Rule over Ming Dynasty

As night fell, a dark cloud covered the crescent moon. The outer wall of the Metropolitan Procuratorate's prison was shrouded in darkness, while only a few dim lights remained inside.

Suddenly, a slight but rapid sound of footsteps came from the wall outside, and accompanied by a subtle sound of iron tools gently touching each other, they arrived outside the cell like ghosts.

At this time, two weak oil lamps were lit in the hall of the cell. On the table in the center was a wine bottle that was leaning over. The guards in charge of guarding were lying on the table, sleeping soundly.

There was a soft "click" sound, and a small iron file easily unlocked the cell door lock.

The men in black quickly ducked inside. Their movements were light and agile. They first carefully checked the conditions of several jailers, and then found the jailer's key to open the death row area inside.

After about half a stick of incense, two men in black helped an old man with gray hair out.

The leading man in black walked up to the prisoner and pulled away the black cloth covering his face. A trace of surprise flashed in the prisoner's eyes, but he was immediately silenced by the man in black.

At this moment, there was a sudden movement outside the cell and the sound of someone talking.

A coldness flashed in the eyes of the man in black. He quickly took out a dagger from his arms, looked at the cell door, and was ready to fight at any time.

Fortunately, the people who suddenly appeared were just passing by and didn't notice anything unusual here.

The leading man in black helped the condemned prisoner walk out of the cell. Their movements were quick and orderly, as if they had been rehearsed countless times, and they soon disappeared into the night.

As soon as the man in black left, he noticed that the strange officer rushed in, but it was already too late. Even though they immediately implemented a blockade and search, the group of men in black seemed to have suddenly disappeared.

The prisoner on death row was robbed. This was something that had never happened before in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Now that something like this happened at the critical moment when the emperor left Beijing, many people smelled a conspiracy.

Although an important death row prisoner of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was kidnapped, it was not a big deal to the entire court, and it was even impossible for them to stir up any trouble.

Although many officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River have no king in their eyes, the capital has already recognized Zhu Youtang as the leader.

As long as Zhu Youtang is still alive, no matter how turbulent the capital city is, there will be no change of power.

The sun was shining brightly at noon the next day.

A carriage headed towards the city gate. The carriage driver sat in front of the carriage, wearing a bamboo hat, covering most of his face. He held the riding whip tightly, but when he saw the guards at the city gate, his hands were trembling slightly.

Dongzhimen consists of a city tower, an arrow tower, a gate tower and a barbican. Its shape is similar to Chaoyang Gate, but its scale is slightly smaller.

The city tower is five bays wide, 15.3 meters wide, three bays deep, meters deep, and the towers are meters high. The urn city is square with four corners at right angles, hence the name "straight gate".

It is the autumn season, and it is very lively in front of Dongzhimen.

The imperial court allocated millions of silver dollars to rebuild the Beijing-Tianjin Canal. When a large amount of high-quality timber transported by sea from the south arrived at the east dock of the city, it entered through this nearest city gate.

Because a large amount of wood is transported into the city by car every day, the people in Beijing call this gate "the lumber cart", commonly known as the "wooden gate".

It is worth mentioning that although cement has not been recognized by subjective architecture due to aesthetic and other factors, it is slowly entering thousands of households due to its low cost.

At the city gate, the three characters "Dongzhimen" inlaid on the forehead are clearly visible.

The guarding soldiers were standing ready, armed with spears and eyes as sharp as eagles. Although the focus is on checking the convoys entering the city, they also occasionally check on the people leaving the city.

"Stop! Get checked!" A soldier with a loud voice stood in the middle of the road on the left, raised his hand and shouted loudly.

The carriage driver's heart tightened, but he tried his best to stay calm and stopped the carriage slowly: "This official, you never need to check when leaving the city. My young master has something urgent to leave the city today, so please make it easy for me!"

"No, get out of the car immediately and get inspected!" Tietou noticed that although the car body was covered in dust, its exquisite carvings could not be concealed, but he still said forcefully.

As soon as the words fell, two guards suddenly came over from behind and said, "How dare you! You dare to block our young master's car. Are you tired of living?"

Huh?

Commander-in-Chief Zhang Qiang was leading his men to investigate people entering the city. He was also attracted by the movement here, but he turned his attention to the two arrogant guards.

"Routine spot checks, this has always been the rule of our Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division! Today, no matter which young master you belong to, you have to get out of the car and cooperate with the investigation. Otherwise, don't blame our Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division for being rude!" Tietou brought out the rules and regulations. , and there is no way to give way.

The middle-aged guard at the head knew that he had encountered the stupid young man, and shouted unreasonably: "How dare you block my young master's way, little Xiaoqi, get out of the way!"

"There must be something wrong with your carriage. Get out of the car immediately and check it out, otherwise you will be punished for your misdeeds!" Tietou noticed the clues, but decisively used his sword.

what?

Several women who were just about to leave the city were so frightened when they saw Tietou drawing his sword that they turned around and fled back.

The people of this era were all simple and simple, but now they saw a conflict outside the door, and saw Tietou drawing his sword at them, so they just stood aside and watched the excitement.

"Get out of the car immediately and accept the investigation. The capital is at the feet of the emperor. How can you be so impudent!" After noticing the conflict here, General Banner Zhang Qiang immediately protected the official.

Originally, the dignitaries and their descendants in the capital were all afraid of being killed by the emperor, so they always behaved according to rules. Even if they are the princes of the Hou family, if they ask for inspection, they will usually accept a peek.

But he didn't expect that the emperor had been away for less than a month, and the arrogant nature of some young masters was revealed.

It's just that the current court is still under the rule of Hongzhi. Today's court is full of important ministers who can really do practical things, and there is no need to make excessive concessions.

What's more, the more insistent the person is to break through the city gate, the more worthy of calculation and investigation. Maybe the other person is doing something shady.

"Afu, don't be so presumptuous!"

It was at this time that a young man's voice came from inside the car.

Zhang Qiang and Tietou felt the majesty of this young master, and vaguely realized that there might not be anything fishy about him, but that he was really a noble man who was eager to leave the city.

The middle-aged guard first respectfully asked for instructions inside, then looked at Tietou blocking the carriage: "My young master Kuanren, please check it out!"

Tietou was not deterred by the battle in front of him, and the opponent might be planning an empty city. He immediately stepped forward and opened the curtain, even if there was no illegal activity inside, he still wanted to see who it was.

"May I ask who your young master is?" Zhang Qiang, the general manager, was currently facing internal promotion and asked cautiously. The middle-aged guard raised his chin and looked very proud and said: "My master is the chief minister of the dynasty, and this person in the car is my master's favorite young master Liu Zizong!"

General Manager Zhang Qiang staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Since there is no crown prince in this dynasty, there is naturally no crown prince supervising the country. During the emperor's southern tour, the burden of the court actually fell on the chief assistant Liu Ji. Now Liu Ji's status has risen.

Now their insignificant city guards actually dare to stop Xu Ge's son from leaving the city. This is simply a life of impatientness.

Although Xiaoqi Tietou was equally surprised, he did not forget his duties. Instead, he still firmly opened the car curtain and looked inside.

Sitting in the center was a young man in his early twenties. Although he was not tall, he was dressed in silk and satin and had a valuable jade hanging around his waist. He looked very noble.

Although he has never met the youngest son of Liu Ji, the chief minister of the cabinet, judging from the young man's skin color and clothes, it is obvious that this identity cannot be faked.

The city guards who followed Tietou during the investigation were curious about what Mr. Xu looked like inside, but they did not dare to look inside. However, they were afraid of offending the noble Mr. Xu.

Huh?

Tietou noticed that there were three people in the carriage. In addition to Mr. Liu, there were two maids kneeling on both sides, but he suddenly smiled knowingly.

The reason why the word "head" is emphasized on him is that in addition to his strong head, he also has a very flexible mind. His eyes are very keen and can always capture details that others cannot see.

He probably knew why the other party wanted to stop him. Although there were two maids kneeling next to Mr. Liu, these two maids were clearly disguised as men.

It is said that noble gentlemen have diverse hobbies, and now this seems to be true. When they go out to play, they have to take two fair-skinned and beautiful young men with them.

"Have you seen enough?" The middle-aged guard noticed the raised corners of Tietou's mouth and immediately shouted angrily.

Commander-in-Chief Zhang Qiang had already reacted. If he knew that Liu Ji's son was inside the carriage, he would not let Tietou search it at all. He hurriedly put pressure on him and said, "Tie Xiaoqi, why don't you let him go quickly?"

The reason why he is called "Tie Xiaoqi" instead of directly revealing Tietou's name is that he is actually protecting Tietou. Although he is at the bottom, he knows the importance of friendship, not to mention that Tietou's potential is obviously higher than his own.

Tietou knew that the other party was something he could not afford to offend, so he simply stepped aside and said: "If there is any offense in my humble position, please send a letter to Mr. Liu!"

"Tie Xiaoqi, you are just fulfilling your duty, what's wrong with you? Amu, let's go!" Mr. Liu expressed his stance very gently, and then calmly ordered the groom.

The groom responded and drove the carriage towards the city gate.

Commander-in-Chief Zhang Qiang watched the carriage and the guards leave, and said with lingering fear: "Tietou, you kid can't offend anyone, but you have offended the prime minister's house! If it weren't for Mr. Liu Ge's good teaching and Mr. Liu's magnanimity, both of us would have been doomed. .”

This is not alarmist, Liu Ji is actually much stronger than other first assistants.

Liu Ji is a true Beizhili person. He has settled in the capital with his family since he was a child. This native-born official in the capital has a natural advantage and can more easily accumulate his own network of contacts.

Liu Ji was a Jinshi in the 13th year of the orthodox reign. He had always served in the capital. He was also the emperor's disciple of Xianzong. As early as the 11th year of Chenghua, he had been the second assistant in the official worship.

With Liu Ji's power and the Liu family's current influence, it would be easy to kill the two gatekeepers.

Tietou stood there indifferently, his eyes still fixed on the carriage that was going away.

"Haha... It's rare, you kid was so scared!" General Manager Zhang Qiang was still worried at first, but when he saw Tietou, he suddenly became happy.

Tietou's eyes were still looking into the distance, but he said seriously: "Something's wrong!"

"The identity cannot be false! That guard does look like he belongs to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and whoever dares to pretend to be Mr. Liu Ge's son must have no problem with his identity!" Zhang Qiang has rich experience, but he is very confident.

Tietou shook his head gently: "I don't doubt Mr. Liu's identity, but the two maids beside him. I... seem to have seen them somewhere!"

"There are so many people coming in and out of the city gate every day. What surprises you have seen, and you won't be able to remember them if you have seen them!" Zhang Qiang thought Tietou was just lustful, but he reminded him seriously.

Women in the world are chosen first by the emperor, then by these powerful young men, then by the scholars who work hard at studying, and finally by the lower class people like them.

Tietou withdrew his gaze, but looked at Zhang Qiang seriously: "My memory has always been very good. Those two people did not meet while guarding the city gate, but when I was serving in Jinyiwei!"

He was originally a glorious Jin Yiwei, but unfortunately he encountered the personnel reform of Jin Yiwei. Not only were the second-generation officials and second-generation officials dismissed, but also a large number of incompetent people were dismissed, and he was unfortunately on the list of those who were dismissed.

The blame for this incident was not that of the Prime Minister, but that he happened to be working under Cheng Si. As a result, when Cheng Si's crimes were exposed, many of them were naturally affected by Cheng Si.

"You are now a member of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division. Don't always mention your glorious achievements. Just get to work!" Zhang Qiang did not take what just happened seriously, but patted Tietou on the shoulder.

Tietou saw that many people had gathered on both sides, so he got back to work.

As night falls, the city of Beijing lights up.

Above the city gate, there are also buildings such as city towers, arrow towers, gate towers and barbicans, and these places can provide shelter from wind and rain for the city defenders.

Zhang Qiang usually likes drinking, so he dragged Tietou, who was worried, to the wine shop he often frequented, and ordered a pot of knife roast and dried squid.

Since the Ming Dynasty began trading with Japan, not only did China export goods and culture to Japan, but Japan also sent them high-quality and low-priced dried squid.

Because dried squid is cheap, has a sweet taste, and is as chewy as beef jerky, it has become a favorite of many people who like wine. It is currently the most cost-effective side dish for drinking.

"Sir, the purchase price of this dried squid has increased by two cents, so our small business has to increase accordingly!" The store owner pointed to the price sign hanging on the wall, but he was flattering.

Zhang Qiang cursed profiteers, but he actually accepted the price increase. In the final analysis, this kind of dried squid that goes well with wine and tea is very cost-effective.

"Two military masters, please use your time!" The store owner quickly brought the food and wine and greeted him warmly.

Zhang Qiang picked up the wine that had just been delivered and poured it for Tietou, who was still thinking: "Why are you still worrying about what happened during the day? What are the identities of those two maids? Are they that important?" (End of Chapter)