The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Emperor Hongzhi also wanted to know that if money could really be generated out of thin air, Jiubian's military would not have to worry about their pay, and the refugees in Jingxiang would also have money to settle down. Even if there was no harvest due to drought or floods in the prefecture, there would still be enough money left to open warehouses to provide food relief.

"Tell me, how do you conjure silver out of thin air?" The speaker was none other than Ningshou Hou Zhang Heling.

The brothers slept for a long time. When they heard that they could conjure money out of thin air, they suddenly woke up as if from a dream, and their eyes lit up.

Yan Chengjin also felt that his words were too conclusive, so he said again: "Your Majesty, can I take back what I just said?"

All the officials looked astonished.

Emperor Hongzhi's old face twitched slightly, thinking that this guy had some ability and could really conjure money out of thin air.

No wonder this kid always has to think for a long time before speaking.

The Zhang brothers' faces were even more uncomfortable than eating Xiaoqiang. They finally fell asleep, but the boy woke up.

Ma Wensheng's brows relaxed: "I have been the Minister of the Ministry of War for many years, and I have never heard of the idea of ​​going to the capital camp to find money. However, Weiyuan's guards are empty, so I agree."

"Your Majesty, please wait for news from Wang Shouren." Yan Chengjin said after careful consideration.

If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have dared to act like this, but Wang Shouren had the halo of a saint.

After the court was over, all the officials dispersed.

Emperor Hongzhi and three members of his cabinet stayed in Fengtian Hall.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned. After much thought, he felt that Yan Chengjin was confident before he dared to speak out, but he couldn't figure out where the money came from.

Then he told Mou Bin: "The factory guards have been keeping an eye on Yan Chengjin for me these days."

The news inevitably spread to the Beijing camp, causing considerable panic.

In a barracks in Beijing, more than a dozen people were standing or sitting, all with sad faces, scratching their heads and thinking about one question: How on earth is Yan Chengjin going to make money?

"Do you think this matter has anything to do with us?"

"Impossible. This guy is not a ghost. How could he possibly know about us? Furthermore, no one has come to the capital camp in the past few days. I must be worried too much."

"Don't mess up your position. If anyone comes to check, kill him."

But after waiting for a few days, not even a ghost was seen. They were sure that they were being careless.

Fengtian Temple,

Emperor Hongzhi became increasingly confused.

The factory guard came to report that Yan Chengjin was on duty as usual and lived a very regular life. When he was on duty, he would never stay in the duty room for a moment longer. When he was on duty, he would never delay for a moment.

I couldn't find out anything.

When they went to court on the fifth day, the princes almost forgot about it.

Yan Chengjin was still standing in the corner of the side hall. Emperor Hongzhi had finished discussing the affairs of the court and was about to announce his resignation.

At this moment, a young eunuch walked in from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, Wang Shouren, the chief secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, said that money was found in the capital camp."

The faces of the officials varied. Some looked stiff, while others looked surprised.

Emperor Hongzhi was surprised: "Let him in!"

Wang Shouren walked into the hall quickly, holding a thick stack of classics in his hand. Emperor Hongzhi looked at him directly: "What is this?"

Wang Shouren lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have military status."

Everything about the Beijing camp is top secret, including the number of troops and their garrison locations. Only Emperor Hongzhi and the Minister of War know about it.

Military status can be used to find out the number of troops in the Beijing camp.

Therefore, military status is a secret and is controlled by the Fifth Military Governor's Office.

But the person in charge of it is Wang Yue. Wang Yue and Yan Chengjin are now wearing the same pants.

He sorted out all the vacancies for military registration and showed Wang Shouren a clear path.

In the previous dynasty, Wang Yue also had a job in Kongxiang. He was the originator of this industry. No one knew better than him how military pay was sent to the ministers' pockets. The Beijing camp was left over from the previous dynasty with almost no changes. There are many old generals in the army, so there is no need for Wang Shouren to go to the capital camp.

When organizing the military camp, Yan Chengjin was cautious and considered every aspect.

Wang Yue is his real back-up man.

It was precisely because Wang Yue readily agreed and Wang Shouren had the aura of a saint.

Only Yan Chengjin dared to advise Emperor Hongzhi.

Wang Shouren said: "This is the military register of the Beijing camp. There were originally 140,000 people on the register. As many as 80,000 fled, but in fact there were only more than 60,000. The number of sergeants has dropped sharply, and the imperial army's pay is still the same as before, so The money is missing.”

Wang Shouren's words were like thunder from heaven, striking Emperor Hongzhi's heart word by word. He was so stunned that he almost fell down from the throne.

There are only 60,000 people left in the Beijing camp?

The ministers were in an uproar.

Yan Chengjin wanted to comfort Emperor Hongzhi, Your Majesty, the remaining 60,000 are still waste.

"The Biography of Liu Jian" records that in the summer of the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, the little prince conspired to invade Datong. Jian Yan said that the Beijing army was timid and refused to fight, so he ordered himself to stop his operations in order to maintain his vigor.

The Beijing camp was originally the most elite force among all the armies of the imperial court.

However, from Chenghua to the Hongzhi Dynasty, they had hardly fought any wars. They had been practicing for a long time and farming in the fields day and night. They had already become farmers and were not even as good as the soldiers of the border guards.

Wang Zhi, the eunuch of the Chenghua Dynasty, was extremely powerful. He was the governor of the capital and had the final say. This trend originated from him.

Camping and farming in Beijing was originally a normal thing.

However, the soldiers changed from cultivating military fields and imperial estates to cultivating the private fields of powerful ministers. They did not practice all year round and did not receive wages, which caused the soldiers to flee back to their hometowns.

Wang Yue and Wang Zhi were brothers. They fought together at the frontier and were familiar with everything in the army.

Although Emperor Hongzhi had a clean government, he never took the initiative to reorganize the Beijing camp. In addition, the military equipment of the Beijing camp was a secret and could not be accessed by ministers, which gave others an opportunity to take advantage of it.

That led to today's situation.

Li Dongyang took a breath of cold air.

The court spends more on the military pay of the Beijing camp every year than the nine frontiers. How much military pay does the shortage of tens of thousands of people cost each year?

Emperor Hongzhi opened his mouth, shocked beyond words.

Mou Bin presented the military records. After flipping through a few pages, Emperor Hongzhi was a little uneasy: "I don't believe it."

Wang Shouren said: "I have invited some beggars, who are waiting outside the Meridian Gate. I hope Your Majesty will allow them to enter the palace to see the emperor."

The ministers didn't know what Wang Shouren was up to.

Even Yan Chengjin didn't know what he was going to do next.

Fu Han, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, scolded: "How can the temple be defiled by beggars!"

Have you forgotten how the Ming Dynasty Zhu family made its fortune? Do you look down on beggars?

Yan Chengjin sneered in his heart.

Emperor Hongzhi naturally knew the history of Emperor Gao's rise to wealth. The Ministry of Rites' evaluation made him a little unhappy. This matter was of great importance, so he ordered Xiao Jing: "You go and receive them in person."

Xiao Jing responded.

The whole audience was silent.

After a while, three beggars were brought to the palace.

Xiao Jing said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, there are thousands of beggars outside. For safety reasons, I dare only bring back three."

The rebels intended to rebel a while ago, and we had to guard against them. Thousands of beggars were brought into the palace, and the factory guards could not control them.

"I, the humble Zhang Peng, kowtow to Your Majesty."

The three beggars knelt on the ground tremblingly. Only the leader dared to answer. The other two were so scared that they couldn't even speak clearly.

I don't know what Wang Shouren is going to do.

Wang Shouren said to the three beggars: "Just repeat what I asked you last night."