The days when I ransacked the house in Jinyiwei

The sixteenth year of Zhengde, March 13, midnight.

Eight thousand Jinyiwei comrades and three thousand Dongchang soldiers entered the Xishan camp at lightning speed. The leader was naturally the old butcher Chang Feng of Jinyiwei.

Chang Feng was accompanied by Chang Po Nu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who brought with him a thousand soldiers and civilians, escorting more than two hundred carts.

The cart was loaded with Yang Tinghe's "pie", two million taels of silver. This was a real political and military adventure. If he was not careful, the two million taels of silver would turn from severance pay into military expenses for Jiang Bin's rebellion.

Chang Feng shouted, "There is an order! All the military officers above the rank of 5th rank and above of the 12th Battalion are to meet in front of the commander's tent!"

Jiang Bin walked out of the general's tent and said, "Hey, isn't this Chang the Butcher from the Jinyiwei? You are a Jinshi, and you dare to show off in front of the general's tent of my 12th Regiment? Aren't you going to summon the generals above the rank of Qianhu to discuss matters? That's perfect, I want to summon them to discuss matters too! Come on, go to the tent!"

The military commanders were most hostile to the civil officials who were successful candidates in the imperial examinations. Chang Feng was a member of the Imperial Guards, but Jiang Bin had managed to lump him into the group of civil officials.

Chang Feng said: "Okay! Then you go to your tent and I will announce my order!"

Soon, more than 300 military officers from the twelve regiments and above gathered together.

Jiang Bin roared, "I've heard it all! The emperor is dying, and the civil officials are in turmoil! The 12th Regiment has received great favors from the emperor over the years, and it is impossible to repay them! How can we sit back and watch the civil officials harm the emperor and the Ming Dynasty? Today, I will lead you to the capital, break into the palace, rescue the emperor, eliminate the rebellion of the civil officials, and swear to kill the civil official leader Yang Tinghe!"

All the generals shouted in unison: "Understand your orders!"

Jiang Bin added: "Chang Feng, your Chang family has been favored by the emperor for three generations. The civil officials want to get rid of you as soon as possible. If you are smart, immediately bring the factory guards with me into the city to protect the emperor!"

Chang Feng sneered: "What a loyal and supportive leader! Are you going into the city to protect the emperor or to rebel? We all know it, and all the generals know it!"

After saying that, Chang Feng turned his head and looked at the more than 300 generals: "Brothers, don't listen to Jiang Bin's nonsense! The emperor has recovered! He has noticed Jiang Bin's intention of rebellion, and he has come to me to announce the decree to save you from the water and fire. Save you from boarding Jiang Bin's pirate ship and ending up being cut into pieces!"

A battalion commander shouted, "The emperor has been seriously ill since returning to Beijing. It is said that he has been in a coma for the past ten days. You said that he has recovered. This is hard to believe!"

A group of generals echoed: "That's right, that's right."

Chang Feng had been in the court for more than 30 years and had already mastered the skill of lying with his eyes open. He had a confident and calm expression on his face: "The emperor has indeed recovered! Do you know Zhang Sanfeng? He appeared last night, entered the palace and gave the emperor an elixir from Taishang Laojun. After the emperor ate it, he recovered immediately!"

Jiang Bin laughed: "Zhang Sanfeng? Why don't you say that the Jade Emperor came down to earth?"

Chang Feng said, "Why? You, Jiang Bin, are the emperor's adopted son. You always tell the emperor that he is blessed with long-lasting fortune and is blessed by gods. In the 13th year of Zhengde, you even requested an imperial decree to use 80,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury to build a temple for Zhang Zhenren and cast a golden statue for him. Why don't you believe in the gods descending to earth? Don't you believe that the gods are blessing the emperor?"

Jiang Bin was speechless: "This..."

Chang Feng continued to lie loudly: "My fellow comrades! Think about it with your toes. Without the support of the emperor, how could my factory guards, with only 8,000 people, dare to go deep into the Xishan camp where 100,000 regiments are stationed? Wouldn't that be like a sheep walking into the tiger's mouth? People in the court often say that I, Chang Feng, am an old fox. Only when the emperor recovers from his illness, I dare to use the power of the tiger as a fox!"

All the regiment commanders were from the Leopard House. Compared to Jiang Bin, they were more loyal to Emperor Zhengde. Emperor Zhengde knew how to control people. Although these commanders were old friends of Jiang Bin and were introduced to Emperor Zhengde by Jiang Bin, Emperor Zhengde had used both kindness and power over the years, and had made them as loyal as dogs.

If Emperor Zhengde was seriously ill or even died, they would obey Jiang Bin. Now that Chang Feng said that Emperor Zhengde had recovered, they were inevitably entangled.

Should we listen to the emperor or to Marshal Jiang?
Chang Feng saw that his words had fooled all the generals, and he knew it was time to show the "pie" and "steel knife" that Yang Tinghe had given him.

Chang Feng shouted, "Where is Chang Po Nu?"

Chang Po Nu, wearing the uniform of a third-rank official, strode out of the ranks and said, "I am here."

Chang Feng said: "Open all the boxes on the one hundred carriages and pour out the contents!" Chang Po Nu waved his hand, and the guards and runners of the Ministry of Revenue pried open the wooden boxes on the carriages and poured the silver inside onto the ground.

Two million taels of silver covered the ground near the carriage.

Chang Feng laughed and said, "I, Chang the Butcher, was born as a confiscating officer of the Imperial Guards, but today I am here to distribute silver to the 100,000 comrades in the regiment camp!"

The leaders of the regiment asked one after another: "Is this silver for our brothers?"

"Are you joking, old Lord?"

Chang Feng said, "I'm not kidding! Let me explain the purpose of this silver. The emperor is afraid that you will board Jiang Bin's pirate ship and be doomed. He also thought of your many years of fighting in the south and the north, your hard work and contributions, and your injuries and illnesses. He has issued a special decree!"

The generals asked, "What is the decree?"

Chang Feng said: "There is an imperial decree. The 12th Regiment is disbanded on the spot!"

The generals were shocked and said, "What? Disband right here?"

"The Emperor wants to kill the donkey after it has done its job?"

Chang Feng said, "Listen to my order! All the soldiers in the regiment camp will return to their hometowns. The court will give them 40 taels of silver for resettlement. The Ministry of Revenue will pay 20 taels first at the Xishan Camp. After returning home, the local government will give them another 20 taels. In addition, the soldiers in the regiment camp will be exempted from land tax for ten years. The local government will allocate 10 mu of official land to each person!"

"All the commanders of the regiments and camps will be transferred to local garrisons. They will all be promoted three levels. For example, the commander of a regiment and camp can be promoted to a local general or a commander. For example, a thousand households can be promoted to the commander of a garrison. I decree this!"

My goodness, the situation was urgent, and Chang Feng directly exaggerated Yang Tinghe's "pie" several times.

The generals looked at each other, and no one kneeled down to receive the order.

Jiang Bin shouted, "Don't listen to Chang Feng's nonsense! You are all commanders, and a commander is nothing without his soldiers. Don't you understand this principle?"

Chang Feng said, "My fellow comrades! Why are you fighting so hard? Isn't it just for promotion, wealth, a wife and children? Why do you want to follow Jiang Bin and take risks?"

After saying that, Chang Feng walked to a pile of silver and pointed at the white silver with his hand: "Jiang Bin said that I was talking nonsense. Could it be that the two million taels of silver were also nonsense?"

The silver was placed in front of the soldiers in the regiment. It couldn't be faked. The soldiers stared at the silver in silence.

Chang Feng added, "The Emperor has thought so carefully about you. You have fought for so many years, it's time to enjoy yourself. Soldiers will be given money and official land directly. Go home, marry, have children and live your life. You don't have to fight around with your head hanging on your belt anymore."

"Not to mention the officials! As you all know, the local garrisons are places for retirement, and they don't fight at all. You have been promoted three levels in a row, and you can enjoy opera and wine every day in the local area. Those days, wow, are like heaven!"

"The battle of Yingzhou made the little prince dare not look south. The southern expedition also suppressed the rebellion of Prince Ning. Now the world is at peace! Why don't you hurry up and enjoy yourself during the peaceful times? Instead, you want to follow Jiang Bin to rebel and execute your whole family? Are you crazy?"

Chang Feng's impassioned speech moved all the generals, but no one expressed their views.

You Jingwu glanced at one of his personal soldiers in the Ganyong Camp. This personal soldier was quite alert and understood what You Jingwu meant.

The guard walked up to the pile of silver and said, "Brothers, I'm telling you the truth. Soldiers should be loyal to the emperor. Whoever takes the emperor's silver is loyal to him! Now, I've taken the silver. Who else wants to share it with me?"

After saying this, the guard picked up two silver ingots weighing ten taels each and held them high above his head. (End of this chapter)