The capital city was bleak at the end of August, with the official roads littered with withered yellow leaves.

At this time, the city gates had just opened, but there were very few merchants and travelers waiting to enter and exit Deshengmen. This was because it was the annual martial law period. Dong Huli in the north and Altan in the west could lead thousands of troops to plunder at any time.

Therefore, from August to October every year, the people in the capital would hide in the city, and would not resume activities until the Tartars left the city and the alarm was lifted.

Although the number of times Dong Huli went south has greatly decreased in the past two years since the famous Qi Jiguang was transferred to Jizhen, how could the fear he had developed over the years be dispelled in a short time?

At Desheng Gate, people were hunching their necks and queuing up to be inspected before entering the city. During the martial law period, the government's inspections were much stricter than usual.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried horse hooves sounded from the official road in the north, and a team of cavalry with small flags on their backs galloped over.

When the officer guarding the gate saw that it was a military report, he quickly ordered people to remove the barricades and let them in. The common people also quickly hid on both sides, looking around nervously.

"Is it that Fox Dong is coming?" someone asked in a trembling voice.

"Victory news, victory news!" The knights on horseback shouted in unison as they galloped, "Great victory at Xifengkou!"

"Our army killed more than 10,000 enemies and captured 30,000. Dong Huli tied himself up and surrendered..."

Before he finished speaking, the cavalrymen had already galloped into the city and disappeared into the street.

People looked at each other in bewilderment at Desheng Gate.

"We won the fight, did I hear that correctly?"

"You heard it right, it's a victory report!" Someone said in disbelief, "It's said that we killed 10,000 enemies, captured 30,000, and even captured Dong Huli."

"Is this true? Are you just bragging?" The exaggerated victory made the people unbelievable. "The Mongols were riding horses, how could the government troops catch their legs?"

"Yes, they always boast of great victories, but what's the result? The Mongols keep coming back year after year." An old man said angrily, "They are just killing innocent people to claim credit!"

"Don't talk nonsense, that's Marshal Qi!" A merchant from the south immediately protested, "He has already made great contributions in the fight against the Japanese in the south. Why would he kill innocent people to take credit for it and ruin his reputation?!"

"Can the Japanese pirates be compared with the Tartars..." The old man blushed and said speciously, "Those without horses are scum, and those with horses are the elites!"

"Come on, stop arguing." The captain guarding Deshengmen put an end to the quarrel. "This must be true."

"What do you mean, sir?" The people looked at the centurion.

"Killing innocent people and claiming credit for it, the key lies in the word 'killing'. Only when there is no evidence of the crime can one claim credit for it. When I was in Xuanfu..." The captain sounded like an expert as soon as he opened his mouth, and it was estimated that he had done this before.

"Well, in short, they definitely won't leave anyone alive. Since General Qi dared to report 30,000 prisoners, and Dong Huli also surrendered, the court would of course send officials to verify it. Moreover, with such a great victory, prisoners would most likely be offered as tribute. Those are 30,000 living Mongols, how could they be faked?"

"That makes sense..." The people couldn't help but nod their heads. It seemed that there was no way to justify the lie this way.

"So, Marshal Qi really won a great victory?" Everyone became excited at once.

"That's for sure!" The captain laughed and waved his fists, tears of joy in his eyes.

"Ahhh!" The people and soldiers inside and outside Deshengmen cheered as if relieved.

The crackling sound of firecrackers rang out all over the capital city. It was the people who got the news and were celebrating spontaneously.

How many generations of the Ming Dynasty had been abused by the Tartars? Even the emperor could be abducted, and the important areas of the capital were looted again and again. The Tartars appeared outside the city of Beijing countless times.

It's shameful, so shameful. The Second Ancestor's face has been lost to the Yinshan Mountains! If there was no big coward, the Ming Dynasty would be the worst Han dynasty in history. Just change it to "Xiao Ming"...

Now we can finally put the "Tartar phobia" behind the Yinshan Mountains!

There's no reason to celebrate!

~~

In Wenyuan Pavilion, the grand secretaries received the military report first.

"Hahahaha!" Gao Gong's laughter was as loud as a bell, and it seemed to blow the roof off.

"What do you think, Taiyue? My decision was right, wasn't it?" He shook Zhang Juzheng's shoulders vigorously, and said complacently, "If I had listened to you at the beginning, how could we have won such a great victory?"

Zhang Juzheng's beard was messed up by the shaking, but he couldn't break free, so he could only smile bitterly and said, "Mr. Xuan is wise, I was conservative."

"Hahaha, I'm more adventurous, and you're more steady. We're a perfect match... oh no, a perfect golden pair." Gao Gong happily pulled him up and said, "Come on, let's go and tell the emperor the good news together."

"Okay." Zhang Juzheng was pulled up helplessly by him, and he did not forget to say to Li Chunfang and Zhao Zhenji: "Would you two go together?"

The two men hesitated for a while. As this was such a rare and happy event, they certainly wanted to show up, but seeing Gao Gong's unfriendly look, they knew he didn't want them to join in the fun.

It was better not to humiliate themselves, so the two university scholars had to force a smile and say that they were busy. In order to prove that he was really busy, Li Chunfang even picked up a memorial and pretended to read it.

"Taiyue, hurry up, there are too many people who talk too much, don't let anyone get ahead of you." Gao Gong then withdrew his warning look and happily pulled Zhang Juzheng out.

After the two of them left, Zhao Zhenji stood up and walked to Li Chunfang's table.

The Prime Minister was staring at the door in a daze and didn't even notice that the memorial was upside down.

Even though he claimed that "the highest virtue is like water, which takes the shape of whatever it is", and had been bullied by Gao Gong for the past year to the point of almost becoming a quail, he still felt a little sad this time.

How could he not even bring me along with him in such a matter? Wouldn't it let His Majesty see that I, the Prime Minister, was just a decoration? Woohoo, Prime Minister Li, who had been trying so hard to pretend that everything was under control, wanted to cry.

"Mr. Yuan, Gao Huzi is too much!" Zhao Zhenji slammed the table, frightening Li Chunfang. He wanted to use this method to call back the courage of this old man.

"Who is the Prime Minister in this cabinet? It's you! But how has Gao ever taken you seriously? He always regards himself as the Prime Minister and only discusses everything with Zhang Taiyue. He doesn't take us seriously at all!" Zhao Zhenji became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. "I'm not trying to cause trouble, but if I were the Prime Minister, I would never let it go!"

"Alas..." Li Chunfang sighed, looking at Zhao Zhenji who was puffing his beard and glaring, and said, "What if you are unwilling to give up? Gao Xinzheng is the emperor's favorite, and the court has been dealt with by him. And most importantly, he has made outstanding achievements in politics..."

"This..." Even though Zhao Zhenji hated Gao Gong extremely, he had to admit that Gao Huzi was very capable and powerful!

In just one year since he took office, he had appointed Yin Zhengmao against all odds to capture Wei Yinbao alive and pacify Guangxi. He appointed Pan Jixun as the chief of the river transport and repaired the Yellow River this year. He also appointed Wang Chonggu to stabilize the northwest. Now, under his command, Qi Jiguang has won a great victory at Xifengkou!

These hard facts were enough to shut everyone up. Gao Gong's achievements in one year were equivalent to those of the previous ten years, which made the previous prime ministers look swollen. Yan Song was dead, and Xu Jie was also disgraced, so of course it didn't matter. All doubts were focused on Li Chunfang, the incumbent prime minister. This made him less confident to compete with Gao Gong...

At first, he thought that as long as he did not interfere with Gao Gong's affairs and was a quiet decoration, everyone could live in peace. But as Gao Gong made rapid progress, he found that things began to change. His staying and not leaving would become the biggest sin.

"Alas, having such a subordinate who has strong connections, strong abilities, and is difficult to get along with is the evil star in my life." Thinking of this, Li Chunfang was a little discouraged. It was hard to find a boss as easy to talk to as himself, but Gao Huzi didn't cherish him. "I can't do anything about him, you should also think more positively."

"Even rabbits bite when they are angry!" Seeing his weak and spineless appearance, Zhao Zhenji was furious and said, "I am in charge of the Censorate now. I don't believe there will be no chance to teach him a lesson!"

No matter how snotty Li Chunfang was, he was still the chief minister of the cabinet, and Gao Gong had to give him some face. But how could Gao Huzi take Zhao Zhenji, a university scholar at the bottom of the list, seriously? He ordered him around all day, ordered him around at will, and even beat him from time to time. Zhao Zhenji was such an arrogant person. He dared to offend Yan Song again and again in the past, so how could he tolerate this?

"Please don't do that." Li Chunfang hurriedly advised: "Gao Suqing is reluctant to attack Ke Dao because of the previous agreement, so he is waiting for you to give him this excuse."

"I'll find the right opportunity." Zhao Zhenji hummed, not knowing if he had heard it. He then asked in a low voice, "Yuan Fu, what do you think Zhang Taiyue is thinking?"

"What are you thinking?" Li Chunfang pretended to be confused.

"He used to be the only one who could attract the attention of others. He was such an arrogant person. But now he has become a flute-playing boy under Gao Huzi. How can he feel comfortable?" Zhao Zhenji then said to himself, "Besides, Zhang Taiyue was in charge of the military affairs. But he came and interfered. Everything had to be done according to his will. Not only did he replace the governor of Xuanda, but he also took advantage of Jizhen. Qi Jiguang was raised by Zhang Juzheng as a child bride. But when they were about to consummate the marriage, Gao Huzi took him away as his wife. How can he feel happy?"

"Well..." Li Chunfang said carefully, "My classmate is very scheming. Who knows what he is thinking?"

In fact, Li Chunfang knew that Zhang Juzheng had done a lot behind Gao Gong's reinstatement last year. At that time, Zhao Zhenji had not yet entered the cabinet, so he naturally had no way of knowing such secrets. But Li Chunfang did not intend to tell him, obviously wanting Zhao Zhenji to fight with Gao Gong, so that even if he could not do anything to Gao, he could still vent his anger.

"He and Gao Huzi are both very arrogant. I think it must be uncomfortable for two hedgehogs to hug each other." Zhao Zhenji became more and more confident in his judgment and said, "I will talk to him later and see if it is possible to bring him over."

"Go ahead. I support you." Li Chunfang nodded and gave Zhao Zhenji a spanking. However, she secretly sighed in her heart that he was already an adult, but he still missed peaches.

However, Zhang Juzheng is a treacherous and cunning guy. Maybe he will take advantage of him.