The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Coastal city, night falls.

There are still many streets in the city that are brightly lit. In the Ming Dynasty, the only city with nightlife was this emerging city.

Several theaters in the city are the most lively places. There are many theaters in the city, but the one that attracts the most people is the theater opened by Zhang Zhou, the No. 6 Joint Venture. Every theater is packed at night and tickets are hard to come by.

Zhang Zhou had no plans to open any new theaters. To him, these six theaters had already brought a certain amount of vitality to the city and also earned a lot of money for him and the city's construction.

And in the largest theater room in the city, this is also Zhang Zhou's private place.

The opera was still being sung outside, the place was bustling with guests, and the room was quite exquisite.

It was not until midnight, when everything had quieted down, the guests in the theater had left, and the theater staff had gone back to rest, that Ning Tong went over to replace the candlestick with a new one.

"Master, aren't you going back to your residence to rest today?" Ning Tong asked.

Zhang Zhou smiled and looked at the woman in front of him, shaking his head slightly.

Ning Tong said: "Always busy, as if without rest day or night, I'm afraid this won't work."

Zhang Zhou smiled calmly and said, "It's good to be busy. After all, there are more things to do, so there are no distractions. When you are in a high position, you can get whatever you want with just a stretch of your hand. It's really easy to make mistakes and regret it."

Ning Tong poured a cup of tea for Zhang Zhou, brought it to him and said, "Why not do what you like? What does it matter whether you regret it or not?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "You are quite open-minded and live in the present, right?"

Ning Tong pondered the meaning of these words, but they were still too new and she obviously didn't understand them very well.

"I will be returning to Beijing in a few days." Zhang Zhou said, "During this officialdom cleanup, many officials lost their jobs. Moreover, the cleanup is aimed at the officialdom in the capital, and the next step may be to move to the local areas. The peaceful scene in the early Hongzhi period may also be interrupted because of this."

Ning Tong shook her head and said, "I don't understand, and I don't want to understand."

Obviously, Ning Tong wants to live a simple life now, and she doesn't care much about the struggles in the officialdom.

She asked seriously, "When will the master come back?"

"It depends on the situation." Zhang Zhou said, "I'll have someone take you back. I have something else to say. I may not meet you before I leave."

"Ah."

Ning Tong was also very knowledgeable and tactful. After she stood up and bowed, she called back her maid and left with her.

……

……

As soon as Ning Tong left, Zhang Zhou felt that the private room in the theater seemed to have become his office, and it seemed that everything was returning to normal.

Afterwards, Chen's daughter, who was also a little sleepy, brought some accounts and went upstairs to see Zhang Zhou.

"Put your things down." Zhang Zhou said, and walked up to Chen's daughter.

The Chen girl's eyes widened instantly and she looked at Zhang Zhou curiously.

Zhang Zhou said: "I have never asked you, what is your maiden name?"

The daughter of the Chen family said, "Xiaojuan."

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "Chen Xiaojuan, this name... I don't know how to describe it. After all, it's better to be more graceful. Since your parents want you to inherit the family business and let you run the salt business, why do they let you keep such a graceful name? Shouldn't it be more masculine?"

"I don't understand." Daughter Chen looked over curiously.

Zhang Zhou said: "Let's change your name to Chen Ying."

The daughter of the Chen family was also very curious, why did the host look different today? Why did he even think of changing her name?

"Thank you, sir." The Chen girl seemed to have accepted her new name.

For her, it doesn't matter whether she has a name or not, because in this era, only very close people will know the maiden name, and ordinary people will not know it.

Besides, outsiders always call her by her surname or her husband's surname. As for her name, who cares?
Zhang Zhou said, "How long have you been here?"

"It's been almost two years." Chen Ying said.

Zhang Zhou nodded again and said, "From the fact that you and Ning Tong are doing business together, dealing in civil engineering materials and undertaking engineering projects, I can see that you are not a person who will settle for less. You entered the Zhang Mansion only because of your place of origin, but the Zhang family doesn't even know you exist yet."

Chen Ying looked a little disappointed.

After all, she is not young anymore, she is already twenty years old.

Strictly speaking, she has been married for two years, because she became Zhang Zhou's concubine two years ago, but since then, Zhang Zhou has only treated her as a subordinate and never seemed to consider her feelings.

"Come back to Beijing in a few days, come with me." Zhang Zhou said, "I'll take you to the palace and then I'll let you take care of some of the businesses in the capital for the time being."

Chen Ying was still a little excited when he heard this.

This means that Zhang Zhou is going to formally accept her.

Taking her back home means being able to meet the women in Zhang Zhou's inner house and to meet Jiang Pingyu, which was something she had never dared to think about before.

As for whether she would be the woman of the main house in the future or continue to stay in the outer house, she didn't seem to care that much. It seemed that as long as her identity was recognized, it meant that she was no longer just a shadow.

And it is officially about to step into the foreground.

"Thank you, sir."

Having said that, Chen Ying knelt down as a gesture of gratitude.

Zhang Zhou helped her up and said, "Now we can talk about business. Actually, I don't really want to hear it. The theater has been doing pretty well recently. I know you are helping Ning Tong, but after you leave, she will have to leave everything to herself. It doesn't really make much difference."

……

……

Zhang Zhou rested in a private room in the theater that night.

It was not until dawn that Chen Ying left.

Of course, all this was just an everyday thing for her to accept. After all, she would soon be recognized as a member of the Zhang family. What she cared about most was naturally the Chen family's salt business in Jiangnan, which she could take over openly in the future.

Being recognized by Zhang Zhou means that she can also use her identity as Zhang Zhou's concubine to contact people from her former family and take back what she had lost.

Under such circumstances, let alone returning to Beijing with Zhang Zhou, as long as she was given a chance to breathe, she would be willing to do anything.

The next day, Zhang Zhou went to deal with the shipyard matters.

When he returned to his temporary residence, Wang Shi had been waiting for him there for a long time. "Master." When Wang Shi saw Zhang Zhou, he bowed without saying anything, just like his old father Wang Yue.

Zhang Zhou said, "Commander Wang has come from the capital, how can we perform such a grand ceremony? Let's stand up and talk."

Wang Shi then stood up, but did not sit down. He just stood there and explained to Zhang Zhou the changes in the officialdom of the capital after he left: "There are more than 600 officials involved in the case now, plus the people implicated behind them, there are almost 4,600 people who have been arrested. If their families are counted, the number will be even higher."

Zhang Zhou said: "This case is not a small one."

Wang Shi said, "Eunuch Yang has consulted with His Majesty. According to His Majesty, we cannot tolerate treason. But we also have to prioritize. According to His Majesty, we still have to kill one person to warn the rest. So Eunuch Yang has drafted a list of people to be sentenced to death. I would like to consult you first."

The case has come to this point, there is no way the emperor will let it go so easily.

Some people must be killed, and after that some will be sent to the border or sentenced to prison.

The lightest punishment is dismissal from office.

Zhang Zhou knew that Zhu Youtang wanted to make a big move this time, to change the reputation of the emperor who was lenient to court officials during the Hongzhi period, and let people know that he was no fool and that he could use powerful means to correct the bad policies of the court.

It's just that the step was too big at once.

"Let me take a look." Zhang Zhou took the list handed over by Wang Shi.

The person listed as being sentenced to death was not an official, but Jiao Huangzhong, the son of Jiao Fang, who had been interrogated by Zhang Zhou himself.

Wang Shi said: "There are a total of 172 people sentenced to death, all of whom were convicted of embezzling more than 5,000 taels of silver in previous cases."

"Are there so many?" Zhang Zhou said, "One hundred and seventy-two people, that should be more than nine hundred thousand taels of silver."

Wang Shi sighed, "It should actually be much more. The mineral resources and treasury money and grain involved in these 172 people alone amount to more than 3 million taels of silver. Among them... the Duke of Ying is involved the most. So far, we have found more than 160,000 taels of silver..."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "It's only 160,000 taels. It sounds like this Duke of England is quite honest."

"what?"

Wang Shi looked puzzled.

It's already 160,000 taels of silver, and you still call yourself honest?
Zhang Zhou said, "How does Eunuch Yang plan to report the matter of Duke Ying?"

Wang Shi said: "The case of Duke Ying is too complicated. Eunuch Yang dared not make a decision on his own. Everything has been reported to His Majesty, but His Majesty has not given any instructions so far."

Zhang Zhou nodded.

He knew that Zhu Youtang could not bear to be cruel to an old man like Zhang Mao.

Thinking about how Zhu Feng often spent tens of thousands of taels when doing business, he realized that the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion and the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion were basically the same. In the Ming Dynasty, they had formed their own system, and not all of their expenses were necessarily paid from the court. With their own foundation and the industries accumulated over hundreds of years, it would be no problem for them to earn tens of thousands of taels of silver a year.

If we add in all the miscellaneous income, it is reasonable to say that these people are as rich as a country.

Zhang Zhou said, "How much silver was seized from the Baoguo Mansion?"

"This..." Wang Shi thought for a moment and shook his head, "I don't know about this. When I investigated the Baoguo case, I had not yet served in the Jinyiwei."

Zhang Zhou knew that his father-in-law was a little neurotic. He would not get involved in matters that did not concern him and would never interfere without permission.

You can say he is cautious or you can say he is afraid of things.

Such people accounted for the majority in the Ming Dynasty. It cannot be said that they are incapable of doing things, but it can only be said that they are too good at protecting themselves.

Zhang Zhou said: "I don't ask about anything reported. I won't add any opinions about which people are included or not."

Wang Shi asked, "Regarding Jiao Huangzhong, he has been interrogated by you alone, so he has made meritorious contributions while serving his sentence. Should we... spare his life? This is what Eunuch Yang wants me to ask you. Eunuch Yang has no such opinion on the others."

Zhang Zhou smiled and shook his head, saying, "Let's handle official business. See what His Majesty thinks."

……

……

After Zhang Zhou finished his work in Binhai City, he was about to return to Beijing.

Before returning to Beijing, he had two more people to meet.

One is Zhu Hui and the other is Xie Qian.

Originally, meeting Xie Qian was not in his plan, but Xie Qian heard that he had arrived in Binhai City and insisted on asking to meet him. Zhang Zhou also wanted to know whether this old man Xie Qian had any changes in his state of mind after seeing so many changes in Binhai City, so he agreed to meet him.

Before that, he met Zhu Hui, who seemed to be in good spirits.

"Duke Baoguo has been living well recently, and his complexion has become much rosier." Zhang Zhou smiled at Zhu Hui.

Zhu Hui knelt on the ground for a long time without getting up. From his excited expression when he saw Zhang Zhou, Zhang Zhou knew that Zhu Hui wanted to use his connections to gain his freedom, or even hoped to get a chance to redeem himself.

Zhu Hui kowtowed and said, "My Lord, didn't you say before that you would give me a chance to return to the court to do something? I have made up my mind. As long as there is a chance, I will not hesitate to charge into battle. I will never let you down again."

Zhang Zhou said, "Haha. If you want to atone for your sins, there is only one way, which is to go out to sea with the fleet. It will take half a year or even a year. Think about it carefully. If you agree, I will give you a chance the next time we go out to sea."

"I, the sinner, thank you for your great kindness." Zhu Hui seemed to accept it calmly.

This also caught Zhang Zhou by surprise.

Zhang Zhou didn't let Zhu Hui get up either, or rather, in Zhang Zhou's eyes, he really looked down on people like Zhu Hui.

The problems of the old heroes of the Ming Dynasty were fully reflected in Zhu Hui. He was afraid of death and was insatiable. If such a person returned to the court, it would be impossible for him to integrate into Zhang Zhou's military and political system.

"Have you heard about the case in the capital?" Zhang Zhou asked.

Zhu Hui said bitterly, "I heard that the matter of the Beijing Camp will be strictly investigated. I know this better than anyone else. If I need to report the old man named Zhang, I will definitely do my best."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "The list of accusations you listed earlier is very useful. His Majesty was very satisfied after reading it, especially the ones involving the Beijing Camp... Hehe. You have not been in the Beijing Camp for a long time, and you have always been subordinate to the Duke of Ying. You should know better than anyone what he is going to do."

Zhu Hui said: "I only regret that I didn't find a chance to eliminate this ambitious man from the court! He is not a human being!"

Zhang Zhou asked, "You are still upset about his coveting your wife."

"Not only that." Zhu Hui said, "As far as I know, after my family lost power, he found someone to take advantage of their misfortune. He even bullied the families and generals who had dealings with my Baoguo Mansion. Some of them were even framed and imprisoned by him, and their wives and children were separated."

Zhang Zhou said: "Those people are not clean themselves, right?"

Zhu Hui said helplessly, "Whether they are corrupt or not, they should not be schemed against by Zhang. Zhang is the worst of all the pests in the Ming Dynasty. Why does he... Please, sir, make a decision for the criminal."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "These are easy to talk about. However, there are some things that I still need to ask you about as usual... How much direct contact do you have with the Duke of England? Don't hide it, this is related to the future prosperity and decline of your family." (End of this chapter)