubles of the Imperial family. Most things in the world do not go as one wishes. Xian 'er has finally experienced it."
She bit her lip and turned to ask Yang Ling sweetly, "Ge, I will discuss this with him, okay?"
Yang Ling nodded and turned to leave. Tang Yixian watched as his figure turned the corner of the wisteria and then slowly walked towards Zhengde. Sitting cross-legged on the rock next to him, she told Zhengde in a low voice what Yang Ling had said.
Zhengde's hands pressed down on the strings of the zither. Hearing Tang Yixian finish, he smiled unconcernedly and said, "That is easy. I will send a secret decree for the acting king to recognize you as his adopted daughter. What status does it matter? What I love is Tang Yixian, not your status. Anything is fine as long as it doesn't make you angry. "
Tang Yixian rolled her eyes at him and pouted, "You are the Emperor, of course you don't care about anything. Let me ask you, do you really not care about my background? "
Zhengde laughed and said, "Of course I don't care."
Tang Yixian said decisively, "Alright, then … there is no need to be secretive or sneaky. The concubine Ming Destiny Emperor Zhengde wants to marry, Tang Yixian, is a prostitute from the 'Silk Flower House'. I will marry you with this status! "
Zhengde hesitated slightly and said hesitantly, "Xian 'er, why do you have to be angry? What's wrong with letting the acting king recognize you as his adopted daughter?"
Tang Yixian slightly raised her head and stared at him, her eyes filled with the stubbornness of a child. Gradually, her starry eyes overflowed with tears and she said in a low voice, "What people who only love me. Do you dislike my status?" Zhengde panicked and quickly grabbed her hand. Tang Yixian's cold face flung it away. Zhengde's face turned red as he said, "Who I like, that is the Emperor's family business. Who dares to say anything? What am I afraid of? What would I dislike you for?
Xian 'er, I am doing this because … because I want to give you the title of Empress. If I am the Empress, those officials will inevitably come crying to bother zhen. Although zhen is not afraid of them, but it is still a troublesome matter. It's not that … it's not that I dislike you. "
Tang Yixian heard his true feelings and couldn't help smiling through her tears. She raised the back of her palm to wipe her tears and said confidently, "I don't want to be the Empress. In the future when you want to conquer the south and the north to achieve great feats, as the Empress, I will have to set an example for the world and guard the six palaces. It will be difficult to even see you.
Besides, it's not like my identity is unknown. If I hide it, sooner or later it will be a big problem. I don't want to live in worry every day. Now I will let the world know clearly. The women favored by ancient emperors are of much lower status. This way, they won't be able to use it against me.
Otherwise, think about it, if people find out that I have hidden my identity and that I have close relations with the external court Lord Yang Ling's family, even if I don't have a conspiracy, they will say that there is a conspiracy. Ming Destiny has never had a precedent of a harem interfering in politics. If this is used against me, my eldest brother will have to resign in order to show his sincerity. And I, from then on, will be closely watched by the hundreds of eyes of the civil and military officials. If I show weakness first, they won't be able to attack. "
Zhengde concentrated for a moment and suddenly put the zither to the side. He stood up and said, "You're right. A dead pig does not fear boiling water. If you say it now, they won't use your identity to talk about it in the future."
Tang Yixian pretended to hit him and said with a smile, "Hey! What metaphor. Who are you saying is dead … dead … where are you going? "
Zhengde said seriously, "I will enter the palace now and report to Empress. Inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs and order the Department of Rites to bestow a golden register!"
According to the rules, when the Empress gets married, she will be bestowed a golden register and treasures. The Guifei will have a register but no treasures. Below the Guifei, there won't even be a golden register. Zhengde loved Tang Yixian very much. How could he let her suffer?
He had already made up his mind. He would first make Tang Yixian his Imperial Concubine. As long as Tang Yixian gave birth to a son for him, he would follow the tradition and bestow a golden register. When the son is slightly older, he would be made Crown Prince. At that time, he would be promoted to Empress. Then the two empresses could stand side by side. This way, it would be more appropriate to proceed step by step. Therefore, he did it as soon as he thought of it.
Tang Yixian laughed in surprise and said, "How can you be so impatient. Who said I want … want to marry you now? Humph, I want to accompany Cher and Yu 'er. When Young-niang jiejie has a baby, then … then I will marry you. "
As he walked, Zhengde smiled and said, "Do it as soon as you think of it. Taking an Imperial Concubine also needs to choose a date. I instructed the Observing Sky Officials to choose the date after the Mid-Autumn Festival in August. During this period of time, if there are people who don't open their eyes, I will first wear down their spirit. "
※ ※ ※
When the Emperor took an Imperial Concubine, other than the officials who had the right to comment on the Six Palace Mistresses, they had no right to ask about the ordinary Imperial Concubines. Even so, the Emperor wanted to take a woman who grew up in a brothel as his Imperial Concubine. Moreover, once she entered the Palace, she would be an Imperial Concubine. Her status was only second to the Empress. This still caused the officials to be strongly dissatisfied. Tactfully admonishing memorials were sent in bundles to the Leopard Room.
Zhengde was still the nephew carrying the lantern. It was the same as before. He did not even look at the memorials. After two days, he began to feel distressed about the paper. With an order, Liu Jin once again became the villain. The national treasury was tight, so they reduced the amount of ink, paper and inkstone used by the various departments and departments. The memorials to the Emperor could not be shabby. As a result, the number of memorials to admonish the Emperor was greatly reduced.
In the past few days, Yang Ling only kept Feng Tang as the Second Bureau Chief of the Inner Faction Guards. He also promoted two former Deputy Commander of the Shenji Battalion to be the Second Bureau Chief. He added Lian Delu and Peng Jizu, two new trusted generals, to Datong and Xuanfu Towns as Deputy Generals. At the same time, he promoted the current Second Bureau Chief of the Inner Faction Guards, two former Garrison Commander of the Shenji Battalion Left Sentinel Army, Ren Yansui and Liaodong Towns, to be Guerrilla Generals under the Zongbing Commanders of the two Towns.
Yang Ling had Cheng Qiyun to help him plan and arrange things behind the scenes. In addition, he had a high position of power and treated people amiably. He interacted day and night with the Zongbing Commanders of the four Towns. The four veteran generals with outstanding military service, led by Jing Fuer, were all willing to submit to Yang Ling. In addition, with these arrangements, the four Outer Faction Guards were firmly under Yang Ling's control.
One day, Yang Ling and Zhengde were training troops on the outskirts of the city. Suddenly, they received a report from a foreigner that the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, Liu Yu, had an urgent request. Yang Ling did not have time to return to his mansion and hurriedly rode to the Ministry of War.
Liu Yu hurriedly welcomed Yang Ling into the study. He smiled apologetically and cupped his hands, saying: "Daren ordered this lowly official to pay attention to any news about the Guang and Guang pirates. This lowly official did not dare to be negligent and ordered that any news from Guang and Guang must be reported to the capital as soon as possible. Now that I have received some news, I think it is something that Daren is concerned about, so I urgently reported it to Daren."
Yang Ling had just sat down when he suddenly stood up after hearing this. He anxiously said: "What news? Quickly tell me about it. "
Liu Yu took two secret reports and presented them to Yang Ling. He said: "Daren, please take a look. This is a message from a minister of the Manchuria Kingdom (located on the Malay Peninsula in the Strait of Malacca, a vassal state of Ming Destiny) requesting our dynasty to send troops to help. He said that not long ago a large number of red-haired foreigners attacked the Manchuria Kingdom. Because it was not a diplomatic message from the king of that country, the commander of the Guangdong Army did not believe it.
However, the commander of the Guangdong Army found out some information from the mouth of the minister who fled in panic. He felt that those pirates were in line with Daren's instructions, so he sent someone to the capital on horseback. "
When Yang Ling heard that the Manchuria Kingdom was attacked by pirates, he could not help but jump in fright. If what he said was true, could it be that the Portuguese pirates were this rampant at this time? There was actually a large army appearing near the Ming Dynasty?
Don't look at the Portuguese people as inconspicuous in modern times. Most of the gatekeepers in Western Europe were Portuguese. They had round, rosy faces with the fragrance of mud, charmingly naive and very honest. Little did they know that during the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese pirates roamed the four seas. They were the most vicious group of people, and the sea was their world.
Yang Ling did not have time to read the report carefully. He hurriedly asked: "The Manchuria Kingdom was attacked? What about the king of that country? Why didn't he personally send a letter to ask for help? How many people are there in this large group of pirates? "
Liu Yu hurriedly said: "According to the minister, the Sultan of Manchuria fled to a deserted island southeast of Temasek (Singapore). Now he can't find him, so he had to turn to Ming Destiny for help. The pirates are extremely powerful. They are driving five warships, equipped with dozens of cannons, and have about four hundred people."
Yang Ling: "… destroyed the country … four hundred people …"
Yang Ling was silent for a moment before saying: "No matter what, the Manchuria Kingdom is a vassal state of Ming Destiny. If we ignore it, it will disappoint the vassal state. This matter should be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible. Since the king of that country can't be found and can't personally ask for reinforcements, we should quickly investigate the situation of the country and order the navy to make early preparations to help the Sultan restore the country.
And now that the sea is about to open, the Strait of Malacca can't be lost. A group of robbers is entrenched there and will affect the passage of merchant ships. Especially their cannons, we must think of a way to get one. "
He circled around twice and said impatiently: "Bring the military report, let's go see His Majesty together. These matters are extremely important. We must ask His Majesty to immediately issue an edict. There can be no delay."
"Yes, yes." Liu Yu bowed and said: "This lowly official still has an important matter to report, but it was submitted to the Ministry of Revenue by the Administrative Commissioner's Office in Guangdong. Because it involves a military dispute with outsiders, the Ministry of Revenue transferred it to the Ministry of War."
Liu Yu said, "This matter happened a few days before the Manchurian emissaries fled to Ming Destiny. A group of people arrived at Huaiyuan Inn in Guangzhou by boat, claiming to be the Manchurian emissaries paying tribute.
However, although their heads were wrapped in white cloth, each one of them was wearing a long robe, they had eagle noses and sunken eyes, golden hair and green eyes, and most of them carried the stench of a fox. The Huaiyuan Inn's deputy had seen the Manchurian emissaries, but seeing that they did not even know the slightest bit of emissary etiquette, he became suspicious, thereupon he reported it to the Administrative Commissioner's Office. The Administrative Commissioner's Office sent people to interrogate them. Seeing that they could not conceal their identity, they admitted that they came from the distant west, a country called Frang Ji … "
Hearing this, Yang Ling's body shook, his eyes immediately lit up, as if he had already seen a new type of cannon standing in front of him. Suppressing the excitement in his heart with great difficulty, he anxiously asked, "Frang Ji? What are they doing here? "
Liu Yu said, "They said that in a very distant place, they heard that there is a huge empire like Ming Destiny, hence they wanted to come and have a look. However, they were afraid that they would not be received by the Celestial Court, hence they took the liberty to visit the Manchurian emissaries. The Administrative Commissioner asked them for a letter of credence, but these people could not produce it.
There was no mention of Frang Ji in the 'Ming Destiny Assembly Ceremony'. The Administrative Commissioner thought that it must be a distant country who admired the Celestial Court and came all the way here. He ordered the Inn's Office to entertain them with good wine and good food. But immediately afterwards, the Manchurian emissaries fled to our Celestial Court to ask for help. After hearing this, the Administrative Commissioner realized that those people might be bandits, so he hurriedly sent the Inspection Department to arrest them. Unexpectedly, those people had very fast firing short guns, they killed and injured several Yamachi emissaries, then they hurriedly ran to the seashore, boarded a boat and escaped. "
"The Administrative Commissioner investigated thoroughly and found that a few years ago, there were westerners who looked similar to these Frang Ji pirates who bought silk, porcelain, and other goods along the coast. Because there were fewer of them, and they never went deep into the mainland, and they also followed the rules, no one reported it to the higher-ups."
Yang Ling had a thought. It looked like these pirates also wanted to do business. Even though the Chinese porcelain they bought at the beach was not of the highest quality, it would still be a beautiful and precious item when they brought it back to their country. They must have followed the rules and did not dare to violate the law because of their lack of influence. Now that they have taken down Malacca, they must have thought that they could challenge the might of the Great Ming Dynasty's military, so they sent people ashore to investigate.
If that was the case, then the purpose of these Frang Ji emissaries coming ashore was to spy on the real situation of Ming Destiny. At that time, the navy rarely encountered opportunities to fight with foreign troops, so there was no sense of secrecy. Perhaps the navy's ships and cannons were already clearly known by them. As long as they estimated that there was a chance of victory, the day of attacking Ming Destiny would not be far away.
Thinking of this, Yang Ling hurriedly said, "Let's go quickly, we must go see the Emperor immediately. It seems that not only must we send spies to investigate the situation of the Manchurian emissaries, the navy of Guangdong, Fujian, and other places must also strengthen their guard. I'm afraid there will be a war soon."
Liu Yu did not know what basis he had to be so sure, but seeing his solemn expression, he did not dare to ask more. The two hurriedly left the Ministry of War and went straight to the Leopard Room.
After handing over the waist token, the two hurriedly came to the house that Zhengde was used to staying in. When the two entered the house, they happened to see Liu Jin standing in front of the desk. Zhengde was holding a letter in his hand, his expression was solemn. When he saw Yang Ling coming in, he could not help but beamed with joy and said, "Subject Yang came at the right time. I have an important matter, other than you, I really don't know who else I can entrust to before I can rest assured."
Yang Ling was about to talk about his own important matter, but after hearing these words, he was startled and said, "What important matter does Your Majesty have?"
Zhengde looked at Liu Yu and said, "You can leave first."
Liu Yu had just stepped over the threshold and did not have the time to pay his respects. Hearing this, he hurriedly acknowledged and took a step back, retreating to the door. The two small yellow doors gently closed the door.
Yang Ling stepped forward and nodded his head at Liu Jin. Before he could ask again, Zhengde had already walked around the desk and grabbed his arm, saying in a low voice, "Yang, Zhen has received a secret report that the King of Shu wants to rebel!"
Yang Ling was greatly shocked and blurted out, "The King of Shu is the wealthiest prince and also the most famous virtuous prince. He … he wants to rebel?"
Zhengde frowned tightly and said, "If this matter is false, the unauthorized establishment of a vassal king will cause chaos under the heavens. If this matter is true, the King of Shu's wealth is the highest among all the other princes. Sichuan and Shu are strategically located, it is very possible for them to establish their own country, but they cannot just sit back and watch. This matter is serious and cannot be careless. After thinking about it, only subject Yang can investigate this matter clearly, Zhen can rest assured! "
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