I'm watching the gate in the jail

Just when Yuan Bin and Jinyiwei borrowed the execution room of Neidong Factory and began to interrogate Xiaoqi Wang Yuan and his subordinates who were captured by them, Shang Ming's subordinates reported that Wanda had brought people into the palace. At the moment, he is waiting outside the Donghua Gate.

"Commander Wan? Isn't he investigating the case at the Imperial Academy?"

Yuan Bin pondered for a while, then his face froze, "Quickly, invite Master Wan to come in."

After a while, Wanda and Yang Xiuxian stepped into the gate of the Neidong Factory dressed in the coolness of night frost and a faint smell of sulfur.

Although it has been more than ten years since he came to the Ming Dynasty, and he is also the emperor's eagle dog. Strictly speaking, Dongchang is more of their "brother unit" than the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War, but this is the first time for Wanda to step into this frightening and bloody legend. The Yamen of Fusi in Jinyiwei North Town.

As soon as I stepped into the main entrance of Dongchang, I saw a large rectangular plaque hanging on the main entrance, with four strong and powerful characters written on it: the heart of the imperial court.

Suddenly, a strong "villain" breath rushed over.

Shangming, the house servant who brought Wanda and the others all the way from Donghuamen, is such a powerful character who knows how to read people's faces. He has wanted to get to know Wan Niangniang's most beloved younger brother for a long time.It's just that people were soft-spoken in the past, and there were Huai En, Tan Chang and Zhang Min's confidant eunuchs on top, and he had been struggling to find a chance to make his mark.

Now that he finally found the reason, how could Shang Ming, who was determined to climb up, miss such a good opportunity, and immediately showed a flattering smile, "My lord, it is the first time to come to the East Factory. We work in the East Factory, although they are all Eunuchs, but they are all loyal people who serve the court wholeheartedly. Sir, look over there—”

Wanda looked to the left where Shang Ming pointed, and there was a small hall.

"Over there, there is a statue of Lord Yue Wu and Mu Yue. The servants will burn incense to Grandpa Yue every morning and evening, reminding themselves to be like Grandpa Yue, to serve the country faithfully."

Wanda nodded, thinking that it would be the same as the statue of Guan Gong in Jin Yiwei's small hall.

Several people walked around the brick screen wall in front of the door. With the light from the stone lamp in the yard, Wanda noticed that in addition to carvings of auspicious beasts such as Suan Ni, Ya Zi, and Bi Yan, Di Renjie and Bao Long were also carved on the screen wall. The story of the case-judgment-whether the outsiders believe it or not, they seriously regard themselves as "messengers of justice".

Wanda thought to himself, don't people think that we Jinyiwei are imperial lackeys, executioners who murder Zhongliang?It seems that everyone is equal.

Standing in front of the screen wall, Wanda glanced to the west, and found that there was actually a stone archway erected in the yard, with the words "Hundred Generations Liufang" written on the archway.

"My lord, behind the archway is enshrined the tablets of Dongchang Changgongs. This small ancestral hall is the 'Hall of Sages' of our Dongchang Yamen."

Shang Ming pointed to the side of the guide, "Over there are prisons and prisons. The prisoners who were captured by Mr. Yuan just now will be locked in and tortured."

"Who is torturing them?"

Wanda asked casually.

"The eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor, Wang Zhi."

Shang Ming responded with a bow.

Wanda stopped abruptly, never expecting to hear such an answer anyway.

"Ah Zhi?"

He is a child, instead of accompanying his elder sister to comfort his mother, guard the prince, and go to the torture room of Dongchang to torture others?

Him, will he?

Wanda's face was full of disbelief.

"In Zhaode Palace today, Eunuch Wang killed the black demon, and he has already made great achievements."

Shang Ming took Wanda to the outside of the main hall, stood with his hands crossed in the corridor, and announced loudly, "Master Fusi Wan from Jinyiwei North Township is here, and Lord Yang is here."

"Ah Zhi is no longer a child."

Yang Xiuxian looked at Wanda's complicated expression, and patted him on the shoulder, "He can already share the worries of His Majesty and Your Majesty."

Unlike Wanda who always treats Wang Zhi as a child, Yang Xiuxian saw early on that this child is not a treasure.

He inherited the character of the wild and Wang Zheng in the world, experienced the ups and downs of family ruin and death in his childhood, and was used to the battles in the inner court and harem, so he knew the darkness and complexity of human nature.Not only does he act boldly, but his methods are also more ruthless than Wanda's. Sooner or later, he will create his own career.

Wanda figured it out, when he first came to Beijing to join Jinyiwei to participate in his first case, he was about Wang Zhi's age, and nodded with emotion.

My sweet boy has finally grown up.

Since he did not become a real eunuch like in history, I instilled in him since he was a child to be a good man who is upright and dedicated to serving the country.Then pray that he won't really become the villain in history who everyone shouts and beats and works for tigers.

It was clearly such a thrilling night, but Wanda's mood at the moment was like a middle-aged father who said "my son is growing up, and I am too", and he couldn't help but feel depressed.

When the night wind blew, it brought a bit of coolness, and Wanda couldn't help but sighed heavily.

"Master Yuan, Eunuch Huai En."

Wanda calmed down, stepped into the main hall, and saw Yuan Bin and Huai En standing in front of the table, looking at the map of the imperial city guards on the table.

Several places on the map were marked by small flags. Wanda took a quick glance and found that they were basically concentrated on the east side of the imperial city.

"Why did you enter the palace? Is the Imperial College okay?"

Although he knew for a long time that this subordinate has the attribute of "evil star", and he will be unlucky wherever he goes, but Yuan Bin sincerely prays that it will not be his turn to have an accident in the palace.

"We found the news at the Imperial College..."

Wanda's words completely extinguished Commander Yuan's hopes.

"Someone is going to blow up the palace."

Both Yuan Bin and Huai En felt that there was a flash of gold stars in front of them, and their feet softened at the same time.

"Uncle Xiaoguo, you can't talk nonsense about this..."

Wynn lowered his head and pointed to the map of the imperial city.

"Zhu Guang from Donghuamen and Xiaoqi Wangyuan have both confessed just now. They brought people into the palace to kidnap the prince and empress. Just now, the Miscellaneous Family has sent troops from Dongchang, along with soldiers from Jinyiwei, to go to the place where they confessed. In the palace, the accomplices were arrested. Those people were severely punished, and they confessed everything that should be confessed, but there was no mention of bombing the palace."

"Because they didn't know anything about it, and they themselves were just part of the plan to 'snap east and west'."

At this moment, the door of the main hall opened, and a gust of bloody air with rust tinged with it rushed towards the face.

Wanda looked back, and saw Wang Zhi with a forlorn expression on his face, and walked in while wiping his hands still dripping with water with a silk handkerchief.

"Susu, is my brother okay?"

The moment he saw Wanda, the murderous aura just now suddenly disappeared.

Wang Zhi looked at Wanda anxiously, his eyes widened, and he asked with concern.

"Forehead……"

Wanda looked at his delicate fingers hooking his sleeves, and it was hard to imagine how these hands had held his own by the corners of his clothes and held the hands of desserts, and tortured the prisoner just now.

"Mei Qianzhang is alive, although he hasn't woken up yet. Right now, Qiu Zijin is taking care of him with his clothes on in Fusi, Beizhen."

Seeing Wanda's embarrassment, Yang Xiuxian stepped forward and replied, "We are also sure that someone is going to blow up the palace after seeing the note that Qiu Zijin entrusted."

"From what Eunuch Wang said, could it be that you guessed it before?"

Yuan Bin didn't know about Mei Qianzhang, and now he was only thinking about the appalling phrase "bombing the imperial palace".

Wang Zhi and Wanda looked at each other, and said one word in unison: "Nitr."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

"Nitrate? What's the matter?"

Yuan Bin asked puzzledly, while Huai En, who was standing aside, frowned.

"You mean - the appearance of Heihao in Fengtian Temple last time has something to do with 'Nitre'?"

"Yes."

Wang Zhi said with certainty, "The father-in-law was in the hall that day, he should have suddenly felt a burst of cold, and then that monster suddenly appeared, right?"

"Yes. Zajia was standing behind His Majesty's right back at that time, and suddenly felt a chill rising from his feet. Even though it was still in July, he actually felt the feeling of frost. Just when Zajia was panicking, a black monster appeared It suddenly appeared on the algae well... At that time, Uncle Guo was also standing in the hall, so he must have felt it too."

Although he had seen the body of the black fox beaten to death by Wang Zhi just now, he knew that the so-called "black scorpion" was just a big fox with black hair and golden eyes who had received special training.

However, the cold air that day was so weird that he still has lingering fears, and even thought about it, unable to understand why it happened.

It can only be subconsciously attributed to "the theory of gods and ghosts".

"That's the effect of saltpeter."

Wang Zhi explained.

"Nitre can be used to make ice. The folks are not like big houses, which have ice cellars and ice storages to store ice cubes. Shops selling ice in summer in Beijing, in addition to selling wild ice, also use saltpeter to make ice cubes."

The so-called "wild ice" is the ice that is cut off from the river outside the city in winter, put into the cellar, and stored until the next summer for sale.

Unlike the ice cellar in the palace, which uses the water from the Tongzi River under the Jinshui Bridge, the ice cubes formed are clean and bright. After being divided into neat blocks, they are properly stored in the royal ice cellar and can be directly imported.

There are all kinds of impurities in wild ice, leaves, branches, and even clods.Just use it to chill some river fresh fish. If you eat it directly, you can't eat it.

So ice shops use saltpeter to make ice and sell it, but saltpeter is expensive and only available in pharmacies.A rising tide raises all boats, and even the ice made is expensive, and ordinary people can't afford it.Only the big restaurants and snack shops in Beijing will buy iced drinks and snacks for guests to eat.

Just like that day when Wanda proposed to make iced mung bean soup for the Guozijian, and when there was no ice cubes in the Guozijian, Chen Zhanggu donated the saltpeter used for teaching and made ice for everyone on the spot.

"On the second day after the appearance of the black spots, I went to Fengtian Hall to investigate. I found that there were still some water stains under the throne of His Majesty, as well as several incense burners and corners of the palace. There was also water vapor quickly dispersing. Afterwards, a circle of white marks were left behind."

When saltpeter meets water, it absorbs heat, thereby reducing the surrounding temperature.So if you want it to work, you have to sprinkle water on it.

Although the weather is not as hot as in previous years, before going to court, water will be sprinkled in the Fengtian Hall to cool down, just for fear that the emperor and the ministers will be overheated.

And Huang San was responsible for sprinkling water that day.

"Huang San from Fengtian Temple went to Longfu Temple to pray for blessings on the second day after Heihao appeared... If I didn't predict wrongly, the blessings were fake. In the alley of Baguai, I sneaked to the private house behind the Imperial College, and it was true to meet that Li Zilong."

Wanda continued.

"That's right. In the entire palace, the only place where you can get saltpeter is the Neizhi Dyeing Bureau. That Feng Yinan is his helper. The two worked hand in hand, together with the trained black fox, to create a Fengtian The farce of the "black mess" in the palace. The purpose is to shock the people in the court and His Majesty, echoing the so-called "heaven has a vision" at the beginning of the year."

Wang Zhi said coldly.

I just don't know if Qin Tianjian has joined in this matter...

If it is true, then the so-called "monthly offender sky high star" and "monthly offender strange star" are all nonsense and alarmist talk.

Today is the first time Huai En heard that there are not only maids like Yun'er, forbidden soldiers like Zhu Guang, and even eunuchs in the inner palace who have been bought by thieves and used by them.

He, who has always been steady, only felt a burst of cold air from the soles of his feet, reaching the bottom of his heart.

As the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial supervisor, and the head of the entire imperial palace and the East Factory, all of this happened under his nose... Wynn looked at Wang Zhi who was full of ambition, and then at Wang Zhi who was standing outside the door. Shang Ming's eyes dimmed involuntarily.

It seems that the power of the East Factory is destined to undergo a big change in the future.

No, as far as he has served Zhu Jianshen for more than 20 years.Now that Dongchang has made such a big mistake, whether His Majesty the Emperor will still trust Dongchang and their ability to act is still unknown...

Thinking of this, Wynn closed his eyes weakly.

Now he is a little envious of Tan Chang who retreated early in the morning and had no intention of stepping into the muddy waters of power.Now this kid just needs to stay with his empress and His Majesty the Crown Prince in Zhaode Palace, and he is completely different from himself standing here in fear...

Closer to home, in addition to making ice, saltpeter can also fix the color of cloth and even make pastel paint.As the Inai Weaving and Dyeing Bureau that weaves various kinds of satin for the palace, it is natural that these things are always in stock.

In addition, saltpeter is an important raw material for the manufacture of firearms.It is no less difficult to transport explosives from outside the palace than to reach the sky.It is definitely not something that can be done by buying a goalkeeper of Donghua Gate.

Thinking of this, Wynn and Yuan Bin both broke out in a cold sweat.

Opportunity waits for no one, everyone led the troops and stepped out of the gate of the East Factory.

"The Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau has its own director who is responsible for managing all the raw materials. If a small amount was stolen by the servants, it is reasonable to say that they were used to pretend to be gods and ghosts in Fengtian Temple that day. If it is going to blow up the palace, it has not been smuggled out. It was discovered by the director!"

Or is it that the director has also been bought?

"It's a long story, let me explain it to you slowly."

Wang Zhi said.

"For a while, everyone should pay attention to the lanterns and torches in their hands. Be careful of the source of fire, and don't let sparks fall to the ground."

Wang Zhi turned around and said to the soldiers in line.

"Feng Yinan can't get the nitrate in the warehouse of the Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, but he has another way—that is the indigo factory in Jingxi."

Wang Zhi glanced at the firecracker on his waist, feeling a little regretful that he might not be able to use it in a while, so he asked the soldiers of Jin Yiwei to borrow a saber and a bow and crossbow, which he hung on his waist.

"Although the indigo factory is a government office under the jurisdiction of the Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, the government office is outside the imperial city, and the supervision is not as strict as that of Da Nei."

In the morning, Qiu Zijin, who pretended to be a local tyrant, not only spent a small amount of money to visit the inside, but also bought two pieces of "royal royal" fabric as a special product of his "one-day trip to the west of Beijing".

It can be seen how lax the guards at the indigo factory are.

"That...that's not enough. The warehouse of the indigo factory is also taken care of by special personnel, and the inventory must be counted every once in a while. There is no reason for not being discovered when there is so much less saltpeter suddenly."

Yuan Bin followed Wang Zhi and the others at a fast pace, and found that they had left the outer imperial city, re-entered the Donghua Gate, and headed towards the central axis.

"Because those saltpetres are not the saltpeter offered by the local government."

Wanda went on to say, "The saltpeter was specially refined in a factory near the indigo factory. Then it was broken into parts and brought in when it was put into storage by the Inner Weaving and Dyeing Bureau."

This entrainment process lasted at least three or four months, and after being entrained into the palace, the saltpeter was directly placed in a place that absolutely no one would expect.

"Refining saltpeter?"

The more Wynn heard it, the more outrageous it became.

In his opinion, this is even more inconceivable than the bribed eunuchs.

"The goods coming in and out of all the workshops in the capital, not limited to grain, cloth, stone, and wood, must be checked when entering and leaving the inner and outer city gates. What's more, Dongchang is monitoring all the shops and factories inside and outside Beijing every day. There is a change in the factory. If there is more saltpeter ore in the west of Beijing, it is absolutely impossible for the East Factory not to know."

Wynn said with certainty.

Saltpeter is excavated from fire salt ore, and when the ore enters Beijing, there must be a record.After all, it is a dangerous substance that can make gunpowder.

"When the ore enters Beijing, there must be a record, but what if it is ordinary 'soil'?"

Wanda asked while walking.

"earth?"

Now even Yuan Bin showed an expression of disbelief.

"The Bixia Yuanjun Niangniang Temple on the outskirts of Xijing is misunderstood by the ignorant people as the 'Houtu' Niangniang Temple. Not counting the temple fairs and the Niangniang's birthday, the Saishenhui, even on weekdays, the incense is at its peak, and people carry it on their shoulders every day. They even used mules and horses to pull countless clods of earth into the Niangniang Temple, and used 'soil' to support the empress. Do the two adults know this folk custom in the suburbs of Beijing?"

Seeing the dazed expressions of the two, Wanda sighed.

"This is an old custom. It has existed since ancient times, but it still prevails in this dynasty. The guards at Fucheng Gate and Xizhi Gate on the west side of the city have long been accustomed to it. No matter how much loess and sand are transported to the Niangniang Temple, they None of them would pay attention. Then Feng Yinan and Li Zilong took advantage of the slack mentality of the officers and soldiers, and the folk custom of 'putting soil' into the Niangniang Temple, and transported the soil that could be refined to saltpeter to the west of the city and to the Niangniang Temple. Near the temple, in a residential house close to the indigo factory."

Everyone passed through Huiji Gate in the east aisle, and turned right to Huangji Gate.

"Not only can saltpeter be mined through saltpeter mines, but it can also be extracted from saline-rich soil."

Speaking of this, Wanda remembered that when he was in the countryside of Bazhou, white crystals could be seen on the dirt walls of the pigsty and even the latrine.

Although it sounds disgusting, it is not pure urine alkali, it is directly the crystallization of saltpeter, which can be used after scraping off.

Of course, the purity of the saltpeter obtained in this way is not very high. If you want to process it into the purity that can make gunpowder, you must go through further processing and refining. For Chen Zhanggu, it is not difficult at all.

People from Jinyiwei had already gone to Xinghaihui and questioned the teachers and students of the Imperial Academy who had taken refuge there.Information about Chen Zhanggu was found out from them.

This Mr. Chen is an "old cynic" who thinks his talents are underappreciated, and he is not popular in the Imperial College.

He always thought that with his own talent, teaching students in the Imperial College would be overqualified, and the place he really wanted to go was the Ministry of Industry.

Chen Zhanggu has also written several self-recommendation letters to the Ministry of Industry in recent years, but he has been rejected by the other party, so he is often depressed.He didn't have any friends in the Imperial College, and he was worse than the angry Assistant Professor Mao.

But since a year ago, Chen Zhanggu, who has no wife or friends, suddenly started to believe in religion.He suddenly began to believe in Bixia Yuanjun Empress, and he would go to the Empress Temple to offer incense almost every holiday, and sometimes when encountering big festivals, he would ask for leave to go to the temple to offer incense.

Since entering this month, the frequency has become more frequent.Not only on holidays, but even after class on weekdays, they would go to the western suburbs, and often return to the dormitory of the Imperial College with a lot of talisman papers and scriptures, chanting scriptures day and night, and talking about it.

I dare not say anything else, as far as the talisman paper he brought back to the Imperial College and the peach talisman they saw Huang San and Feng Yinan holding in their hands that day, they definitely did not belong to Xishan Niangniang Temple or Longfu Temple. Wanda was sure that it must be Li Zi It was given to them by the so-called "immortal" of the dragon.

"After Chen Zhanggu and others refined saltpeter at the indigo factory, Feng Yinan brought them into the palace. Over the past few months, they have been placed little by little near the palace they want to blow up."

The composition of gunpowder is not complicated, in addition to saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal.

The palace is full of wooden palaces, and sulfur is needed to kill various pests such as termites all year round. Sulfur is also used by the Nei Weaving and Dyeing Bureau.

As for charcoal, the entire palace does not know how much charcoal it consumes in a year.Huntang, dining hall, jealous noodle game... There is no palace that cannot be used, and it is not difficult to get it.

Since Li Zilong can buy off the eunuch of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, he can also buy off the eunuch of the Xixin Division - and the eunuch of the Xixin Division, in addition to being in charge of the supply of charcoal in the palace, is also in charge of fire prevention in the palace...

"You already knew that there was something wrong with those two palace servants, so you didn't arrest them on purpose, were you afraid of scaring the snake?"

Wynn touched the sweat running out of his forehead, then turned to look at Wang Zhi.

Wang Zhi nodded, "I deliberately didn't send anyone to arrest the two servants, just waiting for them to throw themselves into the trap. Otherwise, how many people are lurking in the palace with that big liar Li Zilong and his men, and no one will ever be there." I know. And now, it's time to wipe them all out!"

"You... you are too courageous!"

Wynn spoke out what everyone was thinking.

If this is a wrong step, it will be a big deal!

This kid is so courageous, who the hell does he look like?

Wanda couldn't control her expression for a moment.

"Don't worry, Susu."

Wang Zhi raised his head, and the moonlight shone on his extremely young and vigorous face, "Ah Zhi has already guessed which palace they are going to attack and how to do it."

As he spoke, he raised his arms and pointed straight ahead.

Wanda raised her head, and watched a huge building appear in front of them even in the darkness of night.

Fengtian Temple.

The author has something to say: According to Zhuo Zhongzhi, "(Xiding) is a low-lying land, and sometimes there are madmen who advocate the idea of ​​entering the soil. All men and women, no matter how high or low, are transported by carts in baskets, or carried by horses in bags. Even maids and beautiful women take this opportunity to enjoy the sights, sit in a small sedan chair for two people, hold a bag of soil in their arms, and put in incense paper as a blessing."

What a strange Beijing custom, I haven't seen it anywhere else.Just brought it to my use.