Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 40 Old age brings many startling dreams, as if the man were speaking wildly.

In Mao Wenlong's vision.

There are only two possible outcomes to this trip to Beijing for a work report.

First, he was brought into the palace to pay homage during the morning court session, whereupon the assembled officials attacked him. As a result, he, who was seen as a major threat by the emperor, was punished on the spot in a fit of rage.

Secondly, during the morning court session, he was attacked by the court officials. His Majesty pardoned his crime and then ordered him to continue to guard Dongjiang Town, which both intimidated him and won over his hearts.

He was already prepared for the former, and he could understand the latter.

Although I do have some fantasies in my heart about "a great ruler descending from heaven to save the Ming Dynasty".

But Mao Wenlong, who had reached the age of fifty, knew that it was just his unrealistic fantasy.

But just as he heard the messenger say that he would be brought into the palace again the next evening, he suddenly gleaned a crucial piece of information from it.

Entering the palace at night meant that the new emperor wanted to meet him privately first.

This behavior itself is a gesture of goodwill, and it confirms Mao Wenlong's suspicions before his arrival:
The fact that the new emperor could discern who the meritorious officials were from among the numerous memorials shows that he would not be easily fooled by the officials in the court.

Think about this.

A ripple stirred in Mao Wenlong's heart, which had been as still as a stagnant pool, and he felt a renewed sense of anticipation for tomorrow's audience.

After a pause, Mao Wenlong continued to ask the eunuch who had delivered the message, "Does His Majesty have any other instructions, such as that I stay in the post station and not move around?"

The messenger eunuch smiled and shook his head: "No, as long as Lord Mao doesn't miss tomorrow night's audience, everything else is up to Lord Mao to arrange."

Mao Wenlong nodded, and the eunuch who delivered the message also withdrew.

After the eunuch who delivered the message left...

Mao Wenlong changed into civilian clothes and left the post station alone without any attendants.

It has been many years since I last visited the capital.

Mao Wenlong felt that the capital city now was much more vibrant than the capital city he remembered.

Even ordinary people walking on the street unconsciously reveal a few more smiles.

Mao Wenlong secretly evaluated everything he saw.

Judging from these observations, the new emperor seems to have a benevolent heart towards his people.

Unfortunately, this alone is far from enough to save the Ming Dynasty.

The Jurchens were eyeing the country covetously, soldiers were in arrears with their pay, officials mistreated the people, and powerful families were annexing assets indiscriminately.
Beset by internal and external troubles, Mao Wenlong didn't know how much longer the Ming Dynasty could hold on.

However, when he has an audience with the emperor tomorrow, he will tell him everything he has seen.

Although these matters were too heavy for a seventeen-year-old emperor to handle.

But he at least wanted the new emperor to know what the outside world was really like.

In this way, I can say that I have lived up to the late emperor's kindness in recognizing my talent.

Thinking of this, Mao Wenlong sighed and suddenly realized he was a little tired.

no way.

As people get older, their spirits dissipate, and their strength follows suit.

He walked to a noodle stall, ordered a bowl of noodles, and planned to eat something and rest before continuing his journey.

He had just sat down when he suddenly heard the sound of two children playing and fighting behind him.

"The new emperor is really amazing. He killed three or four thousand tyrants in one day. He's even more powerful than the founding emperor. My mother said that as long as I eat well, I can become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard when I grow up and fight bad guys with the emperor!"

As Mao Wenlong grew older, hearing the children's playful remarks and praise for the new emperor filled him with a warm feeling.

It seems.

When the new emperor took office, he purged a group of local thugs and ruffians; otherwise, the news wouldn't have spread to children.

But children are children after all; they can even utter nonsense like "three or four thousand people."

For a while.

Mao Wenlong, feeling a mischievous urge, asked, "Kid, do you know how many knives you'd need to kill so many people?"

One of the children sniffled: "I know, my dad said they changed more than a hundred knives that day."

Mao Wenlong's pupils contracted.

Before he could think further, another child shouted, "No! Your dad saw it at the execution ground. The place with the most beheadings is right in front of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office. My dad said that more than two hundred knives were broken there!"

At this moment, the shopkeeper brought out the noodles. Mao Wenlong didn't even glance at them, tossed down a piece of silver worth far more than the cost of the noodles, and stood up to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey! Your noodles, sir!"

When Mao Wenlong arrived at Caishikou, he saw patches of dried blood.

He then immediately turned around and went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters, where he saw the same scene again.

At the same time, he also saw officers dressed in flying fish robes and carrying embroidered spring knives at the entrance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard of today is vastly different from the dilapidated government office he remembered.

Mao Wenlong took a deep breath and immediately grabbed a passerby from the side.

He gave him a piece of silver and asked him to tell him about the recent events in the capital.

Upon seeing the silver, passersby naturally beamed with joy and began to tell their stories.

After Mao Wenlong finished listening to the story, he silently turned around, his brows furrowed.

What do you mean by the Emperor leaving the palace with eight hundred people?!

What does it mean to kill a hundred officials in a single day?!
What do you mean by killing over three thousand thugs and bullies in one day?!

Mao Wenlong felt he was getting senile and must have misheard, so he found a few more people on the street and dragged them over to ask them questions.

After asking five people and receiving almost the same answer, Mao Wenlong found that his hands, hidden in his sleeves, were trembling uncontrollably.

He took several deep breaths before he managed to calm himself down, drawing on his decades of experience fighting on the battlefield.

Followed by.

Mao Wenlong didn't linger and inquired about the homes of several former colleagues.

For various reasons, he had no intention of bothering these people.

but now.

He might not die in peace if he doesn't get to the bottom of some things.

After visiting three colleagues in a row, Mao Wenlong left alone in silence.

What do you mean by confiscating millions of taels of silver as soon as the emperor took office?!

What does it mean that the emperor alone can make all the officials in the court afraid to raise their heads?!
What does it mean that a mere eunuch serving the emperor trampled a third-rank salt commissioner to death on horseback in front of all the officials, and afterwards no one dared to investigate?!
Listening to the confident words of his colleagues, Mao Wenlong's mind went blank for a moment.

He believed that after years of fighting on the battlefield, he had developed a deep understanding of how to cultivate his inner strength.

But when faced with these issues, Mao Wenlong ultimately failed to control his emotions.

The last and greatest hope, or rather, the dying wish, of a person's life.

It was placed right in front of me so easily.

But Mao Wenlong found himself at a loss for how to deal with it.

in this state.

Mao Wenlong had forgotten when he returned to the post station and when he fell asleep.

late at night.

Mao Wenlong opened his eyes in a daze and was suddenly surprised to find a dark-skinned young man holding a long sword standing outside his door.

Mao Wenlong remained calm due to his years of experience with life and death.

He propped himself up in bed and asked the shadowy youth in a calm voice, "Who among you attempted to assassinate me?"

The boy did not answer, but instead approached him step by step with the sharp sword in his hand.

When the boy got close enough, Mao Wenlong was shocked to realize that the boy holding the long sword was actually himself when he was young.

The younger version of myself silently watched him now.

But Mao Wenlong clearly saw that the boy was using all his strength to shout out the arrogant words he had said countless times.

"We won't rest until we're granted a title!"

　Dear readers, we have almost reached the half-step Three Rivers Realm in our reading of this book.

　　If the number of readers doubles again, it should reach the Three Rivers level.

　　The author will update 10,000 words daily after it is published.

　　Dear readers, please help me read the next book!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)