Chapter seven hundred and fifty-four fight for breath
Zeng Hai and the others saw Liu Mingzhi stopping more than ten steps away, looking at the beautiful scenery of Fengyundu, without saying anything to disturb them, and just stood there and waited closely.
Not long after, Liu Mingzhi withdrew his gaze and fixed his eyes on Zeng Hai, an old friend.
"Old Zeng, in this snowy and cold wind howling, why did you come to this wilderness instead of staying in the palace to enjoy your blessings?
If you want to enjoy the snow scenery, isn’t the beauty of the capital a thousand times better than Fengyun Ferry?”
Zeng Hai looked at Liu Mingzhi's half-smiling and joking appearance, and gave a bitter smile. He stared at Liu Mingzhi with complicated eyes as he pulled out a roll of imperial edict from his sleeve.
"The prince is joking, how can we have so much leisure time, but after seeing this imperial edict, the prince should understand the purpose of our visit!"
Liu Mingzhi lowered his eyebrows and stared at the imperial edict in Zeng Hai's hand for a moment: "Another edict ordering me to return to Beijing to report on my duties?"
Zeng Hai nodded noncommittally, held the imperial edict in his hands, and walked towards Liu Mingzhi respectfully.
"Since the prince already knows the purpose of the imperial edict, do we still declare it?"
Liu Mingzhi smacked his lips and looked up.
"Two days ago, Lao Zeng, your senior, Eunuch Fuhai Fu, also came to Xinzhou Station with such an imperial edict. He had agreed at the beginning that everything would be discussed after I return to Beijing.
However, we were still a few days away from the capital, and His Majesty came again with such a decree.
What does this mean?
Including the previous four imperial edicts, this is the fifth one.
I really don’t understand how the current state of affairs in the imperial court is in such a state of uncontrollable condition that your Majesty is so eager for me to return to the capital to rectify this mess.
However, on my way back to the capital, I had an encounter with General Xiahou's army of grain and grass.
Looking at the number of carriages and the amount of food and fodder, if the imperial court was in a mess, it would definitely not be able to raise such an amount of food and fodder within two months.
Lao Zeng, do you think the court, where all the officials are working together to support the great cause of the Northern Expedition, needs me to return and serve as the regent in charge of the country's affairs?
Wouldn’t everything be fine in the court without me, Liu Mingzhi? Why do I have to go back and work so hard?
Everything has been handed over to me, what do you want your Majesty to do? What do you want the civil and military officials of the court to do?
Is it really so important to the court whether I return to Beijing or not?"
Zeng Hai looked at Liu Mingzhi's disappointed reaction, sighed and shook his head silently.
"Your Majesty, we cannot guess your Majesty's thoughts, nor do we dare to guess, but we hope that your Majesty will return to Beijing after receiving the decree.
Nowadays, the Northern Expedition has been reporting successes one after another, and the conquest of the Turks is just around the corner. The world is about to be unified, the frontier country has become an internal government, and the prince's mission of guarding the country in compliance with the late emperor's will will also exist in name only.
If you don’t return to Beijing now, when will you wait?
Returning to the capital at this time to establish a foothold, the prince is still the prince who is less than one person and more than ten thousand people. If he does not return to the capital to report on his duties at this time, after the world is unified, the officials of various ministries who assisted the Northern Expedition will inevitably take credit and be proud of themselves.
When the time comes for the prince to return to Beijing to report on his duties, it will be difficult to move even an inch above the court.
The prince has been in the temple for more than ten years and has been immersed in power for many years. It is impossible not to know that what we are talking about is not child's play.
In this case, why does the prince bother to defend the northern border and refuse to return to the court to report his duties?
Thunder, rain and dew are a sign of your kindness, not to mention that Your Majesty has been tolerant to the prince again and again, never giving strict orders to the prince, and always giving good advice.
Although the prince did not obey His Majesty's advice in the past, he never disobeyed the King's will. Why can't he understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts now?
Throughout history, even among the world-famous sages, no one has had the honor of being invited back to the capital to report on their duties by the emperor five times.
Your Majesty, please accept the order!"
Listening to Lao Zeng's sincere words of advice, Liu Mingzhi had a hint of sadness on his face and closed his eyes in silence for a long time.
"Old Zeng, if I still resist and disobey the decree, do I no longer need to go to Beijing?"
"No, the prince still refuses to accept the imperial edict. We will return to Beijing in disgrace as we did the previous two times."
"In this case, as Eunuch Fuhai said, let's wait until we get to the capital to discuss everything.
Old Zeng, I’m going to let you down again.”
Liu Mingzhi never changed his tone and once again rejected Li Ye's imperial edict, which made Old Zeng tremble slightly as he held the imperial edict in his hands.
There was a soft plop, and under Liu Mingzhi's stunned eyes, Zeng Hai knelt on the snow in front of Liu Mingzhi, raised his hands high and handed the imperial edict over his head to Liu Mingzhi, his eyes full of pleading.
"Your Majesty, because of the old friendship between you and me, I dare to ask you to sell me some thin noodles, so you can accept the imperial edict and return to the capital to report on your duties.
Can't you just treat me like an old slave begging you?
I beg you, old slave!
We are all fine, isn't this bad?
I beg you!
Take the order!"
As Zeng Hai spoke, he kept kowtowing to the slightly frozen snow. When he raised his head, Zeng Hai's forehead was already red, with faint traces of blood oozing out.
It can be seen that Zeng Hai's behavior is indeed sincere and not a polite act.
Liu Mingzhi came back to his senses, hurriedly helped Zeng Hai up, and looked at Zeng Hai with a tangled expression.
"Old Zeng! Why are you doing this!"
"Your Majesty, please accept the order!"
"Haha...Old Zeng, it seems that Your Majesty regards me, Liu Mingzhi, as someone who wants to support his troops and respect himself.
I, Liu Mingzhi, stick to my word and always do what I say. I will return to Beijing to report on my duties after unifying the world. At that time, all military and political power in Northern Xinjiang can be handed over.
Why hasn't your Majesty believed me even these past few months?
If I, Liu Mingzhi, were really obsessed with power, why would I need to support him to ascend the throne and support a puppet His Majesty? It was just a piece of cake for Cao Cao to control the emperor and control the princes.
Why should we support him to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, and then give him all the help?
This king has repeatedly resisted and disobeyed orders. Do you think that this king is trying to support his troops to support his own self-reliance, and that he has disobedient and rebellious intentions?"
"We dare not and will not suspect that the prince has disobedient and rebellious intentions. We only hope that the prince can accept the order and return to the capital."
"Give me a reason!"
Zeng Hai was stunned for a moment, looking at Liu Mingzhi's deep eyes, he hesitated to speak.
"We don't know what to say, and we don't dare to talk nonsense.
Prince, please go back to Beijing. After you return to Beijing, everything will be as peaceful as before.
If the prince insists on resisting the decree, we don't know what unforeseen consequences will happen.
Why do you bother?"
Liu Mingzhi patted Zeng Hai's shoulder and walked slowly towards the official road with his hands behind his back. Looking at the infinite scenery of Fengyundu, Liu Mingzhi's eyes were filled with sadness.
"Old Zeng, Liu Mingzhi entered the temple in Beijing at the age of nineteen. He was a full supporter to his father, Emperor Ruizhong. Although he acted guilty towards the late emperor, he still fulfilled his responsibilities with all his heart.
Until he fully supported His Majesty in ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor.
You all see what Liu Mingzhi does.
For the sake of unifying the world, even the Golden Empress and her daughter were put aside.
Liu Mingzhi devoted himself to helping the country, but in the end he ended up being jealous of the emperor and his ministers.
Why is this so?
Liu Mingzhi resisted and disobeyed the decree five times, not because Liu Mingzhi had a disobedient heart.
But I want to fight for it.
I want to see how your Majesty will treat me in the end.