Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Three days later, late at night in the capital.

afterwards.

Zhang Shikang lay on the bed contentedly, while Chen Zhuer, wearing a bellyband and with a flushed face, was gargling her mouth.

What is rare is the quiet winter night, and what is rare is the leisure time.

There was a charcoal fire burning in the house, and everything was so peaceful.

Suddenly, there was a fierce knock on the door in the outer courtyard.

The doorman Qin Erzhu opened the door with a lantern, and saw several men in iron armor standing outside the door under the moonlight.

"Urgent news from Shanxi! Please inform the Grand Marshal and request an audience." The leading soldier bowed to Qin Erzhu.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Zhang Shikang arrived at the living room of the Duke's Mansion. His father Zhang Zhiji and elder brother Zhang Shize were also alarmed and rushed to the living room while getting dressed.

"Shikang, is there another rebellion in the border town?" Zhang Zhiji asked when he saw his son.

The Xuanda Defense Line is adjacent to the Mongolian tribes and is the first line of defense for the capital. The Jiannu have just been defeated, but it does not mean that the border towns will be peaceful.

It was the middle of the night and it was urgent news, so Zhang Zhiji would inevitably be worried.

This worry was because of the court, and also because of his own son. After all, his third son was no longer the playboy he used to be, but the generalissimo of the Ming Dynasty.

Holding military and political power, his son would be the first to lead the troops to fight wherever there was a war. Swords have no mercy and one cannot be both loyal and filial.

"Dad, you worry too much. You think too highly of Jianlu. How can they dare to take risks now?

If they lose again, perhaps those Mongolian tribes will be able to defeat them without my son having to attack them." Zhang Shikang said to his father.

The Jiannu’s fighting power was indeed strong, but they had a fatal weakness: they had too few people.

It means that the Ming Dynasty was extremely poor at that time, otherwise Zhang Shikang would not have easily let go of the opportunity to counterattack last time.

After hearing this, Zhang Zhiji felt much more relieved. He didn't want to disturb his son from handling military affairs, so he and Zhang Shize returned to their respective residences.

"Marshal, this is a joint report from Governor Lu and Governor Sun." After being summoned, five or six soldiers knelt on one knee and presented a written letter to Zhang Shikang with both hands.

Zhang Shikang probably knew that the matter of the Shanxi merchants might have come to a conclusion. After all, Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were famous in history. According to his estimation, the Shanxi merchants would definitely not be a problem for them.

Shanxi merchants were the richest people in the world, and Zhang Shikang was just very curious about the spoils.

He calmly opened the letter and glanced at it in the candlelight.

So, he immediately lost his composure.

"Oh shit." Zhang Shikang exclaimed.

He had expected that the Shanxi merchants were wealthy, otherwise they would not have risked the wrath of the world by doing such a thing as cutting off the source of their wealth.

But the amount reported in the letter still scared him.

Shocked and delighted, Zhang Shikang walked back and forth happily in the living room.

After a while, he said to Butler Li who had been waiting by his side:

"Uncle Li, arrange the best guest rooms, prepare wine and food, and entertain these soldiers well."

Shanxi is not close to the capital, and it was snowing. It took three days to deliver the letter to the capital. These soldiers must have suffered a lot of cold along the way.

"Don't worry, Third Young Master. I will make arrangements." Butler Li bowed and accepted the order, then gestured to the soldiers to invite them in.

Several soldiers saluted Zhang Shikang with gratitude.

After Butler Li left, Zhang Shikang walked around the living room alone, excitedly. As he walked, he would occasionally take out the letter to check it again and again.

It is no wonder that he was so excited. Over the past six months, Zhang Shikang has been worried about the financial situation of the court every day.

Money is in short supply everywhere. Money is needed everywhere. Without it, everything you do will be ineffective.

"No, I can't wait any longer. I have to let my brother know this good news," Zhang Shikang thought.

Zhang Shikang immediately ordered his servants to prepare the carriage, and soon they headed for the Meridian Gate.

The gates of the imperial city were always closed at night. Generally speaking, even important cabinet officials could not enter the imperial city once the gates were closed.

But Zhang Shikang was not an ordinary person. Emperor Chongzhen had already issued an edict to the imperial guards, allowing Zhang Shikang to enter the palace walls at any time.

Zhang Shikang had waited outside the Meridian Gate for less than a quarter of an hour when Wang Chengen hurried over.

He was similar to Zhang Zhiji, his face full of worry. The Ming Dynasty was in a turbulent time and war had just begun. Zhang Shikang entering the palace in the middle of the night inevitably made people think too much.

"My Lord, is there any urgent matter that brings you to see the Emperor now? Could something have happened in the border town again?" Wang Chengen asked Zhang Shikang as soon as he saw him.

"Hahahaha!" Zhang Shikang couldn't help but burst into laughter when he saw this.

Wang Chengen didn't understand what was going on, but seeing Zhang Shikang so happy, he felt relieved.

"What great news! If I don't let His Majesty know about this, I will definitely not be able to sleep tonight." Zhang Shikang said without hesitation.

As they spoke, the two of them rushed towards the Qianqing Palace.

Wang Chengen didn't know what good news it was that made Marquis Guanjun so happy, but disturbing the emperor in the middle of the night always made him feel uneasy, but he didn't ask any more questions.

When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen asked for instructions outside the hall. A moment later, a message came from inside asking the two to wait.

Zhang Shikang suddenly felt uneasy when he saw this, wondering if he was too careless. He pondered over a question in his mind for a long time, and finally asked in a low voice:

"Eunuch Wang, we won't disturb His Majesty's good deeds, will we?"

If the Queen were also there, it would be unpleasant in the middle of the night, although it would be a good thing.

Wang Chengen glanced at Zhang Shikang helplessly, thinking to himself, "My Lord, you still feel embarrassed."

But after thinking for a while, he realized what Zhang Shikang really meant, and couldn't help but say speechlessly:

"Her Royal Highness the Queen is in Kunning Palace, so even if the Emperor wants to... he should go to Kunning Palace.

But the Emperor is busy with state affairs and has to deal with government affairs until late at night, so how can he have the energy..."

In other words, the person who asked this question was Zhang Shikang. If it was someone else, Wang Chengen would have gotten angry long ago.

Soon, the slightly tired voice of Emperor Chongzhen was heard from the hall, summoning the two men in.

Emperor Chongzhen had actually just laid down. He didn't know why Zhang Shikang came so late at night, but there was no unhappy look on his face.

"Brother, urgent news from Shanxi, great news!" As soon as Zhang Shikang entered the hall, he didn't even greet everyone, and his address changed in excitement.

Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen was not angry, but became interested. During this period, he was actually very concerned about what Zhang Shikang had said about the Shanxi merchants.

After all, Zhang Shikang never let him down.

"Did you gain anything?" Emperor Chongzhen asked softly while ordering Wang Chengen to give Zhang Shikang a seat.

"Of course that's right. Your Majesty, why don't you guess?" Zhang Shikang said with a smile.

He is the only person in the world who could speak to Emperor Chongzhen like this.

Zhang Shikang was in a good mood, which proved that the gains from the Shanxi merchants must have satisfied him, and therefore Emperor Chongzhen was also in a good mood.

He frowned and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Hmm... three million taels?"

Even if dozens of noble families in the capital took out all their cash, they would only have five million taels. In the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, no matter how rich a few Shanxi merchants were, they could never be richer than the noble families.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shikang gave Emperor Chongzhen a disappointed look.

"Your Majesty, who are you looking down on? Why don't you be bolder? I'll give you another chance."

"Could it be possible to exceed five million taels?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned.

Three million taels is not a small amount, but it is not a lot either. The amount of unpaid wages and food supplies for the border troops in various places and the inland anti-bandit troops is about this amount.

These three million taels are enough to give the court a respite.

But when Emperor Chongzhen saw Zhang Shikang's expression, he realized that he had said too little.

"Hey, I knew that Your Majesty couldn't guess it. Well, Your Majesty, please read it yourself." Zhang Shikang lost confidence in his brother Chongzhen and handed the joint letter from Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting to Wang Chengen.

Wang Chengen was overjoyed to learn that the court's finances would soon be relieved, and he presented the letter to Emperor Chongzhen with a smile on his face.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the letter and took a look at it. He was so shocked that he stood up from the dragon throne.

……