A new emperor brought a new courtier. If the emperor was gone, the courtiers would naturally have to be replaced. All officials understood this principle. Ma Keshi naturally understood it as well. When he learned of Emperor Wanli's death, his mind went blank and he was dumbfounded. He stood by the roadside outside Chaoyang Gate, unresponsive.
Ouyang Jun and Luo Lie understood Ma Keshi and felt pity for him. However, they had their own missions. They tried to persuade Ma Keshi, but he didn't respond, so they could only go about their own business.
Ma Keshi carefully rushed from Tianjin to the capital. At this time, his clothes were tattered and his face was lifeless. He stood by the roadside the whole day in a daze. There were many stupid people these days, and passersby didn't care. He stood from morning to night, from day to night. When he woke up again, he found that he had walked for many days in a daze and returned to Tongzhou like a walking corpse.
Alas … Ma Keshi had done a big thing here. He had given out half a year's worth of provisions to Daming's regime in the north. The bureaucrats in the capital had to thank him. Otherwise, if the provisions had been seized or burned by the rebels, the entire situation in the north of Daming would have immediately collapsed. Unfortunately, only half a month had passed, and it was as if this matter had never happened.
No one remembered that there was such a loyal and devoted Ma gonggong who was willing to sacrifice his life for the Great Ming Dynasty and only worked for the emperor. Now, the people in the capital were busy preparing for Emperor Wanli's funeral. They wanted to occupy the moral high ground and once again hold the power to support a new emperor.
No one knew what Ma Keshi had experienced in the past few days. He was dirty and smelly at the moment, making people cover their noses and take a detour. He was originally a fair and slightly plump middle-aged man, but now he had a head full of white hair and sunken eyes. He looked very haggard.
What woke Ma Keshi up was his extremely hungry stomach. After he was captured, he had fasted to show his determination. He didn't eat much on the way back to the capital. He was dizzy and able to hold on until now because of his extraordinary cultivation. But he really couldn't hold on any longer.
There was a tea stall by the roadside that also sold food. Ma Keshi felt around for some silver and walked over to get some food and drink. When the tea stall owner saw his dirty appearance, he stopped him, "Don't, don't, you're too dirty, don't come over. My business is going to be ruined because of you. "
Eunuch Ma, who had been alone for a few days and had been despised by others like a dog, couldn't help but be enraged. "Usually, one look from me is enough to scare people out of their wits. Who in the court dares to defy me? Today, you, a tea and rice seller, dares to shout and holler. You think my body is dirty. "After cursing to this point, he wailed again. The sorrow in his heart was indescribable. Not only did he lose his authority, but he also lost his reputation.
The owner of the tea stall was startled by Ma Keshi's appearance. Hearing Ma Keshi's croaky voice, he immediately knew that the other party was a eunuch from the palace. But looking at his sorry appearance and the stench all over his body, he didn't seem to be a powerful person. The tea stall owner grabbed a dog beating stick and wanted to chase him away.
Eunuch Ma didn't feel any pain after being hit by the rod a few times. He just rushed into the tea stall like he was making a scene, knocking over several tables and stools and spilling tea. He was like a madman, randomly hitting and smashing around. The tea stall owner immediately cried out in alarm. He couldn't provoke this scoundrel and could only follow along, shouting, "Don't, quickly stop. You eunuch, go serve His Majesty. Why make things difficult for my stall? "
These words shocked Ma Keshi as if he had been struck by lightning. As expected, he stopped and stood up, asking in a hysterical manner, "His Majesty is dead, who else can I serve?"
"His Majesty is dead, but there are other emperors. Quickly go find your Majesty, don't waste time here. "The tea stall owner just wanted to quickly coax this crazy eunuch away and didn't want to provoke him again.
"Other emperors? Other emperors! "Ma Keshi cried and laughed as if he had gone crazy," Submit to the new emperor? But they have their own people and won't want me. Do I really have to submit to the rebels? "
Ma Keshi's expression flickered. His breathing tightened and then relaxed, "Submit to the rebels? Will the rebels have a chance to take back the country? "
The tea stall owner sneered, "Daming really can't do it now. Tens of thousands of people can't beat a few thousand. Now, no one calls him a rebel anymore. Instead, there is a flood of people going to submit to him. It is said that the 'revolutionary army' has the aura of a new dynasty. All kinds of new policies have the intention of reform. They can't see any of Daming's shortcomings. People go to higher places and water flows to lower places. Things in this world … "
The tea stall owner welcomed and sent people off every day. He was as talkative as a taxi driver in the future. Ma Keshi was stunned again. He suddenly bowed deeply to the tea stall owner, "It is I who is muddle-headed. Thank you for your guidance." He made up his mind and slapped all the remaining silver pieces on the table, "Take out whatever food you have. I'm really hungry. I have to eat a good meal before going to the new emperor."
In just a few words, Ma Keshi's thoughts took a 180-degree turn — learn martial arts and literature, then sell to the emperor's family. This emperor doesn't want me, so I'll go to another family.
After this commotion, the customers of the tea stall all ran away. The boss was helpless. He saw that there was a lot of silver pieces on the table and smiled to Ma Keshi to make some simple food. Ma Keshi opened his mouth and ate. He was excited again and felt that his idea was right. After he was full, he went to the dock to think about how to find a boat to go to Tianjin.
Ma Keshi had no money to pay for the boat. But when he arrived at the dock, he found that there were many people openly recruiting for the revolutionary army to take a free boat to Tianjin. The Ming Army stationed in Tongzhou didn't care at all. They even specially made things convenient for them just to get some money.
When he got on the boat, Ma Keshi found that there were many people going to Tianjin. Most of them were penniless poor people. A small number of unidentified people probably wanted to go like him. The poor people all said that they could get land in Tianjin and wouldn't be bullied. They all treated Tianjin like a paradise.
Zhou Qingfeng's northward detachment circled around the capital region. In addition to attacking the local officials, they also did a lot of propaganda work. At the moment, the Ming Army was declining. There were countless people who were willing to go to Tianjin to try their luck.
The boat traveled for two days and three meals a day were taken care of. This made the people who sought refuge have a good impression. However, there were many rules on the boat. They were not allowed to relieve themselves or be crowded or noisy. There were people teaching the rules on every boat. It was like a rich family recruiting servants. Everyone was very obedient. When the boat arrived in Tianjin, there were people who came to register the population and issued a wooden plate as a temporary ID.
Ma Keshi had lived in the palace for a long time and knew the importance of rules. He remembered that the person who recruited him was the Minister of Security, Wang Kunpeng, so he asked the people at the Tianjin dock. When he mentioned this name, many people were shocked. However, he was still sent to the courtyard of the Ministry of Security in the city.
The revolutionary army decided to settle in Tianjin and began to spread the administrative system on a large scale. However, compared to the Liaodong Peninsula that had been under management for a year, Tianjin had a high population density and the situation was more complicated. The difficulty of management was several times higher. The chaos in the market was beyond imagination. In recent days, there was a case of the remaining forces of the officials poisoning the well. Wang Kunpeng was in a terrible situation.
When Ma Keshi came, he had to smile at Minister Wang. It was very awkward.
If he had been notified in advance, Wang Kunpeng would never have recognized this sloppy guy in front of him. His face immediately sank and he scolded unhappily, "Ma Keshi, I thought you weren't coming."
Ma Keshi knew that it was useless to say anything. He directly admitted his mistake and said, "I was blinded and didn't know the minister's kindness. Now that I have repented, I ask the minister … "
Seeing that Ma Keshi was about to kneel, Wang Kunpeng didn't have the patience. "Enough. I'm very busy. I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. Originally, the new members of the Ministry of Security have to go through induction training, but we are in urgent need of people. I recommended you to the Grand Marshal. I hope you don't make it difficult for me. From now on, you are the deputy minister of the Ministry of Security in charge of the capital region. "
Ma Keshi was stunned. He didn't expect the officer of the 'Revolutionary Army' to speak so directly and straightforwardly. He interrupted and asked, "I wonder what rank this deputy minister is at?"
"My superior is the Grand Marshal, and your superior is me." Wang Kunpeng said simply and clearly, "At present, the Tianjin area is mixed with snakes and rats, and there are endless undercurrents. The Grand Marshal has caught me and scolded me for the past two days. I don't have many people to allocate to you right now. I can only give you 20,000 taels of silver. You have to use your skills in the East Faction Guards. Within a month, you must clean up the place. "
Only Minister Wang is between me and the Grand Marshal? There is no difference between me and the Grand Marshal.
As for cleaning up the place? I'm good at that!
Giving 20,000 taels of silver in one go was much more straightforward than Zhu Yijun, who was always hesitant when giving money.
Ma Keshi had been through many hardships in the Imperial Palace, and he had seen and experienced many things. He was mentally prepared before coming, so he was very calm at the moment. After listening to a few words from Wang Kunpeng, he let out a long sigh. It wasn't joy, but a myriad of emotions.
Wang Kunpeng said in a deep voice, "Our 'Revolutionary Army' is very different from the Ming Dynasty. We hate corruption, dereliction of duty, and deceit. I have a political study manual published by the Ministry of Administration. Take it back and read it. Understand it well. Take time to participate in the recent study class. You must not bring the bad habits of the Ming Dynasty here. "
In order to train cadres, the 'Revolutionary Army' specially compiled a series of study and education manuals, which specialized in explaining current politics, analyzing the general trend of the world, and talking about the difference between the enemy and us. Ma Keshi was from the East Faction Guards, so he was naturally sensitive to politics. He knew that he had to understand this new force if he wanted to stand firm in the 'Revolutionary Army' after changing his faction.
After that, Wang Kunpeng pushed a large pile of files in front of Ma Keshi. "I'll give you five days to study. After five days, start handling cases. Close these cases as soon as possible and restore the stability of the city. "
Wang Kunpeng only assigned five or six clerks to Ma Keshi to assist him in handling official affairs. Then, he approved and gave him 20,000 taels of silver. This money wasn't given directly, but was budgeted. He didn't care about anything else. Don't suspect the people you use, and don't use the people you doubt. In the current situation, there was no time to spend too much time on investigation. He could only test it with practice.
Overnight, Ma Gonggong's power came back, and it was even stronger than before. He read the political handbook given by Wang Kunpeng overnight. After reading it, he was completely shocked. The first article he read was written by Zhou Qingfeng based on historical facts and reality. On the Current Relationship between the Enemy and Us, and the Inevitability of Long-term Struggle. The vernacular of 20,000 to 30,000 words clearly explained the structure of the Ming Dynasty society.
The concept of 'class contradiction' was introduced by Zhou Qingfeng, and the current social antagonism of the Ming Dynasty was also exposed. The reason why the 'Revolutionary Army' supported the poor, roped in the middle class, and attacked the officials and gentry was also explained frankly and reasonably. A revolution wasn't a dinner treat, a revolution was a riot. In order to change the current chaotic situation, the injustice must be corrected, but the injustice must not be corrected.
When Ma Keshi read these words, his entire soul trembled. This was completely different from the Confucian school's view, but it was close to reality. He jumped out of bed in the middle of the night. Goosebumps appeared all over his body, his flesh trembled, and his bones creaked. His cultivation, which had been stagnant for many years, was surging because of this. His spiritual power surged in his meridians, and in an instant, it rushed up one or two steps.
"Previously, when I worked for Zhu Yijun, every time I caught a few corrupt people, countless people would come out to say that I was innocent. I even had to bear the infamy and be hated. They were obviously despicable people who poached people, but those shameless scholars said that they were the pillars of the country. Even if there was evidence in hand, we could only catch a few small shrimps. The real rats would at most lose their positions, and they might even bite back.
It's really refreshing to come to this' Revolutionary Army '. The Grand Marshal actually wrote such an article. It's clear that he authorized me to kill all the corrupt officials in the world. This is what I like to do. If I had a backer like the Grand Marshal, I could have just caught people with peace of mind. Why would I spend so much effort to figure out which family has a deep background and which family I can't easily touch? "
Thinking of this, Ma Keshi, who had always been astute, was so excited that he couldn't sleep. There was no one else under his command except for some clerks. If he wanted to open up the situation, he must recruit more capable subordinates. In the middle of the night, he put on a coat, lit a candle, and sat in front of the desk. He found a pen and ink and began to write vigorously.
"This is a big undertaking. Maybe it can really make our name in history."
"We still have a few like-minded friends in the East Faction Guards. These people should be able to be recruited."
"We also know a lot of people in the Jinyi Guard. There are many people who want to help the country. Just pull them all over."
"There are also some honest people in the imperial court who are not successful. There are many low-level officials in the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Works who are not doing well. It's good to write a letter to say hello."
"Hahaha …, we have money, people, and a big backer. This time, we are going to do something big!"
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