At the end of noon, the sun hangs high in the sky. Although its light shines on the earth as usual, it still cannot stop the coldness of winter.
Outside the Fucheng Gate of the capital of the Ming Dynasty, there were crowds of people, constant traffic, and the sound of hawking chants everywhere, mixed with the sound of bargaining, making it a lively scene.
In the middle is a straight road leading to the city.
"Fuchengmenwai Street" is lined with shops on both sides, with their own signboards and banners hanging in front of the doors, as well as strings of colorful lanterns. However, it is still bright at this moment, so the lanterns are not lit.
At the end of this city-wide avenue is a tall and solid suspension bridge, which rests steadily on the wide moat, showing that this place is still a peaceful and prosperous age.
The urn city of Fuchengmen is square, with a length of about 19 feet from east to west and a width of nearly 21 feet from north to south. There is a gate on the south side of the urn city, and a gate tower is built above the gate. The Guandi Temple is also built in the northeast corner of the Wengcheng.
Because the urn city gate opens to the south, just like a curved ruler in the direction of the inner city gate, it is conducive to shielding the city gate. There is also a single-eaves hard mountain tower above the urn city gate gate tower, with a total of two floors and twelve arrows. Window, this is the gate tower of Wengcheng.
From here, go further inside, and you will find the real inner city gate of the Ming Dynasty capital——
"Fuchengmen". Fuchengmen is actually a general term that includes gate tower, door opening, arrow tower, urn city and urn city gate. All its buildings are made of extra large city bricks fired from Linqing, Shandong Province.
The base of the city tower of Lifu Chengmen is about twelve feet wide. The depth of the top of the city platform reaches eight feet. The height of the city platform is more than three feet. The left and right horse paths on the inside of the city platform are one foot and five feet wide.
The tower is five rooms wide, and the corridor is nearly ten feet wide, and three bays deep. The corridor is five feet deep, and the height of the tower to the platform is nearly ten feet high.
The gate tower of Fucheng Gate is more than ten feet high. It is a three-story mountain-style building with flying eaves. Its columns, doors, and windows are all vermilion. The beams and rafters under the eaves are decorated with blue and green patterns. The top It is a green glazed tile, decorated with an expectant beast and a ridged beast.
In the middle of the lower part of the gate tower of Fucheng Gate, perpendicular to the wall of the city wall, there is a gate hole with a coupon roof, equipped with a gate that opens inward and is fixed with Fushan Shouhai five-bread ingot iron nails.
Directly above the city gate is an arrow tower with double eaves on the top of the mountain. There are 82 arrow windows on the west, south and north sides. The west side of the arrow tower is seven rooms wide, the inner verandah is five rooms wide, and the height is nearly 30 rooms. Zhang, looking down at
"convex" type. Inside Fuchengmen is the Fuchengmen Inner Street leading to the Imperial City. On the north side of the street are Xichengfang, Futianfang, Jiqingfang and other buildings, as well as buildings such as Dashengshou Wan'an Temple. On the south side of the inner street are Jinchengfang, Xianyifang, Anfufang, etc.
Fucheng Gate and Chaoyang Gate face each other far to the east and west. Almost all the coal carts in the Mentougou Zhaitang in the west of Beijing come in and out through this gate. Therefore, the Wengcheng Gate was raised by merchants from the coal inn, and a bouquet of plum blossoms was engraved to commemorate it.
Li Youyin
"Plum" and
"Coal" is a homophonic word, and because every time the north wind howls in winter, the sky is white, but people around the oven all praise: "Fucheng plum blossoms herald a warm spring."
At this time, it had been a long time since the Tartars invaded in the 11th year of Chongzhen. Outside the Fuchengmen Urn City, the prosperity of the past had long been restored. Not only were merchants transporting coal to and from the city, but also many merchants traveling from south to north gathered. The prosperity of Xiguan Better than ever.
In the past year or so, Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing Shop has also expanded greatly under Niu Sheng's dedicated management. Its business has already broken away from the carriage and horse racing shop and expanded outward.
Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing House has become the first business empire in western Beijing, and its core business has completely transformed from the carriage and horse racing shop and warehouse into a powerful escort agency.
Although his name is still Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing Shop, it occupies as many as five locations in the western suburbs of the capital, and his carriage and horse racing shop is still located in Xiguan.
Because it is convenient to contact merchants from all over the world, it is an excellent place to collect internal and external information. Naturally, it cannot be abandoned easily. Instead, it remains in Xiguan together with the carriage and horse shop. There are also two warehouses for merchants to store groceries from the north and south.
There are two more spacious places outside Xiguan, namely a horse farm and a large warehouse.
The raccoon horse farm is ten miles southwest of Fuchengmen. It is the most extensive place. It was originally an official horse farm. It was destroyed by the fire in the 11th year of the Republic of China due to the invasion of cavalry from the south.
Later, Niu Sheng found this place, and after simple repairs, he bred horses and mules here and used it to train his team of knights. At the same time, some strong young people were recruited by him and were also trained secretly here.
As the business of Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing Shop became more and more complicated, the number of merchants from all over the place they came into contact with gradually increased. In addition to making it easier to get information, we also learned that due to the prevalence of banditry, merchants from all over the place were generally wary when walking around.
At the same time, Niu Sheng also received an order from his general, Zhang Cheng, to establish material transfer points in major cities in southern Jinhai, and cooperated with Liu Jinhai to establish his own strongholds in some key and dangerous places.
Therefore, Niu Shengdang even thought of forming a bodyguard team to serve as escorts for merchants traveling from north to south. This would not only expand the business of his firm, but also travel to all parts of the north and south with the flow of merchants.
In this way, you can understand the customs and customs of each place, and you can also take the opportunity to establish footholds for the escort team in various places, thereby forming your own intelligence network.
Moreover, the footholds of escort teams in various major cities were established corresponding to the branch names of Yuan Longchang Trading Company in the city. The firm was responsible for both making money and collecting intelligence, while the escort agency was responsible for guarding and delivering intelligence.
In this way, Li formed a large network on the land of Gyeonggi and even in many places in Shandong and Henan. It was an intelligence network and relationship network, a material support network, and a military auxiliary network.
With the development up to now, the Yuan Longchang Company controlled by Niu Sheng has more than a thousand elite knights alone. More than a hundred of them are loyal and brave soldiers who have been successively selected from various camps of the Xuanfu Army.
It was their joining that allowed Niu Sheng's escort agency to grow rapidly. These elite soldiers from the Xuanfu Army were not only the backbone of the escort agency, but also the leaders of each escort team, and also the leaders of the major cities. The steward of the foothold.
Moreover, these soldiers are absolutely loyal to Zhang Cheng, and their family members all live in Xuan Mansion. Therefore, Zhang Cheng is not afraid that they will have dissent. He can also use them to control an escort team at the grassroots level and make the entire escort team Complete control is in your own hands.
Although Zhang Cheng also had absolute trust in Niu Sheng, he knew too well
"Human desires will continue to expand" is the truth! Even if Niu Sheng has no objections now, he founded and trained this escort team, and he paid everyone monthly wages. Over time, the escort team will probably only know Niu Sheng, but not Yong Ningbo.
Even if Zhang Cheng is not afraid of Niu Sheng's complete control of this escort team, after all, this force may be very powerful in the eyes of others, but it is insignificant compared with the tens of thousands and hundreds of powerful troops in Zhang Cheng's hands.
But if you can nip problems in the bud, why not? ......... After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Niu Sheng seems to be stronger than before. Obviously, he did not spend this time leisurely.
Because he had received a message from Zhang Mingyuan, the adjutant of the Chinese Army, in order not to disturb the people in the surrounding villages and nearby warehouses, he was specifically ordered to wait in front of the racecourse instead of going far to greet him.
At this moment, he saw more than a hundred horses galloping towards him from afar. One person in front of him was wearing a brown outfit and a bright red wool cloak. He was riding on a chrysanthemum-green war horse and was walking slowly this way.
Niu Sheng took a closer look and recognized it at a glance. If it wasn't his general's grandfather, who could it be? He also saw two generals on both sides of Zhang Cheng, similarly dressed in powerful attire, with bright red woolen cloaks behind them, and each of them had a tall horse on their crotch.
Especially the general on the left of Zhang Cheng. Although he is much older than Zhang Cheng, his clothes are brighter. There are a few conspicuous bright feathers on the cotton hat on his head. It is also a pure white war horse.
If Yongning Bo and Zhang Cheng had not been firmly in the middle position, they would probably have been overshadowed by this well-dressed general. Looking at the one on the other side, his face was full of weather.
Although some traces of the years can be seen in his clothes at a glance, they are still very neat. There is a strong green horse under his crotch, which shows that he must be a veteran for many years.
Although Niu Sheng didn't know the two people accompanying Zhang Cheng, he had already thought that being able to accompany his general would definitely be a special person.
Even though Zhang Mingyuan had already sent him a message not to be too loud, as soon as he saw Zhang Cheng approaching from afar, he could not suppress his excitement and hurriedly ran forward to meet him.
Behind him, Lu Dachun, the chief minister of Honglu Temple, Wang Zhaozheng, the shopkeeper of Tongchun Tower, and others also followed closely. Behind them were some people dressed in Chinese clothes, showing a hint of official appearance.
On both sides of the street were strong men. They were all dressed in green attire. They were all broad-shouldered and round-waisted. They all held spears in their right hands and pressed their left hands on the handles of their sabers, standing guard.
When Li was still ten steps away from Zhang Cheng's arrival, Niu Sheng prostrated himself on the ground and couldn't stand up. It wasn't until Zhang Cheng rode up to him that he shouted loudly: "Little man Niu Sheng, come see Yong Ning Bo!" Lu Dachun, Wang Zhaozheng and others behind him also quickly knelt down and worshiped: "Your Majesty, Lu Dachun, pay my respects to Uncle Yongning."
"Wang Zhaozheng, a humble citizen, pays homage to your lordship."
"The lower official Yu Shangyou, I pay my respects..."
"Xiaoguan Yuan Pengnian..."
"Xiaguan Wang Tiaoding..."
"Xiaoguan Ma Jiazhi..."
"Xia Guan Liang Yuming..."
"Your Majesty..." Zhang Chengce said in his
On the "Bi Congju", looking down at the people kneeling in front of him, he couldn't help but feel the importance of status. Niu Sheng, Lu Dachun, and Wang Zhaozheng are his subordinates, so there is no need to say more. However, when Yu Shangyou first met him, he still looked arrogant.
At that time, he was already the imperial censor, but he was still just a small guerrilla general. Although Yu Shangyou was not a court official with real power, he could only look up to him.
However, time flies, as he gradually rises step by step, he first uses the power of gold and silver to help him, and then as his strength expands, he completely helps the Xuanfu Army's tanks. .
Now, half a year later, people like Yu Shangyou, Yuan Pengnian, Wang Diaoding, Ma Jiazhi, Liang Yuming and others knelt down to greet me when they saw me again.
You can see that the world is changing. As your status continues to improve and your strength continues to grow, there will definitely be a group of people who pursue progress.
"People of insight" came to seek refuge with him and became Yong Ningbo's guests.
"You are all my old friends, so there is no need to be polite. Get up quickly!" Zhang Cheng did not dismount immediately, but said this calmly while sitting on the green horse.
There is a lot of knowledge in this sentence. First of all, he is still riding on the war horse. Although he seems to have lost the enthusiasm he used to treat everyone, he declares in his words that everyone is
"An old friend of Ben's." This shows what? This shows that Zhang Cheng has regarded them as his confidants, and it is he who has become
They were old acquaintances before "Uncle Yong Ning", and they were not just ordinary acquaintances, they were close friends.
We are all smart people. Who can fight hard to reach the rank of general soldier in the troubled times like the late Ming Dynasty, or can leave a name among thousands of court officials? Which one will be a fuel-efficient lamp?
Zhang Cheng did not dismount immediately, and Wang Pu and Li Fuming naturally had difficulty dismounting. They just followed Zhang Cheng and rode their horses forward slowly.
The big men standing on both sides of the street knelt down on one knee one after another and shouted loudly: "Yongning Bo Wansheng!" They originally stood in pairs on the left and right, but now they kneel down to salute in pairs, although the two of them The sound of shouting together was not as loud as the shouting of thousands of people, but it was very solemn under this situation.
After arriving at the gate, Zhang Mingyuan ran forward and took the reins of Zhang Cheng's war horse. Zhang Cheng then turned over and dismounted, letting Zhang Mingyuan lead his green horse to the stables.
Zhang Cheng looked at Niu Sheng and others who were following them on foot, and said in a deep voice: "Niu Sheng, come here to pay homage to General Wang of Datong and General Li of Shanxi." Only then did Niu Sheng suddenly realize: No wonder he looks very kind-hearted, but he is indeed very kind. Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, whom he met when we went to Beijing to serve the king together one year ago.
At that time, he was just a soldier in Zhang Cheng's Cavalry Thousand Headquarters. Although he had met Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, he looked at him from a distance. In fact, he never had the opportunity to take a closer look.
But Wang Pu's outfit and the temperament he displayed were unforgettable, so he felt familiar from a distance.
Subsequently, Zhang Cheng introduced Wang Pu and Li Fuming to Yu Shangyou, the censor, Yuan Pengnian, the director of the Ministry of Rites, Wang Tiaoding, the director of the Staff Department of the Ministry of War, Ma Jiazhi, the director of the Henan Qingli Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Liang Yuming, the manager of the General Affairs Department, etc. All officials.
After Zhang Cheng's introduction, both the civil and military parties greeted each other, and they were somewhat shocked in each other's hearts.
Although Zhang Cheng was now the dignified Yongning Bo, Wang Pu and Wang were shocked that Zhang Cheng had placed their confidants in various departments in the court. They couldn't help but admire Zhang Cheng even more, and at the same time, they secretly felt a little fear in their hearts.
Yu Shangyou, Yuan Pengnian and others also had the same mentality. Previously, they only knew that Zhang Cheng was very favored by his soldiers and the current emperor, and that his powerful troops were also brave and good at fighting.
What's even more rare is that he also likes to spend money very much and is unusually generous. Everyone has received a lot of benefits from Zhang Cheng, so naturally they are devoted to him.
However, at this time, I saw that you, the commander-in-chief of Datong and Shanxi towns, respected Zhang Cheng very much, as if he was a subordinate of Uncle Yongning.
How could they not be shocked? They couldn't help but secretly guess what the future of Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng would be like. Was he the God of War who came down from the sky to save the Ming Dynasty, or was he a demon who destroyed the Ming Dynasty?
raccoon
