In Emperor Jianwen's palace, a piece of paper full of blue and purple words was presented to Emperor Jianwen. Although the handwriting was a bit fuzzy and scrawled, the general meaning was easy to understand: 50,000 copper coins from the north have been shipped and have been distributed. All the soldiers.
After Emperor Jianwen read it, his expression suddenly changed. He himself knew that the 50,000 yuan was not issued by him, because the court had not minted money for a long time, and the Ministry of Household Affairs had no copper coins to issue, but there were some treasure notes. Not much, but those gadgets are no more than useless paper. Soldiers are not stupid, they just keep asking for food and money.
Since these copper coins were not issued by the imperial court, there is a question of their origin. Are they from the north? The first thing Emperor Jianwen thought of was Peking, and Wan Lei's "evil" face once again echoed in his mind.
If Peiping really sent money, no matter how stupid Emperor Jianwen was, he would not think that the money was a friendly donation from the Peking Army to the counter-rebellion army. If this was true, then there would be a conflict between Xu Huizu and the Peiping Army. There is some kind of ulterior relationship.
When he thought of this, Emperor Jianwen's face became even more ugly. He knew that the few armies that the imperial court could mobilize were all under the control of Xu Huizu. If Xu Huizu acted as an internal agent of the Peiping Army at this time, he would not only be the emperor. There is no guarantee that even the country will change hands.
"Where did you get this secret letter?" Emperor Jianwen straightened his mind and asked King Gu. Although he was worried that Xu Huizu would rebel with his troops, he did not believe that Xu Huizu would rebel. Xu Huizu has always been loyal. This is obvious to all and cannot be A secret letter alone is enough to convict someone. You must first find out the source of the secret letter to avoid being sown by others.
"Ma Qianhu suddenly received a secret report that someone in the imperial court was having an affair with a foreign general. Ma Qianhu knew that the matter was serious, so he led people out of the city to intercept it, and found this thing from the two private soldiers. After interrogation, the two private soldiers committed suicide Cheng is a subordinate of Liu Zhen, the left commander of the Chinese army, and he came to Jinling to deliver a message to Duke Wei." King Gu said expressionlessly.
Liu Zhen, the left commander of the Chinese Army, was a first-grade official. He was responsible for the military affairs of the Zhongdu Remaining Department of the Henan Capital Division. He could be said to be the highest-ranking general. This time he was ordered to serve as the deputy general to counter the rebellion, and he worked with Geng Bingwen, who was newly sent to counter the rebellion. Huguang, located in Fuxinding, is a very powerful person and has hundreds of thousands of troops at his disposal.
In fact, as early as the early Ming Dynasty, the Privy Council was changed to the Governor's Office, and the Governor was set up to control the world's military. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, when Zhu Yuanzhang punished Hu Weiyong and dismissed him as prime minister, he also divided the Governor's Office into center, left, and left. The right, front, and rear five army commanders' offices are equipped with left and right commanders respectively to command the troops and horses of the world.
The person responsible for the garrison and defense of the capital is the Chinese Army Governor's Mansion. If this secret letter is really written by Liu Zhen, then...
"What do Qi Aiqing think?" Emperor Jianwen frowned and looked at Qi Tai, Minister of War, who was standing aside.
"I believe that there must be an inside story on this matter, and we should investigate it strictly." Qi Tai said.
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Wei is loyal to the country and has made great contributions to the reconstruction of the country. Although this matter is involved, we must not convict him lightly to avoid the hope of the world." Fang Xiaoru, who was standing beside him, said hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, this matter involves a lot of things. We should handle it as a special matter so as not to let the news get out. It is impossible to guarantee that those rebellious ministers and traitors will not be anxious and jump over the wall." King Gu said.
Emperor Jianwen looked at King Gu, then at Fang Qihuang and others, and saw that except for Fang Xiaoru, most of them were silent, obviously supporting strict investigation and punishment. He closed his eyes and thought for a while, and then ordered: "Preach the decree , summon the Duke of Wei to come in, and dispatch a hundred guards in royal robes to guard the Duke of Wei's mansion, and no one else can come in or out."
"Wei Guogong has made great contributions to the country. Please think twice before taking action." Fang Xiaoru also advised.
"My dear, don't worry. I have no other intention of inviting the Duke of Wei to see you." Emperor Jianwen waved his hand and ordered He Qing, the commander of the Jinyi Guards: "Send someone to Wuchang at night to thoroughly investigate this matter."
"My subordinates take orders." He Qing, the current commander of the Jinyi Guards, is not Xu Huizu's subordinate. He is only loyal to Emperor Jianwen. Emperor Jianwen himself knew this, otherwise he would not have been allowed to hold this important position and take on such important tasks.
heavy responsibility.
First stabilize Xu Huizu, and then send people to investigate the secret letter case in detail. Emperor Jianwen was secretly proud of his careful plan, and everyone present saw it and said no more. Huang Zicheng and others also secretly sighed:
After this incident, the emperor became much calmer and wiser.
However, what Emperor Jianwen didn't know was that this secret letter was just the first link in a series of conspiracy, and he had already been included in the conspiracy.
+++000+++
Wuchang City is where the counter-rebellion headquarters is located. The counter-rebellion general Geng Bingwen has already led tens of thousands of troops deep into the Jingxiang area. Although the main force of the rebels has been defeated, the remnants have retreated into the Jingxiang area.
In fact, as early as the last years of Hongwu, many people could not bear the exploitation of corvee labor, so they left their homes and fled to the mountains and forests to become refugees. Among them, the most common people fled into the Jingxiang Mountains, because it was the junction of Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Huguang, and the valleys blocked the mountains.
, it was sparsely populated and the imperial court had insufficient control over it, so many refugees moved in and became shanty dwellers.
The so-called shack dwellers are refugees who live in groups of thousands, wandering around, reclaiming wasteland, and cutting down trees to build shacks. The Jingxiang Mountains have fertile soil and fertile soil, and there is no corvee exploitation. It is a paradise. However, in the eyes of the Ming court, this place is a den of thieves.
In this land, the imperial court would not allow such a state within a state to appear in the country, so it sent a large army to go deep into the country and wipe out all of them.
The suppression of bandits had nothing to do with Liu Zhen. As the deputy general of the counter-rebellion, his main task was to raise wages. This was a hard job because the Huguang and Jiangxi areas had already been raided by the rebels. When the army entered, it was already
ten
With no room and no money, it was impossible to raise military pay on one's own, and the imperial court had been slow to allocate food and pay. The counter-rebellion army had already fallen into the dilemma of having no food and no pay, let alone providing relief to those who suffered from the military disaster.
The common people.
Just when Liu Zhen was having a headache for food and salary, a middle-aged man wearing a coarse Tsing Yi, who came from outside the rice gate, came to Wuchang City from the water channel, and came to Wuchang City and said he wanted to visit Liu Zhen. Because he was generous, the gatekeeper did not dare.
I didn't care and sent the greeting card in immediately.
In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, the status of merchants was very low, especially those who trafficked goods everywhere. They were classified as untouchables. Not only could they not wear silk and satin, but their descendants could not take part in the imperial examinations to seek official careers. Therefore, most
Some businessmen often buy land and become large landowners, and become citizens.
Of course, there are also a small number of businessmen who are more independent. They just love to do business and pursue profits. Therefore, under the heavy control of the court's laws, they still work as "upright" businessmen, which means that I am a businessman and I am honored.
And this Mi Yuanwai is one of them. Even though he is wearing a coarse blue robe, in terms of wealth, he may not be able to compare with the princes and nobles.
A rich man came to ask for an audience. Although Liu Zhen regarded herself as noble, she did not dare to show off too much, because Mi Yuanwai's greeting letter clearly stated that she was here to send money, and Liu Zhen had been worried about the food and salary issue for a long time, and she also loved Brother Kong Fang.
I hate it, but when I hear someone coming to give me money, my eyes light up.
Mi Yuanwai is really here to give money, isn't it? He just flattered Governor Liu a few words and got straight to the point: "I heard that the army is short of pay and the soldiers cannot receive military pay. I wonder if this is the case?"
"Alas, the imperial court is constantly fighting, and money and food are tight." Liu Zhen sighed. He was a dignified high-ranking official, and of course he would not beg for help in a low voice, especially a lowly businessman like a businessman. However, the situation was better than the people, and there was more in his tone. It was helpless, because if he didn't receive food and salary, the soldiers on the front line might tear him to pieces.
"In the current national crisis, no one can survive alone. I do have some resources, so I am willing to donate 50,000 guan to meet the urgent needs." Mi Yuanwai was very cheerful and gave 50,000 guan as soon as he opened his mouth. This is 50 million copper coins. Even if it is In Huguang, these 50,000 guan of money can be exchanged for at least 20,000 shi of grain.
When Liu Zhen heard that there was fifty thousand gu of money, her face jumped. As a high-ranking member of the imperial court, his annual salary was only a thousand dan. However, he was given this money without food or drink for decades as soon as he opened his mouth. Although he was happy that he couldn't save any money, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked. There is no free pie in the world. If someone gives so much money, he must have something to ask for.
"Mean Yuanwai is willing to help the army. He really understands the righteousness and I admire it, but I don't know..." Liu Zhen hesitated. He was a member of the officialdom. He knew the unspoken rules of money and power transactions in the officialdom, and knew that the other party would not Just give away money for free without any strings attached.
"Master Liu, I really have something I want to ask for." Sure enough, Mi Yuanwai is not a philanthropic person. "I want to traffic some medicinal materials, wood, white lead and other items from Huguang, and I hope you can provide me with a way to make money. I won't let you. If you are in trouble, you will never take prohibited items with you, and when the ship sails north, it will also transport food and sell it at a fair price to relieve the people's poverty."
It turned out that he had spent money to buy the road, and Liu Zhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. You must know that the imperial court's management of merchants is very strict, and there must be roads to guide people when traveling, otherwise they will be captured as refugees and sent to the army. Moreover, Huguang We had just experienced a military disaster and the troops were in panic. Without the officers and soldiers as amulets, the merchants would not dare to go in or out at all.
As expected, this rice officer was extremely shrewd. He gave money to the officers and soldiers as soon as he arrived. In fact, he was helping to make a huge war fortune in the future. When Liu Zhen thought of this, she felt relieved: "There is nothing wrong with this. It's just that these 50,000 yuan When will the money be delivered?”
"It has been transported to the river. Please come and receive it." The officer, Mi, was indeed very good at doing things. As soon as he handed over his hand, there was a stack of paper in his hand, which he secretly handed to Liu Zhen. Liu Zhen just glanced at it. It turned out to be a banknote, amounting to one thousand taels. He knew it was a "favor fee" for himself, so he hurriedly put it in his pocket.
However, Liu Zhen, who was secretly happy, didn't notice that there was a sneer in the corner of Mi Yuanwai's eyes. What he didn't know even more was that he had strode towards the gate of hell, and the bank note would be what sent him there. Passport reported by the Palace of Hell.