Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, is lined with white flags. At this time, the weather is getting warmer, and the plague is raging in the capital. It is rumored that hundreds of funerals are taking place every day, and mourning in the city continues from morning to night. The government is helpless. In order to avoid the expansion of the source of infection, there is an urgent order not to hold funerals. Send them out of the city early for burial.
Ordinary people cannot afford to hold funerals and bury them in a hurry, but wealthy families are more particular about it. Although the government strictly prohibits funerals, they secretly organize funerals. The government has no choice but to send special personnel to inspect and secretly inspect the funeral. If someone is found to have died due to illness, they will be sent to the city as soon as possible. external processing.
The entire capital was covered in silver, but it was not a beautiful scene after the snow, but mourning clothes and white streamers. It was as quiet as a ghost town, and the people were in panic all day long. It was not until the news of the Nine Gates Royal List this morning that the whole city was boiling, and the past dejection was gone.
It is said that a few days ago, a successful announcement came from outside the customs. Wu Sangui in Ningyuan City ambushed the vanguard of the Qing army and killed four to five thousand enemies. The government and the public were excited, and they were celebrating with gongs and drums beating for the first time in several years.
Of course, some people suspect that the border troops are falsely reporting good news. After all, officials from top to bottom in the Ming Dynasty, from civil to military officials, are all good at this, and they are all good at it. The worst is to falsely report military achievements and kill four or five thousand enemies? Just kidding.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, before the joy was over, another injection of chicken blood came. Ningyuan's army defeated more than 100,000 Qing troops in one fell swoop, killed more than 10,000 enemy casualties, captured countless baggage, and the Manchu regent fled in panic.
The capital city has swept away the haze caused by the plague in the past. Inside and outside the imperial city, the streets, alleys, taverns and teahouses, the royal relatives, wealthy gentry, and hawkers all talked about this matter.
The emperor was overjoyed and issued an amnesty order. Several nobles who had been arrested for assassinating Admiral Dongchang were released early...
The imperial eunuchs rushed to the streets and praised the frontier troops for their bravery, with voluptuous words and passionate words...
Another wealthy gentry showed great kindness and set up more than ten porridge shacks next to the Nine Gates to provide porridge to the refugees...
A piece of good news seems to have changed the capital, and even changed the world. Everything is so peaceful.
But no, the frontier army decided the outcome in one battle, and the world seemed to have really changed!
The teahouses on the street were scattered in an orderly manner. The long shouts of vendors came from the end of the alley, the storytellers were spitting, and the opera singers died down. No one listened. The victory of the frontier army became a major headline after dinner. Both the government and the public celebrated the victory in different ways. , joy can be seen everywhere, but only the two alleys of Jiangmi Lane are the most popular in the whole capital.
There is a house in Ertiao Hutong. It is said that a beautiful woman of national beauty lives here, but few people see it. This house is the Wu Mansion.
Wu is the Wu of Wu Sangui, and the mansion is the mansion of Wu Sangui, the residence of Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty.
As soon as the news of the greatest victory of the frontier army in the past years reached the capital, the Wu Mansion immediately became busy with traffic. The entire alley was packed with water, and people who came to congratulate them lined up in a long line.
Wu Sangui was the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan. He was the chief general of the Ming army in this battle. Ningyuan was victorious and killed nearly ten thousand enemies. He burned his camp and defeated Dorgon. He killed him and fled in embarrassment, abandoning his helmet and armor. This battle could ensure that there would be no fighting at the border for several years. His achievements were so great that Wu Sangui not only became famous in one battle, but also rose to prominence.
The Wu family was also very happy. They put up lanterns and streamers, beat gongs and drums and opened the door to welcome guests. It was like being named on a gold medal list, getting promoted and making a fortune. However, there were recent rumors in the DPRK that a military post would be set up to rival the chief minister. Wu Sangui was very likely to use this to his credit. Become the first national pillar of the Ming Dynasty!
"shameless!"
In a teahouse across the street from the Wu Mansion that was full of guests, a few big men at a table by the window on the second floor witnessed the liveliness of the Wu Mansion, with expressions of disdain on their faces: "Wu Sangui is nothing more than a pawn of the Governor. He is so eager to plunder money. Seriously?" You are extremely shameless, Master Qianhu, do you think the governor is too low-key?"
The master of this thousand households is none other than Chunxiang, who is in private. Now Dongchang has the final say in the capital, and Chang Yu has the final say in Dongchang. He has done a lot of dirty work in the capital recently, and is highly regarded by Emperor Chongzhen. .
Chunxiang and the others didn't come here deliberately to see the Wu family show off. They were just inspecting the undercurrents of the capital while incognito. They happened to meet Wu Mengming, the commander of the Jinyiwei who came to congratulate him. They felt unhappy and felt that Old Wu and Chang Yu were on good terms and knew the inside story. Following the crowd with a straight face is a very low-level character.
Wu Mengming and Chang Yu can be said to be close friends, and there is no need to express their relationship. Although Chang Yu is not in Beijing, the cooperation between Dongchang and Jinyiwei has been going on overtly and covertly, so the intersection between him and Chunxiang has increased. Seeing Chunxiang's face, he knew what the young man was thinking, so he invited him to the teahouse to chat for a few words, making it clear that he was just congratulating him informally on behalf of the emperor.
"The emperor actually sent someone to congratulate him privately. Could it be that Wu Sangui, the Zhuguo, sealed it?"
"The art of imperial control is just to win over people. As for whether Wu Sangui can win the title of Zhuguo, he has met the standard based on his achievements, but whether he can succeed or not depends on whether the people behind him push him or not?" Wu Mengming sipped tea and chuckled: "Supervisor Your Excellency is indeed too low-key, but it would be nice to keep silent and make a fortune!"
"Get rich?" Chunxiang curled his lips: "The governor is now so poor that he is almost begging for food. He pays for food and grass from the north and south, and even pays for the silver reward out of his own pocket. How can he get rich?"
Wu Mengming chuckled: "Don't look at me, I am also poor, but this is all temporary. With the governor's methods, as long as he wants to make money, it is not a matter of hooking up."
"My eldest brother regards money as dirt. What he wants is peace and prosperity for the country and the people, not personal gain. He has never thought about getting rich. However, Commander Wu's mind is filled with thousands of taels of gold every day!"
Wu Mengming laughed and ignored Chunxiang's insinuation: "Then who said that everyone in the world is motivated by profit? We are born and die just to get promoted and get rich. I, Old Wu, have reached the top of my official career, so I barely have enough money to support myself in old age. "After a while, he said: "You are right. The Lord Governor is not interested in personal gain, and his high quality is beyond the comparison of ordinary people of our generation. However, he has never tried to make money for others. This is why I have always looked up to the Lord Governor."
Chunxiang rolled his eyes: "Mr. Wu's eyes light up when he mentions money. He has always been obsessed with money."
"That's all we're pursuing." Wu Sangui chuckled with a proud look.
"No, I heard that Commander Wu is not only rich in money, but also beautiful. I have heard for a long time that there is a beautiful woman in the Wu family. Master Wu's visit today is not as simple as congratulations. Have you ever looked at Chen Yuanyuan? Do you really think she is beautiful and fragrant?" Someone asked with a low laugh.
Wu Mengming couldn't help but swallowed his saliva, and looked at the Wu Mansion with a regretful face: "I've never seen it, but the rumors are definitely not groundless. Chen Yuanyuan was originally a famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River, and her reputation spread far and wide... Tsk, tsk, tsk, Wu Sangui is such a good match. Yanfu, if you don’t keep this beautiful girl with you, aren’t you afraid of the old gangster Wu Xiang picking up the ashes..."
Poof, everyone almost burst into laughter when they heard Wu Mengming's obscene words.
"I don't know how much of the success of the imperial court is to kill more than ten thousand enemies. The civil and military officials of the imperial court have always been good at such dirty things. I'm afraid it can only be one-tenth or even one-twentieth. This is not the same as whitewashing peace. What's the difference between self-deception and others? It's so ridiculous..." There were seven or eight guests at the next table drinking tea, and the words of one of the young men caused everyone to nod in agreement.
Some people also raised objections: "I heard that the emperor sent the admiral of Dongchang to go to the outside of the pass to supervise the army. This good news should not be fake."
"Bah, there have always been a lot of those dead eunuchs who supervise the army and the generals who falsely report their military merits. The ones in Dongchang are not good at all. If you say it..." The young man suddenly became excited.
With a bang, a pot of hot tea was thrown at him, hitting the young man in the face, causing blood to flow. He screamed repeatedly, and his tablemates were in an uproar, looking at the several big men rushing over and accusing him.
"The people of Dongchang never lie, and the governor of Dongchang will never lie. The governor of Dongchang takes the lead outside the pass and fights the enemy bravely. You are talking about hundreds of dead eunuchs outside the pass at this time. They throw away Your head is pouring blood to protect your home and country. You are drinking tea and listening to music. You are so content that you have not done anything for the country, but you still have the nerve to make irresponsible remarks. Damn you, if you weren't in such a mood today. OK, I’ll kill you!”
Chunxiang looked indignant, cursed everyone, kicked the injured young man away, turned around and left.
"If you want to run away after beating someone, call the officer quickly..."
The rest of the crowd was unwilling and shouted to stop him.
With a click, several steel knives were unsheathed. Everyone was startled and retreated one after another.
"Reporting to the official?" Wu Mengming sneered and slapped the fat man who shouted the most crazily just now, blood spurting from the corner of his mouth: "Is the Chengguo Palace afraid of you reporting to the official? What a joke!" He waved his hand. , take everyone away.
In the bright sky, the emperor left without hesitation after being seriously injured at his feet. Are these nobles really lawless? Everyone was so angry that they shouted that Duke Cheng was too domineering and wanted to file a lawsuit.
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