Emperor Chongzhen's palace was much more grand than when it was in Dagokou. It not only occupied the relatively spacious Denglai Governor's Office, but also had many more maids serving it. When Ma Shiying, Lu Zhenfei and Lu Jiude entered the palace, they saw many maids passing by. They all look young, tall, fair-skinned, and more or less carefree. Obviously they were not brought from Beijing, but selected here in Shandong.
Lu Jiude came from the palace and knew Emperor Chongzhen's saintly style very well. It is rare to see so many young girls in the Beijing court. Why are there so many girls in Dengzhou? She must be the prince's woman, right? Thinking of this, he asked the eunuch who led the way.
"Master Lu, these maids were chosen by the emperor!" The eunuch lowered his voice, "The emperor is different now than in the past. He ignores government affairs every day and just plays with his concubines and maids, not to mention too much. Happy."
What?
Ignoring government affairs and still being obsessed with women, isn't this making me a fool? No, it is impossible for the emperor to be a fool. He must be confusing the prince so that he can relax his vigilance.
The emperor is wise after all! The prince must have been fooled! It seems that there is still hope for Ming Dynasty...
Lu Jiude thought for a while, quickly quickened his pace, and hurried to the back garden of the palace. Before they even reached the place, they could already hear the sound of Mi Mi coming out.
The eunuchs who took Lu Jiude and others went in to report. Lu Jiude was looking in from outside a moon door. All he saw was Emperor Chongzhen, who had turned into a coward, lying on his side on a soft couch, with two beauties beside and behind him beating his legs and squeezing his shoulders. There was a girl kneeling in front of her, holding a plate of fruit in her hand. Emperor Chongzhen enjoyed the singing and dancing while tasting unknown fruits.
And the songs and dances that the emperor admired were too crude in Lu Jiude's opinion, with no artistry at all. They were just a few big girls wearing very few clothes twisting their bodies to tunes that were out of tune. What's the point? good-looking? Why is the emperor still watching it with gusto?
"Your Majesty, Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, Lu Zhenfei, the governor of water transportation, and Lu Jiude, the eunuch of Fengyang, please see me."
The eunuch's announcement interrupted Chongzhen, who was cultivating his sentiments - Emperor Chongzhen admired human body art, and Lu Jiude didn't know the secret!
He has been the emperor for so many years, but only now does he know that the emperor has so many benefits... Why didn't he know how to enjoy them before?
Of course, he is not really addicted to women now, but to paralyze the rebellious son Zhu Cihong - the emperor is now addicted to women and has no interest in politics, so there is no need to harm him.
In addition to paralyzing Zhu Cixiang, Emperor Chongzhen chose so many Shandong girls to enter the palace just to give Zhu Cixiang some younger brothers.
Otherwise, Zhu Cihong would be an "only son", and Guoben's position would be very secure and could not be abolished. If he were to be deposed, if Emperor Chongzhen had anything, the throne should be inherited by Prince Fu! With so many Donglin bosses working both inside and outside, who would agree?
...
The musicians and dancers retreated one after another, and Emperor Chongzhen's entertainment activities were temporarily suspended, and he sat down on the soft couch solemnly.
Ma Shiying, Lu Zhenfei, and Lu Jiude were then led to Chongzhen by the chamberlain and kowtowed in greeting.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the three of them expressionlessly, without asking any questions or sending them away. He just watched them intently. The scene was quite embarrassing.
Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei are both virtuous veterans, and they have reached the level of feudal officials. Their room for advancement is limited. If they do well, they will just be the elders of the court. But if they are not careful, they may be ruined. So at this time, it is natural to protect yourself wisely.
If the emperor doesn't move, I won't move.
Lu Jiude's thoughts were different from those of Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei. He was one of the few good eunuchs who was loyal to both the Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen. Since the ninth year of Chongzhen, he has been serving as a supervisor on the front line, and he has made great achievements. His ability to fight with troops is much better than that of Wang Chengen.
If Chongzhen had transferred him back to Beijing in time, he might have been able to organize a better resistance, and perhaps rescue Chongzhen at the last moment.
However, Lu Jiude saw how Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei, two treacherous ministers, took refuge in Zhu Cixiang in the Fujun Grand Marshal's Mansion, so he did not dare to reveal his loyalty at this time, and could only act like a fool like Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei. .
The four monarchs and ministers just looked at each other with big eyes and small eyes, and no one said a word.
Emperor Chongzhen was actually not in a daze, but clearly distinguishing between loyal and traitorous people.
He first set his sights on Lu Jiude - he was an unreliable eunuch!
Almost all the eunuchs who came out from Beijing were from the prince. Only Cao Huachun was slightly better, but he was also a villain with both ends - Emperor Chongzhen had already discovered that Cao Huachun was not so loyal! However, he had not realized that Cao Huachun was basically Zhu Cihong's party member, and was just ordered to play with him as the emperor.
Since most eunuchs are unreliable, then Lu Jiude should be unreliable too!
Emperor Chongzhen turned his attention to Lu Zhenfei again. Lu Zhenfei is the Governor of Water Transport and the Governor of Huai'an, and Shen Tingyang is his subordinate, and now he is the prince's confidant!
It seems that this Lu Zhenfei is also unreliable!
Emperor Chongzhen's eyes finally fell on Ma Shiying. After much deliberation, Governor Fengyang is more reliable. If he can join forces with Shi Kefa and mobilize the generals in Yanzhou and the officials in Nanzhili to petition the prince to return to power, maybe I will have a chance to get back some real power, at least I won't become the emperor when I arrive in Nanjing... .
After identifying the traitor, Emperor Chongzhen did not leave Ma Shiying alone - now the palace is full of Zhu Cixang's eyes and ears!
However, Emperor Chongzhen also had a few confidants, and his newly appointed servants Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong were absolutely reliable.
And now the palace restrictions in Dengzhou Palace are not very strict, so these two women still have the opportunity to sneak out of the palace to convey secret orders to Ma Shiying!
The future of Ming Dynasty depends on him and Shi Kefa!
...
"Yao Cao, what are you..."
In the inn, Lu Zhenfei, who had just finished washing and was getting ready to go to bed, sat on the bed, staring at Ma Shiying in surprise.
He and Ma Shiying are both governors! Even though he was in private, he still had a lot of followers. Otherwise, the whole journey would be chaotic, and who would be responsible if the thieves were harmed?
Therefore, if the two of them want to meet, they will be arranged by the staff who follow them, and then they will meet. How can you penetrate like a thief like this, and it's still late at night, everyone is in bed... What do you want to do?
Ma Shiying took out a handkerchief from nowhere and handed it over. Lu Zhenfei was dumbfounded, "Yao Cao...you, are you here to give me a handkerchief at night?"
It's just a gift. Although Lu Zhenfei is a good official, he is not an upright official who is not greedy for a penny. Otherwise, how could he be so close to Shen Tingyang, a profiteer? But handkerchiefs and the like are not valuable...
"What handkerchief!" Ma Shiying looked at Lu Zhenfei with a strange expression, "This is the handkerchief edict!"
"Edict... edict?"
"Keep your voice down, walls have ears!"
Lu Zhenfei hurriedly took the handkerchief, and then looked at it in the dim candlelight. It was the Handkerchief Edict! The above is the handwriting of Emperor Chongzhen...
He glanced at Ma Shiying, who was sweating profusely, and thought: I am so loyal, why did the emperor give Ma Shiying his silk edict? He is actually a bit of a traitor! Your Majesty, you cannot distinguish between loyal and traitorous people! Fortunately, there is a prince to take care of it for you, otherwise what would you do?
"What should we do?" Ma Shiying seemed to have no idea, "The emperor wants us to preserve our strength and wait for opportunities to serve the king..."
What are we?
That is to ask you, Ma Shiying, to wait for the opportunity and be diligent! Lu Zhenfei said in his heart: Nothing will happen without me!
"Jian Bai, look at this..."
Lu Zhenfei shook his head and returned the edict to Ma Shiying, "Qiansui Master has nearly 50,000 land troops and 10,000 naval troops... Moreover, he still has at least 4 million taels of silver on hand! How many are there in the Shi Ge Department?”
"He?" Ma Shiying shook his head, "I don't know if he has 400,000 taels... but the nobles and ministers in Nanjing are rich, and they all have 40 million taels!"
"Hmph!" Lu Zhenfei snorted, "They don't want to give it to them even if they have money! Otherwise, why would the Shige Department delay going north until Beijing fell? Isn't it just that they don't have money?"
"Jian Bai, what do you mean, are we... still on the side of Master Qiantose?" Ma Shiying asked.
Lu Zhenfei sighed, "I know better than you what kind of temperament Shi Gebu has... Just watch, when the prince arrives in Yanzhou City, he won't do anything. We have to follow him, Isn’t that seeking death? As for the nobles and ministers of Nanjing, they are a bunch of fat pigs! The prince is a tiger!"
"Yes, yes, see how smart Brother Bai is..."
