Chapter 720: Flying Far (Part 1)



Chen Bozhi wrote a letter a few years ago, proposing to open the Baita River in Taizhou to the Yangtze River and build a dike on Gaoyou Lake as a place for the grain boats to avoid the strong winds and waves. A group of court officials, led by Liang Ge Lao, who was also the Minister of Revenue, and Dou Ge Lao, the Minister of Rites, opposed it, thinking that the court had spent a lot of money on rivers in recent years, and the treasury was already exhausted and could not bear the burden. Now that the Huitong River has been completed, the Baita River can be reopened after two years. The emperor kept it in his hands and did not send it. Chen Bozhi went to Beijing to meet the emperor next time, hoping to get the emperor's support. When Chen Bozhi heard the emperor say this, he was surprised and happy.

"Your Majesty," he knelt on the ground, "I will dig the Baita River well and build the Gaoyou River embankment as soon as possible."

"So I told you not to waste time on these little things," the emperor stroked his forehead, looking very embarrassed, "I will summon a few elders tomorrow to discuss the Baita River issue, and you will be present. When you go back, write a good rule, and when Elder Liang or Elder Dou asks you about it, you must be able to answer it."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my best to prepare." Chen Bozhi kowtowed to the emperor excitedly.

The emperor nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Chen Bozhi knew that the emperor had finished speaking, and it was time for them to leave after serving tea. But if he brought up his son's matter again, it would seem narrow-minded. If he didn't bring it up, would he just let it go?

For a moment, he hesitated.

Who knew that Xu Lingyi on the side would kneel down.

"Your Majesty, I will send the silver to Mr. Chen's residence after I return." He hesitated and said, "But there is one more thing, I beg Your Majesty to grant me your approval!"

Xu Lingyi was not a person who liked to stir up trouble. Now that things had come to this, he had both gained face and gained something in return...

The emperor was a little surprised and said, "Just say whatever you want to say. It's not like you to be so hesitant!"

"When Xu Sijin was born, Xu Sizhun had just moved to the outer courtyard," Xu Lingyi said implicitly, "Jin'er can be said to have grown up at the behest of the lady dowager. Among the grandchildren, she likes him the most. This has somewhat cultivated his character of hating evil and acting rashly. Thanks to the emperor's love, he was appointed as a commander-in-chief. I want to send Jin'er to Guangdong. Let him suffer a little, restrain his temper, and take the opportunity to learn some real skills of archery and horse riding from Guangdong General Xu Lixu, so as to live up to the emperor's love. Please grant me your permission!" As he said this, he fell to the ground.

The emperor was surprised, and then smiled faintly.

You are so good, Xu Lingyi, you have really made a very smart calculation!

The Xu family and the Chen family had a grudge, but he sided with the Xu family and only asked them to pay one thousand taels of silver. Chen Bozhi must have been unhappy. Xu Lingyi first promised to send the silver to the Chen family immediately, and then took the initiative to propose to send his son to Guangdong, a poor and bad place, to restrain his temper. In the eyes of outsiders, the Xu family had to pay the silver and his son was demoted, and the Chen family had the upper hand in this matter. Not to mention Chen Bozhi, even he should be grateful for Xu Lingyi's broad-mindedness and strict teaching of his son. But those who know can't help but laugh secretly. Who is Xu Li? He was the captain during Xu Lingyi's Western Expedition and an old subordinate of Xu Lingyi. To this day, he would come to Xu Lingyi's house every year when he went to Beijing to pay homage. Guangdong has been repeatedly disturbed by Japanese pirates in recent years. Now that He Chengbi is guarding Fujian, the court will be more confident in clearing out the Japanese pirates in Guangdong in the future. Once troops are sent to Guangdong, with Xu Li's care, Xu Sijin's military achievements will not fly away. With his military achievements, it was only a matter of time before he became the commander-in-chief of the Xishan Camp and the general of Nanjing.

Thinking of this, he looked towards Chen Bochi.

Chen Bozhi's face was full of surprise, and he was obviously a little confused by Xu Lingyi's action.

The emperor couldn't help but chuckle in his heart.

Xu Lingyi, ah Xu Lingyi, others may not know your intentions, but you can never escape from my clutches.

You want to use me to help your son gain a better future? I won't let you have your way! Not only will I not let you have your way, but I will also let you know that I have seen through your little tricks!

If you want to go to Guangdong, I will let you go to Nanjing... No, Nanjing is rich in natural resources, and the Nanjing general is half a rank higher than other generals. If you go to Nanjing, there will be no punishment. I have already sided with Xu Lingyi once. Although I used the Baita River incident to divert Chen Bozhi's attention, if I throw Jing Ge'er to Nanjing at this moment, wouldn't it hurt Chen Bozhi's heart.

Then... Sichuan is a good choice. Sichuan is also very remote... No, the father of Sichuan General Ding Zhi died at the hands of Xu Lingyi. If he takes the opportunity to take revenge, it will be too late for him to regret if something happens to Jing Ge'er... I have to find someone who has a good personal relationship with Xu Lingyi... Then Guizhou General Gong Dongning will be a good choice. Xu Lingyi once saved his life. Guizhou has been relatively stable in recent years. There have been occasional civil unrest, but the troops have stopped there. Although there is no great military merit, there is still a chance. Moreover, Guizhou is even more remote than Guangdong...

Thinking of this, the emperor became more and more proud, and looked at Xu Lingyi with a smile: "Since we want to hone the character of the child, I think it is better to go to Guizhou than Guangdong. It's not bad there either!"

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

The emperor felt more relieved and picked up the teacup: "This matter is settled. Chen Bozhi, you will go to the palace at noon tomorrow. Yinghua, you can make arrangements when you go back. The Ministry of Personnel will have the official documents in the next two days."

No one dared to refute the emperor's words.

The two men bowed respectfully and retreated.

The emperor looked at Xu Lingyi's back. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that his back looked a little hunched...

* * * * * *

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Chen Bozhi breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of Xu Lingyi's initiative to send his son to the border, he felt that he should also show some appreciation... He turned around to say hello to Xu Lingyi, but Xu Lingyi said nothing and strode towards Longzong Gate.

It seems that Xu Lingyi's concession was just for the emperor to see.

Chen Bozhi smiled coldly and turned to go to Jingyun Gate which was opposite to Longzong Gate.

* * * * * *

After returning home, Xu Lingyi called the chief steward Bai and said, "Go to the office to get a silver note for 1,000 taels of silver, and ask the office to send someone to deliver it to Chen Bozhi's residence in Yanjing."

Chief Steward Bai knew that Xu Lingyi entered the palace because of the conflict with the Chen family. He hurriedly looked at his expression and saw that although his expression was stern, his eyes were very peaceful. He felt relieved, smiled and replied "Yes", then turned and went to the office.

Xu Lingyi stood alone in the study, the corners of his mouth curled up.

He went to the main room.

Shiyi Niang and Ying Niang were sitting on the big kang by the window doing needlework. The warm winter sunshine came in, adding a bit of coziness to the two of them.

"Binju, Qiuju, Master Jian... all made clothes for the children and sent them in. I paid back some of the clothes that Jing'er wore when he was a child. That's enough. You shouldn't stay in the house doing needlework these days. Go out and walk around more."

"I'm sorry!" Yingniang blushed slightly.

She was due in mid-February, and there has been no movement so far.

"Well, I'll walk with you in the yard." Eleventh Lady put down her needlework, "If you walk more, the delivery will be smoother."

Yingniang replied "yes" shyly, but when she looked up she saw Xu Lingyi.

"Father!" She hurriedly got off the kang.

Eleventh Lady turned around quickly: "The Marquis is back!"

Xu Lingyi nodded: "Ying Niang is here too!"

Yingniang knew that Xu Lingyi had entered the palace today. She hurriedly said, "I was just about to leave!" and then she and the maids retreated.

"Why did the emperor ask you to enter the palace?" Eleventh Lady made a cup of tea for Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi hugged Shiyi Niang tightly and said, "The emperor asked Jing'er to go to Guizhou!" He couldn't help but smile. "Gong Dongning, the general of Guizhou, and I have a life-long friendship. I can't be more relieved to leave Jing'er to him." Then he sighed, "The emperor still has some feelings for our family!"

Eleventh Lady was confused: "What on earth is going on?"

Xu Lingyi asked her to sit on his lap and whispered to Shiyi Niang what had happened.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel scared: "What if the emperor asks Jin Ge'er to go to Sichuan? The Marquis is taking too much risk!"

"Going to Sichuan?" Xu Lingyi laughed softly twice, "If you don't go to Sichuan, then it's fine. But if Jing'er goes to Sichuan, then we have no choice but to let Ding Zhi move to another place before Jing'er goes!" Although his tone was light, it revealed a sense of confidence.

Eleventh Lady knew that Xu Lingyi was not the kind of person who spoke without thinking, and she couldn't figure out what method he would use.

"Those generals are all paid for military supplies, none of them is clean. Otherwise, they wouldn't give large sums of money to the Ministry of War and the Five Military Governor's Office every year. People are forgotten when they are gone. Even if those generals and commanders have served under me, times have changed. I am just a nominal title of the Prince's Junior Tutor, and no matter how good our friendship is, it will fade. The reason why they still give me some face is that they are away from the court, and if they are impeached by the court officials, I can say a few words for them. If I want to deal with Ding Zhi, I only need to reveal a few things to the people in the Censorate, and he will be in trouble - Sichuan is far away from the emperor, and the general is a lucrative position. I don't know how many people are eyeing that position!" As he said this, he kissed Eleventh Lady on the cheek Cheek, "Well, this matter has finally cleared up. If Jing'er is really that material, he can stay in Guizhou for a few years and then be transferred to Shandong or Huguang... In recent years, Shandong and Huguang have been cunning and treacherous, and Jiahe was established as a county for this reason. If he can catch up with the bandit suppression and make military achievements, then everything will be fine. If he is not that material, staying there for a few years can be considered an explanation to the emperor. If you don't want him to get close to the people in the Xishan camp, we can go to Nanjing, which is close to Yanjing and has rich products. You can come back whenever you want in a few days." He looked very happy and patted her butt, "Okay, go and pack the cage for Jing'er? I think the official documents from the Ministry of Personnel should arrive in the next few days!"

Eleventh Lady pinched him and said, "Why are you hitting me?"

Xu Lingyi laughed out loud.

* * * * * *

The news that Xu Sijin was going to Guizhou quickly spread throughout Yanjing.

He had a constant stream of visitors, all of whom were indignant.

Wei Xun rolled up his sleeves and said, "What kind of person is this? How dare he plot against us in front of the emperor? I don't believe that with so many of us, we can't deal with a dung beetle from Huai'an!" He made an appointment with a few people from the Xishan camp to go and settle accounts with Chen Ji.

Wang Sheng, who was the deputy governor of Xishan Camp, stopped him and said, "Now is not the time to settle accounts. If anything happens to him, Chen Bozhi will probably blame it on Jing'er, which will be even more troublesome." He laughed sinisterly and said, "It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. Just wait and see. Unless he never leaves Yanjing again in his life, if he dares to step in, I will make him crawl back!"

Today is Monday, and I have a lot of things to do at work. I am still working overtime at the company when I post this article. I don’t have time to make up for it today. I will see how things go tomorrow! O(∩_∩)O~


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