I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 167 Ji Gang was clearly arranged

After listening to Xu Yungong's words, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate for long and looked at Zhu Biao without hesitation.

"Biao'er, come with me and go to Song Shen's house!"

Zhu Biao:! ! !
"Dad, what are you doing? Calm down. Are you going to show your hand now?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes unceremoniously:
"Do you think we are as foolish as you two brothers?"

Zhu Biao was choked by him, and his neck was stiff for half a minute before he asked:

"Then what are you going to do at his house? It's late at night now. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to go there rashly. It might even arouse his suspicion."

Regarding the issue that the father and son were arguing about, Zhu Di, who knew most of the truth, and Xu Yungong, who only knew half of the truth, both looked confused.

No matter what your majesty/father wants to do at Song Shen's house, Zhu Biao is sure of one thing, that is, it is too late now. If there is no reasonable and appropriate excuse, anyone will be suspicious, not to mention that there is a curfew at night. It would be fine if he didn't run into the patrol, but if he did, and there happened to be a few people who were attached to the prime minister... wouldn't that alert the enemy?

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted twice, looked at the three green-looking young men in front of him, and said with a smile:
"When I was not yet the emperor, I did all kinds of things. I am not like you who are pampered and have no intention of lowering your status in order to get things done."

"Don't be so hesitant. Let's go. Some things will be difficult to handle if we miss the right time. We have our own ideas!"

"Where's Mao Xiang? Come out quickly and do something!"

…………

Two quarters of an hour later.

A carriage slowly drove out of the palace.

When the carriage slowly approached the palace gate, it was stopped by the guards on duty at the gate.

"Who are you? What are you doing outside during curfew? Do you have a warrant?"

The tone of the guard who blocked the road was neither good nor bad. He was serious, but not harsh.

When working in the palace, having foresight is the most basic ability.

It is definitely against the rules to leave the palace late at night. This is something everyone knows. Those who leave the palace must also know that since the people here dare to ride in a carriage and leave in a swagger, they are not afraid of being checked.

Either they have an imperial decree or a warrant, allowing them to enter and leave the Forbidden City freely without regard for palace restrictions and curfews, or they are of noble status and are willing to spend money to get some leniency, so they won't get into too much trouble.

The former is in a high position and has great power, while the latter is the God of Wealth. Only a fool would speak to someone in a bad tone. If you don't want money, do you want your life too?

The driver took out half a copper talisman from his bosom, handed it over, and nodded slightly to the guard:
"Here's a warrant."

The purpose of leaving the palace was not explained.

The guard was a little suspicious. He took the warrant in his hand and looked at it carefully with the light of the torch stuck on the wall. He only saw the words "Yiluansi" on it and was immediately shocked.

Fortunately, I didn’t say anything careless to offend anyone just now... It’s easy for these bastards to deal with me!
"In the carriage is..."

The guard compared the half copper talisman with the one hanging on his waist. After confirming that they were an exact match, he hesitated for a moment, then asked.

It is our duty and we have to go through the motions.

The driver obviously knew this as well. He turned around to look at the carriage and saw a man lifting the curtain, revealing a clear, complete, and expressionless face to the guard.

"It's me. Can I let you go now?"

The guard was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. He cursed her a thousand times in his heart but didn't dare to say it out loud.

Damn it, why is it Mao Xiang? !

The whereabouts of the Yiluansi people have always been mysterious. It seems that they would never pass through the city gates or palace gates when leaving the palace privately. Among them, Mao Xiang, the commander of the Yiluansi, is particularly elusive.

Normally, this man is not seen except when His Majesty appears as a guard. Why did he leave the palace in such a blatant manner in a carriage today? Is he mentally ill?

"Okay, okay, okay, Commander Mao, please walk slowly."

The guard laughed dryly and let him go. He took a token from his belt and handed it to the driver:
"This is the kind of inspection you will encounter when leaving the palace. There are several gates ahead and there is also a curfew outside. The carriage will definitely be inspected several times. If you encounter this, this waist badge is more useful than the Yiluansi one."

With the Yiluansi's bronze talisman and Mao Xiang's face, it would be impossible to stop him. However, if he had to repeat this at every palace gate and during the subsequent curfew checks, it would definitely be a waste of time.

The guard token he handed over could be used to allow direct access to all the gates of the imperial city, as long as one did not enter the harem. Even if one encountered a curfew in Yingtianfu City, it would be more useful than the Yiluansi's, because the little ghosts under them generally did not know the King of Hell, but only the Ox-Head and Horse-Face.

The driver didn't take it, but turned around and looked at Mao Xiang.

Mao Xiang kept the curtain half lifted and did not sit back in the carriage. He stared at the guard for a long time before he smiled with an ambiguous tone.

"Go on."

He winked at the driver, who took it immediately.

Looking at the guard again, Mao Xiang saw that he was quite young, about seventeen or eighteen years old, but tall and strong, and obviously a martial artist. Mao Xiang asked:
"What's your name and what's your current position? Tell me. If you're not here when I return to the palace, I can ask your colleagues to exchange this badge for you."

The guards were flattered and bowed repeatedly:
"My name is Ji Gang, I am just a guard of the Imperial Guard."

The Imperial Guards are part of the Duwei Mansion, which is responsible for the defense of the Imperial City. The guards are the lowest-ranking officials among them, but have the highest authority and are also the minions with the greatest risk of losing their heads.

Mao Xiang watched how His Majesty planned the positions of the personal guards, and of course he knew that if Ji Gang could not get the guard badge back before leaving his post and could not produce it during the shift change, such serious dereliction of duty would threaten the safety of the imperial city, and the consequences would not only be loss of office, but also beheading.

This kid is quite smart, willing to take such a big risk just to get close to me...

But he didn't know that there was a bigger thigh in the carriage without making a sound.

Mao Xiang laughed inwardly, but he really needed a badge that would allow him to leave the palace more quickly, conveniently, and openly, so he didn't say much and didn't refuse, but just said:

"I'll remember this and return it to you before dawn."

The carriage slowly drove away.

Ji Gang wiped the sweat from his helmet that was about to flow down to his chin and let out a long sigh of relief.

Although this was not the first time he met Mao Xiang, it was the first time he spoke to this Lord Mao face to face and at such a close distance.

How scary...

and many more.

He looked at his sweaty hands and realized that he was still holding half a bronze token in his hand. It was the half of the Yiluansi token that the coachman had just handed to him. When they put them together and took a closer look, they could see that Mao Xiang's official title was still fully engraved on it.

This thing is very important, a hundred times more important than the guard token that Ji Gang handed over!
Ji Gang was about to chase after him when he suddenly realized something.

Mao Xiang left this token behind on purpose.

In this way, even if Mao Xiang still hasn't returned by the time he's off duty, as long as he takes the copper talisman to explain to his superior, not only will he not be beheaded, he might even be favored by his superior! Ji Gang's heart was burning with excitement -

His future seemed to be finally coming!
…………

On the way to Song Shen's house.

inside the carriage.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Mao Xiang with some amusement:
"You are so generous. The commander's copper talisman is just left with a small guard. If he has evil intentions and we didn't see it with our own eyes, you will be reported to the police and lose your head."

As the most important and trusted branch of the emperor's personal army, the importance of Yiluansi is self-evident. Its commander can only be a close confidant like Mao Xiang who has followed Zhu Yuanzhang all the way and fought through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Although on the surface the Yiluansi seems to be just a showpiece, it is the same as the Guard of Honor. To serve in it, one must not only look good, but also have top-notch abilities and be ready to fight in the battlefield at any time. Otherwise, why would the emperor trust it?
With Mao Xiang's bronze talisman, Ji Gang actually had the power to coordinate the Yiluansi. If the other party really had any ill intentions, Mao Xiang's nine clans would be enough to kill them.

"Hehe, isn't it because Your Majesty is here? On normal days, I wouldn't even accept his badge, let alone pass mine over."

Mao Xiang smiled very honestly:

"You can see that it's very troublesome to leave the palace in the middle of the night. He risked his head to give us the badge to make things easier for us. If he didn't leave a way out for us, it would be a bit too..."

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes in annoyance.

But I'm not angry.

On the side, Zhu Biao, who had heard everything, seemed to be thinking about something, and suddenly asked:

"This Ji Gang seems like a good candidate. Isn't it a pity to just leave him there as a guard?"

"Commander Mao, what do you think of his Kung Fu?"

Mao Xiang was stunned for a moment and scratched his head:

"It's hard to say whether he can fight or not since we haven't fought each other, but his muscular body can be seen through his clothes, so he must be very strong."

"He is also well-mannered, and is qualified to join the Yiluansi... Your Highness, do you want to transfer him to the Yiluansi?"

Zhu Biao was silent for a while, then shook his head to deny it.

"The Yiluansi is not short of people."

"I think he is thoughtful, bold, careful, and thick-skinned. It would be nice to have him next to Song Shen."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at his son in surprise.

"Hey, you and I are thinking the same thing!"

Mao Xiang: ???
Mao Xiang said hesitantly:

"This... whether this person can be trusted or used, we don't know without investigating his background. Song Shen is so important, why bother asking Jiang Li to protect him day and night? Ji Gang doesn't even look like a twenty-year-old, young people don't know how to act properly. If he is left in the Song family, it will cause some unnecessary trouble, which is not good."

He had been with Zhu Yuanzhang for many years. Although he was always respectful in his words and deeds, he did not just agree with him. When it came to matters such as selecting guards, which were completely within his professional scope, Mao Xiang would still give suggestions.

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his short beard and shook his head:

"That's why you don't understand!"

"Ji Gang is so young, but he was able to join the Imperial Guard as a guard. Most likely, he has his father's influence, and his elders have fought for fame in the army. Otherwise, how could he have been able to get in?"

"We just need to see if he has any private contact with those people in the court. We don't need to worry about the rest."

"It's not a good idea to ask Jiang Li to keep an eye on Song Shen all the time. If something like today happens, the Yiluansi will not be able to transfer enough staff, and his place will be empty. Who can bear it if Song Shen gets into trouble at this critical moment? I'm afraid the Imperial Hospital will have to feed our family with ginseng soup."

"Find a young man who is thoughtful and capable to be Song Shen's bodyguard. He can lead a clear life and no longer have to sneak around to get information. With Ji Gang's smooth and tactful attitude, it won't be difficult to gain his trust. Maybe he can even become Song Shen's right-hand man in the future. That would make things much easier for us."

"Let's not talk about anything else. There's no need to investigate Song Shen's whereabouts. Ji Gang can pass on the news if there's anything. If Song Shen suspects my identity, he can still cover it up. See, how great!"

Mao Xiang fell silent.

Then he lit a candle for Mr. Song in his heart.

Song Shen gave the potatoes to Zhang Wei, intending to present them to the court after they grew to fruition. He knew this very well.

He is willing to use good things like potatoes to benefit the world, and he doesn't have any desire to keep them. He even wants to give the fame to Zhang Wei... Young Master Song is such a good person, how could he run into someone like His Majesty who is full of evil intentions!
"Then it's settled."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care what Mao Xiang was thinking, he just did it and made the decision immediately:
"Mao Xiang, ask someone to investigate Ji Gang's connections tomorrow. After the investigation, let us personally review it. If there is no problem, send him directly to Song Shen as the Chen family's guard!"

Mao Xiang was really complaining in his heart.

This matter will benefit no one except your Majesty!

Ji Gang was able to be a guard when he was a teenager. He could have become a military officer in the future. He is also good at doing things and he could have achieved certain position. But now he is being sent to be a guard for Song Shen, a blind man who is unemployed at home. Not only does he have no official position, but his future is also bleak. How could he be happy with that?
Song Shen was staying well at home, but out of nowhere he had a guard sent by someone else. Isn't it obvious that he is a spy? How could he be happy?

Your Majesty does not consider other people's thoughts at all, that's fine. The emperor is the biggest in the world, and whatever he says is the truth.

But the problem is that now Ji Gang and Song Shen don't know His Majesty's identity. When the time comes, both of them will be reluctant to do it. What good results can it have?

Why bother?

There was no more words to say all the way.

In this way, holding the badge of the Imperial City Guard, the carriage arrived at Song Shen's door unimpeded.

A night watchman passed by on the street, singing a gong. It was already the second half of the evening.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked Mao Xiang to stay in the carriage, and he and Zhu Biao jumped out of the carriage and knocked on the door of the Song family courtyard.

They came to visit in the middle of the night, but luckily they had been there many times before and the doorman remembered their faces, so he let them in and waited for the message to be delivered.

In the bedroom.

Song Shen, who was already half asleep, was woken up by Lan Yun. He was stunned when he heard the news.

"… It's so late, why did Chen Guorui come here… Did he tell me? He looks very anxious?"

Lan Yun shook his head:

"He doesn't seem to be in a hurry. He is calm and composed."

Song Shen:……?
He got up in a rage.

"Let me change my clothes so I can see what kind of show he is going to perform in the middle of the night!!!"

(End of this chapter)