At dusk, the area around Rizhongfang inside Deshengmen is quiet, dark and gloomy.
There are two streets in Deshengmen in the north of Beijing that lead to the center of the city. One is the Deshengmen Street going south. The other is the Xiejie diagonally from the city gate to the southeast. These are also the only two streets in Rizhongfang in the North Outer City.
A decent street.
People think that Baizhifang in the southwest of the capital is the most desolate and poor place, but in fact Deshengmen is the most desolate place in the capital. Except for some houses and shops on both sides of the two streets, the rest of the large area is
Wild lakes and forested wilderness.
Logically speaking, there shouldn't be such a place in the capital. After all, this is an area within the city walls, and there is a large lake like Jishuitan. It should be the favorite place for wealthy families to build villas and mansions. After all, other places in the capital have water surfaces.
Every inch of land is valuable, and every inch of land is worth fighting over. But this place has always been in a barbaric state. Even ordinary people don't want to live here.
The reason is very simple. Since the Ming Dynasty moved its capital here, the wild lakes and forests in Beicheng have been the cemetery. There are countless graves everywhere between the wild lakes and forests. They are densely packed and numerous.
In fact, before the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing, this area was not within the city limits, but belonged to the area outside the North City. Since then, it has been a cemetery for the people of Beijing. After the capital was established, the city had to be expanded.
Therefore, the capital city underwent a large-scale expansion. This area was easily enclosed within the city perimeter.
However, although it is within the scope of the outer city, it can only make the cemeteries here more and more dense. The population of the capital is increasing, more and more people die every year, and the place becomes more and more desolate.
The area of cemeteries is increasing, and people are unwilling to live in such a place, so many have moved away, creating a vicious cycle.
This place has been in a quiet and eerie state all year round, and scary things often happen. Rumors of hauntings, fake corpses, etc. happen from time to time.
It was not that the imperial court did not want to govern this area. During the Chenghua period, they banned the burial of the dead in the city, designated cemeteries outside the four cities, and the dead were sent out of the city for burial. Although this curbed the black hole in the north of the city,
Spreading, but the current situation of this wild lake wasteland cannot be changed.
The Ming Dynasty tried to change the situation here several times and transform this cancer-like place. But in the end they gave up. Because if they wanted to transform it, they would have to dig and move graves. If they did it forcefully, they would have to dig up ancestral graves and cut off their descendants.
This move is meant to arouse public outrage. If it makes sense, it doesn’t make sense.
.If the feng shui of ancestral graves is changed, the people will blame the court for death, illness or accidents in the family. There is one way, which is to spend money to encourage the relocation of graves, but there are more than hundreds of thousands of large and small graves, so
How much money will it cost? Then we also need to renovate and build roads and markets. I don’t know how much it will cost.
In the end, the imperial court gave up the renovation plan. However, in order to change the gloomy evil atmosphere in this area, the imperial court built a number of temples and Taoist temples in this area to suppress it. There are two temples built south of Jishuitan, one is Jinlan Temple and the other is Jinlan Temple.
It is the Dabei Temple. Among the deserted forests of the large cemetery on the north side of Xiejie Street, there are Thousand Buddha Temple, Shuang Temple, Longhua Temple, Guanghua Temple, Miaoyuan Temple, Qingxu Temple and other Taoist temples.
Even so, the situation here has not changed much until now. During the day, it is densely covered with trees, dark and quiet. At night, it is even more scary, dark and creepy.
At this moment, in the dark dense forest to the west of Deshengmen Inner Street, several riders and horses were walking slowly on the branch-covered path. The sun had just set, and the area was already dark and dark. The path was rugged and difficult to navigate, and there were graves in the woods on both sides.
The tombstones are connected to the tombstones. From time to time, unknown objects jump out from among the grass and make strange noises. From time to time, things similar to human bones can be seen in the grass beside the road.
Walking on such a forest path really makes people break out in cold sweat.
"Master Hou, why did these guys choose a place like this to meet? They are really crazy. Although this place is secretive, is this a place where people live? People who have no eggs really act and think differently from normal people."
The man riding a horse in front said while cutting off the horizontal branches blocking the road with his knife.
Behind him, riding on a horse, was Zhang Yanling.
"Maybe it's for safety. It's because no one dares to come here, so it's a safe place. You can meet and talk without being noticed by the eyes and ears of the city. Chen Qianhu, you are also a senior member of the Jinyiwei Yamen.
, I’m afraid I won’t come to a place like this to track people and search.” Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
"That's true. Jinyiwei only competes with living people, and does not provoke dead people. No one comes to this place. Lord Marquis, we are almost there. The sun has gone down, and it will be dark soon, and the road will become even more difficult to walk.
It's even harder to find." The man in front is none other than Chen Shiyi, the leader of the Jinyi Guards.
Zhang Yanling frowned and was about to speak, when he suddenly heard the sound of a bell in front of him. It made several people tremble. Zhang Yanling said happily: "Here we are, that's the bell of Dabei Temple. The monks have started their evening classes."
"Listen to the sound, we are not far away. There should be Jishui Pond ahead."
Several people urged the horses to move forward faster, and finally, after drinking tea, they walked out of the trail and arrived at the open shore of the lake ahead. The sky was dark, and a large lake appeared in the field of vision. The water was as black as a lake of ink.
Everyone discovered lights flickering on the north side of the lakeshore where the path leads.
"It should be there, it's a mansion." Zhang Yanling said.
Everyone urged their horses to go there, and when they got closer soon, they found that it was indeed a house. Although it was just an ordinary house, it seemed inconspicuous and ordinary anywhere else. But in a place like this, there are house lights, which makes people feel sad.
I feel much better.
Zhang Yanling got off his horse and walked to the front of the house. He stretched out his hand and pushed it. The gate opened, but Zhang Yanling was shocked. Because there were four or five people standing in the yard, holding lanterns, wearing black clothes and high hats. At first glance, they looked like
They are like a few ghosts.
"Master Zhang, why are you here?" the leader said.
Zhang Yanling walked into the courtyard and said with a smile: "Eunuch Liu, the road here is difficult to walk and difficult to find. I have tried my best to get there."
Liu Jin nodded and said, "We have been waiting for you for a long time."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Actually, we don't need to meet in a place like this. There are many places where we can meet. Why come to a place like this?"
Liu Jin chuckled and said: "Master Hou, don't you understand that now our every move is being watched? Is there anything else in the capital that Dongchang and Jinyiwei can't see? You and the rest of us openly
Wouldn't it be too imprudent to meet him in person? He would tell you the truth."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's true. However, this kind of place is so gloomy that it makes people very uncomfortable."
Liu Jin laughed and said: "How nice is this place? Lord Marquis, do you think the dead are scarier than the living? I think it's much more peaceful to get along with these dead ghosts."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said with a smile: "What you said seems to make some sense."
Liu Jin cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Master Marquis, please come into the room to talk."
Zhang Yanling bowed her hands in return, and at the same time bowed her hands to the people next to her. One of them was Gao Feng, another was Ma Yongcheng, one was Gu Dayong, and the other was Qiu Ju. They were all chamberlains around the emperor, and they all came with him from the East Palace.
people.
When Zhang Yanling stepped into the house, Chen Shiyi whispered an order from outside the courtyard, and the four accompanying guards immediately dispersed and disappeared into the four corners of the courtyard, keeping a close watch. Chen Shiyi then followed Zhang Yanling into the house.
Don't look at the simple and ordinary house outside, but the inside of the house is completely different. The candlelight in the house is bright, and the waxed wooden boards on the floor reflect the golden luster. The walls are painted white, with calligraphy and painting on the sword, in the middle of the hall.
There is a portrait of Zhong Kui hanging. It seems that Liu Jin is also afraid of ghosts, otherwise why would he hang a portrait of Zhong Kui? There are some antiques in the room, and in the corner is a copper lotus incense burner. The faint fragrance is diffused in the air, making people feel
People are comfortable.
"Yes, yes, this house is beautifully decorated. It is really Eunuch Liu's foreign residence. I thought it was in tatters." Zhang Yanling nodded in approval.
Liu Jin smiled and said: "It can't be compared with the Marquis's house. Although we internal officials have residences in the palace, we also have our own outer houses. I like quietness and don't like people to disturb me. When I have free time, I come here.
Rest. The Marquis may not like this kind of place, but our family likes it."
Zhang Yanling nodded and thought: This is not entirely true. This place is definitely not Liu Jin's home, but a place where Liu Jin conspired to meet and discuss things. A secret gathering place away from the eyes and ears of others. But these things
It's not important. After returning from Xishan Manor today, I got in touch with Liu Jin and agreed to discuss countermeasures to deal with the criticism in the outer court. This was the theme of today's meeting.
After everyone sat down, Liu Jin said in a deep voice: "Master Hou, let's get down to business. We have to go back to the palace to be on duty later in the night."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Okay. Let's discuss countermeasures as soon as possible. What are your father-in-law's plans for this matter? Can you tell us?"
Liu Jin smiled and said: "We would like to hear what the Marquis thinks first."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Forget it, let me tell you what I think first. My idea is actually very simple. This time, someone used Li Mengyang's hand to file a petition to criticize. It seems to be a petition to discuss bad policies, but it has other intentions. It seems that the target is right.
You and my Zhang family are allowed, but that is just their high-sounding excuse. What they want to deal with is the emperor. They want to test and force the emperor, and put pressure on the emperor. This is their real purpose."
Liu Jin looked at Zhang Yanling in surprise and said, "Oh? This is how the Marquis actually sees it?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Exactly. What do we people mean in their eyes? The outer court is now arrogant, powerful and powerful. The only thing they fear now is the emperor. So controlling the emperor is their ultimate goal.
, can do whatever they want. All their criticisms and accusations
Their target is the emperor. As long as the emperor compromises, they will achieve their goal. As for the affairs of several father-in-laws and the affairs of my Zhang family, they are just means they use to test the emperor's reaction. Therefore, this time, we must not let
They succeeded, not for ourselves, but for the Emperor."