Rule over Ming Dynasty

There are not many customers in this quiet restaurant, and the interior is simple and elegant. Several wooden square tables and benches are placed randomly, and some calligraphy and paintings are hung on the walls.

"Although I am a gatekeeper now, it is the tradition of our Tie family to fulfill my duties faithfully, not to mention that the current emperor deserves my iron head's sacrifice!" Tietou said with firm faith and a very candid look.

Zhang Qiang felt Tietou's loyalty and changed the topic: "When it comes to the emperor, this trip may be dangerous!"

When he said this, he stared at Tietou's reaction and knew that this subordinate had a pure heart of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

"How is this possible?" Tietou stretched out his hand to pick up the wine glass, but couldn't help but stared in shock.

Zhang Qiang seemed to have seen through everything and slowly brought the wine to his mouth: "You are still too young! As soon as His Majesty ascended the throne, he rectified the salt policy to crack down on high-priced salt. Seeing that many people in the capital were ruined, he rectified the usury industry. The imperial court was in financial difficulties. We are also levying a tax on the rich, and I don’t know how many people have been offended by this attack on the big families in Jiangnan. Even if you are the emperor, those people have dead soldiers in their homes, and they may be able to do anything!"

In the past, imperial power was granted by God, but after China has gone through so many dynasties, ordinary people may still be superstitious, but many officials and gentry actually disdain it.

If it weren't for the fact that since the Song Dynasty, the imperial court had emphasized civility over military force, it would have been difficult for rebellion to be supported by strong force, but I don't know how much turmoil it would have endured.

"You are wrong!" Tietou drank the wine glass in his hand and said loudly and confidently.

Zhang Qiang stopped bringing the wine glass to his lips, raised his head in confusion and said, "Where did I go wrong?"

"The Emperor loves all the people, and all the people in the world will be loyal to the Emperor, willing to be his brothers and sisters, willing to be his eyes and ears, and also a sharp blade! No matter whether it is the powerful people in the capital or the gang of Xiaoxiao in the south of the Yangtze River who disobey the government orders, it is impossible for them to be able to make waves!" Tietou's eyes looked extremely clear and authentic under the illumination of the oil lamp beside the wall.

If the emperor loves all people, then all people in the world will be loyal to the emperor?

Zhang Qiang muttered these words, put down the wine glass completely, slowly tore off a piece of freshly grilled dried squid with his hands and chewed it carefully.

Because he lived at the bottom, he could clearly feel that Emperor Hongzhi was deeply popular among the people, and he was also the emperor who he believed had the most charming personality.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are long gone, but they must be about the same.

Nowadays, people in the capital are always elated when talking about Emperor Hongzhi, and grilled fish is still popular today. Some people are even worried about the emperor's heirs, which all prove that the current emperor is the most popular emperor in the Ming Dynasty.

The various measures taken by the current emperor are undoubtedly to love the people as his son, but why don't all the people silently support the emperor?

"By the way, I just got news that someone went to the Metropolitan Procuratorate last night and kidnapped a death row prisoner!" Zhang Qiang took a nice sip of wine and suddenly shared the latest news.

Tietou couldn't help but frown, and asked curiously: "Who?"

"The former left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Shi Bianyong!" Zhang Qiang put another piece of dried squid into his mouth and chewed it.

Bian Yong was born in Juren, and eventually he slowly rose to the high position of left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. There is a side of him that is good at political speculation, but it is inseparable from his relationship with the party.

In the case of Cheng Si, it turned out that Wang Yue found out that he was the spy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Originally Bian Yong was going to be executed, but Wang Yue wanted to find out the real mastermind through Bian Yong, but instead kept him on death row.

But who would have thought that this mysterious force lurking in the capital would strike again and rescue Bian Yong from death row, so the mastermind behind it would naturally be impossible to find out.

Rather than saying that this group of people is saving Bian Yong, it is better to say that this group of mysterious forces is protecting their leader.

Veins appeared on Tietou's face, and his expression looked very ferocious: "A man like Bian Yong, who has committed such a heinous crime, was actually rescued from death row. What kind of world is this!"

"The world has always been like this. I told you that our emperor is in a bad situation! Please stop worrying about the maid. Maybe after we have a drink tonight, I will have to prepare a set of white clothes tomorrow!" Zhang Qiang, on the contrary, Looking at it openly, he drank another glass of wine and joked.

At this moment, a flash of inspiration flashed in Tietou's mind, but he suddenly said confidently: "Bian Yong? I... thought of it!"

"What did you think of?" Zhang Qiang asked, full of doubts about this meaningless statement, not caring about pouring the wine.

Tietou stopped talking and immediately stood up and left.

"Tietou, you have to leave on your own. We agreed to take turns hosting, and you have to invite me back next time!" Zhang Qiang put down the wine bottle in his hand and emphasized very seriously.

Tietou walked straight out of the wine shop without slowing down, feeling a burst of excitement in his heart. After taking just a few steps, he keenly noticed two strong men coming out of the store behind him.

The night is as dark as ink, the moon is hidden, and the stars are sparse. The streets and lanes of Beijing are quiet and profound.

A young man walked hurriedly through the dark streets, his figure looming in the dim light. He felt the chill behind him, and a trace of alertness flashed in his eyes.

Fortunately, coming out of the alley of the wine shop is a street with more pedestrians and lights.

Although he clearly felt that the two men were following him, as long as he returned to Dongzhimen, the two gangsters would not dare to do anything in front of Dongzhimen.

close!

Tietou kept a long distance from the two people, but Dongzhimen had already come into view, and he couldn't help but feel a secret joy in his heart.

As a result, a carriage drove over from the darkness. The horses' hooves clattered, the wheels rolled, and the tall carriage stopped in front of Tietou.

A middle-aged man who looked like a butler sat in front of the carriage and smiled half-heartedly at Tietou. There was an unquestionable majesty in his tone: "Tie Xiaoqi, the Prime Minister has invited me!"

"Dare you call me that? But I don't know which prime minister's mansion it is?" Tietou looked at the person coming by the light from the lantern in his hand and asked very seriously.

The housekeeper raised the lantern high and said very proudly: "I call you Bai, you can call me steward Bai. The prime minister's house is naturally our Liu house!"

Because the emperor promoted Zhang Sheng to Dongge Grand Scholar before the southern tour, there are now as many as five prime ministerial offices in the Ming Dynasty. But in terms of status and prestige, it is naturally his master Liu Ji, and the Liu Mansion is also the most powerful mansion nowadays.

While the two were talking, the two muscular men who had been following behind had already come close, but made no next move.

"Okay!" Tietou was not stupid and agreed immediately.

They arranged guards in front and behind, and personally intercepted me here, and under the banner of the dignified Prime Minister's Office, I had to go even if I didn't want to go.

Because Liu Ji was from the capital, he actually had a deep network of connections in the capital, and even some of his own clan members held low-level positions in the yamen of the capital. Butler Liu glanced at Tietou with satisfaction and smiled slightly: "Get in the car!"

Tietou felt that there were actually a few people hiding around him, and he couldn't escape at all, so he silently got into the carriage. The car was dark, with only a faint light shining through the gap in the curtains, reflecting his frown.

He has nothing to do with the prime minister's baganzi, so if he is called over at this time, the trip may be unlucky.

The only thing he still couldn't figure out was that he didn't do anything today. He only glanced into Mr. Liu's carriage. Why would someone from the prime minister's residence come to him?

The carriage galloped through the night, passing through silent streets and alleys, but the place it went to was not the Liu Mansion, but stopped in front of a remote abandoned temple.

This temple was originally dedicated to Guanyin, but because the Shuntian Mansion found out that it was related to the White Lotus Sect, the gate was sealed. Now the temple is dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and surrounded by desolation.

"Come down!" Steward Bai and the groom had already jumped out of the carriage, but Steward Bai ordered coldly.

Tietou sighed deeply in his heart, but his mind was like a mirror: "The Prime Minister's Mansion hasn't arrived yet, has it?"

"You were deceived by me. We are not from the Prime Minister's Mansion. You are too gullible!" Manager Bai said jokingly as he distanced himself from the Liu Mansion.

Tietou knew that the other party wanted to silence him, but as a result, the hardest thing in the world seemed to be his own teeth: "I don't understand something!"

"Say!" Manager Bai saw that his men had surrounded the carriage, and he became interested in catching mice.

Tietou felt the killing intent around him, and there were at least ten people surrounding him: "I'm just a small flag guarding the city gate, why do you need to work so hard on me?"

"You already know full well that you saw something you shouldn't have seen!" Manager Bai thought that the other party was about to die, so he simply revealed some information to make the other party understand.

Tietou smiled calmly, knowing that he had guessed correctly: "Are those two sons of Sun Jiao?"

In the initial clearing of the land in Huguang, Sun Jiao did not hesitate to attack Liu Zhong, the governor of Huguang, and Wang Zhi, the eunuch guarding Nanjing, in order to prevent the imperial court from invading the core interests of the entire gentry class. He even did not hesitate to use the military power of his clan to ambush them.

After the defeat, Sun Jiao chose to take on everything by himself, while his two sons in the capital were nowhere to be found.

You know, the capital is not the pig cage city in "Kung Fu". It is simply unbelievable to want to hide two people under the emperor's nose, and hide them for several years.

By chance, they really did it, and what's even weirder is that today the two sons of the Sun family went out of the city under the banner of the Prime Minister's Mansion, pretending to be the maids of Liu Zizong, the young master of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

If Tietou reported this matter to Jin Yiwei, it would be a fatal blow to the Prime Minister's Mansion. Maybe the Prime Minister's Mansion was really a place to harbor imperial criminals.

"You...you really know it!" Steward Bai looked at the people inside the carriage with a lantern in his hand, saying with a mixture of shock and luck.

When Tietou heard the other party's reaction, he completely confirmed his judgment: "Actually, I still don't understand one thing!"

"Then let me be a sensible person!" Manager Bai also admired Xiao Qi's keen observation and said reasonably.

Tietou asked the doubt in his heart: "Mr. Liu Ge is highly respected and favored by His Majesty. Why does he frequently do such disloyal and unjust things?"

"Stop talking nonsense, this matter has nothing to do with me... Mr. Liu Ge!" Manager Bai was wary, but immediately denied it.

But Tietou said teasingly: "Now that things have happened, do you still need to cover it up?"

"The tyrant is innocent and everyone will kill him! Even if Mr. Liu Ge is strategizing, it is to eliminate harm for the people and bring order to the Ming Dynasty. I am not afraid to tell you now that the holy religion has set up a network of heaven and earth in Jiangnan, and the tyrant has some plans this time. There's no return!" Manager Bai decided to let Tietou be a sensible man, venting his dissatisfaction with Zhu Youtang.

Tietou made his own judgment and suddenly started gossiping: "The matter really has something to do with Mr. Liu Ge! It is said that the relationship between Mrs. Zhang in Jingyuanbo's Mansion and Jingyuanbo's husband and wife were not on good terms. Not long after they returned from a military trip that year, With the birth of his son Wang Zeng, Mrs. Zhang’s scandal may not come out of nowhere!”

"What are you doing to Mrs. Zhang? How can I be related to...Mr. Liu Ge?" Manager Bai frowned, looking dissatisfied.

A flash of wisdom flashed through Tietou's eyes, as if he was a different person: "When Mrs. Zhang was young, it was said that her beauty was sought after by many young people. And the Liu family and the Zhang family are family friends, right? If I guessed correctly, , Wang Zeng is actually the son of Mr. Liu Ge, isn’t it a kind of protection to arrange for Wang Zeng to be the consort?”

"You...who are you?" Manager Bai's head was buzzing, and he suddenly realized that the person in the carriage was so scary.

cough!

It was at this moment that a coughing sound came out.

"Dead man, it's useless to talk to you!" Bai Guan also noticed that more than ten people of his were surrounding Tietou, and he snorted coldly.

Tietou sighed secretly, and suddenly said in a shocking voice: "Mr. Zhang Qi, there is no need to hide it now, right?"

"Why did you mention Mr. Zhang?" Manager Bai said solemnly.

The corners of Tietou's mouth raised slightly, and he said with a bit of sarcasm: "If General Zhang Qi hadn't helped you test me and discovered something tonight, how could you have found me?"

In the light, a tall man walked out of the darkness. It was Tietou's superior, General Zhang Qiang.

Zhang Qiang is different from his usual image of a veteran. Now he has a murderous aura, and he looks at the carriage gloomily: "I really didn't misjudge you. You are really a rare talent! I already cherished you." I am prepared to introduce you with my talent, but unfortunately you are too smart, don’t be so smart in your next life!”

With that said, he was ready to take action himself and send this evil young man all the way.

Tietou had already sensed that the murderous intention around him was getting closer, but he suddenly said: "Mr. Zhang Qi, have you forgotten something?"

"What's the matter?" Zhang Qiang had already arrived in front of the carriage and suddenly asked in confusion.

The corner of Tietou's mouth raised slightly, but he asked a question: "When you used the excuse to go to Han's alley to find your old sweetheart, do you know where your humble job went?"

"Where have you been?" Zhang Qiang also suddenly reacted and asked vigilantly.

It was at this moment that a bolt of lightning pierced the night sky, illuminating the abandoned Guanyin Temple. At some point, a large group of people wearing fighting fish uniforms appeared outside them, and each one of them had displayed a bright embroidered spring knife.

Although the emperor has left the capital, his civil and military officials are still guarding it, and the emperor's personal guards are also eyeing the city, and there are even some little people who are loyal to the emperor and patriotic. (End of chapter)