Episode 15 The Beiyang of the Ming Dynasty

In the past two days, under the hype of newspapers and radio, Daming's "Xiang's fraud case" has become more vigorous.

Not only the newspaper broadcasts of Nanming, but also the newspapers of the Northern Qing Dynasty spared no effort to publicize this corruption case in Nanming. The only newspaper in the Northern Qing Dynasty, the Daqing Daily, and the only broadcaster, the Daqing Radio, as in the past, seized every malpractice and scandal that broke out in Nanming, reported it in a big way, and tried their best to let their people know how decadent and incorrigible Nanming was.

However, on February 6, the Nanming newspaper suddenly broke the latest news, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate found stolen goods in the safe of the original whistleblower and detained him for interrogation. This incident made the "Xiang's fraud case" take a sharp turn, like a roller coaster, and suddenly became white-hot. The newspaper people who "pushed forward" cheered and shouted with joy, while the newspaper people who "turned backwards" categorically said that there must be shady scenes.

However, the "Daqing Daily" and the "Daqing Radio" were not affected in the slightest, and they were "selectively blind" as usual, so they continued to report on the "Xiang's fraud case" in the same way in China as if there was no such news.

Although the people of the Northern Qing Dynasty could not see the newspapers of the outside world and could not hear the radio of the outside world, the people of the Southern Ming Dynasty could listen to the "Daqing Radio". The experienced people of the Southern Ming Dynasty analyzed the taste from the reports of the Northern Qing Dynasty. Probably because the authorities of the Northern Qing Dynasty also felt that most of the news from the Metropolitan Procuratorate was true, so they cautiously "selectively went blind". If the authorities of the Northern Qing Dynasty feel that it may really be shady, they will definitely expose this "shady scene" according to the usual practice.

So, with the "corroboration" of the Beiqing media, on February 7, Xiang Xiaoqiang's image in the media and among the people became more innocent. And with the revelation of this case, the "Miss Marquis Runaway Case" has become a new hot topic, occupying a lot of newspaper pages, and the attention of the "Xiang's fraud case" has been divided a lot. The paparazzi that were originally squatting at the entrance of the headquarters of the People's Guard Force have now gone to the gate of the Changping Marquis' Mansion.

The revelation of the case this time was not an official announcement by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but it is estimated that the reporter bought the news from a certain imperial history. The Metropolitan Procuratorate is no better than institutions like Dongchang and the People's Guard, and basically every time the Metropolitan Procuratorate tries a major case that is extremely popular, this kind of case leakage will occur. But this kind of leakage is very good for Xiang Xiaoqiang, which is equivalent to helping him remove the black pot in advance. Originally, Xiang Xiaoqiang was also going to ask Fourteen Gege to write another manuscript and "blow up the case" by himself.

In this way, although the Metropolitan Procuratorate is still investigating the people in the Changping Marquis Mansion, the case has not been closed, and no official news has been released, but for Xiang Xiaoqiang, if nothing else, this "Xiang's fraud case" has been successfully passed.

Xiang Xiaoqiang just got a new confidant, but they separated all of a sudden. He has been hungry like a cat for the past two days, always wandering around, wanting to find Zheng Yuxuan. But every time I was dissuaded by a stomachache and fourteen grids. Now is the critical moment, once you want to let the outside world know that Zheng Yuxuan is in his hands, then everything is over. Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that Zheng Yuxuan must also miss herself, especially her lively personality, she stayed alone in the small villa these days, couldn't go out, and could only face a strange uncle every day......

I went over every night to take care of her, cook for her, and then buy food for the next day. Poor Miss Zheng can't cook by herself, and every day except for dinner, she has to eat cooked food bought from roadside stalls...... Especially living there every night with a stomachache, although Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that he didn't dare to make a move on Zheng Yuxuan because of the stomachache, he was still very awkward and wanted to end this situation as soon as possible.

"Xiuxiu," Xiang Xiaoqiang hugged Xiuxiu's waist when no one was around, and smiled a little weakly, "Today is the 7th......"

"Hmm."

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled again:

"Alas, today is still the fifteenth day of the first lunar month......"

Xiuxiu's eyes darkened, lowered her head, and said faintly:

"I know."

Xiang Xiaoqiang sighed and gently stroked the tips of Xiuxiu's forehead:

"I said I got married today, but who knew that this incident happened again a few days ago, you see......"

Xiuxiu snorted, raised her face, and her eyes were red again, but she still smiled very meekly:

"Look at you, my lord, I understand...... We've all seen what's going on these days...... It's okay, I'...... Concubine...... The concubine body is waiting for you. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at Xiuxiu's gentle and virtuous appearance, and was really moved in his heart. He hugged her tightly and kissed her on the forehead and the tip of her nose.

When the kiss reached the tip of her nose, Xiuxiu was a little nervous, struggled slightly, and then glanced at Xiang Xiaoqiang's ears, she didn't dare to struggle, she blushed and closed her eyes and lowered her head, stubbornly motionless.

Xiang Xiaoqiang felt the stiffness of Xiuxiu's body, and the big beat of her heart, knowing that she was so nervous now, and he didn't dare to resist, he couldn't bear it, and let go of her gently.

Xiuxiu opened her eyes a little confused, and said softly:

“…… My lord? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked into her eyes and smiled softly:

"But don't worry, it won't be out this month. Or it's on the 14th, it's Valentine's Day, how romantic. ”

Xiuxiu was happy, with a smile in her eyes, pursed her lips and nodded gently.

"By the way, I told you last time that I would get married today, but you didn't tell Qiu Yun, did you?"

Xiuxiu was stunned for a moment, and then whispered:

"Nope."

"Well," Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded reassuringly, "I didn't say it was the best." Otherwise, she would have been disappointed for once. ”

A sly light flashed in the corners of Xiuxiu's eyes, and she dared to laugh:

"Your Excellency...... Can you tell her this time? ”

"Looking for a fight!" Xiang Xiaoqiang patted Xiuxiu's buttocks lightly and smiled, "Go ahead, you can do it yourself!" ”

Xiuxiu lowered her head and went away with satisfaction. Xiang Xiaoqiang reveled in Xiuxiu's charming gentleness.

Alas, this show! It seems that he has the potential to become a fox!

……

That night, Xiang Xiaoqiang held a small drinking party in the headquarters.

This drinking party can't be compared with the one Zhu Yourong did in the fortress, it's just that all his henchmen are gathered together and everyone has a dinner together. In view of the fact that Xiang Xiaoqiang is still on the cusp of public opinion, he did not go to the restaurant to set up wine, and he did not even have a dinner in the restaurant of the headquarters, but in a small conference room in his office, let the restaurant prepare the dishes and send them up, and everyone just had a meal together. Of course, the craftsmanship of the master of the canteen of the headquarters cannot be compared with that of the restaurant outside. But it's not mainly for food.

Attending the dinner were Li Gensheng, commander of the mobile team, commander of the security team, snail of the deputy commander, Shishige, commander of the political work team, Li Changgui, commander of the Praetorian Guard, as well as Qiu Yun and Xiuxiu.

These people are all core members of Xiang Xiaoqiang's group, confidants among henchmen. Zheng Yuxuan ran over, Li Gensheng, Snail, and Li Changgui didn't know yet. Although this matter is very serious, and the fewer people who know about it, the better, but after asking Xiaoqiang for the opinion of Fourteen Gege, he still decided to tell them. Because these three people are relatively stable, their mouths are very tight, and they can completely trust it, and they will know about Zheng Yuxuan sooner or later, and they will definitely have thoughts at that time: why does the stomach hurt, fourteen geges know, but the three of them don't know. So it's better to tell them now.

Xiang Xiaoqiang listened to Fourteen Gege's suggestion, called the three of them over, quietly told them about Zheng Yuxuan, and asked them to keep their mouths tight. They also knew that Xiang Xiaoqiang was doing this to show trust, but they were still very happy, because after all, it was a very fatal thing, and Xiang Xiaoqiang could have not told them, but told them.

Xiang Xiaoqiang held this cocktail party for two purposes, one is to celebrate the complete victory of the "Xiang's fraud case", and the other is to announce one thing at the cocktail party to solicit everyone's opinions.

After a few rounds of drinking, Xiang Xiaoqiang pointed to his major general's epaulettes and asked with a smile:

"Guys, do you think there's something missing here?"

With such a sentence, everyone was "coaxed" to get excited, and they all understood that Xiang Xiaoqiang was hinting that he was going to promote everyone's rank.

Sure enough, Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:

"During the defense of Nanjing, I received His Majesty's edicts, one of which was that I was promoted to lieutenant general to Xiaoqiang. But there have been some days since I had time to get promoted. Now let's talk about it. I'll start with my arrangement. This commander, in accordance with the will of His Majesty, has been promoted from major general to lieutenant general. It turns out that because I, the highest commander, is only a colonel, the rank of the officers of our People's Guard Corps is generally low, which is very unreasonable. Now I have decided that the four commanders and one deputy commander present here will be temporarily promoted to the rank of colonel. Qiu Yu and Shang Xiu, as the commander's adjutant, had a low military rank, and they were each promoted by one level, Qiu Yu was promoted to captain, and Shang Xiu was promoted to lieutenant. ”

After saying to Xiaoqiang, these people were all excited. Although they are still colonel-level officers, after all, they have been promoted to one level in such a short time. More than two months ago, Li Gensheng was still a retired non-commissioned officer, he still had a stomachache and was still a lowest-level agent, the snail was still in the gang, and Li Changgui was an undercover agent in Beiqing, with a dark future and a bleak future.

The snail and the fourteen geges cast a grateful glance at Xiang Xiaoqiang. Xiang Xiaoqiang can completely say "a few of you are promoted to one level", not "a few of you are promoted to colonels". In this way, the fourteen squares and the snail are upgraded by two levels in a row. The snail knew that Xiang Xiaoqiang still regarded him as a henchman among his henchmen. Although he was still asked to be his deputy for a stomachache, he suddenly rose to the same rank as a stomachache. He understood that Xiang Xiaoqiang was hinting to him: Although you are a deputy, your position is very important, that is, you have a stomachache.

Fourteen Gege regarded this promotion by two levels as Xiang Xiaoqiang's sincerity. She was a colonel in the Northern Qing Dynasty, but when she came to Xiang Xiaoqiang, she was only given a major, which made her uncomfortable for a long time. Fourteen Gege is different from those with a stomachache and Li Gensheng, she is a princess of Daming, with an amazing annuity, and she doesn't care about the specific benefits of the promotion of military rank. What she cares about is Xiang Xiaoqiang's sincerity and respect for her.

Now Xiang Xiaoqiang "knows that mistakes can be corrected", and gave her the same rank as others at once, and Fourteen Gege feels very pleased. She also knows that her identity is sensitive, and even if she is promoted to general, she will not have any power at all. His desire for power can only be realized by Xiang Xiaoqiang. As long as you can cling to Xiang Xiaoqiang tightly and hold Xiang Xiaoqiang in your hands, then even if you are just a little captain, you will have supreme power.

Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu looked at each other and smiled, and their hearts were warm. The two of them didn't care about their rank anymore. Anyway, it's Mrs. Xiang soon. It's Qiu Qiu, seeing that although she is no longer Xiuxiu's captain, and Xiuxiu, who is also Mrs. Xiang, is always one level below herself, she feels a little unhappy. Xiuxiu saw it, took Qiu Yu's hand, scratched it gently, and tickled Qiu Yu so much that she wanted to laugh.

But Xiuxiu knew very well in her heart that this was a balancing act for Xiang Xiaoqiang. During this time, Xiuxiu has become Xiang Xiaoqiang's veritable right-hand man, Xiang Xiaoqiang has handed over many things to her, and she has spent more time with her than Qiuqiu. Xiuxiu understands that the sentence "You are more promising than Qiuqiu" that Xiang Xiaoqiang said to herself, but it is true, and it is now being fulfilled. After entering Xiang's house, Qiu Yu is most likely a wife, and she is not only a wife, but will continue to be Xiang's career helper.

If Daming still has a wife and concubine, Xiang Xiaoqiang will definitely let Qiu Yu be his wife and Xiuxiu be his concubine. But now there is no distinction between wives and concubines in the Ming Dynasty, and the legal status is equal. Therefore, Xiang Xiaoqiang is in the military rank, and he always makes Qiu Yu one level higher than Xiuxiu.

Xiang Xiaoqiang's considerations, Qiu Yun couldn't understand it, and only felt that he couldn't stand Xiuxiu, and Xiuxiu couldn't leave it. But she is also a little woman, she only cares about her status in her husband's heart, and she doesn't care much about her military rank.

……

The above military rank arrangement is the decision of Xiang Xiaoqiang as the commander, and whether the subordinates are satisfied or dissatisfied, there is no need to discuss when it is announced. What Xiang Xiaoqiang wants to discuss with them is how to operate.

Broadly speaking, the People's Guard is, of course, an army force. However, in a narrow sense, the People's Guard is the third branch of the military directly under the empress in addition to the army and navy.

In Xiaoqiang's view, this is the same as the "second artillery" in later generations, although it is a land-based strategic missile force in a broad sense, which belongs to the army, but it is directly under the Central Military Commission and belongs to the first branch of the army and the navy and air force. The People's Guard is much the same at the moment.

The Ming Army and Navy have a quota for officer promotion every year, and other units that want to promote officers must apply to the War Department or the Navy Department. It is precisely because of the nature of the People's Guard that Xiang Xiaoqiang can decide on his own to promote the ranks of his subordinates without reporting to the War Department, and he can promote so many people at once.

Now the question is, do I need to go to the War Department to go through the formalities? Or is it the People's Guard doing it on its own?

Most of the subordinates were in favor of kicking out the War Department, and the whole process would be handled by the People's Guard. However, the more cautious Snail and Li Changgui still put forward their opinions: Now that Lord Xiang is so trusted in front of His Majesty, even if we report all these lists to the War Department, it is unlikely that they will make things difficult and not approve them. It's just a formality. On the contrary, if we kick the War Department away, although His Majesty will also approve of this promotion, it may offend the War Department. In the future, there will be many areas to deal with with the War Department, such as logistics, personnel allocation, financial allocation, and so on. I can't offend them for this little thing.

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, noncommittal, and turned his gaze to the others. Everyone was silent for a while, all savoring the snail's words, and no one spoke.

Xiang Xiaoqiang hates this the most. Wouldn't it, now that the high-ranking lords under his command are revealed, each of them has a future, and they are all beginning to be cautious and have a city government? …… It's too early, right?

He looked over to Fourteen to hear her opinion. As a princess, Fourteen Gege is relatively detached here, and he should have less scruples about speaking.

Fourteen Gege's eyes rolled, glanced at the others, and then looked at Xiao Qiang's almost pleading gaze, his heart was very satisfied, and he said his opinion very humbly.

She believes that whether to leave the War Department or kick the War Department away depends on Xiang Xiaoqiang's positioning of the People's Guard Corps and on the setting of the People's Guard's future status. Do you want to develop into an expanded version of the Praetorian Guard that only belongs directly to Your Majesty? Or do you want to develop into a completely ** army within an army, or even a country within a state?

If it is the former, it is really unwise to offend the War Department. But if it is the latter, then it is necessary to set a precedent for the operation of this **, and it is not hesitated to offend the War Department.

…… A completely ** army within an army, or even a country within a state......

Xiang Xiaoqiang immediately understood what she meant.

Fourteen Gege, the restless woman, is agitating herself to develop the People's Guard into a huge force with its own army, politics, economy, diplomacy...... of, the "Beiyang" of the Ming Dynasty!