By the Taiye Pond in the Forbidden City, Emperor Chongzhen and several cabinet ministers went on an outing in the lake, but their brows were furrowed and their expressions were solemn. The plague in the capital was spreading, and there was no rain in various places. The thieves were not eliminated, and countless people were displaced and lost...Everything was overwhelming.
Emperor Chongzhen could not breathe, leaving the court at a loss.
Already overwhelmed, the Qing army added fuel to the fire and took advantage of the danger to enter the pass and plunder wantonly. Thinking about this, Chongzhen could not help but grit his teeth and sighed repeatedly. Behind him, Li Banghua raised his head and looked at the sky: "This eye is looking at the city at noon."
After that, it’s time for Eunuch Chang to wake up.”
When he heard this, Chongzhen was even more furious. Chang Yu, this bitch, had a plan to deal with it and even refused to ventilate me. He slept soundly, but he was restless in his heart.
"He will come to see me when he wakes up. Since I use him, I trust him." Emperor Chongzhen pretended to be lighthearted. Li Banghua shrugged: "The emperor has a broad mind and has no doubts about employing people. Eunuch Chang must be well-informed in planning and fighting, but...
…After all, the current situation is critical, so it’s really unreasonable to sleep behind closed doors…”
Coughing, coughing, Gong Yonggu cleared his throat: "I heard that Eunuch Chang worked hard on military affairs until dawn. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is also a man of flesh and blood and takes more rest. Moreover, the troops have already left the city for training without any delay..."
"The Tatars can reach the city in one day, oh no, they can reach the city in half a day. We should go out of the city to meet the enemy at this time. Why are we training at this critical moment? It's too late to prepare for the battle." Wu Di, the second assistant, shook his head and was speechless.
Puzzled.
"What Mr. Ci Fu said is very clear. If you don't leave this important task of defending the enemy to you," Gong Yonggu rolled his eyes. Most of these bastards in the court are just talking on paper. If you really let him do it, he will do it.
I don’t have the ability, and I don’t have the courage.
Wu Di was furious when he retorted, and the two of them started to fight in an instant. One was the deputy minister of the cabinet, and the other was the emperor's former celebrity. No one was afraid of the other. Later, many people in Chiyu were involved in the tit-for-tat confrontation, and some people were fighting with Xi Ni in the middle.
, Chongzhen looked on and sighed and shook his head. He had long been numb when this happened every day in the court, but he was still mentally weak because the civil servants in the Ming Dynasty had too much power and were very arrogant. They also had very free speech. When you criticize the emperor, you don’t need to point fingers at him, you just name him by name.
, they ask you to admit your mistake and apologize after scolding them. Most emperors can't afford to offend them. This is why many emperors reuse eunuchs, just to check and balance them.
When Emperor Chongzhen was shaking his head and sighing, a eunuch hurriedly came to him: "Your Majesty, the troops training outside the city suddenly dispersed. They said they were going to kill the Tatars. Even Mr. Wang went there..."
Ah, Emperor Chongzhen was shocked. Didn't he agree to train? Why suddenly... "Did Chang Yu pass by?" The eunuch shook his head: "Eunuch Chang has never been out of the Waidongchang Yamen. I heard that Mr. Wang and the others went to kill Tatars.
Childhood is also an item of training.”
Training to kill the Tatars! Chongzhen was shocked, and then applauded him. The officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp had been scattered for a long time and had not gone into battle. If they were dragged out with insufficient blood and morale, they would die. Chang Yu trained like this at the fastest speed and at the lowest cost.
Let them adapt to the battlefield.
The ministers who were blushing at the quarrel all came over after hearing the noise. When they learned that the Ming army outside the city was hunting Tatars and inspecting their horses, they all resigned and left. Chongzhen knew that they were going to the city to watch the battle, and he hated the fact that it was inconvenient for the king of his country to leave the palace.
.
"Why don't you go and see the excitement?" Chongzhen saw that only Gong Yonggu had not left, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Come back and tell me after watching."
Gong Yonggu chuckled: "Your Majesty, I am not a bunch of idiots. Why come to the city to see the excitement? I am afraid that even the military flag cannot be seen clearly. No matter how arrogant the Tatars are on the prowl, they may not dare to enter within ten miles of the capital. This
The visibility is not good on a cloudy day, so what can you look at!"
Emperor Chongzhen was stunned, then laughed, and then said after a while: "What on earth did that boy Chang Yu think of? How could he be so calm and sleep until now?"
"I don't have Eunuch Chang's ability, so I don't know how to deal with him. However, based on my understanding of him, Eunuch Chang may not be sleeping at this time."
Emperor Chongzhen raised his eyebrows: "Isn't he sleeping? Then he..."
"Your Majesty, Commander Wu seems to have left the palace and gone over there." Gong Yonggu chuckled, and Emperor Chongzhen opened his mouth slightly and smiled: "Chang Yu is overworked, let him sleep more."
Chang Yu was really sleepy. Although his energy was different from ordinary people, he couldn't bear it even after running back to Beijing from 600 to 700 places all day long and staying up all night. He actually fell asleep at dawn.
But when the personal guard Chen Suole informed that Wu Mengming was coming, he immediately got out of bed and ran straight to the lobby without even having time to wash his face. He took Wu Mengming's hand because he was an elder brother and missed him very much after not seeing each other for a long time. This made Old Wu
I was flattered, but I always felt unspeakably flustered.
Seeing the young eunuch with disheveled hair and a worried and tired face, but his eyes were shining brightly at him, his eyes were a bit familiar. Wu Mengming finally realized it and said with a wry smile: "Factory Supervisor, if you have anything to say, just say it, don't do this, it's really scary."
".
Chang Yu laughed and said, "Then let's just say it directly."
"Wait a minute." Wu Mengming gritted his teeth and said, "Whether it's a good job or a bad job, I need to prepare myself mentally first. I'm very flustered." He patted his chest hard.
"Of course it's a good job, a good thing to make money." As soon as Chang Yu finished speaking, Wu Mengming's eyes turned green and he licked his lips vigorously: "I told you earlier... Hey, you won't let your humble job go out of the city to do that again...
Ahem, it really won’t work this time. The Tatars are too vicious and will kill everyone on sight. If you force me to leave the city, why not just cut me down at the Yamen with a knife.”
"What are you talking about? You and I are brothers and sisters, how could our family let you die?" Chang Yu said with a serious look on his face and helped him make tea, "Do you still remember that we raised money and food when the bandit army besieged the city in Taiyuan?
What's the matter?"
Wu Mengming immediately laughed: "Of course I remember, there was a lot of money to be made at that time...Does the factory director want to take advantage of this time when the Tatars are sieging the city to collect donations in the capital?"
"Yes!" Chang Yu slapped his thigh hard: "Think about those who didn't panic when the army came to the city. Ordinary people would just run away if they could, but those big families with big businesses and big businesses would not be willing to run away. They would naturally provide money, food and help.
Let the officers and soldiers defend the city against the enemy."
When Wu Mengming heard this, his eyebrows suddenly lit up: "What the factory supervisor said is absolutely true. There are so many nobles and rich gentry in the capital that any amount raised is not a small amount..." As he said this, he suddenly frowned: "You are all fucking iron roosters. The factory supervisor still remembers the beginning of the year.
The proceeds from the emperor's fund-raising campaign...are too embarrassing for them."
"It's different this time. When the emperor raised funds at the beginning of the year, the rebel army was still hundreds or thousands of miles away. Those iron roosters had no pressure. Now the Tatars are right under their noses and can attack the city at any time. How can they not panic?" Chang Yu said
.
Wu Mengming still frowned and sighed: "The factory supervisor still doesn't understand those iron roosters. Regardless of whether the enemy is far or near, the emperor collects silver with the dignity of the king of a country. As long as he is a little loyal and patriotic, he will not make it so ugly. Those things
It’s so shameless, I’m just afraid that the factory supervisor’s plan will fail this time.”
Moreover, Chang Yu rolled his eyes: "Of course I know the nature of their urine. It depends on their consciousness. They won't even give you a sip of cold water, so we have to use some means to get something hard. Donate even if you don't want to donate."
.
"But forcing donations is an insult to the royal family. The emperor will not agree. Even if he agrees, he will be scolded by the civil servants." Wu Mengming shook his head vigorously.
"So it can't be in the name of the emperor, not in the name of Dongchang and Jinyiwei. It can only be in the name of a private person." Chang Yu just stared at him, and Wu Meng looked confused: "In a private name? Who has such great appeal, how many princes?
, Damn, they didn’t even have time to hide..." After a pause, he saw a smile on the little eunuch's face, and stood up: "Factory Supervisor, don't you mean it in the name of your humble position... No, no, no,
A humble position doesn't have that kind of appeal." Wu Mengming shook his head vigorously.
"If you want fart's appeal, you just need means." Chang Yu chuckled.
Wu Mengming stood up and walked out: "Factory Supervisor, what the Emperor just ordered me to do has not been done yet. I will resign..."
"Come back." Chang Yu shouted in a low voice: "Who are they for?" He stood up and walked to Wu Mengming, pointing at him with a look of hatred: "There are many big households in Beijing, how many people are trying to get into such a good opportunity to make money?"
, Our family has a deep brotherly relationship with you, so we leave this opportunity to you, please appreciate it.”
"Factory Supervisor, please stop playing around. Although I love my money, I cherish my life even more. Those big families in Beijing all have deep backgrounds, and I can't afford to offend any of them." Wu Mengming said with a bitter face: "They even dare to assassinate you, I'm a humble person."
Can……"
"Okay, since you don't want to go, we won't force you to go. Now that the Tatars have entered the border and besieged the city, the military situation is urgent. The governor wants to send people out of the city to go deep into the tiger's den to investigate the enemy's situation. You are a local snake and the boss of the Jinyiwei, so you can go now.
Chang Yu said calmly.
"Ahem, factory supervisor, what do you think of the fundraising operation? I suddenly became interested in taking advantage of the opportunity to make a profit. It is said that wealth can be obtained through danger, so it is normal to take some risks." Wu Mengming sat down seriously and picked up the teacup.
He took a sip and said, "You have a humble position as the commander of the Jinyi Guards. You still have some respect in this Forty-Nine City. Are you right?"
Chang Yu laughed and then sat down: "Mr. Wu, at this moment, the Qing army came to the city, and those big guys had to pull out a few hairs even if they were iron roosters. Yes, you have to be scolded, but if someone scolds you, there will be others.
Peng, once you do this beautifully, the emperor will not look at you differently."
Wu Mengming's eyes lit up and he licked his lips: "Yes, if the emperor favors you, this little reputation will mean nothing, not to mention there are many benefits. By the way, factory supervisor, what is the process like?"
"Each family of the three princes will provide 20,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan for the marquis, 5,000 yuan for the uncle, and the needy households will be slightly reduced." Chang Yu picked up the tea cup with a smile on his face. There were nearly 100 nobles in the capital: "It is not a problem to get 1.8 million yuan."
Bar".
Wu Mengming's eyes flashed green: "Only these nobles are touched, but the court officials are not touched?"
"The civil servant group is very powerful, and usually you will not end well if you provoke them. However, this is the time when the Tatars are approaching the city. Let's raise funds to do justice. Even if they are unhappy, they will not say anything. The officials in the capital are so poor that we can raise money at will."
It's fine, but the big guys in the court should take more care of him."
Wu Mengming stood up and sighed, "This is a tough battle, but the rewards must be very rich." He said with a wry smile: "Of course you will be scolded miserably for your humble position! Factory Supervisor, see if you can take care of me too."
"How about 20% of the proceeds?" Chang Yu said casually without raising his head.
"It's settled." Wu Mengming left impatiently and suddenly turned around at the door and asked, "In addition to these distinguished officials, there are many merchants and wealthy gentry in the capital, so why not catch them all in one go?"
Chang Yu smiled: "If you can't eat it alone, just concentrate on fighting those iron roosters. As for these merchants and gentry, there are others to collect donations." (To be continued)