Shi Kefa saw that Shi Dewei looked flustered and disrespectful, and was about to reprimand him when he heard Shi Dewei say in panic: "Father, it's not good, I just received news that Your Majesty has been besieged by rebels one after another in Shangdang... ..."
"What, you said His Majesty is in the Party?"
Shi Kefa didn't wait for Shi Dewei to finish, and interrupted him with a look of surprise.
Stewie nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, it is said that His Majesty has been attacked twice by rebels."
"Especially in the second sneak attack, the opponent actually had five thousand people and was very powerful. Fortunately, Uncle Jingnan arrived in time and was able to repel the rebels!"
When Shi Kefa heard this, he couldn't help but frowned.
Shen Tingyang on the side saw this and whispered: "Brother Xian, since His Majesty is under attack in Shangdang, we should immediately send troops to protect him!"
Shi Kefa said helplessly: "Brother Ji Ming, we only brought two thousand soldiers and horses here. Even if we send all of them, it will be useless!"
"And Gao Jie and Xie Sheng are only thinking about Shandong and may not be willing to go there. How do you want me to escort them?"
Shen Tingyang frowned and said, "Brother Xian, what time is it now? You still don't care whether they are willing or not."
"In my opinion, I will directly order them to send troops together. If anyone disobeys, they will be punished according to military law. I don't believe they dare to rebel!"
Shi Kefa shook his head and said: "No, Xie Sheng doesn't have many troops. If we let him divide his troops again, it may be difficult to fight against Gao Jie."
Shen Tingyang frowned and said, "Then let Gao Jie fight?"
Shi Kefa shook his head again and said, "That won't work either. Gao Jie is a gangster. If he is forced into a hurry, something will happen."
"And I suspect that Your Majesty transferred him out of Shanxi earlier because he was afraid that he would secretly communicate with the rebels. You are sending him to escort him now. If he robs the emperor and joins the rebels, wouldn't we become the sinners of the Ming Dynasty! "
Shen Tingyang sighed: "Brother Xian, not everything in this world has the best of both worlds. You are so forward..."
"Two adults, can you listen to me?"
Yan Ermei knew that although Shen Tingyang was a civil servant, he was heroic and chivalrous, so to prevent him from saying too much, she hurriedly interrupted him.
Shen Tingyang also realized that he had lost his sense of proportion just now, and looked at Yan Ermei with some gratitude and said: "Brother Yongqing, if you have any clever ideas, tell me quickly!"
Yan Ermei glanced at Shi Kefa again, and after seeing him nodding slightly, she said, "Two adults, I don't think you need to worry."
"His Majesty has always acted carefully, and the exposure of his whereabouts may have been intentional, so we might as well wait and see what happens, lest it affect His Majesty's plan."
Shi Kefaben also had this idea. After listening to Yan Ermei's words, he asked again: "Brother Yongqing, although your words are reasonable, you should not be afraid of ten thousand in everything, just be afraid of the unexpected."
"What if His Majesty accidentally leaks his whereabouts and triggers a siege by the rebels? If we don't protect him and His Majesty's body is damaged, wouldn't that be a capital crime?"
Yan Ermei shook her head slightly and was about to speak when a personal guard came in to report that Xie Sheng was outside asking for a meeting.
Shi Kefa was stunned, and after signaling Shi Dewei to greet him, he said to Shen and Yan: "Although this Xie Sheng can be considered a member of the civil servant family, he is very cunning and not of my generation."
"You must not mention His Majesty's siege for a while, lest he take advantage of it and cause trouble."
It turns out that Xie Sheng lost his father when he was young, and he and his younger brother Xie Bi were raised by their mother. Because their family was in decline and they had no father to protect them, they were often ridiculed by others.
Fortunately, Xie Sheng was smart and ambitious, so he ignored the ridicule and just focused on studying.
After ten years of hard study, he finally passed the Jinshi examination in the spring of the 35th year of Wanli, ranking third and 35th, and began his career as an official.
In fact, the timing of Xie's promotion to the official position was not good, because when he arrived in the capital, the struggle between the Donglin Party and the literati of Shandong, Zhejiang, and Anhui was very fierce.
However, Xie Sheng was a shrewd man and did not easily take sides. He just followed the trend and fulfilled his duties, so he spent twenty-seven years in peace.
Later, Chongzhen revitalized the imperial court, and Xie Sheng was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Personnel because of his seriousness and outstanding achievements.
Soon after, he was granted the title of Prince Shaobao, and his official career was prosperous.
Although there were some ups and downs during this period, his favor remained undiminished. By the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, he had become a very popular minister and was granted the titles of Shaobao and Taibao of the Crown Prince, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Bachelor of Wuyingdian.
Later, he was dismissed from office for accidentally leaking the peace talks and returned to his hometown in Texas.
Shen Tingyang also knew the resume of this old senior and sneered: "Brother Xian, don't worry, we will be careful in front of this 'smart' senior."
Shi Kefa shook his head and said: "Brother Ji Ming, your temper..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Shi Dewei leading Xie Sheng in, and he went up to him with a smile on his face and said, "Sir, I have always wanted to visit you, but I am busy with worldly affairs and I am afraid of disturbing you. The Qing Dynasty has never been completed."
"I never thought that I would bother you to come here today. It is really a sin... Come on, please take a seat!"
Shi Kefa kindly supported Xie Sheng, who had a bright head and white beard, and was about to ask him to take a seat. Unexpectedly, Xie Sheng refused and said with a guilty look on his face: "Xianzhi, I'm sorry for you. I'm here to apologize to you today!"
After he finished speaking, he actually knelt down to salute.
Shi Kefa was slightly startled and hurriedly stopped him and said: "Sir, this is impossible. This junior cannot bear it!"
Xie Sheng let out a long sigh and said with a sad look on his face: "Xianzhi, I'm really sorry for you!"
"You are busy with military affairs. Because of the matter between us and Gao Jie, you have worked tirelessly to come here to adjust. We should have cooperated with you, but we never thought of thanking Your Majesty... Hey!"
Hearing this, Shi Kefa said worriedly: "Sir, is it possible that Gao Jie is disrespectful to you?"
Xie Sheng shook his head and said: "That's not true. Although Gao Jie is a gangster, he still knows some etiquette and is very polite to the old man."
"It's Your Majesty Xie. He heard this morning that Ren Qi had increased his troops to attack Huaxian County, so he hurriedly led 6,000 people to rescue."
"After I learned about this, I hurriedly sent people to stop him, but failed to catch up with him. You said that the war in Shandong is so tense now, and he actually made his own decisions. It's really..."
Shi Kefa was originally worried that Xie Bi and Gao Jie had a conflict. Now after listening to Xie Sheng's words, he relaxed a little and persuaded: "Sir, you don't have to be angry. Your brother is also chivalrous..."
Under Shi Kefa's persuasion, Xie Sheng gradually regained his composure, and then started chatting again.
However, Xie Sheng seemed to be chatting casually, but his words revealed that it was difficult for his Majesty to thank him, and that he wanted Shi Kefa not to hold him accountable.
But Shi Kefa pretended not to understand and just comforted him with some polite words.
Xie Sheng was also a smart man. Seeing that his goal was not achieved, he responded with a few false words and then stood up to leave.
After seeing Xie Sheng off, Shi Kefa looked at Shen and Yan and said, "What do you think of this matter?"
Shen Tingyang frowned and said, "Thank you for your sudden departure. Could it be that they also learned about your Majesty being besieged by the rebels?"
Shi Kefa nodded and said: "Judging from His Majesty Xie's actions, they should have known about this matter. I don't know whether His Majesty Xie really went to Huaxian County, or he pretended to leave and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity..."
Before he finished speaking, the previous personal guard came in again and respectfully handed him a document.
Shi Kefa unfolded it and saw that it was actually a document written by Gao Jie, who had heard that Chongzhen was attacked by rebels in Shangdang and requested to send troops to protect him with Xie Bi.
He shook his head slightly and handed the document to Shen Tingyang.
After seeing it, Shen and Yan couldn't help but frown.
Some people died, but not completely...
