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

Chapter 602 Cao Huachun leaves the capital

"Wang Banban!"

"I'm here..." Wang Chengen hurriedly walked out from the side and leaned over to reply.

"Go and call Cao Huachun!" said Emperor Chongzhen.

Wang Chengen quickly responded, turned around and left quickly. A moment later he came to a place not far from the Qianqing Palace. This was the residence of several senior eunuchs in the palace. Cao Huachun lived here, and so did Wang Chengen. They were even neighbors.

When they arrived at the place, Wang Chengen knocked on the door. Soon a young eunuch's voice was heard from inside. Wang Chengen replied, and after a moment the back door opened. Cao Huachun, who had just rested, appeared in front of Wang Chengen wearing a smock.

"Brother Wang, why are you looking for us in the middle of the night?" Cao Huachun asked.

"The emperor is calling you." Wang Chengen said in a low voice.

Cao Huachun was startled and said quickly, "Please wait a moment, let me change clothes and wash up."

Wang Chengen nodded and waited outside without going in. After an incense stick of time, Cao Huachun, neatly dressed, came out, bowed to Wang Chengen, and then followed Wang Chengen to the side hall of the Qianqing Palace.

On the way, Cao Huachun did not ask Wang Chengen why he was called so late, but just made a gesture with his eyes. Wang Chengen shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't know, but judging from his expression, it shouldn't be a bad thing, so Cao Huachun was relieved. The two walked side by side and arrived at the side hall in a moment.

Wang Chengen went in first to report, and then a voice came from inside to summon Cao Huachun. Cao Huachun straightened his robe, stepped into the side hall, and after seeing Emperor Chongzhen, he shouted "Long live the emperor" and paid homage to him as a servant.

"Get up." He raised his hand and asked Cao Huachun to stand up.

After Cao Huachun got up, Emperor Chongzhen took a look at this old man in the palace by candlelight. In just a few years, Cao Huachun looked much older. He was much older than Wang Chengen. His temples were completely white, and his originally straight waist began to bend.

"I heard you were not feeling well a few days ago. Are you feeling better now?"

"Your Majesty, I was worried about you. After taking the medicine you gave me, I am now much better." Cao Huachun replied gratefully.

"You are an old friend of mine. You suffered a lot for me. Now that you have finally gotten your reward, I cannot let the people around me down. This is not just you, but also Wang Banban. If you hadn't accompanied me back then, how could I have inherited this throne?"

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen said this, Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen could no longer stand. They knelt down and kowtowed, saying that they dared not do it, saying that as slaves, it was their duty to serve His Majesty wholeheartedly, and there was no merit to speak of.

Seeing their fearful looks, the words that Emperor Chongzhen originally wanted to say suddenly lost their taste. Before becoming emperor, Emperor Chongzhen always felt that the emperor was the supreme ruler of the world, not only majestic but also powerful. He could get whatever he wanted, which was a rare good thing.

But after becoming the emperor, Emperor Chongzhen realized that what he had thought before was completely different from reality. Being an emperor was the most difficult job in the world. Where was the prestige and good things? He was overwhelmed by state affairs every day. Even though he was so diligent, the country was still in decline, which made him extremely powerless.

If he had known this would happen, he would have given up being the emperor. But now that the arrow has been shot, there is no turning back. He is already the emperor, and this position can only go up and not down. No matter how difficult it is, he has no choice but to move on.

Who can understand the pain in my heart? The two old men in front of me may be the only people in the world who know my difficulties, but these few people are left, and I am afraid that they will not be with me for long. Wang Chengen is better, after all, he is not old, but Cao Huachun is not only old, but also in poor health in recent years. He almost died from a serious illness last time, and he finally recovered.

Looking at the white-haired Cao Huachun, Emperor Chongzhen felt a little reluctant, but now he had no one to trust. The situation in Nanjing was not good. Zhang Yixian, the eunuch in charge, was no longer suitable. He had to send a new eunuch to guard Nanjing. Moreover, this person must not only be completely trustworthy, but also have a certain prestige, and be able to reconcile the Nanjing Military Department and the meritorious officials, and take on the post of military supervision. After thinking about it, only Cao Huachun was the most suitable. Cao Huachun was loyal and honest, and he did things properly. He had a good relationship with the Donglin Party and some friendship with the nobles. In addition, his identity and status were not bad. As the chief eunuch of the Silijian, although he had handed over the seal in the past two years due to health reasons, he was still one of the pens. He was fully qualified to go to Nanjing as the eunuch in charge, and it could also make Emperor Chongzhen feel at ease.

After comforting them with a few words and asking them to stand up, Emperor Chongzhen then expressed his idea of ​​letting Cao Huachun go to Nanjing.

Emperor Chongzhen told Cao Huachun that Cao Huachun had said before that he was in poor health and planned to return home. Cao Huachun's hometown was in Tianjin, which was now the seat of the Shandong governor. Because of the war in Liaodong, Tianjin was not peaceful.

Emperor Chongzhen wanted Cao Huachun to go to Nanjing to serve as the garrison eunuch for a period of time, replacing Zhang Yixian, and serve as the military supervisor to reconcile the Nanjing Ministry of War and meritorious officials. At the same time, he would cooperate with Xu Xiancheng, Lu Xiangsheng and other troops in the Jiangbei battlefield to deal with the bandit Gao Yingxiang.

This matter was extremely important. The Emperor Chongzhen was not at ease with anyone else, but there was no problem letting Cao Huachun go. With his status and qualifications, he could completely suppress the Nanjing Ministry of War and meritorious officials. Moreover, Cao Huachun always had a sense of the overall situation and was the most suitable candidate.

After hearing what Emperor Chongzhen said, Cao Huachun agreed without hesitation and expressed his willingness to go to Nanjing to serve as the eunuch garrisoning there.

Seeing Cao Huachun like this, Emperor Chongzhen was very happy. He immediately encouraged him with a few words and promised that after Gao Yingxiang and other bandits were dealt with and the world was pacified, he would let Cao Huachun return to his hometown to spend his old age. As an emperor, he would never regret his words.

In response, Cao Huachun quickly said that as a slave, it was his duty to work for the emperor, and he did not need any promises. This time when he went to Nanjing, he would definitely do a good job as a eunuch and live up to the trust of Emperor Chongzhen.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen clapped his hands in praise and immediately bestowed the Feiyu Clothes on Cao Huachun.

There were many categories of bestowed clothing in the Ming Dynasty. For example, ministers had bullfighting clothing, unicorn clothing, flying fish clothing, and dragon robes, but eunuchs had loyal clothing and tieli clothing. The highest level was the flying fish clothing.

For a eunuch to be awarded the Feiyufu is the highest honor in his career. Of course, Wei Zhongxian does not count. You have to know that when Eunuch Wei was at the peak of his power, he was awarded the dragon robe, which is more than the meaning of a eunuch. Who made Eunuch Wei 9,900 years old?
Receiving such a reward, Cao Huachun was extremely grateful and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

"Cao Banban, do you have anything to tell me about your trip to Nanjing? If so, please tell me and I will do my best to arrange it for you."

"Your Majesty, I have no other requests, but I am not worried about anything else when I go to Nanjing. I am only worried about the changes in the war in Nanjing. If the war is deadlocked, I may need to mobilize more troops. If so, I will need support in terms of military pay and food. I wonder if the court can allocate some food..."

After these words were spoken, Emperor Chongzhen looked a little embarrassed. He did not expect Cao Huachun to suddenly mention the issue of military pay and food.

Now the Ming Dynasty's finances have reached the point of bankruptcy. The tax revenues from various places have dropped sharply and the court can no longer support it. In the past two years, there have been rebellions in various places and money is needed everywhere. In addition, Liaodong is still a major expenditure. Emperor Chongzhen is not a god and cannot create money at all. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he is really pitiful and has no money in his hands.

After coughing twice, Emperor Chongzhen said, "You know the situation of the court. I really can't take out silver, let alone food and grass. Let me squeeze out from the inner treasury and give you 10,000 taels of silver. You can take it to Nanjing. When you get to Nanjing, you can think of a way out there. Jiangnan is richer than the north. I think with your ability, you can raise money and food in Nanjing."

Cao Huachun felt bitter. The ball was kicked to his feet. He knew that Jiangnan was rich. With Jiangnan's financial resources, it was no problem to support the entire Ming Dynasty, not to mention the silver. When Wei Zhongxian was in power, didn't he rely on plundering in Jiangnan to maintain the operation of the Ming Dynasty's finances? Not only could he ensure that the finances were not affected, but he could also meet the military expenses of Liaodong.

But Wei Zhongxian is Wei Zhongxian, and Cao Huachun is Cao Huachun. The two cannot be compared at all. Cao Huachun does not have the ability of Wei Zhongxian, and Emperor Chongzhen is not Emperor Tianqi. Since this master was fooled by the civil officials and killed Wei Zhongxian, the political and financial structures during the Tianqi period completely collapsed. Isn't it all due to these reasons that the situation has reached this point?
But these words must never be mentioned in front of Emperor Chongzhen. Cao Huachun knew Emperor Chongzhen's character too well. Once he said them, Emperor Chongzhen would not be grateful to him, but would become angry and punish him.

After thinking about it, Cao Huachun could only say yes, saying that he would do his best and find a way to raise money and food to solve the problem after arriving in Nanjing. However, Cao Huachun kindly reminded Emperor Chongzhen that there were too many places where money was needed, and if the court continued like this, many things would simply not be done. If a solution was not found as soon as possible, it would definitely get worse. Emperor Chongzhen was asked to pay attention to this and prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded slightly to show that he understood. Then he chatted with Cao Huachun for a few more words, explained his mission to Nanjing, and let Cao Huachun leave. After Cao Huachun left, Emperor Chongzhen's face looked unhappy. Although he knew that Cao Huachun's reminder was correct, the key was that he really had no money. A penny can make a hero fall. Although Emperor Chongzhen was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he was extremely poor. Even the dragon robe he wore was patched. He was reluctant to buy a new one. The empress and concubines in the harem even spun yarn and weaved cloth on weekdays to save money for him. It was unprecedented for an emperor to be like him.

(End of this chapter)