The timing of Zhou Shangjing's appearance seemed to have been carefully planned, which made Zhu Hejian feel increasingly uncomfortable.
Because the timing of Zhou Shangjing's appearance was too unlucky, Zhu Hejian was not only completely unable to figure out Zhou Shangjing's true intentions, but also had no chance to continue testing. However, his own follow-up plan was already on target and had to be launched.
This situation simply made Zhu Hejian like a thorn in his back.
But the situation has developed to such an extent that Zhu Hejian can only bite the bullet and continue to perform.
After hearing Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren's "firm" objections, Zhu Hejian immediately looked serious and said righteously: "Zhou Shoufu and Wang Taishi, the two seniors are deeply grateful for their care and support, but I still think that they are
What a senior said is inappropriate! Even though the hostages in the charity hall are all helpless orphans and widowed mothers, they are also people under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. How can they be so despised?
Mencius said, "The people value the king more than the king." But the younger generation is just an ordinary prince! Although he was born in the Heavenly Family, he would never dare to say that he is more valuable than ordinary people! What's more, it is precisely because the younger generation was born in the Heavenly Family that he has become a noble prince.
Since you have been supported by the people of the world since you were young, you need to be grateful and do your best to repay the people!"
As he spoke, Zhu Hejian's expression became more and more righteous, shining brightly under the surrounding lights, as if a sage was alive. His voice became louder and louder, and his tone became more firm: "Since those gangsters have put forward conditions,
If I want this junior to exchange for the many hostages in the charity hall, then I will agree to it! As long as I can successfully rescue those innocent people, even if I risk my life and step into the tiger's den, what do I have to fear?"
For Zhou Shangjing, Wang Baoren, and Lu De, Zhu Hejian's statement was no surprise at all, and even the details of the lines were exactly what they expected.
However, when the surrounding Jin Yiwei and the military attachés of the Nanjing garrison who did not know the inside story heard Zhu Hejian's words, they were all shocked and admired extremely, and they all looked at Zhu Hejian's wonderful performance in disbelief.
Zhu Hejian, as the prince of the Tian family and a future prince who is very likely to inherit the throne, is actually willing to go to the tiger's den and use himself as a hostage in exchange for the safety of more than a hundred orphans and widows... Is there really such a cruel thing in this world?
people?
However, no matter whether the people around him were moved by admiration, disapproval, or ridicule, on the surface they still had the same reaction and expressed their opposition again.
At this moment, even if they know that Zhu Hejian will not encounter any danger at all after becoming a hostage, they must not show any support. Otherwise, even if Zhu Hejian is safe in the end, they will definitely be pursued by the court in the future.
responsibility.
However, just as everyone was giving words of advice, Zhu Hejian looked stern and shouted loudly: "I have made up my mind! You don't need to persuade me any more!"
Later, Zhu Hejian's expression softened slightly, and he looked at Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren again, and explained sincerely: "The two seniors don't need to try to dissuade you anymore. The junior has already thought clearly! If you reject the gangster,
Their conditions will only make these gangsters despise the court and the royal family more and more, thinking that the people of our Tian family are a group of wastes who only know how to pamper themselves and have no responsibility, that is, a group of ruthless people who don't care about the people.
Senior, and once this kind of thing spreads among the people, it will definitely chill the people of the world! Therefore, this junior must agree to their conditions, not only to rescue the many hostages in the charity hall, but also to maintain the prestige of the court and my royal family!
And the two seniors don't have to worry about the danger that the junior will encounter after being taken hostage. The junior has carefully considered it. Although these gangsters are bold, they will not have the courage to hurt the junior. It only depends on their willingness to negotiate with the government and the conditions they propose.
Although they are a bit harsh, they are not pure lunatics! So they must be very clear about the consequences of hurting the juniors!
They want the junior to become the new hostage. The reason is actually very simple. Compared with holding hundreds of hostages in the charity hall, it is more convenient to just hold the junior hostage when escaping from the government roundup! If the junior has expected it, it is not bad.
, after they successfully escape outside Nanjing, they will definitely abide by their promise and release the juniors quickly!
After thinking about it, I think that agreeing to their conditions is the best way to solve the current dilemma. As long as we can successfully rescue the many hostages in the charity hall and wait until they release the junior, we will have no worries.
If we continue to hunt them down, even if these gangsters manage to escape from Nanjing, will they be able to escape from Nanzhili?"
Under normal circumstances, Zhu Hejian's reasons may seem high-sounding, but in fact they cannot stand up to scrutiny and are not enough to convince anyone. As a descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang, he actually talked about Mencius's words. This matter itself is extremely
absurd.
If Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren were not here, the Jinyi Guards and the military attaches of the Nanjing garrison would definitely have prevented Zhu Hejian from personally involved in the danger, even if they committed the following crimes.
But at this moment, Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren were here. The military attachés of Jin Yiwei and the Nanjing garrison were not qualified to intervene and expressed their opinions. They could only look at Zhou and Wang eagerly, hoping that Zhou and Wang could stop Zhu Hejian.
An unwise and risky decision.
It's a pity that Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren had different considerations, but they both wanted to push the boat along and secretly promote Zhu Hejian's follow-up plan.
Therefore, under the expectant eyes of all the military attaches, Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren seemed to be persuaded by Zhu Hejian's reasons. They were both silent and hesitant, and they did not express their "firm attitude" directly like they did just now.
be opposed to.
After seeing Zhou and Wang's behavior, Zhu Hejian first took a closer look at Zhou Shangjing - he was still not sure what Zhou Shangjing was planning, but when the situation developed to this point, he could only forcefully
He kept his scalp and continued to act - and then he looked solemn again and asked without any doubt: "What? Do the two seniors still want to prevent the junior from taking responsibility? If the prestige of the Tianjia is damaged, the people will be disappointed?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhou Shangjing sighed, with a mixture of embarrassment and admiration in his expression. He shook his head and said: "Since His Highness has made up his mind, I deeply admire him, so naturally I will not stop His Highness anymore.
An act of benevolence and justice! I just hope that after His Highness is personally involved in danger, he will put his own safety first. If any accident happens to His Highness next, I will die without mercy!"
Wang Baoren turned his head and glanced at Zhou Shangjing. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said: "In order to save the many hostages in the charity hall, His Highness would rather risk his own life. Such a righteous act is enough to move the world and will be remembered forever.
The name will last forever! Since His Highness is so determined, why should I worry about the criticism from the government and the public? I will accompany His Highness on the adventure!"
Lu De even saluted Zhu Hejian on the spot, bowed to the ground, and said in an excited tone: "There is such a great person like His Highness in the Tian family. It is a blessing for the country! A blessing for the court! A blessing for the people! I believe what happened today will spread.
After that, everyone in the world will praise His Highness for loving the people like a son! I also hope that Your Highness will give you permission to let the students go with Your Highness!"
Just like that, as Zhou and Wang expressed their approval, and Lu De spared no effort to add fuel to the fire, the surrounding Jin Yiwei and the military attachés of the Nanjing garrison who didn't know the inside story had no chance to stop the opposition, and just looked on dumbfounded.
The four people, Zhu Hejian, Zhou Shangjing, Wang Baoren and Lu De, acted in perfect harmony.
The exchange between Zhu Hejian and many hostages in the charity hall was quickly determined as if it were child's play.
*
Then, Zhu Hejian flatly rejected Lu De's proposal to go with him, and just arranged for Lu De to enter the charity hall, negotiate with the gangsters again, and inform the gangsters of Zhu Hejian's decision.
And just when Lu De entered the charity hall again to negotiate with the gangsters, Zhu Hejian seized the last opportunity and used various words to continuously test Zhou Shangjing's true intentions.
Seeing that his plan was about to come to fruition, Zhou Shangjing's unclear intentions and suspicious behavior made Zhu Hejian increasingly uneasy. He always felt that Zhou Shangjing had dug a trap ahead and was waiting for him to jump into it.
It's a pity that Zhou Shangjing is always flawless and has no flaws to find. He can often deftly resolve Zhu Hejian's probing words in just a few words. Even Huo Zhengyuan's current whereabouts are not revealed to Zhu Hejian at all. He just means that Huo Zhengyuan has something else.
Thoughts and actions had long been separated from him, leaving Zhu Hejian with nothing to gain.
Next comes the tense and cumbersome exchange.
According to Lu De's negotiation results, the gangsters in the charity hall need to release half of the hostages first. After Zhu Hejian enters the charity hall alone and becomes a new hostage, the gangsters will release the other half of the hostages again.
This series of events were all part of Zhu Hejian's plan. Jiang Xiao and the "Chaofeng" dead men in the charity hall also actively cooperated, so naturally no accidents would happen.
After seeing the gangsters in the charity hall releasing half of the hostages as agreed, Zhu Hejian turned to Zhou Shangjing and Wang Baoren, nodded and smiled: "It seems that these gangsters are indeed willing to abide by their promise, so the two seniors
There is no need to worry about the safety of this junior. If nothing unexpected happens, this junior will be able to meet the two seniors again soon!"
After saying that, Zhu Hejian strode resolutely towards the shantang.
*
As Zhu Hejian strode into the Nanjing Charity Hall, the gangsters kept their promise and quickly released the other half of the hostages.
Among the many hostages, most of them were safe and sound. Only the largest sponsor of Nanjing Shantang, the imperial businessman Ge Zhenye, was tortured for some reason and fell into a coma. His life was even in danger because of his serious injuries.
He could die at any time.
But at this time, because Zhu Hejian went to a dangerous place and became a hostage, no one cared about the life or death of this "Ge Buddha". Everyone was paying close attention to the changes in the situation in the charity hall, worrying that the gangsters would
Take action to hurt Zhu Hejian.
According to the requirements of the gangsters in the Shantang, the government still needs to prepare a hundred fast horses and various supplies for them. They also need to open the East Gate of Nanjing and clear the road leading to the East Gate from the Shantang so that they can have no problem.
He quickly escaped from Nanjing city.
While the Jin Yiwei and the Nanjing garrison were rushing to meet the various demands of the robbers, Zhou Shangjing was taking his time, taking his time, as if the situation at hand did not matter at all, and even sent people near Nanjing Shantang.
I found a room not far away to take a break from the wind, and occasionally a smile of unknown meaning flashed across my old face.
After Wang Baoren noticed Zhou Shangjing's behavior, and then thought of Zhou Shangjing's various strange remarks tonight, he also thought that Zhou Shangjing had other agendas, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Baoren suddenly sneered, waved his hand to summon several close aides, and explained certain tasks to them in detail.
Obviously, Wang Baoren also had other plans.
During this period of time, Wang Baoren, like Zhou Shangjing, had been watching with a cold eye the constant conflicts between Zhu Hejian and the gentry forces in Nanjing. Although he also secretly supported Zhu Hejian, he never personally took action from beginning to end, nor did he directly use his own power.
Intervene in the situation.
At this moment, seeing that the situation in Nanjing was about to change drastically, and it was very likely that Zhu Hejian and Zhou Shangjing would soon decide the outcome, Wang Baoren finally decided to take action.
After giving instructions to several close aides about their tasks, Wang Baoren turned and walked towards the room where Zhou Shangjing was taking a rest from the wind.
The room Zhou Shangjing was looking for was only about ten meters away from the Nanjing Shantang. It faced the gate of the Nanjing Shantang. Sitting in the room, he could directly observe the changes in the situation of the Nanjing Shantang at close range.
When Wang Baoren stepped into the room, he saw Zhou Shangjing sitting at a round table. He had already sent someone to bring tea cups and ginseng slices, and he was drinking ginseng tea to refresh himself.
Wang Baoren sat directly next to Zhou Shangjing and took the initiative to say: "Zhou Shoufu, you and I are just waiting for the situation to change. We have nothing to do anyway, how about making a bet?"
Zhou Shangjing turned his head and glanced at Wang Baoren and asked, "Oh? Master Wang is so interested? But I don't know what kind of bet you want to make?"
Wang Baoren said slowly: "Just bet on one thing...I predict that by tomorrow evening, your best friend, Song Chengren, the head of the Song family, will definitely plead guilty and become a prisoner of the government, and Zhou Shou will assist you...
By then we will no longer be able to protect him!"
Zhou Shangjing's eyes flashed, then he nodded with a smile and said: "Okay! Let's make this bet! I will also imitate Master Wang and predict that by tomorrow evening, Song Chengren will not only not become a prisoner, but will become the seat of His Highness the Seventh Prince.
Honorable guest, and His Highness the Seventh Prince will take the initiative to bow his head to Song Chengren and admit his mistake, how about that?"
During the tit-for-tat confrontation, the two looked at each other and smiled, both confident and calm.