Chapter 67 I am not sick, but the Ming Dynasty is really sick
"Hey, why are there so many refugees coming into Xiangyang City?" Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming frowned and pulled Chongzhen to his side, "Stand on my right."

"Father, are the left and right different? Why..." Chongzhen was about to ask why when he suddenly discovered that Prince Xiang was standing in front of him on the left, protecting him behind him.

The outermost were the palace servants, followed by Prince Xiang, and the innermost was Chongzhen.

King Xiang looked around with vigilance, "When people are extremely hungry, they can do anything."

For a moment, Chongzhen didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, the journey was safe, but Chongzhen looked at the refugees on the street, each of them was pale and thin, ragged, and fell to the ground.

But he clenched his teeth even tighter.

Xiangyang Prefecture is known as the backbone of the world. Although it cannot be said to be a land of fish and rice, it has convenient transportation and abundant grain production. In any case, it should not be in this situation.

"Honest officials, these are the so-called honest officials in the court. They don't embezzle, don't accept bribes, and don't be close to the eunuch party... Honest officials!" Chongzhen murmured, "No wonder they are incorruptible. They don't need to embezzle or accept bribes to live a carefree life."

These civil servants and gentry in the court each own so much land and minerals in the local areas. How could they be interested in the little silver sent by the court?

"When it comes to competing with the common people for profits, the royal family is still far behind!" Chongzhen's teeth were chattering, an uncontrollable rage flashed in his eyes, and he walked behind Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

Because he remembered that Prince Fu Zhu Changxun was enfeoffed in the 42nd year of Wanli's reign.

It caused a great response in the court!

The criticism from these civil servants was particularly harsh. "The royal family is so extravagant, asking for 20,000 hectares. How many people will be displaced? How many people will be left without land to farm?"

"You want to go to heaven?"

The civil servants rolled up their sleeves, spoke earnestly, and argued with reason, and eventually reduced the land of Prince Fu's fiefdom to 10,000 hectares, compared with the original 100,000 hectares of land.

In the past, he felt deeply ashamed when he mentioned this matter, but now he suddenly realized... compared with these officials and gentry, the royal family is nothing but a dwarf!
Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned back again, and looked at him earnestly, "What's wrong with my Qilin'er? Why did your face suddenly become so ugly when I saw you coming out of the county government office?"

"Are you sick? Father will ask a doctor to come for you. The exam is about to start, and you must not catch a cold!"

"Father, I..."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming stopped him, "Don't say anything, Hongtao, come and help the prince go back to the front yard to rest. Your father will ask someone to call a doctor over."

"I'm really not sick..." The corners of Chongzhen's mouth twitched, but when he saw Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming's worried look, he finally closed his mouth.

He knew that if he didn't ask a doctor to come and check his pulse, King Xiang would definitely not let it go.

Just let him go. After the doctor comes and takes his pulse, he will find that there is nothing serious. At most, he will prescribe some warm tonic medicine to strengthen the spleen and regulate the body. Taking a few doses of the medicine will not harm your body.

Watching the disappearing figure of Prince Xiang, Chongzhen's eyes fell on the refugees on the street again, and he sighed: "I am not sick, but the Ming Dynasty is really sick!"

……

The hour of You is approaching, inside the Qianqing Palace.

The commander of the Jinyiwei asked to see the emperor again, "Your Majesty, we have already found out that all the senior civil servants in the court who were involved with the Shanxi merchants have been found out."

"Now that the evidence has been confirmed, let's get started!" Zhu Changgan gave an order to Li Ruolian, "Here, take this."

"No matter who is involved this time, anyone who resists or obstructs will be killed on the spot."

Li Ruo Lian swallowed his saliva and said, "Then...what if it's someone from the cabinet?"

"The Cabinet is no exception!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Li Ruolian took the order and left.

The stack of things the emperor gave him were exactly the letters of acknowledgment written by the officials from the six ministries who had come to ask for sick leave.

These evidences alone would not warrant the death penalty, but what if they were combined with corruption and bribery? What if they were combined with collaborating with Shanxi merchants in smuggling and treason?

There was a fine layer of sweat on Li Ruolian's forehead, but his heart was burning like magma, scalding and unable to calm down.

"Your Majesty is finally going to take action against them!"

……

Not long after Li Ruolian left, Zhu Changgan ordered Wang Chengen again, "Go and call Huang Degong over to me."

"Your Majesty, isn't this too radical?" Wang Chengen couldn't help but advise.

"It's not that I'm radical, they're forcing me step by step." Zhu Changgan sighed, "Besides, how can I waste a crisis?"

"Whenever we encounter a crisis, we should not only focus on the risks, but also on the opportunities." Zhu Changgan exuded an air of contempt, "This time, the financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty may be reduced by half at once."

Big rat, killing it is like celebrating the New Year!

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen walked out of the Qianqing Palace quickly. It was obvious that His Majesty had made up his mind this time. In this case, the eunuchs had no choice but to do their best.

……

Brave Guard Battalion,
Deputy General Sun Yingyuan looked at Huang Degong with a depressed look on his face as he took off his shirt and led the officers and soldiers for a five-kilometer cross-country race while sweating profusely. Not only did he not complain of being tired, but he smiled so hard that the wrinkles on his face piled up high.

"This damn thing, his butt is almost pointing to the sky, and he is actually more powerful than me?"

It would be a lie to say that Sun Yingyuan was not jealous. Why?

Huang Degong returned from the Liaodong battlefield. He accumulated military merits and was promoted to the rank of guerrilla general, making him a foreign monk.

He was ostracized by the meritorious soldiers in the Beijing Camp and could not stand it anymore, so he was spotted by Cao Huachun and joined the Yongwei Camp.

It was only last year, that is, in the ninth year of Chongzhen, that he was promoted to the rank of deputy general.

On the other hand, Sun Yingyuan was an old deputy general. He had served as a guerrilla in the Beijing Camp, a lieutenant general, a deputy general, and the commander of the Yongwei Camp... He was a direct descendant of the Beijing Camp, and in terms of actual position, it was Sun Yingyuan who had always been in charge of Huang Degong.

But now, this fellow, relying on the murder of Duke Cheng Zhu Chunchen, not only was he not deposed by His Majesty, but he was promoted to general, suddenly overshadowing his boss.

This made Sun Yingyuan think more, "What's wrong with His Majesty? Has he changed his personality? Or is it that foreign monks are better at chanting sutras?"

It's not just Huang Degong's problem, but also the recent events involving Li Ruo Lian, Gao Yushun and others are constantly irritating his nerves.

It made him feel more and more doubtful about whether there was something wrong with his vision.

In the past, people around me called me "Little Zhuge", but now how come even the "rough guy" Huang Degong can see through things, but I can't see through them?

Cao Huachun once commented on Sun Yingyuan, "This man is good at fighting and has a cautious temperament. You can trust him with everything."

It was also because of his temperament that Sun Yingyuan had long understood the emperor's intention in the last incident of killing Duke Cheng Zhu Chunchen, but he did not stand up.

He was feeling distressed when he suddenly caught sight of a man, Wang Chengen.

I couldn't help but trot over to greet him, "Eunuch Wang, how come you have time to come here?"

Wang Chengen was welcomed into the military tent by Sun Yingyuan. After looking around for a long time, he did not find the person he wanted to see, so he asked, "General Sun, may I ask where is General Huang?"

"Huang...he went to train his troops."

"Training?" Wang Chengen couldn't help but frowned. "When can he come back?" Sun Yingyuan rolled his eyes. "That's hard to say. He is cruel to himself and even crueler to his soldiers. I'm afraid he won't be able to come back for a while."

"If the matter is not urgent, Eunuch Wang, please wait for a while. If it is urgent, I wonder if you can hand it over to me?"

Wang Chengen clenched his fingers, frowned, and quickly went over the pros and cons of this matter in his mind.

His Majesty asked him to find Huang Degong, just to mobilize the Yongwei Battalion, and there was naturally no problem with Sun Yingyuan supervising the Yongwei Battalion. Huang Degong went out for training, and even if he came back, he would be a tired army...

Time, the most important thing is time.

Soon, Wang Chengen made up his mind and raised his head and said, "Okay, you follow me to the palace now. His Majesty has something important to hand over to the Yongwei Camp."

"Got it!"

……

By the time Sun Yingyuan and Wang Chengen arrived at the palace, it was almost evening.

"Your Majesty, your servant Sun Yingyuan pays respect to you."

"Get up!" Zhu Changgan didn't think much after hearing Wang Chengen's reply. Both Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan were capable and good at fighting in the Ming Dynasty.

For me, there really isn't much difference.

"Tonight, the Jinyiwei will make a big move. I want to mobilize the Yongwei Battalion to keep an eye on the people from Shuntianfu and Wucheng Bingmasi. We can't let them make any unusual moves."

Shuntian Prefecture was the highest local administrative body in the capital. It had a prominent status and was ranked third in rank. It governed five prefectures and twenty-two counties.

It is two to three levels higher than the ordinary prefect, and the Shuntian prefect is also responsible for the public security around the capital and has the responsibility to protect the capital.

Although Shuntian Prefecture became a major suspect in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and the royal family suppressed it, it still held military power.

In addition, there is the Wucheng Bingmasi, the "chief steward" of the capital set up by Zhu Yuanzhang for the Ming Dynasty.

The Wucheng Bingmasi was responsible for patrolling the capital city to catch thieves, unclog streets and drains, manage prisoners, and ban fires.

Looking at these responsibilities, it is clear that this agency is similar to the functional departments such as the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Bureau and the Municipal Public Security Bureau in later generations, so it is called the "steward."

But to a certain extent, the Wucheng Bingmasi not only performed the duties of patrolling, but also did some work of garrison troops.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, if the father of a relative or princess of a county prince does not hold an official position, the prince will be appointed as the commander of the army, and the prince of a county prince will be appointed as the deputy commander, but they will not be in charge of the affairs and will receive a salary for nothing.

So facing this money-eating hole, Zhu Changgan did not take action against it for the time being, but with 20,000 to 30,000 people, he had to be on guard.

"If anyone makes any unusual move tonight, I allow you to kill them directly. Act at the first watch drum today, and finish everything before the cock crows at the fifth watch. If a conflict breaks out, remember to clean it up."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Sun Yingyuan didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he came out of the palace. With his heart burning, he clasped his hands together and muttered, "Shuntian Prefecture... Wucheng Bingma Division... Please be kind and give this general a chance to make merit."

"Let me also get the rank of general!"

……

As the sun gradually sets in the west, the orange-red light illuminates the land of the capital, especially the glazed tiles on the imperial city, which also change with the colorful glow of the sunset.

Chongzhen woke up again in the Qianqing Palace. After being stunned for a while, he habitually asked Wang Chengen, "What did I do today?"

"Reply to Your Majesty..."

Wang Chengen had already formed a habit of reporting to Chongzhen all the events that had occurred during the day after summarizing them.

Chongzhen stood up suddenly, "All the grain transported to the canal has sunk? This is a crime worthy of death!"

When he heard that the action would be tonight, Chongzhen's angry eyes finally took action, "Okay, I will see them come back to report tonight!"

……

With the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the rise of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing's commercial layout also underwent tremendous changes. The Ming Dynasty broke the old system of "court in front and market in the back" and formed the city's largest commercial center on Qipan Street between Daming Gate and Zhengyang Gate.

Qipan Street is located at the crossroads between the east and west of Beijing. It is also the gathering place for officials from the five prefectures and six ministries and other large central institutions. Therefore, the "Chaoqian Market" was formed in Qipan Street inside Zhengyang Gate and Langfang Hutong outside Zhengyang Gate (Langfang Toutiao, Langfang Ertiao, Langfang Santiao, Dashilan area).

From the Ming Dynasty until the Chongzhen period, the markets were concentrated around the imperial city. In particular, the areas inside and outside Zhengyang Gate and outside Chongwen Gate quickly developed into huge commercial areas. Chongwen Gate, which old Beijingers called Hade Gate.

In the past, merchants from other places had to pay taxes at the city gate when entering the capital. The tribute rice and rice wine from Zhuozhou were transported by land and water to Chongwenmen, and then sent to the capital after being taxed.

In order to evade taxes, many vendors put rice wine into pig bladders, put them around their necks, and climbed over the wall of Hade Gate into the city in the middle of the night.

As night falls, the flowers at Chongwenmen slowly fall and the sounds of hawking become less frequent.

The peddlers packed up their things and went back.

The Jinyiwei had not yet set out because they were following in the Imperial City. Instead, the Yongwei Battalion was the first to pull out their troops.

In addition to the 3,000 people who trained today, the remaining 11,000 people lined up in neat queues and entered the imperial city a quarter of an hour before curfew.

And all of them fell near the residences of the Wucheng Bingmasi and Shuntian Prefecture Governor.

The people living on the street looked at the Yongwei Battalion outside and even pushed their artillery over. They were terrified and closed all the doors and windows tightly.

The first watch drum sounds!
The Jinyiwei ran to the mansions of the "Eight Great Shanxi Merchants" and all the shops, houses, concubines' residences, etc. that they had purchased in the capital.

In front of Fan Yongdou’s residence.

As luck would have it, a servant who was in charge of patrolling the palace saw a figure outside and couldn't help but arrogantly scolded: "You are blind, you don't even know where this is, and you dare to stay here..."

"Pfft~"

Before he could finish his words, his neck was chopped off and he was dragged into the darkness.

The people who came were none other than the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, none of them lit torches, but they had already surrounded the entire Fan Mansion.

Jinyiwei Commander Li Ruolian waved to the people behind him: "Break the door!"

Someone immediately came forward and placed a barrel of gunpowder on the doorpost.

"Chi~"

The fuse was lit, and a few seconds later...

boom!
Following a deafening bang, the heavy door of the Fan Mansion collapsed.

Hundreds of fully armed Jinyiwei rushed in, with the rattan armor soldiers in front and the musketeers behind, advancing quickly inside.

"Dig three feet deep into the ground and don't leave anything behind, especially money, food, and letters!" Li Ruolian drew the Embroidered Spring Knife from his waist and shouted at everyone.

In addition to their money and food, they also needed their correspondence with ministers in the court, as well as their correspondence with border generals and the Jiannu.

These Shanxi merchants are just the first stop. Only after this ring is closed can we move on to the second and third stops...

(End of this chapter)