Who is in charge in Beijing?

Faced with this question, there is a good chance that the officials and people in the capital will give the same answer, the government or the imperial court, or directly today. And the remaining eleven and twelve have to hesitate a little, asking whether this refers to the open or secret.

Yes, as the capital of the Ming Dynasty, this city has the most power, and it is naturally the current imperial court that can have the final say. However, all this is just a statement on the table, in fact, there is a secret hidden beneath that calm surface.

Although the power of the government is extremely powerful, they cannot touch every corner of the capital and take care of every ordinary person. Therefore, in addition to the government, there is another force independent of the temple in the capital - the rivers and lakes.

Hundreds of thousands of people and countless merchants stand in these four or nine cities, which will naturally breed all kinds of relationships, including cooperation and contradictions. And many contradictions, many problems can not be solved by the government alone, or ordinary people do not want to have anything to do with the government, so they began to use the power of the people themselves to settle everything, which created conditions for the establishment of gangs.

So after decades of development, these gangs of rivers and lakes that are not on the table have helped the imperial court and the government deal with many civil disputes in a sense. In addition, these rivers and lakes are all smart and dare not openly oppose the government, so the court turned a blind eye to their existence, which can be regarded as acquiescing in their status in the capital.

Over time, the power of these gangs has become bigger and bigger, and they have become an underground force in the capital that cannot be ignored. Even some things that are inconvenient for the government to do and cannot do will be handed over to them to deal with. As for the common people, sometimes they have to deal with the people in these gangs, which may be more useful than the government.

Ruyi Zhai is a special existence in the rivers and lakes of the capital.

It is not a gang, but neither the gang nor the government dares to despise its existence. Because it has a special ability that ordinary gangs and government governments do not have, he provides everything he asks for help for those who come to ask for help.

Ruyi Zhai, which sounds more like a shop, does sell goods for a living, but the things they sell are extremely special, and they are almost impossible to buy on the market. For example, hiring assassins, such as buying an official position below the fifth rank, and a lot of news that is not known to outsiders.

This is an extremely mysterious existence, and people can't figure out the details of it. However, there is one thing that everyone knows, that is, there must be some high-ranking official or powerful person in the DPRK behind Ruyizhai, otherwise it is impossible for them to do all this, let alone sell many prohibited things, and there is still no government to attack them.

It is said that the biggest backer behind this Ruyi Zhai is the terrifying East Factory.

But in such a mysterious place, its location is extremely low-key, and it is actually opened in an extremely simple alley in the north of the city. If you don't know the details, you can't believe that this mysterious gang with a lot of fame in the capital would hide in such a remote place.

You must know that the capital is known as rich in the east and expensive in the west, and poor in the south and cheap in the north. In the eyes of ordinary people, since most of the people who deal with Ruyizhai are powerful and powerful, and at least they are people with a lot of money, how can they be opened in the prosperous section of the east and west cities. But they don't play their cards according to common sense, which is really puzzling.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that Ruyizhai's business is actually not very good. Often, no one comes to the door for ten days and half a month. But on this day in the middle of April, a tall man, dressed in coarse cloth, with a large burden on his shoulders, and a hat on his head, with his whole face hidden in the shadow of the hat, turned into the deep alley and knocked on the somewhat old door.

After a few moments, the door was opened from the inside, revealing the true face of this wishful fast—

This is a small courtyard with a few entrances, and it seems that the environment is quite quiet, more like a courtyard used by a wealthy merchant or official with some mood to hide the beauty of the gold house than a shop or a gang stronghold. Even the one who answered the door was a handsome, eleven or twelve-year-old boy.

After looking up and down a few times with a gaze that did not match his appearance and age, the boy spoke: "I don't know if your Excellency is ......"

The man replied in a somewhat hoarse voice and a slightly awkward Da Ming official: "I'm here to talk to your shopkeeper Tang about a deal." ”

When the boy heard this, he looked at the other party carefully. Although this person was dressed extremely plainly, it was by no means comparable to ordinary poor people, so he still nodded: "In that case, please come in and talk with me." As he spoke, he stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation to him.

The man in the hat nodded and entered the door. The boy quickly stepped forward, closed the door again, and rushed to the other party in a few steps, and led him towards the courtyard.

At this time, it is the twilight of spring, and even if Beijing is in the north, the weather is getting hotter day by day. But the courtyard is quite cool because of the greenery. As they meandered along the stone-paved path into one of the halls, it was even more chilly, and they didn't know what the reason for it was.

After the boy ushered people into the hall, he did not serve tea and water to the guests like ordinary shops, but only said a few words and left the report. The man in the hat picked a random chair and sat down. When he took off the package from his shoulder and put it on the coffee table beside him, there was a rather dull sound, and even the coffee table made of mahogany seemed to shake a little, and it was obvious that the contents of the package were quite heavy.

After a while, a slightly fat figure walked in from outside. Different from the boy's indifference, this one seemed quite enthusiastic: "You have been waiting for a long time, and I hope you don't want to be surprised." Below, Tang Qian, the shopkeeper of this Ruyi Zhai, smiled...... "While talking, he also made a gesture with the other party."

The hat man also replied casually: "It's easy to say." I also heard about the name of Ruyi Zhai, so I came to buy an object from your store. It's just that, after all, Zai Xia is not from the capital, but I don't know if your Ruyi Zhai is really as rumored to be, as long as you can afford the price, can you buy anything? ”

Shopkeeper Tang had also walked to a chair and sat down at this time, and after looking at the other party a few times, he said with a smile: "The words of friends in the rivers and lakes outside are always untrustworthy. We are not immortals, of course, there are many things that cannot be taken out. For example, if you want to sit in the position of the six ministers, or the cabinet minister, we still can't do it. Also, we can't take out anything like the peach moon in the sky, or the dragon scales and phoenix feathers that we haven't really seen. Although it sounds like modesty, it is actually emphasizing from another angle how much Ruyi Zhai has hands and eyes to the sky.

"In this way, as long as it is not a particularly rare object, or the position of a high-ranking official in the court, Guizhai can be satisfied?" The hat man asked again.

"Yes, as long as you can afford the price, even if you want overseas spices and women from the Japanese country, we can meet them." Tang Qianxiao said without hesitation. The two things he mentioned, with the strictness of the current Daming Sea ban, it is too difficult to get hold of them in the capital, but in his mouth, it seems that these two things can be easily sold.

"I'm not interested in women or spices, I want a picture." The hat man seemed to have believed in the other party's ability, so he immediately said his request.

"Oh? But I don't know what picture you want? Is it Wu Daozi's authentic handiwork, or Gu Kaizhi's painting? ”

"I don't want a drawing, but a map, a topographic map." Speaking of this, this person's voice was a little lower: "The military terrain deployment map in the north of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

As soon as the words came out, Tang Qianxiao's smile that was originally full of cheeks suddenly disappeared, and his eyes became even sharper like a needle, shooting straight at the person in front of him: "Do you want the military defense map of the Northland?" Even his voice became a little sharper.

It's a pity that his gaze was completely blocked by the hat, and he couldn't fall on the other party's face at all. The man in the hat still said in a calm hoarse voice: "Yes, it is the defense map that has caused a lot of trouble in the capital recently." Now that the thing has leaked out, it must not be difficult for you Ruyi Zhai to get your hands on it, right? ”

"Who are you? Why hide your head and show your tail, and dare not show your face so that we can see clearly? Tang Qianxiao stared at the other party, his body was already tense.

"I'm just a guest, a guest who wants to spend a lot of money on pictures. I haven't heard of Ruyizhai having a rule that you have to see people's faces before you can do business. The man still sat firmly, not frightened by the momentum of the shopkeeper Tang.

"Of course, we don't have this rule. However, what you want is too special, and I, as the shopkeeper here, must be sure that you are not calculating us. ”

The man hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and removed the hat he had been wearing, revealing a rough face. Seeing his appearance, Tang Qianxiao was stunned again: "You are a Mongolian ......"

"What? Do you want to choose who else to do business in Ruyizhai? ”

Shopkeeper Tang had immediately guessed the identity of this person, and it should be a meticulous work from the grassland that sneaked into the capital. Because the topographic map of the military department was leaked recently, he thought of coming here to buy the map. After his mind turned, he smiled again: "It's not that much, but this picture is extraordinary, and the price is ......."

"I'm willing to pay 10,000 taels of gold to buy this topographic map!" The other party immediately rushed to speak.

Hearing this bid, Rao is Tang Qianxiao can be regarded as having seen the world, and he can't help but gasp at this time, what a big deal! But then he looked at the man with some suspicion: "Can you really take out so much gold?" ”

"Here is the deposit, five hundred taels of gold!" As he spoke, the man untied his burden, revealing a golden piece inside: "When the time comes, one hand will pay the money, and the other hand will deliver!" ”