Chang Yu's arrival made Wu Mengming extremely happy. He grinned almost to his ears, and his words and attitude were also very polite and complimentary. After all, in addition to knowing Chang Yu's deep royal favor, he was also his God of Wealth.
He is as greedy for money as he is. Although he is greedy for money, he has no way to get rich. The main reason is that he has only been in office for a short time and his methods are not sharp enough. He can only do something about withholding wages and eating some gutter oil. The real fat has not yet been reached, until he meets
Arrive at Changyu.
Putting aside the boxing match, Chang Yu had allowed him to take a cut of last night's actions, which amounted to nearly ten thousand taels of silver. This was definitely the largest sum of money he had ever seen since taking office, and it was so fair and aboveboard. How could it be?
do not like.
"Hand it, hand it, the prince Zhou Kui and the British Duke Cheng Guo Gong's money have been sent." Wu Mengming, with a smile on his face and a shy face, invited Chang Yu to sit down and made tea himself.
"Did you see that every one of them just pretends to be poor and uses some tricks to get rich? Jin Yiwei's prison is simply a golden sign to make money." Chang Yu said with a smile: "Where are the others?"
"Only two of the others paid the money, and the others claimed that they were in a pinch and were preparing for it." Wu Mengming looked serious.
Moreover, Chang Yu rolled his eyes, money was tight? It was just the excuse of these drama queens. He did not believe that any noble man could not afford one hundred thousand taels of silver. Even a skinny camel like Xue Lian could afford it.
It's just a temporary pain in my heart that I can't let go of.
"Anyone who hasn't paid the fine will have their bedding taken away at night, harassed at twelve o'clock and not allowed to sleep, and their water and food supply will be cut off. We'll see how long they can survive." Chang Yu snorted coldly.
Wu Mengming was startled, and then he extended his thumb: "Eunuch Chang is so tall, but the emperor won't allow him to be tortured. Your deprivation of sleep and water is even more torturous than a severe torture."
Chang Yu sneered and said nothing while serving tea.
Wu Mengming asked again: "When will the state's abbot and others be released after they have paid the fine?"
Chang Yu was silent for a moment, and before the city closed at sunset, he said with a slight smile: "The sun sets over the western mountains, and the dust and dust are very suitable for the scene. I think they will have some insights on life."
This is a kind of psychological oppression. Wu Mengming doesn't understand this. He has more things to care about: "Eunuch Chang, what you promised me..."
Looking at Wu Mengming's face, Chang Yu didn't feel too disgusted. After all, this guy had no bad deeds. Moreover, he had always had a double-standard attitude towards corrupt officials. Speaking of which, the common people hoped that officials would make decisions and serve themselves, but they didn't see it as appropriate.
Officials get a little advantage and have some privileges, so let me ask, in this case, who can find trouble to be an official? You think you are a saint and have enlightenment.
But everything has a degree. You can love money or you can be greedy and accept bribes. As long as you don't scrape your bones to get the cream, it's okay. And there must be a prerequisite, that is, you use money to do things. The most disgusting thing is those who are corrupt and bribery but don't do anything for it.
Civil service bugs.
Wu Mengming loves money and accepts bribes, but at least he is obedient and does what he is told, so Chang Yu is not disgusted with him. In addition, because of his special status, he is good as a swordsman.
Mr. Wu was a little anxious. Chang Yu laughed and stood up and said, "Didn't the three families pay the money? How about you take five thousand taels from it first, and then you can take the remaining five thousand after the others have paid?"
"Well, good, good, good." Wu Mengming rubbed his hands excitedly, looking grateful to Chang Yu, but also a little worried: "Eunuch Chang, this money is all worth it. If you can't pay it back later, the emperor will
"Bian..." After all, it is the emperor's money, and he does not dare to be greedy.
"Don't worry, our family will take care of this matter. Even if the emperor doesn't allow it, our family will bear the burden. Brothers work hard in the middle of the night and don't pay for drinks. Wouldn't it chill people's hearts? Are you right, Mr. Wu?" Chang Yu
Chest guaranteed.
"What Eunuch Chang said is absolutely true." Wu Mengming forced a smile. He had already heard the meaning of Chang Yu's words, that is, don't take the 10,000 taels for yourself. Your brothers will have to give you some drinking money, and his words were vague.
It means that the money was actually provided by Chang Yu, and the account will have to be repaid later. After all, you want to take a commission from the emperor's money, which is ridiculous.
Of course, based on the previous profit sharing agreement between Chang Yu and Chongzhen, he naturally does not need to make up for the 10,000 yuan commission. Such words are just to beat Wu Mengming and sell a favor.
"Eunuch Chang, the emperor summoned me to the palace early in the morning and issued an order for the Jin Yiwei to send the money to the west immediately tomorrow morning. I will go in person and authorize all matters, big and small, to be supervised by you. I am aware of your secret." Wu Mengming felt that the money had fallen into his bag.
Let’s talk about business.
But he didn't want to make Chang Yu stand up suddenly in shock: "Why are you in such a hurry tomorrow morning?"
"Hey, you also know the west side, hehe." Wu Mengming smiled with a you-know-what expression on his face.
Of course Chang Yu understood that the war situation in the west was urgent, and the bandit army was about to invade Taiyuan, and it was impossible to mobilize Xuanda's troops to go without pay. This was the embarrassing situation that Ming Dynasty was facing at this time.
Although I had thought that I would definitely have to travel in the next few days, I never thought that it would be tomorrow, and time was so short. I originally thought of wearing a suit of armor and taking protective measures before leaving, but it seemed that it was too late.
With a sigh, Chang Yu sat down, picked up the tea cup and took a sip: "Mr. Wu, our family is a layman in this matter. If you follow me, you are just ordered to check the wind. You have to worry about the specific matters. Since time is so tight, then
Just start preparations quickly, and our family will try our best to cooperate."
Upon hearing this, Wu Mengming straightened his expression and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Eunuch Chang, time is too short. There are many difficulties at the moment, such as lack of manpower."
Chang Yu frowned and said nothing, Wu Mengming continued.
"According to the past practice, the payment of wages is usually done by the Beijing camp, with a staff of more than a thousand people. You know the responsibilities of the Jinyiwei. You have never done this before, and it is really difficult to mobilize a thousand people in a hurry.
Too difficult”.
Oh, that's it, Chang Yu suddenly realized, and then said: "This is not a difficult problem, you can allocate three hundred from Jin Yiwei, and I will handle the rest."
"Eunuch Chang is going to Beijing Camp to transfer people? By the way, I just heard that the Governor of Beijing Camp has been replaced," Wu Mengming said calmly.
Chang Yu was stunned. Li Guozhen was replaced as he expected, but who was replaced?
"Wang Jiayan, the right minister of the Ministry of War"
Finally, history slowly changed due to his arrival. Chang Yu's mood at this moment was extremely complicated. In the original history, Wang Jiayan was just a right minister of the Ministry of War until he followed Chongzhen and committed suicide, but now he has become the governor of the Beijing camp.
“It’s been said that things have turned upside down in the court today.”
Wu Mengming took a sip of tea and continued: "The chief assistant Chen Yan was dismissed from the prime minister. It is said that it was because he firmly opposed the emperor's transfer of Wu Sangui to Guanxi to aid, so Long Yan was furious, and Wei Dezao, the minister of the Ministry of War, was also dismissed. The emperor denounced his mediocrity.
What is even more ridiculous is that Li Jiantai, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, did not know whether it was to please the emperor or to serve the country sincerely. He recommended himself to go back to his hometown to recruit troops to recruit soldiers on behalf of the emperor to boost morale. However, he did not expect that the emperor was offended as soon as he said this.
The emperor was furious. He scolded and scolded someone and had someone beat him fifty times until he was about to die. He also said that he would reduce his position to the people and never use it again. Alas, all the officials in the court suddenly realized that the emperor is now... alas!"
"Don't you all think that the emperor is crazy?" Chang Yu snorted coldly, and Wu Mengming immediately tensed up: "No, no, that's not what I mean." Of course he didn't dare to admit it.
Only Chang Yu knew that Chongzhen was determined to cut off the trouble quickly, but Chen Yan's speech was in early February, and now it was only a few days earlier, and he made an excuse to transfer Wu Sangui to the customs.
Wei Dezao served as the Minister of War as the candidate for the last cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty. He only served for more than a month before the Ming Dynasty fell. This man was mediocre and ruined the country. He also had an extremely ugly face. It would not be a pity to remove him or even kill him, so that
Chongzhen didn't even bother to find an excuse and just waived it off. Anyway, in the late Ming Dynasty, the Minister of War was more diligent in changing people than changing clothes.
As for Li Jiantai, he was blindly going to the edge of the knife. Originally, the prince told Chongzhen about some recent major events based on dreams. He was a little skeptical at first, but as the intruder proclaimed himself emperor, details such as the date of dispatch, marching route, and troop strength were revealed one by one.
Verification, Chongzhen had long regarded his son as a prophetic treasure. Of course, he had also heard the joke about Li Jiantai's personal conquest on behalf of the emperor, and he was waiting for verification. As a result, this guy really came to his door early in the morning. How could Chongzhen, who had been holding back his anger for a long time, be so relaxed?
Spare him. After the beating, he felt relieved and became more convinced of the prince. He also had no doubts about the immortal man's theory of entrusting him with a dream.
Three people were removed at once, but who would fill the vacancy? Wang Jiayan took the position of governor of the capital, but what about the chief assistant?
"Li Banghua, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, pays his respects to the Prime Minister!"
Chang Yu was startled when he heard this, and then showed a faint smile. Li Banghua was Chongzhen's last loyal minister. In fact, he also committed suicide with him and died for the country. It was expected that he would be re-emphasized at this moment, and I am afraid that Chongzhen had other ideas.
Because Li Banghua has always been the mastermind behind the southern migration group.
"What about the Minister of War?" Chang Yu asked again.
"Shi Kefa of the Nanjing Ministry of War, I don't know why someone came here from Nanjing." Wu Mengming shook his head with confusion on his face.
But Chang Yu had a look of surprise on his face and exclaimed: "Okay, okay, great."
As we all know, the Ming Dynasty actually had three capitals. Nanjing and Beijing were the capitals, and Fengyang, the hometown of the old Zhu family, was the companion capital. Let’s not mention Fengyang for now, but Nanjing is not a trivial matter. After all, the old Zhu family made their fortune here, not to mention that there were two emperors here.
After ascending the throne, Emperor Chengzu did not dare to forget his roots even if he moved north. Nanjing still maintained a small court structure. In addition to the emperor, there were almost all other yamen in Beijing and Nanjing. Of course, they were just symbolic. The Minister of War in Nanjing was the national hero Shi Kefa.
!
There is no need to elaborate on Shi Kefa's name. Whether he is a capable minister or not is up for debate, but he is definitely not a jester. More importantly, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when people were idle and waiting for the demise of the old Zhu family, he was one of the few ministers who came out to carry the banner. In short
, he is a loyal person, and he dares to fight and fight hard. He is definitely not a person who just sits around and eats.
Chongzhen might be able to change God's will with such drastic measures. If so, he would be much more relaxed. Chang Yu let out a long sigh with a smile on his face.
"Eunuch Chang, what manpower did you just talk about?" Seeing that it was getting late, Wu Mengming urged.
Oh, Chang Yu retracted his thoughts: "You go ahead and arrange the rest of the details. Those scumbags in Jingying are temporarily unavailable. I have my own arrangements." He stood up and left, and he and Wu Mengming went to make their own arrangements.