Jingshi Shamao Hutong, Yang House. Although it is approaching the end of the year, as the residence of Yang Tinghe, the first assistant of the current dynasty, the upcoming celebration of the New Year does not seem to have anything to do with the people in this mansion.

The little servants who came in and out all looked serious, and the people who were waiting in line at the porter were also solemn, and from time to time they let out a long sigh, as if something unfortunate was about to befall them.

On both sides of the porter, there were two long queues of people waiting to be seen, and the servants of the house also brought out some benches from time to time for the newcomers to rest. And these characters who are waiting to be received, when they see these subordinates, they all bow their eyebrows and come up to give a salute, and take a hole that no one pays attention to, and they want to send their filial piety.

"Little manager, has Yuan Weng ever been free? When will it be the turn of the lower officials to visit? Please also make it convenient and help accommodate you, Xia Guan has been waiting for a few days. ”

Among these visitors, the lowest status is also the Qipin Zhengtang, the Marquis of a hundred miles, and he is a commanding envoy in his own place. But before this mansion, even if it was a second- or third-grade official, it was nothing. Yang Tinghe, who is the secretary of the Ministry of Scholars and Officials of the Jinshen Palace, the prince and the young master, and the first assistant of the dynasty, although he does not have the name of the prime minister, he has the power of the prime minister. The entire Ming Dynasty is under his control, and there is nothing wrong with his mansion being called the Prime Minister's Mansion. The seven officials in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, these officials are just a group of fat sheep at their own mercy in front of the disciples of the Yang Mansion.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang absorbed the fact that the power of the prime minister of the previous dynasty was too great and threatened the imperial power, and abolished the prime minister and established Zhongshu Province. The so-called scholars, from official positions to dispatches, are only in the nature of a senior secretary, and their own authority is not great.

However, by the time of the Zhengde Dynasty, the scholar was already an invisible prime minister, and among the six Shangshu, in addition to the Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, the other five Shangshu met the cabinet bachelors, and they needed to kneel down and salute to show respect, and the weight of their status can be seen.

As for the problem of rank that plagued the cabinet members, it has been solved by means of adding a scholar's title, and now the four scholars of the cabinet, Yang Tinghe, Jiang Mian, Liang Chu, and Mao Ji, all have the title of Shangshu, and they have been awarded the title of one grade. In addition to enjoying the system of a first-class official, from rank to dispatch to real power, he is the unquestioned head of civil officials.

During the period when Zhengde left Beijing, the operation of the entire Ming Empire depended on Yang Tinghe. For example, if today's son is seriously ill, sometimes unconscious and sometimes sober, he cannot handle the affairs of the court, and the power of the entire empire has been fully vested in the cabinet. And within the cabinet, it is all about Yang Tinghe's eyes, it can be said that in this special time, Yang Tinghe and the Son of Heaven are only one step away.

It is said that at this time, he has little time to go home, and there are always important twists and turns waiting for him to give instructions. However, at the end of the year, it was the time for officials to enter Beijing, and all kinds of visits and visits were busy in the peaceful years.

Now that the Son of Heaven is seriously ill, it is a huge crisis for everyone in the officialdom, and in the face of such a crisis, social activities are more frequent than in the past.

Even if it is a dignified head, there are people who have to be received, and there are some entertainment that cannot be pushed off. What's more, now that the situation in Beijing is complicated, Yang Tinghe also has to spend a certain amount of time receiving visitors at home, which is also part of his job.

The subordinates got rid of the entanglement of the officials, but at this time they heard someone say: "The new capital has come out." The new capital will personally send off the guests! ”

Among the guests who came to the Prime Minister's Mansion to meet, the one who could get Yang Tinghe to accompany him out of the study was already a big face, what kind of person could be sent all the way to the door? The officials let go of the subordinates and rushed to the door, wanting to take this opportunity to meet with the new capital and say a few words.

However, these ideas were destined to not be realized, and dozens of fierce-eyed men formed a moving isolation belt, separating these visitors from Yang Tinghe. These big men have big shoulders and round waists, wear Xuanhuang armor, have a swan feather on their heads, and press the handle of their knives with their hands, and their murderous appearance makes these ministers secretly shocked in their hearts, "What a group of fierce gods and evil spirits." ”

Those with eyebrows and eyebrows have already recognized the identities of these soldiers: the outer four armies. These border soldiers, who are known as the pro-army of the Son of Heaven, are a group of vicious generals, plus they went to Jiangnan once, killed people and saw blood, and the murderous spirit was even more fierce. After the Son of Heaven became seriously ill, there were many fewer things for these soldiers to harass the place, but the pressure it brought was greater than in the past, and even the air in the capital division was a little more depressed than elsewhere.

Clustered among these big men, an old man with a white face and a long beard, and the other was a big man with a tiger body and a scar on his waist. The old man was close to the age of sixtieth, but he was in good spirits, and he nodded to the waiting officials as he walked, and everyone felt that the old man was looking at him.

When he came to the door, the big man saluted the old man and said, "Shou Yu, please go back, it is really Jiang's capital crime to send you here." Those souvenirs were sent by Jiang's fellow villagers, if you eat smoothly, ask someone to give you a word, and I will get you some from my hometown. ”

That old man is Yang Tinghe, the current first assistant, he doesn't seem to see any shelf on him, his attitude is kind, he nodded and smiled: "Chitose has a heart." It's a shame to say that when people get old, their mouths will become slanderous, and maybe they will eat your local specialties and eat slippery mouths, and then they will have to work for a thousand years. ”

"It's easy to say, as long as the scholar likes it, this little thing is nothing." Jiang Bin laughed, said goodbye to Yang Tinghe, and left under the escort of a group of soldiers. Outside the Shamao Hutong, two tall horses pulled a wide carriage, Jiang Binfang arrived in front of the car, and two middle-aged men stepped forward to salute, and then asked in a low voice: "Chitose, how is it?" ”

"Let's talk about getting in the car."

On the carriage, several layers of thick bedding had already been padded, and the entire carriage was padded comfortably and warmly, and Shen Zhou and Li Cong asked anxiously about the situation. Shen Zhoudao:

"Chitose, the sons are ready, although we can't say this, but our cronies also have thousands of people. As long as they give us an order, they can follow us. In the past few years, they have eaten and drunk well, had enough food and food, and enjoyed more, and they know very well how many troubles they have caused. If there is a mistake in Banzai, they will not have a good life, as long as you send a word, everyone will follow you to Qingjun's side. ”

"I think it's done." Li Cong didn't say much, but every sentence was extraordinarily powerful, and there was a little more firmness in his eyes.

"Don't worry about the teachers of the Qin King in various places, now everyone doesn't know what the situation will be in the future. As long as we can control the situation in Jingshi, those people will be able to solve it. As for the three major battalions, the elite soldiers have been transferred to the Nine Sides Rotation Garrison before, and the men and horses stationed in the Beijing Division are all a group of waste, which is very easy to deal with. Chitose can't make a mistake, if he misses the opportunity, I'm afraid he will be controlled by that dry literati. ”

Jiang Bin lazily leaned his head against the wall of the compartment, closed his eyes and shook his head, "What you said, I know it very well in my heart, but this fact is too big." If this kind of thing fails, of course, the nine clans will be destroyed, even if it is done, what can we do, in this world, can it be our turn to sit? King Ning's rebellion, it's not that everyone hasn't seen the result, this country is going to be surnamed Zhu after all, and no one else will be convinced if they sit in that seat. He is the king of the domain, and this is the result in the end, what can we do if we do this kind of thing? Of course, if Yang Jiefu kills us all, I can only fight for my life, but the situation is not so bad when I visit today. Don't act rashly, if you take this step, you won't be able to turn back. ”