At the end of noon, the sun hangs high in the sky. Although its light shines on the earth as usual, it still cannot stop the coldness of winter.
Outside the Fucheng Gate of the capital of the Ming Dynasty, there were crowds of people, constant traffic, and the sound of hawking chants everywhere, mixed with the sounds of bargaining, making it a lively scene.
In the middle is a straight thoroughfare called "Fuchengmenwai Street". There are many shops on both sides of the street, with their own signboards and banners hanging in front of the doors, and strings of colored lanterns. It's just that it's still bright at the moment, and the lanterns are bright.
It was not ignited.
At the end of this city-wide avenue is a tall and solid suspension bridge, which rests steadily on the wide moat, showing that this place is still in a peaceful and prosperous age.
The urn city of Fuchengmen is square, with a length of about 19 feet from east to west and a width of nearly 21 feet from north to south. There is a gate on the south side of the urn city, and a gate tower is built above the gate.
The Guandi Temple is also built in the northeast corner of the Wengcheng.
Because the urn city gate opens to the south, just like a curved ruler in the direction of the inner city gate, it is conducive to shielding the city gate. There is also a single-eaves hard mountain tower above the urn city gate gate tower, with a total of two floors and twelve arrows.
Window, this is the gate tower of Wengcheng.
Going further from here is the real inner city gate of the Ming Dynasty capital - "Fucheng Gate".
Fuchengmen is actually a general term that includes gate tower, doorway, watchtower, urn city, and urn city gate. All its buildings are made of extra-large city bricks fired from Linqing, Shandong Province.
The base of the city tower of Fuchengmen is about twelve feet wide. The depth of the top of the city platform reaches eight feet. The height of the city platform is more than three feet. The left and right horse paths on the inside of the city platform are one foot and five feet wide.
The top of the tower is five rooms wide, and the corridor alone is nearly ten feet wide, and three bays deep. The corridor is five feet deep, and the height of the tower to the platform is nearly ten feet high.
The gate tower of Fucheng Gate is more than ten feet high. It is a three-story mountain-style building with flying eaves. Its columns, doors, and windows are all vermilion. The beams and rafters under the eaves are decorated with blue and green patterns. The top
It is a green glazed tile, decorated with horoscopes and ridged beasts.
In the middle of the lower part of the gate tower of Fucheng Gate, perpendicular to the wall of the city wall, there is a gate hole with a coupon roof, equipped with a gate that opens inward and is fixed with Fushan Shouhai five-bread ingot iron nails.
Directly above the city gate is an arrow tower with double eaves on the top of the mountain. There are 82 arrow windows on the west, south and north sides. The west side of the arrow tower is seven rooms wide, the inner verandah is five rooms wide, and the height is nearly 30 rooms.
It is 13 feet long and has a "convex" shape when viewed from above.
Inside Fuchengmen is the Fuchengmen Inner Street leading to the Imperial City. On the north side of the street are Xichengfang, Futianfang, Jiqingfang and other buildings, as well as buildings such as Dashengshou Wan'an Temple.
On the south side of the inner street are Jinchengfang, Xianyifang, Anfufang, etc.
Fucheng Gate and Chaoyang Gate face each other far to the east and west. Almost all the coal carts in the Mentougou Zhaitang in the west of Beijing come and go through this gate. Therefore, the Wengcheng Gate was raised by merchants from the coal inn, and a bouquet of plum blossoms was engraved to commemorate it.
And because "plum" and "coal" are homophonic, and because every time the north wind howls in winter, the sky is all white, but people around the oven all praise: "Fucheng plum blossoms herald a warm spring."
At this time, it had been a long time since the Tartars invaded in the 11th year of Chongzhen. Outside the Fuchengmen Urn City, the prosperity of the past had long been restored. Not only were merchants transporting coal to and from the city, but also many merchants traveling from south to north gathered. The prosperity of Xiguan
Even better than before.
In the past year or so, under Niu Sheng's dedicated management, Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing Shop has also expanded greatly. Its business has already separated from the carriage and horse racing shop and expanded outward.
Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing House has become the first business empire in western Beijing, and its core business has completely transformed from the carriage and horse racing shop and warehouse into a powerful escort agency.
Although his name is still Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing Shop, it occupies as many as five locations in the western suburbs of the capital, and its carriage and horse racing shop is still located in Xiguan.
Because it is easy to contact merchants from all over the place, it is an excellent place to collect internal and external information. Naturally, it cannot be abandoned easily. Instead, it remains in Xiguan together with the carriage and horse shop. There are also two warehouses for merchants to store groceries from the north and south.
There are two more spacious places outside Xiguan, namely a horse farm and a large warehouse.
The horse farm is ten miles southwest of Fuchengmen and is the most extensive place. It was originally an official horse farm, but it was destroyed by fire in the 11th year of the Republic of China due to the invasion of cavalry from the south.
Later, Niu Sheng found this place and after simple repairs, he bred horses and mules here and used it to train his team of knights. At the same time, some strong young men were recruited by him and secretly trained here.
As the business of Yuan Longchang Carriage and Horse Racing Shop became more and more complicated, the number of merchants from all over the place it came into contact with gradually increased. In addition to making it easier to get information, we also learned that due to the prevalence of banditry, merchants from all over the place were generally wary when walking around.
At the same time, Niu Sheng also received an order from his general, Zhang Cheng, to establish material transfer points in major cities in southern Jinhai, and cooperated with Liu Jinhai to establish his own strongholds in some key and dangerous places.
Therefore, Niu Shengdang even thought of forming a bodyguard team to serve as escorts for merchants traveling from north to south. This would not only expand the business of his firm, but also travel to all parts of the north and south with the flow of merchants.
In this way, you can understand the customs and customs of each place, and you can also take the opportunity to establish the foothold of the escort team in various places, thereby forming your own intelligence network.
Moreover, the footholds of escort teams in various major cities were established corresponding to the branch names of Yuan Longchang Trading Company in the city. The firm was responsible for both making money and collecting intelligence, while the escort agency was responsible for guarding and delivering intelligence.
In this way, a large network has been formed on the land of Gyeonggi and even in many places in Shandong and Henan. It is an intelligence network and relationship network, a material support network, and a military auxiliary network.
Today, the Yuan Longchang Company controlled by Niu Sheng has more than a thousand elite knights. More than a hundred of them are loyal and brave soldiers who have been successively selected from various camps of the Xuanfu Army.
It was their joining that allowed Niu Sheng's escort agency to grow rapidly. These elite soldiers from the Xuanfu Army were not only the backbone of the escort agency, but also the leaders of each escort team and the leaders of the major cities.
The steward of the foothold.
Moreover, these soldiers are absolutely loyal to Zhang Cheng, and their family members all live in Xuan Mansion. Therefore, Zhang Cheng is not afraid that they will have dissent. He can also use them to control an escort team at the grassroots level and make the entire escort team
Complete control is in your own hands.
Although Zhang Cheng also has absolute trust in Niu Sheng, he knows too well the truth that "people's desires will continue to expand"!
Even if Niu Sheng has no different intentions now, he created and trained this escort team, and he paid everyone monthly wages. Over time, the escort team will probably only know Niu Sheng, but not Yong Ningbo.
Even if Zhang Cheng is not afraid of Niu Sheng's complete control of this escort team, after all, this force may be very powerful in the eyes of others, but it is insignificant compared with the tens of thousands and hundreds of powerful troops in Zhang Cheng's hands.
But if we can nip problems in the bud, why not?
…………
After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Niu Sheng seems to be stronger than before. Obviously, he did not spend this time leisurely.
Because he had received a message from Zhang Mingyuan, the adjutant of the Chinese Army, in order not to disturb the people in the surrounding villages and nearby warehouses, he was specifically ordered to wait in front of the racecourse instead of going far to greet him.
At this moment, he saw more than a hundred horses galloping towards him from a distance. One person in front of him was dressed in brown attire and a bright red wool cloak. He was riding on a chrysanthemum-green war horse and was walking slowly this way.
Niu Sheng took a closer look and recognized it at a glance. If it wasn't his general's grandfather, who could it be?
He also saw two generals on either side of Zhang Cheng, similarly dressed in powerful attire, with bright red woolen cloaks behind them, and each of them had a tall horse on their crotch.
Especially the general on the left of Zhang Cheng. Although he is much older than Zhang Cheng, his clothes are brighter. There are a few conspicuous bright feathers on the cotton hat on his head, and his crotch is still
A pure white war horse.
If Yongning Bo and Zhang Cheng were not firmly in the middle position, they would probably be overshadowed by this well-dressed general. Looking at the one on the other side, his face is full of weathered weather.
Although some traces of the years can be seen in his clothes at a glance, they are still very neat. There is a strong green horse under his crotch, which shows that he must be a veteran for many years.
Although Niu Sheng didn't know the two people accompanying Zhang Cheng, he had already thought that being able to accompany his general would be a special person.
Even though Zhang Mingyuan had already sent him a message not to be too loud, but as soon as he saw Zhang Cheng approaching from afar, he could not suppress his excitement and hurriedly ran forward to meet him.
Behind him, Lu Dachun, the chief minister of Honglu Temple, Wang Zhaozheng, the shopkeeper of Tongchun Tower, and others also followed closely. Behind them were some people dressed in Chinese clothes, giving off a hint of official appearance.
On both sides of the street were strong men, all dressed in green attire. They were all broad-shouldered and round-waisted. They all held spears in their right hands and pressed their left hands on the handles of their sabers, standing guard.
When Zhang Cheng was still ten steps away, Niu Sheng prostrated himself on the ground and couldn't stand up. It wasn't until Zhang Cheng rode up to him that he shouted loudly: "Little man Niu Sheng, come see Yongning Bo!"
Behind him, Lu Dachun, Wang Zhaozheng and others also knelt down and worshiped: "Your Majesty, Lu Dachun, pays homage to Uncle Yongning."
"Wang Zhaozheng, a humble citizen, pays homage to your lordship."
"The lower official Yu Shangyou, I pay my respects..."
"Xiaoguan Yuan Pengnian..."
"Xiaguan Wang Tiaoding..."
"Xiaoguan Ma Jiazhi..."
"Xia Guan Liang Yuming..."
"Your Majesty..."
Zhang Chengce was sitting on his "Bi Cong Horse", looking down at the people kneeling in front of him, and he couldn't help but feel the importance of status.
Niu Sheng, Lu Dachun, and Wang Zhaozheng are his subordinates, so there is no need to say more. However, when Yu Shangyou first met him, he still looked arrogant.
At that time, he was already the imperial censor, but he was still just a small guerrilla general. Although Yu Shangyou was not a court official with real power, he could only look up to him.
However, time flies, as he gradually rises step by step, he first uses the power of gold and silver to help him, and then as his strength expands, he completely helps him on the tanks of the Xuanfu Army.
.
Now, half a year later, people like Yu Shangyou, Yuan Pengnian, Wang Diaoding, Ma Jiazhi, Liang Yuming and others knelt down to greet me when they saw me again.
It can be seen that the world is changing, and as his status continues to improve and his strength continues to grow, a group of "people of insight" who pursue progress will surely come to join him and become Yongning Bo's guests.
"You are all my old friends. There is no need to be polite. Get up quickly!" Zhang Cheng did not dismount immediately, but said this calmly while sitting on the green horse.
There is a lot of knowledge in this sentence. First of all, he is still riding on the war horse. Although he seems to have lost the enthusiasm he used to treat everyone, he declares in his words that everyone is "his old friend."
This shows what?
This shows that Zhang Cheng has regarded them as his confidants, old acquaintances before he became "Uncle Yong Ning", and they are not just ordinary acquaintances, they are close friends.
We are all smart people. Who can fight hard to reach the rank of general soldier in the troubled times like the late Ming Dynasty, or can leave a name among thousands of court officials? Which one will be a fuel-efficient lamp?
Zhang Cheng did not dismount immediately, and Wang Pu and Li Fuming naturally had difficulty dismounting. They just followed Zhang Cheng and rode forward slowly.
One after another, the big men standing on both sides of the street knelt down on one knee and shouted: "Yongning Bo Wansheng!"
They originally stood in pairs on the left and right, but now they knelt down and saluted together in pairs. Although the sound of the two shouting together was not as loud as the shouts of the crowd, it was still very solemn under this situation.
After arriving at the gate, Zhang Mingyuan ran forward and took the reins of Zhang Cheng's war horse. Zhang Cheng then turned over and dismounted, letting Zhang Mingyuan lead his green horse to the stables.
Zhang Cheng looked at Niu Sheng and others who were following them on foot, and said in a deep voice: "Niu Sheng, come here to pay homage to Commander Wang of Datong and Commander Li of Shanxi."
Only then did Niu Sheng suddenly realize: No wonder he looked so kind, he turned out to be Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, who he had met when they went to Beijing together in the eleventh year to serve as King Qin.
At that time, he was just a soldier in Zhang Cheng's Thousand Cavalry Headquarters. Although he had met Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, he looked at him from a distance and had never had the opportunity to take a closer look.
But Wang Pu's outfit and the temperament he displayed were unforgettable, so he felt slightly familiar when he looked at it from a distance.
Later, Zhang Cheng introduced Yu Shangyou, the censor, Yuan Pengnian, the director of the Ministry of Rites, Wang Tiaoding, the director of the Staff Department of the Ministry of War, Ma Jiazhi, the director of the Henan Qingli Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Liang Yuming, the director of the General Administration Department, to Wang Pu and Li Fuming.
official.
After Zhang Cheng's introduction, both the civil and military parties greeted each other, and they were somewhat shocked in each other's hearts.
Although Zhang Cheng was now the dignified Yongning Bo, Wang Pu and Wang were shocked that Zhang Cheng had placed their confidants in various departments in the court. They couldn't help but admire Zhang Cheng even more, and at the same time, they secretly felt a little fear in their hearts.
Yu Shangyou, Yuan Pengnian and others also had the same mentality. Previously, they only knew that Zhang Cheng was very favored by his soldiers and the current emperor, and that his powerful troops were also brave and good at fighting.
What's even more rare is that he also likes to spend money very much and is unusually generous. Everyone has received a lot of benefits from Zhang Cheng, so naturally they are devoted to him.
However, at this time, I saw that Datong, the commander-in-chief of the two towns in Shanxi, respected Zhang Cheng very much, as if he was a subordinate of Uncle Yongning.
How could they not be shocked? They couldn't help but secretly guess what the future of Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng would be like. Was he the God of War who came down from the sky to save the Ming Dynasty, or was he a demon who destroyed the Ming Dynasty?