I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 8 Heroic Eunuch
Lin Shisan bowed and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Captain Chang, Mr. Yang. I need a helper to find favor. I have a disciple in the station, named Sun Yue, who is smart and capable."

Mr. One-Armed Yang waved his hand and said, "There is no time to lose. Go find your apprentice. I'll be waiting for you two at the door."

Lin Shisan had good intentions and wanted Sun Yue to benefit from this and stand out in front of Chang Qianhu.

He never imagined that he would drag his fat apprentice into an unfathomable vortex of political struggle.

After a cup of tea, we arrived at the gate of the elephant training center.

Lin Shisan and Sun Yue walked out quickly and saw that Mr. Yang had already ridden on a red horse.

There were strict regulations on the travel methods of Ming Dynasty officials and common people in the capital.

Officials of the third rank and above, as well as the elderly, women and children can ride in sedan chairs.

Officials from the fourth to sixth ranks were allowed to travel on horseback.

Officials from the seventh to the ninth rank were allowed to ride donkeys when traveling.

As for the minor officials and ordinary people, they could only ride mules.

Lin Shisan thought in his mind: Mr. Yang is riding a horse, so he must be an official of the sixth rank or above. How noble must a person be to be honored as "master" by a sixth rank official?

Mr. Yang asked, "Do you two have any mules?"

Lin Shisan and Sun Yue answered in unison: "Yes."

Mr. Yang said, "Well. You guys ride the mules and follow me."

Mr. Yang whipped his horse whip and galloped down the street, while Lin Shisan and Sun Yue followed with difficulty on their short mules.

The further he walked, the more Lin Shisan felt something was wrong.

How did you get into the South City? All the dignitaries in Beijing live in the North City.

Finally, Mr. Yang reined in and dismounted in front of a courtyard house in Dawangba Hutong, Ludiazi Street.

Lin Shisan and Sun Yue also got off the dwarf mule.

Every ten steps around the courtyard stood a tall man. These men were all dressed in linen clothes and straw sandals, like poor people in Beijing. But each of them had a Tang sword on his waist. His waist was bulging.

A tall man's clothes fluttered as he helped Mr. Yang tie up his horse. Lin Shisan saw clearly that the man had a scorpion crossbow tied around his waist.

Even the officials of the six ministries and the families of the noble dukes and marquises did not have guards carrying crossbows.

Lin Shisan was excited. The higher the status of the noble who lost the pet, the greater the benefit he would get afterwards.

Mr. Yang ordered Lin Shisan: "The two of you follow me into the courtyard. Remember, you are not qualified to ask my master's name."

Lin Shisan and his disciples all bowed their hands and said, "Yes."

The two entered the courtyard.

Under the pomegranate tree in the courtyard, there was a white-faced, beardless, energetic old man in his sixties. He was feeding goldfish in the fish tank under the tree. A young man of about sixteen or seventeen was supporting and serving him.

Mr. Yang walked quickly to the old man and said, "Master, the captain from the elephant training center is here."

The old man replied, "Well, thank you for your hard work."

The old man had a shrill voice and a pale beardless face. Lin Shisan immediately realized that he was a palace eunuch, no wonder he was so arrogant.

It is well known that the current emperor uses eunuchs to check and balance civil officials. The power of the Imperial Household Department is no less than that of the Cabinet. The power of the Imperial Horse Administration is no less than that of the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commands.

The titles of the managers of the twelve prisons, four departments, and eight bureaus in the inner palace are all very famous.

Throughout history books, eunuchs are often synonymous with greed and treachery.

The situation was reversed during the Jiajing reign. The eunuchs in the palace were often known for their virtues, such as Mai Fu, Lu Fang, Huang Jin, Gao Zhong, etc. Chen Hong was an exception.

Lin Shisan's heart was beating wildly: Could it be that the emperor's favorite cat from the West Garden, Meishuang, was lost? If he could find it, wouldn't it be easy for him to get promoted and make a fortune?

After a moment, Lin Shisan turned to doubt: How strange. If the imperial concubine was lost, why would the eunuch assign me an errand in the courtyard of South City?
The old man turned his head and glanced at Lin Shisan: "I heard that you are good at seeking favors?" Lin Shisan replied: "To answer your question, eunuch. Yes."

Mr. Yang cursed: "How rude! Clean your mouth!"

Mr. Yang was obviously not happy with the title of "father-in-law". He felt that Lin Shisan was showing off his cleverness.

Unexpectedly, the old man did not take it seriously: "Oh, you are a smart young man, you are good at observing people's words and expressions. You can see that I am a eunuch. I have already said that I am old and I am not worthy of the title of father-in-law. You can just call me dad."

The elderly and wealthy people in the Ming Dynasty could all be respectfully addressed as "Old Man".

Lin Shisan quickly said, "Yes, Dad."

The old man sat on a throne and said, "I have a greyhound, a gift from an old friend. It was lost yesterday. Can you find it for me within a day?"

Lin Shisan said: "May I ask, old man, what does a small dog look like?"

The old man closed his cloudy eyes and said, "I am not good at speaking. I can't explain it clearly. But there is a portrait."

After saying this, the old man told the young man beside him: "Ju'er, go get that portrait."

Soon, the young man brought the portrait and unfolded it.

Lin Shisan took a closer look and was so shocked that he was speechless.

On the right side of the portrait, there is a postscript that reads "Admiral Gao hunting with his dog". There is also a line of small characters that reads "The painter Baihu of the Jinyiwei painted the portrait in accordance with the imperial order".

That’s right, the court painters of the Ming Dynasty were all Jinyiwei. Since the Yongle Dynasty, court painters were “mostly given the title of Jinyiwei, and given military positions based on their painting skills.”

Lin Shisan was shocked: Oh my God! There is only one eunuch named Gao who was granted the portrait by the imperial decree. That is the great hero of the Gengshu Rebellion, Gao Zhong!

Gao Zhong was a favored eunuch of Emperor Jiajing. In the sixth year of Jiajing, he was already the seal holder of the Imperial Horse Administration. In the twenty-second year of Jiajing, he was given the title of "supervisor of the 12th Regiment Camp and the Four Warriors Guard Camp; governor of the training at the Neixi Parade Ground, and granted the title of "chief of the capital to carry a sword."

It is common for imperial guards to carry swords before the emperor in all dynasties. The official of the imperial guards carrying swords in this dynasty is tabooed to be "Da Han General".

Gao Zhong was the first eunuch to carry a sword in front of the emperor.

In the 29th year of Jiajing, the Gengxu Incident occurred. Altan Khan invaded the south, and Qiu Luan, the Marquis of Xianning who held military power, was afraid of the enemy and deliberately avoided the Tatar army, which led to the Tatars reaching the capital.

Ming Dynasty is in danger!

Emperor Jiajing asked the Prime Minister for countermeasures.

Yan Song, the Prime Minister who only knew how to play tricks on people, kill people, and flatter Emperor Jiajing, actually said, "Your Majesty, the Tatar barbarians will probably leave after they have looted enough things outside the city."

Is the Prime Minister of the current dynasty speaking human language?
None of the civil servants and nobles in the court offered any strategy to defend against the enemy.

At the critical moment, it was the eunuch Gao Zhong who stood up!

He led the various camps in the capital to defend the city walls.

On the city wall, he wore armor and held a sword, his red robe fluttering in the wind. He told the generals: "The enemy is in the capital, and we have no choice but to defend the city with our lives!"

After saying this, he swung his knife and chopped off the little finger of his left hand, and shouted a heroic sentence in a shrill voice: "Those who are afraid of fighting and fearing the enemy have such a finger!"

The Tatar army launched a tentative attack on the city. Gao Zhong, as a high-ranking official in the palace, personally killed the enemy on the city wall.

Later, in order to repel the enemy, Gao Zhong personally led 800 death-defying warriors down the city wall in the middle of the night and launched a surprise attack on the Tatar camp.

This suicidal night attack ended with the complete annihilation of the 800-man Suicide Squadron.

It was because of this night attack that Altan Khan witnessed the high morale of the Ming army and led his troops away.

Afterwards, the Ming army went out of the city to collect the bodies of their comrades who dared to die, and dug out Eunuch Gao Zhong, who was still alive, from the pile of dead bodies.

Gao Zhong was a eunuch, but also a warrior and a hero!
Throughout Chinese history, whenever foreign enemies invaded, there were always people like Gao Zhong who stood up and faced death head-on. This is also the reason why the Chinese people have lasted for thousands of years.

(End of this chapter)