In the first year of Zhengde, the young Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne as emperor. In the first year of his accession to the throne, he issued an edict to reestablish the Xichang.
This incident caused an uproar among the civil servants in the court, and they all reported that the emperor should no longer be in office. However, the young and energetic Wu Zong did not listen at all, and tried his best to defy everyone's opinions, and Xichang once again entered the historical stage of the Ming Dynasty.
However, in just five years, under the opposition of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Emperor Wu Zong could no longer withstand the pressure, and Xichang was finally dismissed again. After this time, Xichang was completely reduced to history.
When the West Factory was reestablished, Wu Zong also established an expert factory. The expert factory had greater power than the West Factory, and was supervised by the famous eunuch Liu Jin, the leader of the Eight Tigers.
In the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, Liu Jin was ordered to be executed by Emperor Wu, and the inner factory was abolished along with the west factory.
Although the history of the two factories has passed for so many years, their prestige still makes those civil servants fear them.
The most important thing is that the power of Jinyiwei and Dongchang can be divided, which can act as an absolute check and balance. Things can be done in a more detailed manner and there will be no overlapping problems.
Xianzong's original intention of establishing the West Factory was to supervise the court officials, Jin Yiwei and Dongchang, but unfortunately Wang Zhi was so capable. The power of the West Factory directly covered the whole country, and even ordinary people could manage it.
Now Zhu Youxiao wants to re-establish the two factories, which is to implement the spy intelligence aspect to the end. Moreover, as long as the admirals of these two factories are not too lazy, they can compete with Wei Zhongxian to avoid the situation of a dominating company.
Wang Chaofu's heart could not be calm for a long time, but his heart was extremely complicated. He was worried that the emperor would be disgraced in front of officials, but he was also secretly happy that he finally had a chance to succeed.
As the emperor's personal eunuch and the one who has served him the longest, the emperor's trust in him is unquestionable. One of these two jobs will always fall on his head, and there is no chance of him running away.
He said carefully from the side:
"Long live my Lord, this is no small matter. The court officials will definitely object to it, and I'm afraid Wei Zhongxian and Xu Xianchun will also criticize it!"
What Wang Chaofu said was on point. Wei Zhongxian and Xu Xianchun would not be happy to see this happen, because if the two factories were to be reestablished, their interests would be harmed and their rights would be divided.
But he had to do this. Although Jinyiwei and Dongchang had been established for more than two hundred years, strictly speaking, they were simply unqualified in many aspects.
Many of the responsibilities and powers of the two departments overlap, leading to overt and covert struggles between the two sides. In the end, it is the civil servants who profit from this.
Seeing that Zhu Youxiao had not spoken for a long time, Wang Chaofu thought he was worried about what he had just said, so he said again:
"Long live Lord, we have to be cautious about this matter. Back then, Master Chenghua and Lord Zhengde were jointly denounced. If Lord Long Live re-establishes the two factories now, I'm afraid it will attract opposition from all over the world. This is not worth the loss."
Zhu Youxiao had already made up his mind and said slowly:
"I have thought carefully about it. The two factories must be reestablished and cannot be delayed. All rules and regulations will be implemented in accordance with the decrees of the two emperors."
Wang Chaofu still wanted to remonstrate, but was so frightened by the emperor's glare that he froze on the spot and did not dare to speak at all.
Zhu Youxiao looked at the eunuch who had been with him the longest, stood up, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Big companion, I am going to leave this West Factory to you. Can you do the admiral's job well?"
The process of changing from fear to joy sometimes happened in an instant. Wang Chaofu immediately knelt at the emperor's feet and shouted:
"Slave, take your orders!"
"Long live Lord God's kindness, I will die to repay it. Don't worry, Lord Long Live. Even if I go through fire and water, I will not bring shame to Lord Long Live!"
Zhu Youxiao sat back on the dragon chair, took a sip of tea and said:
"I won't talk to you about anything else. Everything can be as it was during the Chenghua period. But you should listen to me about the responsibilities of Xichang."
Wang Chaofu quickly walked up to the emperor, fearing that he might not hear a word.
"After the restoration of the West Factory, your duty is to supervise the East Factory and Jinyiwei, and send spies to pay attention to civil affairs. The scope can cover the two capitals and thirteen provinces, especially the northwest, southwest, and Jiangnan, those places where the sky is high and the emperor is far away.
I have to keep an eye on every place!"
"Xichang doesn't have to deal with the affairs of Zhili and the court. Dongchang and Jinyiwei are enough. This matter must not be made public and must be kept strictly confidential. You can handle it personally."
"I allow you to develop outside personnel. Those local gangsters and scoundrels have been hanging around in dirty places all year round. They have better information than the government. They can be put to good use."
"There are also some local chambers of commerce, gang escort agencies, etc. They travel all over the country and can be said to be the source of information. Don't let these go. Put more people in there."
"As soon as the funds are available, I will allocate them to you from the internal funds. If there is a shortage of people, you can report to me, and the Tiqi will choose from among the Jin Yiwei."
Wang Chaofu responded repeatedly. Today's incident caught him off guard. The emperor had no warning at all. Long Live the Lord is really unfathomable.
Then he heard the emperor say:
"Later, go and announce that a young eunuch named Liu Shimin will come to see me!"
"Could it be that Long Live Lord wants him to be the admiral of the inner factory?"
Although Liu Shimin was not well-known, as the eunuch in charge of Qianqing Palace, Wang Chaofu naturally knew about this person.
This man is quite talented. Although he is a eunuch, he is very good at calligraphy and literature, and he can be said to be erudite and talented. Wang Chaofu just transferred him to the inner room to handle memorial documents some time ago.
Although he is somewhat famous among eunuchs like them, he has not even heard of it, right?
Wang Chaofu was very puzzled, why did Long Live Lord know about such a little-known eunuch, and how could he take on such an important task?
"You don't need to ask any more questions about this matter. You can handle the affairs of the West Factory with peace of mind. In half a month, I hope you can tell me that the West Factory is on standby!"
Wang Chaofu shouted again:
"My slave obeys the order!"
Then he said next to Zhu Youxiao with a smile on his face:
"Long live my lord, my slave is gone!"
By the time Liu Shimin arrived at Qianqing Palace, it was already late at night.
This man is also a legendary figure. When Emperor Chongzhen came to the throne, he destroyed the eunuch party headed by Wei Zhongxian in one fell swoop. Liu Shimin was also involved and was thrown into prison by Emperor Chongzhen.
Later, relying on his own abilities, he spent twelve years in prison writing a book called Zhuzhongzhi, which recorded what he had learned since entering the palace, including all the secrets of the palaces of Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi dynasties.
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With this book, he was freed from prison by the emperor, and later returned to his original post without any oppression in the palace.
What kind of place is the imperial prison? It is a purgatory on earth. Those who enter it rarely end well. To come out of it safe and sound is equivalent to running back from the Lord of Hell.