Chapter 12: Yuan Chonghuan (Part 2)

  "What are you people, the Imperial Guards or spies from the Eastern Depot?" Yuan Chonghuan asked calmly. He knew that the imperial court and the eunuch party would not let their guard down around him, and there must be spies from the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards by his side. Only these people could have known about the two poems. If Nurhaci had known about the two poems, he should have tried every means to inform the Ming court, and Yuan Chonghuan would not still be safely staying in Ningyuan City.

  Zhu Yinglong was taken aback, but at this moment Xiong Tingbi suddenly took a step forward, grasped Yuan Chonghuan's shoulders with one hand, and exclaimed: "Elemental younger brother, don't you recognize your older brother?"

  Yuan Chonghuan, despite his martial prowess, had both arms firmly grasped by Xiong Tingbi and was unable to move. He could only carefully examine the person in front of him. When his gaze met Xiong Tingbi's eyes, his heart leapt to his throat, and he exclaimed in shock: "You... you're Big Brother Xiong? You... aren't you already..."

  Xiong Tingbi was also moved to tears, and with a strong effort to suppress his emotions, he said: "This matter is long in the telling, my younger brother, you just listen while I tell it to you in detail."

  Yuan Chonghuan's current mood is simply indescribably excited, he never thought that a beheaded person could come back to life and stand in front of him, it was like being in a dream, completely forgetting the presence of Zhu Yinglong beside him, and exclaimed: "Brother Xiong, is it really you? You're not dead?"

  Xiong Tingbi also burst into tears of joy and laughed loudly: "If I were dead, who would be standing in front of you?"

  "Brother Xiong, what's going on here?" Yuan Chonghuan asked hastily, full of questions.

  Xiong Tingbi then told the whole story of how he was rescued, and of course, he also told the truth about Zhu Yinglong, the loyal king. He told Yuan Chonghuan everything, leaving him stunned and speechless. He never could have imagined that there would be so many twists and turns in the story.

  At this time, Zhu Yinglong smiled and interjected, "How about it, General Yuan? Do you know who I am now?"

  "Your subordinate, the former Dao Ping's Investigating Censor, Yuan Chonghuan, pays his respects to His Highness, King Xian!" Yuan Chonghuan was startled in his heart and already knew Zhu Yinglong's identity, so he hastily knelt down to pay his respects.

  "General Yuan, please get up quickly!" Zhu Yinglong said with a smile as he came forward to support him.

  Yuan Chonghuan stood up and said: "Your Highness, what about those two poems of mine?"

  This question made Zhu Yinglong very embarrassed, as he had actually seen these two poems in the history books of his original time and space. Now it seemed that they had never been passed down, nor could they have been. He had just been trying to show off and give Yuan Chonghuan a mysterious impression, but now he was at a loss for how to explain himself. Fortunately, he thought quickly and came up with an excuse: "I met a Jin soldier who was being pursued by the Golden Army on my way here. We rescued him, but unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and he soon died. I got these two poems from him."

  Xiong Tingbi was taken aback, and the words that had reached his lips were swallowed back into his belly. He also knew that Zhu Yinglong had an intelligence organization under him, with his son as its leader. These two poems should have been transmitted to Zhu Yinglong through that shadowy organization, a fairly reasonable explanation. However, since it involved secrets, he naturally couldn't ask more questions.

  Yuan Chonghuan didn't quite believe this explanation either. He also knew that there were many Jin Yiwei spies around him, but he was a clever person and knew that it wouldn't make sense to investigate further on this matter. When the emperor's younger brother, Prince Xian of Zhu, suddenly appeared in Ningyuan City, what did it mean? He wasn't foolish enough to believe that Prince Xian had come to Ningyuan City at the behest of the Tianqi Emperor. According to imperial regulations, princes were not allowed to associate with external officials. Since he had gone to great lengths to see him under suspicion of being a spy, there must be something important that he wanted to discuss with him. Was Prince Xian planning to rebel? This thought flashed through his mind and was immediately dismissed. He knew the character of his elder brother, who would rather die than become a treacherous official. So what did they want to see him for?

  "The king first of all wants to congratulate General Yuan on his victory in the Battle of Ningyuan." Zhu Yinglong said with a smile.

  Yuan Chonghuan calmly said: "Your Highness is overpraising, this victory was exchanged with the lives of my brothers, I dare not take credit for it."

  "In the battle of Ningyuan, my foolish brother admired his younger brother's skill extremely. He was actually able to severely injure Nurhaci and cause him to fall off his horse! How formidable!" Xiong Tingbi stretched out his thumb in genuine praise.

  "What a pity it wasn't an explosive shell, that one was just a solid shot. Otherwise, the notorious outlaw would have lost his life under Ningyuan City." Zhu Yinglong took over and sighed with regret.

  "The king is wrong, even if it were a shell, Nurhaci might not have died under the Ningyuan city wall. With Nurhaci's combat experience, he would never let himself be hit by shells. He was seriously injured because of his old age and also because he had been slightly injured the day before, which made him inconvenient to move on the second day, so he fell off his horse. His injury has little to do with the shell." Yuan Chonghuan explained.

  Zhu Yinglong's face flushed, but he had to admit that Yuan Chonghuan was right, and his own view of the problem was somewhat one-sided. He hastily said: "General Yuan is absolutely right, it was this king who was wrong."

  Zhu Yinglong's attitude made Yuan Chonghuan slightly surprised in his heart, he had never seen a proud royal noble put down his face and admit that he was not enough, and even admitted his mistake in person. He hurriedly bowed and said: "This official has this temper, please forgive me, Your Highness."

  Zhu Yinglong burst out laughing and waved his hand, saying: "General Yuan is right, what crime is there to punish!"

  "Your Highness, we can't stay here for too long. If you have anything to say, please tell Brother Xuan quickly." Xiong Tingbi didn't forget the purpose of this trip and reminded him that staying here for a long time would arouse suspicion.

  Zhu Yinglong nodded to indicate that he understood, and straightforwardly faced Yuan Chonghuan, saying sincerely: "General Yuan, you must know the current situation of the imperial court. Eunuchs are in power, and state affairs are corrupt. I have a mind to come out and reorganize the government, eliminate evil and treacherous officials, and hope that General Yuan can assist me with his strength!"

  Yuan Chonghuan's face changed greatly as soon as he heard it, and he looked at Xiong Tingbi beside him with a gaze that not only had disappointment and disbelief but also carried a hint of inquiry. He made Xiong Tingbi look down in shame, shaking his head repeatedly: "Now the Emperor is just temporarily deceived by eunuchs, Your Highness as the current Emperor's younger brother should persuade him to stay away from treacherous officials, how can you have such thoughts? Please forgive me for not being able to agree."

  The answer that had long been anticipated, Zhu Yinglong did not show the slightest displeasure and said: "This king is not what the general thinks, this king only wants to unite a group of ambitious men to eliminate the eunuch party and give the people a clear sky. However, the power of the eunuch party is too great, and this king's forces are weak and isolated, so he took the risk of coming to see the general. Whether or not this king becomes emperor is unimportant, but if General Yuan says that this king does not want to sit on that throne, it would be hard to believe. As long as his imperial brother is in power or has an heir, this king can swear that he will never covet the throne. I hope the general understands this king's heart and does not reject this king's good intentions!"

  Zhu Yinglong's words were sincere and heartfelt, without any pretence, and he directly expressed his true intentions without any concealment. Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but distrust him, but since Tianqi Emperor had shown him kindness, how could he betray that trust? If he were to believe Wang Zhen and eliminate the eunuch party, would he still be saying such things today? Probably no one would dare to believe it. People's hearts can change, and all he wanted was to defend the Liaodong border for the imperial court, without getting involved in complex political struggles. After careful consideration, he ultimately shook his head and refused.

  Zhu Yinglong's face was somewhat dim, although he had mentally prepared himself, but the taste of being rejected by others was still unbearable. Yuan Chonghuan also promised not to leak out today's events, and Zhu Yinglong also ordered Xiong Tingbi to leave 500,000 taels of silver tickets for Yuan Chonghuan, instructing him to use them carefully. These silvers were not Zhu Yinglong bribing Yuan Chonghuan, but for the entire Ningyuan City. The court would not allocate money and silver to Ningyuan, even if they did, it wouldn't be much. With this sum of money, Yuan Chonghuan's defense of Ningyuan would be much easier. Fortunately, Yuan Chonghuan was not too stubborn, so this sum of money was treated as a donation from merchants to help Ningyuan build city walls and defend the city.

  Fortunately, there was no encounter with Sun Shouxing's situation of cutting off the robe and breaking the righteousness. Xiong Tingbi's hanging heart finally fell, but the feelings between brothers had already produced obvious cracks, and it was a kind that was difficult to make up for. The two brothers now belong to two different camps, and there is only the possibility of merging when they belong to one camp on a certain day. It is also possible that this life will not be merged. Xiong Tingbi's annoyance in his heart can be imagined.

  As they walked out of the Ningyuan City's prison, both of them looked back at the same time. Zhu Yinglong said seriously to Xiong Tingbi: "General Xiong, it was all my fault. Don't worry, you and General Yuan will definitely become my trusted aides. I promise you!"

  "Your Highness..." Xiong Tingbi's voice trembled with emotion, the grand prince's words had already moved him deeply. The Tianqi Emperor had shown favor to Yuan Chonghuan, and he believed that Prince Xin also had a lifesaving grace towards himself. Moreover, Prince Xin was not acting out of personal desire, so wasn't this worth his lifelong devotion?

  There's already a golden house in the book, scanning will bring even more surprises. Open WeChat immediately, scan the QR code or search for the public account "Starting Point", add attention and take it down easily!