Noon, Prince's Mansion.
Fang San's cooking was not very good, but it just suited Chang Yu's taste. He devoured it and praised him repeatedly, which made Fang San very happy.
But some people were happy and some were sad. Zhu Cixiang had a bitter look on his face: "Do you know how big the scene was last night when three marquis and two princes were on duty?"
"Who are the three princes and the two princes?" Chang Yu asked without raising his head after eating deliciously. In fact, there are only five princes left in the Ming Dynasty, one each in Yunnan and Nanjing, three in the capital, and a lot of monkeys.
"Gong Chengguo, Duke Yingying, Marquis Wuding, Marquis Zhenyuan, Marquis Taining"
"Good guy, your Majesty is really awesome." Chang Yu couldn't help but exclaimed. He was not surprised that there were only three princes, but these marquises were all the oldest, especially Wuding Marquis Guo Ying, who was from the time of Taizu. The last one should be named Guo Peimin.
"These are all wealthy people. How much did you win yesterday?"
"Look at me, I look like I've won money. I lost more than five hundred taels last night, and half of what I won in the previous team has been lost. If this continues, I'm going to sell the pot again." The prince's brows furrowed into knots.
I went, and Chang Yu was a little surprised: "I've been cheated again, who will win?"
"Except for me, all of them have won a bit, but the one who has won the most is Zhu Chunchen. I estimate it to be more than three thousand!"
Damn, how could he win so much? Chang Yu was very surprised.
"This old dog is smart. He makes normal bets during the regular season. He also makes small bets against several princes, but when it comes to the challenge, he places big bets..."
Why is this happening? Chang Yu was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized: "The challenge is his manpower?"
Zhu Cixiang nodded heavily: "He was selected from the personal guards. How can those eunuchs under you be their opponents... In fact, I can also see the outcome, but this old dog proposed to bet with me. I have no choice. Wang Dehua and the others just have to deal with it, waiting for you to come back and kill him, but this old dog is obviously much smarter than that good-for-nothing Li Guozhen. He doesn't bet on the regular season because he is afraid that we will manipulate the game..."
Huh, Chang Yu was silent for a while and sneered: "He has a good plan, I have a wall ladder, but he is just a little ninety-nine and can't make waves. Do you know who is on duty tonight?"
"My father ordered that two princes, three princes, or uncles must be on duty every night, so basically Zhu Laogou will come almost every night..."
Hey, Chongzhen is just trying to kill these nobles. There are so many uncles taking turns, but there are only three princes. It's hard enough to be on duty almost every night, but think about it, these nobles don't have much to do on weekdays. Well, what happened to working the night shift?
"I'm going to teach him a lesson tonight. If he doesn't come, I'll let him bleed. If he comes, I'll let him bleed. You can bet as much as he wants..."
The two of them pushed Fang San away and talked quietly.
In the afternoon, Chang Yu stood in front of a house in Xinghua Temple Hutong (later Xinghua Hutong) in the north of the city, hugging his shoulders and watching Tang Potian gently pat the door.
Soon the courtyard door opened, and Zhang Huwei looked at the two people in front of him in astonishment, especially Chang Yu who had a smile on his face. He really couldn't imagine how these two people found their way to his home.
Although Zhang Huwei was a Han general in the Jinyi Guards who was affiliated with the emperor's personal army, because he was from the capital and was not a big man, he would go home to serve his parents when he was not on duty.
"How are you, Brother Zhang?" Chang Yu greeted with a smile. As soon as he looked at it, he already knew in his heart that the Huwei family was a small civilian family. It was said that there were several wealthy families who were soldiers at that time. In addition to hereditary military positions, .
"Eunuch Chang" Zhang Huwei was really surprised, how could this famous little eunuch in the palace come to see him at home: "Eunuch Chang, this is..."
"I have nothing to do. Let's chat with Brother Zhang." Chang Yu could see his doubts.
"Oh, this is a good relationship. Come on, come in and sit down." Zhang Huwei was startled for a moment, but he was still confused. He had a fight with this guy, and once went to a boxing match and won some money with his advice. The others have not interacted with each other. Why are we in the mood to chat with each other today? However, we are confused in our hearts but still enthusiastic on the surface.
"It's no trouble. Brother Zhang, why don't we go out for a walk? We can find a teahouse and restaurant to have some fun." Chang Yu's words made Zhang Wuwei a little confused, and he thought for a while: "That's fine." He turned around and closed the courtyard door. , glanced left and right: "Because there is a temple (Xinghua Temple) there is no restaurant here, why not go to Dingfu Street (later Dingfu Street) in the north, it is lively there."
Dingfu Street is the most prosperous place in the north of the city, and it is also the most famous street. It is prosperous because of the many businesses, and famous because this street is named after Dingguo Gongfu.
If you want to ask who is the most aristocratic family in the Ming Dynasty, even a three-year-old child can casually name it: the old Xu family with one king (Xu Da’s posthumous title), one queen, one concubine, and two father-in-laws.
The old Xu family is divided into two branches: the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, and this Dingfu Street is the Duke of Ding who moved the capital to Beijing with Chengzu. The contemporary Duke of Ding is Xu Yunzhen.
Although the streets were bustling, the weather was cold and there were not many pedestrians. The three of them found a restaurant and walked in, only to realize that there were quite a few friends who had nothing to do in the cold weather and had a drink to warm up and brag.
I asked for a private room, which also had a heater, which was very warm. I ordered some wine and food, and told the waiter not to disturb him at will. The three of them were polite, and Chang Yu went straight to the topic.
"Mingren don't tell secrets. This time I asked Brother Zhang for cooperation." Chang Yu put away the smile on his face: "Our family held a boxing match in the palace. Brother Zhang knew it. The intention was to entertain himself, but he didn't Thinking that the more we play, the bigger the business becomes, and now in order to expand the scale and diversify customer needs, we decided to invite Brother Zhang to join us."
Zhang Wuwei was a little surprised: "Ask me to join the gang. Aren't all the father-in-laws participating in the boxing matches in the palace?"
"This was indeed the case originally. As I said just now, in order to adapt to the diversification of market and customer needs, now the competition is not only limited to eunuchs, but also the personal guards. Is Brother Zhang interested?"
Of course he was interested, Chang Yu knew the answer from Zhang Wuwei's eyes, and the source of this interest was simple and direct, that is, money.
The debt owed to the army in the late Ming Dynasty is a history of blood and tears. If we talk about it for three days and three nights, we can't finish it. It amounts to millions of taels. It not only involves the border troops and the Beijing camp, but even the emperor's personal guards are also affected. Soldiers are human beings too and have to support their families and survive.
"I mean it." Zhang Wuwei nodded heavily: "But, if..."
"Don't worry, there will be no problem with the procedures. If anything happens, I'll take care of it." Chang Yu knew what he was worried about and interrupted directly, patting his chest to confirm.
"Eunuch Chang, you may have a good time in the palace, but the army is in deep water. Can you really make peace?" Zhang Wuwei was still hesitant.
Chang Yu smiled: "Without this diamond, how dare you take Brother Zhang's porcelain job? Don't worry, if there is really any involvement, someone will come forward."
Zhang Wuwei squinted his eyes and was silent for a moment, suddenly thinking that Chang Yu was from the Prince's Mansion. Since he dared to speak like this, he naturally had the support of the Prince, so he nodded heavily: "Okay, let's do it."
Chang Yu and Tang Potian were overjoyed: "Brother Zhang, if you have anyone you know, you can introduce him to me. I don't need anything else. I just need to know how to fight."
Zhang Wuwei pondered for a moment: "There are actually many good people among the personal guards. Since Eunuch Chang is willing to recruit them, it shouldn't be difficult for me to be a lobbyist."
Great, Chang Yu was overjoyed: "Brother Zhang, please help me look for money. It's easy to get money."
Zhang Wuwei also smiled: "As long as the money is in place, it doesn't make much difference whether I say it or not."
Chang Yu appreciates his straightforwardness and frankness.
The three of them drank and chatted happily, and the more they talked, the more excited they became, and the topic got out of hand.
"By the way, Brother Zhang, do you know someone in Beijing?" Chang Yu suddenly mentioned this after a heated chat, and Zhang Wuwei was startled.
The army of the Ming Dynasty is mainly divided into two types, one is the Beijing army and the local army. The local army is stationed in various places, mainly in the important towns on the nine borders. They usually farm and defend the city in wartime. They are called the border army for short. They are field troops because they have rich combat experience. It is the most powerful force in the Ming Dynasty.
The Beijing Army, also known as the Beijing Camp, is a mobile force with the best equipment. It guards the capital in peacetime and is the main force in wartime. Emperor Yongle used the Beijing Camp as the main force in his five Northern Expeditions. In the early years of Hongwu, the Beijing Camp only had 48 guards. After the capital was moved to Beijing, the capital was close to the front line. The Beijing camp expanded to 72 guards, with a maximum of nearly 500,000 people, and was formally established. The three major battalions of the Fifth Army, Three Thousand and Shenji were formally established. In peacetime, the five military camps practice camp formations, the three thousand battalions are in charge of patrols, and the Shenji camp is in charge of firearms. In wartime, the guards follow the expedition.
Then the Beijing camp gradually weakened, and there were too many vacancies. The pro-army and Beijing guard sergeants currently stationed in Beijing are either old, weak, sick or disabled, or they have asked someone to do the roll call on their behalf, or they have been occupied by the families of their relatives for labor service. Since the rise of the army in the late Ming Dynasty, the Beijing camp has never had any achievements to speak of. According to Wang Zhang, the censor, in the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign, the capital camp had 110,000 soldiers, but half of them were dead and the rest had no combat effectiveness. This is why when the intruders attacked Beijing, the so-called best-equipped Ming army collapsed and dispersed.
"There are indeed a few familiar people working in the Beijing camp. Is it possible that Eunuch Chang plans to recruit people from the Beijing camp?" Zhang Wuwei understood the answer and looked at Chang Yu curiously.
"It's best to be someone who has been on the battlefield." Chang Yu nodded vigorously. He always respected the ability to show strength in actual combat. Although the emperor's guards were well-equipped, physically strong, and brave, they had little actual combat experience, let alone ordinary fights and killing people on the battlefield. the difference.
But the Beijing camp was different. Although their actual combat experience was not as rich as that of the frontier army, they had also been on the battlefield. He really wanted to see the strength of those sergeants who had been on the battlefield and had fought with their lives.
"Did Eunuch Chang remember wrongly? Has Beijing Camp been on the battlefield in recent years?" Zhang Wuwei poured a basin of cold water on Chang Yu, who even stuttered a little: "No, you haven't, how can our family remember? The Beijing camp was once led by two generals, Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong..."
"It turns out that Eunuch Chang was talking about the Tengxiang Four Guards Camp and the Warriors Camp, two of the emperor's personal armies. In fact, they did not belong to the Beijing Camp," Zhang Wuwei explained.
Chang Yu suddenly realized and felt a little embarrassed. It seemed that his memory was a little fuzzy and he remembered it wrong. It turned out to be someone from the Royal Horse Supervisor, so that would be easier to handle.
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