I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 71 A Favor Worth Three Thousand Taels of Silver

People would rather believe that the leader of the Beggars' Sect is a middle-aged man with a yellow beard, ragged clothes and a body full of lice.

Who could have thought that he was such a handsome young man?

Yellow Beard glanced at Lin Shisan.

Zhang Bo explained: "He is my pet apprentice."

Yellow Beard crossed his hands, made a strange gesture, and asked Lin Shisan: "How many stars are there in the sky?"

Lin Shisan knew that Huang Huzi was talking about the jargon of the underworld. He replied, "I have never been in the underworld, so I don't know the Spring Classic. Don't bother yourself."

Yellow Beard glanced down at the official boots on Lin Shisan's feet and said, "Oh, official boots. From Shuntian Prefecture? From Wucheng Bingmasi? From the Ministry of Justice? From the Dali Temple? Or from the Jinyiwei?"

Lin Shisan replied: "I am Lin Shisan, a flag officer of the Elephant Training Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Yellow Beard seemed to be used to seeing officials: "Tell me what you want the Beggars' Gang to find out for you. How much benefit will it bring?"

As he said this, the man with the yellow beard slapped the butt of the beautiful woman in her thirties who had just cleaned his ears.

The beautiful woman understood what he meant and brought a bowl of Eight Treasure Tea to the yellow bearded man.

Lin Shisan said, "I want to ask the Beggars' Sect brothers if they have ever seen a macaque."

Yellow Beard took a sip of the Eight Treasures Tea and said, "Whether you are asking about monkeys or people, there must be benefits."

Sun Yue on the side straightened his chest and said, "We are the Jinyiwei, the Jinyiwei!"

The yellow-bearded man laughed out loud: "Jinyiwei? I'm so scared! Let me tell you, Fatty, don't say you are just from the Elephant Training Institute. Even if you are from the Pacification Office, I will still ask for benefits."

"Oh, among the 30,000 members of my Beggars' Sect, there are four hidden fish from the Northern Pacification Bureau alone. There are more than a dozen hidden flags."

"When they see me, they have to respectfully address me as Boss. Who do you two think you are?"

What Yellow Beard said is true.

The Beggars' Gang of 30,000 members are spread across every corner of the capital, making it easy for them to gather information, spy on, and track.

Therefore, the Jinyiwei reached a certain cooperation with the Beggars' Sect, and stationed four hidden fish and sixteen hidden flags in the Beggars' Sect.

Although Yellow Beard was a lowly beggar leader, he was useful to the Imperial Guards.

Just based on the word "useful", all those secret agents and secret flags of the Northern Pacification Office have to respect Yellow Beard.

Lin Shisan was a little puzzled. The Beggars' Sect was a mixed bag. How did a young man who hadn't even grown all his hair become the leader? Could he control the people under him?

Lin Shisan bowed to Huang Huzi and said, "May I ask Master Huang, if I ask you to help us find out something about your 30,000 followers, how much silver would it cost?"

Yellow Beard held up three fingers.

Lin Shisan asked tentatively: "Three hundred taels?"

Yellow Beard snorted coldly: "Humph, these days, beggars are not so easy to deal with. Three thousand taels!"

If Lin Shisan wanted to come up with three thousand taels, he would probably have to go bankrupt.

There is another way, which is to borrow money from the insect-fighting apprentice Luo Longwen.

But Lin Shisan was afraid of complications. Who knew whether Lao Luo's police department would get involved in this matter?

Zhang Bo actually sat directly on the edge of Huang Huzi's bed. He patted the beautiful woman's shoulder and said, "My beauty, move over a little, give me some space."

Then Uncle Zhang picked up Yellow Beard's Eight Treasure Tea and drank it all in one gulp.

The yellow-bearded man cursed, "You old coffin-head. My tea is from Shaan-Gan Lane. What's the difference between you drinking it like this and drinking from cows or donkeys?"

"Aren't you afraid of burning your throat?"

Uncle Zhang wiped his mouth and said, "In the spring of the 32nd year of Jiajing, is the favor you owe me worth three thousand taels of silver?"

Yellow Beard was stunned: "You want me to repay that favor? If I do, there won't be a next time."

Zhang Bo said, "Why are you so talkative, pretty boy? Just tell me whether that favor is worth three thousand taels of silver."

The yellow-bearded man nodded: "Of course it's worth it." Now it was Lin Shisan's turn to be surprised.

In Lin Shisan's view, his pet master is just a big teapot in Yihonglou. With the care of the brothel owner, he can be a drunkard and a playboy in Yihonglou.

How could I, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, owe him a favor?
Lin Shisan is not a fortune teller, so he naturally doesn’t know that in every martial arts novel in later generations there is always a hidden sweeping monk.

Uncle Zhang stood up from the edge of the bed. "Thirteen, tell him how to help you. He will lend a hand."

Lin Shisan bowed and said, "Master Huang, I lost a macaque. The macaque has a thunder god mouth, a short tail, and a green cloth tied around its wrist."

When Lin Shisan captured Sun Wukong, the leather strap hurt his wrist, so he tied it on with a green cloth strip wrapped in plaster.

Lin Shisan paused, then said, "Please ask Master Huang to send someone to ask his 30,000 brothers if anyone has seen the monkey."

The yellow-bearded man nodded, asked the beautiful woman to bring him a pen and ink, and wrote an order for the chief captain. He then told the servant to pass the order down.

Then the yellow beard said, "Come back here in two hours and wait for the reply."

The Beggars' Sect had a complete set of convenient channels for transmitting information. It only took two hours for the information of the thirty thousand members in the capital to be gathered in one place.

No wonder the Northern Pacification Office regards the Beggars' Sect as an important and efficient source of intelligence.

Master and disciple Lin Shisan followed Uncle Zhang out of the courtyard.

He asked puzzledly: "Master, I can't understand why the leader of the Beggars' Sect is a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old."

Zhang Bo smiled and said, "Don't judge a person by his appearance. Don't look at the young age of that little bastard Huang. His knowledge and skills are definitely not inferior to yours."

Lin Shisan said again: "Master, you are really a very capable person. The leader of the Beggars' Sect actually owes you a favor?"

Uncle Zhang half-jokingly said, "He has a hidden illness and cannot do anything. I found an old red lantern master in Yihonglou who specializes in treating hidden illnesses. He helped him regain his virility overnight. Do you believe me?"

Lin Shisan shook his head slightly: "I don't believe it. Just make it up. Can such a trivial thing be worth three thousand taels of silver?"

Zhang Bo said, "Let's not waste any more time. I helped you so much, you should treat me to a good meal at noon, right?"

Lin Shisan nodded: "No problem. What do you want to eat?"

Zhang Bo said, "If the dog meat is rolled three times, even the gods can't stand still. Let's go to Gaoli Street."

The words are divided into two parts.

Let’s talk about the Yong’an Zen Temple in Xiangshan.

Yang Bo was discussing Northwest military affairs with Wang Chonggu.

In front of Yang Bo was a booklet with the words "Actual List of Troops in the Northwest Garrisons of the Ming Dynasty" written on it.

The Ming army had one guard with 5,600 men, and one thousand-household unit with 1,120 men.

In fact, no guard could reach full staffing or quota.

Even the border troops with the highest full staffing rate can only reach 60% to 80%.

The booklet in front of you records in detail the defense areas and actual number of people in each northwest garrison, and is a top secret of the Ming army.

After Yang Bo discussed Northwest military affairs with his in-laws, he locked the booklet in an iron box.

Wang Chonggu said, "You will go down the mountain and return to Beijing tomorrow, and I will go to Ningxia. We will say goodbye now. I'm afraid it will be three years before we meet again."

Yang Bo said: "We are all civilians leading troops. The world is our home after a military career. Don't be as sentimental as a little girl."

"You work hard in Ningxia. Three years later I will recommend you as the governor of Shaanxi."

"Although the Ministry of Personnel is controlled by the Yan Party, Yan Song still has to give me this little bit of face."

A group of wild monkeys gathered in front of the living hall, waiting for Yang Bo to feed them.

Yang Bo smiled and said, "Monkeys are just like humans. They won't do anything unless it's beneficial. Never mind. I'll go feed them."

(End of this chapter)