King Jing was the sixth son of Renzong's concubine. He established the vassal vassal in the fourth year of Xuande and moved to Qizhou in the 10th year of Zhengtong. It has taken root for more than a hundred years.
Not to mention the rural manor, the royal city was repeatedly expanded and built into a magnificent building, with a perimeter of nine miles and thirty-three paces, and a height of one to eight feet. There were many royal palaces in the city, and the scenery was excellent.
Li Shizhen had medical consultations here, and Wu Chengen wrote poems here. It can be regarded as a place of right and wrong.
Anyone who saw this prosperous royal city couldn't help but praise, "The mansions and buildings are rising from the ground, and they are as majestic as the imperial capital." But now, it suffered a fire without warning.
This fire burned the prince's palace in the center of the royal city and the palace of Prince Taining next to it, turning it into scorched earth!
The fire burned down the prince's palace and burned to death not only the family of Prince Taining, who was in charge of the Jing vassal, but the faint light of the fire burned through Qizhou and spread all the way to Wuchang and Changsha.
Sweeping the entire Huguang.
However, within half a day, an incident occurred in Prince Jing's Mansion, causing a huge uproar and spreading to Huguang and Xianzhi.
The rumor is naturally not as simple as an accident, otherwise it would not be talked about by the people.
Those who talked about this matter were all serious about it - the second son of King Jing, the current lord of Jing vassal, Taining King Zhu Changxin, most likely saw the massacre of the Min vassal Lishan palace and the humiliation of the Chu vassal king Dong'an. Hefu set himself on fire and died.
As for the origin of this statement... Zhu Changxin, King of Taining, surprisingly left a last-minute letter and gave it to Zhu Changling, the prince of Jing Dynasty.
Prince Jing was in mourning and told the people around him about the contents.
The words in the letter were fierce and angry, saying: "The emperor's son and grandson are kings from the south. When they encounter a cowardly and violent dynasty, and when Jian Wen is old, it is better for him to commit suicide and live up to his noble blood than to humiliate his slaves."
Just this sentence alone makes everyone who hears it stunned and horrified.
These words are almost the exact words of King Xiang who committed suicide during the Jianwen Dynasty!
At the beginning, Emperor Jianwen violently cut down the vassal vassal, and used the excuse to find a reason to blame King Xiang, and sent people to surround his palace and forcibly enforce him.
King Xiang knew that he could not live, so he sprinkled the ground with water to wet it, then soaked it with blood, and went to the fire to die in full clothes - "Sigh, I have seen that in the past, the ministers met with a stupid and violent dynasty, and ordered the officials to be imprisoned, so they committed suicide and executed them personally. The emperor Taizu's son is facing the south...will he be humiliated by his slaves again? I can't even survive."
Today, the Xiangwang Shinto inscription recording this incident is still standing in Jingzhou Mansion!
Could this be a repeat of the past!?
Especially when I think of what the imperial envoy did in Huguang recently.
Most of the direct relatives of the Yueyang Palace were executed, and the property in the palace was devoured and all confiscated; the Lishan Palace was killed by Jin Yiwei in front of the prince; the Chu Fan, the head of the Huguang clan, was the acting head of the palace. It happened to King Dong'an, but he was imprisoned for several days and his life and death were unknown.
Under such circumstances, King Taining of the Jing clan did not want to be humiliated, showed the magnanimity of a prince and grandson, and died without hesitation, which is very telling.
It is talked about by people, and then some interested people will add fuel to the fire.
It spread throughout Huguang in almost the shortest time!
The common people often say that dogs bite dogs and call it a good death, while the clan is sad and resentful when a rabbit dies and a fox dies. The Huguang officialdom unanimously agrees and exerts pressure upwards in a tacit understanding - is it almost okay for the imperial envoy to cause such a big mess?
In the blink of an eye, the situation in Huguang changed drastically!
…
Prince Min's Mansion.
Zhu Dingyao looked with pity at his cousin, Zhu Dingjiong, who had been taken away by Zhu Xizhong in front of him.
The latter was covered with scars and almost dying on the bed.
Seeing King Min come in, Zhu Dingjiong forced himself to stand up and greet him.
Min King Zhu Dingyao quickly held him down: "Don't move your vitality, just lie down."
After Zhu Dingjiong thanked him, he smiled bitterly and said weakly: "Beizhen Fusi can let me back, but they just see that I can't survive these two days, so they just follow the trend."
The incident in Jing Mansion has spread to Wugang Prefecture.
Naturally, the two of them knew what happened.
If it weren't for this tense moment, Zhu Xizhong probably wouldn't have put the person back and let him die in another place.
Zhu Dingyao clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He said bitterly: "Zhu Xizhong is a man, and I will kill him! If I don't take revenge for you, I swear I won't be a human being!"
It is easy to find a confidant in the palace, but it is not so easy to find a capable confidant.
Zhu Dingjiong grew up with him and worked for him. Whether it was friendship or trust, it was unmatched by outsiders.
Otherwise, the matter of raising water thieves would not be left to this side branch.
Zhu Dingjiong was extremely precocious and intelligent, and he was a first-class capable person in Min Mansion.
As the second son of a concubine, Zhu Dingyao was able to inherit Min Fan, and his contribution was even greater.
When Zhu Dingjiong was young, he began to make suggestions and jointly run Xiaoming with Zhu Dingyao.
The former is "cutting off the legs to save the mother" - "The young husband's parents serve his mother Huo Shi as a filial piety, but the mother is critically ill, so they cut off the legs."
From the latter, there is a story about "inheriting the father's will and raising the younger brother by the mother".
The two of them are closer than brothers.
Seeing that Zhu Dingjiong was about to die soon, he was immediately filled with anger.
Clinker, Zhu Dingjiong grabbed Min King's hand with difficulty, gritted his teeth and shook his head.
He gasped quickly: "Your Highness, don't act out of emotion!"
"I have isolated the matter for you in advance regarding the water thieves. The Jin Yiwei can only find out the Lishan Prince's Mansion at most, and everything has nothing to do with you."
"Now that the story of King Xiang is happening in Jing Mansion, Jin Yiwei is even more afraid to act rashly."
"Now, 70% of the Central Committee wants to cut down the feudal vassal. The safety of the Min government depends on you alone. Don't be impulsive!"
Zhu Dingyao didn't take it seriously and snorted coldly: "Cutting down the feudal vassal? I'm afraid we won't have this chance!"
"Zhu Xizhong has returned to Wuchang Mansion overnight. I heard that Wu Jinghe has also rushed back. A few people have too much time to take care of themselves. How can they care about us?"
"I am not planning to launch an attack now. As long as I pass this level, I will have to settle the debt with Duke Chengguo sooner or later!"
"Don't worry, as long as we work together and put pressure on Hai Rui and others, we will be able to drive them out of Huguang."
Of course he has this confidence.
After all, when matters arise in the Jing Mansion, it is not up to the imperial envoy to act arbitrarily.
After all, the story of King Xiang hurt the emperor’s virtue!
Do these ministers want to put the yellow-mouthed boy in the situation of Emperor Jianwen?
Only by appeasing the clan and appeasing the clan can we clear the relationship between the emperor and the emperor.
From now on, sooner or later, he will take revenge on Duke Chengguo and come back!
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Dingyao felt his hand being grasped tighter.
He looked towards Zhu Dingjiong and saw only disapproving eyes.
Zhu Dingjiong forced himself to sit up and coughed twice.
After a while, he said weakly: "Zhu Xianzhen is probably responsible for what happened this time."
"At the beginning, we were just bewitched by Uncle Wang and played a small role for him. Now that the imperial envoy has found out about him, we have no choice but to jump over the wall and resort to such cruel measures."
"But, that was it last time, but this time we can't follow his footsteps."
Those imperial envoys may not be helpless.
Furthermore... Zhu Xianzhen was so cruel to the Jing Mansion, there was no reason to believe that the lord of the Chu vassal could take into account the interests of their Min vassal.
It's not necessary to take someone's life out of the fire.
Zhu Dingyao frowned: "What do you mean..."
Zhu Dingjiong firmly held King Min's hand, and his tone became more sincere: "Your Highness, if the central government cuts down the vassal, if there is one, there will be two."
"You and I don't know whether it's the emperor's will or the cabinet's idea. If it's the latter, that's fine. If it's the former... who knows how many years he has left to live?"
"Take this opportunity to get out of here!"
Zhu Dingyao remained silent.
Zhu Dingjiong knew how stubborn his cousin was, and he tried to persuade him, but he couldn't bear it anymore, so he could only talk about the important things.
He was seriously injured and difficult to treat. He spoke too much and his voice became hoarse: "Your Highness, you take this opportunity to report directly and expose the Lishan County Prince for raising water thieves and colluding with the Miao soldiers!"
"His Royal Highness was deceived by it and didn't know anything about it. However, he was guilty of negligence. He asked to be stripped of his title and free of salary and silver!"
Zhu Dingyao was shocked!
His face was full of confusion, and he said in shock: "Why!?"
Zhu Dingjiong became increasingly dizzy and could only keep his words short: "Your Highness, based on what Wu Jinghe did in Yueyang Palace, we should be able to see the trajectory of his actions."
"In the future, the salary and silver will definitely not be distributed as before. If you don't, it will be waived."
"As for removing the prince's title, it's just a statement, it may not actually be removed."
At the end of his sentence, he raised his head in pain and rubbed his eyebrows: "Besides, as long as you keep your position as feudal lord, so will the prince!"
Now that the Yueyang Palace has liberalized the ban on business and started to take responsibility for its own profits and losses, the privileges of the title may not be as important anymore.
As I think about it, I feel like my brain is getting more and more confused.
He reluctantly opened his eyes and saw King Min frowning in thought, with a hesitant look on his face.
Zhu Dingjiong finally couldn't hold it anymore and almost threw himself on King Min, making a gesture of worship: "Second brother! I have devoted all my efforts to Min Zong and made plans for decades. Second brother and I are of the same mind and rely on me in everything!"
"Now that I am shattered into pieces and my oil and lamps have dried up, how can I, the second brother, try to be disloyal to each other in this last matter?"
He burst into tears and his tone was stern.
He looked like he would not give up until he agreed.
Zhu Dingyao finally couldn't bear it anymore and quickly comforted him: "I rely on you! I rely on you!"
He helped the person to the bed again and whispered softly: "I listen to you, just don't bother me. Jiongdi is recovering well and getting better slowly. There will be time to make suggestions in the future."
His Highness King Min comforted him and finally coaxed Zhu Dingjiong to feel comfortable, and he fell asleep in the blink of an eye.
When the only sound left in the room was Zhu Dingjiong's breathing like a rag sack, Zhu Dingyao slowly withdrew.
As soon as he left the room, the peaceful expression on his face changed color, and in an instant, grief and anger were intertwined.
He murmured to himself: "I can rely on you for everything else, but your revenge... it's fine if you don't have this chance. Now if I don't avenge you, wouldn't this throne be in vain for you to help me sit on it?"
Having made up his mind, he strode away like a dragon or a tiger.
…
The incident happened in Prince Jing's Mansion in Qizhou, but the whirlpool of political events is never at the place where the incident occurred, but at the place where power is concentrated.
The largest whirlpool in Huguang is naturally located in Wuchang Prefecture, where the Sansi Yamen is located, where the head of the clan, Chu Fan, is located, and where the imperial envoys patrol.
Almost as soon as the incident reached Wuchang Mansion, the governor's Yamen was affected by the incident.
On that day, hundreds of evil sects roamed the city, holding sword-arm gates, calling for peace outside the governor's office, seeking an explanation for King Jing's affairs.
After nightfall, the situation became even more arrogant - "Each armed with a murderous weapon, they broke into the Fuyuan and tied up the officials."
Fortunately, inside the governor's yamen, the guards in royal robes were already ready to arrest the evil sect.
Although the situation has not escalated, the situation has become increasingly critical, and it has obviously reached a critical point.
It was also at this time that the new governor of Huguang, Liang Menglong, arrived.
He tightened the coarse linen clothes around his body - he put them on deliberately, otherwise he was really afraid of being attacked outside the governor's office.
Previously, when he arrived outside the governor's office, he saw a mess!
The gate of the Yamen was in dilapidated condition, showing signs of being attacked by rogue bandits.
The people with deer-headed and rat-like eyes outside the mansion were intent on killing everyone who entered or exited the governor's Yamen.
For safety reasons, he changed into this suit. When he arrived at the gate of the governor's office, he showed his seal and entered the government office.
The moment he stepped into the governor's Yamen, he actually smelled a bit of blood, which really shocked him.
Liang Menglong twirled his beard anxiously and accidentally pulled off two strands without caring.
He, Governor Liang, was ordered to take office in Huguang in the face of danger. He was already prepared to take over the mess.
When he visited Henan before, he also dealt with the mess in the same way.
In Henan in the fifth year of Longqing's reign, there were many natural disasters and heavy taxes. "In order to promote the urgent needs of science and technology, farmers lost their jobs, and there were many problems."
The people have small-scale rebellions every year, and the officials do not care about governance, but are happy to arrest "rebels" to claim credit.
In addition, there is also the White Lotus Sect stirring up trouble, and Henan has become even more chaotic.
When Liang Menglong faced that situation, he saved the fire.
The fire in Huguang will probably not get bigger...
As a result, as soon as he arrived in Huguang, he heard about the county king's self-immolation and the evil sect's siege of the Yamen. He saw the mess and desperation of the place, which was beyond his expectation.
The situation in Huguang is much more complicated than he imagined!
Where can the governor, the right deputy chief censor, Shi Jia, handle this?
Without adding a Minister of War, hundreds of clan members at the door would rush in and behead him without any hesitation!
Fortunately, we don’t have to shoulder this task alone like in Henan.
Those imperial envoys should be more anxious than him.
He kicked away the sawdust under his feet and took a deep breath, hoping that these imperial envoys would not grease their soles and leave the mess to him, the governor.
…
The moon and stars are sparse, which is the time to go to bed.
Unfortunately, in this situation, falling asleep on time is just a luxury.
It was natural that Liang Menglong could not rest while doing such a thing. As soon as he arrived, he was called over by several imperial envoys.
It was already midnight, and the lights in the lobby of the governor's Yamen were still brightly lit.
Sitting on the governor's seat, Liang Menglong felt a little on pins and needles.
He glanced at the four expressionless imperial envoys in the lobby and hesitated to speak.
I felt a little uneasy in my heart - at this time, the throne was given to him. Don't really want to use him to take over. The imperial envoy ran away on his own.
Liang Menglong thought in his heart, becoming more and more uneasy, and finally couldn't help but tried to say: "A few angels, the people of Chu are in chaos, and it is difficult to cure them."
"In the case of Chu Zong and Jing Zong, there are more than 5,000 people living in Wuchang City and nearby areas. Although many of them are kind-hearted, they are actually violent."
"There is neither support nor imperial envoy in the eyes of this generation, so why should we be afraid?"
"The governor was originally a non-military man with no troops to rely on. During the campaign, he temporarily set up a branch of the general army at the bridge. It was peaceful and had been dismissed, so the old friends had no fear. Those who claimed to be in trouble often did so!"
"Today Fu Yamen is in danger, and the son of an angel's daughter might as well avoid it with caution."
The Huguang clan was in a state of disarray. His governor's office had no serious winged soldiers anyway, so he could only rely on the imperial guards to protect him.
If several imperial envoys want to escape, it is best to tell them in advance. If they leave without saying a word, they are beggar their neighbors and deliberately harming others.
To be honest, Liang Menglong was transferred from Henan to Huguang. He really doesn’t know much about the current situation in Huguang and how it developed to this point.
Is it because a few imperial envoys are eager to perform meritorious service and implicate innocent people, or is it because some people are desperate and commit such a murderous act?
You can only speak in a reserved manner.
The people present are all human beings, so they naturally understand.
Among the several imperial envoys, Li Zaiting was a little younger in terms of age and seniority, so he deserved some explanation and comfort.
Li Zaiting shook his head: "This matter cannot be seen through the clouds. Holy virtue will be concealed by traitors. How can the world know about it for all generations?"
"Why should you and I cherish our humble bodies? How can we be counselors to heaven when we are ministers and have the reputation of being greedy, ignorant and tolerant?"
These words are very serious - if anyone escapes at this time, it will be disloyal to the minister and sold out to the emperor.
It's almost like swearing.
Liang Menglong felt relieved after hearing this.
Since the general direction was correct, he stopped testing and finally got down to business.
Liang Menglong opened the case file and mentioned what he had been paying attention to before: "In the fire in Jing Mansion, King Taining sprinkled the ground to wet it, and then soaked it with blood. He went to the fire to die in full clothes and hats. The whole palace followed suit, and he was the first to take control of the palace.
That person is Zhu Changling, the heir to the Jing clan."
After Zhu Changling sealed off the scene, no outsiders were allowed in.
Even the palace officials who put out the fire were delayed for a long time.
Fortunately, he was unpopular with the people, and after the princes and counties arrived one after another, they left in despair.
But, right behind them, many county kings rescued two living people from the fire!
Although he didn't wake up, this made Prince Jing look suspicious.
Zhu Xizhong sat in a wheelchair, looked up at Liang Menglong, and shook his head expressionlessly: "We have sent people to Jing Mansion a long time ago. He is still alive and unconscious, and Zhu Changling has disappeared without a trace, but...in any case, the key is not there.
Here."
"Even if there is irrefutable proof that it was Prince Jing who committed the act and not King Taining who set himself on fire, it will not help."
These words were a bit obscure, and Liang Menglong frowned in confusion after hearing this.
After thinking about it for a long time, I suddenly had an idea and realized it.
This is a major central case that clears the sky, not the local criminal cases he handled before!
The latter presented facts and reasoned things for the common people and gentry to see.
The former does not look at things, only the impact!
Even if they arrest the real culprit, outsiders will wonder whether they did it deliberately to calm the trouble.
What's more, you may also say - you see, as expected, he forced the lord of the vassal to death and framed the blame on the prince, just to make Jing vass extinct! The emperor is so cruel!
All parties involved in major political cases have already established their positions and only believe in what they want to believe.
In other words, as soon as this incident comes out, the emperor's sanctity will inevitably be questioned!
No wonder these four imperial envoys looked deeply troubled.
At this moment, Wu Jinghe suddenly looked at Hai Rui and Li Zaiting: "Hai Yushi, Li is in trouble."
The latter two met his gaze one after another.
Wu Jinghe paused and then slowly said: "This matter is of great importance. Why don't you two return to Beijing first and present it to His Majesty before we discuss it?"
Hai Rui and Li Zaiting looked at each other.
They couldn't understand what Wu Jinghe meant.
This does not require them to return to Beijing to report - it has been two months since they came back and forth, and the day lilies have become cold.
This prince-in-law wants to protect the two of them and wants to deal with it on their own with Zhu Xizhong!
Hai Rui had almost no hesitation: "It is precisely because the matter is so important that I cannot live up to the emperor's kindness and cause damage to my sanctity."
Li Zaiting was silent for a moment and shook his head: "Captain Prince Consort, there is no need to mention this matter again. Let's just get down to business."
"The most urgent task now is not to let His Majesty's holy virtue be compromised and bear the name of insulting his relatives."
"I will go to Jing Mansion tomorrow to express my condolences to King Taining."
Even if the results are minimal, it is necessary to take a stand. You must not be timid and play the trick of "as long as you don't do it, you won't be wrong."
Wu Jinghe's good intentions were refuted, so he naturally stopped entangled, and nodded: "I will follow you to show kindness to Jingzong."
Although they were not forced to do this, considering Wu Jinghe's mission alone, now that all the princes and heirs in the palace are absent, it is a good time to do some errands.
It just so happens that he also "shows favor" to most of the lower-level clans and restores some reputation.
Of course, these are not enough.
Among major political cases, the impact of the incident itself is far less than the aftermath.
Today's aftermath is the restless clans outside the governor's office, the brave men in the prison who carry sword-armed doors, and the signs that the Huguang clans are gradually beginning to cling to each other, as well as the small moves of the Huguang officialdom to expel them.
If one thing is not handled well, all previous efforts will be wasted.
Several people came and went, discussing countermeasures.
Zhu Xizhong seemed to be in a daze and said nothing.
After a long time, he finally came to his senses, raised his head, looked around the hall, and said, "It's not enough."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he attracted the attention of several people.
Zhu Xizhong said calmly: "You still need to lend me the head on my neck."
Chapter completed!