Take the warehouse back to the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 224

When it was still daylight, Cao Huachun went to the palace.

When he first entered the palace, Chongzhen got dressed under the service of several eunuchs who were dressed in the same clothes.

After Chongzhen had breakfast, he came to the imperial study.

Cao Huachun was standing in the royal study at this time, standing respectfully beside Chongzhen.

Chongzhen picked up a cup of hot tea on the table, took a sip, and then looked at Cao Huachun, "What did you do yesterday?"

Cao Huachun saluted respectfully, and said slowly: "Go back to the emperor, there was someone from my hometown yesterday. Since I haven't seen you for a long time, I am a little anxious. I have neglected the emperor, and I ask the emperor to make amends."

Chongzhen looked at the cautious Cao Huachun, laughed and said: "Haha, this is all human nature, why are you guilty?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Cao Huachun thanked him, and then quietly stood beside Chongzhen.

Chongzhen picked up a memorial on the table and carefully reviewed it.

After a while, Chongzhen put down the brush in his hand, and looked at the memorial on the table with a depressed face.

"Hey, I just can't figure out why these civil officials in the court like to impeach people so much? And they all point their fingers at Zhao Wen, the chief soldier of Xuanzhen.

I admit that Zhao Wen's promotion is a bit fast, but this is all due to Zhao Wen's own efforts.If it wasn't for Zhao Wen who drove Jiannu away from the foot of the capital, I guess I would have become a joke long ago.What's more, Zhao Wen and you got me so much money. "

Cao Huachun rolled his eyes when he heard Chongzhen's words, and said in a deep voice: "My lord, in my opinion, these civil servants are impeaching Zhao Wen on the surface, but they are actually impeaching you, my lord."

"how do I say this?"

Chongzhen looked at Cao Huachun suspiciously, and asked in a deep voice.

Cao Huachun said: "My lord, the money that Zhao Wen and I got for you back then went directly into the internal treasury, and did not go into the treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs at all.

In this way, these literati won't get any benefits. Do you think they can feel at ease, my lord?You are the emperor, they dare not impeach you openly.

And I am a person close to the emperor, so impeachment has no effect on me.But this Zhao Wen is different.Zhao Wen was alone in the foreign court, he had nothing, and he could not rely on anyone.

As the saying goes, persimmons should be picked softly, and these civil officials saw that Zhao Wen was easy to bully, so they went to impeach Zhao Wen.Speaking of it, it's because the civil servants are jealous of the emperor. "

"I'm jealous, hehe, these rats are still jealous of me? It's ridiculous." Chongzhen shook his head and sneered again and again.

Since Cao Huachun and Zhao Wen raided the Shanxi merchants, Chongzhen raided a group of officials of the Shanxi merchant faction with lightning speed.

If it wasn't for Chongzhen's fear of causing chaos, he would have thought of changing the officials in the entire court.

Cao Huachun looked at Chongzhen who was lying on the desk, and said slowly: "My lord, something happened in Jinling recently, I'll go and have a look."

"What's the matter?" Chongzhen became nervous when he heard the matter.

Cao Huachun looked at the tense Chongzhen, and said slowly: "It's not a big deal, but the Jinyiwei over there in Jinling has been a little loose recently, I'll go and rectify it."

When Chongzhen heard this, he was overjoyed, "Haha, Jinling's Jinyiwei has long since become empty-handed. How can there be such things as lax discipline? I think you want to go there for fun?"

When Cao Huachun heard this, he quickly knelt down on the ground, and said with a look of fear, "I dare not lie to the emperor, there is indeed some trouble."

"Okay, don't act in front of me anymore. I know that there are troubles, so you don't have to do this. Last time you got me so much money from Shanxi merchants, and I haven't rewarded you properly. Since If you want to go to Jinling, you can go, I will give you half a month's leave."

Chongzhen looked at Cao Huachun who was kneeling on the ground, and said slowly.

Cao Huachun respectfully kowtowed to Chongzhen a few times, and said with a playful smile: "I really can't hide it from the emperor, the emperor has really sharp eyes."

"You are an old man in my hidden mansion. You have been in front of me for more than ten years. I know what you think in your heart. Why can't I understand your thoughts? Come on, get up quickly." Chongzhen said with a smile on his face. .

When Cao Huachun took the imperial decree of Chongzhen, he couldn't wait to return to his home outside the palace.

"General Zhao, the imperial decree has been received, and the miscellaneous family has half a month."

Cao Huachun put the imperial decree on the table in the hall and looked at Zhao Wen who was sitting beside him.

Zhao Wendao: "In that case, let's set off tomorrow."

"Okay!" Cao Huachun nodded heavily, and then made arrangements.

Early the next morning, Zhao Wen and Cao Huachun, who were ready, headed south.

After all, I went to find things, so I carried less things.

In order to catch up with time, Zhao Wen and others chose water transport and headed directly to Jinling from the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in an official boat.

Standing on the bow of the boat, Zhao Wen looked at the nearly thousand-year-old Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "I've never been to this Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Seeing it today is really shocking."

I saw countless boats coming and going on the canal, among which there were many boats transporting grain.

Cao Huachun came out of the cabin, and said to Zhao Wen with a smile on his face, "There are still two days' journey to Jinling. When we arrive in Jinling, the first thing we need to do is to pay a visit to Duke Wei."

Zhao Wen was taken aback, and after a while, he said slowly, "Meet Wei Guogong? All right, no problem."

To be honest, Zhao Wen was very disgusted with these corrupt nobles who had been passed down for thousands of years. These people were like parasites, lying on Daming's body to suck blood.

If there were no these parasites, maybe the Ming Dynasty in history could last for decades.

These nobles and clans are the kind, they can do whatever they want, and they are No. 1 in giving birth to babies.

And when it comes to selling teammates, one by one is better than the other.

"I really want to see what kind of goods you nobles are." Zhao Wen lay on the side of the boat, looking coldly at the waves on the canal.

The current Wei Guogong is the tenth grandson of Xu Da, and his name is Xu Hongji.

Xu Hongji was considered a capable minister among the nobles of the Ming Dynasty. When the Jiashen State was changed, the King of Fu, Zhu Yousong, fled to Jinling.Xu Hongji supported Fu Wang Zhu Yousong as emperor and changed Yuan Hongguang.

But this person's vision is really bad, this Zhu Yousong is simply a complete waste in history.

After becoming an emperor, he only cares about pleasure.

Xu Hongji died in the first year of Hongguang, and his son Xu Yunjue inherited the title of Wei Guogong when he died.

Xu Hongji is a man, but his son Xu Yunjue is a coward.

When Jiannu's army defeated the four towns in Jiangbei and approached the city of Jinling, the old man saw that the situation was not good, so he and the famous Qian Qianyi, who had an itchy head because of the cold water, opened the city gate of Jinling and knelt down to welcome Jiannu into the city. .

As for Emperor Hongguang, he was abandoned by them.Although the poor Zhu Yousong escaped, he still did not escape to birth. In the end, Jiannu caught up with him and strangled him to death with a bowstring.

If the king of Zhongshan in the underground knew that his junior was such a thing, he would probably be able to live out of anger.

……

The sun rises slowly, and the sun shines on the water.

Zhao Wen came out of the cabin, stretched his waist, and looked at the canal.

A few minutes later, the ship docked at the pier.

Zhao Wen and Cao Huachun led their respective troops and got off the boat.

Because there was no official business this time, Cao Huachun did not notify the various officials in Jinling.

Although the officials were not notified, Wei Guogong's mansion still notified.

After all, Cao Huachun also came to visit Wei Guogong according to Chongzhen's oral order.

When Zhao Wen and Cao Huachun walked to the pier, Xu Yunjue, who was not Wei Guogong at this time, was standing on the pier, leading a group of people, looking at Cao Huachun who came over with a smile on his face.

Cao Huachun was wearing a black uniform and a square flat crown, and greeted him with a smile on his face.

"It turned out that the son of the Duke of Wei came to welcome him in person. The Duke of Wei really gave face to the miscellaneous family." Cao Huachun bowed his hands to Xu Yunjue with a smile on his face.

Xu Yunjue waved his hand, and said calmly, "Eunuch Cao, you don't need to do this, you don't need to do this."

When Chongzhen ascended the throne, Xu Yunjue and his father Xu Hongji went to the capital to congratulate him, so he also knew Cao Huachun.

As Xu Yunjue said, he took out a few banknotes from his sleeve, and stuffed them to Cao Huachun indiscriminately.

After all, Cao Huachun was Chongzhen's most trusted eunuch. Even if Wei Guogong was powerful in Jinling, he still had to give Cao Huachun some face.

Cao Huachun took the banknote, glanced at it lightly, and stuffed it in his sleeve.

"Eunuch Cao, please!" Xu Yunjue said with a smile on his face.

From the beginning to the end, Xu Yunjue's gaze only stayed on Zhao Wen once.

Xu Yunjue thought Zhao Wen was Cao Huachun's follower, so he didn't care.

And this time Zhao Wen also came to Jinling secretly, so he did not reveal his identity.

"By the way, I forgot to introduce you. This is a businessman from the Northland, named Zhao Wenjun, who is related to Zajia."

Cao Huachun pointed at Zhao Wen and said slowly.

"It turned out to be a relative of my father-in-law, so I said why he is so heroic and extraordinary." Until then, Xu Yunjue looked at Zhao Wen carefully.

Zhao Wen looked at Xu Yunjue, cupped his hands, and said, "I've seen the prince!"

Xu Yunjue smiled and said: "It doesn't have to be like this, it doesn't have to be like this. Now the mansion has prepared meals, specially for the father-in-law to clean up the dust, please don't delay."

"In that case, it would be better for the miscellaneous family to be respectful than obedient." Cao Huachun smiled, and then followed Xu Yunjue, heading towards Duke Wei's mansion.

Zhao Wen let out a long breath, looked at Xu Yunjue, followed behind Cao Huachun, and headed towards Duke Wei's mansion.

Wei Guogong's mansion is not far from the imperial palace in Jinling, and it can be said to be the most central location in Jinling City.

After more than 200 years of operation, the current Wei Guogong Mansion can definitely be said to be one of the most luxurious residences in the entire Ming Dynasty except for the imperial palace in terms of floor area and decoration.

What can be compared with it is the prince who has feudal vassals in various places.

When Zhao Wen entered the Duke of Wei's mansion, the Duke of Wei's mansion had already arranged meals.

Cao Huachun took Zhao Wen and entered the hall accompanied by Xu Yunjue.

After being seated, Xu Hongji sat on the main seat, toasted Cao Huachun frequently, making indirect remarks about Cao Huachun's purpose of coming to Jinling.

Cao Huachun let out a long breath, and said slowly: "It's nothing serious, this time I came to Jinling because Jinling's Jinyiwei was a little loose, and the miscellaneous family was ordered by the emperor to come here to rectify it. You don't need to be like this."

Although Wei Guogong lived with the country and was extremely wealthy, he did not do bad things in his daily life.

So when Xu Hongji saw Cao Huachun, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

When Xu Hongji heard the purpose of Cao Huachun's visit, Jian Jian felt relieved.

"Eunuch Cao, I recently heard that your father-in-law is in the glass mirror business? Isn't that true?" Xu Yunjue put down his wine glass and looked at Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun was taken aback for a moment, and said in disbelief: "Which dog is this who told Xu Yunjue about Zajia's glass mirror business? Zajia insists on killing him."

Wei Guogong's mansion has been operating in Jinling for more than 200 years. To put it bluntly, to some extent, even Chongzhen's words may not have the weight of Xu Yunjue's words.

Cao Huachun looked at Xu Yunjue, he couldn't understand the meaning of Xu Hongji's words, didn't he clearly want to get a share of the pie from him?
"Hehe, Lord Xiaoguo was just joking. Zajia is just a man with a handicapped body. Where has he ever been involved in business? How can Zajia do business in glass mirrors? It's all about speculation outside, why should Lord Xiaoguo care about it?" ?” Cao Huachun asked with a smirk.

"Then I may have really made a mistake!" Xu Yunjue's face gradually darkened.

After Zhao Wen and Cao Huachun left, Xu Yunjue looked at Xu Hongji who was sitting in the study, and said slowly: "Father, this Cao Huachun deliberately pretended to be confused in front of us today. Both Jinyiwei and Dongchang sold glass mirrors to our territory He said he didn't do it, is that possible?"

Xu Hongji frowned and looked at Xu Yunjue, and said in a deep voice: "Even if it's him, what do you want? This Cao Huachun bought tens of millions of taels of silver for His Majesty a while ago, and now the favor is in full swing, what can you do to him?" Sample?
I advise you not to think about it, our family is already extremely favored, there is no need to do such meaningless things.All right, you go down first, the old man is tired. "

Xu Hongji waved his hand at Xu Yunjue, and then walked towards the backyard with the support of his servants.

Xu Yunjue looked at Xu Hongji who was leaving, with a gloomy light flashing in his eyes.

……

Early the next morning, Zhao Wen and Cao Huachun led their entourage towards the Jinling Palace after having breakfast.

The six parts of Jinling are located around the palace.

Ever since Chengzu moved the capital, Jinling's imperial palace has been vacant. Although there are people cleaning it every day, the number of people is too small. In addition, it is no longer a political center, so these people who clean it are fishing for three days and drying the net for two days.

The stewards in the palace didn't bother to care about it, so they let them go.

After the capital was moved, the six departments in Jinling City also became a place for the elderly. The six departments here wrote letters to the Yamen every day and disappeared.

So when Zhao Wen and Cao Huachun came to the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry, they didn't see a single person for a long time.

Looking at the empty yamen of the Ministry of Industry, Zhao Wen breathed a sigh of relief, and said slowly, "This is the yamen of the Ministry of Industry? There hasn't been a single person, not even a clerk, for half a day."

Cao Huachun said: "It's not only the yamen of the Ministry of Industry, but also the entire six yamen. The ministers in these six yamen seem to be well-known, but in the court, no one listens to their words. To put it bluntly, the six ministers of Jinling, It's not even as good as a servant in the six departments of the capital."

(End of this chapter)