Under the starry night sky, Li Yan and Gao Jie were whispering in the military tent. On the riverside nearly a hundred steps away, Liu Zeqing sat at the entrance of the military tent and stared at the starry river in a daze. After a long time, his eyes turned to Anqing in the distance. At the top of the city, there were only a few flickering fires.
Thousands of miles away in the Forbidden City, the imperial capital, Emperor Chongzhen had not yet gone to bed in the Qianqing Palace. Even though it was late at night, he was still flipping through the papers in front of his case. These were all made up of papers sent from all over the world after being drafted by the cabinet. Not only did Emperor Chongzhen not like to see them. I'm a bit scared to read these memorials, because they never bring good things. Where there are droughts and locust plagues, where there are locusts, where there are floods, where there are rebels who attack cities and plunder land, where there are demands for money... Anyway, there is never anything good.
Emperor Chongzhen still liked to see some secrets. The Jin Yiwei all over the world would always bring him something unique, but what he looked forward to most was the secrets in Dongchang, especially the secrets related to the war in the south.
As the king of a country, Emperor Chongzhen always has endless government affairs to deal with. Not to mention the severe drought in Gyeonggi Province, the locust plague and the food shortage are enough to make him very anxious. Although there is no war anymore, the war left behind The mess still needs to be cleaned up bit by bit, and post-war reconstruction is the most troublesome.
It was in this state of anxiety that he needed Chang Yu's secret help to allow him to seek the slightest bit of coolness and excitement.
However, Chang Yu was not fighting in the capital at this time. The battle ahead was almost like a live broadcast to him. He could quickly know every move on the battlefield. However, Chang Yu was fighting thousands of miles away, so he could see through everything.
There is no doubt that Emperor Chongzhen has enough confidence in Chang Yu's ability, which is of course not only the ability to use troops, but also all kinds of overall control. But after all, fighting is not just as simple as going to the battlefield to fight. This also gives him Worry.
In the Gyeonggi area, because of his close and full support, no matter whether it is hiring people, soldiers, money or food, it is always the same. No matter how tight the money is, Chang Yu will use it. He will take the lead in spraying anyone who dares to say no, that is, here Under this background, Chang Yu could completely let go of his hands and feet to fight against the rebels and Tatars, and finally lived up to his expectations.
But now that the sky is high and the emperor is far away, we need to use food from that place and soldiers from that place. We have to fight with the local yamen and local snakes. We are all bound to be more or less constrained. In addition, the influence of terrain, climate, and so on. I'm not familiar with the tactics of the bandit army in a home battle, and I'm afraid I won't be able to do it as easily as I did in the north.
But Emperor Chongzhen still had absolute confidence in Chang Yu. With his ability to submissively control courtiers and nobles in the capital, he did not believe that he would be able to deal with the local gangsters in the local yamen! At most, the war would progress slowly, but definitely You won’t suffer any big losses!
Judging from the discounts and secrets sent by Dongchang and Jinyiwei, this is indeed the case. Whether it was begging or deceiving and abducting Chang Yu all the way south, he finally made up for the traveling expenses and food expenses, and he did not forget to divide them. In terms of personnel, he coaxed and frightened a group of local snakes in Nanjing in just three or five days, and even tricked him into leaving Nanjing to fight with the army. In terms of personnel, the war progressed very quickly at the beginning, with surprise attacks The city of Wuhu was captured right under the eyes of the rebels. Emperor Chongzhen talked about this battle in great detail, not only repeated it in detail with his ministers in the court, but also became a storyteller in the harem.
However, after Chang Yu continued to advance to Tongling, there was no news of success. Emperor Chongzhen knew that a tough battle was coming! At the same time, news that Li Yan's West Route Army had arrived in Anqing also reached the capital.
This made Emperor Chongzhen very nervous and looking forward to it!
He knew that at the critical moment, no matter who Li Yan or Chang Yu took a step forward, Bai Wang's outcome would be basically determined.
Because he was too concerned, Emperor Chongzhen called Gao Shiming from time to time for questioning, but the old eunuch who was temporarily in charge of the East Factory was exhausted. He thought that Chang Yu would send you secret information as soon as possible about the war in the south, without even asking me.
This is the way, why bother me!
At dawn, the people in the capital began to get up early to work. Now that the thieves and the Tatars have retreated, everything is waiting to be done. The city wall needs to be repaired, the moat needs to be dug deep, and the farmland outside the city needs to be cultivated. There is also a military hospital in the west of the city that is also under construction. Many
Labor is needed everywhere, so that the refugees who were originally fleeing the war in the city can make a living.
People in the city are going to work outside the city, and people outside the city are also lining up to enter the city to make a living. When the city gate slowly opens, people flow in and out like a tide.
A carriage slowly came from the northwest official road towards Desheng Gate. Because the war had just passed through the city gate, the guards were conducting routine inspections on the carriages entering the city. However, at this moment, more than ten riders came from behind the carriage and said, "Enter the city without inspection."
The guard was about to frown and ask, but suddenly he shut up and became very respectful: "It turns out to be a man from the Jinyi Guards, you are so rude!" The people on the horse ignored them and escorted the carriage into the city.
The car window opened, and a very beautiful woman stuck her head out and looked around: "The capital really deserves its reputation."
"Ah, County...Miss, do you think that's the palace over there?" A pretty maid on the other side poked her head out and shouted, attracting the attention of passers-by on the street. They couldn't help but roll their eyes. She must be from out of town.
.
That's right, he really came from out of town, from Prince Jin's Mansion in Taiyuan.
After nearly a month of living in the open, Zhu Zhi'e finally arrived in the capital. Although she knew that Chang Yu was not in the capital when he led his troops south, she was still overjoyed.
"It should be the palace." Zhu Zhi'e looked at the golden-domed building in the distance with longing. Although the Jin Palace was not inferior to the palace, it was still very different. Anyone who came to the capital wanted to see the palace.
Yiqi slowly approached the car window and whispered: "Your Highness, the palace... you are not allowed to go."
This person is one of Chunxiang's confidants named Huo Chao, who is responsible for this secret mission. Zhu Zhi'e has become very familiar with him along the way and trusts him very much. Hearing this, he nodded: "I know, but it's better to look outside.
It’s okay.”
Huo Chao nodded: "Of course it is possible, but His Highness has to hide his identity in the capital." Zhu Zhi'e hummed: "Of course you can't go to the Dongchang Yamen, so how about going to his private residence?"
"The Governor does not have a private house. Oh no, the emperor just gave him a house the day before yesterday, but it is being renovated and cannot be lived in yet." Huo Chao said quickly. Zhu Zhi'e was startled: "Then... live in an inn?" She felt a little unhappy, after all.
People from the royal palace would never get used to living in an inn.
"Live in the Big World." Huo Chao saw Zhu Zhi'e frowning and said quickly: "It's right on Qianmen Street. The Big World is the best place to have fun in the capital, and it's our Dongchang's industry. I heard that there are also members of the prince...
...It is not an ordinary inn, it is a private courtyard. In addition to the people from Dongchang secretly protecting you, you also have maids to serve you."
Zhu Zhi'e became happy when she heard that it was located in the most prosperous area but quiet in the bustle and close to the palace.
It has to be said that Chunxiang was very sad about what his little eldest brother told him. He sent his most trusted confidant to bring his sister-in-law to the capital, and he also booked the best courtyard in the big world. In addition to making Huo Chao ten ten days a day.
He followed the guards around non-stop for two hours, and even bought a few more girls to look after him.
The Big World is the most luxurious entertainment club in Beijing. The large courtyards behind it have been converted into several elegant and quiet courtyards to entertain distinguished guests. This place is not something you can only live in if you have money. You also need to have status, such as Chang
Yu often entertained distinguished guests here, such as Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo who lived here when they were in the capital, and three princes of North Korea were also under house arrest here.
Now another distinguished guest came, a female guest and two maids, speaking with a Shanxi accent, but no one knew their identities, and no one dared to ask.