It was late at night, and there were only a few people walking on the street. There were drunken guests making a lot of noise in front of the brothel, and a group of beggars were surrounding them, begging for money.
Next to a wine shop on the street near Duke Chengguo's Mansion, dozens of guards were resting and chatting. They looked like they were doing nothing and sometimes pointed at the flower house in the distance and laughed. None of the nearby drinkers dared to mess with them. At most, they disliked each other. After a few glares, no one yelled, so what are you looking at?
At some point, the guards left. They came suddenly and left quietly.
On the carriage, Chang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the various people on the streets outside, especially the beggars dragging their children to kneel beside the brothels and restaurants to beg. He felt particularly uncomfortable.
"It's extremely vicious. There were several assassinations in two days. It's so arrogant. This is the foot of the emperor in the capital, and he actually assassinated the admiral of the East Factory... This, this is too crazy and lawless." Wu Mengming, who was on the other side of the carriage, did not notice that Chang Yu had a strange look on his face, and was very angry. !
Chang Yu smiled and said nothing.
"Mr. Factory Master, what do you think the other party's background is? He has so much power to snare so many desperadoes. How can there be so many desperadoes..." Chang Yu told the case after leaving Cheng Guo Gong's Mansion. Wu Mengming was horrified when he told him.
Well... Chang Yu raised his hand and pointed out of the car: "Wars have been going on for years, and people are struggling to make a living. There are many people who take desperate risks to support their families. It is possible that even a steamed bun can make them kill people..."
Wu Mengming glanced at the strange people on the roadside outside the car and sighed silently.
Chang Yu looked at him and chuckled: "Master Wu, you and I both serve the Emperor and the Ming Dynasty. Why do so many people want to kill me? Why do you live a happy life and no one assassinates you?".
Wu Mengming smiled a little embarrassedly: "A humble job is different from a factory boss. What you do are earth-shattering things and things that offend people. A humble job is just about wiping your butt behind. Who would have trouble with a humble job? Besides, a humble job is not the same." As a factory owner, he has unparalleled martial arts skills and is invincible with his fists and kicks. No matter where he takes a humble job, there will always be many people around him." He said and extended his hand.
"Hey, you should live a careful life." Chang Yu nodded: "Be careful and sail the boat for thousands of years. Our family will learn from you more in the future."
In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen frowned and flipped through a memorial on the case. To be precise, it was a merit book. During the military parade in a few days, the court wanted to reward the generals who participated in the war based on their merits. As the warlord, Chang Yu submitted the list. , and also circled some people in particular.
But the final decision was not his. Even Emperor Chongzhen did not have the final decision-making power. Although his wings were slightly stronger now and he dared to challenge the cabinet, he only dared to challenge the cabinet.
The cabinet still has the decision-making power on some matters. Emperor Chongzhen cannot and cannot completely ignore the cabinet now.
For example, he had discussed the final list of awards this time with Li Banghua and others three times, but they had not yet fully reached an agreement. He was still not satisfied with the suggestions submitted by the cabinet in his hand.
And most of them are because of one person.
Wu Sangui!
Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt dizzy, rubbed his temples and glanced at Wang Chengen who was waiting next to him: "Do you know where Chang Yu went tonight?"
"Back to the emperor, Eunuch Chang should be in the yamen. I heard that this afternoon Dongchang mobilized troops to go out of the city for a large-scale search to investigate some big case..." Wang Chengen bowed and replied: "Do you want to summon Eunuch Chang into the palace?"
Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while: "Forget it, I guess he is too exhausted now." Then he got up and walked out of the palace: "Come with me for a walk."
Worried? does not exist!
Chang Yu is now watching the fun with relish.
Where is the excitement in the middle of the night?
Although it is getting late, for some people the nightlife has just begun, and there are quite a few of them, so it will naturally become lively when there are many people.
At the entrance of an alley on Gulou East Street, just north of the imperial city, Wu Mengming quietly got off Chang Yu's carriage and disappeared into the alley with his hands folded.
"Mr. Factory, should we go back to the Yamen?" Ji Jike asked softly outside the car.
Chang Yu pondered for a while, whether to go back to the palace and report the assassination case to Emperor Chongzhen. Although it was already late at night, he knew that Emperor Chongzhen must not have slept.
If you go back to the Imperial City, turn around and go south at the intersection along Gulouxia Street to reach the Bei'an Gate of the Imperial City. If you go back to the Yamen, continue eastward for a few hundred meters. As for Andingmen Street, turn around and go south. You will pass through bustling neighborhoods.
While hesitating, he heard shouts and noises coming from the distance, and it became louder and louder, mixed with all kinds of shouts and curses. Chang Yu couldn't help frowning, and looked around, and saw in front of a wine shop at the entrance of Shuntianfu Street. There are quite a few people.
"Sir, it seems that some drinkers are drunk and causing trouble." Ji Jike looked around on the horse and whispered. Chang Yu shrank back in the car. He was not interested in this kind of excitement. Since there was noisy road ahead, he had to let the old man Hu immediately turned around and headed south back to the palace.
"It seems that some soldiers are causing trouble," Kuang Ren muttered casually, which made Chang Yu raise his eyebrows. The soldiers were involved. Not only did they want to watch this excitement, but they also wanted to take care of it.
The name of the restaurant is Yi Yaju. It is a time-honored restaurant that has been established for decades. It is very famous in Beicheng. Many literati and elegant people come here, and there are also many regular patrons among the surrounding residents.
Recently, tens of thousands of soldiers have returned to the city, and the business of wine shops has been booming. Every day, the doors are packed with guests. Even though the price of drinks has increased several times, they are still overwhelmed. Especially those big-headed soldiers who have received silver rewards, each and every one of them spends money without blinking an eye. , Holding the wine jar and not letting go.
Soldiers have three hobbies: drinking, sex and gambling.
These are also the three most popular businesses in the capital at the moment, and most of the customers are soldiers.
Wherever there are people, there will be rivers and lakes. Where there are soldiers, there will be fights.
In Yiya's house, seven or eight top soldiers spent a lot of money to order a table of food and wine. They feasted and made a lot of noise, which attracted the attention of other drinkers in the store. Seeing the noisy soldiers, some looked disdainful, while others tolerated it as they thought of having a role with the state.
But after all, some people couldn't help it and yelled.
There is nothing wrong with a soldier, not to mention that after a few bowls of wine, the King of Heaven will not tolerate you, so there was a huge quarrel in the restaurant, and the table was almost overturned.
Although the table was not lifted, the plates were smashed and the bowls were smashed. There were six or seven people at the table who were the first to yell. During the argument, someone threw a wine glass and hit a soldier on the forehead, causing blood to pour out.
This is serious, the big-headed soldiers are about to take action immediately, and the people over there are not timid at all. They pick up the stools and start a fight. Several store clerks rush over to break up the fight: "Everyone, everyone, across the street is the Shuntianfu Yamen, Beicheng The Soldiers and Horses Department is also nearby. Don't feel uncomfortable when you come out to play. You all know that the city has been uneasy recently. Jin Yiwei and Dongchang's master are wandering around. It is a serious crime to gather people to fight..."
After hearing these words, the top soldiers who were preparing to fight suddenly calmed down after drinking. They thought of the vicious instructions from Gongzi Camp before entering the city, of their imprisoned colleagues being whipped outside the city gate, and of the murderous spirit of Black Wolf Camp. Arrest people in the military camp...
Seeing that there were many people on the other side and they were so arrogant, I thought it was not a good idea, so I gave up, paid the money and prepared to leave and change places to play.
But as soon as they left the restaurant, they were surrounded by a group of people. In addition to the people at the table who had the previous conflict, there were also more than ten vicious men. At this time, they realized that they had offended someone with a background again.
Also, there are too many high-ranking officials and nobles in Beijing, as well as too many second-generation officials, ruffians and evil forces from all walks of life.
"A bunch of gangsters don't know where the sky is and they will leave when they cause trouble. How can there be such a cheap thing, right?" A young man in his twenties shouted, and the onlookers all around cheered: "Yes, no Just stay in the military camp and go to the city to cause trouble. The city has become a mess because of you, so get out of here."
"That's right, originally a jug of wine cost only five denarii at most, but now it's good. You can't even buy the wine for a penny less. It's not all your fault. You drank this wine and really ruined it..."
The onlookers all around criticized and cursed one after another. A few of the top soldiers bowed their heads and apologized, trying to get away with it. However, the more the onlookers talked, the more angry they became. After a while, the crowd became excited, and some began to push and push.
It stands to reason that in the past few months, the officers and soldiers have won every battle, and their reputation has skyrocketed among the government and the public. Why are they so rejected and despised now? It has to be said that freezing three feet is not a day's cold. The reputation of officers and soldiers has been too bad in the past. Of course, because of their actions, they are no different from thieves.
Even if you have won battles in the past few months and military discipline is much better than in previous years, it is impossible to completely change the people's opinion of you at once, not to mention that some of the onlookers and hecklers in front of you are ordinary people.
"I won't embarrass you, please pay for my drink and get out of the city immediately." The young man shouted softly, and the onlookers cheered in agreement.
This young man was dressed in an unusual way. Although his background was unknown, he was definitely not an ordinary person.
Ordinary people don't have this kind of momentum, and they can't have so many people responding to them.
"We brothers paid for the drinks, but we can't get out because the city gate is closed this night." Seeing that the situation was getting worse, the soldiers just wanted to settle the matter and were willing to pay for it, but it was difficult for them to get out of the city.
"Then men, don't worry about it. If you don't get out of the city, don't think about kindness today." The young man sneered, and everyone was cheering. Someone actually shouted: "If they don't get out of the city, beat them until they get out."
"Yes, beat them, beat these bastards to death..." Someone started cheering.
"Come on, we won't embarrass you anymore." One of the young man's companions spoke out to smooth things over: "I'm sorry you don't have the ability to leave the city. Let's just pay for all the wine money of everyone present and then you can leave. Anyway, you can't leave." Not short of money, right?"
The implication is that everyone pays.
"That's right, pay all the money." The onlookers were suddenly excited. It would be great to have someone pay the bill, and they all shouted at the top of their lungs.
The soldiers immediately grimaced. A table of food and drinks ranged from five to six taels. How could they have so much money? Even if they had, they would have gone bankrupt. Although they had always spent money generously, they had paid for their lives. Is it the same as giving flowers to others?
"Would you like some b-face?"
At this moment, a voice seemed particularly abrupt. The onlookers who were originally shouting in excitement were startled when they heard the sound and looked towards the voice.
But they saw a burly man standing on the outer street and looking at them with a sneer. There were five or six other men behind him, all of whom looked unkind.
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