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

"Humph, I am the Son of Heaven, why do I need a reason to summon my subjects?" Emperor Chongzhen said arrogantly, but immediately added:

"Did the border patrol go smoothly this time? Are the commanders of the military towns really loyal?"

Emperor Chongzhen was just making small talk. If it were an ordinary minister, he would be very happy to be summoned, but the guy in front of him was different.

But he would never say that. He was just a little bored. If the boy knew, he would probably be angry with him.

"It's OK. In fact, I feel that those military commanders have not really turned away from the Qing Dynasty. If they wanted to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, they would have surrendered long ago.

After all, it was because Your Majesty killed Yuan Chonghuan and executed him in the most cruel way, which frightened the commanders of the nine frontier military towns.

Besides, they are not clean either, so of course they would not respond to the call if they can. Who doesn't fear Your Majesty?"

Wang Chengen brought over a chair and Zhang Shikang sat down while speaking.

Of course, it is also related to the fact that Zhang Shikang has been killing entire families at will in the past two years. Zhang Shikang was corrupt and the army has zero tolerance for corruption. If the crimes of the military commanders are counted in this way, they must all die.

"Yuan Chonghuan brought it upon himself. Even if I tortured him to death, I still cannot quell my anger!" Emperor Chongzhen frowned.

When Yuan Chonghuan vowed to tell him that it would take five years to pacify Liaoning, he believed it and tightened his belt to provide Yuan Chonghuan with money, food and military equipment.

In the end, not only did they fail to recover any lost territory, but the Jianlu broke through their defenses and surrounded the capital.

Although the incident happened so long ago, Emperor Chongzhen would still get incredibly angry whenever he thought about it. It was the rage he felt after being deceived.

"Alas, Your Majesty, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it.

Let me tell you something new." Zhang Shikang waved his hand and changed the subject.

If you ask him, Brother Chongzhen is also responsible for Yuan Chonghuan's affairs. He said that Liao could be pacified in five years, and you believed him without even looking at the situation.

However, if Brother Chongzhen could change his temper, he would have changed it long ago, so there is no point in saying more.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't want to mention it either. He originally wanted to find Zhang Shikang to ask about the situation in the border town and then chat with him.

"What's new?"

"I encountered two assassination attempts recently. One time I was almost stabbed in the back, and another time I almost lost my life."

Zhang Shikang reluctantly told his brother Chongzhen about the assassination on the street, and publicized it with great joy, thanks to the chain mail made for him by Sun Chuanting.

Otherwise, if the kidney was stabbed, I guess the medical conditions at that time would not be able to save it.

But Emperor Chongzhen's focus was obviously not here. He frowned and said:

"I have to commend Sun Chuanting, but why is his life in danger?

Isn't the assassin's purpose to kill you?"

"Ah! I had a few drinks that night, so I thought about relaxing and doing some import and export trade.

Who could have thought that when the trade was at a critical moment, that skinny Yangzhou horse would come up with a knife from nowhere. If it weren't for my quick eyes and hands, she would have almost won with a single slash, almost!"

Zhang Shikang still felt a little scared when he thought of the thrilling situation that night, and his crotch felt cold.

It is true that women have the most vicious hearts. A knife to that place would be more unbearable than killing him.

Zhang Shikang originally thought that when Brother Chongzhen heard about this, he would be as indignant as he was. After all, men are human beings and their nature is to eat, have sex and have pleasure.

But Emperor Chongzhen was very angry when he heard this and said:

"How can you be so frivolous? What kind of place is a red-light district? You are really bringing disgrace upon your reputation by doing this!

If you were stabbed while doing my job, I would be sad and upset.

But if you were stabbed in the bed of those prostitutes, what can I do? Wuji, you shouldn't do this. "

The tone of Emperor Chongzhen's voice was quite earnest. He actually wanted to say something even more extreme, such as "You kid, you don't do your job well, and I am worried about you every day, but you actually go to a prostitute. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if this got out?"

Zhang Shikang frowned as he listened, thinking that this old man was extremely outrageous.

"Your Majesty, you have so many concubines in your harem, and they live a life of luxury every day. A full man does not know the hunger of a hungry man.

I am only twenty-one years old. You were young once too. Haven’t you ever been a man three times a night?

This is double standard, well-known double standard!"

Fortunately, Wang Chengen had long been accustomed to the way the monarch and his subjects get along. If anyone else dared to talk nonsense in the Qianqing Palace, they would definitely be beaten with a stick in the court.

But even so, Wang Chengen still quietly walked to the entrance of the hall and drove out all the palace maids and others at the entrance.

Zhang Shikang really felt that this old man was hypocritical. Theoretically speaking, the tens of thousands of palace maids in the palace were all this old man's personal belongings, and he could favor whomever he wanted.

This happened many times in the Ming Dynasty, and almost all emperors in history favored palace maids.

Ah, it's not a problem when it comes to you. I'm fighting outside and I'm tired and want to relax, but it's not allowed. We have to be reasonable.

"You boy, stop talking nonsense." Emperor Chongzhen also felt that the words were too harsh, but Zhang Shikang's answer still made him very dissatisfied.

He had asked about the word double standards before. Previously, it was Zhang Shikang who said that the civil servants were double-standard, but now the blame fell on him.

But after all, the problem still needs to be solved, but this is not a problem for the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

"If you want women, I will give you a few. A few days ago, several countries came to pay tribute and presented dozens of women. You can choose later.

But they can only be concubines, and you must not be unbridled, as indulgence will harm your body, so remember this." Emperor Chongzhen said very seriously.

"Come on, Your Majesty. I just want to share with you some interesting things that happened during my border patrol. Please don't make a big deal out of it." Zhang Shikang said speechlessly.

The so-called beauties that came as tribute were probably of the standard of the Qing Dynasty's harem, and Zhang Shikang had seen them.

"Alas, you are old enough to get married, and it is my fault for neglecting it." Emperor Chongzhen sighed.

"If the Jiannu are not destroyed, what is the point of having a family?

Your Majesty, please do not worry about my affairs. When I came back from Xuanfu, I received news from Sun Chuanting that plague had broken out in Xi'an Prefecture.

This is the more difficult issue now." Zhang Shikang quickly changed the subject.

He has just turned twenty and doesn't want to get married so early. Although no one can tie him down even if he gets married these days, he still decides to wait two years.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen felt relieved and stopped talking about getting married. When he heard Zhang Shikang talking about the plague, Emperor Chongzhen said worriedly:

"In the past few years, there have been outbreaks of plague in the capital, killing many people. This epidemic is indeed very troublesome."

"I have already sent people to find a man named Wu Youke, who is quite knowledgeable about plagues. I think if we can find him, there might be a chance for a turnaround.

I think we should inform the Ministry of Revenue and mobilize some grain and fodder to be transported to Xi'an Prefecture for disaster relief.

If we can find Wu Youke, I plan to let him take the lead in the fight against the epidemic." Zhang Shikang thought for a moment and said.

"If you want to take care of it, I will leave it to you. If you need anything, just tell me." Emperor Chongzhen said casually.

This matter should have been jointly handled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Medical Service, but with the presence of Zhang Shikang, a capable man who was willing to take charge, Emperor Chongzhen certainly had no objection.

In the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhang Shikang was more useful than all the people in the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Medical Service combined.

He didn't know who Wu Youke was, but none of the people recommended by Zhang Shikang were good-for-nothings, so he just used him.

Seeing that Chongzhen elder brother had no objection, Zhang Shikang had nothing else to say, so he asked:

"Your Majesty, you summoned me here for this?"

Zhang Shikang had already reported most of the arrangements for the border patrol to Emperor Chongzhen through the Imperial Household. He came all the way from the Duke's Mansion because he felt that Chongzhen was just looking for trouble.

Emperor Chongzhen was a little embarrassed when he heard this. He really didn't have much to do. Since he didn't have to deal with so many state affairs, he often felt empty in his heart.

After hesitating for a while, Emperor Chongzhen said strangely:

"Wuji, what do you do when you are free?"

Zhang Shikang frowned when he heard this, thinking what kind of a weird question this was, and said casually:

"Your Majesty, I will sleep when I am free."

"Besides sleeping?"

……