The carriage moved quickly and stopped in front of the southeast gate of the imperial city. Old Hu jumped out of the car, lay down at the crack of the city gate and whispered a few words to the people inside, then trotted back, went to the carriage window and said: "Factory Mr. ,He's not in now".
"Then go outside Chengtian Gate, he will be there," Chang Yu said lazily in the car.
Old Hu got into the car and whipped up his whip: "How can the factory owner be so sure?"
Chang Yu chuckled: "This guy Fang San, although he is a bit cunning, he is very considerate in his work. If I say he is here, he is here."
Lao Hu chuckled and said nothing, but there was a little jealousy in his heart. He raised his whip and hurried towards Chengtianmen. After what happened just now, he no longer had any fear in his heart. He knew that Chang Yu had been prepared for it and was at the root of the imperial city at this time. Seeing the patrolling guards, the thief did not dare to act rashly.
Outside Chengtianmen (Tiananmen) is the Qianbu Corridor, with yamen of confidential departments on both sides. Although it is not mandatory for ordinary people not to approach, ordinary people will not come and stroll around casually. After all, the gate of the imperial city is heavily guarded. The guard has a bad temper. He will scold you if you like him or pull you over and beat you if you don't like him. You will have no place to complain.
The carriage arrived at the North Bridge of Yuhe River and turned due west along the root of the Imperial City. Lao Hu drove the car and looked at the government offices on the south side of the street. He suddenly said: "Mr. Factory, do you think that gentleman will be in the government office of the Ministry of War at this time?" ?”
Hearing this, Chang Yu opened the curtain and looked south. On the east side of the Qianbu Corridor, close to the root of the imperial city, the six government offices of the Zongren Mansion, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Personnel were lined up in pairs toward the south. In front of him was the Zongren Mansion. The one to the east is the Yamen of the Ministry of War.
"Impossible" Chang Yu shook his head and lowered the car curtain.
"We're here." Lao Hu stopped the car and ran quickly towards the gate of Chengtian. After a while, he brought someone with him and hurried over: "I've seen the factory owner" but it was none other than Fang San.
Seeing Fang San shivering from the cold, Chang Yu asked him to get in the car to keep warm: "Can you see Mr. Shi?"
"I saw him, but it was already past Hai Shi (9 p.m.) when he came out of Qianqing Gate," Fang San said quickly.
"so late?"
Chang Yu was a little surprised. Unless there was something important, the emperor rarely kept ministers in the harem for so long.
"Yes, when I saw Mr. Shi coming out, I went forward and explained my purpose of coming. However, Mr. Shi said that he would meet with the factory governor another day, so he hurriedly left. Xiao Xiao had no idea. When he saw him leaving the palace, he quickly followed him out. …”
Fang San left the palace, followed Shi Kefa to his hotel, and waited for Chang Yu at Chengtian Gate. This time lasted for more than an hour, which was enough to last him.
"So Mr. Shi is outside the front door right now, right?" Chang Yu asked, Fang San nodded vigorously: "Laifu No. 1, come to the room."
Chang Yu nodded slightly and asked Lao Hu to leave the city immediately and go to the front door.
To the south of Chengtian Gate is Daming Gate, which is the shortest way to Zhengyang Gate, but the Thousand-Step Corridor is the emperor's way. If you are walking, you can walk on both sides of the Thousand-Step Corridor, but driving a carriage would be disrespectful. Lao Hu didn't dare, and Chang Yu didn't dare either, so he had no choice but to go back and drive in a circle toward Zhengyang Gate.
When the car arrived in front of Zhengyang Gate, Lao Hu jumped out of the car and walked into the doorway to talk to the guards. Fang San also ordered the car to go behind the car and waved to the darkness. After a while, he saw several people leaving. But it was Jin Yiwei's men who came over.
"The governor said that everyone has worked hard tonight. You don't have to follow him when he leaves the city. Use this little silver to pay for the drinks for the brothers." Fang San said, taking out a ten-tael silver ingot and handing it over.
"Don't dare. Protecting the governor is a matter for low-ranking officials." Several guards in royal robes waved their hands quickly.
"Just accept what the governor rewards you," Fang San said impatiently.
Several Jin Yiwei looked a little embarrassed, rubbed their hands and took it: "Thank you, Lord Governor, thank you, this father-in-law."
When the carriage left Zhengyangmen, the scene suddenly changed. Not to mention, the lights were much brighter than those in the inner city. After all, the Dashanlan area outside the front door was a famous red light district in the capital. Although the night was already deep, the lingering sound could not be heard. Absolutely, although it is not as dazzling as neon in later generations, it is still exciting.
Laifu Inn and Yuelai Inn were time-honored hotels in the national chain in ancient times. There was one such one near Zhengyang Gate, with a front store and a backyard, five-star level.
The so-called upper room No. 1 is an independent small courtyard, quiet and elegant, but also expensive.
At this time, the main guest room in the small courtyard was dimly lit. Who could be sleepless so late at night?
In the room, the candlelight was as bright as a bean, and a middle-aged man was sitting at the table in front of the bed. There were books and tea on the table. The man sometimes drank tea, sometimes talked about millions of people, and sometimes put down his book and stared at the candlelight, frowning and thinking. .
This middle-aged man is none other than the last backbone of the Ming Dynasty, Shi Kefa, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing.
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Historically, when the rebel army went north to besiege the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Wu Sangui, Liu Zeqing and others to go to the capital to serve the king. However, except for Tang Tong who brought 8,000 troops to the capital, the others had their own excuses and were delayed in coming. Shi Kefa However, King Qin was not summoned to lead his troops to the capital. However, before they were halfway through the journey, the capital was lost. Hearing that Emperor Chongzhen had hanged himself, he was heartbroken!
Now, when Taiyuan was in crisis, Emperor Chongzhen decided to remove some of the big shots in the court because of the prince's strange dream, and urgently summoned Shi Kefa to Beijing to fill the vacancy of the Minister of War.
After receiving the edict, Shi Kefa immediately packed his luggage and hurried north.
In ancient times, ministers had to take care of their families when they took office, so it was inevitable for Shi Kefa to serve as Minister of War. However, when he heard that the military situation in the northwest was urgent and the court was in turmoil, he asked his family members to go behind and set off first.
Even so, it was thousands of miles away, and the canals were frozen in winter. It took nearly half a month to reach Beijing with only carriages and horses. At this time, Chang Yu had already become famous in Taiyuan and returned with a great victory.
As soon as he entered the capital, Shi Kefa went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to report, regardless of the dust, and left his entourage outside the Ming Dynasty Gate to find an inn to stay.
In ancient times, officials, whether local or imperial, did not allocate houses. They had to deal with it themselves, and most of them rented houses.
Yes, it is indeed renting a house, which is no different from the current Beipiao. The so-called general rents a house and the prime minister buys a house. The reason for doing this was due to many considerations, one of which was the frequent transfer of official positions. After all, there was no concept of house speculation in those days, and there was no way to buy a house in the capital, and most of them couldn't afford it.
Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, many ministers who had just entered Beijing chose to stay in hotels or temples to save money. After all, officials in the Ming Dynasty generally had low salaries and lived in poverty, and many times they were paid in grain or other tables, chairs, and sundries. Most of the officials at that time were really poor.
Shi Kefa did not expect that he would be summoned by the emperor immediately after the official report. The time was so long and the treatment was so high. In addition to giving him a banquet and treating him twice, the emperor also talked to him in private about many people and things, which made him flattered. Besides, it was also a big shock.
He had absorbed too much knowledge this day, and before he could fully digest it, he was still in a fog when he left. As soon as he left the Qianqing Gate, he was stopped by a eunuch, who whispered: "The director of the East Factory, please tell me, Mr. Shangshu. ".
Hearing the word "factory supervisor", Shi Kefa couldn't help but shudder. He had heard about this man since he first arrived in Beijing, and heard more about him when he was reporting to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He still heard about him when he was queuing up outside the Qianqing Gate and met Chongzhen. The emperor and empress were talking about him.
This person...
He didn't dare to see her for the time being, especially when he was here for the first time.
After leaving the palace, he hurried to the Daming Gate to meet his entourage who had been waiting for a long time, and then arrived at Laifu Inn.
"How could it be so wasteful?" Seeing this ostentation, Shi Kefa was dumbfounded. He was simple by nature and did not like luxury, so he angrily scolded his entourage.
The entourage no longer concealed it, saying that it was arranged by someone from the palace at noon. They thought it was the emperor's love for the master, so they agreed without thinking much.
People in the palace? Shi Kefa is also confused. He has few old acquaintances in the capital, and even if they are old friends, it is impossible to rely on the name of the palace, but he really has no acquaintances in the palace, Prince? Today we meet for the first time. How many princes are there? I’ve never met a queen, a princess, or a concubine, and I don’t know any of them.
Eunuch...impossible,
Maybe it really was the emperor's arrangement. Shi Kefa thought about Chongzhen's attitude towards him today and speculated that it was very possible. In addition, it was getting late and he was tired so he had to stay and prepare to enter the palace tomorrow to thank the Lord for his kindness.
After washing up, my fatigue was reduced by half, so I took out a book to read and digest what I saw today. At this time, I slowly regained my composure. Could it be that the eunuch really did it?
Shi Kefa felt an inexplicable and indescribable feeling when he thought of the eunuch.
When I first entered the capital in the morning, I was eating breakfast on the street. I heard rumors among the people that a new eunuch leader had emerged in Dongchang. He was so ruthless that he would kill even nobles who offended him. He even came to beat people and even caught Jin Yiwei Zhao. Shi Kefa frowned when he heard about the torture in prison. When did a big boss appear in Dongchang again? What did the emperor think? Has Wei Zhongxian forgotten the lesson he learned back then?
But soon the common people began to talk again. It was very satisfying to have someone to punish those nobles who often did evil. Moreover, the big boss not only knew how to punish evil people, but also beat thieves. They said that he supervised the army in Taiyuan and led an army of 100,000 to fight against hundreds of thieves. Wan, taking the lead, killing the enemy without any calculation, finally made the thieves escape and kept Taiyuan safe.
Taiyuan is safe and the bandits have retreated? Is it really the leader of the eunuchs who did this? Shi Kefa looked confused. He had just been on the road for the past half month. In addition, in ancient times, there was no Internet and no Weibo news. The news about Taiyuan did not reach his ears at all. On the contrary, news about Taiyuan came to the capital every day, and there were people who were interested. Spreading it intentionally or unintentionally, all the people in the capital are almost becoming storytellers.
When it came time for the report from the Ministry of Personnel, Shi Kefa deliberately inquired about it. As a result, when the officials from the Ministry of Personnel heard the name of the big boss of Dongchang, they immediately turned into crosstalk talkers, spitting and gushing, saying that the eunuch was ruthless and committed all kinds of evil. It made people angry, but if you asked for details, no one could tell them, and many people had not even seen it.
When I was queuing up to see the saint outside the Qianqing Gate, while chatting with the officials, I heard a lot again. This time, the voice was different. They were talking about the Battle of Taiyuan. Some said that although the eunuch was arrogant and domineering, the people in Taiyuan were not. Although his military exploits are indispensable, some people say that as a military governor, he took advantage of Zhou Yuji's command and even disobeyed military orders, causing unnecessary casualties. Moreover, he brutally massacred tens of thousands of prisoners. The impact was extremely bad and he deserves to be punished!
Shi Kefa was no longer confused and had been in the officialdom for a long time. His judgment on a person was no longer the same as what everyone else said. At this time, he was already interested in the chief eunuch, but he still had a complete judgment on what kind of person he was. However, Judging from the ministers' judgment, this person is definitely not a kind person, but he is a civil servant and has a natural dislike for eunuchs and Dongchang, so overall he has a very bad impression of Chang Yu.
But what he didn't expect was that after meeting Emperor Chongzhen, he would hear more things about the chief eunuch in more detail. After leaving the palace, he was already confused.
What kind of person is this!
Tuk-tuk-tuk, someone knocked on the door so late at night, but it was a follower: "Master, there is someone outside asking to see you..." As he walked closer and whispered a few words, Shi Kefa stood up with a look of astonishment.
