I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 168 Who's afraid of playing dirty tricks?

Chapter 167 Chen Ying took the child and looked down at the wrinkled little face. His first impression was that it was really ugly. The baby hair was stuck to the body, which looked strange in a way.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time Chen Ying had seen a newborn baby in person. In fact, the newborn's skin was wrinkled and not very attractive, having been immersed in amniotic fluid for so long. However, Song Yanniang, inside the delivery room, heard that a son had been born. Although she was pale and sweating profusely from the pain, a smile played on her lips. Looking at the child in Chen Ying's arms, she whispered, "Chen Lang, it's a son. His Majesty has bestowed upon him the name Chen Yonghua!"

Chen Ying handed the baby to the midwife, walked to the bedside, took Song Yanniang's hand, and whispered, "Yanniang, thank you for your hard work."

Song Yanniang shook her head, tears streaming down her face: "Chen Lang, I have given birth to your son."

Chen Ying smiled, a warm smile: "I know. You also gave me a daughter named Yongxin, a son and a daughter, a perfect match."

Song Yanniang smiled, a very happy smile.

The news quickly spread throughout the Chen residence. The servants ran around spreading the word, beaming with joy. The Ming Dynasty was still very traditional. Chen Ying was not only the Commander of the Great Ning Commandery of the Ming Dynasty, but also the head of Chen's Company. Chen's Company had now grown into a behemoth. Of course, compared with the established brands of Huizhou merchants, salt merchants, and Shanxi merchants, Chen's Company still lacked a bit of foundation. But the problem was, in the near future, Chen Ying would definitely be richer than a country.

Although Chen Ying was young, he had been married for two years but had no children, which worried his subordinates greatly. In particular, the welfare benefits of Chen Ji were unique in the entire Ming Dynasty. Craftsmen who worked for Chen Ji not only received wages, but their children could also go to school for free and had the opportunity to join the army, enlist, and participate in the imperial examinations. This was something that craftsmen did not have. In fact, Chen Ying did not have many craftsmen; all his subordinates were military households.

Of course, in the Ming Dynasty, to become a law-abiding citizen, you must own land, no matter how little, and you must also own property and have a stable income. Not everyone can become a commoner.

These craftsmen and military households alike wanted to follow Chen Ying for generations. They worried that after Chen Ying passed away, he would be the only son in the Chen family, and they feared losing their jobs and everything they had. However, they were overjoyed when Chen Ying had a son, even more so than Chen Ying himself. They cheered and spread the news.

Upon receiving the news, the Tianqi Emperor was overjoyed and immediately issued an edict: "Chen Boying's eldest son is named Yonghua, and will inherit the title of Jinyibaihu (a military officer in charge of the Imperial Guard). His eldest daughter is named Yongxin, and will be adopted as his goddaughter by Empress Zhang. He is also granted a pair of gold locks, a jade ruyi (a type of scepter), a hundred bolts of silk, and ten thousand taels of silver."

Wei Zhongxian also sent lavish gifts, including a box of pearls worth 10,000 gold coins, 8,000 taels of silver (the Tianqi Emperor had bestowed 10,000 taels, so he sent 8,000 taels), and a batch of precious medicinal herbs. It was a show of great sincerity. It was because of Chen Ying's troubles that he attracted a lot of attention, making it seem like only Chen Boying was the bad guy, while Wei Zhongxian, the leader of the eunuch faction, became the good guy.

As the saying goes, when you're poor, no one cares about you when you're noisy; when you're rich, even distant relatives come to visit when you're deep in the mountains. After the news of Chen Ying's twins spread, people came to give him gifts, regardless of whether they had any prior relationship with him. In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, superiors might not know who gave gifts, but they were certain of who hadn't.

During this period, Chen Ying's residence was bustling with carriages and horses, including Sun Chengzong, Ma Shilong, Mao Yuanyi, Shen Huai'an, and Cheng Jiashi.

Wang Wende—everyone who had ever dealt with Chen Ying, or even those who had no connection whatsoever, came. The entire court of nobles and dignitaries arrived in waves.

Chen Ying sat in his study, a list of officials from the capital city laid out before him. He picked up a pen and circled several names.

Chen Yongren stood aside and reported softly, "Godfather, Xu Hu has successfully entered the Meng residence and is trying to make contact with key figures such as Zhang Shun. With Xu Hu's methods, he will be able to find out the details behind it all in a few days."

Chen Ying nodded: "What about Xu Xianchun?"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has already spread the word that the Imperial Prison has caught fire and a serious criminal has escaped, and a city-wide manhunt is underway. In reality, all the undercover agents have already been withdrawn. Those desperate criminals, once they leave the Imperial Prison, are like fish into the sea; who can find them?"

Chen Ying put down his pen, his gaze turning cold: "Xu Hu's side needs to hurry. I want them to stir up trouble in the capital within three days."

Chen Yongren hesitated for a moment: "Godfather, there's something I don't understand. Why do you insist on using Meng Guang'en's name? Couldn't you just have Xu Hu lead the men to do it?"

Chen Ying leaned back in his chair and slowly said, "The Donglin Party's current reason for impeaching me is that I condoned my subordinates' indiscriminate killing of innocent people. If it is found that the thugs who committed the looting and vandalism were instigated by court officials, then they will pay with their lives. But if the thugs are Meng Guang'en's men, what does that have to do with me? Moreover, everyone knows that Meng Guang'en associates with gangsters and harbors desperados. If something happens, it will just be a good opportunity for the Donglin Party to tear each other apart. In the end, it will be found that it was their own people who did it, and that would be truly shooting themselves in the foot."

Chen Yongren suddenly realized: "Godfather wants to take advantage of this situation to turn the fire back on their own heads."

"good."

Chen Ying stood up: "In this battle, I won't compete with them on who's more noble; if we're going to compete, we'll compete on who's more ruthless. Perfect timing, Yonghua is born—let's celebrate his birthday with blood!"

On the day of Chen Ying's children's one-month celebration, the Chen residence was brightly decorated and filled with guests. Even the Tianqi Emperor sent a handwritten "Fu" character, which was framed and hung in the main hall.

Chen Ying held his son, and Song Yanniang held her daughter, standing in the center of the main hall to receive everyone's congratulations. The son, Yonghua, didn't cry or fuss, but looked around with his big, dark eyes; the daughter, Yongxin, however, slept the whole time, occasionally moving her little mouth as if she were nursing in her dream.

Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and laughed, "Boying, your son and daughter are truly auspicious. They will surely achieve great things in the future."

Chen Ying smiled and said, "Grand Secretary Sun, you flatter me. As long as they are safe and sound, I will be content."

On the very night of Chen Ying's son Chen Yonghua's one-month celebration, a series of heinous crimes erupted in the capital. Zhou Jiamo, the Minister of Personnel, was brutally beaten at home. By the time his servants arrived, he had been bruised and battered, leaving behind a note in his study: "This is the fate of officials who fail to serve the people!"

When Zhou Jiamo woke up, he was so angry that his beard trembled, and he ordered a thorough investigation.

In the middle of the night, the study of Gao Panlong, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, was broken into, and a large character for "injustice" was written in blood on the wall. Gao Panlong's family panicked and reported the incident to the authorities.

That night, the Five Cities Garrison suffered a terrible misfortune, with a total of sixteen officials being harassed. Rumors spread faster than horses galloping through the capital, and the streets and alleys were abuzz with discussion. Some said it was the work of an escaped prisoner, others said it was a feud between江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world), and still others said it was the work of Meng Guang'en, the "Little Mengchang of the Capital."

When Meng Guang'en heard these rumors at home, he was terrified and sent people to investigate overnight. They discovered that his henchmen had been acting strangely lately. They had become "brothers" with several ruthless bandits who had escaped from the prison, calling each other brothers and being extremely close. Meng Guang'en wanted to distance himself from them, but it was too late.

Within a few days, impeachment memorials flooded into the Forbidden City like snowflakes.

The first to step forward was Liu Zongzhou, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Studs. In his memorial, he pointed out in strong terms that the Five City Garrison Command was largely to blame for the deterioration of public order in the capital, and that the commander of the Five City Garrison Command was none other than Cui Jingrong, the Minister of War who came from the Donglin Party.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Liangxun, a censor, submitted a memorial impeaching Meng Guang'en, accusing him of "raising bandits, poisoning the capital, and running rampant with the law," and demanding that he be arrested and brought to justice immediately.

The Donglin Party never expected that their plan to use Meng Guang'en, a tough nut to crack, against Chen Ying, would backfire. Instead of harming the wolf, the wolf set their own house on fire. Amidst the clamor of impeachment, the news of "the beating of Chen Ying's Shahe Guard soldiers" was drowned out and never mentioned again.

In the imperial court, members of the Donglin Party impeached and attacked each other incessantly, creating utter chaos.

"My lord, a messenger from Wei Zhongxian's side has come to say that His Majesty has issued an edict ordering the Five Cities Garrison to thoroughly investigate the looting and vandalism in the capital, and has also ordered the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to cooperate in the arrest of the perpetrators."

"understood."

Chen Ying picked up his teacup, his tone indifferent.

"My lord, there is one more matter. Xu Xianchun sent a secret letter saying that Xu Hu, through Zhang Shun's connections, has followed the clues and found out that the mastermind behind the looting and vandalism that day was a trusted servant of Zhou Shipu, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue. Zhou Shipu is a member of the Donglin Party and has close ties with Zhao Nanxing."

Chen Ying put down his teacup, his gaze cold and stern: "Continue the investigation. Pull out every loose thread."

"Your subordinate obeys."

Chen Ying stood up and walked to the map of the Ming Dynasty hanging on the wall, his gaze falling on the location of the capital.

This game has only just begun.