Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Chapter 95 The Hidden Agent

As night fell, flickering lights appeared in Laizhou Prefecture. Zhu Jian leaned alone against his official hat chair, the candlelight on the table flashing intermittently, illuminating only half of Zhu Jian's face, the other half hidden in the darkness.

Just then, the wooden door was gently pushed open, making a creaking sound.

Wang Huamin, the Inner Court Commander, stepped into the room, turned around and closed the door, then quickly approached Zhu Jian: "This servant greets Your Majesty!"

Zhu Jian tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a dull thud: "Tell me about today's events!"

Clearly, Inspector Zhu was worried about what Song Xuezhu was up to, whether he was really just going along with the crowd, or whether he genuinely couldn't stand seeing the poor living conditions of the officials in the governor's office.

"Your Majesty, Song Xuezhu received the news after the yamen runners had already seized the items!"

Zhu Jian nodded without saying a word.

Seeing that Zhu Jian remained silent, Wang Huamin continued, "After Song Xuezhu returned from the Laizhou government office, he explained to the officials that His Majesty knew the whole story and that you were struggling to survive. So he took what you had withheld as your salary and did not pursue the matter further."

Zhu Jian squinted and said calmly, "Continue!"

"Song Xuezhu did not explain his involvement to the yamen runners; he was merely acting as His Majesty's messenger!" Wang Huamin stated truthfully.

After hearing this, Zhu Jian thought to himself: It seems that Song Xuezhu isn't stupid after all.

"Besides the Shandong Provincial Governor's Office, how are the personnel arrangements in the other provinces?" Inspector Zhu thought for a moment and then asked.

"The provincial governor's offices in all thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and the offices in both capitals, have spies within their ranks!"

Last year, the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty established governorships, which gave the Inner Depot an opportunity to plant spies to learn about the specific affairs of the governorships. Although the governors did not have independent military power, they still needed to be monitored, especially regarding their connections with local officials and gentry. Since Southern Zhili, Huguang, and Shaanxi had not yet been separated, and each province covered a vast area, Zhu Jian had to be cautious.

"What about the Liaodong and Fujian navies?"

"There are spies in the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line and the Zheng family's trade area, but they are not yet in use. Spies are being developed in Shenyang, Liaoyang, Yizhou, Pidao, Lushun, Kaiyuan, Tieling, and Hetu Ala in Jianzhou!"

The Inner Factory's coverage area was not as large as the Eastern Factory's, but it covered key areas, especially in the Liaodong Jurchen territory where there were Han Chinese communities. In addition to the Eastern Factory's agents, there were also agents from the Inner Factory. The two were not subordinate to each other and were unaware of each other's existence.

During this period, the Eastern Depot had too many miscellaneous personnel and was still operating openly, so Zhu Jian ordered it to reduce its manpower. This made high-ranking officials in the court and local areas feel that Emperor Chongzhen was different from Emperor Tianqi and was developing towards their ideal of an emperor and scholar-officials jointly governing the country, which greatly increased their goodwill towards him.

Emperor Tianqi heavily relied on Wei Zhongxian, and the Eastern Depot was all-encompassing under his control, with surveillance everywhere. It was said that anyone who cursed Wei Zhongxian in a secret room was discovered and executed. In some remote prefectures and counties, there were also people dressed in special clothes who were active, to the point that everyone was on edge.

Zhu Jian's operation, however, was entirely clandestine, even extending to the inner court itself. This weapon was far sharper and more insidious than the Eastern Depot, which was openly operated during Wei Zhongxian's era...

Zhu Jian nodded secretly, thinking to himself: Wang Huamin is indeed an expert from the Eastern Depot; he does things cleanly and efficiently.

Wang Huamin's actions directly led to Xue Guoguan's execution as Grand Secretary. Furthermore, before the fall of Beijing in 1648, as the Director of the Eastern Depot, he was last seen in historical records before disappearing without a trace... There are no records of him... Like the greatest mystery in the history of communist intelligence, a man named Qian, hailed as one of the Three Heroes of Longtan...

"Go back and, in the name of the Eastern Depot, collect 100,000 taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury. Focus on arranging for the spies among the Jurchens in Liaodong."

"As you command."

Zhu Jian regarded the development of the secret agents within the inner factory as important as the army, believing that if used well, these agents could be equivalent to an army of 50,000.

The next morning, the dew was still clinging to the branches.

Zhu Jian then donned his armor and led his army toward the Dengzhou naval base. Eight thousand cavalrymen and sixteen thousand warhorses galloped across the plains at great speed, displaying an imposing momentum.

They changed horses but not riders along the way, and by noon the next day, they arrived at the outskirts of the Dengzhou naval base.

Zheng Sen, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and Shi Lang looked at the cavalry with some surprise. This was an absolutely elite force. Not only were all the soldiers on two horses and fully armored, but they also carried weapons such as waist knives, horse spears, bows and arrows, three-eyed fire arrows, and self-igniting fire arrows. They were armed to the teeth.

The three-eyed musket can be used for charging and firing, the self-propelled musket can be used for ambushes and firing, and the bow, arrows and lances are used as supplementary weapons. If this army were placed on the grasslands, it would be an absolute one-sided massacre in the face of tribes without cities or heavy defenses.

Li Dingguo swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, and secretly pondered: This elite force of the Emperor is definitely superior to the border troops; in terms of configuration, it even surpasses the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry...

Ai Nengqi was more shocked than anything else; he never expected that the Ming Dynasty would still have such an elite force.

Before long, Zhu Jian rode his horse slowly to the front of the crowd.

"This humble general Zheng Sen (Li Dingguo) pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Everyone bowed in greeting.

"Rise," Zhu Jian said, dismounting and coming before the crowd.

Zhu Jian's gaze swept over the crowd and then landed on the warships moored by the sea, especially the huge warship, which surprised him.

This warship can definitely be called a giant battleship with heavy artillery. In this era without air superiority, it can roam the seas unhindered.

Seeing that Zhu Jian's gaze was fixed on the warships in the distance, Zheng Sen stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, these were all ordered from Fujian after I arrived in Dengzhou and Laizhou."

Zhu Jian nodded, then turned and said, "Hu Dawei, arrange for the army to set up camp."

"Please come aboard with me and take a look."

Without taking a break or eating, Zhu Jian headed towards the warships. These warships were moored at the seaside, their sails full of color, which was extremely impressive. When Zhu Jian saw them, he felt as if he were seeing beautifully dressed young women, and his eyes were filled with nothing but wonder.

Following Zhu Jian's footsteps, everyone boarded the largest ship first. This was a large ship that Zheng Zhilong had given to Zheng Sen to be used as his flagship.

Upon arriving at the warship, Zhu Jian saw that a huge "Ming" character had been painted on the mainsail, and Ming army battle flags were hung on several prows, fluttering in the wind.

Zhu Jian pressed his hand against the gunwale, listening to the sound of the sea waves crashing against the shore and feeling the sea breeze blowing, remaining silent for a long time.

After a long silence, he slowly asked, "How much did this warship cost?"

"Around 15,000 taels of silver!" Zheng Sen said truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo stepped forward and said, "This ship was given to General Zheng by his father as his flagship. It did not cost 200,000 taels of silver to build."

Zhu Jian was slightly taken aback after hearing this, and turned to look at Zheng Sen.

Zheng Sen met Zhu Jian's gaze and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, I have purchased two hundred small warships and fifty medium warships, as well as eight hundred breech-loading cannons, for a total cost of 180,000 taels of silver. With the remaining 20,000 taels of silver, I plan to build some cargo ships to transport supplies."