June 16, the 25th year of Chongzhen.
Jishui County, Ji'an Prefecture, Jiangxi Province.
A team of Jinyiwei dressed in gorgeous Feiyu uniforms entered the city from the north city gate.
When the local officials heard the news, they were frightened and immediately went to greet them with messengers from the yamen.
By the time they arrived at the city gate, the Jinyiwei had already entered the city.
The Jishui County Magistrate asked the soldier guarding the gate: "Where are the Jinyiwei?"
The soldier replied: "They must have gone to Li's mansion. They asked about the location of Li's mansion when they entered the city."
"Li Mansion? Elder Li seems to be dying. Why are the Royal Guards here? They can't be here to arrest someone, right?"
"I don't know. We have to go and check it out."
"Yes, let's go and have a look."
Local officials flocked to Li's house to find out what was going on.
Outside the Li Mansion.
The Jinyiwei who came all the way from the capital pulled the reins and dismounted.
The servant outside the door immediately ran into the courtyard and shouted, "Hurry up and tell the master that someone from the court is coming!"
The other servant hesitated for a moment, then stood up and ran to the backyard.
When he came to the backyard, he found that the yard was already full of people.
"Where is the master?" asked the servant.
"Lying down in the house..."
"Which room?"
"The room with the most people."
The servant continued running towards the house through the crowd.
The house was also crowded.
In addition to Li Banghua's family, many of his clansmen were also present.
Everyone had a gloomy face, as if something bad was about to happen.
The servant squeezed through the crowd and came to the bed.
Lying on the bed was an old man with white hair and beard. He was Li Banghua, the former Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, Li Banghua closed his eyes and lay motionless on the bed.
His thin face was full of traces of time, which were particularly obvious under the sunlight.
The slightly rising and falling chest showed that the old man was still alive.
"What's the matter?" An old woman in simple clothes looked at the servant.
"Madam, someone from the imperial court has arrived."
"Who?"
"It's the Royal Guards."
Hearing these three words, everyone in the room held their breath at the same time and remained still.
The old woman was also a little panicked, but she pretended to be calm and asked, "Where are the Jinyiwei? Did they break in?"
"No, outside the mansion."
The old woman heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and said to Li Banghua on the bed: "Master, this is a good thing. If it was a bad thing, they would have broken in long ago."
Li Banghua on the bed seemed not to hear it and remained motionless.
Upon seeing this, Madam Li simply tidied her clothes and went out to meet the Jinyiwei in person.
When she came outside the door, she found five Jinyiwei standing there.
She quickly introduced herself, and then explained: "My master is seriously ill and cannot come to greet you personally. I hope you can forgive me."
The leading Jinyiwei said, "Madam Li, don't worry about etiquette. We are just here to deliver a message."
"What news?"
"We will tell you after we meet Lord Li in person."
Madam Li whispered, "The master hasn't opened his eyes for several days. I'm afraid..."
"No problem, please lead the way, Madam Li!"
Madam Li led the way and brought the Jinyiwei to the house in the backyard.
The people in the room had already left.
Only Li Banghua and a few close relatives were left in the room.
The leading Jinyiwei came to Li Banghua's bedside. He first bowed deeply to Li Banghua, then whispered in Li Banghua's ear: "Lord Li, a great victory in Liaodong!"
Li Banghua, who had not opened his eyes for many days, suddenly opened his eyes.
Then a gleam of light burst out from those cloudy eyes.
As he was blind, he couldn't see clearly what was in front of him.
However, relying on his feeling, he stretched out his hands and grabbed the Jinyiwei's arm.
"You...what did you say?" Li Banghua struggled to utter a few words from between his teeth.
The Jinyiwei maintained the same tone and intonation as before and said, "Lord, a great victory in Liaodong! On the second day of June in the 25th year of our dynasty, Huang Degong, the governor of Ping Liao, led his troops to attack Hetuala City. This battle not only recovered Liaodong, but also captured and killed the chieftain of the enemy, Haoge."
"Really?" Li Banghua's voice trembled.
"It's true. As soon as the news of the recovery of Liaodong reached the capital, His Majesty ordered us to deliver a letter to you, Lord."
"Wasn't the chieftain of the Jiannu tribe Fulin? How did he become Haoge?"
"When the power changed within the Jiannu, Fulin died in a fire and Haoge took his place."
"Where is Dorgon?" Li Banghua forced himself to continue asking.
Jinyiwei paused and lied, "Don't worry, sir. He is dead. He died in the chaos of the army."
"Huh!" Li Banghua let out a long sigh and finally let go of his worry.
He took a few deep breaths, his whole body trembling, but his voice was extremely calm: "Your Majesty, is your body healthy?"
"Everything is fine."
"Then I am relieved."
After saying this, Li Banghua found strength from nowhere and used both hands to support his upper body and sit up.
He asked, "Where is north?"
Mrs. Li was already frightened by Li Banghua's performance.
I didn't realize it until now.
She quickly stepped forward, grabbed Li Banghua's arm and pointed to the north.
Li Banghua kept his arms still and bent hard towards the north.
After doing all this, Li Banghua seemed to have lost all his strength.
He lay back on the bed and his body began to shake uncontrollably.
"Master!" Mrs. Li knew that Li Banghua's time was up, so she grabbed his hands tightly, shouting and crying.
Li Banghua's body began to tremble more violently.
In the last moments of his life, he will use all his strength to fight against fate.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Banghua gave up resisting.
He lay on the bed, and his already thin body seemed to have become an empty shell.
He quietly turned his head and looked at the sun outside the window.
The afterglow of the evening shines on our bodies, making us feel so warm that we can't muster any energy.
As the sun set in the sky, the 78-year-old man also ended his life.
"Master! Master!" Mrs. Li's voice was particularly harsh in the evening.
Wow!
As a cry sounded, the crying inside and outside the house shook the sky.
The Jinyiwei did not leave, but waited until Madam Li finished crying before coming to her again.
The leading Jinyiwei said to Madam Li, "We will send the news about Lord Li to the capital right now. Madam, do you have anything to say to His Majesty?"
Madam Li thought for a moment and said, "I beg Your Majesty to give the master a posthumous title that will bring honor to our family."
"What about the others?"
"there is none left."
"Don't worry, ma'am. We will definitely convey your message!" The Jinyiwei clasped his fists and saluted, then returned to the gate of the mansion, jumped on his horse and left quickly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
