The capital of the Ming Dynasty.
With the sound of firecrackers all over the city, the capital ushered in the second year of Taichang.
On New Year's Eve, the curfew was rarely lifted in Jiumen, and the streets were crowded with tourists. The Five Cities Military and Horse Division and the Town and Fu Division sent additional personnel to maintain law and order in the capital.
Shen Lian carried an embroidered spring knife and several confidants and walked to the Chongwen Gate Tower.
But I saw people in rich clothes and hats coming and going, all with different clothes and colors, all hanging out in teahouses and wine shops.
Four people were passing each other in a sedan chair. The green sedan curtain lifted a corner. In the sedan chair, a beautiful woman in a red python robe winked at Shen Lian. (1)
Shen Lian smiled at the woman, raised the coconut scoop, and took a sip.
His eyes returned to the bustling street.
"Master Baihu, this traitor Yuan deserves to die for rebelling against the party. He won't let us rest during the Chinese New Year. We can't even eat hot dumplings at home! We're freezing here!"
Shen Lian threw the coconut ladle to the little flag officer next to him and asked him to share a few bites with his brothers.
When the flag officer saw Master Feiyu of a hundred households taking down a black lacquered gilt-rimmed embroidered spring knife, he ignored the drinking and exclaimed:
"What day is it today? It's New Year's Eve. Your Excellency even brought the Xiuchun Dao given by the emperor. Only adults can match the Xiuchun Dao with Feiyu Suit. They are more powerful than the Han generals in the imperial city! No wonder everyone says you are the most beautiful man in Dongchang, he is..."
It should be noted that the embroidered spring knife on Feiyu uniform is generally only worn at royal celebrations, just like the golden armor worn by Han generals, it is only for ceremonial purposes.
Shen Yang glared at the little flag official and pointed the embroidered spring knife at Chongwen Gate:
"The dumplings are in the pot. You can eat them if you want. I caught Luo Sigong today. I will take you to Yuehua Tower for flower wine!"
Hearing Yuehua Tower, several Jinyi guards showed lewd smiles and unconsciously clenched their Yanling knives.
"Lu Jian, lead people to block the back door of Luo Mansion. No one can be let go! I will go in and get them myself!"
Lu Jian, the flag officer, immediately named two of his confidants and rode into Chongwen Gate.
Shen Lian ignored the bustling pedestrians on the street, pulled out the Xiuchun knife given by the emperor, held the back of the knife, and carefully stroked the blade of the Xiuchun knife under the dim light, murmuring:
"Tonight, you will drink blood again!"
~~~~~
Shen Lian couldn't remember how many times this was the first time he went out to pick up people.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, Wei Zhongxian was promoted to the eunuch of the ceremonial department and the eunuch, and promoted to the East Factory.
One person attains the Tao and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven.
After his promotion, Eunuch Wei did not forget his good brothers. Under his promotion, Tian Ergeng, Xu Xianchun, Xu Yingyuan, Shi Yuanya and others were arranged to serve as the Director of Ceremonies.
The eunuchs who had bullied Eunuch Wei before were either exiled to Nanjing or killed outright, all ending badly.
Wei Zhongxian wanted Lian to be brought into the palace and cut off that thing so that he could be promoted to a factory owner in the East.
Unexpectedly, Shen Lian was so obsessed with his children that he did not dare to become an eunuch. Eunuch Wei had no choice but to arrange for him to go to Fusi, Beizhen, to be a member of a hundred households. After he rebuilt Xichang later, he would then let him be a member of a thousand households in Xichang.
After taking power, Eunuch Wei knew how powerful the civil servants were. He immediately wooed the officials, giving them money and making excuses. His attitude was extremely sincere, hoping that these gentlemen could stand with him and accept him.
Whether it was the Chu Party of the Donglin Party or the Zhejiang Party, Eunuch Wei always visited them personally and was very sincere.
However, when they saw Eunuch Wei standing at the gate of these imperial officials carrying gifts and name cards, everyone dismissed this shameless eunuch and only regarded him as the new emperor's dog.
I don't know whether it was to show the righteousness of the literati or simply to vent their dissatisfaction, but the officials in the capital did not show any good impression towards Wei Zhongxian who was smiling all over his face.
Yang Lian, the censor, directly threw out the door the gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy, painting and antiques that Eunuch Wei had given him, and asked Wei Zhongxian to wash himself in the Yongding River to wash away the dirt on his body.
In addition, Zuo Guangdou, Yuan Huazhong, Wei Dazhong, Zhou Chaorui, Gu Dazhang and other Donglin gentlemen also expressed similar views on Nine Thousand Years Old.
Not only that, under the instruction of these civil officials, various places went to court one after another to demand the removal of the mines that were opened across the country in the last years of Wanli.
These Donglin gentlemen strongly demanded that the emperor immediately recall the mine supervisors from various places and stop collecting mining taxes, because the imperial court could not compete with the people for profits. Like Yunnan and Liaodong.
Forty-two years after Wanli, the old emperor gradually took back the mine supervisors in various places, leaving only some mines in Huguang, Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang that had not been closed down.
Wei Zhongxian came from Qingpi Dafa, and he knew the secrets of the mining tax and mining supervisors clearly.
Of course he will not agree to recall the mine supervisor. The problems here are very deep. The court is short of money now, so it would be good to collect more.
What's more important is that the mine supervisors who are out now are all Wei Zhongxian's confidants. Now that the civil servants want to take action against these adopted sons and hawks, he certainly cannot sit idly by.
What also makes Wei Zhongxian dissatisfied is that after Yuan Yingtai's death, the military leaders in Liao Town ostensibly restrained themselves a lot, but secretly asked Yan Guan Yushi to impeach Liu Zhaosun, mainly because Ping Liao Hou was occupying land in Liaodong with the intention of treason.
Eunuch Wei didn't pay much attention to these old tunes at first, but this time, Yanguan Yushi impeached Ping Liaohou and made friends with Zhongguan, and pointed the finger at Wei Zhongxian.
Since Wei Zhongxian took office, he has never taken the initiative to provoke these civil servants. For some reason, they have always regarded him as a thorn in their side.
What Eunuch Wei didn't know was that in this era, the status of an eunuch was the original sin and was an object of contempt for the scholar-bureaucrats and civil servants.
And a eunuch in power is what the gentlemen hate. In their eyes, all the chaos in the Ming Dynasty are inseparable from these eunuchs.
Wei Zhongxian had never read any books and could not imagine these principles.
However, he can also feel it when others bully him and despise him.
Nine thousand years old, who was born in a gambling industry, has a very simple way of thinking.
Tooth for tooth, blood for blood.
It is unbearable!
Since you don't eat the toast, you have to drink the wine as a penalty. Don't blame the factory owner for being rude.
Under Wei Zhongxian's instruction, the action to liquidate Yuan Yingtai for rebelling against the party began to spread rapidly among Beijing officials.
Yuan Yingtai was originally a member of the Donglin Party. Although the Donglin Party was a very loose organization, it could not even be called an organization.
But as long as everyone is an official in the capital, they will be more or less involved with each other.
Emperor Taichang did not interfere with Wei Zhongxian's actions. The emperor was very busy recently.
As in history, Zhu Changluo is still obsessed with women.
Although Eunuch Wei followed the advice of Marquis Ping Liao, he tried every possible means to prevent the ceremonial supervisor and civil servants from donating their daughters to the beautiful concubine.
But he couldn't stop the emperor from having sex in the harem.
In any case, the emperor acquiesced to Wei Zhongxian's actions in the capital.
These days, Shen Lian, as a sharp knife for Eunuch Wei, went on a killing spree in the capital to deal with those civil servants who attacked and humiliated him.
After dealing with a bunch of mad dog officials, tonight, Shen Lian was going to arrest and imprison the commander of the Jinyi Guards, the young master and the crown prince's Taifu, the Shaobao and the crown prince's Taibao, and Luo Sigong, the left governor of the rear army governor's palace.
Notes: (1) Shi Xuan in "The Legacy of the Old Capital": "There may be an auspicious gathering, and the woman will ride in a large sedan chair and wear a red python robe, and she will be full of luxury."
Lewen
