A eunuch hurriedly entered the Donghua Gate and started running all the way: "Eunuch Chang has returned to the palace, Eunuch Chang has returned to the palace." The voice was not loud but it was enough to arouse the emotions of the people in the palace. The eunuchs and maids on duty heard the news. All of them couldn't hide their excitement. If no noise was strictly prohibited in the palace, they would have cheered long ago. As for why they cheered, what did Chang Yu's return have to do with them? It didn't matter, they just felt excited.
Moreover, the eunuch deliberately raised his voice when passing by Wenyuan Pavilion. Could it be that he wanted to send a message to the cabinet bosses inside?
Emperor Chongzhen, who was taking a nap in the Qianqing Palace, stood up after hearing the news: "Quick, quick, come see me, where is he?".
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Chang is changing clothes in the Neidongchang Yamen. He has just entered the city and is covered in dirt..." Before he finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen rushed out: "Why should he wash himself? Where can he come from so many rules... …”
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, where are you going?" Wang Chengen, who was waiting next to him, saw this and hurriedly chased him out.
"I'm going to the Yamen to look for him..." Chongzhen walked out in disheveled clothes. Wang Chengen sweated anxiously: "Oh, my lord, please put on some clothes. Don't let those cabinet ministers see you. You will have to spit again... …”
Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen met Chang Yu before he left the Qianqing Sect.
Chang Yu saw someone running towards him in a hurry, and thought about how someone in the palace dared to be as unruly as himself. He took a closer look and said, uh... "I, please bow to the emperor."
"You... oh, why are you so slow and why are you back now!" Emperor Chongzhen looked at Chang Yu, who had darkened several shades of color in front of his eyes and had become a lot rougher. His emotions suddenly came over and his eyes turned red, but he didn't want to be too excited. Too sensational, he stepped forward and punched Chang Yu.
"Ahem, sir, I had some things to do on the way, so I was delayed a bit." Chang Yu smiled faintly.
Emperor Chongzhen was too excited to say what he wanted to say but was a little incoherent: "You, hey, tell me quickly how to capture Bai Wang, and be more careful, even more careful than those storytellers outside the palace!"
The news of Chang Yu's return to Beijing quickly spread to every corner of the imperial capital. This had no impact on the lives of ordinary people. It just created more talk, and it was not even talk talk.
But it has a small or small impact on people at other levels, especially those who have a constant and chaotic relationship with Chang Yu. But most people have begun to speculate on his next move, whether it is outside Guanwai or Xi'an, anyway. Zhang Xianzhong is unrealistic.
The big guys in Wenyuan Pavilion are also talking about the returning king. The achievements of the little eunuch who they were full of prejudice and disdain to look at before make them ashamed.
It seems that so many big guys in front of him are just doing it for a living, and they only write papers and martial arts for the sake of cool reading. In addition, during this period, Emperor Chongzhen always criticized some officials every time he went to court in the morning. They were trash and useless. In addition to spitting, can you come up with some practical and effective measures...
This made Li Banghua, Wu Xuan and others always feel that Emperor Chongzhen was actually scolding them.
There are many people in Beijing who hate Chang Yu, wishing that he would die in battle and never come back, but there are also many people who are looking forward to his return. There are several people in the palace alone, such as Queen Zhou and Princess Kunxing. When they learned that Chang Yu I was very excited after entering the palace, so I hurried to Qianqing Palace to greet Emperor Chongzhen, pour him tea or something, and meet Chang Yu.
Unexpectedly, the gate of Qianqing Palace was strictly closed. Wang Chengen and several eunuchs stood under the eaves of the corridor, refusing all visitors, not to mention the courtiers who asked for an audience, even Queen Zhou!
It was almost dusk, and Chang Yu in the Palace of the Qing Dynasty could no longer remember how much tea he had drank, but his mouth was still dry. He had not talked as much in the past few months as he had today. From the time he left Beijing and headed south, he had done everything he had done along the way. I have to listen to everything about Chongzhen, such as how he deceived King De into getting food in Jinan, how he borrowed salary from Liu Zeqing, and what happened in Qufu, all in detail.
Of course, things that should be concealed should still be concealed. For example, when he manipulated public opinion to blackmail the Kong family, he pretended that it had nothing to do with him and it was just a coincidence.
Then how to deal with those nobles in Nanjing, the first battle after sending troops...
Emperor Chongzhen listened attentively. Sometimes he gritted his teeth and cursed, sometimes he laughed heartily, and sometimes he clenched his fists and looked nervous. When Chang Yu went over everything again, it was almost dark.
"It's really hard for you to go south this time, and it's hard for you." For a long time, Emperor Chongzhen didn't come out of Chang Yu's wonderful stories: "While begging for food and credit, he was leading troops to fight, and he was in charge of so many people. The assassin still has to deal with those nobles... Hehe, apart from you, I really can't think of anyone else who is qualified for the Ming Dynasty now."
"It is the duty of ministers to share the emperor's worries." Chang Yu smiled lightly. There was no trace of arrogance or arrogance on his face. This was what Emperor Chongzhen was most satisfied with.
"Did Liu Zeqing really die in battle?" Emperor Chongzhen narrowed his eyes and stared at Chang Yu's face.
"I was in Dongliu at that time. According to Li Yan and Gong Ziying, he and Gao Jie entered the city to torture the surrendering soldiers. The surrendering soldiers were dissatisfied and suddenly rose up and killed him."
"Are you really not the one who did it?" Emperor Chongzhen smiled half-heartedly. Chang Yu shook his head: "Although I have the intention to kill him, I will never kill him in front of the battle. This is an accident."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said: "The Confucius family in Qufu..."
"At that time, I was still fighting fiercely with Bai Wang in the south. Besides, I had no reason to kill him." Chang Yu shook his head slightly: "According to the information I received, he was assassinated by a murderer who sneaked into the house. It seems that the method was done by Jianghu people. , Although the Kong family has the supreme status in the gentry class, among the Jianghu people, they are just rich and unkind. Perhaps due to the influence of the rumors some time ago, there are people in the Jianghu who have murderous intentions. Do you want me to investigate? "
Emperor Chongzhen rolled his eyes: "You have nothing to do, or you have too much free time to look into that boring thing." Then he added: "You can't just fight honestly when you go south, but if you poke a hornet's nest, let me know in advance. Say hello, I can wipe your butt when I get back."
Chang Yu chuckled: "I really tried to calm down the chaos this time and nothing happened, but... I flirted with Zuo Liangyu." Then he said that he and Zuo Liangyu were wrestling with each other in the distance.
Emperor Chongzhen took a breath after hearing this: "Why do you need to provoke him at this moment and use such drastic methods? You are not afraid of forcing him to rebel!"
Sure enough, they had the same worries as Lu Daqi, Yuan Jixian and others.
"The more ambiguous or weak the court's attitude is at this time, the more he will climb up the pole. If he is given an uncharacteristically tough attitude, he will not be able to figure out the truth for a while..." Chang Yu shrugged: "At least he is superficial now. I no longer dare to disobey orders."
"You have made a dangerous move. If something like this happens again in the future, you'd better report it to me first and wait for me to discuss it with the ministers in the cabinet. I know that you look down on those corrupt people. Although they are not as good as you in fighting,
But playing power is far better than playing with you!"
Chang Yu admitted it. Chongzhen asked him what his next plan was. He also knew that he would not have the strength to attack Xi'an for a while. First of all, there was no food and salary. Let alone food and salary now, the people were starving to death.
.
Chang Yu explained the deployment of his troops and horses again, and Chongzhen listened: "No one in the Ming Dynasty knows military affairs better than you. It is already established how to deploy troops and horses to defend you, and others have no reason to object, but it is still a formality.
Otherwise, there will be people who accuse you of monopolizing power. I will discuss this matter with them tomorrow morning, but... there are so many soldiers, horses, food and grass..." Emperor Chongzhen frowned.
"I have tried my best to make ends meet, but I am not hungry now." Chang Yu fully explained some of his measures, such as borrowing one million from the Hui merchant Wang brothers in Yangzhou to buy grain, and borrowing another one million from Gao Jie in Xuzhou.
The large amount of money and the confiscated Liu Zeqing's storage in Jinan were enough to supply tens of thousands of troops with food rations for March and May.