Chapter 176: Heaven's Law does not allow human beings and gods to be indignant
The afternoon sun penetrated through the leaves, and the ground was mottled. The rootless duckweed in the pool was floating feebly in the small water, and the willow branches by the pool were hanging lazily without any strength. Zhang Ning said goodbye when he left.
I was reminded of the ancient saying of "breaking willows and giving gifts", but in the end I didn't do such a pretentious thing.
A group of people saw Lao Xu to the intersection. Lao Xu said: "My boss is staying here, so I will send him here. I will come back after I finish my work."
"Old Xu..." Zhang Ning stopped him. He wanted to say that this errand was very dangerous, but he didn't say it. Old Xu looked back at him and waited for words, so he could only say: "Take care, if things don't go well, just don't worry."
There is no need to force it to be completed. Protect yourself first. I will take good care of Wenjun."
Lao Xu cupped his fists and bowed in salute, then got on the horse, kicked the horse gently on the belly and left. A cloud of dust rose up on the road. Zhang Ning stood there and watched, sighing slightly, but seeing Xu Wenjun beside him, he was still reluctant to leave.
He looked at his retreating figure.
At this moment, Zhuangzi's steward slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, I forgot that I also hid a jar of good wine. I should take it out to see him off."
Zhang Ning said: "Keep it and drink together when the others come back."
He turned around and looked at everyone again, and said: "Take some rest today. Tomorrow morning you will go out to set up sentries. There must be informants within a radius of at least five miles. If there is any abnormality, you can know in advance."
…
The gates of Le'an City are not closed during the day, but the guards have been strengthened, and entry and exit are strictly checked. People like Lao Xu who ride horses and speak with foreign accents are immediately stopped by the sergeant. As soon as the sergeant interrogates him, he said happily:
"A small citizen came from Nanjing to deliver a letter to Mr. Zhu, the Minister of War."
The sergeant was skeptical, but after hearing that the other party reported that he was a well-established person, he did not dare to make a mistake easily, so he asked his companions to watch, and went in to report the message. After a while, a leather-armored military attache came out, and the iron sheet on his body was banged up with the knife.
"Ding-dong" rang out, and he walked straight over and stared at Lao Xu for a moment: "Are you from Nanjing?"
Lao Xu cupped his hands, straightened his back and replied briefly: "Yes."
The military attache said, "I see you are not familiar with our place. Come, help him lead his horse and lead the way to Mr. Zhu's house."
After hearing this, Lao Xu said: "It is true that Mr. Laojun is here."
The military attache opened his mouth and smiled and waved his hand. It was actually quite easy for him to do this. If Lao Xu was really from Mr. Zhu's family, it would be a favor to ask someone to send it to him; if it was a piece of nonsense, sending it to Zhu Heng would be equivalent to
If you send it to the official, you will be taken down directly.
So a sergeant in front led the way, and the other followed. Lao Xu walked in the middle and entered the city easily. The atmosphere in the city was not right. There were many soldiers wearing uniforms and strong military skills coming and going, but there were not many civilians walking around.
After walking for a while, the three of them came to a Zhumen mansion. The sergeant leading the horse pointed to Lao Xu and asked him to go to the front: "The residence of Mr. Zhu, Minister of War, is right here." The sergeant behind him walked up the stone steps and the doorway.
The slaves chatted for a while. Then the two slaves came down and said to Lao Xu: "Just put down the horse. Our people will take care of it for you. Come in and talk to us."
Old Xu turned around and thanked the two sergeants again, and then walked calmly to the door with his servants. Old Xu said: "A fellow countryman told me that it was a letter from Mr. Zhu's family that he had to hand over in person.
Mr. Zhu has it in his hands. I dare not neglect it as I have been entrusted by others. Please let me know and let me see Mr. Zhu. This is my famous post."
A servant answered the call and said, "Our master has a lot to do and may not be free. I'll bring the name card up and ask. You wait first."
Lao Xu was then taken to an inverted room not far from the entrance to the courtyard. Two people were guarding the door, but they were still polite and served him tea.
After waiting for a while, he saw a middle-aged man with a long face and a beard walking in with official steps, followed by an old man. Xu Guangfu guessed that this person was probably Zhu Heng. People who are high-ranking officials are not very imposing.
Same thing. Unexpectedly, it was quite easy to meet the so-called Minister of War. I guess Zhu Heng must be worried about his family.
Xu Guangfu hurriedly stood up and bowed: "I see you, Mr. Zhu."
"No, no." The bearded middle-aged man nodded, "You are here to deliver a letter, a letter home from Nanjing?"
Xu Guangxu took out an envelope from his arms and presented it with both hands: "Please take a look at it, Mr. Zhu."
The old man next to him took the answer. Zhu Heng turned around and sat down on a chair. He shook his sleeves and reached for the envelope, saying: "Go down and receive the reward..." When he saw the words on the envelope, he immediately said, "
"Wait a minute." The two young men at the door walked in immediately and stood there not far away.
Probably because Zhu Heng's background was not bad, and his family members were also literate, it was unlikely that he would ask someone else to write a letter to his family, so Zhu Heng became suspicious just by looking at the envelope.
He raised his head slightly and glanced at Xu Guangkui. His eyes were sharp. If he were to look at ordinary people, this look would be quite intimidating. He stopped talking and calmly opened the envelope, took out the letter, and lowered his eyes to read.
At this moment, Lao Xu said: "My lord, please forgive me. I did not intend to deceive the common people. I was caught at the city gate, so I had to make this decision."
Zhu Heng was still reading the words on the paper. He was silent for a long time. He must be very interested, otherwise he would not have to read for so long. After a while, he gently put down the paper and looked up at Lao Xu from head to toe.
, that look made people tremble all over, and he finally said: "You didn't write this word."
"Your Excellency is wise." Lao Xu replied stiffly. He didn't talk much, so he wasn't really a good lobbyist.
The old man next to him glanced at Zhu Heng for instructions. Zhu Heng raised his hand to stop him and asked: "Who are you delivering the letter for?" Old Xu replied: "My master."
After hearing this, the old servant standing there changed his face and shouted: "Whose last name is that?"
Old Xu didn't even look at him seriously, instead he laughed and said: "Don't the King of Han still need a petition? My master said that only Mr. Zhu can do anything in front of the King of Han, so he asked me to send a petition here so that I can collect some rewards."
Zhu Heng said to the old servant: "Don't make mistakes." He turned around and said kindly to Lao Xu: "I think he thinks highly of me, but he just overstated it. The King of Han has many civil servants and good generals on his left and right. The epistle is very weighty, but it is courageous.
But it’s a bit too big.”
Lao Xu said: "My master said that it is known all over the world that the King of Han has raised an army, and the army of the imperial court is about to arrive. At this time of victory or defeat, such a statement is not out of place. Besides, my master dares to write this statement.
It is clear at a glance whether the enemy is a friend; if it is inconvenient for him to come forward, why would Mr. Zhu force himself?"
Zhu Heng laughed twice and said: "That's right, that's right. If the imperial court's secretary wrote this article, wouldn't he be quartered by five horses when he returned home? Even the secretary couldn't write such an article. Come, take the guest down and settle him down.
Hospitality.”
After Lao Xu left, Zhu Heng also left the living room of the back room and went straight back to the study to order several staff to enter the house.
After reading the memorandum, all the friends were amazed and said, "This memorandum has spread all over the world, and every word is like a sword. It made Emperor Xuande of the capital angry to death!" "My lord, you have made another great contribution in front of the King of Han. Congratulations."
What did Zhang Ning write in this memorandum? Apart from some great principles and slogans of conquest, there was actually only one main content: discussing the strange death of Zhu Gaochi, the eldest brother of Emperor Xuande and the King of Han.
The article states that Zhu Gaochi died at the end of May in the first year of Hongxi. Rumors that Emperor Xiandeng appeared in Nanjing at the end of May (there is no literal evidence to verify, it is enough to deceive people who do not know the truth); however, Zhu Zhanji of Xuande arrived in Beijing on the third day of June.
The boundaries of Zhili are well-documented. What is even more strange is that Xia Yuanji, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, the "unpredictable prophet", led his troops to welcome Zhu Zhanji at Marco Polo Bridge early.
Doubts arise. The distance between the northern and southern capitals is more than 2,000 miles. The news of the death of the late emperor reached Nanjing, and Zhu Zhanji went from Nanjing to Beijing. The trip was more than 4,000 miles and was completed in a few days. It is not like this speed.
In the event of an unexpected incident, it would be more reasonable to be prepared in advance. How did Xia Yuanji know that Zhu Zhanji would arrive at Marco Polo Bridge in a few days?
After Zhu Zhanji arrived in the capital, the ministers were full of rumors and should not be taken lightly. Zhu Zhanji confidently replied that "the world's artifacts cannot be obtained by intelligence. Kuang's ancestors have a successful destiny, who dares to have evil intentions", which showed that he was confident and had a premeditated plan; on the other hand, the new regime
There has never been any mention of how the late emperor died. Everyone in the world only knows that he died suddenly.
The conclusion is that the death of the late emperor Zhu Gaochi was very strange and was a conspiracy designed by several ministers with "ulterior motives".
The discussion in the article pointed the culprit directly at Xuande Emperor Zhu Zhanji, but the conclusion was attributed to "a few officials with ulterior motives". There is nothing wrong with this writing, and it is in line with the rebellion of the Han Dynasty: in fact, he wanted to overthrow the emperor.
It is verbally used to deal with treacherous ministers.
In the words of the King of Han, the leader of the traitors was Xia Yuanji. But in the past, they could not find any convincing reason to prove that Xia Yuanji was a traitor, let alone a reason to side with the emperor. Everything seemed to be unreasonable and feeble; now Zhang Ning's article
The prose is good, at least the words have clear goals and clear organization. It is not an exaggeration to say that "every word is like a knife".
The Ming Dynasty regarded loyalty and filial piety as the cornerstone of order and the criterion of morality. The ministers in power (or the current emperor) dared to murder the emperor's father and kill the late emperor. It is really unreasonable to be outraged by both humans and gods. As the biological son of Emperor Yongle and the biological brother of the late emperor, he should stand up and preside over the matter.
Justice returns justice to the world!
In fact, strictly speaking, except for the arguments that cannot be verified with real evidence, the other solid things in Zhang Ning's article cannot fully prove the conclusion that Zhu Gaochi was murdered. They can only indicate that there is something fishy. But for the essay,
It's enough.
Compared with the pale and feeble reasons for "clearing the emperor's side" promoted by the idiot counselors of the Han Dynasty before, this slogan is loud and powerful. Just like the scolding before the two armies faced each other, you swore softly like a bitch.
If things go wrong, you can't show your own justice and momentum at all, and you have to say a few inspiring words.
No wonder Zhu Heng's staff looked as if they had found a treasure. As civil servants, they couldn't charge into battle. How could they do without words at the critical moment?
...Zhang Ning was unsure before sending Lao Xu here because the message he wrote was too exciting and he was afraid that it would go too far and put Lao Xu in danger; but without strong medicine, a person of unknown origin would not be able to attract the attention at all.