The Most Powerful Man in the World

Even Zhao Ji, who was following Chu Yi, was slightly taken aback when he received the news. Chu Yi's reaction was really beyond Zhao Ji's expectations.

Zhao Ji even made Chu Yi's request to him to expand the manpower of the East Factory, and Zhao Ji was ready to issue an order.

As a result, Chu Yi didn't react at all, just like a person with nothing to do, honestly taking care of the East Factory, without any intention of expansion.

Not to mention the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty and even the official family were surprised. In fact, in the East Factory, Yang Zhi and Xu Ning were also very puzzled.

It is said that it was the best time for Chu Yi to take advantage of the emperor's favor to expand the power of Dongchang, but Chu Yi did not do that.

On this day, Yang Zhi, who couldn't help it, looked at Chu Yi who was sitting there reading and said, "Admiral, why don't you ask Your Majesty to expand the manpower of our East Factory? Without His Majesty's will, we cannot expand our manpower by ourselves..."

Chu Yi put down the scroll in his hand, raised his head and glanced at Yang Zhi and the others, shook his head slightly, and said with a smile, "How can the things you ask for can be compared to what others bring to your door?"

Hearing Chu Yi say this, several people couldn't help but stunned, obviously they didn't quite understand what Chu Yi meant.

It was at this time, in the palace, that Zhao Ji glanced at Yang Jian, the servant who served him beside him, with a smile on his face.

Yang Jian was originally a subordinate of Chu Yi's Xiao Huangmen. Later, through Chu Yi's relationship, Tong Guan Zhaofu was in the palace, and he entered Zhao Ji's line of sight in a short period of time.

Yang Jian also deserves to be able to become a figure on the same level as Liang Shicheng, Cai Jing, Tong Guan and others. Once he rose to the sky, he soon won the favor of the emperor and became one of the inner servants who could compete with Liang Shicheng by the emperor's side.

If Cai Jing and Liang Shicheng were secretly hugging each other to keep warm, then Yang Jian, Tong Guan, and Chu Yi should be regarded as a faction.

Of course, this is the opinion of Tong Guan and Yang Jian. As for Chu Yi, he really doesn't mean to form a gang.

He only heard Zhao Ji glanced at Yang Jian and said with a smile: "The palace says that Yang Jian, you and Chu Yi have a good relationship. It seems that this rumor is true."

Yang Jian immediately said: "It was because of the care of Admiral Chu that the slave maid was able to serve His Majesty, so the slave maid is very grateful to Admiral Chu, everything can be said to others, the old slave did not do anything sorry for His Majesty, even if In the presence of His Majesty, the old servant dared to pat his chest to assure His Majesty that there was no collusion between the servant and the Admiral Chu."

Looking at Yang Jian's magnanimous appearance, Zhao Ji smiled and said: "The Qing family is magnanimous, I know it well, just like the Chu Qing family, who has made great contributions to us, and doesn't even mean to ask for rewards, etc. How can a person with a temperament collude with others in private?"

Yang Jian said with a slap in the face: "That's why this slave has the courage to ask your Majesty for a reward for Admiral Chu. Otherwise, if you have merit but not reward, wouldn't it be detrimental to His Majesty's holy reputation!"

Liang Shicheng, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but change his face when he heard the words, and immediately pointed at Yang Jian and said, "Yang Jian, you are so bold, how dare you talk to His Majesty like this!"

Yang Jian glanced at Liang Shicheng with disdain, but instead said to Zhao Ji with a clear conscience: "If there is any rudeness in this servant, please punish your majesty!"

Looking at Liang Shicheng and Yang Jian, a playful smile flashed in Zhao Ji's eyes, and he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it, both of you are my confidants, even if there is any rudeness between the words. , I wouldn't mind."

After appeasing Yang Jian and beating Liang Shicheng again, Zhao Ji pondered for a while and said: "Yang Jian said it is not bad, I do owe Chu Yi a reward, in that case, Yang Jian, let's talk about it, how should I reward Chu Yicai Yes?"

Yang Jian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly said: "With the slave maid's understanding of Chu Yi, gold and silver wealth, etc., Chu Yi is afraid that he has no interest, after thinking about it, Chu Yi is in charge of the East Factory, Yidong Factory. Judging from the responsibilities of the East Factory, it seems that there is a serious shortage of personnel under the jurisdiction of the East Factory. If Your Majesty wants to reward, you may wish to add some more staff to the East Factory."

The East Factory was separated from the Imperial City Division, which is equivalent to a new intelligence agency, a newly established agency, and it is naturally insufficient in personnel.

If Huangcheng Division is a behemoth after so many years of development, then Dongchang is a small institution separated from such a behemoth.

Therefore, compared to Huangcheng Division, Dongchang is simply insignificant, and even Zhao Ji did not take Dongchang to heart.

Hearing what Yang Jian said at this moment, Zhao Ji thought that there were only a few hundred people in Dongchang now, so he couldn't help nodding his head and said: "Yang Jian, what you said is not bad. Dongchang is a new department anyway. If it’s too small, it’s really inappropriate, so I will allow Chu Yiqing’s family to recruit East Factory personnel by themselves, um, the number is limited to 5000 people!”

There are many people in the Imperial City Division, and there are thousands of people who are on record alone, not to mention those who are not on record.

But no matter what, Zhao Ji gave Dongchang a quota of 5000 people as soon as he opened his mouth, which can already be regarded as a big deal.

You must know that many newly established institutions or departments often only have hundreds of places.

In the Song Dynasty, redundant officials were extremely serious. There were many officials, but there were not many officials who actually did things. It seemed that the court had spent a lot of wealth to support many scholars who were famous.

That is to say, the Song Dynasty had a prosperous and developed economy, and the state tax revenue was abundant. Otherwise, it would be impossible to support the huge bureaucratic system and the banned military system.

Just think about it, there are nearly one million banned troops in the Great Song Dynasty alone, not to mention the local armies. It can be said that the army that the entire Great Song Dynasty needs to support is quite a terrifying number.

Here Zhao Ji made a decision, and soon the imperial edict was passed on.

East Factory

The location of the East Factory is not very conspicuous. It is located in a courtyard, and there are not many people. At this moment, I saw a few figures running towards the East Factory.

At the entrance of the East Factory Office, when the two Fanzi saw the person coming, they stepped forward and stopped him and said, "East Factory Heavy Ground, who is the person here?"

The two fans looked alike. Yang Jian personally asked Zhao Ji for the opportunity to read the imperial decree. At this moment, he glanced at the two fans. He was not angry that the other party stopped him and said with a slight smile: "Report to your Admiral, and say that Yang Jiante is here to read the imperial edict."

The two fans couldn't help but stunned for a moment, one of them walked into the courtyard quickly, and soon heard footsteps, Chu Yi's figure appeared in Yang Jian's line of sight.

The two hadn't seen each other for several months. When they met, Yang Jian immediately stepped forward and bowed to Chu Yi: "Yang Jian has seen the Duke of Guangyang!"

Chu Yi smiled and glanced at Yang Jian and said, "I haven't seen you for a few months, but you have changed a lot, Yang Jian!"

Seeing that Chu Yi didn't seem to be with him, Yang Jian said with a smile: "Thanks to Brother Chu's support, otherwise, where would Yang be today?"

Between the words, Chu Yi slightly led the way: "Let's talk inside."

Walking into the courtyard, Yang Jian looked around, and soon Yang Jian frowned and said: "Brother Chu, the East Factory is too simple, why not repair the East Factory, or expand the yamen outside. Ah, otherwise, wouldn't it look too shabby?"

Chu Yi said with a smile, "I'll be serving your Majesty. It's good to have such a place as a yamen. If we expand, wouldn't it be a waste of money and trouble for Your Majesty?"

Yang Jian said with admiration on his face: "Brother Chu thinks of His Majesty wholeheartedly, if His Majesty only knows, he will definitely be very moved!"

Soon, Yang Jian paused and took the imperial decree from Xiao Huangmen next to him, "Brother Chu, your majesty's will."

Chu Yi bowed slightly, and Yang Jian stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty has spoken, the Duke of Guangyang does not need to make this great gift!"

After reading out the contents of the imperial decree, the faces of the people around Dongchang all showed joy. You must know that in the imperial decree, when the emperor Jinkou opened his mouth, he suddenly expanded the number of people in Dongchang to a full 5000. People, it can be said that if they really gather all the personnel, Dongchang will become a behemoth comparable to Huangcheng Division.

Yang Zhi, Xu Ning, and Lin Chong also had happy expressions on their faces, but when Yang Zhi looked at Chu Yi, there was something strange in his eyes.

You must know that they asked Chu Yi why he didn't ask the emperor before. At that time, what Chu Yi said was still echoing in his ears. Now, seeing the emperor taking the initiative to increase the number of people in the East Factory, isn't this just like what Chu Yi said at the time? .

Thinking that Chu Yi was so predictable, Xu Ning and others looked at Chu Yi with admiration and awe.

With the emperor's decree, the East Factory suddenly became a hot topic in Bianliang City. The Imperial City Division has existed for hundreds of years and is a behemoth, while the East Factory is a new yamen, and depending on the emperor's trust level, I am afraid it is It won't be long before they will become the general presence of the Imperial City Division, so the officials of the entire East Factory have entered the sight of many people.

Among them, the most striking ones were Lin Chong, Xu Ning, and Yang Zhi, who were promoted by Chu Yi.

These three people can be said to be Chu Yi's confidants in the East Factory. They are responsible for leading the few fans in the East Factory. Even a fool can see how much Chu Yi values ​​them.

Lin Chong has the background of the imperial city minister Zhou Tong, and Yang Zhi has the background of the Yang family of Tianbo Mansion. Only Xu Ning has no obvious background, but it can be regarded as a family of generals.

It can be said that all three of them have a good background. Seeing that the three of them are about to grow up with the expansion of the East Factory, many people will be eyeing the three of Lin Chong.

The most obvious is that Lin Chong and the three of them have had a lot of officials visiting their homes in the past few days. If their hands were changed to other people, they would suddenly experience this change, and they might become airy.

But whether it was Lin Chong, Xu Ning, or Yang Zhi, the three of them were a little sluggish at the beginning, but they quickly stabilized their minds, and actively chose to close the door to thank guests, and try to reduce the number of similarities with those people as much as possible. Heartfelt contact.

On this day, Lin Chong rested and walked alone on the lively long street. Suddenly, a figure entered Lin Chong's line of sight.

That figure was standing in front of a rouge gouache booth, dressed in a long lake green dress and hair shawl. Although the front was not visible, it was just a back that made Lin Chong look at it for a moment.

As if there was a power in the shadows, Lin Chong felt a little strange about this back figure, and even subconsciously walked towards the other side.

"Dengzi, what are you going to do?"

Suddenly, a coquettish rebuke sounded, and Lin Chong woke up.

Lin Chong came back to his senses at this moment, and only then did he see clearly the two masters and servants in front of him. The woman who had caught his attention was bowing her head slightly. She held the handkerchief in her hand and covered her cheek slightly. In front was a maid who was staring at him angrily.

Lin Chong only glanced at the woman and his heart trembled, as if he had met his destined other half, he suppressed the strangeness in his heart, and bowed slightly to the two women: "In Xia Linchong, I didn't mean to offend the little lady, if there is anything Please forgive me for the rudeness."

Chapter 770: Chu Yi Protects the Media

The woman lowered her head slightly, glanced at Lin Chong secretly, quickly retracted her gaze, tugged at the maid who looked very angry, and said in a low voice, "Jin'er, this Young Master Lin is not malicious, we should go back too. already."

The maid glared at Lin Chong when she heard the words, followed the woman, and the two figures quickly disappeared from the crowd.

A figure appeared beside Lin Chong, with a strange smile on his face, and suddenly said to Lin Chong, "Brother Lin, everyone has gone far, and if you look any further, your soul will be gone!"

A man like Lin Chong couldn't help his face blushing when he heard the words, he glared at the man and said, "Brother Xu Ning, don't be kidding, why did Lin lose his soul!"

Xu Ning laughed loudly and said, "You can see that little brother in the scene just now, that little lady doesn't look bad, and doesn't look like she's from a common people's family. If your brother likes it, you might as well send someone to investigate, maybe it's a case Marriage!"

Lin Chong looked angry, waved his sleeves and said, "Hugh, there is something wrong with Lin's family, go first!"

Xu Ning didn't get angry when he saw this, but said to Lin Chong's slightly embarrassed back, "Brother, there are flowers that can be folded and must be folded!"

Xu Ning was a rare gentleman.

In Bianliang City, in an inconspicuous courtyard, there was a sound of breaking the air, and a figure was seen dancing a stick in the courtyard at the moment.

This man looks about forty or fifty, with white temples, but he is flamboyant when he wields a stick in his hand.

But soon, the man couldn't help but cough violently, and even the dancing sticks stopped.

There was a rush of footsteps outside the yard, and two figures hurried into the yard. If Lin Chong saw it, he would definitely be able to recognize at a glance that these two women were the pair of master and servant he saw.

Seeing the old man coughing violently, Zhang Zhenniang couldn't help but took a few steps forward, supported the old man, and then patted the old man's back with her hand: "Dad, you hurt your body a few days ago, the doctor said that you will have a good life and recuperate. During this period, you are not allowed to dance with knives and guns, why don't you care about it!"

Teacher Zhang said with a bit of a smile on his face: "I don't have to worry, Daddy's body is strong, don't listen to those quack doctors, if you let Daddy not use a knife and gun, then it's better to kill Daddy!"

After speaking, Coach Zhang said: "Besides, Daddy's errands are still there, and he has to go to work in a few days, so he can't be the same as not dancing knives and guns!"

Zhang Zhenniang supported Coach Zhang and sat down to rest and said: "Dad is working as a coach in the army, why was he suddenly transferred to that Dongchang?"

Instructor Zhang was also very puzzled. He was just an inconspicuous instructor in the army. There were many instructors like him, but not long ago, he was told to go to the East Factory to renew his post.

Coach Zhang actually doesn't know much about Dongchang. Even in the army, Coach Zhang is a very low-key person, and he doesn't care about external affairs in the past. Even if Dongchang's reputation is not small, but Coach Zhang never cared.

Therefore, I was very skeptical about my sudden transfer to the East Factory, and at the same time I was very curious about the East Factory.

Coach Zhang's personal circle is very small, but no matter how small the circle is, there are still people who know about Dongchang.

Therefore, Coach Zhang quickly inquired about the news about the East Factory, and learned that the East Factory turned out to be a new intelligence department independent from the Huangcheng Division, and that Chu Yi, the owner of the East Factory, is even more in the eyes of today's officials. The big red man, this means entering the East Factory, and the future seems limitless.

It's a pity that Coach Zhang is not very interested in entering the East Factory. He wants to live a peaceful life, raise his daughter, and choose a good match for her. This life is enough.

However, since the transfer order has been issued, this is not something that Coach Zhang can violate, so Coach Zhang has been collecting some rumors or news about the East Factory these days.

Hearing Zhang Zhenniang's words, Coach Zhang took the tea from Zhang Zhenniang's hand and said, "I don't have to worry, it's not a bad thing to be transferred to the East Factory for my father."

Hearing what her father said, Zhang Zhenniang nodded slightly.

It's been more than half a year in a flash. If the expansion of the East Factory attracted many people's attention at the beginning, then the name of the East Factory is very loud now.

With the expansion of the East Factory, the people and horses were ready, and the East Factory showed its fangs.

Because Chu Yi has won the trust of Zhao Ji, the most important thing is that under the leadership of Chu Yi, Dongchang ransacked his house frequently, and every time he ransacked his house, he would donate tens of thousands or even 10,000+ guan of wealth to Zhao Ji.

If at the beginning, there were still restrictions on the right of the East Factory to seize and interrogate, when the East Factory presented the stolen wealth several times, Zhao Ji almost completely let go of the restrictions on the East Factory.

There were not many officials who fell into the hands of Dongchang, but every one of them was taken down for good reason. It can be said that no innocent person was wronged.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhao Ji let Dongchang go, and it is also the reason why the ministers above the court wanted to target Dongchang, but they couldn't get any handle.

The expansion of the East Factory first touched the nerves of these scholar-officials. Cai Jing was not mentioned in the courtroom, and even other scholar-officials also had a deep fear of the East Factory.

The generals have been suppressed by the scholar-official group for hundreds of years, and they have also been suppressed as eunuchs for hundreds of years. It can be said that from Zhao Kuangyin wearing a yellow robe to Zhao Ji taking power, there have not been several famous eunuchs in the world in the past [-] years. .

Of course, many people would never have imagined that Tong Guan, who is currently serving as a military supervisor in the northwest, would one day be able to rise above the sky, take charge of the army and horses, and even be crowned king for his military exploits.