Zhu Houzhao set out from the capital on August 16th.

It seems that the journey will be very peaceful. After all, the North China Plain is flat, with official roads and well-connected, and water transportation is also very developed. But the problem is that Zhu Houzhao's trip was not to inspect the people's sentiment, but more like eating, drinking, having fun and finding freshness. Not only did he bring empress Chen Yier, but he even brought his old lady Mrs. Zhong with him, although he has not gotten any of these two women so far.

The news that the Saint's Deportation left the capital was soon informed by officials and generals along the Grand Canal.

The emperor's journey south became the most concerned thing in the entire Ming Dynasty. This time, Zhu Houzhao made great efforts and was not afraid of being missed. There were as many as 10,000 people escorted, and the number of civilians hired was about 20,000, which was almost the same as the number of soldiers who went to Chenxi to fight.

Many people who like to take advantage of the opportunity are ready to treat Zhu Houzhao with all the fun things, whether it is a woman, a troupe, acrobatics and other interesting things.

Jiang Bin, Xu Tai, Zhang Yuan, Xiao Taozi and others also made arrangements in private, and this path became the stage for them to compete.

Although Chen Xi knew that Zhu Houzhao was coming, he was not very concerned about the specific itinerary. It was because he knew how nonsense Zhu Houzhao was. According to Chen Xi's expectations, this starry night journey would have to be reached in twenty days. Zhu Houzhao would have to walk at least two months, and it is very likely that he would not be able to arrive in Nanjing by the end of October, let alone to the new city.

On August 18th, two guests came to Xincheng, who were fellow townsmen of Chenxi and old friends Su Tong and Zheng Qian.

The two of them were waiting for Chen Xi to meet in Nanjing. Chen Xi had never let them come over before. They also knew their position and lacked their ability to do things. Although they worked in the court, they were actually just officials. Everyone outside knew that they were slanderers who played with the emperor.

Su Tong and Zheng Qian were very happy to be summoned by Chen Xi. They had heard that the new city was working very hard and wanted to participate. They were afraid that Chen Xi would not welcome him. They waited until Chen Xi sent someone to invite him before Shi Shiran arrived.

"...Mr. Shen, after entering the city from the city gate to the north, he found that the city was full of construction sites, full of vitality and vitality. It is hard to imagine that this place was still ruined a few months ago... It was a pity that I found there was no place for love and mist."

When Su Tong said this, he didn't blush at all. Talking about Fengyue is a topic that will never change in his life.

Zheng Qian was a little embarrassed: "Since it is a new city, how could he prepare such a place?"

Su Tong: "Brother Zheng's words are wrong... There are basic physiological needs in places where there are people. There are places where the world is full of beauty. Why is there no such a vibrant city? Are the people here all monks with pure six senses? If you suppress your nature, it will only cause more unstable factors. What does Lord Shen think?"

Because Su Tong has been thinking about eating, drinking and having fun all his life, he will be the first to care about these things wherever he goes. When he knew that the new city lacked entertainment venues, he proposed that when he saw Chen Xi, he seemed to want to open the first Qinlou Chu Pavilion in the new city.

Chen Xi smiled: "The new city has too few populations and the city is too large, and there are construction sites everywhere, which cannot form a gathering effect. If it is necessary to increase these places in the future, only the court or powerful officials and gentry, chamber of commerce, and regular physical examinations are allowed... Now is not the time to say these."

Su Tong smiled and said, "If you do this, you may not be able to open the first one if you have the chance... Haha, just pretend that you didn't say it or just talk nonsense."

Officials of the Ming Dynasty were never able to do business openly, especially in flesh-and-skinned businesses like Qinlou and Chuguan, which were seriously incompatible with the character and temperament of Confucian officials.

No matter what, Su Tong and Zheng Qian are now sixth-rank officials in the court and are still working in the Ministry of War. It is impossible to act like they used to do something.

Chen Xi chatted with the two and then got to the point: "Your Majesty has set out from the capital. If everything goes well, you will probably arrive in Jiangnan in about a month."

Su Tong nodded: "I have heard of this, but Your Majesty may not be able to go to Xincheng. Although everything is good here, the road to the land here is a bit unobstructed. If you take a boat, the wind and waves at the river entrance are very fast. There is a certain risk for boats on the canal to reach the dock here..."

"This time, on the way down, I found that there were many convoys transporting goods, including official and merchants, and there were endless streams. Those who didn't know thought they were carrying out large-scale migrations. When I arrived, I found that there was too much cargo needed here, and the new city was very attractive to the surrounding people."

Zheng Qian asked with a smile: "Mr. Shen, I wonder if there is a place for me to serve you?"

Chen Xi had a slightly distressed look on his face: "Actually, I won't hide it from you. When I go to the battlefield to fight, I will try not to work for you. This is not something you are good at. You can't drive the ducks to the shelves, right?"

"But now I do encounter some trouble. The new city has a certain scale and requires a considerable number of officials... The military can be responsible for the public security in the city, but if there is a dispute between the people or between the military and the civilians, it will be interrogated by the military judge, and sometimes even the official takes action himself. This is outrageous."

Chenxi has established a new city, but lacks officials at all levels. After the restoration of Shanghai County, although some people wanted to pick peaches, the uncle Shen Xi, especially the Minister of Personnel, who is in charge of the official hats in the world, no one dares to act rashly.

In this way, Shen Xi is personally responsible for many things, but Chen Xi cannot take everything on himself. He needs someone to help him share the pressure, such as case trials. After all, there is no need to work as a busy man like him in private disputes or ordinary cases.

Su Tong didn't know how to answer. Obviously he didn't want to take such an errand. He had never been such a relatively pragmatic official, and even if he worked in the Ministry of War, he was just a waste of time.

Zheng Qian was eager to try and said excitedly: "If you have the chance, I am willing to help Lord Shen share his worries."

Chen Xi smiled and said, "In fact, there is not much to do. Including me, everyone is working hard to adapt to the rhythm of the new city. Not everyone knows their position in the new city."

"You can walk around in the past two days first. The criminal investigation and interrogation yamen will be set up in the next few days. The lieutenant general will separate some of the police stations to establish a public security bureau, and then a court will be established for trial... After Your Majesty arrives, you choose to stay or return to Beijing, and you can ask Your Majesty for your opinion. During your tenure in Xincheng, you will also need to worry about welcoming the sage and hospitality."

Before, Chen Xi did not have much to use these two friends. He said he was classmates, but in fact he was more friends with alcohol and meat, and he had no close friends.

However, the two were always recommended by Shen Xi to Emperor Zhengde. Chen Xi felt that it was necessary to regulate their careers, give full play to their strengths as much as possible, and serve the court.

When Su Tong heard that Chen Xi had a relatively detailed plan, he stood up and expressed his opinion: "Don't worry, Lord Shen, I will definitely handle what you have told me. Speaking of which, I really want to see how this new city is."

...

...

The arrival of Su Tong and Zheng Qian is still helpful to Chen Xi. At least two rank civil servants have helped him with chores and can share some of the pressure, but it poses a huge threat to some people, such as Tang Yin.

After hearing this, Tang Yin came to see Chen Xi immediately, but found no one. Su Tong and Zheng Qian didn't know where they went. After asking the guards, they found out that Chen Xi took them to visit the new city. They seemed to have high hopes for them and were ready to promote and reuse them.

Tang Yin immediately followed the guidance of the guards and arrived at the shipyard. At this time, Su Tong and Zheng Qian had already returned to the inn to rest. Chen Xi was talking to Liele about shipbuilding.

As soon as Tang Yin came, Chen Xi asked Lie to ask him to go back to do things. Tang Yin looked around and asked curiously: "Why don't you see Su and Zheng? Shangshu Chen summoned them, but there is no man around him?"

Chen Xi smiled and nodded: "That's true. Brother Bohu should have seen it for a long time. It's not that I have to use them, but there is really no one to use it."

This is Chen Xi’s explanation to Tang Yin… I’m not deliberately looking for someone to be your competitor, but there are too few people around me that you can’t completely lift yourself up by yourself.

Tang Yin's face turned a little dark and said, "After all, these two people are just the officials whom His Majesty appointed..."

Originally, Tang Yin wanted to say a few bad words about Su Tong and Zheng Qian, but he finally chose to remain silent. He knew from the perspective of friendship, Chen Xi, Su Tong and Zheng Qian had known each other for a longer time, and his efforts to promote the two were much greater than him. He was already the head of the Ministry of War. He was just put in the local area as a magistrate, and he could not compare with him.

Chen Xi said: "They were both Juren like Brother Bohu, and they were far less talented than Brother Bohu in terms of talent. This is why I had not transferred them to my side before to listen to them... However, they were instructed by Your Majesty and followed me to Jiangnan to experience it. Your Majesty hopes that they can gain military merit in the army, so that they can be promoted."

Tang Yin was very upset because these two people were simply the examples of success in his dreams.

His hopes were also appreciated by Zhu Houzhao, and then he became a civil official of the sixth rank or above, or as a prefect or an inspector. However, all this was still in fantasy. He brags about how important his status was in front of his wife and children, and Chen Xi’s trust in him was beyond measure. As a result, Chen Xi found a new subordinate in a blink of an eye, and Tang Yin felt that he had "fallen out of favor".

Chen Xi patted Tang Yin on the shoulder: "Work hard with them, they will always have to go back to the capital, and Brother Bo Hu is the one who can really help me, and I can still distinguish between the primary and secondary."

...

...

Chen Xi expressed high trust in Tang Yin, but this trust obviously has a prerequisite. Tang Yin realized that if he was not good at doing things well, he would be replaced soon.

Tang Yin had a serious sense of crisis in front of Shen Xi. When he realized that there were many people who wanted to serve Chen Xi, and Chen Xi had many friends and old friends, he suddenly became alert.

Is this a kind of encouragement for Tang Yin? Chen Xi would not think too much about it. In his opinion, it was not for him to come to Su Tong and Zheng Qian to stimulate Tang Yin. If Tang Yin had to be so sensitive, there was nothing he could do. After all, he was not Tang Yin's father, so he didn't need to plan everything for him. Even a few people who were looking for a job had to discuss with Tang Yin in advance.

But in the next few days, Chen Xi obviously found that Tang Yin's motivation to do things was much stronger than before. Tang Yin seemed to be full of charge just now, with a thrill of energy and energy, which made Chen Xi speechless.

"You have to use more force to submit, otherwise you will be a wild prodigal son. As expected, it is still too difficult to change the things in your bones."

Just five days after Su Tong and Zheng Qian arrived, a brand new civil servant yamen was established in Xincheng... If there are disputes among the people, cases of stealing, injury, etc., they will be handed over to the new yamen for handling, and the first president of the court was Su Tong.

On the day the court opened, the city was very lively because everyone who came to the new city knew that this was a military garrison city. Here, all cases should have been tried by the military law department, but now that there is a civil yamen, it means that if they have any disputes, they will have a place to make an aggrievance and reason.

However, if you encounter major cases, you still have to hand them over to the military and legal department, and Shen Xi will directly interrogate them.

There were many people watching the fun that day. Not only soldiers, merchants, civilians and craftsmen all came to join in the fun, and there were thousands of people in total. This was also related to the time-consuming work of major factories in the city. Many people would appear to be very leisurely when they didn't work. They always like to participate in any fun.

As the first president of the court, Su Tong changed into a black official uniform specially customized by Chenxi, stood at the yamen to signal the people and soldiers. After beating the drums and drums, he signaled that the whole audience was quiet and called out with a special "big loudspeaker".

"From today, the court will be officially opened. If there are any disputes, come to this new yamen. If it is resolved privately, all the laws will be taken!"

Su Tong has never been in charge of the specific yamen. Even if he serves in the Ministry of War, he is just a formality. However, he has never eaten pork but has seen the pig run away. There are basically so many things in the yamen. Su Tong speaks with a straight voice, with a nose and eyes.

The main reason is that he is a juren, and he speaks with a genius temperament and an official accent. In this way, the civilians and soldiers who do not know big words will think that Su Tong's words are very reasonable.

The most important thing to talk to these people is that they are easy to understand. Su Tong is not very knowledgeable and mostly vernacular. If he speaks this way, he can get great recognition.

The people cheered and some made trouble on purpose, but then the bailiffs who belonged to the yamen began to disperse the crowd watching the fun. The people dispersed in unwillingness, but some people remained, involving some disputes and small cases left before, which could be interrogated on the day the court opened.

Su Tong and Zheng Qian, the two chief and deputy directors of the court, took turns to sit in the yamen to try the case. They had read many miscellaneous books and had a deep understanding of the "Da Ming Law", but nothing went wrong.

Chen Xi did not attend the opening ceremony of the court because as the head of the city, he could not put everything on his schedule. He knew that there were many people going to watch the fun that day, and going there would cause unnecessary trouble. It would be better to stay in the yamen to deal with the backlog of official duties.

However, someone came to Chenxi to complain that day, which roughly means that Su Tong and Zheng Qian are not qualified for their current jobs.

"Mr. Shen, if you ask the military advisor to be a judge, we have no objection. However, Lord. Su and Mr. Zheng have never met us before and have no real skills. Now they come to ask about our case. Is it inappropriate?"

Hu Songyue was criticized by Chen Xi for disturbing the people by his soldiers. He has been in a state of sensation recently and tried his best to rescue several of his subordinates.

When the Court was not established, everything was just a word from Chen Xi. Chen Xi had no time and energy to deal with the case before, so that these troublemakers were temporarily detained and not tried. Now, on the first day of the opening of the new yamen, Su Tong asked about the case.

After hearing this, Hu Songyue ran to communicate with Su Tong. He wanted to make Su Tong a little more harmonious, but the result was that Su Tong was not good at soft and hard.

The new official took office for three reasons. Su Tong and Zheng Qian wanted to show off in front of Shen Xi and prove that they were capable, but they did not want to offend him before coming up.

This is also related to Su Tong and Zheng Qian's unfamiliarity with the powerful generals under Chen Xi, and whether Hu Songyue has a rough temper and is irritable and has severe protection from her.

Chen Xi looked calm when facing Hu Songyue's complaint, and said, "If something happens, you can't always expect me to let me wipe your butt every time... Now the special yamen will determine the case and do business in public. In my opinion, it is the most suitable."

Hu Songyue said, "I'm afraid that someone will do something random."

Chen Xi shook his head: "The case has not been sentenced yet, how can you do anything wrong? They are the head of the Ministry of War. Are you not qualified to ask the faults of a few soldiers? Xincheng now needs order, not relying on benevolence and righteousness and so-called loyalty. You, Lao Hu, don't you, don't even understand this simple truth, right?"

Hu Songyue really doesn't understand that in his eyes, closeness is the most important thing. As for the sake of destroying relatives for justice, it seems too inhumane.

This is also related to the atmosphere of soldiers in this era. Those who served in the army can be said to be the most chaotic group of people in the entire Ming Dynasty official system. They can openly loot during wars and often do things that disturb the people. The situation of the border army is particularly serious. Hu Songyue felt that as long as his soldiers did not kill and kill the people, they just had a little dispute and a few words of criticism, there was no need to rise to the height of trial and sentence.

Hu Songyue seemed a little impatient: "Sir, can't he have to use those bastards to kill the chicken to warn the monkey?"
Chapter completed!