Chapter 29 The second round of valiant warriors making troubles, a modest gentleman died in the line of duty

Located on the side of Zongbu Hutong in the imperial city, the storage warehouse is usually quiet and empty, but today it is very lively.The square in front of Cangqian was full of mules, horses and carts parked one by one, and there were many porters carrying baskets and loads among them.Soldiers Cao Wubian in military uniform, messengers in liveries, official officials in loose shirts, and officials in black gauze hats mixed together, laughing, scolding, shouting, and yelling intertwined. , It made people dizzy from the noise.  There was a reason for this sudden lively scene.The Ministry of Household Affairs issued a message to various yamen in Beijing the day before yesterday, informing that there was a shortage of silver in Taicang. This month, the monthly salaries of civil and military officials in Beijing will be paid in kind with pepper and sumac.There are hundreds of civil and military yamen in Beijing, and the total number of civil and military officials is tens of thousands.Considering the large number of people in the yamen, the department of the household department in charge of this business lined up the yamen and paid for it in three days.Most of the people who were arranged on the first day were military yamen such as the Rong government, Jinyiwei, Wucheng Bingmasi, and Jingying.People in the public family, not to mention those who have become high-ranking officials, small and medium-sized officials anxiously wait for the day when their salaries will be paid every month. Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, gifts, and various entertainments are all spent on this salary. .Therefore, early in the morning, people receiving salaries from all walks of life rushed here like laws and regulations, and surrounded the storage warehouse with water.However, none of the people coming down now can have a good mood.In kind, the white silver has turned into pepper sumac. Whoever encounters this, even if he has a cotton sliver, will rub off sparks.

The door of the storage warehouse was opened at Chenshi. Seeing that the time had passed, it was only cashed in for one or two.More and more people gathered in the square, and the heat was unbearable under the scorching sun, and their stomachs were on fire, so some of the entanglement warriors scolded each other away: "Who the fuck got confused by eating shit, and came up with such a bad idea of ​​paying off salary with pepper and sumac." "That's right, I have been eating imperial food for thirty years, and this is the first time I have encountered such evil things."

"The new emperor ascended the throne, and I hoped to get a few rewards, but now it is good. The rewards are not available, and even the salary has become pepper noodles." "When we heard that Gao Huzi was here, he planned to give it to us. He was rewarded with silver, but his official hat was captured by the emperor, and the new chief minister came to the throne, and all the regulations were changed." "Hey, a toad jumped out of the embroidery room, it's evil." "Nine-headed birds in the sky, Hubei guys underground, the evil ones are yet to come!"

Just as they were discussing, suddenly there was a commotion in the crowd, and a person walked over carelessly.He was born with a broad face and a fat body, with a pair of thick eyebrows pressing tightly on two bulging eyes, his ears protruding, and his upper lip turned up.At first glance, it looks like an orangutan.He wore a pair of black high-heeled boots with yellow silk on his feet, and a fifth-rank military officer's order uniform made of gold silk embroidered with bears. Silk fabrics, according to the rules, can only be used by military officers of the first and second ranks.This person's name is Zhang Dalang, and he is an official in charge of food and fodder in Fusi, Jinyiwei North Town.Such an official might be considered a figure in other provinces and state capitals, but in the capital, he was nothing.But this Zhang Dalang is different. His uncle Qiu Deyong is trusted by Empress Dowager Li. He was originally in charge of the Palace of Compassion and Ning, but now he has been promoted to be the steward of the Palace of Qianqing.Just because Qiu Deyong has this level of favor, not to mention ordinary eunuchs, even the powerful "inner minister" Feng Bao will inevitably try to win him over.Relying on this uncle, Zhang Dalang opened the back door two years ago to build a family of Jinyiwei. Not long ago, in order to curry favor with Qiu Deyong, the Fusi of Beizhen promoted Zhang Dalang to a higher level and transferred him to be in charge of food and fodder.It was originally his job to come to the storage warehouse to receive the discounted salary today.At this moment, he swaggered over and saw that everyone had stopped talking for a while, so he said: "I just heard that you are making a lot of noise, why did Lao Zhang stop talking when we came?"

"Master Zhang, we are complaining!" An official dressed in the uniform of a seventh-rank military officer accosted and replied. "Are you complaining?" Zhang Dalang asked. "It's because of this pepper and sumac salary." "Ri his mother, don't mention this matter, mention it, our old Zhang is more angry than you." Zhang Dalang opened the round collar of the official robe with one hand, spread the folding fan inward with the other hand, and cursed bitterly , "I, the grain and fodder officer, took office for the first month, and this kind of thing happened to me. The superiors and colleagues in the office didn't say anything, but secretly scolded me for being a star? You say, this matter is consistent with our old Zhang. What are you doing? But, don’t we have to suffer when others make a show of themselves in front of us?”

"Master Zhang, we are all the same as you." "Yeah, farting and belching, both ends are uncomfortable." "Master Zhang, you have a way to help us seek justice..." The topic that had just cooled down became hotter in an instant.This Zhang Dalang was originally a reckless man who relied on his power and flattered him. Seeing that everyone praised him, he cut his nose with a knife. He didn't know which side was facing forward. At this time, he closed his folding fan and asked with his eyes hanging: "Tell me, where can I get this justice?" "Pepper sapphire is discounted. This is not treating our officials as human beings. We still have to ask for monthly salary silver." An official said irritably.

"I heard that Taicang is empty, and there is no money." Zhang Dalang said, sighing. "Listen to him, Mr. Zhang. Those who manage Taicang have no money, just like those who run a kiln say that there are no whores. Do you believe it?" There are 10,000 people in the sky, the size is different, and the average person is ten taels of silver, which is only one hundred thousand taels of silver. If it is as big as a Taicang, maybe even one hundred thousand taels of silver can’t be taken out?" "That's not the reason. I can see that someone deliberately ran against us."

The person who said this was a school official in the Beijing camp. As soon as he finished speaking, someone stabbed him and persuaded him in a low voice: "Brother, don't be fooled." "Who is fooling around? If you have the guts, let's go to Taicang to have a look." Not only did the school officer not listen to the persuasion, but he became more and more excited as he talked, and approached Zhang Dalang, asking, "Master Zhang, do you think so?" "Yes, that's the reason," Zhang Dalang blinked, knocked his head with a folding fan, and asked the seventh-rank military officer next to him, "What's the name of the new Minister of the Household Department?" "Wang Guoguang."

"What is this man's background?" "The previous errand was the Governor's World Warehouse." "So, even the top ten warehouses in the capital, including this storage warehouse, are under his jurisdiction?" "Yes, Master Zhang." "Mother of the day, we're on the right track. He's in charge of the origin of the warehouse and what's in the warehouse. The surname Wang knows it all. Maybe he thinks it's a pity that these things have been stale in the warehouse. , just give us a discount." "Hey, Mr. Zhang is wise, and he has seen through his evil eyes." The school official clapped his hands as he spoke.

"The salary discount is a big deal. I'm afraid the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs can't make the decision alone." An official interjected. "Who did he ask for instructions? It's nothing more than the new chief assistant of the cabinet." Another military officer said angrily, "I heard that Wang Guoguang and the first assistant Mr. Zhang are of the same age, wearing..." The military officer wanted to say "wear pants", but felt it was inappropriate, so he swallowed the words again.Zhang Dalang glanced at him, and was about to speak, when suddenly he heard the commotion at the barn door again, he hurriedly withdrew and walked over, only to see a sixth-rank military officer walking out of the vermilion lacquered gate with a look of anger, followed by several Two soldiers each carried a heavy sack.

"Excuse me, which yamen does this brother belong to?" Zhang Dalang stopped the military officer and asked. "It's from the West Camp of the capital." "Why not happy?" "The guy who supervised the scale is too fucked." "What the fuck?" Zhang Dalang wanted to break the casserole and ask the end, but the military officer saw that the stunned young man had a higher rank than himself, so he patiently answered: "Today's distributing of pepper sumac is really fucking evil. There are masters and supervisors. The master is called the ambassador of this storage warehouse, whose surname is Wang, and the supervisor is called by the Duzhi Division of the Ministry of Households, whose surname is Jin. Wang The ambassador is fine, every scale is red, and the pole is up, but the man surnamed Jin is standing next to him, always shoveling down with a shovel, insisting on pressing the weighing pole flat. Seeing that the weighing is over , let’s beg the man surnamed Jin, can we give a shovel to make up the claim, otherwise we will share the loss when we go back, who will accept this account. The man surnamed Jin shook his head like a shopkeeper and refused. This is what we gave birth to gas." "What the hell is that surnamed Jin?" "I heard that it is an observation of politics, but it has not been taught yet." Just as he was saying this, another official came out of the door and shouted loudly: "Nan Daying, the capital, are you here?" The military officer who wanted to say "wearing pants", he was hurrying forward at the moment. "It's your turn to pick up the goods." As the official said, he was about to turn around and go in, when Zhang Dalang quickly called out, "Wait a minute." The officials stood still, looking at Zhang Dalang's fifth-rank official uniform and the powerful faction with a higher rank than this, he quickly laughed and asked, clasping his hands: "What are your orders?" Zhang Dalang instructed the soldiers behind him, "Pass the post." The personal soldier quickly handed over a famous card, and the officials took a look at it, which read: Jinyiwei North Town Fusi Grain Officer Deputy Qianhu Zhang Dalang Jinyiwei and Dongchang are two major secret service agencies personally supervised by the emperor.Jinyiwei is more powerful than Dongchang, because the "Imperial Forest Army" responsible for defending the imperial city and the emperor's guards is also under the jurisdiction of Jinyiwei.And Beizhen Fusi is Jinyiwei's permanent agency in charge of public security in Beijing. It is responsible for the deportation, arrest, and court officials. Whenever it is mentioned, people in the public shudder will shudder.Therefore, after seeing the famous assassin, although he looked down on this deputy Qianhu from the fifth rank, he did not dare to be sloppy with "Beizhen Fusi", so he asked cautiously: "May I ask what's the matter, Mr. Zhang?" "Go in and tell your lords, and say that Master Zhang is busy with business and has no time to wait around. Take the pepper sumac from our office first." "This..." The officials looked at the black people in the square , said awkwardly, "Master Zhang, the order of this list has been arranged first." "It can't be changed once it's arranged. It may not be made of copper and iron, huh?" Zhang Dalang choked when he spoke aggressively, his official eyes were still hesitating, and the military officer from Nan Daying who had pushed forward said: "Master Zhang has something to do, let's let him go." "Yes, let's let him." Many people immediately agreed.Seeing these military lords who are usually strong and powerful, regardless of high or low, are now wholeheartedly letting Zhang Dalang , ran back in one breath, nodded and bowed to Zhang Dalang, and said, "Master Zhang, please come in!" The soldiers in the square winked and said: "You wait, Zhang Mou will vent your bad breath to you." Zhang Dalang followed the official eyes into the gate, bypassed the screen wall, and entered the hall. From the hall to the left, it was the official residence of the ambassador of the storage warehouse, and to the right was a row of more than a dozen buildings. warehouse.In the hall, there were already two ninth-rank officials waiting for Zhang Dalang's arrival. They were Wang Song, ambassador of Chujicang, and Jin Xuezeng, Guanzheng of the Ministry of household affairs.Limu introduced the two sides.Wang Song knew Zhang Dalang's background, so he was very humble. Even though he was very busy, he still insisted on inviting Zhang Dalang to the official flower hall for tea.Zhang Dalang did not refuse, sat down in the flower hall, sipped a cup of tea, and asked: "How much pepper sumac are you hiding in your storage warehouses?" The items and quantities stored in each warehouse are confidential and should not be revealed lightly.Wang Song had no choice but to laugh, and said sloppily: "There are some, our storage warehouse, in addition to pepper and sumac, also keeps several other items." "You have gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin here?" "No, no, these valuable items are not kept by the storage warehouse. , "Wang Song heard that Zhang Dalang's tone was not very friendly, and quickly changed the topic, "Master Zhang, you can rest here and drink tea, and the salary of your office will be reconciled with your subordinates." Wang Song As Song was about to get up, Zhang Dalang hurriedly called to him and said, "How can I let my subordinates handle such a big matter? I have to go in person." Wang Song led Zhang Dalang to Chengfang. At that time, the secretary brought by Zhang Dalang had completed the bookkeeping procedures. There were more than two hundred high-ranking officials in the Beizhen Fusi Yamen Office. After verification, there were two kinds of pepper and sumac. Everything is more than a thousand catties.Several servants brought sacks and were about to fill them, Zhang Dalang stopped them again and said: "Wait a minute, how can you pretend like this." Several guards stopped, looked at Wang Song and waited for instructions.Wang Song had long noticed that Zhang Dalang was looking for trouble, and he was quite nervous, so he asked cautiously, "Master Zhang, what do you think should be done?" Zhang Dalang asked the Secretary of the Yamen standing beside him: "Did you bring the roster of our Yamen officials?" The secretary replied, "I brought it." Zhang Dalang turned to Wang Song, and said, "Just follow the roster we provided, and you will weigh them one by one and pack them up." "How long will it take?" Wang Song hesitated, with a look of embarrassment on his face, "There are still so many people from the yamen waiting outside." "We don't care about other people, we have to do this with Beizhen Fusi's affairs!" Zhang Dalang's attitude was domineering and he deliberately made things difficult for him. Wang Songyin resisted not daring to argue, and instead asked Jin Xuezeng, who had been standing silently beside him:  "Master Jin, how do you think we should deal with it?" This Jin Xuezeng was born fair and clean, with a refined appearance, but his small eyes are always blinking, which makes people feel his cunning.He was originally a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing, and shortly after the announcement, he was assigned to the household department to observe politics.The so-called "watching politics" is not a real title, but a transition for officials waiting for distribution.Generally, a Jinshi of a new discipline cannot be assigned for a while, so the Ministry of Officials asks him to study government affairs temporarily in various yamen, and the name Guanzheng comes from this.Those assigned to the Ministry of Punishment are called the Ministry of Punishment to observe politics, those assigned to the Ministry of War are called the Ministry of Military Affairs to observe politics, and so on.Although Guanzheng has a very low-ranking ninth-rank title, he is not an official official of the department, but just an idler.Jin Xuezeng stayed in the household department for less than a month, and at the end of the year, he suddenly believed that his father had passed away, so he had to return to his hometown in western Zhejiang, Ding You, for three years.This March, when the term expired, I set off for Beijing, traveling all the way, and reported to the Ministry of Household Affairs in early June.At the time when Emperor Longqing was on his way, all the yamen were in chaos.The Wenxuan Department of the Ministry of Officials admitted him as an official, but still sent him to the Ministry of Household Affairs to continue to observe politics.The old and new household departments are changing, and he is not in the staff, so no one cares about him.The second official asked him to temporarily help the branch office.Because the house was too crowded to fit in, Si Lang actually asked him, a "quality" official, to huddle with the eight officials in the study room, and set up a table at the door to settle down.He didn't care about it, and within three days, he became acquainted with the officials.As long as he failed, he would set up a long-men array in the study room, talking about the capital and other places, talking about the big house and the Yamen, from the officialdom to the casino, from the kiln to the academy.Pointing here and there and talking nonsense, shaking his stomach full of debris.Although the officials are all well-informed Jingyouzi, they are all impressed by his eloquence. They listen to his nonsense with cotton and silk cloth every day, and often forget to do things.After Wang Guoguang took office, he straightened out the administration of the Ministry, took inventory and cleared accounts, and all departments were extremely busy at all times.Officials no longer have time to enjoy their ears, but Jin Xuezeng knew it well, so he stayed in the study room for several days and borrowed some archives and papers to read.But the price abacus beads in the room were crackling all day long, and the noise made him very upset, so he went to his superior and asked for a change of guard. People went to the storage warehouse to supervise the matter.This is a haunting errand, anyone who sees it will hide.Si Lang had long suspected that this idle wandering spirit was in the way.So I entrusted him with the job.Jin Xue was once bored, so he was happy to go.When the storage warehouse distributes items, each transaction must be signed by three people.One is the Warehouse Ambassador of the sender, the other is the receiver, and the third is the supervisor.It stands to reason that Zhang Dalang's provocation had nothing to do with him, Jin Xuezeng, but since Wang Song came to his face when he asked, he knew that he was trying to divert the conflict, but he had no choice but to answer: "In view of my humble position, I have to follow the regulations." Zhang Dalang stared at Jin Xuezeng, and thought in his heart: "This is probably the Jin Guanzheng that the official just cursed. Look at him, he is not a good guy. Let me teach him." Then he deliberately made a fuss and shouted: "Ah, so you're not dumb!" Jin Xuezeng's face darkened, and he asked, "Why does Mr. Zhang speak like this?" Zhang Dalang knocked on Jin Xuezeng's shoulder with a folding fan, and said in an insulting tone: "My Master Zhang saw you following like a mouse from the moment he entered the door of the food storage warehouse, with his eyeballs rolling around, but his mouth was dead. , Ambassador Wang, what does this person do?" Wang Song replied: "Master Huizhang, this Lord Jin is a supervisor sent by the Ministry of Household Affairs and Du Zhi Division." "Supervise what?" "On the supervision of the distribution of the pepper sumwood discount." "Damn it, six fingers scratch it, but there is one more thing," Zhang Dalang cursed, then looked at Jin Xuezeng sideways, and asked contemptuously, "Jin Guanzheng, you just mentioned the regulations, what regulations?" Suffering this humiliation for no reason, Jin Xuezeng's fair face flushed to the ears.Although Wang Song had introduced his background before Zhang Dalang came in, at this moment he still wanted to "break ground on the head of Tai Sui". Facing Zhang Dalang's provocative eyes, he replied forcefully: "The regulations of the storage warehouse are only for the yamen, not for individuals. If you pay more than 200 officials in Beizhen Fusi one by one, you can't finish it in a day today." " Zhang Dalang overwhelmed others with power, his eyes were as big as cow eggs, Jin Xuezeng was not to be outdone, and replied: "Master Zhang, since you jumped in the queue, it's fine for everyone to bear with it, but now you're making trouble for no reason. Is there no law in the courtroom?" "Well, you are a bird watching politics, and you dare to teach me a lesson," Zhang Dalang didn't expect the weak scholar in front of him to have such courage, so he laughed "chi" and teased, "Look at what you are wearing? How many?" The little sparrow is flying around on the chest and back, you can see clearly what I am wearing, a big bear, what right do you have to talk to us?" Zhang Dalang ridiculed Jin Xuezeng for being a "Nine Grades Viewing Politics". Jin Xuezeng smiled coldly and replied: "Yes, I, Jin, ranks ninth rank, the smallest and smallest official in the Ming Dynasty. However, I am a small official who passed the provincial examination. I was awarded the emperor's gold list. I got it through the right way. Excuse me. Master Zhang, how did you get here as a fifth-rank official?" Such a question was tantamount to stabbing Zhang Dalang with a knife, because after all his officials were bought through the back door with a lot of money, he suddenly became angry from embarrassment, and raised the handle of his fan to hit Jin Xuezeng on the head.Jin Xuezeng hid, and the black gauze hat wing on his head was broken by the fan handle. "Zhang Dalang, you dare to commit murder?" Jin Xuezeng jumped aside and shouted loudly. "What about my murder? Today, I beat you, the wild dog named on the gold list." "Is there no law under the feet of the Son of Heaven?" Jin Xuezeng still wanted to reason. "A bird watching politics is also worthy of talking about king's law?" Zhang Dalang didn't care about the dignity of the official, like a roaring lion, he drove Jin Xuezeng around in the weighing room.The timid Wang Song followed Zhang Dalang behind and persuaded him, "Master Zhang, please calm down, we have something to discuss." Then he went to tug on Zhang Dalang's sleeve.Zhang Dalang believed that Wang Song's persuasion was false, and that he was partial to Jin Xuezeng. He immediately took his anger out on him, turned around and gave him a hard shove. Wang Song was caught off guard and fell on his back, hitting the back of his head heavily on the brick floor.Immediately, his body shrank, and his limbs twitched. At this moment, Jin Xuezeng had already jumped out of the weighing room, and bumped into Xiaoxiao Shoucang who got up after hearing the news. The Xiaoxiao asked, "Master Jin, what happened?" "Someone is committing violence here." Jin Xuezeng was out of breath. to answer. "Who?" The little school didn't say anything, and Zhang Dalang grabbed a shovel and rushed out of the house to Jin Xuezeng. "Quick, take him down!" Jin Xuezeng ran away while yelling at Xiaoxiao.Seeing that the pursuer was a military officer, the small school froze for a moment, and immediately went up to stop him.Unexpectedly, Zhang Dalang's eyes were red with anger, and he picked up the shovel and swept towards Xiaoxiao's waist again, but fortunately Xiaoxiao jumped away quickly with his hands and feet, otherwise, if the shovel hit him, he would be disabled for life even if he did not die.Seeing that this "official" had gone completely mad, the small school immediately ordered the seven or eight soldiers who came with him to surround him.Facing the seven or eight spears that rushed up at once, Zhang Dalang yelled sternly: "What do you want?" "Get him out!" Jin Xuezeng, who came over again, stomped his feet and gave orders to Xiaoxiao. "My lord, you go by yourself, so as not to make trouble for the little ones." The small school calmed down and tried to persuade him. Zhang Dalang saw that he was lonely, and a good man would not suffer from the immediate disadvantages, so he threw the shovel, pointed at Jin Xuezeng, gritted his teeth and cursed: "You son of a bitch, just wait and see how my uncle Zhang will deal with you." As Zhang Dalang said, he already walked out of the gate in two steps in three steps at a time. As soon as he left, he called to the other side of the room, and the officials shouted sharply again: "Lord Jin, come quickly!" Jin Xuezeng hurried into the weighing room, only to see Wang Song lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.Yi Ying's subordinate staff was confused and called "Master Wang" loudly, but he didn't know what to do.Jin Xuezeng squatted down and took a closer look. There was no trace of blood on the ground. He reached out and touched the back of Wang Song's head, only to feel that a piece of it had collapsed.He vaguely felt that this was a fractured skull and a blood stasis in his skull. He was already covered in sweat from running wildly just now, and now his forehead was dripping with sweat. "Master Jin, what should we do?" "Hurry up and find a stretcher, and take Mr. Wang out for first aid." After receiving this instruction, the officials flew away.Jin Xuezeng picked up Wang Song's right wrist to feel his pulse, but he couldn't feel his pulse at three o'clock. Then he opened his eyelids to see that his pupils had dilated.Jin Xuezeng was heartbroken, and then the corners of his eyes turned sore, and several bean-sized teardrops fell on Wang Song's face. At this moment, a loud voice was heard from the gate.Immediately the little school ran over like a gourd and said, "Master Jin, just now the military officer led dozens of soldiers and came in with a bunch of guys." Jin Xuezeng stood up abruptly, gritted his teeth and said, "Under the feet of the Son of Heaven, there is no law. You soldiers guarding the treasury, all of you are fighting bravely." "yes." The small school took orders and left.Jin Xue once called another official and ordered, "Go out from the back quickly and report the situation here to the Ministry of Households." "Yes, my little one obeys." The officer just stepped out of the weighing room, then turned around and said, "Master Jin, my little one, it seems that Mr. Zhang is looking for revenge on you, so you have to hide." "Yes, Lord Jin please avoid for now." "Thank you for your kindness. After such a big incident, how can Jin leave? If I want to die, I can only die in this storage warehouse." As he said, Jin Xuezeng bowed his hands to everyone present, straightened his clothes, and went out with his chest out , and walked towards the door where the killing sound shook the sky.