Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 40 Pigs and Dogs Only Care About Making Money
Since the change of emperors in the Ming Dynasty, Wei Zhongxian seems to have rarely acted mad.

This guy only arrested some corrupt officials and sent them to prison to hand over their ill-gotten gains; he doesn't seem to have done anything else sordid.

The people of the capital all thought that this fellow had changed his ways.

Who would have thought that this guy would suddenly go crazy again.

The Imperial Guards in the city were all rushing eastward towards the Chaobai River as if they had gone mad, no one knew what filthy things they were going to do there.

Before the hour of Si (9-11 AM), Wei Zhongxian personally led a group of his confidants out of the city on horseback and arrived at a stage in a village more than 20 li outside Chaoyang Gate.

I wonder whose family hired an opera troupe to perform for their happy occasion.

Of course, the Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't care about that. Eunuch Wei told them to find a stage here. Once they found one, it belonged to Eunuch Wei. If they didn't give it to him, he would turn their happy occasion into a funeral in no time!

By this time, the opera troupe had been driven away, and the villagers were so frightened that they hid in their houses. A row of Imperial Guard flags were neatly arranged on the stage, and in the middle was a grand chair that Wei Zhongxian loved to sit in. No one knew where these guys had stolen it from.

During the Tianqi reign, Wei Zhongxian loved to put on airs. Wherever he went, he was always surrounded by tens of thousands of armored guards, with a group of Imperial Guards carrying command flags to clear the way. He was very imposing.

Now that the Imperial Guards are gone, there are still quite a few Embroidered Uniform Guards. According to unofficial historical accounts, Wei Zhongxian expanded the Embroidered Uniform Guard to more than 100,000 men. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard should have been replenished with nearly 20,000 men across its seventeen garrisons.

When Wei Zhongxian saw the Imperial Guards standing neatly in formation around the stage, he couldn't help but nod slightly.

He had barely sat down in that grand chair when a squad of Imperial Guards dragged the magistrate of Daxing County along at breakneck speed.

When the magistrate of Daxing County saw Wei Zhongxian sitting in a grand chair surrounded by a group of palace eunuchs and high-ranking officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, staring at him, he quickly crawled over and respectfully said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince."

Who gave you the right to call him "Grandpa Nine Thousand Years Old"?

Are you my godson?
How come I don't recognize you?

Wei Zhongxian said in a serious tone, "What do you mean by 'Grandpa Nine Thousand Years'? You're not allowed to call me that anymore. Call me Lord Wei, the Miscellaneous Scholar."

Have you changed your personality or fallen out of favor?
Fine, whether you've changed your ways or fallen out of favor, these Imperial Guards are no joke. If they anger you and are thrown into the Imperial Prison, they'll be in serious trouble, if not dead!

The magistrate of Daxing County quickly changed his address, saying, "Your humble servant greets Lord Wei."

That's more or less.

Wei Zhongxian nodded slightly, then said coldly, "Go with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and summon the village heads and chiefs of the area along the north bank of the Tonghui River and the west bank of the Chaobai River. Remember, tell them to bring the Fish Scale Map. I have something to tell them."

Fish Scale Picture Album!

You're not trying to steal land again, are you?

You're snatching the land again right after we just returned it!
Oh well, it's not like they stole it from me anyway.

The magistrate of Daxing County nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Wei Zhongxian waved his hand as if shooing away flies, saying, "Go on, hurry up and get this done for me. If you don't get this done today, I'll skin you alive!"

He didn't know where the village heads and chieftains lived, and it would be a waste of time for the Imperial Guards to ask and search slowly. So, he brought the magistrate of Daxing County to give him directions, as Zhu Jue had instructed.

Wherever the Imperial Guards passed, the village heads and magistrates were terrified. Why was the Ninth Prince arresting them?
The speed of this galloping horse is quite fast. An ordinary warhorse can run more than 100 miles in an hour. An hour is two hours, which means that the speed of the warhorse is at least 200 miles in an hour.

Of course, warhorses also have limited stamina. A regular warhorse would be exhausted and foaming at the mouth after running for an hour, and it would die if it ran any longer. Therefore, ordinary people would not ride a horse for more than two hundred miles, and the fast horses at the post station would only run for a few dozen miles before being replaced.

Fortunately, the Tonghui River and Chaobai River are only about a hundred li (approximately 50 kilometers) around the northeast corner of the capital, so the warhorses could gallop without much problem.

Wei Zhongxian was quite capable. The reason he ordered people to choose this place was because it was the center of the new outer city, only about 20 li away from the farthest west bank of the Chaobai River and only 5 or 6 li away from the nearest north bank of the Tonghui River. He could save a lot of time by doing things here.

Sure enough, less than a quarter of an hour later, a squad of Imperial Guards arrived, carrying a village head and several officers.

This time they really did it, lifting him onto the horse, shoving him sideways onto its back, and galloping over like that, before throwing him to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Wei Zhongxian nodded slightly. "Hmm, not bad, quite efficient."

There, several chieftains were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, trembling as if having an epileptic seizure, and cried out in a trembling voice, "Grandpa Nine Thousand Years, spare our lives!"

How do you speak?
Who said I was going to kill you?
Forget it, he's just a nobody, I can't be bothered with him.

Wei Zhongxian waved directly at Tu Wenfu.

Tu Wenfu quickly grabbed the map and strode downstairs, spreading it out in front of the group. He coldly asked, "Where is this from?"

He carefully examined the map, then pointed to a location approximately five li to the south and said in a trembling voice, "Here."

Tu Wenfu didn't waste any time and pointed directly at the map, saying, "We want this land within one mile north of the Tonghui River. How much? You'd better calculate it quickly. If you dare to delay Lord Wei's time, I'll skin you alive!"

If someone else said that, probably no one would believe it.

What the men under Wei Zhongxian, the Nine Thousand Years Old, said was believed by everyone, because if they angered Wei Zhongxian, he would really skin them alive!
Upon hearing this, he quickly pulled out the "Fish Scale Atlas" from his pocket and began calculating rapidly with the other officers.

They specialize in managing land, so they are very experienced in buying and selling land and can calculate it quickly.

They calculated it in less than fifteen minutes.

Tu Wenfu took out a small notebook and wrote it down. Then he instructed, "Go back and tell the villagers that the rice and wheat in the fields must be harvested within two days, and all the things in the house must be moved to the relatives' house."

The day after tomorrow at noon, we will bring money to buy land. Those who have received the money will immediately get lost. We will burn down everything that has not been harvested, whether it is rice or wheat, or anything else in the house!
Also, for those whose houses have been sold, we will build them new ones. They can stay with relatives for a while, and then they can move in once the new houses are built.

You're even giving me money and building me a new house?

I thought you guys were just going to start looting.

By the way, most of these lands don't belong to the villagers, but to officials in the imperial court. The villagers are just there to farm for them.

He thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Grandpa, as you know, most of this land doesn't belong to the villagers, and those high-ranking officials in the court might not agree to sell it."

Did I give you too much face?
You don't know how many eyes Grandpa Nine Thousand Years Old has, do you?

Upon hearing this, Tu Wenfu said sternly, "Who wouldn't want them to come and find Lord Wei!"

They were terrified when the person started shaking like they were having an epileptic seizure.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian's eyes darted around, and he raised his hand and said loudly, "Wenfu, don't be so fierce, look how scared you've made people."

Then, he forced a smile and said kindly, "Don't be afraid. I'll send someone back with you. If anyone is unwilling, just tell my people, and I'll talk to them. I guarantee they'll agree."

Please stop laughing.

Your smile is even scarier!

Upon hearing this, he nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wei Zhongxian nodded slightly, then beckoned a commander to whisper a few words in his ear.

The commander immediately summoned a squad of Imperial Guards, and followed them back with the officers and several armored soldiers.

Wei Zhongxian actually wanted to make money!
Right now, he's focused on making money and currying favor, so he naturally won't be polite about this business that's been offered to him.

Anyone who dares to refuse will be thrown into prison to hand over their stolen goods!

Anyway, he's just following orders, so what's there to be afraid of?

He dares to arrest anyone, no matter who they are!
(End of this chapter)