While Ma Xiaoquan was preparing, Yuan Chonghuan, who was far away in Liaodong, received a letter written by Ma Xiaoquan a year ago, which discussed some issues regarding the defense of Liaodong.
The two of them had agreed earlier that after Ma Xiaoquan arrived, he would pretend to "monitor" Yuan Chonghuan as an imperial envoy, but in fact he would cooperate with Yuan Chonghuan in making plans.
"Well, what Brother Ma said has touched my heart..." Yuan Chonghuan burned Ma Xiaoquan's letter, turned to join the army beside him and said, "Go, call the others immediately, I have something to discuss."
"Sir, are you going to rescue North Korea?" Jiang Jun asked.
"No, those people in North Korea are so cowardly, they will be lost if they are lost..."
"knew......"
After a while, everyone gathered and gathered in the meeting hall. Yuan Chonghuan cleared his throat and said: "Huang Taiji sent Amin to attack North Korea. North Korea must be lost. What do you think?"
Someone said: "Why don't we save it now? North Korea is also a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty."
Another person said: "Save? How to save? After the battle in Ningyuan, we are not much better. We are preparing to build the city wall now. What if we all go to war and the Jurchens attack in the east and in the west?"
"Then North Korea was lost like this?"
Man Gui suddenly shouted, slammed the table and said angrily: "If you throw it away, throw it away, otherwise what? Why don't Master Yuan tell you..."
Yuan Chonghuan glanced at Man Gui and frowned slightly. Yuan Chonghuan's current position is the governor of Liaodong. Logically speaking, Man Gui should call him the governor, but Man Gui calls him by his surname, which means that Man Gui looks down on Yuan Chonghuan.
Because... Man Gui was born as a warrior, and Yuan Chonghuan was a civil servant, and the two of them had some unpleasant quarrels because of some things before.
Yuan Chonghuan originally wanted to be angry, but he remembered what Ma Xiaoquan had written in his previous letter: Do not fight against Man Gui.
After exhaling, Yuan Chonghuan calmed down and said: "North Korea, we can't save him~"
Sure enough, after Yuan Chonghuan said these words, Mangui sneered.
Yuan Chonghuan didn't care, and continued: "Our main task now is to build the city wall. In addition, we have to farm and protect the land. You are all your own people. My family does not speak the same language. As long as your family or those who are not related can
Everyone I know will come here and we will share the land with them without charging any money."
"What?" Man Gui was stunned, "Do you really mean what you said?"
"Of course, I won't pick the sesame seeds and lose the watermelon."
Mangui smiled and then stopped talking.
...
After the meeting ended, someone ran up to Man Gui and whispered: "General, I heard that the imperial court will send down the deacon of the Imperial Guard, Mr. Ma Xiaoquan, as the imperial envoy. I heard that he is to monitor Yuan Chonghuan."
Man Gui knew Ma Xiaoquan, but they were not very familiar with each other. During the last battle to defend Ningyuan, he also saw Ma Xiaoquan's bravery in battle. Man Gui was a warrior and didn't think too much about Xiao Jiujiu. Ma Xiaoquan could fight and he saw it.
Therefore, he did not reject Ma Xiaoquan's coming.
"Really? It's a good thing that Ma Xiaoquan is here. At least he's not like the trash he sent before from the imperial court who only knew how to run away."
"General, you can't say that. Ma Xiaoquan's parents, brothers and sisters-in-law are currently serving under Yuan Chonghuan. He is here, isn't he just to increase Yuan Chonghuan's prestige? In terms of military achievements, general, how can he not compare to that Yuan Chonghuan? In terms of rank,
The general is the right governor, a first-grade military attache, and he, Yuan Chonghuan, is a governor, a third-grade civil servant, and his rank is higher than his."
"Fuck you~" Man Gui cursed, "I'm taller than him, but when it comes to martial arts practices, he's a little bit older than me. It's really unlucky to think about it...
"
"So, this time there is another deacon of the Jinyiwei. This is the Jinyiwei. I heard that the emperor has raised his rank to the first rank in order to commend Ma Xiaoquan..."
"Yipin?" Mangui said, "If you're going to say that, I have to think about it. Okay, let's wait until someone comes."
...
Somewhere, in a huge building, Zhao Wenyi was playing with the jade pendant in his hand.
Behind him, there were two people standing, a man and a woman. They were half-kneeling respectfully and said nothing.
Zhao Wenyi suddenly turned around and asked: "How are the preparations going?"
The man raised his head and said, "It's almost time to reply to Master Wenyi."
"Did Qinghan not know about this?" Zhao Wenyi asked again.
The woman raised her head and said respectfully: "The Vulcan Empress does not know."
"Very good, let's go. By the way, how is that child's training going?"
"The child is too young..." the woman said weakly, "Can we wait a little longer?"
"No, that child was specially used to assassinate Ma Xiaoquan. We must not neglect him. We must train him to be the best killer. If it doesn't work, hand him over to the Assassin's League. Okay, you can step back."
Zhao Wenyi waved his hand, and the men and women respectfully left.
"Humph~~" Zhao Wenyi continued to play with the jade pendant in his hand, "Ma Xiaoquan, your son is not dead. Even Qinghan doesn't know about this. Even if I don't get Qinghan, I will let your son kill you.
, let you father and son kill each other, and when he kills you, I will tell him his life experience..."
...
In the blink of an eye, it’s the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
This day was Ma Xiaoquan's last day in the capital.
Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao sent someone to give Ma Xiaoquan a box of cakes called "Harmonious Crisps".
Ma Xiaoquan picked it up and tasted a piece. It tasted good, but the portion was a bit small.
At the end of the meal, I discovered a small note underneath the box containing the pastries.
Hua Yue took out the note, unfolded it and said, "This is a small benefit given to you by the emperor."
"Oh~" Ma Xiaoquan smiled, "You have learned this word, okay, show it to me, what kind of little benefit is it?"
Hua Yue smiled and handed the note to Ma Xiaoquan. Ma Xiaoquan took it and looked at it and was stunned.
"What kind of welfare is this? It's obviously just to keep me safe..." Ma Xiaoquan tore up the note in frustration.
Hua Yue leaned close to Ma Xiaoquan's ear and whispered: "Isn't this bad? Look at the last time you were alone with the three of Xiaomei and the others... If you add me, I guess you will really get angry right away.
He's dead."
Ma Xiaoquan was stunned for a moment and nodded cooperatively: "Yes, hey, no matter how powerful a man is, he is not worth mentioning in front of you women, hehe~~"
"Damn ghost, disgusting~~"
Hua Yue raised his hand to hit Ma Xiaoquan, but Ma Xiaoquan grabbed it and said seriously: "But you also saw that the emperor did not come to see me off because of his poor health. He said he asked Wei Zhongxian to see me off."
"Well, Wei Zhongxian..."
Ma Xiaoquan interrupted: "I have a feeling that just because Wei Zhongxian started from the bottom, he is not as roundabout as those scholars, so it is not a bad thing for him to send me off tomorrow. Well, and, so
Have all the banknotes been replaced with grain and cash?"
"Well, according to your instructions~ I replaced them all, and they were replaced along the way. Unfortunately, because I was in such a hurry, I didn't bargain much, so I was a bit at a loss..."
"It doesn't matter if you lose a little, as long as it's not a bank note. When you go to the border, bank notes are not as good as cash, and cash is not as good as grain."
"Hmm~~"
...
The next day, Ma Xiaoquan dressed up and prepared to leave the capital.
Wei Zhongxian sent him off personally and also gave him a big gift he had prepared.
After talking to Ma Xiaoquan in Wangxiang Tower, Wei Zhongxian's attitude towards Ma Xiaoquan took a 180-degree turn. Not only did he help Ma Xiaoquan speak for him in court from time to time, but he also stopped his subordinates from slandering Ma Xiaoquan in private.
.
As the saying goes, eating people is short of mouth and using tricks on others. Wei Zhongxian benefited greatly from Ma Xiaoquan, and of course he would maintain his relationship with Ma Xiaoquan.
Ma Xiaoquan quite appreciates this aspect of Wei Zhongxian.
"Haha, now that the deacon is gone, I don't know when he will come back..." Wei Zhongxian said with a smile.
Ma Xiaoquan also smiled and said: "I'm afraid it will be difficult to come back. My father, mother, brother and sister-in-law are all at the border, so I can't neglect it. Haha, Mr. Wei, please take good care of yourself."
Hearing Ma Xiaoquan call him "Master Wei", Wei Zhongxian felt excited. Thinking about the little quarrels he and Ma Xiaoquan had in the past, Wei Zhongxian suddenly felt guilty. After all, most of those little quarrels were caused by him looking for trouble.
"Haha, the deacon is too polite. Well, here is the carriage and fifty horses I prepared for the deacon. I hope the deacon will accept it."
Of course, Ma Xiaoquan would not refuse Wei Zhongxian's overtures: "Master Wei is so generous. It would be unreasonable for me to refuse to accept it, so I would like to thank Master Wei for the gift."
Wei Zhongxian was stunned again. Ma Xiaoquan actually called himself a "lower official"? He was already a high-ranking official.
"Your Excellency, you are too modest..." Wei Zhongxian waved his hand in embarrassment and glanced at Li Yongzhen. Li Yongzhen understood and took out a mirror from his arms and presented it to Wei Zhongxian.
"Haha, Mr. Deacon, these are the breast shields I got from North Korea. They are light but very tough. I will give them to you so that you can use them for self-defense."
Ma Xiaoquan took the breast shield and thanked him: "Then I won't be polite. Thank you again, Mr. Wei."
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few more words before saying goodbye.
Watching Ma Xiaoquan lead the mighty motorcade away, Wei Zhongxian suddenly felt a little emotional in his heart.
Li Yongzhen saw Wei Zhongxian's thoughts and said with a smile: "Master Wei thinks that after the deacon left, no one in the court will fight against Master Wei anymore, right?"
Wei Zhongxian hummed: "Yeah, think about it, it's really like that. In this court, Ma Xiaoquan is the only one who dares to confront me. Now that he's gone, I feel a little empty..."
"Haha, Mr. Wei, let him let go of the past. Now that the emperor is dying and the ministers are saying that the emperor will not live long, Mr. Wei should focus on the issue of the crown prince." Li Yongzhen suggested.