Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Guard of the Factory

  Just as the soldier was about to report, because the sound got closer and closer, he could distinguish that the voice came from inside the capital city, his raised heart finally put down, and he looked up in the direction where the sound came from.

  His companion was also startled at this time and walked over to look with him in the direction of the source of the sound.

  After a while, I saw the light coming out from the top of the distant house, slowly, more and more, brighter and brighter. At this time, it can be estimated that it was a long row of torches shining, reflecting the roof red.

  Soon, the flames turned past the blocking house and appeared on the straight main street.

  Now it can be seen clearly that the two people holding torches are comrades-in-arms from the same barracks, both from the Wucheng Cavalry Command, and they are brothers, even from a distance.

  Between two rows of soldiers was a large cart, apparently carrying goods over here.

  The two guards were a bit strange, in this cold and dark weather, so many people came out to do what? The two of them guessed the reason randomly, and also forgot to report to their leader.

  When the team was about to arrive at Wang Gongchang's territory, a group of people in front of the team urged their horses to leave ahead of time and arrived at the entrance of the refugee camp.

  Such a commotion finally startled the leader of the guards, who came running out to take a look. The three leaders were the Right Servant of the Ministry of War, the Left Servant of the Ministry of Revenue, and a Deputy Commander of the Commandery.

  What brings a big shot like you here? The leader also found it strange, but didn't dare to be slow and hastily came up to pay his respects.

  The Minister of War, sitting upright on his horse, seemed to have not seen the leader come to pay respects and directly ordered him: "Quickly dispatch soldiers to separate the civilians into several large groups to prevent possible riots among the civilians after a short while."

  Although this order is a bit strange, the difference in rank is too great, and I don't dare to ask for the reason. The leader obediently went to arrange it.

  The refugees in the house are fine, but those outdoors have noticed the commotion over here and are starting to pay attention.

  Then they immediately saw the guards, fully armed, starting to infiltrate among them, dividing them into pieces, and their hearts began to panic, what is this going to do?

  It's no wonder they think that way, several months have passed without any movement, and now suddenly they are being divided into blocks. People always have a kind of fear towards the unknown.

  The refugees finally moved, no longer like a sculpture. But they didn't dare to move much, just turning their necks and communicating with the people around them.

  Soon, the soldiers isolated the refugee camp into several large blocks.

  The soldiers who came later lined up at the entrance of the refugee camp, standing behind a few big shots. The gathered torches shone brightly, attracting everyone's attention.

  The Left Servant of the Ministry of Revenue urged his horse to take a few steps forward, raised his voice and shouted at the refugee camp according to the previous order of the Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyuan: "His Majesty has heard the report from Marquis Zhongxing and learned about your difficult situation, deeply shocked and uneasy. Therefore, based on the law reported by Marquis Zhongxing, he will rescue you from suffering. Now, we will provide you with more food to eat your fill; we will provide you with charcoal to warm yourselves. There are some measures that will follow, please wait for them."

  The voice of the Left Servant of the Ministry of Revenue was particularly loud in this empty and quiet space. The ups and downs of his tone also made people hear the words clearly.

  Before the refugees could react, some loud-voiced soldiers arranged by the deputy commander of the Five Cities Military Command began to repeat in unison the words spoken earlier by the Left Servant of the Ministry of Revenue.

  The entire refugee camp was quiet, those who were far away before and couldn't hear clearly were listening intently. Those who were close by before and heard it clearly didn't dare to believe their ears, also listened carefully, wanting to hear it again clearly one more time.

  As soon as all the refugees heard clearly, the camp slowly began to boil over. There were loud wails, hearty laughter, murmurs to oneself, and stunned silences. Of course, there were also those who, after hearing this good news, relaxed their minds and let in death, passing away with a sense of relief.

  The voices in the camp gradually merged into one voice, a loud and clear voice: "Long live your majesty, long live, long live, forever and ever!"

  After a while, from one corner, someone started and passed it on to the people around him, finally shouting out another blessing: "Zhong Xing Bo, live forever!"

  Zhong Xingbo, Zhong Jinwei, of course didn't know that he was also remembered by refugees.

  At this time, he asked the Chongzhen Emperor a very important question: "Your Majesty, I previously suggested that the Dongchang and Jinyiwei be in charge of organizational supervision. May I ask why Your Majesty did not agree?"

  Chongzhen Emperor slightly furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, then told Wang Chengen who was attending to him: "Wang, you may withdraw and have your meal first. I'll chat with Master Zhong here, no need to wait on me."

  Wang Chengen knew that Emperor Chongzhen would not want him to know, so he did not dare to linger and retreated with a bow.

  Then Chongzhen Emperor let all the palace maids and eunuchs withdraw, leaving only Zhong Wenguan alone in the Wenhuadian Hall.

  "Master Zhong, what's your view on Wei Cheng?"

  Zhong Jinwei was delighted to see that Emperor Chongzhen had taken the initiative to ask about this matter, and he hastily replied: "Your Majesty, I also wanted to talk to you about the Imperial Guard."

  "The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have a bad reputation in the imperial court, and their reputation is also not good in later generations. However, I think that no matter how bad the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are, they are still Your Majesty's claws."

  "Let me put it this way, Your Majesty is a fierce tiger, the king of all beasts. All the other animals are afraid of your sharp claws and teeth, so they dare not disobey you. But one day, they say that your claws and teeth are too sharp, and when you walk, you will destroy the flowers and grass on the ground. Oh, Your Majesty, if you don't understand this sentence, it's okay, I'll just say it smoothly - what I mean is that your claws and teeth are not good, and I suggest that you cut off your claws and grind down your teeth. This way, everyone will be happy and praise your wisdom."

  "What Master Zhong means is that if I restrict the Imperial Guards' movements, it's like a tiger without sharp teeth and claws?"

  "Yes, I have some thoughts and would like to discuss with Your Majesty whether there is a difference between the imperial guard and the ordinary guard."

  The Chongzhen Emperor nodded and asked Zhong Xiang what he had to say.

  "If there were officials patrolling outside the palace earlier, Your Majesty would not be unaware of the refugees' situation. Perhaps some ministers did not tell you for your own good. But whether the people of the Ming Dynasty are living in peace and prosperity will ultimately be attributed to you."

  "If there were already guards patrolling outside the city walls, the corruption case of the capital's city walls might not have waited until the enemy's cannon fire to be discovered, and Your Majesty could have taken action earlier."

  "Moreover, the actual military situation in Liaodong, the actual situation of the troops in various places, the people's livelihood, the officials, and even the factory guards can all be reported to you, Your Majesty. This will give you an additional channel for understanding information, so that you won't be deceived by the civil and military officials."

  "In other words, the Imperial Guard is Your Majesty's eyes and ears, a sword hanging over the heads of civil and military officials, preventing them from being too brazen in their wrongdoing, and ensuring that governance does not become too corrupt."

  Chongzhen Emperor sighed, looked at Zhong Jinwei sincerely and said: "Master Zhong, I know you come from the future, with a heart to help me govern this country well, and build the Great Ming into an empire where the sun never sets. This point, I can see it in your eyes, and feel it in my heart."

  Zhong Jinwei heard the praise and smiled.

  "I also know the benefits of the imperial guard, but you don't know, I'm afraid!"

  What's going on, Zhong Jinwei blinked his eyes and looked at Emperor Chongzhen with curiosity, trying to understand what Emperor Chongzhen meant by saying this.

  "Perhaps Master Chong doesn't know the cruelty of the Imperial Guard. When I still trusted Wang, there was a palace maid named Hongmei who served me wholeheartedly. I had intended to inform my brother and take her as a concubine, but because she spoke ill of Wei Zhongxian, she disappeared from the palace the next day and was never seen again. It was only later that I found out it was the Imperial Guard who overheard her words and harmed her. Master Chong, you should know that at the time, only I was by her side. Therefore, I was terrified for a very long time."

  Chongzhen Emperor paused for a moment, calmed down his emotions, and then said: "This is not the real reason why I forbade the Forbidden City guards."

  "What's that?" Zhong Jinwei was very curious.

  "Do you know why I finally became Emperor from being King of Xin?"

  "It is known that since Emperor Tianqi had no offspring and he liked Your Majesty very much, he let you become the emperor."

  "But do you know why the emperor has no children?" Chongzhen Emperor asked Zhong Jinwei with a hint of anger and fear.