Wuchang Mansion, early morning.
As soon as the sky became clear, there was a burst of noise inside and outside the governor's office.
As the place where the three imperial envoys stayed, the Governor's Yamen was busier than ever during this period, and the officials in the Yamen were not surprised.
But Wu Jinghe was a light sleeper and was woken up by any movement.
He stretched, sat up from the bed, leaned on the pillow and rubbed his brows.
He then summoned his attendants and asked, "What time is it?"
Chang Sui lowered his eyebrows and replied in a low voice: "Prince-in-law, it's your time."
Wu Jinghe sighed a little absently, his face was a little confused, and he said no more.
Having followed him for more than twenty years, he could more or less guess what he was thinking, so he asked cautiously: "Did the Prince Consort dream of the princess again?"
When leaving Beijing, the consort stopped by to pay homage to the princess's grave.
After that, I started tossing and turning for many days, and my thoughts and dreams have not stopped yet.
How about saying that the old man is considerate and knows the basics - this is the case every time the prince-in-law comes back from visiting his grave.
Having no children and getting old, it is always easy to think of the people in the past, let alone a loving couple.
In the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing's reign, Wu Jinghe paid homage to the princess's tomb. When he saw that the hilltop was covered with shadows and the thorns were not cut, he burst into tears on the spot.
Then he sent a memorial to Emperor Sejong to express his feelings: "The fox died in Zhengshouqiu. I entrusted my life to your noble lord to hang alone with the deceased's soul thousands of miles away. He was not allowed to perform sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Period. His heart was filled with regrets, and his inner body was broken."
Asked Sejong to allow him to "depend on each other forever and die without regrets."
Every word is written from the heart, showing deep affection.
Seeing that the prince-in-law was lost in thought and speechless, Chang Sui thoughtfully put the refreshing hot soup aside and called for others to get warm water, coarse salt, and a toothbrush.
He called out softly again: "Prince-in-law, take a shower."
Wu Jinghe finally came to his senses.
He took the warm towel and covered his face with a muffled voice: "There is a commotion outside the house early in the morning. What happened?"
The nobles only run errands during the day, and the long-term attendants who are on duty have to spend more time on duty.
When asked now, Chang Sui quickly replied: "The Prince Consort is a big gentry in the province. The officials and clans, the people who cry for injustice, the people who impeach for impeachment are all the resentment left behind by Grand Master Taishi's work in the state capital."
"A few days ago, I heard that the Grand Master broke into Minwang City and killed many members of the Lishan Palace!"
"Now they are joining forces to make a fuss over this matter."
Everyone has his own way of calling him, and the honorific title is always the one with the most authority. Changsui has loved reading scripts since he was a child, and felt that calling Zhu Xizhong Taishi would show the most respect.
When this was mentioned, Wu Jinghe naturally understood.
Recently, Zhu Xizhong led the Jinyi Guards to carry out mass killings in local and state capitals, exerting power and doing his best.
No matter whether they were wealthy gentry families, state or county offices, or royal palaces, they were all stained with blood.
But the consequences are also obvious.
Not only did the people in Huguang hate him deeply, but even the central government had to issue an edict, requiring him to rely on the laws of the Ming Dynasty and not to commit murder indiscriminately.
The remaining three imperial envoys all understood that this person was here to do dirty work, so they did not support him and even rebuked him along with him.
However, judging from Zhu Xizhong's intensified attitude, I'm afraid he has no intention of taking away this bad debt.
He doesn’t know what the emperor promised him, so desperate...
Thinking of this, Wu Jinghe took off the towel, took the toothbrush, and murmured in an incomprehensible way: "Do you mean that the Holy Spirit will always practice what he says?"
I heard rumors a few days ago that the emperor promised Yang Bo to let Zhang Siwei join the cabinet, but he failed to keep his promise.
Don't know if it's true or false.
I don’t know how effective the emperor’s promise is...
The Chang Sui, who was a close confidant, was startled when he heard this. He quickly walked outside the room and took a look. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one around.
He walked back to the room, trying to understand what the Prince Consort was worried about, and whispered comfortingly: "Sir, your Majesty has no reason to renege on such a trivial matter as being buried with the princess, so please relax."
Wu Jinghe sighed and nodded absently.
It is a trivial matter for the consorts and princesses to be buried together, but that is because it is a common practice.
But this case also depends on who dies first.
If the prince-in-law dies, he can be buried in the cemetery first, leaving the underground palace door open, and then he can be buried together in the underground palace after the princess dies.
However, as the saying goes, one cannot be humble but humble.
If the princess dies first and is buried in the cemetery, after the prince-in-law dies, the underground palace cannot be opened and the princess can only be buried elsewhere.
Now that the princess has been buried, if Wu Jinghe wants to be buried together, there must be an exception.
For example, the princess can be given a title, a new cemetery can be built, and the princess can be buried there. Or, under the pretext that the mausoleum is damaged, the tomb can be opened and repaired so that the consort can be buried in it.
All these are feasible only if the emperor wants to do so.
This is also the reason why Wu Jinghe was willing to come to Huguang to serve the emperor.
You should know that Wu Jinghe and Wu were born in Zhuangyuan. They were capable of writing poetry and poetry. They had unique achievements. They were both civil and military. There is no need to say too much about their talents. However, they were arrogant people who relied on their talents.
When Emperor Shizong asked Wu Jinghe to go to Xiyuan to write mystical texts and accompany him, Wu Jinghe resigned because he was not familiar with metaphysics.
Later, Emperor Shizong offered Wu Jinghe a reward, but he rejected it because he "received a reward for no merit and was afraid of increasing his crimes."
At this point of arrogance, if the emperor were to behave like Shizong, and the emperor wanted to send him Wu Jinghe for some righteous cause, he would probably end up unhappy.
But now Xiaozhi tried to convince him with emotion and reason, by pursuing the title of princess and moving the tomb to be buried together, he really couldn't resist.
I have to say that the emperor was very accurate in judging people.
While washing up, Wu Jinghe's mind was filled with thoughts about the emperor's character - whether he would keep his promise.
After he had washed and dressed, he suppressed his unnecessary thoughts and pushed out the door.
Before leaving, the emperor said that if Zhu Xizhong started to kill, it would be time for him to show mercy and reconcile the two.
Now that the heat is almost over, it's naturally time to get down to business.
Wu Jinghe walked on the corridor, from the backyard to the Yamen lobby, taking deep breaths and swinging his arms from time to time.
Hai Rui is naturally easy to find. At this point, he usually sits in the lobby and won't sleep in the same way as himself.
Sure enough, as soon as Wu Jinghe walked to the door of the governor's lobby, he saw Hai Rui sitting in the lobby, as if he was working in his own yamen.
Li Zaiting was also there, and the two of them got together to discuss something.
Seeing Wu Jinghe coming, they both stood up and saluted: "Captain Prince Consort."
Wu Jinghe was used to being lazy, so he waved his hand casually and walked straight forward.
He looked at Hai Rui and asked about the business: "Do you have any clues about the affairs of Prince Yueyang's Mansion?"
He glanced at Hai Rui and felt a little emotional.
The emperor had his own instructions for each of them, but the most pure one among them was Hai Rui.
He is the only one who comes to act according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
The emperor let Hai Rui go and find out the cause of the case. It would be best if he could give a clear explanation to the dead Zhang Chucheng and Tang Bin, and give a true explanation to the emperor himself, the central medical practitioners, and even future prosecutors.
Of course, the fact that Hai Rui is investigating the case is more important than whether it can be found out.
The emperor needs to use Hai Rui's golden sign to shut up those who are talking about what others say, those who have evil intentions, and those who are unwilling to admit it.
Handle the case with Qingliu to avoid harming your saintliness!
Hai Rui didn't know what Wu Jinghe was thinking.
After hearing this question, he did not hide anything and nodded calmly: "There are indeed some clues about Zhu Yingyan's rebellion."
Wu Jinghe's expression perked up immediately upon hearing the blunt talk of treason.
Hai Rui stood up, walked to another desk, opened a stack of files, and turned sideways to signal to Wu Jinghe.
He said: "Excluding some unnecessary perjury, based on the letters left by Zhu Yingyan, the physical evidence in the cellar, the mine thieves' confessions, the testimony of people in the household, etc., we have a rough outline."
He paused: "Deploy the water bandits and mine thieves, contact the Dongting guard Qiu Qiao, spy on the whereabouts and organize the attack on Zhang Chucheng. Tang Bin is indeed this person!"
Hai Rui poked at the file with his fingers, his words filled with disgust.
Wu Jinghe nodded thoughtfully.
Li Zaiting saw this and picked up the conversation.
He sneered: "It's because the Central Committee interrupted the succession of King Yueyang back then, and the direct family members in the mansion have always held a grudge."
"In addition, during this incident, Zhang Gei inspected the mining tax in Huguang, which affected the family's financial resources. After being instigated by some people, he did big things."
The Yueyang Palace was in the seventh year of Tianshun, that is, after the death of Yueyang King Zhu Jijing, there was no longer a county king. This is why Zhu Yingyan, a general who assisted the country, could represent the Yueyang Palace.
Among them is the so-called central government's obstruction of the succession of King Yueyang.
At that time, there was only one male left in the Yueyang clan, Zhu Junqun. Although he was the nephew of the late King Yueyang, the situation was special, so he petitioned Emperor Yingzong to inherit the throne.
However, after the restoration of Emperor Yingzong, his good attitude towards the clan immediately changed.
He hit it off with the Ministry of Rites and found a random reason - there had never been a precedent for a general to assist a country to become a county king.
I sent it to Zhu Junqun.
That's all, after all, the reason makes sense.
But the problem is that the subsequent Emperor Xiaozong didn't remember this at all.
He successively ennobled the auxiliary generals of Ning Fan and Han Fan as King of Shicheng, King of Leping and King of Le'an.
If a bowl of water is not balanced, you have not done any superficial work, right?
Is this good enough?
Zhu Junqun was naturally dissatisfied, and continued to appeal for more than ten years. With fierce words and an angry tone, he asked to inherit the throne, otherwise he would not accept it.
For this reason, many princes from the Prince of Chu's palace were invited to help him stand up and comfort Xiaozong.
In the end, Xiaozong became impatient and gave another reason - his nephew could not inherit the throne.
The dispute was finally over.
But the matter is over, but the resentment may have been planted at this time.
In the cellar of Prince Yueyang's Mansion, there is a strange ritual that has been pierced by emperors' straw men for generations, and they don't know how resentful they are.
In short, the evidence is simple and the motive is clear.
Wu Jinghe didn't ask who the "some people" instigation was referring to.
Immediately asked with concern: "Then the serious crime of treason committed by everyone in the Yueyang Prince's Palace is the evidence of the crime conclusive?"
Hai Rui and Li Zaiting looked at each other, and the latter answered with a question: "How will the Prince Consort plan to deal with it?"
Your Majesty called this Zongzheng to deal with the clans involved.
Naturally, this is why Zongzheng came - he is nearing the end of his life and has no heirs, so it is naturally much more suitable for him to be dealt with by talented ministers than the two emperors.
Wu Jinghe had already prepared a plan and immediately stood up: "I will go to Yueyang immediately to deal with the Yueyang Prince's Mansion."
He was about to turn around and leave, but stopped again.
He turned around and explained in advance: "According to what I said before leaving, those who are above the rank of lieutenant of the auxiliary state, lieutenant of the state of Zhenguo, etc. do not need to submit a memorial, they will be sentenced to death directly."
"From now on, Lieutenant Fengguo, as well as the commanders, county commanders, township commanders, etc., will no longer execute Lien."
"The property of the royal estate, I will temporarily turn it into an imperial estate, an imperial property."
In the early days of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the feudal system was established. The princes and princes were awarded the title of general of the country, the grandchildren were awarded the title of the general of the auxiliary country, and the great-grandson was awarded the title of the general of the country.
The Yueyang Prince's palace has experienced many generations of glory, glory, and heroism, but it has fallen to the rank of general of Fengguo. There are not even many lieutenants of Zhenguo. They can be counted on two hands.
Those further down the line who have not been awarded the title of general are the unpopular collateral lines.
Letting a horse go is also a sign of your majesty's good health.
Of course, the specific disposition also depends on whether there is any involvement in the case.
Hai Rui and Li Zaiting understood that Wu Jinghe was just talking to each other and not discussing with them.
He nodded and did not express his position.
Li Zaiting was thoughtful.
It was not to take back the farm or property, which was expected - after all, Sun Long, as the eunuch and eunuch in charge of ceremonies, could not have followed Baba just to serve them tea and water.
But the sentence "Don't kill them"... He had some vague guesses in his mind that the Holy One might not just be a favor to these partial clan clans by exonerating them and leaving a way for them to survive.
Hai Rui didn't think too much and nodded casually: "The Prince Consort will take care of himself."
With that said, these files of the Yueyang Prince's Mansion, signed with the seal of the Chasi Yamen and signed by the imperial envoys, were sent to Wu Jinghe.
Wu Jinghe did not interrupt their conversation anymore, took the file, turned around and walked out the door.
Hai Rui and the two men saw the gift and watched it go.
After a long while, Wu Jing and his back disappeared, and the two of them looked away.
Li Zaiting couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Duke Cheng and Prince Consort Wu were really brave.
At present, there are only one or two royal palaces, but Huguang has more than that.
In the eighth year of Jiajing reign, there were 587 titled clan members in Huguang. Now, more than 40 years later, the number has increased to more than 2,000.
According to what the emperor said, if someone above the rank of general is given a title and those involved in rebellion are punished with death, then nearly 300 people may have to be killed!
I'm afraid the two people who committed such a crime will not end well.
Well, yes, there are indeed so many clans involved in the case!
Except for Prince Rong’s Mansion, which knows nothing about it, almost all the vassals of Chu, Min, Xiang, Jing, and Ji were involved in it to one degree or another!
Just as Li Zaiting was thinking about it, Hai Rui's voice brought him back to consciousness: "I just mentioned the matter of Sansi, so I'm going to trouble Ying Feng."
This was something the two of them discussed before Wu Jinghe came.
The former came to his senses and responded immediately: "Mr. Qiongshan made serious remarks. This is my duty."
He looked a little solemn and sighed: "I just didn't expect Huguang to be so corrupt."
Last month, he followed the clues and manpower given by Zhao Xian and went to Tusi.
He used silver rewards to clear the way for the local barbarians, and finally captured a group of private traders and intercepted a group of soldiers.
After tracing all the way, it is needless to say that it is related to the clan. It turns out that most of the local officials in Huguang are also involved.
Especially the Commander-in-Chief!
They would even scrape off the inscriptions on the armor issued by the imperial court and sell it to the barbarians.
No wonder Wang Daokun said last year that there are endless bandits in Huguang!
Hai Rui glanced at him for a long time and then said seriously: "I'm just selling iron weapons and armor to the barbarians."
"When Ying Feng has the opportunity to go to Sanjin and take a look at the southeast, he will understand what it means for a family of officials and bandits to be sick to the bone."
Li Zaiting said nothing.
During this trip to Huguang, I learned a lot.
Just at this moment, a eunuch walked into the court and said softly: "Li is in trouble, Hai Yushi, a sneaky man came to the front yard. He didn't tell his identity, he just said that he had an appointment with Hai Yushi.
"
Li Zaiting tilted his head in confusion.
Hai Rui waved his hand for the eunuch to go down first and closed the file he had just messed with.
Only then did he raise his head to meet Li Zaiting's gaze: "It's the Prince of Wugang, who said he had important clues to reveal."
"Ying Feng, do you want to go and meet him together?"
Li Zaiting pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "What you wish for."
He paused and asked curiously: "What does this prince want to expose?"
Hai Rui's usually solemn face couldn't help but reveal a strange look: "He said that he wanted to expose the fact that his great uncle Zhu Xianzhen, King of Dong'an, ordered Zhu Yingyan to kill Zhang Chucheng, and then conspired to assassinate Zhu Yingyan."
Chapter completed!