"Brother Yu Wang, don't you still understand?" Huang Liji looked at Shi Minlai.
I knew in my heart that the other party was still thinking about the position of chief assistant.
Shi Minlai hesitated and said: "Isn't the Nine Thousand Years Old still there? I see that it has been so long since the Holy Emperor ascended the throne, and he has not paid much attention to the Nine Thousand Years Old. Maybe he will use the Nine Thousand Years Old like Emperor Daxing, and the Donglin Party Not many of those people are useful."
"We know that the Donglin Party is not taking advantage of us, but I don't understand. Now these people are very fond of me, but we are about to become eunuchs that everyone wants to beat." Huang Liji shook his head and sighed. .
In my heart, I was also reluctant to give up the position of chief assistant.
Shi Minlai said with an ugly face: "If I had known that Emperor Daxing would pass away at such a young age, why would I have taken this step in the first place? I could have waited a little longer."
Tianqi's death was completely beyond his expectation.
Although the emperors of the old Zhu family were much short-lived, it was really unusual for them to be as short-lived as Tianqi.
"I ignore government affairs all day long, my mind is on other things. There are a few people who can live a long life. Emperor Taichang has just ascended to the throne, and the dragon chair didn't even have time to warm up." Huang Liji curled his lips in disgust.
If he hadn't taken the other party's identity into consideration, he would have wanted to scold him for being dissolute and immoral.
Shi Minlai said dejectedly: "So Wei Zhongxian doesn't have a few days left to live?"
He didn't even shout nine thousand years old anymore.
"Before I ascended the throne, I disliked Wei Zhongxian. Even if I tried my best to hide it, we all can see clearly. Now that I have become a great treasure, how can I still keep Wei Zhongxian? Let's see, wait until I Once things in the palace are straightened out, Wei Zhongxian will die." Huang Liji could see clearly.
Historically, few eunuchs had a good ending when they gained power. He didn't think Wei Zhongxian could escape this disaster.
Shi Minlai said hesitantly: "Before Daxing Emperor Long Yu passed away, he once told Jinshang, who was still King Xin at the time, to keep Wei Zhongxian alive. Isn't Jinshang so cool?"
"The most ruthless emperor's family, haven't you understood my attitude? How could he let Wei Zhongxian ride on his head?" Huang Liji, who had been talking for a long time, had a dry mouth and picked up the tureen on the table. Cha took a sip of the tea inside.
Shi Minlai slapped the table and said unwillingly: "Those people from the Donglin Party are not good people either. Why can't I understand this!"
He had been an official in the same court with the Donglin Party members for many years. He knew these people very well. If the Donglin Party members had not been so powerful in the court and squeezed out other non-Donglin Party courtiers in the court, he would not have turned to Wei Zhongxian so cruelly. , becoming what others call an eunuch.
"I am still young and only through experience can I understand that it is useless no matter what others say. What's more, what you and I should be thinking about now is how to retreat from the whole province and leave the court. We can't control other things. We can't control it." Huang Li Ji sighed softly.
How could he be willing to give up the power in his hands unless he had to?
Now that the Donglin Party was about to regain momentum, he knew that if he still clung to the power in his hands, it would be difficult for him to leave the big dye vat of the imperial court.
Shi Minlai said: "The imperial court can no longer bear the trouble. The situation in Liaodong is not calm, and a tiger-shaped flag has appeared in the northwest. It is a troubled time now. The whole court does not want to find a solution, but they fight back and forth. In the end, it will only benefit others."
He said these words with a look of compassion.
"If you had thought this way earlier, Liaodong and the northwest of the Ming Dynasty would have already solved one problem." Huang Liji glanced at Shi Minlai with a reproachful look in his eyes.
Although the two of them relied on Wei Zhongxian to reach high positions, they have always been trying to undermine each other in private. It is impossible to say how good their relationship is.
If the current situation was not right, the two people would not sit together in private.
"It's all in the past, don't mention it again." Shi Minlai showed a little embarrassment on his face.
He thought again, if he had known that it would be like this, he would never have fought with Huang Liji. Even if he had been a secondary assistant for a few more years, it would have been much harder than trying to get out of the way now. .
Huang Liji stroked his beard and said, "Yeah, it's all in the past. I don't want to think about it anymore. I guess I will leave the cabinet soon, and then the cabinet will be handed over to you."
As he said that, he looked at Shi Minlai.
After hearing this, Shi Minlai clenched his hands tightly into fists, with no joy on his face.
"The imperial court wants a smooth transition. I, the first assistant, will leave first, and you, the second assistant, will take over. In a few months, when you leave the cabinet, the government will be smoothly handed over to the people behind you." Huang Liji explained.
"Forget it, from now on you and I are clay statues of Bodhisattva in the temple, just pretend to be in the cabinet!" Shi Minlai sighed, and slowly loosened his clenched fists.
With a clear mind in mind, ever since Zongdao came to the cabinet, they, the old ministers of the cabinet, were not far away from leaving.
Huang Liji said: "In the next two days, I will submit a memorial to Jin Shang to resign. I believe that you will soon become the chief minister of the cabinet. This will satisfy your long-held thoughts."
"Brother Zhongwu, do you think I would care about such a first assistant?" Shi Minlai looked bitter.
At this moment, the steward who sent the ministers away stumbled in.
"Master, something bad happened. Something big happened."
As soon as he entered the room, he saw the housekeeper looking panicked.
Huang Liji looked at him and asked with an unhappy expression: "Look at how flustered you are, what happened?"
"Just now, according to your instructions, I personally escorted the elders out of the mansion. Who knew that as soon as they left the mansion, they said that they would jointly participate in the concert with you and..."
As he spoke, he looked at Shi Minlai sitting on the other side.
"They also want to participate in my performance?" Shi Minlai understood that the housekeeper of the Huang Mansion was talking about him.
The butler nodded repeatedly.
Huang Liji frowned and asked, "Have you ever heard what these people are planning to do with me and Mr. Shi Ge?"
"The younger one didn't hear too clearly. The few words he heard seemed to be related to the nine thousand-year-old man. By the way, he also said that he wanted to go together to meet the newly appointed Lai Ge Lao." The steward said.
When Shi Minlai, who was sitting nearby, heard these words, his hands trembled with anger and he said: "These people, these people, are really shameless."
"Brother Yuwang, there is no need to be angry. The memorials for you and me have already been piled up on my desk. Are you afraid of more participation from a few of them?" Huang Liji understood clearly that he would have to leave the cabinet sooner or later. , more or less people participated, it had no impact on him.
Shi Minlai slapped the table in annoyance and said: "I'm just angry that these people are all just wallflowers who will fall when the wind strikes. They don't think about it. With their status, how can Lai Zongdao meet them? The Donglin Party has So many people are waiting to take their place."
"Forget it, how long can you and I stay in this capital? Let them do whatever they like! The more they dance now, the less likely the Donglin Party will let them go." Huang Liji didn't want to care about political affairs.
For him, escaping from the capital is the first priority.
tread! tread! tread!
Rapid footsteps came from outside, and soon a servant dressed as a servant ran in from outside the house.
"I'm afraid that the people on the boat will be discovered by the people on the island before they get to the island. No matter how capable Azig and his friends are, they will not be able to use it." Yue Tuo said worriedly.
Amin retracted his gaze, looked at Yue Tuo beside him and said, "Don't worry, with the prisoners of the Ming Army guiding them, they will naturally find a remote location to land on the island, and they will not be discovered by the people on the island so easily."
In order to conceal their whereabouts, no torches were prepared on the shore, and even the noise of ships going into the sea was kept as low as possible. Even if there was some noise, it was covered by the sound of the waves at night.
"I'm still worried. Nothing will happen to Azige, otherwise the two white flags will definitely cause trouble." Yue Tuo said.
Amin frowned and said with dissatisfaction: "That's enough. The Azigh people have already left by boat. Even if they want to find it, it's impossible to find them back. If you have time to complain, why not stay with me peacefully?" Good news for them is waiting here.”
As one boat after another goes into the sea, the shore becomes quiet again.
"Are the cannons ready?" Amin asked Jilharang, who was also following him.
Jierhalang nodded and said: "We are ready. As long as we find a ship on the island, we can directly attack it with cannons. However, our cannons are not as good as the red cannons of the Ming Dynasty on Ningyuan City. They cannot hit as hard." Far."
"As long as everything goes well in Azig, the cannons prepared on the shore may not be used." Amin replied to him.
On the shore of Iron Mountain, in addition to Azige and others who left, there were also many Eight Banners soldiers and Mongolian soldiers guarding here. On the contrary, there were relatively few Han soldiers.
There were many night-blind men in the Han army who could not see anything when it got dark, so Amin only selected some of the Han soldiers with normal eyes and brought them over.
In addition to the boats Azig took away, there were also many boats and rafts parked on the shore.
As soon as Azig and his men burned down the big ship on the island, Amin, who was waiting on the shore, asked the Eight Banners soldiers and Han troops on the shore to take the remaining ships to the island.
The fine sand of time passes little by little.
For the people on the island, the army of slave thieves has arrived at Iron Mountain and tried to land on Phi Island by boat. Although it was repelled by the warships on the island, as long as the army of slave thieves does not leave for one day, the people on the island will be safe. Never dare to let down your guard.
At the end of Pi Island, across the sea from Tieshan, there are at least two soldiers guarding towering watchtowers, equipped with monocular telescopes to ensure that people on the watchtowers can observe the sea at all times. Case.
If it is daytime, people on the watchtower can even see the situation on the opposite shore through a monocular telescope.
"Are my eyes blurred? Why do I see something moving in the sea? Can you help me take a look?"
On one of the watchtowers near the seaside, the soldier on guard bumped the person next to him with his arm and handed the monocular in his hand to the person.
"Maybe you saw it wrong. It's so dark and you can't see anything on the sea." The man next to him muttered, took the monocular telescope in his hand, and looked towards the sea with his eyes.
The sound of waves crashed against the rocks on the shore, and the air was filled with the slightest smell of sea.
"There's nothing. You must have seen it wrong." As he said that, he returned the monocular telescope in his hand to the other party and said at the same time, "The slaves don't even have a decent big ship, and they just suffered a loss during the day. It takes two days no matter what."
He didn't think the slave thieves would attack Pi Island overnight.
Pi Island is easy to defend and difficult to attack for slave thieves without navy. Mao Wenlong has been on Pi Island for so many years, but he has never seen slave thieves capture Pi Island.
Whoosh... bang!
A firework bloomed in mid-air, and even many shadowed areas around it were illuminated by the light of the firework.
"It's an enemy attack. The slave thieves are here for a sneak attack." The soldier who had just received the monocular saw the small boats appearing on the sea through the light of the fireworks.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
He held a copper whistle in his mouth and blew it hard.
The island quickly started to move, and one team after another began to rush towards the shore of the island.
Several warships docked at the dock also moved.
"What's going on outside?" Zheng Tie sat up from the bed, reached out to grab the clothes on the bed, and began to put them on himself one by one.
At this time, the door of the room was pushed open, and Li Zhao walked in from the outside. He said with a heavy face: "It's a signal from the watchtower. It should be that the slave thief has been found."
Zheng Tie, who quickly got dressed, stood up, picked up the gun on the table and put it on his waist. At the same time, he said in his mouth: "I'll go take a look, you stay and sit here."
After speaking, without waiting for Li Zhao to object, he strode out of the room, took the guards waiting outside the door, and hurried towards the watchtower.
boom! boom! boom!
As soon as he reached the halfway point, more than a dozen doors around the watchtower that he had placed in advance were opened.
Hearing the sound of cannons, his steps became faster and faster.
"What's going on now?" Zheng Tie asked the captain of the artillery team stationed here when he came to the place where the artillery team was.
The captain of the artillery team raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the water in front of him and said: "The slave thieves wanted to sneak attack on Phi Island. My subordinates ordered the artillery team to bombard the ship on which the slave thieves were riding. However, it was too dark to see the ships in the sea clearly. It depends on luck, unless the enemy ship is close to the shore and the location is confirmed by the fire on the shore."
"No, once they dock, no one can predict where they will land on the island." Zheng Tie rejected the other party's proposal and picked up the single-channel telescope in his hand to look at the sea.
Through the monocular telescope, he could only see some things in the lake, because it was too dark to see clearly, and there were only a dozen cannons deployed on the shore. In addition, due to the darkness, the threat to ships at sea was limited.
"It would be great if we could use rockets. If we shoot rockets on the sea, even if we can't hit the enemy's ship, we can still find the enemy's position through the light emitted by the rockets." said the artillery team leader.
Zheng Tie hesitated for a moment and said: "We don't have rockets, but we have fireworks, which can still find the location of enemy ships. I will have people set off fireworks on the sea in a while to find the target for your artillery team."
"As long as there is light to direct the direction, we can determine the position of the enemy ships, and my subordinates will be sure to annihilate them all on the sea." The artillery team leader said with assurance, patting his chest.
Zheng Tie replied: "I only look at the results."
