Chapter 144: Minister of the Ministry of Rites
Sima De had only one sister alive. The family was poor at that time, and in order to survive, his sister was sold to a landlord as a maid. Later, the landlord died of illness.

She was taken in as a concubine by the landlord's son, but unfortunately she only gave birth to a daughter, which did not help her husband's family improve their status.

So although she was nominally a concubine, she was still doing the work of a maid.

That day, Sima Xin got up early as usual and started busying herself in the small yard.

At noon, when she was about to take a break, the housekeeper ran in and said immediately after seeing her: "Madam Xin, why are you still busy? Come quickly, dress Madam Xin up."

Before Sima Xin could react, she was carried into the room by two old women, who changed her clothes and put some powder on her face, making her look charming even though she was in her thirties.

When she was brought to the living room, she saw her daughter already sitting there. The teenage girl was very well-behaved and allowed the two men to look at her.

Sima was startled and immediately walked up quickly, blocking his daughter behind him.

The two men looked at her with gentle smiles on their faces.

Her husband, Sun Shaoliang, smiled and introduced: "Captain Tang, this is Jing's wife Sima Xin."

Tang Ying'e looked at Sima Xin, who looked a little haggard, nodded gently, and then motioned Le Hou to explain.

Le Hou looked at Sima Xin, took out an urn and a wooden box from his bag, handed them to Sima Xin solemnly, and said seriously: "This is the ashes of Junior Brother Sima, as well as his pension, and the commendation letter written by Lord Ou himself."

Sima Xin was stunned. She and her brother had been separated for nearly twenty years. She felt a little confused when she suddenly received this news. She couldn't say she was sad, but she couldn't say she was not moved at all either.

Sun Shaoliang, who was standing by, stared at the wooden box and asked, "Who is the Lord Ou that the general flag is talking about?"

Tang Ying'e said with a bit of pride, "Mr. Ou Zanghua, the editor of the Imperial Academy and deputy censor of Jiangxi."

Sun Shaoliang's eyes lit up. He was just a small scholar, but he never expected that his family would be related to the compilation of the Hanlin Academy.

When Sima Xin heard what Tang Ying'e said, although she didn't know how high an official position the editor of the Hanlin Academy and deputy censor of Jiangxi was, she knew it must be no simple matter when she saw how happy her husband looked.

"Can I open the wooden box and take a look?" She looked at Le Hou and asked.

"Okay, it was originally given to you." Le Hou nodded.

After Sima Xin opened it, the first thing she saw was a letter. She took out the letter, opened it and saw that the handwriting was the most pleasing one she had ever seen.

After reading it silently, she looked up at Le Hou, then quickly lowered her head and said, "Thank you both for sending my brother's ashes back. I will take them back to my hometown and bury them with my parents. This way, we can be reunited, right?"

"Thank you for your help." Seeing this, Le Hou felt inexplicably depressed, but he could do nothing about it.

After all, they are relatives.

Sun Shaoliang took the commendation letter from his wife and liked the handwriting as soon as he saw it. He said, "Yes, I will listen to my wife and send my brother back. Lord Ou's calligraphy has a good balance of lightness and heaviness, and contains danger and extraordinaryness in the middle of peace and elegance in the middle of dignity. Great! When can I write such a calligraphy?"

“Alas, I’m afraid I won’t be able to write it in this lifetime.”

Le Hou looked at Tang Ying'e speechlessly. This couple seemed to be incompatible!

At this time, Sun Xiaoxian, who was only eleven years old, stood up, saluted to the two men and said, "Thank you both for sending my uncle's ashes back. I will urge my father to send my uncle back to his hometown as soon as possible."

The two looked at the little girl and couldn't help but smile kindly.

Le Hou took out a dagger, handed it to the little girl and said, "From now on, I will be your uncle. If anyone wants to bully you, come to Songshan to find me." It was drizzling in the capital today. The victory report of Zuodu Yushi Chen Jin and the memorial of Ou Zanghua entered the palace one after another.

Emperor Zhengde was originally delighted by Chen Jin's good news, but after turning around and reading Ou Zanghua's memorial, the smile on his face slowly disappeared.

Yang Tinghe and Liang Chu stood aside. They had already read Ou Zanghua's memorial and showed it to the emperor because they thought it was too ridiculous.

This is also a side reminder to those bosses who have been a little bit arrogant recently, don't be too confident, there are not many soldiers under your command who can fight, don't always think about emulating Emperor Taizong and marching north.

"Collapse at the first sign of trouble?!" Emperor Zhengde held the memorial in disbelief.

If the person who wrote this memorial had not been trained by him personally, he would have been unable to help but suspect that the other party had other intentions.

"Yang Qing, how many people are there in the Poyang Lake navy?"

Yang Tinghe saluted and said, "Your Majesty, the Poyang Lake navy has one general and three thousand households, a total of more than 4,800 soldiers."

"And then they were frightened and collapsed by the bandits' momentum?! What use is there for me to have such a navy?!"

Emperor Zhengde suddenly slammed the memorial on the table, pointed at Zhang Yong and said, "Pass on my order. The commander-in-chief of the Poyang Lake navy neglected his duties and was afraid of fighting. He will be thrown into prison! The three thousand households have dispersed their horses and cattle and have no ambition to make progress. They should be executed for their crimes!"

"I obey your command!" Zhang Yong was so scared that he trembled all over and immediately agreed.

"Order Lord Ou to reorganize the Poyang Lake navy. I will allow him to return to the capital in October!"

Yang Tinghe was stunned and reminded: "Your Majesty, it is already September."

"Then return to Beijing before December!"

Emperor Zhengde thought for a moment and suggested, "Honglu Temple Minister Xia Sheng has petitioned to retire. I am prepared to grant his request, but Xia Sheng must continue for another six months and let Ou Sheng take over. What do you think?"

Yang Tinghe and Liang Chu looked at each other. The Ming Dynasty had always had the saying of the Nine Great Ministers and the Nine Small Ministers.

The nine great ministers were the six ministers, the Chief Censor, the Minister of Public Security, and the Minister of the Supreme Court.

The nine minor ministers were the Minister of Taichang Temple, the Minister of Taipu Temple, the Minister of Guanglu Temple, the Minister of Zhanshifu, the Hanlin Academician, the Minister of Honglu Temple, the Chief Academician of the Imperial College, the Minister of Yuanma Temple, and the Minister of Shangbao Temple.

The Minister of the Honglu Temple is a fourth-rank official, and Ou Zanghua's current position as Deputy Censor of Jiangxi is also a fourth-rank official.

Theoretically speaking, this is a flat tune.

The Minister of the Honglu Temple was in charge of matters related to tribute, banquets, gifts, and welcoming and seeing off the foreigners, as well as the country's funeral ceremonies, the ancestral temples in the capital, and the Taoist and Buddhist registers, and the prohibitions attached to them.

It's not that important, otherwise why is the head of the department only a fourth-rank official?
It’s not important. After all, he is one of the Nine Minor Ministers and a Beijing official.

"Your Majesty," Liang Chu suggested, "Although Ou Xiuzhuan is talented, he is still young after all. He can be sent to the local area to gain experience for two years before returning to the capital."

"I don't agree with what Liang Qing said."

Emperor Zhengde spread his hands and said confidently: "I inherited the throne at the age of fifteen, and I did a good job, didn't I?"

Yang Tinghe couldn't stand this anymore, so he stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please look at your heart."

(End of this chapter)