The days when I ransacked the house in Jinyiwei

Chapter 291 The decisive battle is coming
Ma Wensheng's parting words made everyone present feel extremely sad.

Emperor Zhengde was reluctant to leave Ma Mansion and return to the palace.Because today's meeting is probably the last time that the monarch and his ministers will see each other.

Emperor Zhengde said: "I have long heard that Mr. Ma's house is very famous for its wok sprouts and tofu. The gentlemen will leave first, and I will stay in Mr. Ma's house to taste the wok sprouts and tofu."

Ma Wensheng handed over his hand and said: "The emperor's ability to eat in a humble house is really a blessing earned by this veteran in his previous life. Oh, by the way. Governor Chang of Jinyiwei tasted the rice cooker and tofu at my house 18 years ago."

"Why don't you, Your Majesty, give me a favor and let me have lunch with Governor Chang. Let him comment on whether the dishes at Lao Chen's house have deteriorated or improved."

Emperor Zhengde nodded: "Okay. Just as Mr. Ma said. Chang Qing will stay with us for dinner."

Two moments later.Ma's dining room.

The servants have already served watercress, tofu, salted radish, millet porridge, and white flour steamed buns.This is the meal Ma Wensheng used to entertain Emperor Zhengde.

Not to mention, Emperor Zhengde, who was used to eating delicacies from the mountains and seas, was very fond of the strong salty radish and millet porridge.

A 16-year-old boy eats a pig. This dialect means that a 16-year-old boy can eat more than a pig.

This was the case with Wang Shouren back then, and it is also the case with Emperor Zhengde today.He showed off seven bowls of millet porridge in one go.

Chang Feng and Ma Wensheng didn't move their chopsticks and kept watching Emperor Zhengde wolfing down the food.

Emperor Zhengde put down his bowl and touched his belly: "I'm full."

Ma Wensheng said: "Your Majesty, before I leave you, I have a piece of advice for you. It's hard to say it in front of civil servants, military officials, and eunuchs. Now that I have the opportunity to get along with you in private, I just want to take this opportunity to give you advice."

Emperor Zhengde said: "Oh? Mr. Ma, please speak."

Ma Wensheng pointed at Chang Feng: "Your Majesty, no matter what situation you encounter in the future, you must not abandon Chang Feng."

Emperor Zhengde nodded slightly: "Of course I will not abandon my uncle. But I want to hear your reasons."

Ma Wensheng said: "Emperors are all lonely. This is a wise saying. Today, the court of the Ming Dynasty is roughly divided into two factions, one is the civil servants headed by Liu Jian, and the other is the eunuchs headed by Liu Jin."

"I know that in the near future you will use your eunuchs to attack the powerful civil servants who bully the emperor and his father."

"This is the right thing to do. I also believe that the situation in which ministerial power overwhelms the king should be changed."

"But I tell you, there are not many good people among those civil servants who say they are benevolent, righteous, and moral. There are not many good people among those eunuchs who say they are loyal to the emperor."

"Suppressing civil servants will inevitably lead to the rise of eunuch power."

"The sage said that everything must be hit. When you hit the mark, you will succeed, and when you miss it, you will be destroyed. To hit the mark, you need to be impartial, but it is not enough."

"If the emperor wants to be a promising monarch who creates a prosperous age, he can neither sit back and let the power of the civil servants dominate the world, nor can he sit back and let the power of the eunuchs dominate the government and the public."

"Power is like a scale. You are the one holding the scale. If the left side is heavy, you have to add weight to the right side. And vice versa."

"Changfeng is your most important weight!"

"Chang Feng is cunning, ruthless, bloody, and like a butcher. But I have known him for many years. Underneath these appearances, he still has a conscience. Not much, but enough."

Chang Feng looked embarrassed.Ma Wensheng's evaluation of him didn't sound like he was praising him, but like he was scolding him.

Emperor Zhengde smiled and said: "Mr. Ma speaks so highly of my uncle? This is beyond my expectation. I thought you would praise him to heaven."

Ma Wensheng said with a serious face: "The officialdom is a big cesspit. It is extremely rare to be able to crawl around in a cesspit for 20 years and still retain a trace of conscience."

"He is the most suitable person to be a weight in your hands. Once you lose this weight, the scale of power will be uncontrollable."

"I just said that no matter what happens in the future, you should not abandon Chang Feng unless you find a more suitable weight. But according to what I see, at least within ten years, you will be difficult to find a more suitable weight than Chang Feng. people."

Emperor Zhengde nodded: "I will remember it."

Ma Wensheng looked at Chang Feng again: "Young friend Chang. I know that you and Liu Jin are friends in times of need, and we treat each other as uncle and nephew. Wear a pair of trousers."

"But before I leave, I have a message for you. Keep your distance from Liu Jin. Sooner or later, this person will cause great trouble!"

This was said to Chang Feng and also to Emperor Zhengde.

Chang Feng cupped his hands and said, "Juniors, please remember Mr. Ma's teachings."

According to historical records: In the first year of Zhengde, Xiong Xiu, the left minister of the Ministry of War, was elected governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, but Xiong Xiu was unwilling to go out.Resenting Wen Sheng from Tianguan, he ordered the imperial censor He Tianqu to attack and impeach Wen Sheng for his old age.Wen Sheng begged for the bones, legato 21 sparse, Wuzong was accurate.

In the fourth year of Zhengde's reign, Wen Sheng was demoted and expelled by the powerful eunuch Liu Jin, and died the next year.Year 85.

After Liu Jin's defeat, Emperor Wuzong restored his civil service and was promoted to a higher rank. He was given the posthumous title of "Duan Su" and was given the posthumous title of "Duan Su", as well as Zuo Zhuguo and Taishi.

Ma Wensheng is a sensible person.

Before leaving, he handed over the official staff to Xu Jin of the Jiangchen Party.Neither Liu Jian nor the Eight Tigers could capture the officials.

I have to admit that Ma Wen has been in charge of the official department for a long time and is very good at reading people.

The people who directly led to Ma Wensheng's resignation were Xiong Xiu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the young censor He Tianqu.Chang Feng wanted to take out his anger on Ma Wensheng and punish these two people.But he was stopped by Ma Wensheng.

Ma Wensheng told Chang Feng that He Tianqu was able to speak out and dare to give advice, and he had the potential to be the censor of the capital.Sure enough, in the Jiajing Dynasty 16 years later, He Tianqu was promoted to be the censor of Zuodu.

During his tenure in Guangdong and Guangxi, Xiong Xiu put down the rebellion, pacified the foreign tribes, and provided hundreds of millions to the disarmament government, but Qiu got nothing.There is awe in Guangdong and Guangxi.

Of course, these are all for later.

Ma Wensheng left, and Chang Feng lost his old friend in the court, feeling depressed.

Chang Ponu and You Jingwu followed Xia Dongyue to Jinling.The home seemed empty.Chang Feng was in an even worse mood.

Fortunately, Chang Tian and Huang Yuan took their son Huang Chengen home for dinner.

The family gathered in the dining room.

Chang Feng asked Huang Yuan: "Is it okay to do business in Shuntian Mansion?"

Huang Yuan sighed: "Brother, I have offended everyone for you. Everyone in the capital knows that I am standing behind you. During the time I took office, what I did was punish the powerful and suppress the nobles."

Chang Feng smiled and said: "In the past 20 years, I have offended as many as eight hundred people, ranging from one thousand to eight hundred. Not as many as the ones you helped me offend."

"Remember, it doesn't matter even if you offend everyone in the world. As long as you satisfy the emperor!"

"The emperor has appointed you to purge those within the Shuntian Mansion's jurisdiction who punish the powerful and suppress the nobles."

Huang Yuan smiled bitterly: "A few days ago, I went to clean up the village of my two uncles from the Zhang family. What do you think they said?"

Chang Feng asked: "How to say?"

Huang Yuan replied: "They said, 'If you weren't our sister Tangtang's husband and Brother Chang's brother-in-law, we would have cut you into pieces and buried you in a dark place.'"

Chang Feng asked: "How many villages do Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling have in Gyeonggi? Have you checked it out?" Huang Yuan said a surprising number: "They have a total of [-] acres of land under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture. This is only Shuntian Prefecture. , not counting Northern Zhili and Jiangnan."

You know, even in the 21st century, the cultivated land area of ​​the entire capital is only 140 million acres.

Thirty thousand acres is an astonishing number.Fortunately, there is no such thing as real estate development in Ming Dynasty.Otherwise, the Zhang brothers could become the richest men in the country just by selling land in Gyeonggi Province.

Chang Feng said: "I have said hello to these two kings of hell before. I asked them to give up part of their land in exchange for political achievements for my brother-in-law."

Huang Yuan sighed: "Only [-] acres have been produced from [-] acres. But the emperor is extremely satisfied. He praised me in my memorial and praised me greatly. He said that I am not afraid of the powerful."

"The two uncles have also spoken out to the other nobles. As much as the Zhang family spits out, others must follow suit."

Chang Feng said: "Although these two brothers are out of tune, greedy and violent, they are still loyal to our Chang family."

Huang Yuan spat: "Bah! What these two uncles did is really despicable. Even if you say it, your mouth will be dirty."

"The matter of criminal charges is under the jurisdiction of the government office, Gaotong Judgment, not mine. Gaotong Judgment took over a case a while ago."

"Half a month ago, two uncles went to Daxing for an outing. They happened to meet a woman washing clothes by the river. Zhang Yanling said to Zhang Heling and Wen Zou Zou, 'Why don't you join her?'"

"Then the two men dragged the woman into an abandoned thatched house by the river and gave her..."

"The civilian woman didn't know the identity of the two at first, so she went to the Shuntian government office to fight against her injustice. Gao Tong made an investigation and found out that it was Uncle Zhang Jiaguo who did it, so he immediately suppressed the case."

"Later, the servant of the Zhang family gave the woman 500 taels of silver. The woman also withdrew the complaint. Without the owner of the suffering, the matter will naturally be settled."

When Chang Feng heard this, his face turned pale and he said nothing.

It's not that he doesn't want to take care of the two kings of hell in the Zhang family.They really can't control them. Even the emperor can't control them. How can the leader of the Jinyiwei control them?

The days passed.Summer goes and autumn comes.

In the first year of Zhengde, late autumn in October.The bleak northwest wind was blowing, the cold wind was biting to the bones, and the streets and alleys of the capital were sparsely populated.

Inside the Jin Yiwei.Chang Feng received the flying pigeon letter from Chang Ponu and You Jingwu.Xia Dongyue has returned from worshiping his ancestors and has arrived in Shandong. He will be able to return to Beijing in about ten days.

Qian Ning smiled and said, "Master Handsome, the Chang family has done a great job in protecting Miss Xia this time when she went south to worship her ancestors. She had a safe journey!"

Chang Feng said: "What kind of credit is this? It's just my job. Wenyi, tomorrow you take two hundred robes out of the capital and go south to welcome Miss Xia back to the capital."

"Zhang Cai, the garrison matters for the Emperor's wedding can be planned now. The wedding cannot make any mistakes."

Shi Wenyi and Zhang Cai both raised their hands: "I will obey the command of the commander."

Regarding the wedding, Chang Feng looked forward to it day and night until his eyes turned green.I just hope that Miss Xia will successfully become the queen and the Chang family will have a big backer in the palace.

The queen is the emperor's pillow.Pillow wind has always been able to kill people, but it can also protect people.

The Eight Tigers suddenly came to Jinyiwei and found Chang Feng.

Liu Jin smiled and said: "There is an edict to restore the West Jishi Factory established in the 13th year of Chenghua. The West Jishi Factory has the power to supervise the East Factory and Jinyiwei. The former East Factory Supervisor Eunuch Gu Dayong was promoted to the West Factory Supervisor Eunuch. Appoint Zhang Yong concurrently as the eunuch supervisor of the East Factory. I admire this."

Chang Feng was stunned: What was supposed to come has come.

He had long known that Liu Jin intended to reopen the West Factory, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.What's more, he didn't expect that the governor of Xichang was not Liu Jin, but his confidant Gu Dayong.

People's hearts are not as good as snakes swallowing elephants. Now Liu Jin is only interested in one position, that is, the chief minister of etiquette.It doesn’t matter if he is the Governor of the East Factory or the Governor of the West Factory.In his eyes, he is just his helper.

Liu Jin transferred Zhang Yong, who was traveling south to protect Xia Dongyue, back to Beijing in advance.He took over as the admiral of Dongchang.

Zhang Yong became the governor of the East Factory and became Chang Feng's immediate boss, which made Chang Feng very happy.Compared to the cunning and cunning Gu Dayong, Zhang Yong is much more upright and upright.He and Chang Feng had the experience of conquering the Helan Mountains together, and they were close friends in life and death.

Chang Feng accepted the order first.Then he cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to Governor Gu and Governor Zhang."

Zhang Yong said with a smile: "There is no such thing as a subordinate and not a subordinate, and a governor is not a governor. We two brothers fought together with King Wei Ningbo. Those who fight side by side are brothers."

"If anything happens to Dongchang and Jinyiwei from now on, we two brothers can just discuss it and come over."

Liu Jin said: "Eunuch Zhang is right. We are all members of the same family. We need to work together to help the emperor get rid of the people he wants to get rid of."

At this point, Liu Jin lowered his voice: "Uncle, please take a step to speak."

Chang Feng and Liu Jin came out of the hotel room and came to a secluded place.

Liu Jin lowered her voice: "The insider I placed next to Liu Jian and Xie Qian has revealed a huge secret. Good guy, I said that in the past three months, those civil servants have become a lot more honest and don't cause trouble in the court!"

"It turns out that they were busy collecting the illegal affairs of eight of our eunuchs. According to insiders, except for Zhang Yong, they have compiled more than a dozen illegal affairs for each of the other seven eunuchs, and the evidence is conclusive."

"They plan to launch a sneak attack on us before the emperor's wedding! They plan to kill eight of us in one fell swoop and beat the rabbits out of the grass to remove you, my uncle, from power."

Chang Feng frowned: "I see. Before, I was suspicious as to why Liu Jian suggested to the emperor that he order Xia Dongyue to go south to worship his ancestors. It turned out to be to delay the wedding. Let me tell you before the emperor's wedding and taking office, oh no, Let’s show our cards.”

Liu Jin said: "According to insider reports, Liu Jian holds six large boxes of 'criminal evidence' in his hand. They are stored in a secret place."

"I have a favor to ask of you. Find those six big boxes and burn them on fire."

Chang Feng asked: "Is this also what the emperor means?"

Liu Jin nodded: "Of course."

Chang Feng advised Liu Jin: "The seven of you should learn from Eunuch Zhang, be honest, self-responsible, and cautious as eunuchs. Otherwise, how could Liu and Xie catch the pigtails?"

Liu Jin smiled awkwardly: "It's too late to say this. The top priority is to destroy the so-called 'criminal evidence'."

Chang Feng asked: "Does your insider know where the six large boxes are stored?"

Liu Jin replied: "I don't know the inside story. I need you to investigate, uncle."

Chang Feng remained silent.If this matter is done, it will be said that it is "protecting the powerful eunuchs".

Liu Jin said: "Little uncle, you should nod your head! Don't forget that when Liu and Xie set up a trap to frame my little aunt for killing someone on the street, they wanted to destroy the Chang family!"

"At such a critical moment, don't be merciful."

Chang Feng said: "Okay. Let me handle this matter."

Liu Jin's brows were filled with joy: "I feel reassured by what I said. As long as you take action, the six large boxes of 'criminal evidence' will turn into a wisp of smoke and go away with the wind."

In the late autumn of October in the first year of Zhengde, there was an undercurrent in the court.A great change of power is about to begin.

Chang Feng chose to side with Emperor Zhengde and the Eight Tigers.

The decisive battle with the civilian clique is coming.

(End of this chapter)