The carriage moved quickly and stopped in front of the southeast gate of the Imperial City. Lao Hu jumped out of the car, lay down at the crack of the city gate and whispered a few words to the people inside, then trotted back, went to the carriage window and said: "Mr.
,He's not in now".
"Then go outside Chengtian Gate, he will be there," Chang Yu said lazily in the car.
Old Hu got into the car and whipped up his whip: "How can the factory owner be so sure?"
Chang Yu chuckled: "This guy Fang San, although he is a bit cunning, he is very considerate in his work. If I tell him he is here, he will be there."
Lao Hu chuckled and said nothing, but there was a little jealousy in his heart. He raised his whip and hurried towards Chengtianmen. After what happened just now, he no longer had any fear in his heart. He knew that Chang Yu had already prepared, and at this time, he was at the root of the imperial city.
Seeing the patrolling guards, the thief did not dare to act rashly.
Outside Chengtianmen (Tiananmen) is the Qianbu Corridor, with government offices of confidential departments on both sides. Although it is not mandatory for ordinary people not to approach it, ordinary people will not come and stroll around casually. After all, the gate of the imperial city is heavily guarded.
The guard has a bad temper. He will scold you if you like him or pull you over and beat you if you don't like him. You will have no place to complain.
The carriage arrived at the North Bridge of Yuhe River and turned due west along the root of the Imperial City. Lao Hu drove the car and looked at the government offices on the south side of the street, and suddenly said: "Mr. Factory, do you think that gentleman will be in the government office of the Ministry of War at this time?"
?”
Hearing this, Chang Yu opened the curtain and looked south. On the east side of the Qianbu Corridor, close to the root of the imperial city, the six yamen of the Zongren Mansion, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Personnel were lined up in pairs toward the south. In front of him was the Zongren Mansion.
The one to the east is the Yamen of the Ministry of War.
"Impossible" Chang Yu shook his head and lowered the car curtain.
"We're here." Lao Hu stopped the car and ran quickly towards the gate of Chengtian. After a while, he brought someone with him and hurried over: "I've seen the factory owner" but it was none other than Fang San.
Seeing Fang San shivering from the cold, Chang Yu asked him to get in the car to keep warm: "Can you see Mr. Shi?"
"I saw him, but it was already past Hai Shi (9 p.m.) when he came out of Qianqing Gate," Fang San said quickly.
"so late?"
Chang Yu was a little surprised. Unless there was something important, the emperor rarely kept ministers in the harem for so long.
"Yes, when I saw Mr. Shi coming out, I went forward and explained my purpose of coming. However, Mr. Shi said that he would meet with the factory governor another day, so he hurriedly left. Xiao Xiao had no idea. When he saw him leaving the palace, he quickly followed him out.
…”
Fang San left the palace, followed Shi Kefa to his hotel, and waited for Chang Yu at Chengtian Gate. This time lasted for more than an hour, which was enough to last him.
"So Mr. Shi is outside the front door right now, right?" Chang Yu asked, Fang San nodded vigorously: "Laifu No. 1, come to the room."
Chang Yu nodded slightly and followed Lao Hu immediately out of the city to the front door.
To the south of Chengtian Gate is Daming Gate, which is the shortest way to Zhengyang Gate, but the Thousand-Step Corridor is the emperor's way. If you are walking, you can walk on both sides of the Thousand-Step Corridor, but driving a carriage would be disrespectful.
Lao Hu didn't dare, and Chang Yu didn't dare either, so he had no choice but to go back and drive in a circle toward Zhengyang Gate.
When the car arrived in front of Zhengyang Gate, Lao Hu jumped out of the car and walked into the doorway to talk to the guards. Fang San also ordered the car to go behind the car and waved to the darkness. After a while, he saw several people leaving.
But it was Jin Yiwei's men who came over.
"The governor said that everyone has worked hard tonight. You don't have to follow him when he leaves the city. Use this little silver to pay for the drinks for the brothers." Fang San said, taking out a ten-tael silver ingot and handing it over.
"Don't dare. Protecting the governor is a matter for low-ranking officials." Several guards in royal robes waved their hands in a hurry.
"Just accept what the governor rewards you," Fang San said impatiently.
Several Jin Yiwei looked a little embarrassed, rubbed their hands and took it: "Thank you, Lord Governor, and thank you, this father-in-law."
As soon as the carriage left Zhengyang Gate, the scene suddenly changed. Not to mention, the lights were much brighter than those in the inner city. After all, Dashanlan outside the Qianmen is a famous red light district in the capital. Although the night was already deep, the lingering sound could not be heard.
Although it is not as colorful as neon in later generations, it is still exciting.
Laifu Inn and Yuelai Inn were long-established hotel chains across the country in ancient times. There was one such hotel near Zhengyang Gate, with a front store and a backyard, five-star level.
The so-called upper room No. 1 is an independent small courtyard, quiet and elegant, but also expensive.
At this time, the main guest room in the small courtyard was dimly illuminated. Who could be sleepless so late at night?
In the room, candlelight was like a bean, and a middle-aged man was sitting at the table in front of the bed. There were books and tea on the table. The man sometimes drank tea, sometimes read, sometimes put down his book and stared at the candlelight, frowning and thinking.
This middle-aged man is none other than the last backbone of the Ming Dynasty, Shi Kefa, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing.
.
Historically, when the rebel army went north to besiege the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Wu Sangui, Liu Zeqing and others to go to the capital to serve the king. However, except for Tang Tong who brought 8,000 troops to the capital, the others had their own excuses and were delayed in coming. Shi Kefa
But he was not summoned to lead the army to the capital. However, before he was halfway through the journey, the capital was lost. Hearing that Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, he was heartbroken!
Now, when Taiyuan was in crisis, Emperor Chongzhen decided to remove some of the big shots in the court because of the prince's strange dream, and urgently summoned Shi Kefa to Beijing to fill the vacancy of the Minister of War.
After receiving the edict, Shi Kefa immediately packed his luggage and hurried north.
In ancient times, when a minister took office, he had to take care of his family, so it was inevitable for Shi Kefa to serve as Minister of War. However, he heard that the military situation in the northwest was urgent and the court was in turmoil, so he asked his family to go behind and set off first.
Even so, it was thousands of miles away, and the canals were frozen in winter. It took almost half a month to reach Beijing with only carriages and horses. By this time, Chang Yu had already become famous in Taiyuan and returned home victoriously.
As soon as he entered the capital, Shi Kefa went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to report, regardless of the dust, and left his entourage outside the Ming Dynasty Gate to find an inn to stay.
In ancient times, officials, whether local or imperial, did not allocate houses. They had to deal with it themselves, and most of them rented houses.
Yes, it is indeed renting a house. It is no different from the current Beipiao. The so-called general rents a house and the prime minister buys a house. The reason for doing this is for many considerations, one of which is the frequent transfer of official positions. After all, there was no promotion in those days.
The concept of a house is that if you have nothing to do, you won't buy a house in Beijing, and most of them can't afford it.
Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, many ministers who had just entered Beijing chose to stay in hotels or temples to save money. After all, officials in the Ming Dynasty generally had low salaries and lived in poverty, and many times they were paid in grain or other tables, chairs, and sundries.
Most of the officials at that time were really poor.
Shi Kefa did not expect that he would be summoned by the emperor immediately after the official report. The time was so long and the treatment was so high. In addition to giving him a banquet and treating him twice, the emperor also talked to him in private about many people and things, which made him flattered.
It was also a big shock.
He had absorbed so much knowledge that day, and before he could fully digest it, he was still in a fog when he left. As soon as he left the Qianqing Gate, he was stopped by a eunuch, who whispered: "The Director of the East Factory, please give me a report from the Master.
”.
Hearing the word "factory supervisor", Shi Kefa couldn't help but shudder. He had heard about this man since he first arrived in Beijing, and heard more about him when he was reporting to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He still heard about him when he was queuing up outside the Qianqing Gate and met Chongzhen. The emperor and empress were talking about him.
This person...
He didn't dare to see her for the time being, especially when he was here for the first time.
After leaving the palace, I hurried to the Daming Gate to meet my entourage who had been waiting for a long time, and then arrived at Laifu Inn.
"How could it be so wasteful?" Seeing this ostentation, Shi Kefa was dumbfounded. He was simple by nature and did not like luxury, so he angrily scolded his followers.
The entourage no longer concealed it, saying that it was arranged by people who came out of the palace at noon. They thought it was the emperor's great love for the master, so they agreed without thinking much.
People in the palace? Shi Kefa is also in the dark. He has few old acquaintances in the capital, and even if he is an old friend, it is impossible to rely on the name of the palace, but he really has no acquaintances in the palace. Prince? I met him for the first time today. ,How many princes? I have never seen the queen, princess, or concubine, let alone any of them,
Eunuch...impossible,
Maybe it really was the emperor's arrangement. Shi Kefa thought about Chongzhen's attitude towards him today, and speculated that it was very possible. In addition, it was getting late, and he was tired, so he had to stay and prepare to enter the palace tomorrow to thank the Lord for his kindness.
After washing up, my fatigue was reduced by half, so I took out a book to read and digest what I saw today. At this time, I slowly regained my composure. Could it be that the eunuch really did it?
When Shi Kefa thought of the eunuch, he had an inexplicable and indescribable feeling.
When I first entered the capital in the morning and had breakfast on the street, I heard rumors that a new eunuch leader had emerged in Dongchang. He was so ruthless that he would kill even nobles who offended him. Shi Kefa frowned when he heard about the torture in prison. When did a big boss appear in Dongchang? What did the emperor think? Has Wei Zhongxian forgotten the lesson he learned back then?
But soon the common people began to talk again. Those nobles who usually do evil things are really happy to have someone to punish them. Moreover, the big boss not only knows how to punish evil people, but also beats thieves. They say that he supervised the army in Taiyuan and led an army of 100,000 to fight against hundreds of thieves. Wan took the lead and killed the enemy without any calculation. In the end, he made the thieves escape and kept Taiyuan safe.
Taiyuan is safe and the bandit army has retreated? Is it really the fault of the eunuch leader? Shi Kefa was confused. He just rushed on his way for the past half month. In addition, in ancient times, there was no Internet and Weibo news was blocked, so the incident in Taiyuan did not reach him at all. In my ears, I heard that news about Taiyuan was arriving from the capital every day. Coupled with the spreading of news by interested people, intentionally or unintentionally, the people in the capital were almost becoming storytellers.
When it came time for the report from the Ministry of Personnel, Shi Kefa deliberately inquired about it. As a result, when the officials from the Ministry of Personnel heard the name of the big boss of Dongchang, they immediately turned into cross talkers, spitting incessantly, saying that the eunuch was ruthless and committed all kinds of evil. He had done all kinds of things soon after he took office. It made people angry, but if you asked for details, no one could tell them, and many people had never even seen it.
When I was queuing up outside the Qianqing Gate to meet the saint, I heard a lot while chatting with the officials. This time the voice was different. They were talking about the Battle of Taiyuan. Some said that although the eunuch was arrogant and domineering, the people in Taiyuan were not the same. Although his military exploits are indispensable, some people say that as a military governor, he took advantage of Zhou Yuji's command and even disobeyed military orders, causing unnecessary casualties. Moreover, he brutally massacred tens of thousands of prisoners. The impact was extremely bad and he deserves to be punished!
Shi Kefa was no longer confused and had been in the officialdom for a long time. His judgment on a person was no longer the same as what everyone else said. At this time, he was already interested in the chief eunuch, but he still had a complete judgment on what kind of person he was. However,
According to the judgment of the ministers, this person is definitely not a kind person, but he was born as a civil servant and had a natural dislike for eunuchs and Dongchang, so overall he had a very bad impression of Chang Yu.
But what he didn't expect was that after meeting Emperor Chongzhen, he would hear more things about the chief eunuch in more detail. After leaving the palace, he was already confused.
What kind of person is this!
Dudu dusk, someone knocked on the door so late at night, but it was a follower: "Master, there is someone outside asking to see you..." As he walked closer and whispered a few words, Shi Kefa stood up with a look of astonishment on his face. (To be continued.)