Chapter 46: The Eastern Depot

  Generally, ordinary people are not allowed to take a sedan chair inside the Forbidden City. At least these few people do not have this privilege, so they can only walk towards the East Factory located north of Donghua Gate.

  Occasionally on the road, they would meet some eunuchs and palace maids who, upon seeing Wang Cheng'en passing by, would hastily step aside to pay their respects.

  Wang Chengen generally ignored them and walked past. The eunuchs and palace maids were also used to it, but they were very curious about the man in linen clothes, Zhong Jinwei, among the group of people, and couldn't help discussing him behind his back.

  The Forbidden City is too big, and a group of people walked silently for a while, feeling a bit bored. So, Zhong Jinwei found Wang Chengen to chat with.

  Although Zhong Jinwei did not know that in the Forbidden City, according to the rules, eunuchs and palace maids or others were not allowed to whisper to each other, but the atmosphere at the end of the Ming Dynasty had already deteriorated. This can be seen from the dress and behavior of officials during the morning court session in the Huangji Temple, so Wang Chengen did not think it was unusual for Zhong Jinwei to come and chat with him.

  "King Gong, now you are the Dongchang Factory Lord, isn't it impressive!" Zhong Jinwei was influenced by later movies and TV dramas, especially the arrogant behavior of the Dongchang Factory Lord, and involuntarily brought up this topic.

  "Zhongxingbo laughed and said, 'We are all living with our tails between our legs, where does the majesty come from?' Wang Chengen said with a bitter smile."

  Now that you mention it, Zhong Jinwei remembered that Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have abolished the Dongchang and Jinyiwei after ascending to the throne. However, wasn't Wang Chengen still in charge of the Dongchang?

  Zhong Jinwei couldn't understand, so he directly asked Wang Chengen: "Wang Gonggong, didn't the Dongchang and Jinyiwei get abolished by His Majesty?"

  This is not obvious, but Wang Chengen also knew what Zhong Jinwei wanted to know. He explained: "The emperor did not withdraw the imperial guard, only that there was an order that without a decree, they were not allowed to leave the Forbidden Gate. Therefore, outside, our traces are basically invisible."

  Oh, so that's how it is. Zhong Jinwei finally figured it out. At this time, he also remembered a point of view from later generations on the internet: It was said that Emperor Chongzhen abolished both the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards, causing the civil officials to lose their supervision, which accelerated the downfall of the Ming Dynasty.

  Zhong Jinwei thinks it's not unreasonable, from Emperor Chongzhen's early trust in his civil officials, listening to their advice and following their plans, to later becoming angry when he didn't get the expected results, realizing he had been deceived, leading to a change in Emperor Chongzhen's personality to being suspicious, all because of the lack of third-party information sources for verification.

  Zhong Jinwei said to Wang Chengen, "Wang Gonggong, when I return and see the Emperor, I will propose to him that your East Factory and Brocade Guard be reopened."

  Wang Chengen knew that at this time, Zhong Jinwei's weight in the heart of Emperor Chongzhen was such that if he said so, seven or eight out of ten would be approved. Overjoyed, he stopped and turned to face Zhong Jinwei, cupping his hands in a salute, saying: "In that case, thank you, Duke Zhongxing."

  As long as the Imperial Guard is allowed to see the light of day, this imperial clan will have power and influence; otherwise, it's just a fierce dog locked up in the Forbidden City.

  "No need for courtesy, I'm also considering it for the Emperor and the Great Ming. I think you are indispensable!" Zhong Jinwei explained.

  They walked and chatted along the way, and before they knew it, they were almost at Donghua Gate. At this time, Hou Zhiyuan, who was on the other side, saw them passing by from afar and hurriedly came to greet them.

  An Guiyi first greeted Wang Chengen and called him "Dry Father". Then he also exchanged greetings with Zhong Jinwei, and once again congratulated Zhong on being favored by the Emperor and granted a mansion. Afterwards, he followed them to the East Factory.

  Out of the Donghua Gate, after crossing the moat, turn north, on the left is a straight house by the river, the house is not high, but it's straight, along the moat and parallel to the east wall of the Forbidden City.

  On the right side of the road are various official workshops and government offices at all levels.

  It was almost noon, and the winter sun did not make people feel hot. On the contrary, the sunlight did not bring a bit of warmth to those walking in the cold wind that blew from time to time. There were few pedestrians on the road, just like usual.

  Before long, they arrived at the East Factory gate.

  Above the gate of the East Factory hangs a horizontal plaque with black background and red characters, inscribed with the four large characters "East Collection Factory". Several guards at the gate saw their factory master coming from afar, so they stood up straight and waited. After the group arrived at the gate, they loudly announced: "The factory master has arrived!"

  Before that, Zhong Jinwei had actually been in contact with Fanzi once, but at that time, Zhong Jinwei was in a coma and didn't know.

  At this time, Zhong Jinwei carefully looked at the legendary Dongchang thugs who were said to be as fierce as wolves and tigers. He saw that these thugs all wore a pointed hat, white leather boots, brown clothes, tied with a small belt, and hung a bamboo card about two inches long on their waist. They looked very neat and tidy, without the sly appearance in movies and TV dramas.

  Wang Chengen stopped at the door and turned around to say to Archie, "This is a government office, women are not allowed inside, you wait here first."

  Aqi was originally afraid of Dong Factory, and when he heard that he didn't have to go in, he naturally had no opinion.

  Wang Chengen then instructed An Guiyi: "You stay here and accompany Miss Aqi."

  "Yes, uncle."

  Zhong Jinwei hesitated when he saw Aqi being left outside. Wang Chengen noticed that he was concerned about Aqi, so he said: "Duke Zhongxing, let's go in and make an appearance, it won't take much time."

  Zhong Jinwei saw Wang Chengen say so and no longer had any opinions, following him inside.

  Beyond the screen wall is a large courtyard, in front of which stands a gate with four large characters "Baishi Liufang". After passing through the courtyard is the conference hall. On the right side of the screen wall in the hall is carved the story of the case of Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. There is a door leading to a small pavilion on the side, inside which are enshrined the statues of Yue Fei and Yue Wu Mu. To the left of the hall is an ancestral temple dedicated to the tablets of successive directors of the Eastern Depot.

  Zhong Jinwei only took a glance at these surroundings, because the hall was packed with people, attracting his attention. These people were basically all wearing round hats, soap boots, and brown shirts and straight pants.

  Wang Chengen walked in all the way, and these people stood up straight one by one, greeting Wang Chengen.

  Zhong Jinwei followed Wang Chengen into the room, and it seemed that those people were also greeting him. However, Zhong Jinwei didn't have any proud thoughts, because among these people, some emitted a fierce aura, while others emitted a cold aura. In short, none of the people here were easy to mess with.

  On the top of the hall, a taishi chair was placed at the very front. A few steps down on either side were two chairs, with the one on the left being slightly farther away from the central taishi chair than the one on the right.

  Wang Chengen walked to the middle of the armchair and did not sit down. Instead, he turned around and asked someone to bring another chair and put it next to him. Then he invited Zhong Jinwei to sit down before sitting down himself.

  These people in the factory saw that the factory owner attached great importance to this ordinary-looking person, and they all felt curious. Even if he were the son of the factory owner, if there was one, it would not be possible for him to come here and sit down like this. However, these people were all seasoned veterans, guessing in their hearts but not showing anything on the surface. When they saw Wang Cheng'en sit down, they came over together to pay their respects again, and two of them sat down on the chairs in front. The others stood lined up on both sides, all the way to the front of the hall, and suddenly the meeting room was silent.

  Wang Chengen slowly swept his gaze over the people in the hall, then with a slightly sharp tone, he said slowly: "I suppose many of you are wondering why our family brought a commoner into the East Factory Yamen?"

  The room was silent, with no one speaking, quietly waiting for Wang Chengen's next words.

  "This is today's newly appointed Duke of Zhongxing. Everyone come and pay your respects to the Duke."

  Everyone listened, although it wasn't a commoner, but just an earl, it didn't seem worth the emperor's attention. In the capital city, there were many dukes and marquises, so there must be more to this story.

  Now that the factory director has given orders, including the two people sitting in front, they all stood up and paid respects to Zhong Jinwei.

  Zhong Jinwei also stood up, imitating their gesture by clasping his fists and returning a courtesy, before sitting back down.

  The people of Dong Factory all looked serious and listened attentively as Wang Chengen continued to unravel the mystery.

  "His Majesty attaches great importance to Zhong Xingbo, and Zhong Xingbo has also promised to speak for us in front of His Majesty, so that our East Factory can see the light of day again."

  The previously quiet meeting hall suddenly erupted into a commotion. It's no wonder, considering their past prestige, when all the civil and military officials would tremble with fear at the sight of them, but for the past two years, they had been hiding in the East Factory government office, only collecting their salaries without doing any work, spending their days lounging in the sun, and as a result, this group of once-arrogant men had become lethargic.

  Now that they've heard the emperor's words, this so-called Zhongxingbo's energy should be enough to get the Emperor to agree to let them out again, and they can't help but feel excited.

  Wang Chengen took a look at them, and they didn't seem to be in the right state. He lightly coughed, and the hall immediately fell silent. However, the faces of these people were no longer as serious as before, and an excited expression was evident on their faces.

  "No matter whether the Emperor ultimately agreed or not, this kindness from Zhong Xingbo, our East Factory must remember, did you hear?"

  "Yes sir!" The voice was exceptionally clear and loud.

  "His Majesty has ordered our household to dispatch two men from the Eastern Depot to escort Marquis Zhongxing on an errand, and not a single misstep is allowed. Are there any capable individuals you would recommend?"

  This is a great opportunity to make friends with Zhong Xingbo, and I won't let it slip away.

  In the hall, these people's official positions were in charge of penal affairs, leading hundreds and thousands of households, as well as being in charge of classes, leading classes, and managing houses. They weren't the type to go out and wield swords and guns, but naturally they had their own trusted followers, who came forward one after another to recommend them.

  Finally, Wang Chengen chose two people, one was the role of Zhang (also known as Dangtou), and the other was Fan Zhang. The role of Zhang was clever and named Gu Baiquan, while Fan Zhang was good at fighting and named Wang Peng.

  Wang Chengen let the two go down and change into casual clothes before coming back. Then he turned around and asked Zhong Jinwei, "Marquis Zhongxing, can you ride a horse?"

  Zhong Jinwei was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I've never ridden one before."

  Here is far from Dingfu Avenue, it's necessary to go around the Forbidden City for more than half a circle, and there are no means of transportation. Wang Chengen heard that Zhong Jinwei couldn't ride a horse and was somewhat embarrassed. If he didn't ride a horse, he would be exhausted to death. There were also no carts here, what could they do?