"Why did Hao Jie want to bully me?" Li Chengliang asked again, his voice trembling this time. "Why did Lao Xier want to bully me? Don't they want to do business outside the Great Wall?"

"I heard that Jiangnan Group is building a railway for them. Could they sell it to us in exchange?" Li Pinghu suddenly remembered something and said.

"Everything is possible!" Li Ning said in a deep voice.

"If Hao Jie is the one they planted, then all my efforts this time will be in vain." Li Chengliang smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid there's no way to escape."

"Marshal, don't be discouraged. Whether Liaodong is in chaos or not is up to us! No one can change this." Li Ning hurriedly comforted him, "As long as we have this capital, no one dares to push you into a desperate situation. It's nothing more than a negotiation!"

"Hmm..." Li Chengliang calmed down and thought that this made sense. He said in a deep voice: "Who should I talk to now? The Prime Minister, the Uncle, or the Emperor?"

"I don't think it's any use. Just like the Marshal said just now, if Hao Jie is determined to sell us out, the emperor won't let us stay." Li Ning said, "The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. We have to talk to whoever wants to deal with us."

"You mean... Young Minister?" Li Chengliang murmured, "He really won't give up until he achieves his goal."

"It's weird! He owns the most prosperous Jiangnan region in the world, and his overseas territories are said to be as large as the entire Ming Dynasty. Why does he always keep his eyes on our bitter and cold land outside the Great Wall?!" Li Pinghu said hatefully.

"Oh, stop complaining." Li Chengliang smiled bitterly and said to Li Ning, "We don't even know his whereabouts, where can we find him?"

"Contact the Northeast Company!" Li Ning reminded him, "They will definitely be able to help us get in touch!"

"That's right!" Li Chengliang suddenly realized. He always subconsciously regarded the Northeast Company as the property of the emperor's uncle, but always ignored who the real major shareholder was.

"Let's go back to Guangning!" Li Chengliang immediately turned his horse around and didn't even enter Liaoyang City.

~~

When Zhao Hao received the news from the Northeast Company that Li Chengliang wanted to meet, he was in Dengzhou Wei, across the sea from Liaodong, visiting Qi Jiguang who was recuperating at home.

As the saying goes, "You rise with this, you must fall with this." Qi Jiguang, as Zhang Juzheng's favorite general, was naturally hit hard in the anti-Zhang trend that began in the 15th year of Wanli. Although he had Zhao Shouzheng's protection, Qi Jiguang, the benchmark of Zhang's party, had to be brought down and discredited.

So, with the emperor's tacit approval or even instigation, the censors constantly attacked him for exaggerating his military exploits, deceiving the country, seeking fame and reputation for salary. They even slandered him by saying that Qi's army was not as victorious as Li's army, but only won a few victories occasionally, which were exaggerated by Zhang Juzheng and his party.

Moreover, they constantly attacked him for his flattery of Zhang Juzheng, saying that he often gave Zhang Juzheng Hu Ji Hai Dog Whip, and even that Zhang Juzheng died of impotence after taking the tiger and wolf medicine he gave him.

So he must have been extremely lustful and had many wives and concubines. How did he support so many women? He must have embezzled a lot of military pay, so there were constant calls for a thorough investigation of him.

Qi Jiguang suffered from stigma, depression, low immunity, and eventually contracted severe tuberculosis. He simply resigned from his post and returned to his hometown to recuperate.

But his life after returning home was not pleasant. First, his wife Wang insisted on divorcing him and no longer wanted to live with him.

This first-rank lady was a strong and strong-willed woman. Because Qi Jiguang secretly took a concubine and had a child, she searched the world for him with a knife, wanting to chop off little Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang was so frightened that he put on armor under his clothes and dared to go to Lady Wang's bedroom. He knelt in front of her and cried bitterly, saying that there are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no offspring. He took a concubine not because of lust, but just to pass on the family line. He also gave his eldest son Anguo to her to raise as her son, and the matter was finally settled.

But Mrs. Wang couldn't get over it. After her adopted son Qi Anguo died, she "took away all his wealth and returned it to the kings." That is, she took the initiative to divorce Qi Jiguang and returned to her parents' home... and when she left, she also took away all the wealth she had accumulated over the years.

You can't blame Mrs. Wang for being heartless. When she was young, her family was poor and she only had one fish. She only ate the head and tail of the fish, leaving the body for Qi Jiguang. It can only be said that a woman who has been heartbroken will definitely not show mercy.

Qi Jiguang was devastated by this. Although he had several concubines, he was truly in love with Lady Wang. Moreover, it was a rare story for a lady of the first rank to divorce her husband. How could Qi, who was always very proud, afford to lose this?

In order to win back his wife's heart, he sent all his concubines to live with his sons and begged for a remarriage, but Wang was determined and refused to see him again.

Civil and military officials, as well as local gentry and celebrities in Dengzhou, were afraid of being implicated by him and dared not associate with him.

Qi Jiguang was famous for half his life, but when he returned home due to old age and illness, everyone avoided him. Even his wife divorced him. He was desperate and donated his remaining money to renovate Penglai Pavilion. After that, he stayed indoors in the dilapidated old house, reading books and drinking all day, compiling his own collection of essays. He even stopped talking to his family. Only when he was drunk would he sigh to himself with tears in his eyes:

"I don't want credit, but you can't slander me either. I fought in five provinces, annihilated hundreds of thousands of enemies, and was wounded dozens of times. Could all this be considered a sin..."

Fortunately, with the joint efforts of Zhao Hao and his sons and a group of ministers, Emperor Wanli stopped overthrowing Zhang, and Qi Jiguang's life became a little better. But he was branded as Zhang Juzheng, so he could never rise again in this life.

~~

It was only after Zhao Hao heard from Zhu Jue about Qi Jiguang's recent situation that he hurriedly asked him to bring him to visit.

He didn't expect that Qi Jiguang's life was so miserable. He felt very guilty and thought he had not taken good care of this national hero.

In fact, he didn't need to do so. When his old subordinates, such as Jin Ke, Zhu Jue, and Hu Shouren, learned that the Marshal was in a miserable old age, they all sent people to give him a large amount of money. However, all of it was donated by Qi Jiguang to build bridges and roads. He was unwilling to spend even a penny on himself.

Qi Jiguang used this self-torture method to prove his innocence. I am not a corrupt official, I have never drunk a mouthful of blood from soldiers! I am not the kind of person who lives a life of luxury and debauchery!

Unfortunately, who would care about the performance of a retired old man? The emperor and his ministers in Beijing only believed in their own conjectures and would not listen to his explanations.

However, Qi Jiguang was still very happy about Zhao Hao's arrival.

He asked his son to prepare a banquet as sumptuous as possible to welcome Zhao Hao, and he even made an exception and had a few drinks.

During the meal, Qi Jiguang kept coughing and had to go to the toilet several times with the help of his son.

In fact, he is two years younger than Li Chengliang. He is only 62 years old this year, but he already looks old and frail, and is about to die.

This made it difficult for Zhao Hao to bring himself to ask him to come out of retirement.

When he went to the toilet for the third time, Qi Jiguang apologized: "Lian Po is old, I am embarrassed by you, young minister."

This made Zhu Jue, who was accompanying him, couldn't help but laugh secretly. After Qi Jiguang left, he whispered to Zhao Hao: "The Marshal is here to fight against Lian Po."

"Oh?" Zhao Hao suddenly realized. Qi Jiguang's tuberculosis had been cured by penicillin in Jiangnan Hospital. After two years of recuperation, he should be in good health.

Wow, even Marshal Qi with his thick eyebrows and big eyes is playing tricks on me.

Lian Po ate a bowl of rice and ten catties of meat in front of the envoy, and put on armor and mounted a horse to show that he was still useful. But the envoy went back and told the king of Zhao that although General Lian was old, he was still good at eating; but when he sat with me, he left three feces in a short time. This completely stopped the king of Zhao from using him.

Marshal Qi is also here to make three mistakes. Is it really to shut his mouth... Ugh, why are these words so disgusting?

We will know if this is the case by trying it out.

So when Qi Jiguang came back, Zhao Hao deliberately sighed and said, "I thought that after two years of recuperation, Shao Bao would be as vigorous as a dragon and a tiger again."

"Alas, I have been in the military for forty years, and I am already exhausted physically and mentally, and I am suffering from illness and pain." Qi Jiguang said bitterly: "Jimei, Anguo and Rulong have all passed away before me, so it is only natural that I will die."

"The Marshal is actually only in his early sixties, not old at all." Zhu Jue said with a smile: "Just take care of yourself for a while, and when you are well again, you will have to make achievements."

"My time has passed." Qi Jiguang said in a bleak tone, "I have fought more than a hundred battles in the north and south, on land and sea, large and small, and never lost a single one. The military exploits earned with the blood of my men cannot be erased! The record of my Qi Family Army is not diluted at all! We are worthy of the emperor and our ancestors."

Qi Jiguang's resolute square face trembled a few times before he suppressed the resentment deep in his heart. He smiled and said, "Qi has a clear conscience and has no regrets in death!"

As he said this, he picked up the wine glass and drank it down.

Zhao Hao poured him another glass of wine and said slowly, "Does Shao Bao really have no regrets?"

Qi Jiguang's expression changed slightly and he shook his head slowly.

"But I have a deep hatred, and I will never be able to let it go until it is gone!" Zhao Hao said loudly to himself: "That is, the Japanese pirates dared to invade China for more than ten years, burning, killing, and looting. The crimes they committed are too numerous to list! They have caused great suffering to the people of Southeast China, and every household owes them a blood debt!"

"Qi's army is a national hero. They won every battle and successfully fought against the Japanese pirates, which saved the people along the coast from the Japanese invasion!" He looked at Qi Jiguang and said, "But is it enough to drive the Japanese pirates out of the Ming Dynasty? They haven't paid back their blood debt yet!"

"What are you going to do?" Qi Jiguang was stunned for a moment.

"Those who openly offend the mighty Han will be punished no matter how far away they are!" Zhao Hao slammed the table and shouted, "If we don't spread the war to the three islands of Japan and completely destroy the Japanese slaves' lair, making them pay for their blood debt with blood and never be able to be reborn! How can this be considered a victory? How can this be considered a regret-free life!"

"If you say so, I cannot refute it," Qi Jiguang said with a wry smile, "To be honest, Marshal Yu and I have imagined countless times to cross the sea to suppress the Japanese, but that is simply unrealistic."

"It wasn't possible at that time because the Ming Dynasty didn't have a strong navy!" Zhu Jue couldn't help but interrupt, "But now, our coast guard fleet is invincible!"

"Yes, I came here this time to ask Shao Bao to come out and lead the army to make up for this regret." Zhao Hao sighed, pretended to stand up and said, "Alas, it's a pity that Lian Po is old, so I can only ask for someone else... Goodbye!"

As he said this, he bowed and turned around as if to leave.

"Wait!" Qi Jiguang stood up suddenly, no longer looking old and frail. "Who said I was old? I was just pretending!"