Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 123 Deputy Captain

After returning to his residence, Zhou Anmin did not sleep well all night. He tossed and turned thinking about his meeting with Wei Zhongxian and their conversation today.

On the second day, Zhou Anmin first found a store to buy some gifts, and then went to look for Wei Liangqing according to the address Wei Zhongxian told him yesterday.

It is true that when one person succeeds, everyone around him benefits. When Zhou Anmin arrived at the place where Wei Liangqing lived, he couldn't help but feel emotional.

Two months ago, Wei Liangqing was still a farmer working on the land at home, but now, in the blink of an eye, he has become a rising star in Beijing.

The house he lives in now is not simple at first glance, with a large gate and courtyard, and it looks very imposing.

He went forward and knocked on the door. The servant who opened the door saw Zhou Anmin looking him up and down with a look of disapproval. Zhou Anmin smiled and told the other party his identity, and also mentioned Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch Wei. The servant smiled and hurriedly invited Zhou Anmin in, asking him to wait in the gatehouse. After he went in to report, he hurried back and bowed to Zhou Anmin repeatedly to apologize.

Then, they went inside. The house was not small, with several entrances in front and back. It was only when they reached the backyard that they saw Wei Liangqing coming to greet them.

Wei Liangqing was no longer dressed the same as before. When he came to the capital, he wore cloth clothes, which were bought by Zhou Anmin. At that time, Wei Liangqing felt a little uncomfortable wearing cloth clothes, because he had never worn such new clothes since he was a child. He was very careful when walking, for fear of getting them dirty.

But now Wei Liangqing was dressed in silk and satin, had gained a lot of weight, and looked much rosier than before. After seeing Zhou Anmin, Wei Liangqing walked towards him quickly, looking extremely affectionate.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Wei Liangqing led Zhou Anmin into the house. In the house, two beautiful maids served tea and snacks, and then left after putting down the snacks and bowing. Seeing this scene, Zhou Anmin would be lying if he said he was not envious. It was unimaginable that a peasant could live such a rich life by relying on his uncle.

While drinking tea and chatting, Wei Liangqing was still very affectionate to Zhou Anmin, which made Zhou Anmin feel much more at ease. Although Wei Liangqing rose to fame overnight, he still recognized him as a brother, and Wei Liangqing was really good to Zhou Anmin. Not only did he ask Zhou Anmin when he came to the capital, he also let Zhou Anmin live in his home, and took the initiative to introduce his uncle Wei Zhongxian to him.

As he was talking, Zhou Anmin told Wei Liangqing that he had met Wei Zhongxian, and that he was now living in what Wei Zhongxian told him. After hearing this, Wei Liangqing suddenly realized and laughed, and then happily told Zhou Anmin about their experiences after breaking up. The changes in the past month made Wei Liangqing feel like he was in a dream. Sometimes when he woke up in the morning, looking at the displays around him and the clothes he was wearing, Wei Liangqing sometimes couldn't believe that all this was true.

On that day, Wei Liangqing hosted a banquet for Zhou Anmin. The two of them had a good drink. After they had a great time, Wei Liangqing asked Zhou Anmin to stay, saying that the New Year was coming soon and it might be too late for him to go back now, so it would be better for him to spend the New Year with him.

He was alone in the capital, and his uncle Wei Zhongxian was often in the palace and could only leave the palace rarely. He lived in such a big house, and although he had servants at home, it was really boring to live there for a long time without anyone to talk to. Zhou Anmin came back just in time, so that he could spend more time with him. Zhou Anmin did not refuse this, because Wei Zhongxian had this intention, and Zhou Anmin himself had this idea too.

In this way, Zhou Anmin stayed at Wei Liangqing's house. In the following days, the two of them either drank and chatted, or wandered around the capital together. The two people who had a good relationship were almost inseparable and became closer.

In a blink of an eye, it was the Chinese New Year. Zhou Anmin also spent the New Year's Eve with Wei Liangqing. I haven't seen Wei Zhongxian for these days. I thought he would come, but he didn't. I guess he was accompanying the emperor in the palace. After the third day of the New Year, Wei Zhongxian finally took the time to come to Wei Liangqing's house. The two kowtowed to Wei Zhongxian and wished him a happy new year. Wei Zhongxian smiled and said good, and accepted their gifts, and then let them stand up and talk.

After chatting for a while and having lunch together, Wei Zhongxian, who was busy with official duties, had to return to the palace after lunch.

Zhou Anmin and Wei Liangqing saw Wei Zhongxian off. When they got outside the door, Wei Zhongxian paused before getting into the car, turned around and said something to Zhou Anmin, telling him that he could go back for a few days, take a good rest for a few days, and then bring a message to Wang Rong. Then they just had to wait patiently.

Hearing this, Zhou Anmin was overjoyed and thanked Wei Zhongxian immediately. Wei Zhongxian waved his hand and said meaningfully to Zhou Anmin to do a good job in the future and not to disappoint him. Zhou Anmin patted his chest to express his loyalty, and then sent Wei Zhongxian to the carriage. He was completely relieved when the carriage drove away.

Before leaving, Zhou Anmin left most of the silver he had with him to Wei Liangqing. Wei Liangqing didn't want to accept it at first. What's wrong with a brother helping him? Why would brothers need silver? But Zhou Anmin told him that Wei Zhongxian had helped him with some things. Even if they were family members, some things had to be done by subordinates, which also cost money, right? Besides, he was living in the capital now. It was not easy to live in the capital, so it was always good to have more silver in hand. This was also his own intention.

In this way, Wei Liangqing accepted the silver and then said goodbye to Zhou Anmin reluctantly.

Zhou Anmin packed his luggage and left the capital on horseback just like he did before. After leaving the capital, he rode home at full speed and finally returned to Pingshun a few days later.

When they got home, Zhou Anmin didn't say much to Zhu Xiuer about the trip to the capital, but simply brushed it off as a business trip. However, he wrote a letter, carefully telling Zhu Shenzhu about his trip to the capital, and also wrote down what Wei Zhongxian had said to him. After the letter was sent through the post station, Zhou Anmin had done everything he could do, and the next step was to wait patiently.

Zhou Anmin originally thought that he would have to wait for a few days, at least until Zhu Shenzhui received his letter and came to find him before he could get any news.

But Zhou Anmin really didn't expect the news to come so quickly. Just two days after he returned home, people from the court came.

The person who came was a military officer, not alone, but with many people around him. Zhou Anmin was really shocked when he saw him. Because the clothes he wore were actually those of a second-rank military officer, which was a high position, and he was not very old, and looked about the same age as Zhou Anmin.

When he saw the other person, Zhou Anmin hurriedly stepped forward and saluted respectfully, but before he could bend down, the person supported him and looked very friendly and affectionate.

After Zhou Anmin reported his name, he realized that this person was Tian Ergeng, the grandson of the former Minister of War Tian Le. He was employed in the Five Military Governor's Office by virtue of his grandfather's influence, and his current official position was Assistant Governor of the Governor's Office.

This official position is not low. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of the Five Military Commission, the Five Military Commission was the institution that truly held military power. In other words, it was equivalent to the General Staff or the Three Military Command in later generations.

The Five Military Governor's Office had one grand governor, and was divided into five military governor's offices: the Central Army, the Left Army, the Right Army, the Front Army, and the Rear Army. Each governor's office had left and right governors, left and right associate governors, and a deputy governor of the governor's office. Their official positions were higher than those of civil servants, and they were usually held by meritorious veterans of the court.

However, since the Hongwu Dynasty, the post of Grand Commander has been vacant, and the highest position is only the Left and Right Commanders. The Left and Right Commanders are of the first rank, the Associate Governor is of the second rank, and the Assistant Governor of the Commandery is of the second rank. They are all high-ranking officials in the court who control the army for the emperor.

However, after the Battle of Tumu, the Five Military Commandery was greatly weakened due to the heavy losses suffered by the nobles in this battle. Later, Yu Qian turned the tide with the post of Minister of War. After Yu Qian, the civil officials rose to power, and the real power of the Five Military Commandery was further weakened. Now most of the power that originally belonged to the Five Military Commandery has been transferred to the Ministry of War, and this once most powerful military institution has basically become a decoration.

Now, the Five Military Commandery is simply a place for the elderly to settle down, and to house some nobles. In addition, it is also a place to reward the descendants of some old officials. For example, Tian Ergeng, although he is a second-rank deputy official in the Commandery, he has no power at all. He is just an official with a special status. If you don't understand, you can refer to the title of "Senior Counselor" given by Chiang Kai-shek to the retired warlords.

But no matter what, the rank is real. For Zhou Anmin, Tian Ergeng is an absolute big shot.

"Master Tian..."

"Hey, we're all family, why are you being so formal?" Tian Ergeng waved his hand and laughed, "Brother Zhou and Liang Qing are good friends. I have a good relationship with Liang Qing in private, too. I even had a drink with Liang Qing when I left Beijing. By the way, Liang Qing specifically mentioned you to me and asked me to say hello when I came to Shanxi."

"In terms of age, I am a few years older than you. If you don't mind, you can just call me Brother Tian. Besides, my official position looks impressive, but it's actually shit. If it weren't for the errand, I wouldn't bother wearing this."

Holding Zhou Anmin's hand, Tian Ergeng said with a smile. Zhou Anmin immediately understood what Tian Ergeng meant. After all this fuss, this guy was also one of the people who defected to Wei Zhongxian. As for his acquaintance with Wei Liangqing, Zhou Anmin just smiled. He had lived in Wei Liangqing's house in the capital for so many days before, and the two of them were so close that they wore the same pants. Wei Liangqing had never mentioned Tian Ergeng.

So the term "familiar" was probably just Tian Ergeng's way of flattering himself in order to bring the two closer. However, he said that he had drunk with Wei Liangqing before leaving Beijing, which might be possible. After all, Tian Ergeng's rank was not low, and it was possible that Wei Zhongxian asked him to come to Shanxi this time so that he could get to know Wei Liangqing. In this way, he was indeed one of their own.

Then again, Tian Ergeng's status was much higher than Zhou Anmin's. It was just a coincidence that he could get close to Wei Zhongxian. In the future, such a person would definitely be used by Wei Zhongxian. Zhou Anmin was a man of great intelligence. How could he possibly offend Tian Ergeng? He immediately declined with fear and trepidation, and then changed his words to call Tian Ergeng "brother".

The two men met and exchanged a few pleasantries before Tian Ergeng got down to business. He took out the official document he had prepared long ago and announced Zhou Anmin's job change.

The official document said that in view of Zhou Anmin's great contribution in suppressing the Wenxiang Sect and his diligence in the Jinyiwei for many years, Zhou Anmin was promoted to the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei Luzhouwei Captain's Office, and actually assumed the authority of a captain.

After the announcement, Tian Ergeng personally handed the official documents and appointment documents to Zhou Anmin, and bowed to congratulate Zhou Anmin. After Zhou Anmin subconsciously took it, he looked at the things in his hand, his expression was a little dazed for a moment. He never thought that he would jump from a second-rate captain to the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei Luzhouwei Qianhu Division, and actually be in charge of the position of Qianhu. It was a sudden rise to fame. Even though Zhou Anmin was prepared, he couldn't recover for half a day after such a huge shock.

(End of this chapter)