At the beginning of the lanterns, the number of people on the street continued. The carriage went north along Huangchenggen. Old Hu sat on the shaft of the carriage and frowned. Although what Chang Yu said was true, who did the murder in Huangchenggen, he always felt that someone was following him. But I looked around and found no suspicious person.
Maybe it was because of his own suspicion, Lao Hu thought, forcing himself to calm down and drive with peace of mind.
After half a stick of incense, the carriage followed the Imperial City and bypassed the North City to Baodafang in the east of the city. In the carriage, Chang Yu vaguely heard Old Hu calling him: "Mr. Chang, Dongchang Hutong is about to arrive."
Chang Yu said yes, opened his eyes, stretched, got out of the carriage and sat side by side with the old man on the shaft of the carriage. He squinted and looked around. It was pitch black and there were few people on the street. In the imperial city, there are not many shops and there are almost no lights.
Dongchang Hutong is named after the Dongchang Yamen is located here. It is close to the imperial city. The alley is not big, but the Yamen is not small. There are several courtyards connected together, which is quite large. Because of its specialness, ghosts and gods used to stay away, and ordinary people No one dared to approach, and even at this time it seemed extremely deserted.
As soon as the carriage stopped at the yamen gate, two men in black ran over with ferocious expressions on their faces: "What are you doing?"
The old man jumped out of the car and whispered something, and the two of them immediately changed their faces: "Young Tutu, I have met the Lord Governor!"
Chang Yu waved his hand lightly and said nothing, but looked up and stared at the Yamen. The dilapidated gatehouse was overgrown with weeds, and a weather-beaten wooden plaque hung on it, which read: Dongjishi Factory,
Chang Yu secretly sighed that the Tangtang East Factory was so dilapidated, but then he thought about it and found it funny. It seems that all the yamen in the Ming Dynasty had this kind of virtue. Regardless of whether they were rich or not, they all liked to show off their appearance to others. This originated from the Ming Dynasty. In the early days, Zhu Hongwu was ruthless towards corrupt officials, and would often get scratched and cramped. Therefore, in order to show that they were clean and tidy, officials usually did not repair their appearance (yamen), and some even replaced the old with new ones.
This tradition has continued from the early Ming Dynasty to this day.
"I've met the Governor." At this moment, more than ten people walked out of the yamen, and Chunxiang was the first.
Chunxiang was the second-in-command of the Dongchang, and Chang Yu directly handed over the responsibility to him. The entire restarting task of the Dongchang was entrusted to him. There was a lot of waste waiting to be done, and the affairs were complicated. In the afternoon, he just finished talking to the eunuchs in charge of the 24th Yamen. He hurried out of the palace to go to the Yamen to deal with matters. He summoned a group of people to arrange a meeting. When he heard Chang Yu's arrival, he immediately went out to greet him.
These ten or so people were all old people from Dongchang. After the fall of Wei Zhongxian, although Dongchang was not abolished, it was still in existence. Without the backstage, these original minions had to lie low and dormant to avoid being dampened by others.
Now that Chang Yu has taken office and Dongchang is back, these minions are about to come out. As for who will cause harm, it depends on who Chang Yu points to.
Chunxiang took Chang Yu around the yamen. As a serious yamen to the outside world, this place was much larger than the Neidongchang yamen in the imperial city, and the various functional departments were also much more complete.
"I know you like tea, but there's nothing decent in this yamen. I just brought this out of the palace this afternoon. I didn't expect you to drink it so quickly." In the hall, Chunxiang helped Chang Yu make tea. Said with a smile.
Chang Yu chuckled: "You are very excited, but if you want good tea, you have to go to Wei Dahai. He has a lot of good products."
Chunxiang was startled: "No way, aren't tribute tea and other items under the supervision of the imperial guards? Wei Dahai..." After saying this, he suddenly realized and shook his head slightly: "With power..."
Wei Dahai is the leading eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor, the second yamen after the Li Supervisor. In addition to his own duties of managing the imperial stables and pastures, he also works part-time as the Tengxiang Guard to dispatch and protect the emperor's safety. He is also responsible for managing the Huangzhuang Huangdian. He was the most powerful among the twenty-four yamen in the palace, so he would be given some of the good things that came as tribute from outside. Sometimes the emperor even used leftovers from these powerful eunuchs. This was no joke.
After a cup of tea, seeing no one around, Chang Yu asked in a low voice: "Have you put that batch of silver away?"
Chunxiang nodded: "The warehouse is locked, and our people are guarding it. We tell the outside world that it is allocated supplies."
Chang Yu nodded slightly. He brought a large amount of silver from Taiyuan. Two of them were hidden in the palace after entering the city, and were directly sent here secretly by the Jin Yiwei.
Because the money was part of the private money of him, Wu Mengming and others, used to pay for the reward promised to Tang Potian, Cheng Ming and other generals and guards.
Chang Yu didn't want Chongzhen to know about this money.
"Pick a time and let Tang Potian and Cheng Ming divide the money separately, so that the rest of the brothers can see through it."
"Aren't you going to keep some?" Chunxiang asked.
"Ours is stored in Taiyuan," Chang Yu chuckled and added, "Tell them to be strict with their mouths when receiving money. It's okay if word gets out that it's okay. If something happens, it's a big deal!"
"They are all children under three years old. They certainly know how to make a fortune silently." Chunxiang shrugged and turned to look outside: "Did you catch the fish?"
Chang Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I haven't taken the bait yet, but I still scared Lao Hu quite a bit."
Chunxiang laughed loudly: "Lao Hu has always lived in the palace. He is naturally timid and fearful. Why did you bring him out?"
Chang Yu shrugged: "I can only say that he came at the right time. I originally wanted to ask the East Palace guard Cheng Chongdao to accompany me, but who knew that Lao Hu would come to me...".
"Then you can go back to the palace directly later, or go to Guangqumen. Little Apple misses you so much! I will go and check it out after I return to Beijing. She keeps chirping to me and asking about you." Chunxiao smiled half-heartedly.
Chang Yu rolled his eyes at him and said, "I asked you to go there mainly to see if the servants are okay."
Humph, Chunxiang sneered: "If they weren't restless, the steel knife on my waist would be bleeding."
Chang Yu smiled slightly and looked at him: "Who would have thought that a dozen servants in the palace would now be splashed with blood while talking and laughing?"
"Those who are close to red are red. Who would have thought that the servants of Shangshan Supervisor would be so powerful today?" Chunxiang looked at him with a worried look on his face: "The water in the capital is deep and the fish are big. You have to be careful when fishing."
Chang Yu stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "I don't know, but you also know my temper. Today I want to try to see how deep the water is and how big the fish are, so as not to lose the chance to leave Beijing in a few days."
"Don't worry, they are more worried about not having a chance, so they are impatient. I met you on the third day after returning to Beijing. You are so proud. You may be lucky today."
"I hope so. Wish me good luck. While the weather is fine, I will try my luck and visit some government offices." Chang Yu said and was about to leave.
"Are you looking for Teng Xiang Wei Cheng Ming?" Chunxiang asked casually.
Chang Yu walked out and waved his hand: "Jintai Fang is too far away. Let's talk about it later. Isn't Tang Potian in Baodafang?"
"Yes, you exit the alley and go straight south. Dengshikou is right there." Chunxiang sent Chang Yu to the Yamen Gate: "I will spend the night at the Yamen Gate tonight. You can call me if I need anything."
"Go and do your business." Chang Yu jumped into the car and patted Lao Hu: "Go to Dengshikou."
The emperor's twenty-six bodyguards, in addition to the confidant Jinyi Guards, there are also two combat guards among the personal guards. One is the Tengxiang Four Guards, and the other is the Fujun Guards. Among them, the Fujun Vanguard is the The army is very special. It is called "Shanren with swords", which is the emperor's personal bodyguards, commonly known as guards with swords. Generally, in addition to the Han generals who can patrol the palace, they are also the avant-garde of the imperial army.
For example, Tang Potian was the sword-carrying officer of the imperial army's vanguard, holding the title of Qianhu. At the same time, he was also the chief guard of the Prince's East Palace.
The government's avant-garde government office was located at Dengshikou, Baodafang, east of the imperial city.
Dengshikou got its name from the lantern market that was set up here every year from the eighth to the eighteenth day of the lunar calendar during the Ming Dynasty.
After half a cup of tea, Chang Yu's carriage arrived at the front gate of the government office. The guard on duty looked puzzled at a carriage parked in front of the door. He was surprised, and then someone moved forward.
Those from the palace are looking for Tang Qianhu.
There is only one Qianhu named Tang in the vanguard of the government army, and that is Tang Potian.
Tang Potian, who was drinking and bragging with his colleagues in the yamen, heard that someone from the palace was looking for him, and hurried out. When he saw Chang Yu, he was excited and surprised: "What's the matter with the factory boss coming here late at night? ".
"This governor received a report that someone in your yamen drank alcohol in violation of the order. I came here to see if it was true." Chang Yu looked at Tang Potian, who was blushing, with a cold expression.
Tang Potian couldn't help but trembled: "Factory, Mr. Factory, this is not the time of duty..."
"Who said you can drink alcohol when you are not on duty?" Chang Yu shouted angrily. Tang Potian was so frightened that he immediately clasped his fists and kowtowed: "My lord, make atonement..."
"The governor hasn't had dinner yet, so you guys...who are you greedy for?" Chang Yu snorted coldly and walked towards the Yamen.
Tang Potian, who was behind him, rolled his eyes helplessly. What the hell? He felt so drunk that he woke up with a fright: "Come here, get some food and drinks for the factory governor..."
