"Li Xingzhong cheated His Highness Prince Zhao out of one million taels of silver in the name of playing mahjong!" The Left Chief Clerk of Prince Zhao's Mansion continued to recount Li Xingzhong's crimes.
Princess Zhao sat in the sedan chair in silence for a moment: "Anything else?"
Zuo Changshi was stunned for a moment: "No...no more."
"Oh." The Princess Dowager of Zhao responded first, and then ordered the servants carrying the sedan chair: "Go home."
Um?
The left chief secretary of the Zhao Wang Mansion was stunned. He hurriedly stepped forward to the side of the sedan chair and asked again in a heavy tone: "Zhao Wang's Concubine, Li Xingzhong cheated Zhao Wang of one million taels of silver, and you just left like that?"
"What else?" The Princess Dowager of Prince Zhao lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, stared at Zuo Changshi calmly and asked back.
"Li Xingzhong is just a general of Baoding. He certainly wouldn't dare to contradict you, the Princess Dowager of Zhao!"
The Princess Dowager of Zhao raised her eyebrows sharply and asked with a very cold expression, "Li Xingzhong is the son of Li Rusong and the grandson of Li Chengliang! He had been serving as the deputy general of the central army in Liaodong before, but now he has been suddenly promoted to the general. What does this mean?"
"It means...the Li family is being reused again." Zuo Changshi replied helplessly.
"Who uses him?" The Queen Mother of Prince Zhao asked again.
"Your Majesty..."
"Oh!" The face of the Queen Mother of King Zhao turned from cold to icy. "To oppose Li Xingzhong is to oppose the court and the current emperor! How can we, an orphan and a widow, dare to oppose the emperor? Aren't you pushing us mother and son into the fire pit?"
Following the words of the Princess Dowager of Zhao, Zuo Changshi's face turned red and white. He stood there in silence like a child who had made a mistake.
When the Princess Dowager of King Zhao saw that Zuo Changshi had no more words to refute, she sighed and said, "Hey! I know what you are thinking. When His Majesty is in trouble, no one wants to be the first to help."
"If we do a good job, the credit may not belong to us. If we do a bad job, those court officials will put us first when judging the crime!"
"Once this gap is opened, it will get bigger and bigger. From now on, the King of Zhao is your majesty's King of Zhao. Only in this way can we survive the attacks of other vassal kings."
"Yes or no?"
"Yes!" Zuo Changshi blushed and looked a little excited. Every word of the Princess Dowager Zhao was in his heart, and he couldn't help but be excited.
The Queen Mother of Prince Zhao continued, "But have you ever thought about this: if His Majesty died for his country because no one helped him, what would happen to the Ming Dynasty?"
"This..." Zuo Changshi hesitated and didn't dare to speak.
"I know what you scholars are thinking. There are so many princes in the Ming Dynasty. If all the princes die, there are still the princes of the counties. If all the princes of the counties die, there are still the generals who guard the country. You can pick any one of them to become the emperor, right?"
Zuo Changshi's face was already red with shame, and he wished he could stuff his head into his pants so that no one could see his expression.
"But you forgot!" The Queen Mother of King Zhao sighed again: "Although things have not gone as planned since the current emperor ascended the throne, the world has recognized his majesty very much. The common people don't have much good feelings towards the surname Zhu, but they admire the current emperor from the bottom of their hearts."
"The king of a country only eats vegetarian food, wears patched clothes, goes to court before dawn, and rests only after sunset. He has been doing this for more than ten years! Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, which king is so hardworking? In addition, your majesty has a queen who can cook, weave, and sew clothes."
"besides..."
Seeing that the Princess Dowager of Zhao was about to continue speaking, Zuo Changshi interrupted her in shame: "I know I was wrong, Princess Dowager of Zhao, please stop talking."
The Princess Dowager of Zhao stared at Zuo Changshi for a long time and breathed a sigh of relief: "Since Li Xingzhong needs our help, we should help him if we can. Helping him is helping His Majesty. You have heard about Li Zicheng's methods against the vassal kings. Helping His Majesty now is helping ourselves."
"I understand! I will do as the Princess Dowager Zhao wishes as soon as I get back!" The Left Chief Clerk bowed deeply, intending to see the Princess Dowager Zhao off.
He no longer had the face to face the woman in front of him.
The Princess Dowager of Zhao reached out to lower the curtain of the sedan chair, and before leaving, she asked again, "Do you know why you didn't use money to recruit soldiers to fight against the bandits when you were in Zhangde Prefecture?"
Zuo Changshi blinked his eyes and said, "I don't know. Please enlighten me, Princess Dowager Zhao."
"I don't trust those officials. We'd be lucky if only 20% of the money we earn can be used by the recruited people! People who don't know will think we are stingy and unwilling to spend money to recruit soldiers. People who know will hate the officials of Zhangde Prefecture even more and wish to open the city gates to let Li Zicheng kill those corrupt officials. How can we defend this city?"
"We, an orphan and a widow, just want to survive in this chaotic world. Is that wrong?"
Zuo Changshi's face was filled with all kinds of colors. Every word from the Princess Dowager Zhao was a slap in the face, making him feel ashamed.
Especially on the issue of corruption, every word is true, like a thorn in my side.
"Just pretend that what happened today never happened. Prince Zhao was a gambler and lost one million taels of silver to Li Xingzhong, the general of Baoding. The transaction was completed on the same day. That's it!" After saying that, Prince Zhao's Concubine Dowager patted the sedan chair lightly, and the servants immediately lifted it up and walked slowly in the direction they came from.
Zuo Changshi looked at the direction where the sedan chair left and his mood could not calm down for a long time.
Although the Queen Mother of Prince Zhao was just a woman, her ability to deal with people, especially her ability to analyze the current situation, was no worse than those first-rank officials in the court.
In addition, it was a time of chaos, so King Zhao had a bright future.
After thinking this through, Zuo Changshi immediately ran back to the Daming government office, intending to do as the Princess Dowager Zhao wished.
As soon as I walked into the lobby, I heard the childish voice of King Zhao coming from the left side of the lobby: "Arrogant!"
Zuo Changshi looked to the left blankly.
turn out to be.
Prince Zhao and Prince Zhou were sitting obediently in their chairs, listening to Li Xingzhong telling about the harsh words Li Zicheng uttered when he besieged Daming Prefecture.
"Li Chuang the bandit actually dared to say that he would massacre the city if you don't surrender within three days. He is so arrogant!"
Li Xingzhong looked up at the former Left Chief Clerk. If the Queen Mother of Prince Zhao also said she would not lend it, he would leave here without hesitation.
The worst that can happen is that the city will be destroyed and we will die in battle!
Anyway, he has done his best, and he has done justice to the spirits of the Li family's ancestors in heaven and to the current emperor.
The left chief secretary bowed deeply and said, "The King of Zhao loves gambling. Today he lost one million taels of silver to General Li. If it is convenient, General Li, please go with me to hand over the silver."
"how?"
Li Xingzhong breathed a sigh of relief and clasped his hands to Zhao Wang Zhu Chang, saying, "Your Highness, Zhao Wang is so open-minded. I admire you!"
Seeing Li Xingzhong was about to leave, the King of Zhao stretched out his hand to stop him: "General Li, when the bandit Li Chuang attacks the city, you must tell me. I want to climb the city wall and fight against the bandits together with the defenders!"
Li Xingzhong lowered his head and looked at King Zhao seriously, and saw fighting spirit on his young face.
Who says that all the princes of the Ming Dynasty are selfish?
King Zhao's descendants did not disappoint King Zhao's expectations!
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