Chapter 298 The Counterattack of the Governor of Hangzhou
On this day, Zhugenan was sitting on the tea shed with his legs crossed, eating Hu cakes and looking north of the city, his brows furrowed into a figure-eight shape.
Originally, he was worried that the government officials would search Lijia Village in advance. Unexpectedly, after a few days of searching, the government officials suddenly stopped their actions.
Out of curiosity, he also went to investigate and found that the government officials quietly surrounded a mansion and seemed to be targeting that mansion.
Zhugenan looked up at the time and decided to explore the situation of the mansion before leaving, maybe he would find something unexpected.
After crossing three streets, Zhuge Nan came to an inn and asked for a room at the north end of the second floor.
After entering the room, Zhugenan opened the window and looked diagonally downward.
There was the surrounded mansion, and on the plaque above the door lintel were written the two characters "Prince's Mansion".
Zhuge Nan did not know that the surrounded mansion was the mansion of Wang Ji, the governor of Hangzhou.
Originally, the governor was supposed to live in the back house of the governor's mansion, but Wang Ji, the governor, had been sidelined a long time ago and was ordered not to even leave his study.
He was aware of current affairs, and he bought a small house to live in. He spent all day playing with flowers and plants, and didn't care about the affairs of the Governor's Mansion, so he lived a leisurely life.
However, this is only a superficial phenomenon.
Anyone who holds an official position as high as Wang Ji's will not be willing to be ignored.
Wang Ji is a smart man and knows that the situation is in the opponent's hands, so he has been holding back and waiting for a good opportunity.
When he learned that Wu Chengsi had been appointed governor of Yangzhou, he knew that his opportunity had come.
He had already collected evidence of Qian Deguang's crimes, but he did not intend to hand them over directly to Wu Chengsi. He had his own opinions.
Since King Pei returned to Chang'an, the struggle between the Wu family and the Li family gradually became clear, and Wang Ji naturally saw it.
Qian Deguang was Li Zhen's man, and if Wu Chengsi had the opportunity to get rid of him, he would never let it go.
However, this does not mean that Wu Chengsi is willing to come forward personally.
He knows the thoughts of those in higher positions very well, and if they can avoid doing so, they will try not to do so on their own.
If Wang Ji hands these evidence of crime to Wu Chengsi, it will force him to come forward, and the other party may not agree.
If Wu Chengsi did not agree, the King of Yue's revenge would be enough to destroy him.
Therefore, Wang Ji decided to take a more cautious approach and took the initiative to fight Qian Deguang himself.
Moreover, they wanted to suppress Qian Deguang legally, and they also wanted to make the matter bigger and let Wu Chengsi know about it.
When Qian Deguang was in a disadvantageous situation, the Yue King behind him would take action. When the time came, Wang Ji believed that Wu Chengsi would never remain indifferent.
As long as he could check and balance the power of the Yue King, Wang Ji would be confident in defeating Qian Deguang and regaining the power of Hangzhou Governor.
When the time comes, he will also have a good chance of being appreciated by Wu Chengsi.
Since Wu Chengsi had not arrived in Yangzhou yet, Wang Ji's plan was still in the planning stage.
He first approached his friend Geng Jian, the former Yushi Zhongcheng, and asked him to help contact an official at Yushitai.
Yesterday, this official from Yushitai came to Hangzhou.
Wang Ji was very careful and used the most covert method to quietly bring this Yushitai official into the mansion.
As a result, he found that he still underestimated Qian Deguang.
I thought Qian Deguang had relaxed his vigilance towards him, but unexpectedly the other party seemed to smell the smell immediately and sent his officials to quietly surround his residence.
Wang Ji stood at the door of the lobby, with his hands behind his back and his expression very calm.
Suddenly, the palace steward walked over quickly and said in a deep voice: "Master, the number of government servants outside the door is increasing. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Zhang Yushi to leave."
An old man walked slowly from the lobby to the door and said with a smile: "Wang Shijun, you don't have to worry about it. I don't plan to leave. Let's see what His Royal Highness the King of Yue plans to do to me!"
Wang Ji was silent for a while and said apologetically: "It was my lack of thinking that put Yushi Zhang in this situation."
At this moment, another old man walked from the lobby to the door and coldly snorted: "Wang Shijun, you are not a prisoner. When the time comes, you will tell Brother Zhang and I to come to your house as guests. This is not against the king's law, right?"
!”
This old man is short in stature and has round and bright eyes. He is Wang Ji's good friend Geng Jian.
Wang Ji closed his eyes, sighed, and said: "If you want to inflict a crime, there is no need to hesitate. Since Mr. Wang chose to fight back against them this time, he had thought about this outcome."
After a pause, he said: "I just caused trouble to two good friends, and I really feel bad about it."
Geng Jian glared and said: "What did Wang Shijun say? We are willing to help you. We are willing to help you. Qian Deguang has managed Hangzhou to a complete mess. If you hadn't persuaded me, I would have gone to Beijing to sue him!"
Zhang Yushi said: "Brother Geng's words are correct. Since Zhang knows about this, even if he is dismissed from office, he must seek justice for the villagers who died innocently and unjustly!"
Wang Ji smiled slightly and said: "With these two words, it seems hypocritical for Wang Mou to blame himself again and again."
"Forget it, let Qian Deguang come. Even if Mr. Wang can't bring him to justice, he must be scolded to pieces!"
…
"Ah sneeze!"
"Qian Changshi, what's wrong with you? Did you catch a cold last night?" Magistrate Jiang asked with concern.
"How could it be? I slept well last night." Qian Deguang waved his hand and said with a pair of dark circles under his eyes.
Not only did he have dark circles under his eyes, but Li Xun, the king of Yingchuan County, also looked bad, as if he didn't sleep well last night.
Qian Deguang didn't know why, but suddenly felt that the lights in the lobby were a little dim, and scolded: "Old Song, what are you doing for food? Didn't you see that the lights are so dim?"
In fact, the number of oil lamps was no different from the past. Butler Song smiled bitterly, not daring to argue, and said hurriedly: "I'll ask someone to add a few more lamps."
Prince Yingchuan gently pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand and said slowly: "Judging from the time, my father and the King of Yue should have received the news. They will send people over as soon as possible. We must not mess up the situation and wait any longer.
It’ll be fine in a few days.”
Magistrate Jiang hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, although Wu Chengsi has hundreds of thousands of guards under his command, we can use more than twice as many people as he does. Can't we do it ourselves?"
"Idiot, we are attacking Wu Chengsi openly. If we fail, do you know what the consequences will be?" Prince Yingchuan scolded angrily.
County Magistrate Jiang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with a wry smile: "I am really worried that something will happen if the nights are long and the dreams are long."
"Magistrate Jiang, this shouldn't be what you're worried about now, right?" Qian Deguang said coldly.
"What does the Ming government mean by this?" Magistrate Jiang asked in surprise.
Qian Deguang said: "Let me ask you, are you sure that the person in the palace is Wu Chengsi?"
Magistrate Jiang hurriedly said: "Although the man wore a black cloak and covered his face, the people in the lower officials saw with their own eyes that Geng Zhongyue sent the man into Wang Ji's mansion, and his attitude was extremely respectful. He must be Wu Chengsi!"
Qian Deguang had a gloomy face and said nothing.
Prince Yingchuan frowned and said, "Qian Changshi, do you think that person is not Wu Chengsi?"
Qian Deguang took a deep breath and said: "I just feel a little strange. Jiangnan is full of our people. How did Wu Chengsi come to Hangzhou quietly?"
Prince Yingchuan was startled and said, "Maybe he traveled incognito. Didn't he quietly arrive in Taizhou before?"
Qian Deguang shook his head and said: "Before he appeared in Taizhou, we thought he would go straight to Yangzhou and had no defense against him, so we allowed him to succeed."
Prince Yingchuan's eyes flickered and he said: "That's right. After the incident in Taizhou, my father has already activated the intelligence network of the prince's palace, and the same should be true for the Yue Prince's palace."
Qian Deguang sighed and said: "However, Wu Chengsi still came to Hangzhou quietly. Don't you think this is terrible?"
Prince Yingchuan gritted his teeth and said, "Is he always sleeping in the wilderness? He never enters the city?"
Qian Deguang looked up at the ceiling and suddenly said: "There is another possibility."
"What's possible?"
Qian Deguang said word by word: "He came by sea!"
Prince Yingchuan was stunned.
Qian Deguang gritted his teeth and said, "I have been thinking about Zhang Gou these past few days. Do you still remember? At that time, Wu Chengsi's Qianniu Guards came to the island in a boat and robbed Zhang Gou!"
Prince Yingchuan turned pale and said, "You mean he came to Hangzhou on that big boat?"
"Isn't this possible?"
"No, no, he won't take the sea route." Prince Yingchuan shook his head.
"Why?" Qian Deguang asked confused.
Prince Yingchuan was silent for a while, and then said: "No matter how close you are to the shore, no matter how strong the ship is, you will still be in danger of encountering a storm when traveling by sea. People like Wu Chengsi will not take such risks.
.”
He himself never took the sea route.
Qian Deguang said secretly: "Wu Chengsi is a man who has fought in wars, so naturally he is not as afraid of death as you."
Magistrate Jiang forced a smile and said: "No matter how he got here, we are keeping an eye on him now."
Qian Deguang said coldly: "Don't be so sure. Your people haven't seen him with their own eyes. Maybe it's not Wu Chengsi?"
Prince Yingchuan said: "It doesn't matter. Anyway, before we take action, we must go in and confirm first. Don't think so much now."
"Why don't we confirm it now?" Qian Deguang asked.
"No, no one can bear the responsibility if Wu Chengsi escapes just to frighten the enemy." Prince Yingchuan shook his head.
Qian Deguang shook his head secretly. If Wu Chengsi was not there, that would be the worst situation.