The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

After Liu Mu first visited Zhuangyuanlou, he discovered that it was a good place, and merchants, scholars, and local gentry from all over the world, as well as those with some money, were willing to go there.

So Pan Feng was allowed to open a branch, with the Imperial City Guard as a shareholder. These dozen or so men in black were all martial arts figures selected by Pan Feng from the branches of Zhuangyuanlou in various cities.

Among them were bankrupt merchants, down-on-their-luck scholars, and even notorious bandits who had committed murder and robbery and were seeking refuge. After accepting employment from Zhuangyuanlou, they hid in the southwest region in advance.

The Zhuangyuanlou restaurant also offered a very generous reward, with a monthly allowance of ten taels of silver.

If one assists Zhuangyuanlou in completing a spy mission, one can receive a reward of hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver.

However, this kind of bond of gold and silver is ultimately not very reliable, so the spies at the bottom only have single-line contact, and even if they betray, they cannot catch the others.

They didn't even know about the Imperial City Guard; they just thought it was a private business of the restaurant.

The leader of the men in black, the one who was with Liu Mu, took out a jade pendant after everyone had arrived. It was carved with dragon patterns and had gilded edges.

"Headquarters has a mission: anyone with connections in Wu Sangui's army who can deliver a letter and a message to his lieutenant Jiang Muning will receive one hundred taels of silver!"

"Of course, you can also choose not to take the money, get promoted, and continue working. It's up to you!"

Almost all the men in black shook their heads upon hearing this, except for one who looked so fat that his belly couldn't be covered by his black clothes, who stepped forward.

"Master, I am a student in Nanyang City, and I have a five or six-year-old child, who is Jiang Muning's son. Perhaps we can try to contact him."

The chief commander saw that he only knew one person and that he still needed to go through family members, so he didn't say anything. After all, it was normal. Wu Sangui was very strict in managing his army. If spies could infiltrate so easily, Wu Sangui would not have become emperor.

Thinking of this, the leader took out a letter from his pocket, whispered a few words in the fat man's ear, and then spoke.

"Okay, let's do it that way!"

"Once it's done, you can be brought back to Beijing and take your number to the Top Scholar's Tower to collect your reward!"

Upon hearing this, the black-haired fat man immediately bowed and showed great excitement, even expressing his support to the leader.

"Your subordinate will do everything in your power!"

As for why he was so excited, it was because he was a student who had failed the county-level imperial examinations even when he was nearly ten years old, and was only recruited by Zhuangyuanlou when he was down on his luck.

Although he failed the imperial examination, he was not stupid. By contacting Wu Sangui's generals, sending messages and arranging meeting places, he made it clear that this was something the imperial court was doing, somewhat similar to the agents of the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern and Western Depots.

Blackie and Fatty's thinking was simple: since they couldn't become civil officials anyway, being the emperor's henchmen was still an official position.

"Disband!"

"We will inform you of any news!"

Seeing how clever Blackie and Fatty were, the leader nodded and ordered them to disperse, then quickly ran into the mountains.

……

After Wu Sangui led his troops into Fangcheng, all the people were relocated, and the entire city was transformed into a military fortress. All the houses, except for those where the soldiers lived, were dismantled, and the bricks and beams were transported to the city walls.

In a mansion near the north gate, a man who looked eight parts like Jiang Zhaoning, but with a centipede scar from his forehead to his nose and then to his cheek, was playing dominoes with three burly men at a table on the west side.

As Scarface pushed the cards over, the three burly men all revealed fawning expressions and grinned.

"My lord, what good luck! It's Supreme Treasure again!"

The scarred man was none other than Jiang Muning. Upon hearing this, he grinned and swept the loose silver coins in front of the three burly men onto his own face.

"Again! Again!"

Just as everyone was about to play their cards, a heavily armored guard walked in. Seeing Jiang Muning's displeased expression, he hurriedly began to explain.

"My lord, a scholar has arrived at the gate. He says he comes from the Confucius Temple School in Nanyang and has something to discuss with the eldest son. I dare not neglect him!"

boom! ! !

Upon hearing this, Jiang Muning slammed his hand on the table.

"What could have happened? That brat is as strong as an ox, and he still beat people up in the school. But those teachers are something else, they beat people up and then dared to chase him to the front lines."

"You all have your fun first, I'll go and meet them!"

Although he said that, his actions spoke louder than words. After saying hello, he strode towards the side room.

The entire courtyard was filled with soldiers, all of them playing cards. When they saw Jiang Muning, they greeted him with smiles, and Jiang Muning seemed to be used to it.

"Have a good time, brothers!"

"But you absolutely mustn't go out and cause trouble, or you'll lose your head!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers all chimed in in agreement. Jiang Muning smiled and stepped into the side room.

A large, fat man dressed in a green robe and wearing a Western-style hat was sitting in the passenger seat, happily drinking tea. When he saw Jiang Muning enter, he immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Student Du Yuesheng greets Lord Jiang!"

"The city management here is really strict. If I hadn't mentioned my superior's name, the soldiers guarding the city gate wouldn't have let me in!"

This fat scholar was none other than the fat man in black who had attended the gathering of men in black; their physiques were exactly the same.

Jiang Muning was furious that his gambling mood had been ruined, so he waved his hand impatiently and plopped down in the main seat.

"Speak your mind, or shut up!"

"You're wasting my time, I'll kill you!"

Upon hearing this, Du Yuesheng looked around, revealing an embarrassed expression. Jiang Muning immediately knew that the fat man had come here for something else, so he waved to his personal guards.

No one is allowed within ten steps of the door.

After saying that, he looked at Du Yuesheng.

"Speak!"

Du Yuesheng coughed twice, then took out Jiang Zhaoning's letter from his sleeve and handed it over.

"My lord, the messenger says we should meet at the mass grave in the west of the city tomorrow night at dawn. The other students know nothing about this!"

Du Yuesheng, having overcome his impulse to become an official and fearing being silenced, quickly added that he knew nothing, and trembled as he took two steps back.

"mother!"

Upon seeing the envelope, Jiang Muning ignored Du Yuesheng, instead letting out a low wail before bursting into tears and hurriedly opening the letter.

Jiang Muning's mother must have come from a wealthy family, as she had extremely delicate handwriting.

The message mainly reminded Jiang Zhaoning to be careful when going south to fight. The monthly salary of 180 taels of silver for a military officer, as well as the firewood, rice, oil, and salt provided by the imperial court, had all arrived. In addition, Jiang Zhaoning's son had already learned to walk.

It was a Russian woman given to them by the emperor. They had difficulty communicating and could do nothing but eat every day. He asked Jiang Zhaoning if he wanted to sell her!

The second letter is Jiang Zhaoning's reply. The handwriting is quite bold, but the strokes are neat.

The message conveyed that he was doing well, that his comrades in the army were easy to get along with, and that the emperor would often bestow rewards upon him.

The final reply was that women bestowed by the emperor could not be sold, as it was punishable by death; so just keep them as they were!