At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the city of Beijing was divided into four circles: the outer city, the inner city, the imperial city and the Forbidden City.

During the Jiajing period, the permanent population of Beijing exceeded one million, and by the time of the Apocalypse, the population exceeded 1.2 million, and in this era, Beijing was not only the largest city in China, but also the largest city in the world.

It's just that in the Chongzhen period, the prosperous metropolis in the past appeared sluggish, and all this has to start with the change of his own life.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Emperor Taiji of the Great Khan of Jiannu led his army to detour through Mongolia for thousands of miles, entered the customs and plundered, and suffered military disasters near Gyeonggi and even in Shandong.

On this day, Li Tingbiao came to the front of the Zhuangyuan Building with some concern, only to see that the façade of this restaurant was luxuriously decorated, but it was elegant.

There are two cousins standing in front of the champion building, greeting the guests with smiling faces, sending each other off with smiling faces, and welcoming each other warmly when they go in, very dedicated.

Li Tingbiao is also a proud person in his heart, wearing a half-new and old green cloth straight wide long coat today, he looks a little shabby when he comes here, for fear of being looked down upon by his cousins.

With a little hesitation, Li Tingbiao gritted his teeth for the last time, and said secretly, the left and right have also arrived, for his lofty ambitions, what is the value of face, he has not been reinstated for so many years, and he should be a live horse doctor.

Originally, Xu Sheng just went to Li Tingbiao's residence to inform His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that he had an invitation, but Li Tingbiao was a little stunned when he heard it, and he didn't know why the prince was looking for him, so he began to ask Xu Sheng sideways.

But Xu Sheng is a very principled person, no matter what Li Tingbiao asks, Xu Sheng just doesn't speak.

Li Tingbiao had no choice, and at Xu Sheng's request, he swore a heavy oath, and Xu Sheng told the situation.

In the end, Xu Sheng also added, saying that if Li Tingbiao leaked this matter, then he, Xu Sheng, would never recognize this brother again, and no matter how far he fled to the ends of the earth, he would also take his head.

Then Xu Sheng said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince heard that Brother Li has the ability, so he specially summoned him, and now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the time to employ people, with his brother's talent and ability, he will be reused by the Prince, His Royal Highness is an extraordinary person, worthy of our follow." ”

After listening to Xu Sheng's words, Li Tingbiao also fell into deep thought, thought for a while, and said: "I also understand these truths, but I have offended many people in Jinyiwei, and I am worried that His Highness will be difficult for him......"

Li Tingbiao used to be just a Jinyi Wei envoy from the fourth grade, but now he is just an idler, will His Highness use him? Will you go to the Jinyi Guard to command Luo Yangxing to intercede for him?

He is very helpless, the reality is like this, no matter how great a person is, it is useless if he is not reused.

When Li Tingbiao walked to the door, the two cousins did not despise Li Tingbiao's dress, and greeted each other warmly as always.

As soon as Li Tingbiao approached the lobby, he saw a person walking over and asked, "Dare to ask if you are Master Li Tingbiao?" ”

Li Tingbiao saw that the other party spoke softly, and knew that he was an internal official, so he hurriedly said modestly: "Don't dare, it's Li Tingbiao." ”

The man said again: "Then Master Li will go with me, my young master is waiting upstairs." ”

Hearing that the other party was waiting, Li Tingbiao hurriedly followed this person to the third floor.

Wu Zhong took Li Tingbiao to stop in a secluded private room, opened the door, and then dodged to invite Li Tingbiao in.

After Li Tingbiao entered the private room, he saw a childish man of 18 or 9 years old, with red lips and white teeth, a smile on his face, a graceful and luxurious posture, and an extraordinary appearance.

It was Zhu Cihong in the room, and when Li Tingbiao came in, he also looked at the other party.

The person in front of him was nearly forty years old, of medium height, thin in size, a little like a Confucian student, but he looked very sturdy, and he should have practiced martial arts.

Knowing that the person in front of him must be Li Tingbiao, Zhu Cihong nodded slightly.

As soon as Li Tingbiao saw Zhu Cihong, he hurriedly took off his clothes and knelt down, and said: "Humble Li Tingbiao, I have seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Chitose." ”

Zhu Cihong is also a traverser, and later generations have seen many movies and television operations when the master meets the virtuous minister.

Zhu Cihong got up and picked up Li Tingbiao, and said: "Hurry up, please get up, I meet with Mr. today, it is a private meeting, there is no monarch and minister, Mr. can call me young master, let's sit down and talk first." ”

In the Ming Dynasty, calling people by their names was a sign of disrespect, like pointing at the other person's nose and saying: The surname is Li!

Although he can be called by his name as the crown prince, since Zhu Cihong said that it was a private meeting, he did not plan to take out the prince's shelf.

After Li Tingbiao stood up, he didn't even dare to say it, and Zhu Cihong was not polite, so he sat directly on the main seat and ordered the food to be served.

Then Zhu Cihong said: "I heard Xu Sheng mention that Mr. is an upright, capable, and ambitious person, I have been in love for a long time, and today I finally have a chance and I have fulfilled my wish." ”

Li Tingbiao was flattered by Zhu Cihong's polite words, and hurriedly stood up, not daring to say anything.

Zhu Cihong pressed his palm and asked him to sit down, so he didn't have to be too restrained.

Li Tingbiao did have something extraordinary, and soon regained his composure, and began to sit down and chat with Zhu Cihong while eating.

As they talked, Li Tingbiao was quite shocked by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the current dynasty.

Although the prince is young, he talks well, without the timidity of a child, talks and laughs freely, has a calm demeanor, and does not have the arrogance of the royal family, treats people politely, and has the style of an ancient sage.

This is Li Tingbiao's evaluation of Zhu Cihong.

The two also talked happily, and after the two got acquainted, Zhu Cihong suddenly asked: "Tingbiao, if this palace reinstates your position as the envoy of Jinyi Wei and asks you to be responsible for the matters reported by the palace, are you willing?" ”

Li Tingbiao was stunned when he heard this, but he bowed his head and said that His Royal Highness's kindness was unforgettable, and he was willing to die for His Royal Highness the Prince.

Zhu Cihong hurriedly clasped his hands and put on a happy appearance, and both of them were very happy.

Then, when Zhu Cihong chatted with Li Tingbiao, he found that Li Tingbiao had a flexible mind, clear thinking, unique opinions, and calm in situations, and was a very good talent. Maybe it's because of his identity that he was buried in history.

After Zhu Cihong thoroughly understood Li Tingbiao, he decided to hand over this intelligence system to him to operate, and Xu Sheng was responsible for the intermediate contact with Li Tingbiao.

After the matter was decided, Zhu Cihong handed over the information he had sorted out to Li Tingbiao and discussed some specific details.

During the discussion, Zhu Cihong found that Li Tingbiao's intelligence ability is very strong, and he is worthy of being an experienced old brocade guard.

And he can understand some of the passwords of later generations at a glance, and he can understand them at a glance, Zhu Cihong is very excited in his heart.

Zhu Cihong told Li Tingbiao that the future intelligence will be divided into three parts, one is outside the Guan, the other is the Liukou, and the other is the Minister of Supervision.

At present, the task assigned to him is to secretly develop his own people, and secretly check some ministers in the capital.

Li Tingbiao was shocked, His Royal Highness the Prince's heart is very big, but the prince is the prince, and the whole world will be his in the future.

It's just that the minister of investigation has to be done secretly, otherwise it will be finished if you poke it out. However, this future intelligence chief is still very confident in his own ability.