PS: Thanks to book friends Wang Quan, Tianxia and book friend 20210610120849048 for the reward.
"This is a title! Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a direct conferment of a title. General Liu is willing to give up like this?" Eunuch Li looked at Liu Heng in disbelief.
Liu Heng picked up the teapot and took a sip of the boiled water in it, and said lightly: "The title is just a false name for me. Your emperor is willing to confer a title to me because I am strong enough. It is not because I begged your emperor. , if I really care about something like a title, with the current scale of the Tiger Flag, even if I proclaim myself a king, I believe no one will think there is anything wrong."
"You are a false king, Ming Dynasty is the orthodoxy of the world." Eunuch Li retorted.
Liu Heng shook his head and chuckled: "It seems that Eunuch Li didn't understand what I meant. Let's put it this way, do you think I care about these things?"
"Don't you care about the title?" Eunuch Li couldn't figure it out anyway. Even he, a eunuch in the palace, cared about the title, but a thief like Liu Heng didn't care about it.
As for Liu Heng's statement about proclaiming himself king, in his eyes, there is no way to compare it with the title of Ming Dynasty. A few years ago, there was a rebel thief who proclaimed himself Emperor Zhongxing Fu. This kind of thief's self-proclaimed princeship is worth a hundred None of them can match the count of the Ming Dynasty.
Liu Heng leaned back slightly and said, "Eunuch Li went back and told Zhu Youxiao that if you want to recruit someone, don't give up anything. You are so stingy that no one else will see it."
"Bold." Eunuch Li stood up suddenly with a sharp voice and said angrily, "You can also speak out about the emperor's name."
After saying that, when he saw Liu Heng's eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, he felt guilty.
Only then did he remember that the place he came from was not the capital city, nor the imperial city, but the general town office of Datong Town, which was occupied by bandits.
A word from the other party can make him unable to get out of here.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly changed his words and said: "Don't get me wrong, General Liu. Our family will not tolerate anyone slandering the emperor, so we are a little excited. It is not directed at General Liu."
"Eunuch Li is really loyal, so let's go back to the capital." Liu Heng said, "Someone, please send Eunuch Li back."
Two guards walked in outside the door.
When the recruitment failed, Eunuch Li was naturally unwilling to leave like this, and said quickly: "General Liu, recruitment is the way to heaven. As long as you accept the recruitment, you will never have to bear the name of a thief again. Moreover, the emperor and the cabinet value Liu very much." General, otherwise I would not leave Xuanda and Taiyuan to you to take care of."
"Eunuch Li, please invite me!" Zhao Wu said politely, but his tone was unquestionable.
Before leaving, Eunuch Li said again: "General Liu, please think again. Our family will stay in the city in the next few days and wait for news from you."
"No need, Eunuch Li should go back to Beijing!" Liu Heng said to Zhao Wu, "Arrange people to leave Datong City from Eunuch Li and send orders along the way. Don't be embarrassed."
"Yes." Zhao Wu agreed.
Eunuch Li saw that Liu Heng was determined to refuse the imperial court's offer of recruitment, so he reluctantly followed the people with the Tiger Flag and left the main town office.
The carriage he came in was waiting outside the main town office.
After getting on the carriage, he saw that the two people with the Tiger Flag who came out with him did not leave, but each rode a horse, obviously wanting to watch him leave Datong City.
"Let's go out of the city." Eunuch Li shouted to the driver, lowered the curtain on one side of the carriage, and sat back in the carriage.
The carriage drove slowly, and the two people with the tiger flag followed the carriage.
The carriage drove out of the city gate until the two men stopped following it.
After walking some distance out of the city, Eunuch Li, who was sitting in the carriage, said to the entourage outside the carriage, "Are you still following me?"
"You won't be following us after we leave the city." The attendant replied respectfully.
Hearing this, Eunuch Li worriedly poked his head out of the window and glanced behind the carriage.
I was secretly relieved when I found out that he really didn't follow me.
"Have you contacted all the people you asked to contact secretly?" Eunuch Li asked the entourage outside the carriage.
The attendant said: "We have been contacted."
"That's good." Eunuch Li nodded lightly, his expression relaxed a lot, "Let's go!"
The carriage continued to move forward.
After the Tiger Character Banner occupied Datong, many main roads were widened based on the original official roads. The horse-drawn carriages traveled very smoothly on them, without the bumps of dirt roads.
"Father, it's getting dark soon. Do you think we should find a place to spend the night first?" the attendant asked outside the carriage.
There is a large red fire cloud in the western sky. Although it is still bright, everyone who is on the road knows that this is the last afterglow of the day.
Eunuch Li took a look at the sky.
It was difficult to travel when it was dark, and the animals pulling the cart also needed to rest. He said: "Find a nearby village to rest. Don't enter the village. Stay outside the village for the night."
The dog days of summer have just passed and the weather has not completely cooled down yet. Even if you spend the night in the wild, you will not get cold.
There was a village not far from the roadside. The carriage stopped at the head of the village and did not enter the village.
Instead, he followed Eunuch Li's entourage into the village and bought some food from the villagers to satisfy his hunger.
There were two bonfires not far from the village entrance.
Eunuch Li sat alone in front of a bonfire, while his entourage gathered around another bonfire to warm up.
In the past two years, under the governance of the Tiger-Character Banner, the people of Datong have lived a much better life than those in other parts of the Ming Dynasty. Many people in the village raised chickens, ducks and other poultry, which not only allowed them to lay eggs and eat meat, but also Sell it to the Tiger Flag for money.
Eunuch Li's entourage bought some chickens and ducks in the village, cleaned them and roasted them over the fire.
This kind of roasted chicken and duck was only sprinkled with a layer of salt. The taste was not very good, and it was far different from what they ate in other capitals of Ming Dynasty.
More importantly, in other parts of the Ming Dynasty, local officials rushed to invite Eunuch Li to a banquet, and their followers could also get some good food to eat.
But in the places under the rule of the Tiger Flag, everything you eat has to cost your own money. Even if you take some chickens, ducks and other meat in the village, you have to give them money, otherwise those ferocious peasants and soldiers will prevent them from leaving the village. .
"Father, let's eat a chicken leg first!" The attendant brought over a chicken drumstick that was burnt on the outside on a plate.
Eunuch Li took the plate and scraped the burnt black ash on it with his chopsticks with a look of disgust.
"My father-in-law, please have a meal tonight, and I will find you an inn to spend the night next time." The attendant comforted him.
Seeing that the dark chicken on the plate was really unappetizing, Eunuch Li handed it to his entourage and said, "You can eat it and bring some snacks to our family."
"Go get it now, little one." The attendant took the plate and turned towards the carriage.
tread! tread!
Suddenly, in the quiet night, there were scattered and sparse sounds of horse hooves.
