Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Husband, how do you know that I like...

Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Husband, how do you know that I like...

The next day, Pei Ji privately asked to see Cheng Mingyu and explained his intention to propose marriage. Pei Ji was actually an old subordinate of Cheng Mingyu. The two had worked together for many years. Cheng Mingyu knew Pei Ji's character and ability. His family background was also impeccable. After asking his daughter's opinion, he agreed to the marriage.

The next step was the engagement period. The Cheng family meant to marry her off in the early spring of next year, but next year was a year without spring, so all weddings in the capital were scheduled to be held before the New Year. The two families were no exception, so they asked Qin Tian to choose the date, which was set on the 20th of the lunar month. The wedding date was very tight, and the Cheng family began to make intensive preparations. On the day of the engagement, the three sisters gathered at the Cheng family. By then, Cheng Yian's belly was already noticeably bulging, and she was able to eat and sleep well.

Lu Xusheng was also in a very tight situation at the front line. After all, the battle was fought on a plateau. The soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty were not acclimatized to the climate and the fighting situation was difficult. However, none of the three commanders backed down and they successively dispatched troops from the guard posts to rush to Che Khan. The soldiers of the Great Jin Dynasty and Northern Qi fought fiercely in the capital of Che Khanate. Fortunately, Lu Xusheng's detachment arrived in time and cut off Northern Qi's retreat. The Northern Qi army dispersed and fled along the Tianshan Mountains.

The person who was in charge of the rearguard of Northern Qi was precisely an opponent of Prince Nan'an of Northern Qi. Prince Nan'an was fighting hard on the front line, but the reinforcements were cut off, which ruined his achievements. He was so angry that he sent people to complain to the Emperor of Northern Qi. The Emperor of Northern Qi naturally appeased Prince Nan'an and punished the general of the Yulin Guard. As a result, the victory of the Che Khanate was monopolized by Lu Xusheng.

However, this general of the Imperial Guard was no idle person. When he returned to the capital for "interrogation", he met with the emperor in secret and felt that the Prince of Nan'an was a little unusual. The emperor asked him what was different, but the general could not explain it. The Northern Qi emperor looked thoughtful.

The Prince of Nan'an was a rare military talent, good at leading troops in battle. The emperor treated him as a swordsman on the surface, but he was actually jealous of him in his heart. In the past, the Prince of Nankang overshadowed the emperor, and the emperor did not trust the Nankang Palace as much as he seemed, and ordered the Prince of Nan'an to be closely monitored.

In this way, Lu Xusheng took control of the Che Khanate and placed heavy troops under the capital of the Che Khanate. The Che Khanate then realized that it was inviting a wolf into the house, and another fierce fight ensued. In the end, the Che Khanate decided to pledge allegiance to the Jin Dynasty. As for how to control the Che Khanate, Lu Xusheng could not make the decision alone, so he returned to the capital.

It was already mid-November. Cheng Yian did not attend the Cheng family's Mid-Year Banquet this year. It was snowing heavily and she was pregnant. She did not dare to go out. She did not go, but the Cheng family sent several large cars as gifts. She and Lu Xusheng's warehouse could not hold them all. So Cheng Yian said to the man who rushed back to Beijing in the middle of the night,

"Let's move in next to the Cheng family."

She is now extremely jealous of her elder sister. Pei Ji has renovated the house beautifully during this period. He even secretly asked her elder sister for her opinion on the garden design. Her elder sister can go back to her parents' home just by yawning.

This put Lu Xusheng in a difficult position. "Don't worry, we'll build a pool tomorrow for you to bathe in."

He is different from Pei Ji. Pei Ji is a civil servant, but he was born a military general. Although he is now a civil servant, there are hundreds of thousands of troops at the border behind him. He lives with the Cheng family, so the emperor and Prince Ning will not be able to sleep tonight.

Cheng Yian certainly didn't expect Lu Xusheng to agree, but that didn't stop a pregnant woman from being petty. She pushed Lu Xusheng away, turned around, hugged her belly, and began to mutter,

"On the day my eldest sister's wedding was set, I went back to the Cheng family. Guess what my grandmother said. She said that my eldest sister had settled down and married next door, so she didn't have to worry about anything. My second sister didn't have a mother-in-law or father-in-law by her side, and her second brother-in-law was a daddy, so her life was comfortable and smooth, and she didn't worry about it. Now it's just me... My husband, he fights on the battlefield all day long, his life is hanging by a thread, I often stay alone in the empty room, and my mother-in-law is not an easy person. She went to the Wang family, and she was worried every day I was in the Lu family. My father is such a powerful person, my grandmother loves him the most, guess what, just because of me, my grandmother scolded my father, and my father didn't say a word!"

No wonder his father-in-law didn't even look at him when he returned to the court today.

Lu Xusheng felt so soft inside when he heard her aggrieved tone.

“An An…”

He leaned over from behind, looked at the round belly, and wanted to hug it but didn't dare.

"So I'm outdone again?"

It's really difficult to be the son-in-law of the Cheng family.

Cheng Yian looked at him with smiling eyes.

"Yes, you are outdone again."

Lu Xusheng's quota support is more difficult than the assessment of officials in the Ministry of Personnel.

Seeing that he was frustrated to the point of never having been, Cheng Yian decided not to tease him anymore and pulled on his clothes, "Come, come and see our child."

Lu Xusheng carefully covered her belly and asked her, "Is the baby moving?"

Cheng Yian waited quietly, "It moved, didn't you notice?"

Lu Xusheng shook his head, "No."

"Let go of your hand first,"

Lu Xusheng let go.

The baby visibly rolled in her belly. "It's moving, it's moving. Come on!"

Unfortunately, as soon as Lu Xusheng lifted the child up, the child immediately became motionless.

Cheng Yian looked at Lu Xusheng with sympathy, "The child doesn't recognize you."

Lu Xusheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "This is because Daddy is blaming the child's mother for not accompanying him."

The next morning, officials of the third rank and above gathered in Fengtian Hall to discuss Che Khan's surrender. How to effectively control Che Khan became the top priority. Getting the water source back was something particularly commendable. Without Che Khan, Northern Qi could no longer use him to control the Jin Dynasty.

In the north, Jin could be said to be resting easy, and the civil and military officials in the court were jubilant. As for the jurisdiction, some officials suggested that the cost of jurisdiction was too high, and that they should use appropriate intimidation and let Che Khan pay tribute every year. Lu Xusheng disagreed.

"You must be stationed in the army. If you don't, all your efforts will be in vain!"

King Ning supported his proposal.

"Father, I think we should appoint a minister to be stationed in Che Khan to take charge of Che Khan's affairs. The minister should be rotated every three years. We should set up government offices based on the official positions in the Central Plains, with one of every three officials being from the Central Plains. In addition, we should integrate Che Khan's soldiers into our Great Jin soldiers, implement a rotation system, and completely bring Che Khan under the jurisdiction of our Great Jin."

"I second the motion." Cheng Mingyu was the first to stand up and agree.

When the Prime Minister spoke, there were fewer voices of opposition.

"Then what about the Buddha King in Chehan?"

This was also what worried the emperor. Che Khan believed in Buddhism. The imperial power and Buddhist power coexisted in the territory. The Buddha King had the right to interfere in state affairs. The people of Che Khan believed in the Buddha King more than the emperor. Those Buddha Kings could call the wind and rain at will, and their orders were more effective than the imperial edict. Therefore, His Majesty of Che Khan was greatly constrained, and this time he ended up being eaten by others.

This is the biggest hidden danger in Chehan territory.

The emperor didn't want to repeat the same mistake.

This was Cheng Mingyu's area of ​​expertise. He came out holding a tablet and said, "I have an idea."

"Mr. Cheng, please speak."

Cheng Mingyu said, "Extend favor!"

"The reason why the Buddha Kings of Chehan can control the people is because there are powerful families behind them. The powerful families interfere in government affairs by controlling the Buddha Kings. After we enter the court, we must prevent this from happening."

"How to stop it? I have thought of a way. I have been to Chehan and visited many local people. If I remember correctly, Chehan originally had more than one Buddhist king. Later, a Buddhist king used the support of powerful people to integrate the Buddhist forces in the country and became the only one in power, leading to the current situation."

"I think we can implement the policy of extending favors. The court can order the eight great disciples under the Buddha King to be enthroned as minor Buddha Kings, and let them lead their own factions to spread the Dharma. When the current Buddha King passes away, the eight great disciples will be promoted to Great Buddha Kings, and their disciples will continue to be divided into minor Buddha Kings. Who would not want to be enthroned by the court? By then, these so-called Buddha Kings will only try to get in touch with the court and win the court's support. They will fight for power among themselves, and the court can sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and sit on the fishing platform to fish."

"Over time, the power of those Buddha kings was divided again and again, and in the end, there were Buddhist temples everywhere like in Dajin, and those so-called Buddha kings were just ordinary abbots."

"Great idea, let's do it!"

The decision had been made, and the next step was to deal with the selection of candidates and the details. Those were matters of the court, and Lu Xusheng didn't care. His soldiers won the battle, and as the commander-in-chief he had to seek benefits for them. But something went wrong. That day, the Governor-General of Sichuan led his troops to attack the capital of Che Khanate. The enemy put up a desperate resistance and the city walls were difficult to break. The Governor-General of Sichuan gritted his teeth and promised that anyone who killed ten enemies would be rewarded with one hundred gold. The one hundred gold here was one hundred catties of copper, which was equivalent to thirty taels of silver. After the war, a list of two thousand people met the requirements, which amounted to sixty thousand taels of silver.

Originally, the court would reward victorious warriors, but adding an additional 60,000 taels of silver was a bit excessive.

The Governor of Sichuan was overwhelmed and apologized before Lu Xusheng returned to Beijing, smiling bitterly.

"I didn't expect the warriors to be so brave. Two thousand of them met the requirements. Will the court agree to pay so much extra money?"

A commander on the battlefield must not break his word. Lu Xusheng understood this principle and said, "Don't worry. I'll take care of this for you."

The Governor of Sichuan bowed to him and said, "Thank you very much, Sir."

After Lu Xusheng returned to Beijing, he came to deal with the matter. He took a large stack of expense accounts from the Ministry of War to the National Treasury to report the accounts. The Minister of Revenue Zheng Shanghe approved the account, and Lu Xusheng went straight to find Cheng Yiyan. The Ministry of Revenue was divided into the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Warehouse and other yamen, and the Ministry of Revenue was under the jurisdiction of Cheng Yiyan. The Ministry of Revenue was in the innermost courtyard of the Ministry of Revenue, and the silver vault was in the cellar in the backyard. It was heavily guarded on weekdays, and idle people could not enter.

When Lu Xusheng entered the main hall, he saw Cheng Yiyan sitting at the head of the table, reviewing the accounts. He bowed from a distance.

"Brother-in-law, how are you?"

Hearing the word "brother-in-law", Cheng Yiyan became wary. He looked up at Lu Xusheng and said sternly,

"Duke Lu, we don't talk about relatives or old friends in the government office. There is no brother-in-law here." After saying this, Cheng Yiyan stood up and bowed to Lu Xusheng.

"It is I, the humble official, who should pay my respects to Lord Lu. Lord Lu is a good public security official."

Lu Xusheng hurriedly dodged, "Brother Yan Ning, you are embarrassing me. You know your sister. She usually treats you as her second brother and regards you as more important than her husband. If I accept your gift, I'm afraid she will scold me when I go back."

Cheng Yiyan narrowed his eyes and looked at him. "The weasel is paying New Year's greetings to the chicken. It has no good intentions. What on earth are you trying to trick?"

Lu Xusheng sneered and handed the account over. "Nothing else, just military expenses. Can Brother Yan Ning sign for it?"

Cheng Yiyan took it and read it carefully word by word. Cheng Yiyan had a photographic memory. During this period, every budget of the Ministry of War had to be reviewed by the inner cabinet and finally summarized by him. He knew clearly what items were included and what were not. He quickly pointed out the 60,000 taels from a pair of messy accounts.

"This 62,000 taels of silver is not in the correct account. It is not included in the budget. I will return it."

Lu Xusheng's face changed, "Hey, hey, hey, this account document was approved by me and Minister Zheng."

As long as the two cabinet elders approve the ordinary documents, they are considered to have passed the cabinet, and there is no difference in terms of procedure.

Cheng Yiyan said expressionlessly, "Even if it gets through the inner cabinet, so what? As long as it's wrong, I will fight back."

Lu Xusheng raised his head and said, "My father-in-law has approved it. Does it count?"

Cheng Yiyan smiled broadly, "If you have the guts, ask him to approve it."

Lu Xusheng took the account to the inner chamber to look for Cheng Mingyu. Cheng Mingyu was talking about several tax cases with the new Zuo Du Shi of the Censorate. When he saw Lu Xusheng coming in, the Zuo Du Shi left. Lu Xusheng handed the account to Cheng Mingyu.

"Father-in-law, please approve this account."

Lu Xusheng had called him father-in-law a few times. Cheng Mingyu looked at him calmly, picked up the account book, read it quickly, and soon found a clue. When he turned to the end of the document, he saw the signatures of Lu Xusheng and Zheng Shanghe. He immediately understood.

"Were you beaten back by the Duzhi?"

"I was beaten back by my brother-in-law." Lu Xusheng corrected him.

Except for Cheng Yiyan, no one dared not to give him face. His and Zheng Shanghe's signatures were on the accounts. To put it bluntly, if anyone really wanted to be blamed, it had nothing to do with the Ministry of Finance. It was all his and Zheng Shanghe's business. Zheng Shanghe was a man who only cared about the big things and let the small things go. He did not get involved in the bottom line and loved to do favors everywhere.

Otherwise he cannot be called a peacemaker.

With Lu Xusheng and Zheng Shanghe backing us up, there will be no problem at all.

"Brother-in-law, this is a personal revenge."

"Don't mess around." Cheng Mingyu looked at him calmly, "The sixty thousand taels are not included in the budget, so it is reasonable for him not to approve it."

"Then you approve it."

"Why should I approve it? The Ministry of War's expenditures have far exceeded its budget. If I approve it, other government offices will send me their budgets that have exceeded their budgets. What should I do?"

Lu Xusheng said bitterly, "That battle was difficult to fight. Soldiers braved the severe cold and fought bloody battles. There were heavy casualties. There was a shortage of cotton clothes, food, and medicine. Even so, Che Han was still removed. I have tried my best to save money. The allowances of our soldiers above the rank of captain were reduced and given to the soldiers on the front line. In consideration of your hard work and great contributions, your father-in-law will let it go."

"Of course I know, but the court has its own laws. If I use personal connections to do everything, will I still be able to be the Prime Minister?"

"If you don't do it, I'll do it."

Cheng Mingyu: “….”

Don't talk nonsense with him, point to the bill and say,

"The soldiers' legitimate expenses, cotton clothes, military pay, medicine, the cabinet will not be harsh, but this 60,000 taels reward was decided by you as the commander-in-chief. I cannot approve this account no matter what!"

Lu Xusheng had a headache, "This is your in-law's fault, you don't care?"

"in spite of."

"You don't even want to give face to your son-in-law?"

“Not for sale.”

Lu Xusheng had a toothache, "Father-in-law, you are taking revenge for your personal gain."

Cheng Mingyu's expression did not change at all, instead he asked him in a gentle voice,

"How long will it take to deal with Che Han's issue? Will you be able to be with An An when she gives birth?"

Lu Xusheng patted his chest with a solemn oath.

"Che Han is not important, An An is the most important. I will definitely return to Beijing when she gives birth," he said, and then asked Cheng Mingyu,

"Can this be approved?"

"cannot."

Lu Xu was so angry that he picked up the stack of bills, walked out, stood at the door and looked at the sky.

"Well, the snow has finally stopped and the sky has cleared up. I might as well invite my mother-in-law to live with me at the Lu Mansion for a while."

Cheng Mingyu: “….”

During the time when Lu Xusheng was away, Xia Fu lived in Lu's house for most of the month, and Mu Xun played back and forth between the Yunnan Palace, Lu's Mansion and Sichuan Governor's Mansion. The child integrated into the family quickly, riding horses and hunting all day long, having a lot of fun.

With Xia Fu, the Princess of Yunnan, keeping the situation under control, Wang was calm and cooperative, so Cheng Yian could raise the baby with peace of mind.

However, once Xia Fu lived in Lu's mansion, it would be very inconvenient for Cheng Mingyu to see her.

Cheng Mingyu felt a headache looking at Lu Xusheng's back. Among his three sons-in-law, he was the most dishonest.

Lu Xusheng went straight to Lu's study with the account book.

As a result, the emperor went to the harem, and Lu Xusheng got nothing. He simply dozed off leaning on an armchair.

After a while, the emperor came back. He walked around the screen and saw Lu Xusheng resting with his eyes closed. His sword-like brows were tightly furrowed, and he looked unhappy.

The emperor was most afraid that Lu Xusheng would be unhappy. If Lu Xusheng was unhappy, he would be the one to suffer. So he quietly withdrew and asked Liu Xi who stayed behind.

"Who has offended this ancestor again?"

Liu Xi laughed dryly for a while, "I ran into trouble with Prime Minister Cheng and Little Master Cheng." Then he told the whole story again. The emperor sighed, "It's the same with Cheng Mingyu and Cheng Yiyan. I just turned a blind eye to them. Can I still watch the border generals go back on their word and lose faith with the soldiers?"

Liu Xi immediately spoke up for the Chengs, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. Little Master Cheng is in charge of the national treasury. Every penny is the hard-earned money of the people. How can he mess around? All expenses must be budgeted first and then combined. If it is a temporary expense, it must be approved by the cabinet at least. Sixty thousand taels is not a small amount. It is not surprising that he sent it back to the cabinet for another combination. If Little Master Cheng was not so careful with his budget, our Master Zheng would not be able to keep the national treasury in check no matter how much money there is."

"Besides, every government office has been reporting its accounts recently. The Ministry of War's expenditures have exceeded the budget by millions of taels of silver. All the other government offices are jealous. If a hole is opened here, other government offices will not be able to cover it. Lord Cheng also has his own difficulties."

Liu Xi hadn't said anything else. The relatives have made the decision privately. Are you assured, Emperor?

In fact, they are all smart people. The Governor of Sichuan, due to his great achievements, gave the emperor a handle. Lu Xusheng knew that the emperor could cover it up, but he still went to touch the Ministry of Revenue and the inner cabinet to tell the emperor that they were not of one mind. Cheng Mingyu is even more so. He has always enforced the law impartially. As long as he is wrong, no one can stop him.

Having been in the imperial court for many years, everyone is a shrewd person. The drama between the emperor and his subjects should just be performed in harmony.

The emperor laughed dumbly and then walked into Lu's study.

When Lu Xusheng heard the noise, he immediately stood up and saluted. The emperor saw that he looked listless and knew that the child had been wronged.

"Alright, alright, I'll take care of this for you."

"It comes from my private treasury, not the national treasury, and not the Ministry of Revenue. The Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue have nothing to say."

The emperor did this for three purposes. First, to tell the Governor of Sichuan that he would bear the brunt of the burden for him and that if his relatives did not give him face, he would do it for them. Second, to win the hearts of the soldiers at the border. Third, it was a disguised way of supporting Cheng Mingyu and telling the court officials that if they did not even give him face as their son-in-law, they should forget about becoming the prime minister.

Lu Xusheng took the opportunity to complain, "Your Majesty, Cheng Mingyu is too hateful. He forced me to come to you to make money. I think he doesn't want to be the Prime Minister anymore. My wife is about to give birth, so let him go to the front line and I will take over the position of Prime Minister."

The emperor knocked him on the head and ignored his nonsense.

I asked him, "You have done great work again. What kind of reward do you want this time?"

Lu Xusheng smiled awkwardly, "This time I have caused such a mess that I have upset several high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue, and the Governor's Office. Forget about the rewards, but I will be grateful if you can just keep the 60,000 taels."

The emperor suspected that Lu Xusheng did it on purpose.

He had made two great achievements in one year and was in the limelight. It was hard to guarantee that there would be no one in the court who was jealous of Lu Xusheng and secretly offered him a knife. Instead of waiting for others to attack him, it would be better for him to attack himself. Lu Xusheng was still young and had a long way to go in the court. It would be disadvantageous for him to be too successful and threaten the emperor.

After this incident, he felt "at ease".

The emperor also had to protect Lu Xusheng.

"I will not reward you openly. I will not pursue the matter with the Sichuan Governor. This incident is all your fault. I will reward you privately."

Lu Xusheng asked with a smile, "What did your majesty reward me with?"

The emperor patted his shoulder and said, "A few days ago, the gold mine in Jiangnan was dug up. In addition to enriching the national treasury, the eunuchs also presented two boxes of gold to me. I will give you a box of gold bars as a reward."

The limelight was suppressed, and he got some tangible benefits. Lu Xusheng achieved his goal. That night, he happily brought a box of gold bars back home, a full 100 bars. Cheng Yian sat on the bed and looked at the glittering gold box, dumbfounded.

"Husband, how do you know I like gold?"

Look, she was so happy that she even called her husband out.

Is it easy for him to go through fire and water just to be called "husband"?