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

Chapter 127: The Nest is Overturned?

Zhu Shenzhui sent Wang Rong to take up his post, but he did not go to Luzhou Wei. On the way, they parted ways and went to Pingshun to meet Zhou Anmin.

Zhou Anmin was about to take office. Logically, he should have arrived earlier than Wang Rong, but because he knew that Zhu Shenzhui was coming, he waited in Pingshun.

"Brother-in-law, congratulations!"

When he met Zhou Anmin, Zhu Shenzhui congratulated him with a smile.

"Congratulations!" Zhou Anmin also had a smile on his face. He was a postmaster and a captain of the Jinyiwei, but he rose to prominence overnight and now was the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei's Qianhu Division in Luzhou, actually holding the position of a Qianhu. The magnitude and speed of his promotion were simply astonishing.

When the news came out, the Pingshun Jinyiwei couldn't believe their ears. After confirmation, Zhou Anmin's former boss, the general flag officer, could no longer sit still. He rushed to the post station overnight to meet his former subordinate and current boss.

When they met, the general not only gave Zhou Anmin a generous gift, but also called him "Mr. Zhou" all the time, with a smile on his face.

His subordinates suddenly became his superiors. The general was not a fool and of course he understood that Zhou Anmin must have found a powerful backer.

He was filled with emotion and talked about many things that happened before, just to let Zhou Anmin know that he and Zhou Anmin were not only colleagues, but also close brothers. Now that Zhou Anmin had been promoted, he hoped to have more support in the future. As for other things, especially the merits of the Wenxiang Sect, the general flag did not mention it. He was not stupid, and he knew what he could say and what he could not say. After being in the Jinyiwei for so many years, didn't he know it?

In addition to the general flag, many colleagues from the Pingshun Jinyiwei also came to congratulate him. Zhou Anmin was very polite to these colleagues who came to congratulate him and entertained them warmly. He did not look down on his former brothers because of his promotion, nor did he put on airs.

Taking this opportunity, Zhou Anmin privately won over several colleagues with whom he had a good relationship, and prepared to bring them to the Qianhu Office to serve. Naturally, no one was unwilling to do such a good thing. They were pleasantly surprised and grateful to Zhou Anmin. They patted their chests and promised Zhou Anmin that they would be his people in the future and follow his lead in everything.

After hearing what Zhou Anmin said, Zhu Shenzhui immediately felt relieved.

Zhou Anmin is a sensible man. Although he has not officially taken office yet, he has done everything he should do and made all the arrangements properly.

"I'll send some more gifts to the capital in a few days. Please keep these for now. We can't break off the relationship with the capital."

"Little brother, you'd better take these back. I know the situation in the capital, and I will definitely take care of it. You've been promoted to deputy captain this time, and you've received gifts not only from your colleagues in Pingshun, but also from other subordinates in the Jinyiwei office. That silver will be enough for the time being." Zhou Anmin waved his hand when he saw Zhu Shenzhui taking out the money and things, signaling him to take them back.

Zhu Shenzhui spent a lot of money for his own business, which was nearly 10,000 taels. This was not a small amount. Zhou Anmin knew very well how much Zhu Shenzhui had. Even though he made a lot of money from trading with the Mongols twice, most of the profits were actually given to him.

Now it was not long before Zhu Shenzhui could go to the grassland again, and he was short of money. Zhou Anmin was touched and overwhelmed by the fact that he could squeeze out this money at this time.

"What? You've made a lot of money before you even take office?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile when he saw Zhou Anmin refused.

Zhou Anmin smiled faintly and whispered a number to Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui was slightly surprised when he heard the number.

"There are actually so many?"

"What? Don't believe it?"

"It's not that I don't believe it, I'm just a little surprised."

"Haha, don't forget, this is the Jinyiwei Yamen. When it comes to making money, no one in the world can compare to us, the Jinyiwei."

This sentence made Zhu Shenzhui burst out laughing. What Zhou Anmin said was absolutely right. When it comes to making money, if the Jinyiwei is second to none, no one dares to say that they are number one, not even the Dongchang is an exception.

This is the specialty of the Jinyiwei. Let's not talk about other things, just talk about the house confiscation. Even if you hide the silver tightly, it can't be hidden from the eyes of the Jinyiwei. Before, Zhou Anmin was just an ordinary lieutenant, without even a formal rank, so naturally he couldn't eat this piece of fat meat, but now it's different. He is a deputy captain and actually holds the position of a captain. He is a powerful figure in the Jinyiwei.

Jinyiwei had 17 thousand-household offices, of which the five offices established by Zhu Yuanzhang were core offices, and the remaining thousand-household offices were established by successive emperors. Although the office headed by Zhou Anmin was not a core office, it was one of the subordinate offices, and its authority was basically the same. In addition, Shanxi Province was close to the nine frontiers and had an important position among the provinces in the country. Jinyiwei had a high status in Shanxi.

Let alone the thousand households, even the deputy thousand households, hundred households, trial hundred households, and general flags below, which one of them didn't make a lot of money on weekdays? Now Zhou Anmin has become a deputy thousand households and actually holds the power of a thousand households. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Zhou Anmin is now a hot chicken. It won't take many days for him, the deputy thousand households, to become the actual thousand households. At this time, wouldn't it be stupid not to please Zhou Anmin and take his way in advance?
Therefore, quite a few Jinyiwei colleagues came to visit Zhou Anmin and congratulate him these days, and they also gave him expensive gifts. Needless to say, what most of these gifts were.

In other words, Zhou Anmin has not officially taken office yet, and the total amount of silver alone is not a small amount. It is almost equal to the amount that Zhu Shenzhui gave Zhou Anmin before.

In this case, Zhu Shenzhui no longer insisted. He was indeed a little short of money. Most of the money he earned before was given to Zhou Anmin to take care of things. Half of the remaining part was given to Wang Rong, and the other half was here. Since Zhou Anmin was not short of money now, there was no need for Zhu Shenzhui to force him to give it. They were all family members, so there was no need to be so polite. He was going to the grassland next, and the more money he had, the better. The business in the grassland could not be delayed, as it was Zhu Shenzhui's main source of income. "Brother-in-law, when are you going to leave?" Zhou Anmin's Qianhu was located in Lu'an Prefecture, not far from Pingshun. If he walked faster, he would arrive in one day.

"The house was packed up a few days ago, isn't it waiting for you to come?" Zhou Anmin picked up the teapot and refilled it with water, saying with a smile: "The Lu'an government has sent a few people to lead the way, and it's almost time to settle down. We have to go over in the next few days."

"So how is the arrangement here at the post station?"

"The higher-ups gave me a favor by letting the eldest son of the old Tang family take over the post of postmaster. They also arranged for him to be a lieutenant of the Jinyiwei, so he can be regarded as my successor here."

Zhu Shenzhu nodded without comment. This arrangement was a good one. Xiao Tang was Old Tang's son, also an old man in the post station, and was deeply trusted by Zhou Anmin.

Although the post station is not a government office and the postmaster has no high rank, it is still a place where the emperor receives food. Being a postmaster is much better than being an ordinary postman. Not to mention the difference in status, one can still live a comfortable life just by relying on the money earned from the post station.

Even if he went to the Qianhu Suo, the post station was Zhou Anmin's base after all. He had been deeply rooted in the post station for so many years, and he had to make arrangements with his old friends before he left.

"Little brother, you've come back just in time. Ever since I came back from the capital, I've been holding back some things in my heart, and there are some things I couldn't tell your sister. It's a good opportunity for us to talk now that you're here." After saying that, Zhou Anmin looked around and sighed when he saw that there was no one around.

Seeing him like this, Zhu Shenzhui curiously asked what was going on. Zhou Anmin then told him in detail about his visit to the capital to see Wei Zhongxian, including his interactions with Wei Liangqing, and the recent visit of Tian Ergeng to Pingshun.

Zhu Shenzhu listened carefully to Zhou Anmin's story, including his worries and anxieties. After Zhou Anmin finished speaking, Zhu Shenzhu also understood his concerns.

Zhou Anmin sighed, "The government is so corrupt now. The emperor favors his ministers, the power of the Imperial Household Department is growing, the officials in the court are forming factions to fight against those who are different, and the situation in Liaodong is unstable. How can this continue for a long time?"

"Let's not talk about other things, just talk about me as the deputy captain. The position of the Jinyi personal guard is decided by the eunuchs. Even a person like Tian Ergeng is under his command. When he sees me, he even takes the initiative to call me brother."

At this point, Zhou Anmin shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm pedantic. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't be the deputy captain today. But how can the country continue like this? It reminds me of the story of Emperor Wuzong. Wei Zhongxian might be the next Liu Jin!"

"What will be Liu Jin's final fate? I think I know it. Now we are relying on Wei Zhongxian to rise to the top. It's good that Wei Zhongxian is in power. If he gets into trouble one day, I'm afraid it will be the time to settle the score. How can the eggs under the overturned nest remain intact? If that day really comes, how will you and I deal with it?"

Although Zhou Anmin held a low-ranking official position and was previously only a low-level postmaster and captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was not completely ignorant of the situation in the court. He understood some things better than ordinary local officials.

Although he got through Wei Zhongxian's way this time and took advantage of Wei Zhongxian's status and position to become the deputy commander of Jinyiwei's Qianhu Division overnight, Zhou Anmin was still very grateful to Wei Zhongxian, because without Wei Zhongxian's promotion, he would not have been able to become the deputy commander.

But Zhou Anmin is not a person without bottom line. Deep in his heart, he still has the idea of ​​being loyal to the emperor and patriotic, serving the country and the people. Although this idea is only the last persistence in his heart, it can be regarded as an unrealistic ideal.

"Brother-in-law, you think too far ahead."

Zhou Anmin shook his head: "If you don't think ahead, you will have immediate worries. How can you explain things in the officialdom clearly? Besides, I have been in the Jinyiwei for many years, and I have seen and heard many things more clearly than ordinary people. Today he is still a master in the court, and tomorrow he is a prisoner. There are countless such things!"

Zhu Shenzhui didn't expect Zhou Anmin to think so far ahead, and he didn't expect Zhou Anmin to link Wei Zhongxian and Liu Jin together at this time. He had to admit that Zhou Anmin's concerns were correct, but now that he had already relied on Wei Zhongxian, some things had to be done.

In fact, it has just begun. In the next few years, the teams and struggles in the court will be extremely fierce. The struggle between the civil service group and the eunuch group has reached a white-hot level. It can be said that this is unprecedented since the Ming Dynasty.

In this situation, it is necessary to take sides, no matter what. If you want to be a centrist and please both sides, the result may be that you will be attacked by both sides, and you will not get any benefit at all.

Choose the lesser of two evils, choose the greater of two benefits.

It is better to join Wei Zhongxian than to join the Donglin Party. Besides, the Donglin Party is unlikely to look down upon people like Zhou Anmin and Wang Rong. Instead, they have more opportunities under Wei Zhongxian.

As for the long term, there is no need to think too much for the time being. As the saying goes, things will work out when the time comes. This is why Zhu Shenzhui specifically told Zhou Anmin not to agree to take up a post in the capital. As long as he stays in Shanxi, siding with Wei Zhongxian on the surface and doing his own thing in secret, even if Wei Zhongxian falls in the future, he will not be affected too much.

Besides, Zhu Shenzhu had already made plans for this matter. At most, he could just wait until Wei Zhongxian was about to fall and then change his allegiance. Isn't that how the officialdom works? Watch him build a tall building, watch him entertain guests, and watch his building collapse... As long as he grasps the opportunity and makes arrangements in advance, there is always a way to avoid it.

(End of this chapter)