My eunuch godfather

Chapter 87 The Arrested

"I didn't realize that."

Zhang Kun sat down next to Cheng Wenqing, somewhat curious, "How did you figure that out, sister?"

The boy still had his hair in a topknot, and his appearance and voice were androgynous; his physical development was also not obvious.

Because she wasn't wearing a single-layer skirt, and because of her behavior, Zhang Kun always thought she was a man.

"here,"

Cheng Wenqing reached out and touched Zhang Kun's Adam's apple. "This Liu Chunsheng raises his daughter like a son."

Turning to look at the manager of the Limin ship, who was standing not far away, eyes downcast and seemingly lost in thought, he asked:

"Where is Liu Chunsheng's wife?"

The steward of the Limin ship respectfully reported to Cheng Wenqing, "Madam, Liu Chunsheng only has two people in his household, so he must be a widower."

Actually, the Adam's apple isn't always accurate, but Zhang Kun didn't intend to dwell on this trivial matter and asked Cheng Wenqing:

"I'm going to Zhangjiawan, where will Brother Nineteen go to work?"

Zhang Kun has been transferred from the Street Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the West Office and will soon take up the post of Commander of the Arresting Officers in Zhangjiawan.

This seat was previously reserved for the 19th brother, Zheng Anshi, hence this question.

"How would I know? Go ask the old man yourself."

Cheng Wenqing hadn't seen Zhang Kun's eunuch godfather for several months, and frowned, saying:

"I haven't heard of any vacancies in the West Office. Could it be that I'm being transferred to the East Office?"

Luo Sigong, the commander of the Eastern Office, had previously obstructed Xu Bengao's efforts to dredge the nine gates of the city moat.

Xu Bengao had already formed an alliance with Zhang Kun's eunuch godfather, and their interests were intertwined.

If Zheng Anshi were transferred to the East Division, he would probably suffer terribly.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Luo Sigong and Xu Bengao actually had no real grudges against each other, but simply didn't like each other.

Zhang Kun also disliked Xu Bengao, feeling that the man was mediocre.

He was able to rise to the rank of Admiral in the city mainly because of his family's legacy as a third-rank commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Compared to the descendants of military officials and eunuchs, the Ministry of War preferred to recommend the descendants of civil officials, and Xu Bengao was a descendant of Xu Jie.

Luo Sigong was the nephew of Luo An, who served as the Director of the Eastern Office during the Jiajing era. He was "only" a fifth-rank Jinyiwei commander.

Moreover, because his father offended a powerful figure, the family fell into decline, and he was only able to take up a real position by participating in the Imperial Guard Martial Arts Association examination.

Although he also benefited from his ancestors' legacy, he was more capable than Xu Bengao, a complete scoundrel.

......

The residence of Li Ruzhen, the Western Division Commander, at Dengshikou in Mingshifang, northern part of the capital city.

Zhang Kun followed Li Ruzhen's servants through a series of doors to the main room.

Li Ruzhen, a stout man, was yawning while leaning against a soft couch when he saw Zhang Kun enter, kneel down to pay his respects, and waved his hand, saying:

"Get up."

"Thank you, Grand Commander!"

Zhang Kun stood up and sized up the Right Commander of the Rear Army Commandery, a first-rank official.

Like Xu Bengao, Li Ruzhen was mediocre and had managed to get by thanks to the influence of his father, Li Chengliang, and his elder brother, Li Rusong.

Unlike Xu Bengao, next year he will be given a chance because his surname is Li, despite having little military experience.

He was appointed as the General Commander of Liaodong and sent to garrison Shenyang to deal with the crisis following the Battle of Sarhu.

Ultimately, because he dared not rescue Tieling City, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death by the imperial court. He was imprisoned for nearly ten years before his sentence was reduced to exile.

"With Zhang Neixiang looking after you on the job in Zhangjiawan, I don't think there will be any problems."

Li Ruzhen sat up straight and, yawning, began to lecture Zhang Kun:

"I know you're good at business, but since you've taken this job, you should focus more on your duties."

"The Grand Commander's lesson is correct,"

Zhang Kun inwardly despised Li Ruzhen, but outwardly maintained a respectful demeanor and asked in a deferential voice:

"I am thinking that there are many refugees gathered in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu now, and it is probably not enough to rely on fifty guards."

Could the guards of the river works battalion assist me in carrying out this task?

"what ever,"

Li Ruzhen was so tired that tears were streaming down his face. He said impatiently to Zhang Kun, "Just get the job done."

"Thank you, Grand Commander!"

Leaving behind a large box of tribute cigarettes as a gift to show respect, Zhang Kun bid farewell to Li Ruzhen and left.

Then he went to find the cheap 19th brother Zheng Anshi, invited him to Jinchun Courtyard for drinks, and asked him about the precautions for working.

"Brother, if you want to do a good job of arresting the commander, just remember one thing."

Zheng Anshi downed the lotus root in his cup in one gulp and said to Zhang Kun with a wry smile, "Using thieves to fight thieves."

"Nineteenth Brother, what do you mean by that?"

Zhang Kun was taken aback upon hearing this. He filled Zheng Anshi's wine glass and asked with some confusion.

Zheng Anshi understood what Zhang Kun was wondering about, and explained with a wry smile:

"Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu together have a population of about 270,000 to 280,000, more than half of whom are not local residents..."

The proportion of the floating population is too high, even exceeding that of Linqing City, which Zhang Kun visited before.

Zheng Anshi only had fifty elite cavalrymen under his command.

In addition, there were the guards recruited through the Five City Garrison, the transport troops of the Grand Canal, the guards of the tax supervisors, as well as private servants and hangers-on.

There are only four or five hundred people, which is simply not enough to govern Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu.

Therefore, Zheng Anshi had to establish de facto cooperation with the leaders of various gangs, including the head of the thugs, the gang leaders, and even the heads of thieves.

Zheng Anshi could turn a blind eye to them in exchange for them not causing any major incidents.

And every now and then, a few unlucky scapegoats would be brought out to take the blame, so that Zheng Anshi would have something to say to his superiors.

Most importantly, they can provide a lot of intelligence when it comes to big cases!

"...Officials have their way, and thieves have theirs."

Zheng Anshi, worried that Zhang Kun wouldn't listen, earnestly advised him:

"Many things are much more difficult for us to accomplish than for them, but they accomplish twice the results with half the effort."

Zhang Kun knew that Zheng Anshi's words made sense, but he still planned to conduct a detailed investigation of the situation in both places first.

Then decide what strategy to take next for these gang leaders, bandit leaders, and thief leaders.

Besides asking how to do his job well, Zhang Kun also asked Zheng Anshi where he was going to be transferred next.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Anshi was transferred to the Flag Guard and appointed as "Commander of the Imperial Guards".

He had two commanders of a thousand men and ten commanders of a hundred men under his command, as well as five hundred generals, strongmen, and captains of the Han Dynasty.

Although they didn't have much real power, they could "wear a gold plaque and carry an embroidered spring knife" to become familiar to the emperor.

......

Zhang Ye's private residence in Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou.

After reading Zhang Kun's newly written project proposal, Zhang Ye took off his reading glasses and praised him:

"The memorial is well-written; I see no need for any changes. Let's submit it directly!"

"yes,"

Zhang Kun handed Zhang Ye a teacup and said respectfully, "Godfather, I just saw Brother Nineteen at noon. Brother Nineteen said..."

Having heard Zheng Anshi's principle of using bandits to control bandits, Zhang Ye nodded to Zhang Kun and said:

"That makes sense. We don't have enough manpower to manage such a large area as Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu."

As long as they don't cause too much trouble, allowing them to make a living at the docks is a temporary measure.

"Godfather, I have consulted with Li Ruzhen of the West Office."

Zhang Kun told Zhang Ye his plan:

"The 300 guards of the river work camp, as well as the 5,000 able-bodied men guarding the camp, can all be used for official duties."

With so many men at our disposal, I'm thinking of at least taking down some of the bandit leaders.

"A new broom sweeps clean; if you're confident, then go ahead and do it."

Zhang Ye neither supported nor opposed it, but only suggested to Zhang Kun:

"First, find your nineteenth brother and have him write up a list to see who is the most suitable to fight."