Late Ming Dynasty: From the Defeated Soldiers at Daling River to Ascending the Throne

Longfu Temple has been busier than usual these past two days.

It wasn't because there were many pilgrims, but because Chen Feng was causing trouble in the courtyard, and many lamas were blocking the entrance to watch the spectacle.

"Heads up! Chest out! Stomach in! Fingers straight! Eyes looking straight ahead!" Chen Feng waved a riding crop around the group.

Hao Dadao, the tallest of the group, stood at the head of the line, his back ramrod straight, his middle finger pressed firmly against his trouser leg.

He was working so hard not because he cared much about this damn military posture, but because he had been a troublemaker yesterday, and Chen Feng hadn't let him eat dinner.

He's been holding on for half an hour today, barely moving an inch, just to keep his job.

Aji stood in the middle of the line, his legs trembling uncontrollably, not because he couldn't stand, but because he couldn't bring his legs together no matter what he did.

Chen Feng told him it was okay if his legs weren't together, and that he should just straighten them naturally, but Aji wouldn't listen. He even turned red in the face and tried to bring his knees together.

This wasn't because Chen Feng was biased, but because he knew that people like Aji, Zhao Sheng, and Xie Liu had slightly bowed legs due to years of riding horses.

This is an occupational hazard for cavalrymen; having their legs too straight makes it difficult to grip the horse's belly, so there is no requirement for these cavalrymen to grip their legs tightly.

Meng Changgeng felt unbearably itchy all over his body, and he felt uncomfortable everywhere. He was about to collapse.

Just as his back slumped down half an inch, "Crack!" Chen Feng lashed his back with a riding crop, making him howl in pain, and his back sprang back straighter than anyone else's.

"Everyone, stand for half a cup of tea!" Chen Feng's voice rang out from behind.

Sun Ergou gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words: "Show-off—"

"Add another half cup of tea."

Sun Ergou kept his mouth shut tighter than a city gate.

Zhao Sheng, standing next to Hao Dadao, rolled his eyes upon hearing Chen Feng's words, but dared not move.

Old Pu was squatting by the wall, basking in the sun. He watched the group of people grinning and grimacing, and he kept stroking his beard with amusement.

He was an elderly man, and a doctor, so Chen Feng didn't let him stand.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Feng clapped his hands and said, "Take a fifteen-minute break."

The group of people immediately deflated like punctured balloons and collapsed to the ground.

Meng Changgeng and Sun Ergou became the targets of their anger.

Luo Zheng kicked Meng Changgeng's butt: "It's all your fault! You made me stand for half a cup of tea longer!"

Hao Dadao, having recovered his composure, slapped Sun Ergou on the back of the head, "Why did you yell like that?"

Chen Feng stood under the eaves, holding a bowl of tea in his hand, looking at them expressionlessly.

The reason he's thinking of starting to train these men in formation now is because when he visited Sun Chengzong's home yesterday, Sun Chengzong reminded him that he should train these men first.

I was busy dealing with all sorts of shady characters a few days ago, which caused me to neglect important matters. Now it's time to catch up.

Mei Xian came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with several bowls of mung bean soup on it.

She walked up to Hao Dadao and said softly, "Brother Hao, take a rest and have some soup."

Hao Dadao let Meng Changgeng and Sun Ergou go, grinning like a fool, and took the bowl and gulped it down.

Luo Zheng also ran over excitedly and took a bowl.

Chen Feng shook his head and didn't say anything.

After spending these few days together, Chen Feng realized that Mei Xian was really just Tian Wan's "gift" and had no intention of monitoring his movements.

He also learned from Chunlan's gossip that Meixian actually didn't have much money. She was a "thin horse" bought by Tianwan, not a prostitute, and had no other income besides a small monthly allowance.

The boxes brought from the Tian residence mostly contained Mei Xian's everyday clothes, with not even a few decent pieces of jewelry.

Chunlan often complained that she thought she would live a good life after leaving the Tian family with her mistress, but she did not expect to meet Chen Feng, a poor soldier. Not only did he not have a house, but her mistress also had to pay for the gifts when they went out.

Chen Feng felt somewhat ashamed after learning about it, so he simply gave all his silver to Mei Xian and asked her to manage it for him. In any case, he couldn't let a young lady spend money on him.

After practicing for another half an hour, he told everyone to rest, changed his clothes, and went out.

Let's go to Sun Chengzong's residence.

As usual, Mei Xian prepared a gift—two packets of pastries.

Sun Chengzong was indeed very satisfied with the exquisite pastries and repeatedly praised Mei Xian for her ingenuity.

Then he asked Chen Feng about his reading these past few days. Chen Feng told him about the difficulties he encountered while reading "The Complete Essentials of Military Strategy" and "The New Book of Military Tactics," and Sun Chengzong answered them one by one.

After sitting for about half an hour, Chen Feng took his leave.

Around dusk, as darkness fell, lanterns in Shaanxi Lane began to light up one by one.

Aji followed behind Chen Feng, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

A woman came over and reached out to touch his face, but he not only turned away but also glared at her coldly.

The flower girl sheepishly withdrew her hand and muttered, "You little wolf cub."

Chen Feng shook his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Chen Feng led Aji into one of the inconspicuous brothels.

The building isn't big, the facade is old, and the girls aren't particularly outstanding.

However, this didn't matter to Chen Feng; he only came to Shaanxi Alley to cover his tracks.

Because he knew that since he arrived in the capital, he had been watched by more than one person.

As soon as Chen Feng reached the door, the madam greeted him, "Sir, how many are in your party? Would you like to call a girl?"

Chen Feng pulled a silver ingot from his sleeve. "Get a room, two jugs of wine, no girls."

The madam took the silver, her eyes darting around, and nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, sir, please go upstairs."

She's seen many strange guests: some come to discuss business, some to hide from debts, and some to wait for their enemies.

Those who don't want girls are mostly there to do business, but she only cares about taking money and doesn't care about anything else.

Chen Feng led Aji upstairs to the innermost room and had Aji stand guard at the door.

"Don't let anyone in," Chen Feng whispered.

Aji nodded.

The sky outside the window grew darker and darker, while the lanterns on the street grew brighter and brighter.

Chen Feng got up and walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and saw a dark, deserted alleyway outside.

Chen Feng climbed out of the window and landed in the alley. He crouched down and crept northward along the base of the wall.

Shaanxi Lane is just two streets away from Mule and Horse Market.

Under the cover of night, he quickly made his way to the entrance of the alley in Luomashi.

A figure emerged from the shadows; it was Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng dressed differently today. He rented a mink coat with glossy fur and wore a mink hat that covered half of his face.

From a distance, he looked exactly like a wealthy merchant from beyond the Great Wall.

Chen Feng walked over, and Zhao Sheng glanced at him, then whispered, "Commander, your attire..."

Chen Feng bent over, his back slumped, and the spirit on his face disappeared, replaced by a meek and submissive expression.

He tugged at his drab gray short-sleeved shirt, then stuck on the fake beard he'd prepared beforehand, grinned, and said, "Does it look like me?"

Zhao Sheng paused for a moment, then nodded. "It looks like it."

Chen Feng's smile faded. "Let's go."

The two walked into the alley, one after the other.

The alley was narrow, with several shops on the left. The shop assistants were installing door panels when they saw someone enter the alley and stopped what they were doing.

Chen Feng followed behind Zhao Sheng, listening carefully to the sounds coming from the shop.

The alley wasn't deep; it only took a few steps to reach its end.

Seeing the "Yongshengqing" sign above his head, Chen Feng lifted the curtain and ducked into the room.

........................

Zhang Tongyuan was shelling melon seeds behind the counter. They were supposed to cost ten taels of silver per pound, but he couldn't really taste anything special about them.

He had been guarding the Yong Sheng Qing branch in Beijing for three years. The entire alley had been bought by the owner, and apart from the occasional person from one of the eight great families coming to exchange silver, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Although the landlord forbade them from leaving the alley, fortunately, they had plenty of money and the work was easy.

A stranger came a few days ago; he spoke with a Liaodong accent.

The man came to exchange his anonymous pass for silver, but he didn't produce the jade token or seal.

Those tickets were specially made by Yong Shengqing and were only available to members of the eight major families.

He ordered his men to follow the man, but they lost track of him.

When Fourth Master found out, he specially sent someone over, took some silver, and gave him a good scolding.

He also instructed that if this situation occurred again, they should be apprehended immediately and thoroughly interrogated.

But who would be so stupid as to take the money and not run away, only to walk into the lion's den again?

Just as he was thinking this, he glanced at the Western clock in the corner of the counter and was about to tell them to close up shop when the curtain was suddenly lifted.

Zhang Tongyuan looked up and saw two people walk straight in.

The man in front was tall, wrapped in a mink coat and wearing a mink hat with the brim pulled low, so his face was not visible.

The one behind him was wearing a drab gray short brown shirt, hunched over, looking like a servant.

Zhang Tongyuan's heart tightened. Who would come at this time?

The servant stepped forward, took out a membership ticket from his pocket, and slapped it on the counter.

He spoke with a strong Liaodong accent: "My master wants to exchange silver. Three thousand taels."

Zhang Tongyuan looked down at the bank draft, which was an anonymous bank draft with three thousand taels of silver written on it.

He looked at the ticket, waited for a couple of breaths, and saw that the other side did not make a move.

Another stranger.

Just as he was about to order his men to seize the two men, the man in the mink coat suddenly lowered his head, leaned close to the servant's ear, and whispered a few words.

Zhang Tongyuan strained his ears, but couldn't understand a single word.

It's not Liaodong dialect, nor is it a Beijing accent. It sounds... like Mongolian? Or...?

As he was pondering this, he noticed that when the man turned his head, a small part of something peeked out from behind his mink hat.

Zhang Tongyuan's pupils contracted.

That's... a braid?

His mind exploded with a bang; he had previously heard that his master was doing business with a powerful figure in the Jin Dynasty.

Those important people all wore queues.

Could this be a distinguished guest from the Great Jin Dynasty?

Before he could figure it out, the servant outside the counter lost his temper and slammed his hand on the counter: "You dog of a servant, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and pay! You've delayed my master's important business, how many heads do you have?"

Zhang Tongyuan was startled and quickly put on a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away."

The servant shouted again, "We want gold!"

Zhang Tongyuan nodded hurriedly and counted out more than a dozen gold bars.

The man in the mink coat remained silent, simply standing there with his hands in his pockets, emanating an aura of quiet authority.

Zhang Tongyuan put the gold into a box without even weighing it.

The servant took the gold, weighed it in his hand, and sneered, "You dog of a servant!"

The man in the mink coat saw that the money was packed up and turned to walk out the door.

The curtain fell, leaving only Zhang Tongyuan and the two guards inside.

He stood behind the counter, stunned for a long while, then suddenly shuddered.

wrong!

How could a noble person from the Great Jin Dynasty swagger into the capital of the Great Ming Dynasty?

He turned around abruptly, rushed out of the counter, lifted the curtain, and looked outside, but the alley was empty; there was no one in sight.

Zhang Tongyuan's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling. "Guards! Quickly! Bring those two people back!"

The doors of several shops at the entrance of the alley slammed open, and fourteen or fifteen strong men rushed out.

As the first watchman's clapper sounded, these men rushed out of the alleyway.