In the capital, at dusk, on the top of the Long Live Mountain, Emperor Chongzhen stopped and looked around, his eyes solemn. Wu Mengming, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, slowly walked up to him and knelt down to salute: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Chang is marching westward."
Emperor Chongzhen hummed, then sighed and shook his head: "It takes a lot of courage to walk a thousand miles alone."
"Eunuch Chang's iron bones and bronze gallbladder were all trained on the battlefield. During the Taiyuan War, he dared to visit the bandit camp. He even went to Xi'an on the Yellow River two years ago. This time it was just... it should be fine."
"He just has a dream of being a knight-errant." Emperor Chongzhen smiled and sat down on a rock nearby: "How is the discussion between Wu Sheng and the others going with that Song dwarf?"
"I don't know the details, but we can talk about it three times a day."
Emperor Chongzhen sneered: "It's just a show, it's up to Chang Yu to help them get it right."
"He who is capable works hard. Eunuch Chang is said to be omnipotent." Wu Mengming chuckled, and Emperor Chongzhen snorted: "Are you praising him or teasing him?"
"I have to praise Eunuch Chang," Wu Mengming said quickly.
"You just opened your mouth. If you can do things half as well as him...that's all. What's going on in the north? Is it really what he said?" Emperor Chongzhen looked at the north and frowned. Zu Dashou went to Shu again.
I need food and money.
The imperial court did not dare to delay the payment of military pay to the frontier army, at least not for too long, especially at this juncture, but the food and grass supply was really... urgent! It was crowded, little by little!
Before the heavy snow closed the road two years ago, I cobbled together and delivered a batch. In the blink of an eye, a few months passed before I knew it. There was going to be a shortage of food there again. Zu Dashou kept urging, and said that it would be self-sufficient next year.
The implication is that there can be no shortage this year.
"General Zu has indeed been cultivating wasteland and farming in Ningyuan for more than half a year..." Before Wu Mengming could finish his words, Emperor Chongzhen glared at him: "I'm talking about another thing."
Wu Mengming hurriedly said: "Since General Zu repaired the Tashan Fortress, the Tatars have been harassing us for several days and several months, and they have become more and more dense."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, frowned and said: "The Tatars have recovered so quickly. According to Chang Yu, it will take at least two years for the Tatars to stop."
"What Eunuch Chang said should be that we can't afford a war in two years, but small frictions are unavoidable, not to mention General Zu took the initiative to extend his foot north, so they were naturally anxious."
Emperor Chongzhen was silent for a while, and then said again: "That boy Chang Yu read the letter of help from the King of Korea, but he didn't reply a word. It seems to me that I am taking the opportunity to take back Korea. How can I have more assistants when the war begins?"
Not a very good thing."
Wu Mengming thought for a while and said: "Eunuch Chang didn't reply, maybe he didn't think of a good idea."
Emperor Chongzhen curled his lips: "He has a lot of clever ideas, and he can come up with them with just a flick of his eyes. He wants to hear the opinions of the cabinet. If the cabinet doesn't speak, he won't stand up. If the cabinet agrees with him, he will second the opinion. If it doesn't suit him, he will
It’s time to show off. One of his hobbies in life is to suppress the limelight of those civil servants.”
"The emperor still understands Eunuch Chang!" Wu Mengming chuckled.
"Wu Qing, you said that when the traitor Li surrenders, the world will be half peaceful tomorrow." Emperor Chongzhen put his hands behind his back and looked towards the west as the sun slowly set over the Western Mountains.
"Forget it, once the Li thieves are eliminated, the Xian thieves will only be able to survive, and the rest will have nothing to fear!" Wu Mengming said quickly, and a smile appeared on Emperor Chongzhen's face: "That's very good. It would be even better if we get rid of the Xian thieves again!"
"After we have dealt with the thief, we will deal with the Tatars again. Then the emperor will be relieved of his bad temper for more than ten years." Wu Mengming hummed, "The thief will definitely be skinned and cramped."
Emperor Chongzhen looked at him with a fierce look on his face and smiled without saying a word. This made Wu Mengming very embarrassed. If Chang Yu had said these words, the effect would be different. However, he was a talker. No matter how arrogant he said, the emperor would take it seriously. It's a joke.
"Do you know where Chang Yu went some time ago?" Emperor Chongzhen asked suddenly. Wu Mengming was startled and then shook his head gently: "Eunuch Chang works for the emperor, I don't dare to inquire randomly."
Chongzhen didn't know whether he really didn't know or pretended not to know. Let's just pretend that he didn't know: "He went to find a gold mountain for me."
Jinshan? Wu Mengming's eyes suddenly lit up. If he said that others were looking for Jinshan, he would think it was a joke, but in his heart Chang Yu is the God of Wealth descending to earth. Even if you say Chang Yu can make gold, he will believe it.
"Found it?" Wu Mengming swallowed. Emperor Chongzhen hated corrupt people the most, so he had to be careful not to be seen through.
"It should be so. You go and help me take a look." Emperor Chongzhen still trusted Wu Mengming very much. In some things, he even trusted Wu Mengming more than Chang Yu. After all, they were all his swords. They could be used by him but also by each other. Constraints.
Chang Yu knew that Zu Dashou wanted military pay again. Not only him, but also several towns in the border areas had started to pay. In fact, Chang Yu had really made a lot of money for the emperor in the past year, whether it was from the national treasury or internal funds. It's a small amount, but in normal times, it should be enough to cover expenses.
However, these are extraordinary times, money is needed everywhere, and the cost of famine is sky-high. At this time, the national treasury is about to bottom out again.
So Chang Yu, who was in Xuzhou, wrote a secret letter to Emperor Chongzhen, saying that he would give him a gold mountain.
Of course Emperor Chongzhen knew that Chang Yu was not a joking person, let alone making fun of him.
Thirty miles northeast of Zhaoyuan County, Shandong Province, Linglong Mountain!
A mountain is a mountain, and it is also a golden mountain. Valley
The later Linglong Gold Mine can be said to be one of the best gold mines in the country.
This is a gold mine that only started to be mined in the Qing Dynasty. After many twists and turns, it went through several mine owners and was later exploited by the Japanese for ten years. It is estimated that the net gold smelted is 160,000 taels.
The reason why Chang Yu remembered the name and location of this gold mine was because he had bought stocks in this company in his previous life.
In Wuchang City, Zuo Liangyu spurted out a mouthful of blood. Zuo Mengeng stepped forward and called for his father. The doctor in the house hurriedly came to treat him. Everyone was busy. The generals and counselors who had received the news were waiting anxiously outside the room.
Who made Zuo Liangyu, who was known as the King of Wuchang with hundreds of thousands of troops, so angry that he vomited blood?
No one knows.
But there is no doubt that Zuo Liangyu was extremely angry at this time, otherwise he would not have vomited blood.
Some people speculated that it was a young eunuch, while others speculated that it was the imperial court.
But whether it is a young eunuch or a court, is there any difference between the two?
Previously, the young eunuch forced Zuo Liangyu to attack Jingxiang, but Zuo Liangyu had to show off. Until the beginning of this year, Zuo Liangyu considered the overall situation and determined to attack Jingxiang. When we were busy preparing food and fodder, the court ordered, stop!
I finally fiddled with it and got hard, and my pants came off. Please tell me to stop!
But to stop is to resist the decree!
You can imagine how angry Zuo Liangyu was. When he didn't want to move, he put the knife on his neck and you went for it. Finally, he wanted to go, but you didn't let him go! So he called his subordinates to discuss in the hall. All the counselors and generals spoke with joy. But he remained silent and said nothing. His son Zuo Mengeng said bluntly that no matter whether the intruders surrendered or not, the land of Jingxiang would definitely fall into his hands, because there was no other force to fight against!
I thought these words would make old Zuo breathe a sigh of relief, but whether it was because he couldn't think about it or because he was terminally ill for a long time, Zuo Liangyu spat out blood.
"I'm afraid, Commander-in-Chief, I won't be able to last much longer." The doctor whispered a few words into Zuo Mengeng's ear and sighed. Zuo Mengeng was at the moment.
In an inn in Yucheng County, Chang Yu changed into clean clothes and hurriedly tried to catch the heavy rain, but he still didn't escape. Although he didn't get soaked in the rain, it was not far behind.
It was getting dark and the rain was getting heavier. Jiang Fa went to the counter and asked the waiter to get some good fodder for the two horses. Then he asked in a low voice if there was any wine. The waiter casually responded: "It's very expensive."
It seems that their appearance and two skinny horses don't make them look like rich people, and the guy's attitude is not that enthusiastic.
Jiang Fa licked his lips and touched the silver bag in his arms and finally sighed. Chang Yu came over and found a table and sat down. He called the waiter to bring two bowls of mutton soup and two roast chickens. Before the waiter could wait,
He opened his mouth and slapped half a tael of silver on the table. The waiter immediately started working with a smile on his face.
"Master, don't show your wealth to anyone, keep a low profile!" Jiang Fa came over and sat down with a sigh.
"What you need to walk in the world is to be free and bold." Chang Yu chuckled: "This little bit of money won't make people jealous, right?" Jiang Fa smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's hard to say these days, a few pennies can kill someone."
Chang Yu was noncommittal and asked him: "Jiang Bashi, you have no children, what are you doing with so much money, and you are not even willing to buy a tael of wine?"
Jiang Fa smiled: "If you want to get married in the future, you should leave some money to support the family. Even if you die, you should leave some money for your wife and children, right?" Seeing Chang Yu stunned, he continued: "There is no way to survive."
The desire to marry a wife and have children, thinking that it would be refreshing to be single in this life and have nothing to worry about, but in the past two years, maybe because I am getting older, I have been thinking too much, thinking about who will take care of me if I am old and alive...
" He said with a wry smile and shook his head.
"Then just marry one. Jiang Bashi is only middle-aged and not in his 70s or 80s. It's not difficult to find a wife."
"It all depends on fate after all." Jiang Fa smiled, and Chang Yu murmured in his heart. Fate is nothing. Marrying a wife these days depends on fate. He talks about it very little. Although a rich and status man like Jiang Fa is already
In middle age, anyone looking for a 16 or 18-year-old girl would come to his door. Especially in this year of war and famine, it would be extremely difficult to find a wife with his conditions.
"Come on, it's rare for Jiang to take Shi's heart out today, so I'll treat you to a drink." Chang Yu was about to invite the waiter when he was stopped by Jiang Fa: "Master, look at the ten or so tables in the hall and see if anyone is drinking.
of?"
Chang Yu looked sideways and saw that there was no such thing. It was a cheap inn with few single rooms. Most of them were Datong shops. The people living there were poor laborers from the gangs of merchants and gangs. Most of them were eating steamed buns, drinking clear soup, and drinking broth.
There are so few of them, it would be too ostentatious to drink here.
Chang Yu sighed: "It would be pointless to venture into the world if you are so nervous."
This is simply like traveling on a budget in later generations, losing the joy of traveling.
"This is not to be on tenterhooks, but to sail with caution. The dangers of the rivers and lakes are by no means as romantic as what the storytellers say. The blades of the swords of the three religions and nine streams are mostly dirty calculations that cannot be brought to the table. Why have there been so many sword-fighting rivers and lakes?
Being carefree and free is all imagined by the young ladies in the boudoir. Have you ever heard Wuzhong and the Night Demon say that it is easy to live in the world?" Jiang Fa said seriously.
Chang Yu smiled and said: "I don't care about other people's world. What the real world is like. At least that's how I imagine it. Spending a lot of money and doing chivalry."
"With the young master's skills and family background, it is true that he can live in such a world, but as a young master, he absolutely cannot do this." Jiang Fa shook his head lightly: "The young master is not a real person in the world after all."