The eunuch raised his head and glanced at Zhu Gaochi.
Then he said slowly and authentically: "It's Jiang Chen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Zhou Yan, the commander of the Jin Yiwei."
Zhu Gaochi frowned: "It's late at night and it's inconvenient for me to summon you. If you have anything to do, let him talk to you early tomorrow morning."
The eunuch said: "It's something urgent..."
Zhu Gaochi showed an unhappy look.
Of these two people, one is in the Ministry of War and the other is in the Jinyi Guards. Their identities are relatively sensitive.
He is the prince, and it is very inappropriate to meet them privately in the middle of the night.
He stood up and said, "Did you tell me what happened?"
"This... I have never heard of it, but it seems to be quite urgent."
Zhu Gaochi was quite worried, fearing that something urgent might happen and it would be delayed.
But he felt it was inappropriate, so he immediately said to the eunuch: "Go and ask."
The eunuch nodded, went out, and came back a moment later, saying: "Your Highness, the two of them said... this matter is of great importance... I have to meet His Highness before I can talk about it."
Zhu Gaochi said angrily: "If this is not true, then just don't see me."
As he spoke, he fluttered his sleeves and looked angry.
But then, Zhu Gaochi said again: "Order all the scholars from Chunfang on the left and right sides of Zhan Shifu to come, and then summon these two people to see you."
After hearing this, the eunuch hurriedly passed on the report.
Calling all the subordinate officials from Chunfang to the left and right would not be regarded as a private meeting, but would be an open and honest meeting.
Zhu Gaochi did this because he was afraid of words. Although the emperor now trusted him as the prince, as a prince, he still had to worry about many things.
He has a gentle temperament, but after all, he still doesn't have a drastic side. He heard that there was an urgent matter, but he didn't dare to neglect it.
When the subordinate officials from Chunfang arrived, Jiang Chen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Zhou Yan, the commander of Jinyiwei, also walked in and saluted them together.
Zhu Gaochi then said: "Why is it so important?"
Zhou Yan looked worried and said: "Your Highness, I heard that there are chaotic party activities in the city. I feel that the situation is urgent, so I came here to report it."
Zhu Gaochi took a deep look at Zhou Yan and said, "Has this matter been reported to Nanzhen Fusi?"
Zhou Yan was stunned. The person he was in charge of was Beizhen Fusi, and there was also a commander named Tong Zhi above him.
Zhou Yandao: "I think the situation is urgent, so I should report to Your Highness. Moreover, the commander is in Jiangxi, and now Nanzhen Fusi is there. Although Chen Li, a colleague, is in charge of the overall situation,... Nanzhen Fusi is outside the capital.
Qixia..."
Zhu Gaochi frowned and then said: "A chaotic party, what kind of chaotic party is there?"
Zhou Yandao: "The remaining members of the White Lotus Sect."
"Hasn't the White Lotus Sect been completely eliminated?" Zhu Gaochi said in a bad tone.
Zhou Yandao: "Now it has resurfaced, but it is more secretive than before. It was only after His Majesty went to Jiangxi that he started to act again. It seems that he has an agenda. Seeing that this matter is of great importance, I came to report it overnight."
The subordinate officials of Chunfang on the side looked at me and I looked at you. Now that His Majesty is not in the capital, something like this suddenly happened, which made them wary.
You must know that the identity of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is extremely embarrassing. Although at this time, the Crown Prince oversees the country and can deal with ordinary affairs, but...
Once an emergency occurs and the guards are mobilized without authorization, unusual consequences may occur if no one causes trouble.
But if there is no mobilization, if something happens, it may be another situation.
In other words, no matter what decision you make, you may get burned.
Zhu Gaochi was calm, looked at Zhou Yan and said, "What do you want me to do?"
"The matter is urgent. What I am worried about is the safety of the Forbidden City and the East Palace, but... it is inappropriate to disturb the guards without permission. I discussed it with the Minister of War, Zuo Shilang, and it is better... to gather some local soldiers and horses from the five cities.
I wonder if it is feasible for the idle local Jinyi Colonel to protect the East Palace in advance to prevent trouble before it happens?"
Not mobilizing troops on a large scale, but using only a small number of troops to protect some key points to prevent unexpected events. This is obviously the safest arrangement.
Zhu Gaochi seemed hesitant and looked around: "What do you think, sir?"
Someone stood up and muttered: "Your Highness, this is a solution that has the best of both worlds."
Zhu Gaochi thought for a while and said: "But what if there is really a rebellion and the attack is not on the Forbidden City and the East Palace? The Forbidden City and the East Palace are already guarded by guards, so there is no need to worry... But how can the soldiers and civilians in the capital abandon them?
regardless of?"
"Your Highness... is the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince should be cautious when acting. If you want to protect the safety of the city, you must mobilize the guards of each guard. But what if... there is no chaos? At that time, His Majesty returns to Beijing... I'm afraid...
…”
He wanted to say that he was just afraid that His Majesty would get suspicious.
You know, this kind of thing is very sensitive. In peacetime, if you dare to mobilize the guards with just any excuse, is that okay?
Zhu Gaochi said: "We might as well summon Duke Qi and Duke Cheng to discuss..."
Zuo Chunfang's subordinate officer immediately said: "Your Highness, this is absolutely impossible. I think that Zhou Qian's idea is the safest at the moment. Things are not clear now... It is better to be cautious."
Zhu Gaochi pondered, thinking about what everyone said.
At this moment, he suddenly thought of Zhang Anshi. If Zhang Anshi was here, he wouldn't have to be so timid, and his father would never suspect him.
He has read too much history and naturally knows that the most difficult thing in the world is the prince.
He raised his head, glanced at Zhou Yan, and said: "For the time being, we will follow this plan. There is no need to worry about the Forbidden City and the East Palace. If there is a chaos caused by the rebel party, Zhou Yan, please mobilize your troops to protect the soldiers and civilians first. The East Palace
We have our own imperial guards and garrison, so don’t worry about it.”
Zhou Yan then said with tears in his eyes: "His Royal Highness loves the people more than ever before..."
Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and said: "Okay, it's getting late, so just go."
The two resigned.
Zhu Gaochi frowned deeply. His father was not in the capital now, and something like this happened again...
So he pondered for a moment, asked someone to get pen, ink, paper and inkstone, wrote a memorial, and ordered it to be sent to Jiangxi as soon as possible.
Then he wrote a note to Lord Wenyuan, thinking that he would wait until dawn tomorrow to go to the Forbidden City to see his mother and discuss it with her before making a decision.
…………
It was late at night, but the stars in the sky were covered by dark clouds.
Someone hurriedly came to a deep house.
Here, there are already people waiting anxiously.
This man came in and said excitedly: "It's done."
The people sitting upright here stood up one after another, and all of them showed excitement.
"Okay, very good."
"In this way, we can act immediately."
"It's not too late, we should take action immediately."
After everyone said that, they looked at the person in the main position.
Under the spotlight, the person sitting on the main seat nodded and said: "In that case, you can take action."
After hearing this, the visitor hurried away again.
…………
Boom...
In the middle of the night, there was a roar of gunpowder, and a bright light suddenly flashed, as if the entire dark earth was illuminated at once.
Then, many people in the capital woke up from their sweet dreams.
Zhu Gaochi, who was in the East Palace, got up and couldn't help but panicked, saying hurriedly: "What's the matter? What happened?"
He jumped onto his shoes and stood up.
Crown Princess Zhang also woke up with a start, and her first reaction was: "Come, come and take a look at Zhanji."
Then, he also started to get busy with his shoes.
A eunuch came in a hurry and said hoarsely and tiredly: "Your Highness, someone seems to have used gunpowder. There was a fire suddenly at the Confucius Temple. From a distance... it seemed that there was a faint cry to kill..."
Zhu Gaochi was shocked and said: "There is really a thief, someone... someone..."
However, Mrs. Zhang stepped forward, gently stroked Zhu Gaochi's back, and said softly: "Your Highness, it's just some chaos caused by the chaos. Since this is the direction of the Confucius Temple, then nine times out of ten...it must not be chaos caused by the officers and soldiers. These
It’s just a mob, Your Highness doesn’t need to be worried at this time…”
Only then did Zhu Gaochi regain his composure.
So he quickly put on his outer robe and went to the main hall of Zhanshi Mansion.
The assistant officers on duty rushed over in a hurry, all looking panicked.
Zhu Gaochi asked: "What's the situation outside?"
"I heard that there are a lot of gangsters, but what is the situation? Now at night, but..."
Zhu Gaochi said: "There are many people at the Confucius Temple, so we should immediately order the imperial guards to suppress the rebels."
"Your Highness... I'm just afraid..."
Zhu Gaochi suddenly remembered something at this moment: "Where is Zhou Yan, the commander of the Jinyi Guards?"
"Oh, just now he ordered someone to report that he was taking someone to the Confucius Temple."
Zhu Gaochi regained his composure for a moment and nodded: "Fortunately, he has been prepared, so there is no need to panic. He can just wait until dawn. I will give orders from my palace and all guards in the capital will be on strict defense..."
This night was very noisy and chaotic. It was not until the first light of dawn that everyone in the East Palace felt a little at ease.
Immediately afterwards, a eunuch hurried in and said: "Your Highness, the rebellion has been put down."
Zhu Gaochi suddenly stood up, opened his eyes slightly and said, "Where are the rebels?"
The eunuch then said: "Kill them all. There are hundreds or even thousands of them. Their arsenal was also found. There was a large amount of gunpowder and even swords... There were even fire blunderbuss. They should be related to the White Lotus Sect.
Fortunately, Zhou Qian responded in time. After the rebels took action, he immediately led his men to kill the general, risking his own arrows. Seeing his bravery, the thieves were frightened and were killed by him. Before they could cause more trouble, they were killed.
They dispersed in a cacophony, and Zhou Qian saw an opportunity and continued to pursue and fight fiercely, finally stabilizing the situation."
Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but be moved. He nodded and said, "Where are they?"
"See you outside the East Palace."
"Order him to come and see you."
Soon, the official Zhou Yan came in.
At this time, he was covered in blood and his hands seemed to be injured. One of his little fingers was cut in half by a sword and was still bleeding.
Zhou Yan had a tired look on his face. When he saw Zhu Gaochi, he bowed his head and said, "I'm so humble and fortunate to have lived up to my destiny."
Zhu Gaochi couldn't help sighing and said to Zhou Yan: "It's really not easy. Zhou Qing warned you first and killed the thieves later. You have made outstanding achievements. I will repay your merits in the future."
Zhou Yan choked with sobs and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince favors you, but I am too humble to deserve it. This humiliating move... is just... because the incident happened in the Confucius Temple, and because there were many people there, I was afraid that the rebel party would harm innocent people, so I didn't care about anything else.
He led his men and horses to leave the East Palace and went to the Confucius Temple to clean up the thieves. Fortunately, the thieves did not take the opportunity to attack the East Palace. If something went wrong in the East Palace and I rashly attacked the Confucius Temple, causing His Highness to be frightened, I would have died without mercy.
"
After hearing Zhou Yan's words, Zhu Gaochi moved slightly. He took a deep look at Zhou Yan and nodded.
Then he said: "You have worked hard, Zhou Qing. Go and have a rest. I will go into the palace immediately to pay my respects to the Queen. Come and ask the imperial doctor to treat Zhou Qing's injuries."
…
Soon, Zhu Gaochi entered the palace, and only tiredly left the Forbidden City at noon.
But at this time, a piece of news was sent quickly.
"Your Highness..."
In the East Palace, before Zhu Gaochi could sit down, many officials from the court came.
The first person was Jin Youzi, a scholar from Wenyuan Pavilion who came here.
Jin Youzi saluted Zhu Gaochi, and then said: "Your Highness...just now there is news from Jiangxi. Water thieves have attacked Jiujiang City, and His Majesty and Duke Wei are all in Jiujiang City...I heard...that the city has been completely slaughtered...
"
After Zhu Gaochi heard this, his face suddenly lost all color, and he froze in place without saying a word.
This news was like a bolt from the blue to him.
Jin Youzi led everyone to bow down and said one after another: "Now, rumors are spreading inside and outside the capital... I am wondering whether the chaos last night is related to this matter..."
Zhu Gaochi didn't say a word, but looked extremely shocked.
Another censor, Liu Mingdao, said: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, I have also learned the news... This news should be close to home. Now that there are internal and external troubles, Your Highness the Crown Prince... It is not the time to grieve yet, so you should step forward immediately to stabilize the situation."
Keep in mind the overall situation, if not... I'm afraid there will be a big disaster! For the sake of our ancestors and the country, please His Highness the Crown Prince..."
Zhu Gaochi murmured: "This is impossible, absolutely impossible, what kind of thief..."
He stood up, but more and more ministers came. When everyone came in, they all bowed down without saying a word.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince..." Jin Youzi said: "Your Highness should stabilize the situation as soon as possible. Now rumors are spreading in both the government and the public... If there are more rebellious parties causing chaos..."
Zhu Gaochi's eyes suddenly became moist.
It felt like my body had received a heavy blow.
After taking a deep breath, he stood up hard.
But when the man stood up, he was swaying, and a eunuch was busy holding him up.
Seeing the palace full of ministers, they prostrated themselves on the ground, as if waiting for something.
Zhu Gaochi said: "I am going to see my mother..."
"Your Highness..." Jin Youzi said sternly: "Your Highness is the crown prince. In emergency situations, you should put the overall situation first. Why don't you ask Your Highness to stabilize the situation first, and then come to see him again."
At this moment, Zhu Gaochi only felt that his mind was in chaos.
He laughed when he thought of his father holding him in his arms and caressing him when he was a child.
I also thought of a boy named Zhang Anshi when I was older. At that time, he was only as tall as his own waist. He stared at him with a pitiful appearance, obediently reading behind the papers. However, his pitiful appearance was clearly pretending. From time to time,
Yes, the little guy was always turning around at first, looking absent-minded.
All the past events, but in this moment, they are passing through my mind like a revolving lantern.
In my ears, someone begged: "Your Highness, Your Highness..."
Zhu Gaochi took a deep breath and held back the tears in his eyes. As if he was trying hard to suppress the pain in his heart, he opened his mouth and said: "My fate... Duke Cheng, Duke Qi, and Duke Wei are not allowed to have an audience with them. The guards in the capital are not allowed to do so."
With the permission of this palace, no one is allowed to transfer it without permission, and all officials are ordered to be on duty in each government office. Without the decree, they are not allowed to enter the palace. Liu Rong, Hu Guang, and Jin Youzi, the great scholars of Wenyuan Pavilion, came to see them together with the ministers of various ministries..."
He added: "Order someone... to go to Jiujiang Mansion quickly to find out the real situation, and order... Jin Yiwei..."
Speaking of Jinyiwei... Zhu Gaochi seemed to be unable to control himself anymore and couldn't help crying.
Because he thought of the Jin Yiwei, he couldn't help but think of that person again. At this time, he wiped away his tears, but he had to say: "I ordered the Jin Yiwei to command the envoy Qian to serve Zhou Yan, and temporarily command the Jin Yiwei to command the envoy to control the north and south of Fusi."
And thousands of households to prevent the night from being too late."
After hearing this, everyone said one after another: "I obey the order."
Zhu Gaochi thought of something again, so he said again: "Summon Yang Pu, a scholar of Zhan Shifu, to come and see him."
As he spoke, he took a deep breath and then added: "Get ready to drive and go to see the Queen Mother."
After receiving the order, the ministers dispersed one after another.
Zhu Gaochi had to endure his grief and quickly went to the palace to see him.
And at this time.
Zhu Di and Zhang Anshizheng took a boat and went down the river.
Zhu Di looked at the rushing river and couldn't help but said with some emotion: "I still like Beiping. The south of the Yangtze River is really a place to kill people's ambitions. When we get to Beiping, there is a vast plain. It should also snow at this time. If we go out of the fortress at this time,
There is no human habitation for hundreds of miles, and it is very enjoyable to ride a horse."
Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "Your Majesty is really elegant, but I am different. I like warm places."
Zhu Di glared at him and said, "It's obvious that he wants to enjoy himself, so there's no need to say that he likes a warm place."
Zhang Anshi said confidently: "This is different. Rich people are always served by people everywhere. Even on a deserted island, they live like gods..."
After Zhu Di heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said: "This is reasonable, right..."
Zhu Di remembered something and said, "What do you think of the prince?"
Zhu Di's sudden words confused Zhang Anshiwen.
Zhang Anshi raised his head and glanced at Zhu Di, only to see Zhu Di looking at him with encouraging eyes and a smile.
Zhang Anshi also admired his quick response and said without much thought: "Brother-in-law... no, His Highness the Crown Prince... is the most filial."
After hearing this, Zhu Di laughed and said, "You are quite cunning."
In fact, Zhang Anshi's answer is almost a standard answer.
He couldn't say how strong his brother-in-law was, because his son's ability made parents feel relieved, but after all, the prince and Zhu Di were not only father and son, but also monarchs and ministers.
Therefore, Zhang Anshi's only answer is that the prince is extremely filial. Anyway, he is a filial child, so you can do it yourself.
Zhu Di frowned slightly and said, "His temperament is different from that of Taizu and me."
Zhang Anshi: "..."
Zhu Di's eyes gradually became darker: "That's why I'm worried..."
"I wonder what your Majesty is worried about?" Zhang Anshi couldn't help but ask.