Chapter 168: Guarding the private house

This really made Li Meng ask, how should I answer? The real reason cannot be said, but the other reasons cannot be put on the table. Anyone who knows this thinks Li Meng's actions are so incredible, but the Zheng family will not be able to count on them for a while.

Eunuch Liu was able to help with what Li Meng wanted to do, but judging from this posture, he did not give the other party a suitable reason. The other party ignored the request for defense at all, and it was not the kind of ignoring it out of malicious intentions, but the attitude of the elders who were unwilling to do stupid things by the younger generation.

He was really stumped. Li Meng was thinking about it for a long time. Eunuch Liu was not in a hurry. He looked at Li Meng with a smile, covering the tea bowl in his hand, and frothing.

After a while, Li Meng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a deep voice:

"Saying an offensive uncle, the reason why my nephew went to Huguang is the same as your reason for coming to Nanjing."

The old eunuch was stunned when he heard this. After reacting, he raised his head and laughed. The eunuch's voice was sharp. Liu Fulai was older and laughed like an old lady. He put the tea bowl in his hand on the coffee table. His laughter stopped, but his face became a little heavy. He slowly spoke:

"Siliguan is always an important position. Nanjing guards are originally a place for retirement. Our family is old and has seen many in the capital. I always feel uneasy and have nothing to argue with them, so I invite this... It's a good place to support my elderly care!"

Li Meng didn't say anything, but just listened quietly. The old eunuch paused and said again:

"When we read the memorials and documents, we always feel that since the Tartars had fought the capital and ran around in Northern Zhili, we could still go to Shandong. Do you think this is the case?"

Since the other party found a reason for himself, Li Meng stopped talking, but just sat there respectfully. He was older and always talked more, even those in high positions were no exception. This eunuch was very similar to the elderly lady due to physiological reasons, and continued to say:

"Our family was in the palace when Grandpa Wanli was in power. This is not good, that is not good, but we always win battles outside. Even if we suffer losses outside, we are not bullied at the door of our house."

Speaking of this, the old eunuch was already feeling:

"I came in to the Silijian and looked at the memorials and documents everywhere. It was so scary. The Tartar soldiers entered the frontier from the outside and went home like going home. Our family had nightmares all day long. Our family was old and didn't want to fight anymore. Wang Chengen was in the Qiandi Palace and followed the current emperor. We couldn't move forward in the inner court, so we simply went to this beautiful place to retire and wait for death."

After saying that, he sighed again, and the atmosphere became so heavy. Li Meng just spoke up and said:

"Uncle is in good health. I see that you look much better than when I first met you. I look much younger. There are more good days!"

These words are a must-have routine to comfort the elderly, but they are very effective. Eunuch Liu laughed out loud, slapped his thigh and said:

"It's better to speak, so let's do it for you to adjust the errands and writings in Huguang. Our family will do it for you. When we come to Nanjing, we will have a free place with Wang Chengen's confidant. In addition, the money we bought in less than 100,000 yuan was still worthy of our kindness."

Having said that, it was equivalent to the old eunuch who had already agreed to his request. The feeling and temptation of each other just ended, and the matter was entrusted. Just talking a little bit longer, and soon someone shouted outside the door:

"Master, the wine and food are ready."

At lunch, I didn't eat well in Meilou. So many things happened next, and it was almost dark until now. Li Meng really felt empty. Eunuch Liu obviously knew this situation, and stood up with a smile and said:

"The chef here is not in the imperial city, but the famous chef we found in the restaurant outside. It tastes very good."

The two of them were in the inner house, and when they walked out of the room, they were dining. The weather in Nanjing was quite cold, but the house was burning with ground dragons, which was extremely warm. Several maids and little eunuchs were tidying up the dishes and chopsticks there, and the table was full of delicacies, but Li Meng really felt a little hungry.

As soon as he saw Eunuch Liu and Li Meng come in and set up the table, several servants bowed and left the room. As soon as they sat down, they saw the butler Liu Qian walk in. They first asked briefly, and then they were about to approach Eunuch Liu's ear and talk. Liu Fulai lowered his face and shook his head, and scolded him:

"This is my family, there is nothing to hide from, I have something to say."

The two sides had already spoken in private just now, and they were quite thorough. They regarded each other as their own people, and their relationship was much closer. This was also a way to show Li Meng's goodwill. Liu Qian was also Linglong's character. He directly smiled and accused Li Meng of guilt and started talking:

"Master, Zhang Pu came over and said he was here to get the 60,000 taels of silver and give it to him?"

This amount is already quite scary. Li Meng was uncomfortable sitting there. He didn't think about his 50,000 taels of silver. Now, the investment is really worth it, so it's better not to mention it. Eunuch Liu put down the wine glass he picked up again, and after a moment of pondering, he spoke:

"Give it to him, but I have to write a note and take it to our house later."

Liu Qian quickly bowed and agreed, turned around and walked out. Eunuch Liu raised the porcelain wine cup in his hand to greet him. Li Meng quickly raised his hands to respond, which was considered to have begun a private banquet.

Although Li Meng didn't ask, Eunuch Liu himself talked about the 60,000 taels of silver just now. He was quite disdainful in his words and said with a sarcastic expression:

"Old Wen blocked the road below on the stage. Donglin and his group of people have long disliked him. Now Old Wen and Cao Huachun are against each other. Those in the court and the north of Jiangnan and Donglin are all active, preparing to overthrow Wen Tiren and push Zhou Yanru into the cabinet to be the chief assistant."

Old Wen, it was not until Eunuch Liu mentioned Wen Tiren's full name that Li Meng realized that this person was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet of the dynasty, the chief assistant Wen Tiren, and Cao Huachun was the eunuch in the Imperial Horse Supervision. Zhou Yanru didn't know what he was doing, but the names of these people often appeared in Dibao and Tangbao.

"Wen Tiren is known as an isolated minister and does not form a clique. Who in the capital knows that he is the leader of the Zhejiang Party. Anyone who comes from Hangzhou, Jia and Hu can be valued. The Donglin Party expresses its loyalty to the country. Zhang Pu's activities are borrowing money from our family and Ruan Dacheng to bring down Wen Tiren so that their people from Nanzhili can go up. Su Songchang's scholars are rich, and why are they so addicted to being an official? From the Year of the Tianqi period to the present, they have been struggling endlessly."

The eunuch's tone was quite despised, so Li Meng said it as a joke. Li Meng didn't know that although Zhang Pu was a juren at the moment, he was the famous founder of the "Fushe" and one of the leaders of the Donglin Party. He was called "the king of heaven" and "there was a talented person in charge of the world" by scholars in Nanzhili. He was considered to be the first-class famous scholar among the people.

These people have a reputation among the people as gods, and are idols in the hearts of scholars. However, in the eyes of Eunuch Liu, in a high position and at the center, there are also times when they naturally have some unique views and opinions on these so-called "famous scholars and important officials".

The contents that Liu Fu said are actually the same as those of modern times when people like to talk about political gossip. When the people are promoted to fight, they all spit out and become enthusiastic when talking about the emperor and the prime minister. What Eunuch Liu said is similar, but the authenticity is much higher.

Li Meng had something in his heart, stood up and apologized and said:

"Uncle, I'm still in the military camp with my nephew's men, and I want to see if they have been settled."

Hearing Li Meng's words, Eunuch Liu burst into laughter and said:

"Sit down, sit down, how can I be slow to treat your people? They have fish and meat in this military camp these days. What are you worried about?"

Li Meng smiled awkwardly and sat there. Both sides chatted for a few more gossips, but Eunuch Liu smiled with emotion:

"The previous news said that your more than a thousand soldiers and horses fought against the thieves, but they actually cut off hundreds of heads and almost all of them. Such a case of war is really unheard of in the Silijian, which scared our family.

Later, someone asked, and said it was true, but it shocked our family. I thought to myself that even if you are in Jiaozhou, you can get tens of thousands of soldiers.... I don’t know how to train this soldier.”

Li Meng has always been difficult to understand this. He thought that it was just an organized soldier to unorganized bandits, whether it was training, equipment, or even battlefield discipline and logistics support. The difference between the two sides was not just a plan. Such a result also exposed his training and tactical shortcomings, otherwise the result would be great.

Why do people around me feel dissatisfied with the results of the war that need to be reviewed? Although there are often cases of tens of thousands of troops exterminated riots and beheading hundreds of people to claim victory. Li Meng is still suspicious of these war reports. It is not that he doubts about false reports, but that the battlefield statistics of this era may not be accurate, and there must be many that are not included.

But today's words of Eunuch Liu greatly touched Li Meng. The military relations that eunuchs in Nanjing were exposed to should be the most core and confidential things in the entire Ming Dynasty, and there would not be too many information and incidents that could conceal him. But Liu Fulai still sincerely expressed his surprise.

So how declining the soldiers and horses in the last days of the Ming Dynasty would have such incredible "surprise" and "disbelief" that violated common sense would appear.

Eunuch Liu was indeed a little happy. Maybe he felt that there was such a half-benefactor and half-relative who had no conflict of interest here, so he could speak casually, but as a result, he drank a few more glasses of wine and even started talking.

Li Meng sat there without listening at all. A voice in his mind was constantly echoing, becoming louder and louder:

"Maybe I shouldn't protect myself, maybe I can do something too!"
Chapter completed!