For Zhou Shangjing, if he can successfully capture Jiang Xiao and his dead men alive, and successfully find out the conclusive evidence that the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian secretly raised his dead men, this will undoubtedly be the best way for him to achieve his purpose. Not only will it be the best, but it will also be effective.
Also the fastest.
But it is just the best way, not Zhou Shangjing's only hope against the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian.
Just as Huo Zhengyuan had judged, Zhou Shangjing had prepared more backup plans and would not put all his eggs in one basket.
Therefore, when talking to Huo Zhengyuan alone, Zhou Shangjing focused on persuading Huo Zhengyuan to accept his "goodwill", and did not only consider the success or failure of arresting Jiang Xiao.
Of course, Zhou Shangjing's calm attitude was also because he trusted Song Chengren very much.
In Nanjing, it would be fine if the specific whereabouts of Jiang Xiao have not been found. Once Jiang Xiao's whereabouts are found, with the huge power of the Song family in Nanjing and Song Chengren's methods and experience, the arrest will naturally be
The chance of success is extremely high, and Zhou Shangjing does not need to worry about gains and losses.
*
And while Zhou Shangjing was talking to Huo Zhengyuan, Song Chengren did not betray Zhou Shangjing's trust. After he left the Dongyuan study, he immediately mobilized various forces of the Song family in Nanjing to conduct an extremely thorough arrest of Jiang Xiao.
layout.
When Song Chengren decided to take action, as the most popular noble gentry family in the south of the Yangtze River, the powerful strength of the Song family was immediately revealed.
Grain gangs and river workers, city patrols, Nanjing defenders, Jin gentry servants, elite guards... Originally located in different locations in Nanjing, with different identities, more than a thousand strong men, under Song Chengren's arrangement, came to Nanjing one after another.
They converge towards the southeast of Nanjing City, faintly surrounding the intersection of the Qingxi River and the Nanjing City Wall, which is where Song Chengren speculated that Jiang Xiao would hide and stay.
In fact, whether they are the river workers of the grain gang, the servants of the Jin gentry, or the patrols in the city and the Nanjing garrison, in terms of bravery, martial arts, and well-trained training, they are all far inferior to Jiang Xiao's carefully trained "chaofeng" dead soldiers, and perhaps only
Only the few elite nursing homes who were paid huge sums of money by the major gentry families could compete with these "chao Feng" dead warriors.
So from a certain point of view, Song Chengren gathered a group of rabble and wanted to use this group of rabble to encircle and suppress the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers.
But Song Chengren is not worried. As the saying goes, "An elephant can be killed by too many ants." Under the absolute manpower advantage, and with a heavy reward for all the mob to be brave enough to fight, no matter how elite the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers are,
There were only less than two hundred people, so they were definitely defenseless.
Just as the elite men from all sides launched a secret siege operation, Song Chengren himself secretly arrived at the Nanjing garrison, the highest military command place in Nanjing City, and was quickly summoned by Nanjing garrison Xu Shengying.
After meeting Xu Shengying, Song Chengren's attitude was extremely polite and showed him great respect.
This is not only because Xu Shengying is the top military general in Nanjing, not only because Song Chengren will ask for help from him next, but also because Xu Shengying's surname is "Xu".
Although the Song family is the most powerful Jin gentry family in Jiangnan, with outstanding clan members emerging for three consecutive generations and becoming feudal officials or central cabinet ministers, the Song family cannot be regarded as the first aristocratic family in Jiangnan, because Jiangnan is not the only Jin gentry family.
There are also noble families, and among the noble families there are descendants of Zhongshan King Xu Da.
As for the prominent status of the Xu family, there is no need to mention it. In addition to the fact that Xu Da himself was the sworn brother of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, the leader of the founding fathers of the Ming Dynasty, and even preserved the family during Zhu Yuanzhang's repeated purges in his later years, the descendants of the Xu family
There are also many talented people. Xu Da's two sons, Xu Huizu and Xu Zengshou, both earned the status of hereditary princes by virtue of their own abilities. They have been married to the old Zhu family for more than two hundred years. Even Emperor Deqing can be related to the Xu family.
.
Compared with the Xu family, the Song family's proud capital of having three consecutive generations of feudal officials and central cabinet ministers is not worth mentioning.
It can be said that the people of the Xu family can go sideways even in the center of the capital. Even Emperor Deqing has to give face. If the Xu family is willing to stand in line and choose to support one of Zhou Shangjing and Zhu Hejian, the chaos in Nanjing will have been settled long ago.
.
However, the Xu family has always had a very strict upbringing, and their descendants all behave in a low-key manner. They rarely use their status to grab benefits everywhere, and they will not form political parties and interfere in the government affairs of the temple. They have always only hung out in the circle of nobles, so
In these years, the Xu family's popularity in Jiangnan has been less than that of the Song family. As for the chaos in Nanjing during this period, the Xu family has watched with indifference and has no intention of participating at all.
As for Xu Shengying, she was born in the Xu family. Although she was not the direct eldest son, she was named in the Xu family tree.
Since Emperor Xuande, all successive Nanjing garrison positions have been held by nobles such as dukes, marquises, and uncles. At the same time, the Nanjing garrison has also been in charge of the Chinese Army Governor's Office. The current Nanjing garrison is Xu Shengying.
Therefore, after Song Chengren met Xu Shengying, he naturally did not dare to neglect him. Even though he was of a higher generation and had more seniority, he was still extremely polite to Xu Shengying. When Xu Shengying showed up to meet him, he even stood up to greet her and saluted her.
.
*
"But I don't know why Senior Song came to visit the garrison in such a secretive way. If it is about martial law in Nanjing, then Senior Song does not need to consult the younger generation. The younger generation is a military general and just obeys the order.
How long this martial law will last is ultimately decided by the civil servants. If a popular uprising occurs during the martial law period, the juniors will do their best to suppress it and ensure the stability of the situation in Nanjing..."
Xu Shengying is no longer confused about his age, but his face is a bit old-fashioned, and his beard and hair are prematurely gray. He looks like he is in his fifties, but he is tall, speaks and smiles informally, and the majesty he displays when he raises his hands and feet is impressive.
I can't help but be shocked.
While speaking, Xu Shengying also had bright eyes, which directly stated that military commanders should not interfere in politics.
Then, without waiting for Song Chengren to express himself, Xu Shengying seemed to be worried that the position he presented was not clear enough, and added: "If Senior Song came to visit this junior this time, it is for the contest between Zhou Shoufu and His Highness the Seventh Prince.
Needless to say, once the senior opens his mouth, the junior will see the guest off immediately! Senior Song, you should know the ancestral motto of my Xu family, not to interfere in politics easily, especially the contest between Zhou Shoufu and the seventh prince is related to the dethronement of the crown prince.
I, the Xu family, absolutely do not want to touch the matter of establishing the foundation."
Seeing that Xu Shengying expressed his attitude so rudely and directly, Song Chengren was not annoyed at all, and said with a smile: "The Xu family is absolutely unwilling to touch the matter of the crown prince's dethronement? Not necessarily? There are some things that even the Xu family cannot find.
Stay on your own, and according to my guess, the Xu family has actually entered the situation, because Xu Shoubei has long received a secret edict from His Majesty, asking Xu Shoubei to fully support His Highness the Seventh Prince at the critical moment, right?"
After hearing this, Xu Shengying's expression suddenly changed slightly, and it was obvious that Song Chengren had revealed the secret in her heart.
In fact, since the Xu family was the top noble family in the Ming Dynasty, and as the so-called "shared ties with the country", they were naturally the die-hard allies of Emperor Deqing. As long as Emperor Deqing did not seriously violate the family's interests, the Xu family would definitely treat Deqing.
Emperor Qing obeyed his orders.
In fact, the vast majority of the members of the "Imperial Party" were members of the Ming Dynasty's nobles.
Now, Emperor Deqing supports the seventh prince Zhu Hejian to take over the throne, so all the Xu family members, including Xu Shengying, must also hold the same attitude.
Song Chengren had already guessed that when Emperor Deqing arranged for the seventh prince Zhu Hejian to come to Nanjing for business, he would also convey a secret order to Xu Shengying, the Nanjing garrison, asking Xu Shengying to escort Zhu Hejian within the scope of his powers and responsibilities.
, if something goes wrong when Zhu Hejian is doing something, Xu Shengying can act cheaply at the critical moment and provide Zhu Hejian with the answer.
After seeing the change in Xu Shengying's expression, Song Chengren confirmed his suspicion.
Then, without waiting for Xu Shengying to speak, Song Chengren started a long speech on his own, telling Xu Shengying in detail Zhou Shangjing's speculation and evaluation of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, as well as the various suspicious aspects displayed by Zhu Hejian himself.
After hearing these speculations, Xu Shengying's expression first changed drastically, and then she fell into deep thought, secretly confirming it, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes.
If Zhou Shangjing's speculation is true, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian is an extreme and vicious person who leaves no room for action, and has even committed the crime of secretly raising dead men. The fall of the crown prince Zhu Heyu is entirely due to Zhu Hejian's secret mischief, then even if
The Xu family, who share the same family as the country, do not want to see such a person take over the position of crown prince, or even become the future Ninth Five-Year Plan.
But in the end, before Song Chengren finished speaking, Xu Shengying directly interrupted Song Chengren with a wave of his hand, and said in a cold voice with no expression: "Senior Song, there is no need to say any more. For those words you just said, I can just assume that I am deaf."
, didn’t hear it at all!”
Seeing that Song Chengren wanted to continue to finish his words despite his interruption, Xu Shengying warned sternly: "Senior Song, please don't make things difficult for me anymore, let alone harm the friendship between the Xu and Song families!"
Song Chengren was still not annoyed at all, and no longer insisted on finishing his words. He smiled and nodded: "Okay! I won't say any more! After all, with the Xu family's prominent status, even if they have made great contributions, they will serve your Majesty and the court.
It is impossible to go any further after eradicating a huge hidden danger, so it is best to do nothing and do nothing to still ensure the prosperity of the family. If more of some secrets are known, it will not be a good thing.
…
What's more, after all, they are just some unfounded speculations. Although Xu Shoubei is loyal to His Majesty, it is impossible to report these speculations without conclusive evidence to Your Majesty, otherwise it will only involve himself and the Xu family in trouble.
Among them... I completely understand Xu Shoubei's difficulties."
Hearing what Song Chengren said, Xu Shengying's expression softened slightly.
As Song Chengren said, for the Xu family, it is better to know as little as possible about some things. Once these secrets are known, it will only put the Xu family in a dilemma, and it will be difficult to choose between pros and cons. I don’t know whether they should report these secrets to De
Emperor Qing, any result will not make the Xu family more profitable.
Therefore, Xu Shengying has only one idea now, which is to send away Song Chengren, the god of plague, as soon as possible, and then forget everything he heard today.
However, before Xu Shengying could find an excuse to see off the guests, Song Chengren changed the topic again and said: "However, Xu Shoubei just mentioned the friendship between the Xu and Song families, which made me think... Over the years, the Xu family should be
They owed the Song family several favors. For example, eight years ago, the Xu family and the Song family both wanted to buy the Zhuangzi in Yangzhou, and the Song family took the initiative to give in. Another example is that three years ago, when the imperial court reorganized military supplies, the Nanjing garrison
The army has a large amount of military supplies that are missing, and it was the Song family who helped fill the hole... There are many similar favors, but I wonder if Xu Shoubei would like to return them?"
Xu Shengying's expression changed slightly again.
Over the years, the Song family has indeed looked for opportunities to make the Xu family owe a lot of favors.
Xu Shengying originally thought that these favors were just a normal act of flattery by the Song family, but she did not expect that Song Chengren would now use favors to force herself to submit.
"Don't worry, Xu Shoubei only needs to do a few simple things next, and it will not violate Xu Shoubei's principles and bottom line at all!"
Just when Xu Shengying wanted to directly refuse to return the favor, Song Chengren added with a smile.