Chapter 287 Tang Cheng: Illusion! It must be an illusion!
Zhu Gaojie stood under the Anding Gate. This gate is one of the nine gates in Beijing. It is the gate where troops are sent out to win the battle. Among the nine gates in Beijing, there are eight gates where the Guandi Temple is built in the Wengcheng. Only the Anding Gate is where the Zhenwu Temple is built. Among all the gates, Unique among them.
He felt very strange. For some reason, he returned in triumph today and no ministers greeted him outside the city gate. In the past, when he returned from an expedition, all the civil and military ministers would have been waiting in front of the gate.
Although Zhu Gaojie was not interested in these greetings, he did not have to be interested, but the ministers had to welcome them. This has always been the case.
However, today, he felt that the city of Beijing was extremely cold. It was clear that the summer weather in April was hot, but it was like a cold wind blowing against his face, making people shiver.
Zhu Gaojie waved, and Lu Chaoyang quickly came over: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
"Go and ask Jin Yiwei to find out what happened in the capital during the days we went to the southwest."
Zhu Gaojie frowned and said, "I always feel something is wrong."
He thought to himself, could it be that the old man knew that he bribed the nine guards and changed defenses without permission, so was he planning to settle the matter with him?
Zhu Gaojie felt like Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet, while Zhu Di was like Xiang Yu sitting in the hall with a golden sword and staring at him eagerly.
…
The East Palace was still the same as before. When Zhu Gaojie came back, the virtuous Crown Princess Zhang Yingzhen felt extremely distressed. She removed her armor and changed clothes for her husband who had returned from the expedition. He had already boiled hot water for him to bathe. After removing his dusty appearance, the family of four sat down We had a reunion dinner at the dining table.
His daughter, Jiayin Princess Zhu Yingjing, is still so naughty, jumping up and down, looking full of energy. As for the eldest son Liang Liang, he is naturally smart and handsome, and is very popular with the old man. He is like an exquisite porcelain doll. , after Zhu Gaojie was named the crown prince, the status of the two countries rose sharply. I heard that the old man planned to make him the crown prince when he was one year old.
After the reunion dinner, the Crown Princess put the children to sleep, while Zhu Gaojie went to the study room to prepare for the memorial documents that he had not taken care of these days.
At this moment, Lu Chaoyang, who had returned from the southwest, ran over to ask for an audience. He said with a heavy face: "Your Highness, I asked you at the yamen of Jinyiwei. You are very knowledgeable. There is indeed something going on in Beijing these days." Big change."
"What happened?"
"His Majesty has established a new yamen, just north of Dong'an Gate in the palace. It is called Dongji Shichang, or Dongchang for short. All the staff inside are eunuchs. People in Dongchang can supervise at will without the approval of the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple. To apprehend the subjects. Dongchang has guards in every yamen, monitoring all the officials in the court, and there are even people from Dongchang in Jinyiwei."
Lu Chaoyang said solemnly, "In just a few days after the establishment of Dongchang, dozens of officials from the capital were arrested and convicted and sentenced. Now everyone in the capital is frightened and trembling with fear whenever they hear the name of Dongchang." ."
Compared with Dongchang's behavior that has no taboos, Jin Yiwei is just like a charity man."
Zhu Gaojie was silent. He never expected that the old man would give him such a "surprise" after he went out to fight for several months.
In Dongchang, which was notorious in later generations, it is almost impossible to be too familiar with it.
In the late mid-Ming Dynasty, the Jinyiwei and the East and West factories were paralleled, and their activities were intensified. They were often collectively called "factory guards". The power of the East Factory was higher than that of the Jinyiwei, and it was only responsible to the emperor. It could supervise and arrest subjects at will without the approval of the judicial organs, thus The beginning of eunuchs' involvement in politics in the Ming Dynasty.
During the Tianqi Dynasty at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor became an emptied mascot. In order to regain the imperial power, Emperor Xizong Zhu Youxiao of the Ming Dynasty moved out a famous eunuch like Wei Zhongxian to serve as the governor of the East Factory, pushing the eunuch's exclusive power throughout the ages to the pinnacle.
Wei Zhongxian also dared to think and act, and formed an army of eunuchs armed with ten thousand people as his wings; he recruited officials from the Qi, Chu and Zhejiang parties as adopted sons and pawns, which was called the eunuch party at that time. Among the civil servants, there were "Five Tigers" such as Cui Chengxiu and military generals. There are "Five Biaos" such as Tian Ergen, as well as "Ten Children", "Forty Grandsons", etc., from the cabinet, the six ministries to the governors and governors of all directions, there are buddies everywhere.
He controlled the affairs of the state with his writing pen, and he promoted and cut down everything from the chief assistant to hundreds of officials at will; he held military power, and could appoint and dismiss governors and ministers at will; he also held economic power, and sent trusted eunuchs to governor the capital and Tongzhou. Warehouses, admiral Cao Canal Road, tax inspectors were sent everywhere to search for people's property, and all internal and external power was in Wei Zhongxian's hands.
The Eunuch Wei looked like an emperor when he went out for a chariot. Everywhere he passed, the scholar-bureaucrats knelt on the roadside and shouted that Wei Zhongxian was nine thousand years old. Eunuchs and officials also competed to build shrines for him in various places. Each shrine cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of silver. One hundred thousand taels. After the temple is completed, local officials want to offer sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Period. Officials and people who enter the temple and do not worship will be punished with death.
Zhu Gaojie thought that after having him, the old man would stop doing these tricks. Unexpectedly, he was only away from home for a few months, and the old man would clean up the Dongchang.
Lu Chaoyang asked: "Your Highness, this Dongchang is so arrogant, do you need me to ask the Jin Yiwei to go and beat it?"
As the same spy leader, Lu Chaoyang felt that as a highly qualified spy leader, he should have no problem suppressing a Dongchang.
Little did he know that His Majesty the Emperor trusted eunuchs more than ministers with foreign surnames.
In later generations, Dongchang surpassed Jinyiwei and became the largest spy organization in the Ming Empire, and the commander of Jinyiwei was just the godson of Eunuch Wei.
"No, you don't have to worry about Dongchang's affairs."
Zhu Gaojie rubbed his brows, feeling a little restless, "The Dongchang was newly built for the old man. If you are going to attack it now, you won't give the old man face. How can he make it easier for you? What's more, the old man also arranged something in Jinyiwei's Yamen. The supervisor in the factory told you clearly, Lao Lu, that he would not let you have any say in this matter."
Lu Chaoyang said resolutely: "Lao Lu, this life was given by His Highness. I can live today only because of His Highness's trust and support. As long as Your Highness says a word, I am willing to risk my life and die. I will take full responsibility for all the crimes." I will never involve the East Palace if I take over the body of one of my subjects!"
What he said was not bragging, he really had the guts to risk his life!
Zhu Gaojie had no doubt that as long as he said, "Oh, I feel that these rootless rats in Dongchang are a bit frivolous," Lu Chaoyang would go out with a knife on the spot and lead the Jin Yiwei to kill Dongchang until the blood flowed like a river!
Lu Chaoyang was loyal to neither the Ming Dynasty nor the Zhu family. He was only loyal to Zhu Gaojie.
This brother is not afraid at all, let alone a mere Dongchang, even if Zhu Gaojie asks him to assassinate the emperor, Lu Chaoyang will not be afraid at all!
Zhu Gaojie said helplessly: "You are my most capable general, and I regard you as my brother and sister. Don't mention this again in the future. As long as I am still here, no one can take your life."
A Dongchang factory is not worth the risk for Lu Chaoyang.
What's more, Dongchang, which has just started and is weak in power, even the next two can't compare to the well-established Jinyiwei. Dongchang has the support of the emperor, but Jinyiwei also has the backing of the East Palace.
As the saying goes, "County officials are not as good as current managers." A newly established secret service backed by a semi-retired emperor is far inferior to an old secret service backed by a crown prince who is at the height of his power.
Zhu Gaojie thought: "I'll go find the old man myself and find out the matter."
…
Tang Cheng respectfully presented a list to the emperor with both hands: "Your Majesty, Dongchang has just discovered that the former Minister Zuo of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was suspected of colluding in a corruption case. The involved property amounted to more than 600,000 taels, involving a total of forty-nine officials.
Dongchang has arrested all officials above grade and brought them to prison, and their homes will be ransacked to hold them accountable."
Zhu Di took the list and asked with some confusion: "It's such a big problem, you can solve it in three or two days?"
Tang Chenghan said with a smile: "The people in charge of the investigation in the East Factory are the sergeant and the sergeant. The sergeant is also called the stall. There are more than a hundred people in total. There are twelve ugly men. They all wear pointed hats, white leather boots and brown clothes.
The clothes are tied with a small sash. The captains each command several fan servants, also called fan servants. They are all capable people carefully selected by the slaves. Dongchang is not only very capable and reasonable in terms of personnel allocation, but also extremely cautious in its actions.
Secretly, the person who monitors the interrogation of officials from various ministries in the DPRK and the prison and the interrogation of criminals by the Jinyi Guard is called Tingji. The person who visits local government offices is called Zuoji. There are also what actions a certain official takes, or a key criminal is captured at a certain city gate.
, the subordinate staff recorded and reported the incident to the East Factory as a beating incident."
Therefore, Dongchang's operation is extremely smooth and logical, so the efficiency is extremely high."
Zhu Di nodded with satisfaction: "Tang Cheng, you are the most reassuring to me."
Tang Cheng said respectfully: "This is an errand assigned by Your Majesty to your servant. Naturally, I have to put more thought into it and make sure it is done properly."
Zhu Di's face stretched, and he couldn't help but feel joyful in his heart.
He asked: "Tang Cheng, how do you think the Dongchang I established compares with the prince's weird ideas?"
Tang Cheng was embarrassed on the spot.
Why does he feel that His Majesty the Emperor is complacent, as if a child is showing off to adults with a clay figurine he made?
An illusion, it must be an illusion!
Tang Cheng muttered: "The prince is good at literature and martial arts. He not only has the strategy to govern and secure the country, but also has the courage to expand the territory. He can be said to be a hero among men and a once-in-a-lifetime wise master. But..."
He changed the subject and added, "Although the son is like his father, he is still superior to him after all. Although the prince is wise, he is still slightly inferior to your majesty."
Zhu Di laughed loudly: "Tang Cheng, Tang Cheng, your mouth is like honey. Every sentence goes straight to my heart."
Tang Cheng smiled and said, "I'm just telling the truth."
His Majesty the Emperor beamed with joy, and the guard general Fan Zhong came over and reported: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would like to see you."
"Well, he came just in time, let him come in."
"promise."
Fan Zhong walked out of the hall, bowed to Zhu Gaojie outside the hall and said: "Your Highness, Your Majesty will let you in."
The prince walked straight into the main hall and saw the emperor waving to him: "Boy, come here."
Zhu Gaojie, who originally had something to say, suppressed his thoughts again, and walked up to him honestly and saluted: "Your Majesty, I wish you a holy bow."
Zhu Di smiled: "You did a good job in the southwest. I have heard about it. Tell me, what do you want me to reward you for?"
Zhu Gaojie immediately regained his playful smile and said, "Isn't it natural for a son to work for his father? I have nothing else to ask for."
"Don't do this, I don't know what your little bandit is like?"
The emperor smiled and said, "If you have any demands, just tell me directly. I can tell you in advance that there is no such shop after passing this village. If you mention it later, I will not recognize it."
Zhu Gaojie raised his eyebrows and said, "Since His Majesty said so, if I don't make any demands, son, it will be like denying you face."
"Come on, I know you won't miss this opportunity."
Zhu Gaojiao laughed twice and asked: "Dad, I heard that you set up a new office to the north of Dong'anmen. What is it called... Dongji Office?"
"Your ears are really good. It didn't take long for you to find out."
Zhu Di stroked his beard and said, "Yes, I set up Dongchang to act as another set of eyes and ears to help me listen to the opinions of the government and the public, so as to prevent being blinded by some rebellious officials and traitors. In addition, Dongchang also has an audit function. Yes.
Okay, speaking of which, someday you have time to go to Dongchang for me and check for me to see if there are any flaws in this yamen."
There are only a few steps from Donghua Gate to Qianqing Palace. If Zhu Di really wanted to see Dongchang Yamen, he would have gone there himself. The reason why he said this was actually because he was proudly showing off his fruitful achievements to Zhu Gaojie.
Zhu Gaojie did not answer, but instead asked: "Dad, don't we already have Jinyiwei? Wouldn't it be a bit bloated to set up another Dongchang?"
Zhu Di said without thinking: "It's different. The Jinyiwei is located outside the palace, and the Dongchang is located inside the palace. It's more convenient to use the Dongchang. What's more, as long as the functions of the Jinyiwei are abroad, while the Dongchang manages the country,
The two do not conflict with each other, but rather complement each other.”
He paused for a moment and frowned slightly, "Why, do you think it's inappropriate?"
"My son feels..."
Zhu Gaojie did not continue speaking, but glanced at Tang Cheng beside Zhu Di.
What he was about to say might not be very friendly to a person without roots. It would be fine if he said it in front of other eunuchs, but not Tang Gong.
The old man understood the situation and waved to Tang Cheng: "Tang Cheng, please go down. We have something to talk about."
"My slave understands."
After Tang Cheng resigned, Zhu Di said with some confusion: "Okay, there are only two of us in the palace now. If you have something to say, why should you keep it hidden?"
Zhu Gaojie said seriously: "Dad, let me tell you the truth, I think the establishment of the East Factory is really unnecessary."
Zhu Di was silent for a while, but asked calmly: "What's wrong?"
When faced with doubts, he did not get angry because he knew that the other party was not the kind of person who let things go without hesitation.
Zhu Gaojie didn't mean to undermine the old man. He said calmly: "Dad, my son understands what you think, but there is still something I must say."
Eunuchs can be used, but they cannot be reused."
Dongchang is not a Jinyiwei. If the Jinyiwei is trained well, it can be a sharp blade, but no matter how Dongchang is trained, it will eventually cause disaster and become a cancer that poisons the Ming Dynasty."