After rebirth, I became a national teacher

Seeing that his wife was still immersed in the joy of her sudden promotion to the wife of a fourth-rank general, and was happily stroking the gold, silver and jade articles bestowed by the emperor, Zheng Yuannai did not have the heart to tell her and make her worry, so he could only feel upset alone.

However, in the middle of the night, an unexpected visitor arrived at the villa.

"Dad, why are you here?"

Although the servants had already informed him, Zheng Yuannai was still extremely surprised to see his father standing in front of him with his own eyes.

His father was guarding Yangzhou and could not leave easily.

Zheng Baizhan said with a stern face:

"How dare you ask me why I'm here? If you don't come, you'll be in big trouble!"

"Let me ask you, what is the story behind the great achievement of killing the Japanese?"

Although Yangzhou is not far from the Southern Capital, Zheng Baizhan had gone on patrol some time ago and was not in the palace at all, and Zheng Yuannai did not send a special letter to inform him.

It was not until a good friend of Zheng Baizhan in Beijing wrote to congratulate his son on his rapid rise to fame and being promoted to a fourth-rank general at a young age that he learned that his son had accomplished such an earth-shaking feat in the Southern Capital and had even brought the matter to the attention of His Majesty.

"Didn't I want to give you a surprise before..."

Zheng Yuannai also felt guilty at this time, and explained:

"The Japanese pirates at Cihang Temple were killed by the temple master alone, and the ones at Yangfeng Town were killed by the temple master, me and the Taoist priests. But you know the temple master's style of doing things. He probably didn't want to show it to others, so he gave the credit to me."

"How dare you accept this so casually!" Zheng Baizhan glared at him with disapproval.

Zheng Yuannai lowered his head and continued to admit his mistakes:

"My son had previously thought that he was already in his twenties, but had never achieved anything under the protection of his father. If he could achieve this, perhaps he would be able to catch up with the best of his peers. If anything happens to the family in the future, he would be able to lend a helping hand to his father."

"I originally thought that I would just be promoted to a sixth-rank position and be awarded a nominal position, but I didn't expect His Majesty to attach so much importance to it..."

After hearing these words, Zheng Baizhan's anger subsided a lot.

"It's a good thing that you have the ambition to revive the family, but you shouldn't be so anxious in the future."

"Then... Father, do you have any ideas for fighting against the Japanese invaders next year?"

At this point, I have limited abilities and cannot handle it even if I want to. I can only ask my father to help me find a solution.

Zheng Baizhan snorted coldly:

"You think your father is a god. I have a way to deal with those Japanese pirates. Why have they been so rampant for so many years?"

In fact, Zheng Baizhan was also a brave general, but there were some things that a general could not change his fate just by his ability.

Zheng Yuannai suddenly became depressed.

Zheng Baizhan said:

"Let's go, get dressed, get in the carriage, and go to Cihang Temple."

Zheng Yuannai hesitated:

"No matter what, it is a great favor from the master to grant me such a great achievement. How can I trouble you again..."

Zheng Baizhan was silent for a long while, then sighed deeply:

"Other than that, there is no other way."

With the current combat effectiveness of the imperial army, even if he were to lead the troops, he would have no good way to deal with the Japanese pirates, let alone Zheng Yuannai who had little experience in marching and fighting.

If mortal strength is not enough, then we can only rely on divine power.

Since the master of the temple was able to kill so many Japanese pirates by himself once, he must be able to do so a second time.

But from now on, I'm afraid I'll be controlled by others.

That is very different from just being a believer.

He somewhat suspected that the master of the temple did it on purpose.

But even so, they had no other choice.

The two men traveled all night with a lantern hanging, and it was just dawn when they arrived at Cihang Temple.

Seeing that it was Zheng Yuannai, Huiming, who was on duty today, invited him into the temple first and sent another Kun Taoist to report first.

Chen Qingzhu always practiced all night long. After hearing this, he asked someone to invite the two to the reception hall.

She had long expected that Zheng Yuannai would come after receiving the imperial edict of reward.

Emperor Yong'an cared a lot about his reputation, and if there was a great victory during his reign that was comparable to that of the famous generals who fought against the Japanese pirates in the previous dynasty, he would not let go of such a talent.

Unless the Zheng family can resist the temptation and refuse the credit, the next mission of chasing the Japanese pirates will ultimately fall on Zheng Yuannai's head.

However, she didn't expect that not only did Zheng Yuannai come, but she also accidentally caught a fish that was bigger than Zheng Yuannai.

"Guanzhu!"

After Zheng Yuannai saluted, he introduced the middle-aged man behind him who was wearing a black hood, had strong features, and was tall and sturdy.

"Master, this is my father, Zheng Baizhan."

Zheng Baizhan also clasped his hands and bowed respectfully:

"I am grateful to the master for giving me the elixir that saved my life, but I have never had the opportunity to thank you in person. I hope you will not blame me!"

It was hard for Zheng Baizhan not to be surprised when he saw the master of the temple for the first time.

Her face was so young, she looked just like a young girl of seventeen or eighteen years old, and she had an appearance like a fairy from the fairyland, making people forget the mundane world when they saw her.

But even so, when he saw her, he didn't dare to have any disrespectful thoughts in his heart. Instead, he subconsciously felt that he must not offend her in the slightest.

The suffocating majesty made him feel as if he was facing the current emperor, and he couldn't help but be extremely cautious.

"General Zheng is here too? Please sit down."

The two of them sat down carefully.

"Why did you two come here today?"

The leader's voice was very calm, as if he didn't consider their arrival a big deal.

This made Zheng Baizhan somewhat unsure whether his previous guess was correct.

Zheng Yuannai told the contents of the imperial edict, then knelt on one knee, and said with shame on his face:

"I have already received great kindness from the master, but I still have to continue to ask for help from the master. I really... If the master has any orders in the future, I will definitely do my best!"

Zheng Baizhan also stood up and bowed solemnly:

"As long as it doesn't cause a disaster that ruins my family, Zheng is willing to serve the master. Please save my son's life!"

The official position that Zheng Yuannai obtained this time was indeed beyond Chen Qingzhu's expectations.

In her opinion, if the Zheng family had been more far-sighted, Zheng Yuannai's contribution would not be so outstanding.

There will certainly be rewards and promotions, but it is impossible to reach the fourth rank right away and guard a local business on your own.

From the reactions of the father and son, it is not difficult to see that Zheng Yuannai’s father must have been unaware of this matter before.

Now, in order to save his son, General Zheng had to sacrifice himself.

However, for Chen Qingzhu, this is not only not a bad thing, but can also be said to be an unexpected surprise.

The number of troops under the jurisdiction of Songhu was reported to be 4,000.

Although I don’t know the actual amount, as long as I have money, I can fill in the numbers on the books.

As long as Zheng Yuannai can secure the position of Lieutenant General of Songhu, she will have an army of 4,000 people under her control, and can also legitimately mobilize many resources of Songhu Prefecture.

With the surrender of a general from Yangzhou, she can also influence things in Yangzhou to a greater extent.

The harvest is so rich that one cannot help but thank God for the gift.