Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 15: Brave Guard Battalion

Zhu Changgan looked at Cao Huachun, "I know you have a good relationship with Luo Sigong, so I want to ask for your opinion."

"I...I have no objection." Cao Huachun suddenly felt a little bitter in his mouth.

After eliminating Wei Zhongxian, Emperor Chongzhen held a major examination in the inner palace and presided over it personally.

Cao Huachun, Wang Yongzuo and Wang Zhixin all passed the exam at the same time. There were six people on the first list, and they accounted for three of them.

Wang Yongzuo was the first to take charge of the East Factory, but less than a year later, the governor of the East Factory was replaced by Cao Huachun, who has remained in office until now.

Because Cao Huachun was the commander of the Beijing Army's Yongwei Camp and could not be away, he let Wang Zhixin take charge temporarily.

Wang Zhixin was promoted by himself and recommended to the emperor.

Now that Wang Zhixin’s corruption case has been exposed, Cao Huachun has come here to apologize.

But His Majesty did not ask, but asked about Luo Yangxing instead. Cao Huachun immediately understood that His Majesty was giving him face, and he had to give him face.

"Are you familiar with Luo Yangxing?"

"There's not much contact." Cao Huachun replied truthfully.

He and Luo Sigong did have a good relationship, especially in the purge of Wei Zhongxian. The two worked together and maintained a good friendship afterwards.

But when it came to Luo Yangxing's generation, he looked down on them.

Not even one-tenth of Luo Sigong's, and he was particularly shady when he asked for money.

Especially after Luo Sigong passed away, he never visited the Luo family again.

Since His Majesty asked about me, it means that Luo Yangxing’s case of corruption has been exposed.

"Lord Cao, this matter still has to be done by you. Go and summon Luo Yangxing to the Qianqing Palace and tell him that I want to discuss important matters with him." Zhu Changgan said lightly.

If it were someone else, Luo Yangxing might be wary, but Cao Huachun was different.

"I will obey your majesty's orders."

"Okay, I'll tell you about this in detail..."

……

In the Prince Xiang's Palace,

When Chongzhen opened his eyes, he chose to listen directly to the sound coming from his original body.

This time, he learned from his last lesson.

Just sit there and listen to what Zhu Changgan does, concentrating on what he does.

What exactly did he want to do by listening to Zhu Changgan’s second move?
When he heard Luo Yangxing, his brows furrowed suddenly, "Are you going to touch Luo Yangxing?"

"No...he is a loyal minister!"

Luo Yangxing has always had a good reputation both in terms of his family background and in the mouths of the dignitaries in the court, and he has always been loyal to himself.

At this moment, Chongzhen really wanted to stop him.

"My loyal and faithful subjects." Chongzhen was so angry that his teeth were chattering. "Fool, the Jinyiwei are my close servants, the only ones I can command."

"We just investigated the Eastern Depot, and now we're investigating the Imperial Guards."

"If you hit yourself in the face like this, wouldn't that be self-destructive and make the whole court laugh at you?"

……

The time of one stick of incense,
Luo Yangxing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, rode his horse at full speed to the outside of the Qianqing Palace.

"Xuan Luo came to the audience to cultivate his character."

"Your servant Luo Yangxing pays respect to Your Majesty."

Zhu Changgan looked at the man in front of him. He had a long face, sparse eyebrows, and small, focused eyes.

The Feiyu suit she wore was beautifully embroidered with dragon patterns and gold threads. Her coat was decorated with brocades of various bright colors, and her sleeves had delicate patterns with fine lines and colorful patterns.

It is also decorated with pearls and jade, and wears a pearl crown on the head, and the hat is adorned with colorful feathers and jade pendants.

Braided laces.

This is related to the prevailing culture of the Ming Dynasty. After Chenghua, the aesthetic taste of the Ming Dynasty tended to be prosperous and gorgeous, and pursued rich colors.

Therefore, the clothing of the Jinyiwei was also influenced by this, and they mostly used bright colors such as red, green, yellow, purple, and blue to enhance the visual effect of the clothing.

When Zhu Changgan saw Luo Yangxing, his eyes lit up a little, "Not bad, not bad!"

"It is said that the Jinyiwei is my face. This costume is gorgeous and powerful, and it is worthy of the power and majesty of the royal family."

Luo Yangxing knelt on the ground and said, "My duty is to help Your Majesty solve his problems."

"Get up, get up quickly!" Zhu Changgan hurried forward and helped Luo Yangxing up, "You are my most trusted and loyal minister."

"I have an errand right now, and I need Commander Luo to help me."

"Your Majesty, please make it clear."

Zhu Changgan nodded and said, "I'm sure you've heard about the donations from the nobles and civil officials. They will all be paid off soon. I roughly estimated that it's nearly six million taels."

Luo Yangxing swallowed unconsciously. He had thought about people donating, but he had never thought that they would donate so much.

"The war in Liaodong is now going badly, and rebels are rampant in Shaanxi and many other places."

"This money was originally donated by me, the nobles, and the civil and military officials in the name of the Liaodong war and the suppression of rebels. Naturally, it is for a special purpose. I will add this silver to the Liaodong military pay and the suppression pay."

"In the past, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War directly transferred the money, but this time I will send my own people to keep an eye on it to ensure that the money is actually used in the Liaodong battlefield and to suppress the rebellion in various places."

"I wonder how Your Majesty is going to keep an eye on us?" Luo Yangxing couldn't help swallowing.

Zhu Changgan stared into his eyes and said, "The East Factory and the Imperial Horse Bureau are not fit for duty. I want to select a group of supervisors from the Jinyiwei to take charge of this job."

There was a gleam of light in Luo Yangxing's eyes, but it disappeared in just a flash.

Very well concealed.

"I am willing to share your worries!"

Zhu Changgan nodded, "However, the officials in the court are also eyeing this money, so I can't give you the order directly. You have to organize this group of troops before these salaries are sent out."

Luo Yangxing understood immediately.
If the emperor issues an edict now, it will certainly cause a backlash in the court and the matter will fail.

Six million taels... just thinking about it made Luo Yangxing feel hot in his heart.

"I will go through fire and water, and will not refuse even if death is the only option!"

Zhu Changgan waved his hand and asked him to go down and do it.

……

Luo Yangxing came out of the Qianqing Palace, his face like a blooming golden chrysanthemum.

"Finally it's my turn."

He has made a lot of money as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard over the years.

But compared with those masters in the Ministry of War and those generals at the border, he is just nowhere.
Taking Liaodong as an example, the imperial court spent more than six million taels of silver every year, but less than half of it actually reached the hands of officers and soldiers.

This is not considered as false salary.

Take Mao Wenlong as an example. In reality, he only had 20,000 to 30,000 people, but he claimed to have more than 100,000 people.

He asked for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from the Ming Dynasty every year, and all the money went into his own pocket.

Although other border generals were stronger than Mao Wenlong, they were no better than the pot calling the kettle black.

In the past, I could only watch helplessly and get jealous, but I couldn't get anything out of it. But now I have a chance.

"Recommend a group of inspectors, but can't you just appoint whoever you want?"

Luo Yangxing walked quickly out of the palace, completely unaware that Cao Huachun was standing in the place where he had just stood, staring at him.

Cao Huachun turned around and returned to the Qianqing Palace. "Your Majesty, he is gone."

"Next, it's up to Eunuch Cao." Zhu Changgan said calmly while drinking tea and leaning on the throne.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

After Cao Huachun left, Zhu Changgan stretched and asked, "Wang Chengen, how is the selection going?"

"Your Majesty, the eunuchs are already discussing this matter with the Queen."

Zhu Changgan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood.

Now that Chongzhen’s empress has been chosen and there is no empress dowager, the affairs of the harem will naturally be decided by the empress.

"You know what I want, right?"

"I know, it's a little plump."

Zhu Changgan nodded and murmured, "Hips wider than shoulders, better than gods. The fat hips produced by fitness in later generations are all inferior. What I want is pure natural."

“It feels good and is soft and elastic.”

"..." Wang Chengen didn't quite understand what this meant, but he could feel that the emperor was praising something.

A eunuch came in from outside holding a pile of memorials. Wang Chengen quickly took them and said, "Your Majesty, these memorials have been sorted into categories..."

Zhu Changgan interrupted him directly, "Today, I don't want to read the memorials. I want to go out for a walk." "Go out for a walk?" Wang Chengen was stunned. What happened to the emperor these two days?
He served for twenty years, and never made a mistake in deciding when Chongzhen got up, went to court, left court, reviewed memorials, and had meals.

But now, he was surprised to find that everything had failed.

Just like when he first entered Prince Xin's Palace, he couldn't keep up with the emperor's pace.

"Let's go to the Beijing Camp." But just as he was about to leave, he turned around and asked, "Who is in charge of the Beijing Camp now?"

Wang Chengen hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, last May, Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, was the governor of the Beijing camp."

"Him?" Zhu Changgan thought about it and recalled that this Zhu Chunchen was the ancestor of Zhu Neng, a minister who contributed to the Jingnan Campaign of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty.

He followed Prince of Yan Zhu Di to conquer the northern desert and was brave and good at fighting.

During the Jingnan Campaign, he captured the Nine Gates of Peking, defeated Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong successively, captured famous Southern Army generals such as Ping An in Lingbi, and surrendered 100,000 Southern Army soldiers. He was promoted to the Left General of the Left Army Governor's Office, and was granted the title of Duke of Chengguo and the title of Prince Taifu.

Zhu Chunchen is the ninth-generation grandson of Zhu Neng, but his actions are far from his name.

When Li Zicheng was approaching the capital, Zhu Chunchen surrendered the Qihua Gate. Zhu Chunchen and Chen Yan led hundreds of officials to persuade him to ascend the throne, and presented a memorial to Li Zicheng to help him ascend the throne as soon as possible, thus becoming the people who had made great contributions in supporting him.

"Forget it, I'd better go to the Brave Guard Camp!"

In the territory of this old man Zhu Chunchen,
If something happens, it will be like a boat capsizing in a ditch, and you will have no place to cry even if you want to.

It would be better for him to go to his loyal Yongwei Camp. Before the bloody storm comes, he must first feel the true combat power of the Yongwei Camp.

……

……

It is impossible to go there in a swaggering manner, otherwise the civil servants will submit memorials and nag you one after another.

So Zhu Changgan changed into a casual outfit and then put on a casual outfit on the outside, and left the palace under the protection of these eunuchs with great martial arts skills.

All the way to the Yongwei Camp.

"Sa~"

"Whoo~"

I could hear someone shouting from a distance away. When I got closer, I realized that it was the sound of roars and spears cutting through the air.

If Chongzhen had an army, it would only be these few thousand people.

It was reorganized from the Emperor's imperial guards, the Four Tengxiang Guards.

The selection of the imperial guards was already strict. The selection criteria for the Tengxiang Four Guards were: "Young and strong officers and soldiers from all the guards in the country and men who escaped from the captives."

Pick the best from each guard post.

The Brave Guard Battalion lived up to expectations.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, which was last year, the Qing army invaded the border. The Yongwei Battalion, which had just been established, was thrown into the war and won the first battle.

It was so powerful that it became a sharp military weapon for Chongzhen.

The sun shines through the thin clouds, casting golden rays of light on the ground.

It sprinkled on the bare arms of the Yongwei Battalion, reflecting a bright light that was dazzling.

The man standing in the front wielded his spear particularly fiercely.

"Who are those two?"

"Your Majesty, these two are Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong, officers of the Brave Guard Battalion."

Zhu Changgan looked at him with a frown, "With such a brave general, why should I worry that the Yongwei Battalion will not be a powerful army?"

Both of them are talented generals, and fierce ones at that.

In comparison, Huang Degong is more famous than Sun Yingyuan because Sun Yingyuan died early. Huang Degong later fled to Nanjing and supported the Southern Ming Dynasty, so he became the mad Marquis of Jingnan.

There was another one named Zhou Yuji, but for some reason I didn’t see him.

But he also had great military achievements and was later transferred to be the general of Shaanxi. Finally, he fought with Li Zicheng for several days and died after running out of ammunition and food.

Zhu Changgan murmured, "This time, your fate will change."

The reason why Sun Yingyuan and Chen Yuji died in battle was because in the tenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Sichang submitted a memorial ordering the Yongwei Camp to go south to suppress the bandits.

And they were divided into two groups by Chongzhen. Sun Yingyuan was alone and died in battle.

It was also this time that the Yongwei Camp was sent to the south, leaving Chongzhen without a single soldier at his disposal.

The bandit problem was not eliminated, but the capital was destroyed first.

While they were stunned, a group of soldiers holding spears rushed up from all directions and surrounded them.

Wang Chengen and the eunuchs had already protected the emperor behind them.

"Who are you? How dare you break into the military camp? Arrest all of you."

Several people held spears against the throats of Wang Chengen and others, as if they would stab them if they resisted.

"Stop, everyone, stop!"

When Sun Yingyuan saw the person coming from a distance, he was stunned at first, then his heart skipped a beat and he rushed over with a pale face.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. I have not been strict in my administration and have committed crimes. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Sun Yingyuan had served as the lieutenant general of the Beijing Camp for several years, and now he was an officer of the Yongwei Camp. Naturally, he had seen Chongzhen, so when he saw his subordinates surrounding the emperor with spears, his face turned green with fright.

"Your Majesty, I am stupid, but I didn't expect that I am even more stupid. I have frightened Your Majesty, and I deserve to die!" Huang Degong followed closely and knelt down quickly.

The soldiers were also frightened and stood there in a daze. When they saw Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong kneeling down, they also knelt down immediately.

Some people's teeth were chattering, while others had beads of sweat the size of beans falling from their heads.

It’s over, it’s over... I was blind this time and I’ve lost my life.

Not only did he lose his own life, but he also implicated General Sun and General Huang.

"Get up!" Zhu Changgan raised his hand. "You are right. You came here without any prior notice. I am very pleased that you are so vigilant."

"Not only will we not punish you, we will also reward you."

"Wang Chengen, come here. Whoever stopped me just now will be rewarded... one hundred taels of silver."

There are only about ten people here. If you want to reward them, you might as well be generous.

"what?"

The soldiers stood there in confusion, their mouths wide open, not daring to move.

Huang Degong saw this and slapped them on the head. "His Majesty is rewarding you. Why are you still standing there? Thank you for the reward!"

"Oh...thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty!"

All the soldiers bowed their heads immediately.

"Your Majesty..." Wang Chengen's old face turned red at this moment, and he came to the emperor's ear and whispered a few words.

He was traveling incognito this time and wore casual clothes, so he didn't bring that much silver with him.

Where can I get more than one thousand taels of silver?

Chongzhen also looked a little embarrassed, "How much did you bring?"

"The eunuch brought more than 100 taels, and the rest of them together brought more than 100 taels."

Chongzhen's eyes lit up, and he said to the soldiers, "I came out in a hurry today, so I will give you 20 taels each. I will write you a note for the remaining 80 taels."

"Take this note and exchange it with Wang Chengen at any time."

Wang Chengen carried pen and ink with him. Zhu Changgan thought about it and decided that he could not write it himself, otherwise it would be too different from Chongzhen's original handwriting and would be easily recognized.

"Wang Chengen, you write it!"

Wang Chengen quickly wrote for him, and Zhu Changgan took out his own private seal, stamped it, and pressed it on the letter.

He looked at the silver and notes in his hand, and then looked at the emperor's back as he walked into the Yongwei Camp with General Sun and General Huang.

It took more than ten breaths before they came to their senses.

His Majesty actually spared me? And even rewarded them?
Someone took a bite of the silver and looked at the teeth marks on it. "Really...really."

A lieutenant general cursed: "Nonsense, the reward from His Majesty, how can it be fake?"

"What about this?" A soldier took out the note in his hand, swallowed his saliva and asked, "Can it really be exchanged for eighty taels of silver?"

"Exchange? Of course I can." The lieutenant general said to him, "If you want me to do this, I will give you 100 taels of silver, and you exchange this note for me."

Bing Yong was stunned for a moment, "Really?"

At this time, another lieutenant general couldn't stand it anymore and cursed, "Old Jiang, you bastard, you are jealous of the things of your brothers in the Yongwei Battalion, right?"

The lieutenant general said to the soldiers, "If I were you, I wouldn't trade with him. It's stamped with His Majesty's personal seal. Do you know what that means?"

"It can be regarded as His Majesty's presence in person."

"Ah?" The soldiers holding the notes had their eyes widened as big as donkey balls when they heard this. "Then...then we won't change it."

(End of this chapter)