Chapter 523: The Yanqi
Late at night, a familiar scene was played out again outside the capital.
"Who?"
"Uncle Ben Jiang Qingzhi!"
"Uncle, this is..."
"Ben has to go into town on urgent business."
"Is there any decree?"
"No, go and ask for instructions!"
The fast horse immediately went to the West Garden.
Upon hearing the news, the Taoist priest nodded immediately. Yan Song thought to himself, why didn't Jiang Qingzhi go to inspect the tomb at this late hour, but rushed back in a hurry?
He returned to Zhilu with doubts.
Outside the duty room, Yan Song smelled a fragrance and felt the steam through the curtain.
There are two tables facing each other in the duty room. These are the desks of Yan Song and his son.
At this moment, there was a small stove next to it, with a pot on it. Several dishes were heated in the pot, and the aroma was overflowing.
Yan Shifan squatted beside him, clumsily using a spatula to carefully turn the dishes over to avoid mixing them together in the pot.
"Don't tell my dad there's lard in this, just say it's vegetable oil."
The attendant who was preparing the dishes responded, saying, "I don't know why the Prime Minister suddenly became a vegetarian and doesn't eat any meat at all."
"Who knows! But we can't go on like this. We look thinner." Yan Shifan put down the spatula and fanned it a dozen times with a palm-leaf fan. The charcoal fire in the small stove crackled and the flames burned fiercely.
Yan Song stepped back quietly, then coughed dryly, "Where is the person on duty?"
The two dozing clerks woke up and saw that it was Yan Song, and quickly apologized.
"This won't happen again." Yan Song lifted the curtain and went in.
"Dad." Yan Shifan stood up and fanned him a few times with a palm-leaf fan, then he remembered that it was a little cold outside.
"Jiang Qingzhi is outside the city. He said he has to go into the city for urgent matters." Yan Song sat down. The attendant brought him some tea. He took a sip and said, "What is more important than investigating the tomb for the late prince?"
"Dad, let's eat first!"
Yan Shifan said.
There was helplessness in Yan Song's eyes, but seeing his son's attentive face, he sighed in his heart and went over to sit down.
Yan Shifan handed him the bowl and chopsticks and said, "Most likely he encountered something outside the city. It must be something big to force him to enter the city overnight. In my opinion, it can be one of several things. The first is related to the safety of Your Majesty, the second is related to the army, and the last is his own business. If it is beyond these three, I will dig out my eyes."
"Don't talk nonsense." Yan Song said, "What is the meaning of being cautious when alone? There is a spirit three feet above your head."
Yan Shifan smiled disapprovingly, "Your Majesty, everything is fine here... If there was something wrong in Xin'an Lane, Jiang Qingzhi's wife is not a fool and would definitely send someone to the palace for help. No one is coming at this moment, so it must not be a family matter."
Yan Shifan picked up a piece of food for his father with chopsticks and said, "Dad, eat more."
Yan Song looked at the food in the bowl, chanted Buddhist mantras silently, and ate slowly, "So, this is the military matter. Come here."
"Prime Minister." Two clerks on duty came in from outside.
"Pay attention to the surroundings." Yan Song's eyes were solemn, "Report immediately if there is any movement."
"Yes."
"Dad, don't worry about this matter." Yan Shifan said.
"I am the Prime Minister, and I will be the first to bear the brunt of the incident. How can I just ignore it?"
"If this matter is extremely urgent, Jiang Qingzhi could have sent someone to climb the city walls with a basket and follow him into the palace to report the news. But he would rather wait at the foot of the city walls, which shows that he is not in a hurry unless it is an urgent matter. Why are you in a hurry?"
Yan Song looked at him for a long time and said, "People say that being too smart is like being a demon, and being too smart shortens your life. From now on, don't try to figure out other people's ideas."
Yan Shifan was about to retort, but when he saw his father looking at him with tenderness in his eyes, he changed his tone and said, "I know, I know, let's eat quickly!"
Yan Song ate a bowl of rice and said he was full.
"I'm going to change my clothes."
When he got to the toilet, Yan Song squatted down, reached in and probed his throat a few times.
"vomit!"
In the duty room, Yan Shifan said proudly, "Father really didn't figure it out. From now on, we'll make dinner like this every day."
"Yes!"
Outside the toilet, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, with tears in his eyes, drank tea and rinsed his mouth, and did not forget to order his followers not to tell anyone.
"God, please forgive me." Yan Song put his hands together and sincerely confessed, "I pray that the gods will protect the East Tower and keep it safe..."
……
The city gate opened and Jiang Qingzhi entered the city with his guards.
There is actually a young girl?
The soldiers who opened the door were surprised to see the girl.
Laifu Inn.
For business travelers, nothing is more important than having a good name. So whether it is an inn or a restaurant, when naming, they pay more attention to whether it is auspicious rather than literary talent.
Late at night, two lanterns with the words "Lai Fu" written on them were hung outside the inn. The lanterns swayed gently in the night wind, and the halo of light also swayed with them.
A night watchman was napping in the lobby.
Knock knock knock!
Hearing someone knocking on the door, the waiter opened his eyes and asked, "Why is there someone staying here in the middle of the night?"
He rubbed his eyes and went to open the door.
The door opened, and there were several men and a young girl outside.
"Can Li Yi live here?" Sun Bu Tong asked.
The guy asked, "What are you waiting for..."
Sun Bu Tong said, "We are following orders. If you don't want to die, speak in a low voice."
At this time, the eunuch who came with him came over. When the waiter saw him, he quickly said, "I have to check it out."
Everyone followed him in, and the waiter took out a notebook and started flipping through it.
"Here!" A finger passed over his hand and pointed at Li Yi's name.
"From Suzhou Prefecture. It's him!" Sun Bu Tong turned around.
Jiang Qingzhi has already gone up the stairs.
Sun Bu Tong pointed around, and followed the palace guards accompanying the eunuchs out of the inn and patrolled the periphery.
Jiang Qingzhi went up to the second floor, followed by the waiter, who pointed ahead and said, "It's right there. The next three rooms are all his people."
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, walked to the outside of Li Yi's room, and kicked him.
Bah!
The door didn't open, but his foot was a little painful from the recoil.
After taking a look at the smirking Sun Bu Tong, Jiang Qingzhi kicked him again.
Bang!
The door was shaking, but this time it was quite polite and was kicked open.
On the bed inside, a man sat up dazedly, "You bastard! Someone, someone, someone!"
Jiang Qingzhi walked in, and the waiter followed him in with a candlestick. "Li Yi?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"It's your grandfather!" Li Yi cursed.
Sun Bu Tong came over, turned his long sword sideways, and hit him hard on the face with the blade.
With a "puff", Li Yi opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Whose grandfather are you?" Sun Bu Tong said grimly, "Get down and kneel down!"
Li Yi finally came to his senses. At this moment, screams were heard from next door and someone was shouting for mercy.
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at the waiter, who said with a clear expression, "I'm downstairs. If you have any instructions, just call me."
"Uncle?" Li Yi looked up at Jiang Qingzhi.
"I am Jiang Qingzhi." Jiang Qingzhi looked at Li Yi coldly, "Where did you get the formula for gunpowder?"
Instantly, Li Yi's face turned pale, and his whole body was shaking like a sieve, "Master, I am a villain, a villain..."
"Don't think you can escape death. Tell me, and you'll die more easily. If you don't tell me..." Jiang Qingzhi turned around and walked out, "Sun Bu Tong, do it!"
"Understood!" Sun Bu Tong was overjoyed and immediately took out a small knife, "Shut his mouth!"
The eunuch was outside. When he saw Jiang Qingzhi coming out, he said, "His Majesty ordered us to pass on a message, saying that it's late at night. If it's not a big deal, go home and rest after you finish your work, and go back tomorrow to investigate. Young people should not be too confident of their health. If you don't take care of yourself now, you will have problems when you get older..."
In front of Jiang Qingzhi, the Taoist never spoke so much.
Jiang Qingzhi seemed to see the Taoist talking, and his heart was warmed, "I know."
A muffled groan was heard from inside, and soon, Sun Bu Tong came out with a smell of blood, "Master, there is a manager in the workshop, and he is from the same hometown as Li Yi. The two of them jointly controlled the purchase of charcoal in the workshop.
Li Yi was bribed by a spy from Altan Khan's side. Once, when he was drinking with the steward, he vaguely heard him mention something about thunder and lightning, and he was tempted. He then bribed the steward from his hometown and got the recipe. "
Charcoal is needed to make gunpowder, but Jiang Qingzhi did not interfere in its purchase.
"Looks like I have to go to the palace."
Late at night in the capital, the sound of horse hooves once again broke the silence.
"Who?"
"Emergency!"
"It's Long Wilbur, get out of the way!"
Several riders galloped away all the way to the West Garden.
"Hello, uncle!"
"Open the door. I have something urgent to report to His Majesty."
"Yes."
Seeing the eunuchs accompanying them, the gate of the West Garden opened.
The Taoist priest is reading memorials.
"Your Majesty, Earl Chang Wei is here." Huang Jin came in to report.
"The dew is heavy now, and the boy is not in good health. Ask someone to prepare a bowl of mutton soup with some chili peppers."
"Yes."
"Chili pepper is a good thing. It helps in promoting blood circulation."
Jiang Qingzhi strode in, "Your Majesty."
"Why does my Marquis of Guanjun come to see you so late at night?" The Taoist seemed to be in a good mood.
"The gunpowder formula has been leaked."
Emperor Jiajing's smile gradually disappeared, and his anger rose as Jiang Qingzhi reported.
"…The situation was urgent, so I sent people to pursue the caravan from the grasslands, and later captured three secret agents of the Altan tribe outside the capital…"
Emperor Jiajing looked at his cousin for a long time and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Please sit down."
Jiang Qingzhi felt exhausted at this moment. After he sat down, he pounded his thighs a few times and said, "I'm a little hungry."
"The mutton soup hasn't arrived yet?" The Taoist priest was a little angry.
"I'll go and take a look." Huang Jin hurried out.
"Your Majesty, this incident shows that the current purchasing method of the gunpowder workshop is inappropriate. In addition, why can a manager get the gunpowder formula? It shows that the management is lax." Jiang Qingzhi said.
"So what do you think we should do?" asked Emperor Jiajing.
"The formula can only be controlled by a few people, and the raw materials are purchased through the Ministry of War or the Armory Bureau, isolating the gunpowder workshop from the outside world." Jiang Qingzhi said.
This is also a method learned from Daoye, using the Yan Party to separate himself from the ministers. In this way, if the ministers want to attack Daoye, they must first get Yan Song and his son out of office.
Jiang Qingzhi was suddenly stunned. The history books described that Xu Jie and other "gentlemen" were seeking to overthrow the Yan Party. What was the purpose of this overthrow?
Is it really for the Ming Dynasty?
Or is it to destroy the wall that blocks Daoye?
The mutton soup arrived, brought by Huang Jin himself, and it looked steaming hot.
"Give him two more cakes. Five meals a day is not too much for a young man." Emperor Jiajing said with a smile.
The big pancake was eaten with mutton soup, which had a lot of chili powder in it. Jiang Qingzhi was sweating profusely while eating it.
By the end of the meal, the bottom of the bowl was full of mutton, even with the skin.
Jiang Qingzhi took a few bites and felt relaxed all over.
"Your Majesty, that steward..." Jiang Qingzhi stood up.
"The gunpowder issue is a secret, so you handle it." Emperor Jiajing said, "After you arrest the person, go back and rest. Hand the prisoner over to... let Yan San come."
"Yes."
In less than a quarter of an hour, Yan San appeared in the hall.
"After we arrest the person, you will interrogate him."
"Yes."
Yan San glanced at Jiang Qingzhi and thought that this was another job where Chang Wei Bo had to use the brains and we had to do the hard work.
The group arrived outside the steward's house. Yan San saw Sun Bu Tong easily climb over the wall and open the door. He couldn't help but evaluate it and found that although he was better in martial arts, there was still a big gap in this kind of means.
I have to practice later.
The steward was dragged out of bed, and when he saw Jiang Qing in the yard, he collapsed. "I knew this day would come, I knew..."
Without waiting for the torture, the manager explained everything clearly. He was the only one involved in the case, but he revealed that there were as many as nine corrupt officials in the gunpowder workshop.
"shocking!"
Jiang Qingzhi turned around and saw Yan San looked a little disappointed. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Yan San shook his head, "What are we doing here?"
Jiang Qingzhi said seriously: "Being a soy sauce maker is also a job."
While teasing Yan San, Jiang Qingzhi was looking towards the north.
Mo Zhan, you must catch up with that caravan!
(End of this chapter)
