Emperor Zhu Zhanji, wearing heavy armor, stood at the top of Desheng Gate in Beijing, looking down at the armored soldiers above and below the tower. The wind started blowing, and further outside the city, layers of yellow dust danced like waves in the East China Sea.
Heavy cannons weighing thousands of kilograms are mounted on the wall. The heaviness of the metal echoes the towering towers and the fairy-like eaves. They are huge and full of power, just like the emperor's vast ceremonial guard and thousands of troops; they are motionless.
It became stagnant and made everything feel heavy again.
"Your Majesty, the wind above the city is strong and the dragon's body will be dead." The eunuch advised in a low voice.
Zhu Zhanji ignored him and looked at the outside of the city intently. No one could truly understand the depth of the Sacred Heart.
"Report!" A shout rang out from the city. With the permission of the ministers standing beside the emperor, a young general ran up with a saber in his hand, knelt down on one knee in a very far place, and said loudly: "General Xue has returned from Shandong.
, please give me permission to meet the Holy Spirit."
Zhu Zhanji said without looking back: "Pass it up."
Immediately, a voice shouted: "Your Majesty has issued an order, announcing that the Governor of the Zuo Army Governor's Mansion, the Crown Prince's Taibao, and Wuyang Marquis Xue Lu are here to attend!" The voice was passed down layer by layer, and the voice echoed in the wind. After a long time, a man shouted
General Ma Da, who was fully armored, walked up to the city tower, handed his sword to the eunuch next to him, walked over with his head held high, knelt down heavily behind Zhu Zhanji, and said: "Xue Lu, a humble minister, buckles up to the emperor. Long live my emperor."
"Why did the King of Han go south?" Zhu Zhanji's tone made the people around him afraid to say anything.
Just as Xue Lu was about to report, he suddenly heard a "swish" sound. Zhu Zhanji pulled out his sword from his waist. All the ministers fell to their knees one after another. Xue Lu was even more frightened and fell to the ground at a loss.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhanji didn't seem to want to punish the Marquis. He waved his long sword and pointed at the vast space outside the tower. His eyes were a little worried and angry, but the firm arrogance in his eyes did not diminish by half. The sword was directed towards
, I saw the banners lined up below, and the swords and guns like a forest.
A minister said: "The emperor's civil and military skills are inherited from the virtues of heaven and are what the hearts of the people want. Those who have disobedient intentions will sooner or later plead guilty and be punished."
Zhu Zhanji looked at the sword as clean and bright as water for a while, took a deep breath and put it into the scabbard, turned around and sat down on the large chair. Then he looked at Xue Lu and said: "Wu Yanghou Pingshen,
All ministers, please be at peace."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Everyone paid their respects one after another.
Seeing the emperor's gaze, Xue Lu hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the King of Han suddenly changed his strategy and sent his army southward all because of one person: the guilty minister Zhang Ning." After hearing this, everyone looked incredulous, and their left and right sides were slightly agitated.
talk.
Zhang Ning's impression in the eyes of ordinary bureaucrats is nothing more than two things: he was Yang Shiqi's prospective son-in-law; he killed two lower-level officials and was wanted on the run. Naturally, the court's statement to the outside world did not mention some deeper mysteries. After Dali
The case verified by the temple was that Huguang Inspector Zhang Ning, Wu Yong and others knew about it and killed them. Based on this fact, they were convicted... Of course, the people at the center of power included Emperor Zhu Zhanji, Yang Shiqi and others, and they knew that Zhang Ning was the biggest
His mistake was colluding with the rebel party and betraying the king and father.
The politics of this era are extremely opaque, and it is normal for the internal and external to be inconsistent. The truth of a case is therefore heavily encrypted, and there are different opinions.
Zhu Zhanji also looked puzzled and asked: "This person is guilty, how can he be related to the King of Han, and how can he influence Le'an's decision-making?"
"Please allow your Majesty to allow me to summon a few witnesses," Xue Lu said.
With Zhu Zhanji's permission, a group of people were quickly escorted up from the city tower. Zhu Zhanji came to Deshengmen to review the troops, not to try the case, but for a while it seemed to have turned into a courtroom, and even more so.
There were a large number of court ministers present, and the standard was higher than that of a case heard by the three judicial courts.
Under Xue Lu's instruction, two sergeants brought an old man forward first. The old man was wearing a robe and no hat. His gray hair was a little scattered and he looked disheveled. As soon as he came over, he lay on the brick floor and was afraid.
Get up. Xue Lu said: "This man's name is Zhu Fu. He is a domestic slave in the house of Zhu Heng, the new minister of the puppet military department of the Han Dynasty. He was hiding in Le'an City and wanted to help his master take care of the fields and property. He was found by Weichen. Zhu
Fu, if you say your confession again, your life will be at risk if you don't say it well!"
The old man named Zhu Fu was lying on the ground, staring at the brick floor and saying something incoherent: "Old... old slave, long live the emperor, long live the emperor... A few days ago, a man came to the house and brought a
The letter was probably well written, and the master and several court guests praised it greatly, and presented it to the prince, for which the master received a commendation..."
"Did Zhang Ning write the original letter?" Zhu Zhanji's eyes suddenly showed a hint of coldness.
Zhu Fu kowtowed and said, "If you return to the emperor, yes."
Zhu Zhanji also read the memorandum, and found that the content was "unsightly". The minister next to him noticed the emperor's anger and hurriedly echoed: "This treacherous and sinful minister has spread unwarranted rumors to confuse the public, slandering the holy reputation and having no father."
If you don't have a king, you should be cut into thousands of pieces, and it's hard to escape the consequences of his crimes!"
Zhu Zhanji did not have a seizure, and his expression was very worried.
The servant continued: "The master thought that the rebellious Zhang Ning had some talents, so he asked the messenger to send a message and wanted to make friends. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ning was so courageous that he came to Le'an to pay homage to the master soon. Zhang Ning did what he wanted as soon as he came.
The lobbyist, Xiao Yi, said that Nanjing would be destroyed if the King of Han did not make progress. The master was persuaded somehow, so he made a proposal to the King of Han. Many people in the palace were dissatisfied with the master, so they falsely accused him of having an affair with the court.
Then Zhang Ning was summoned to the palace for confrontation..."
When Xue Lu heard this, he turned around and said, "Bring the guilty minister Fu Liangyou forward."
A civil servant from a group of prisoners was brought up and knelt down beside the old servant. Xue Lu said again: "You will also tell your confession again in front of the emperor. Telling half a lie is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor. You should know?"
"
This official was much calmer than the old servant just now. He kowtowed a few times before speaking: "The guilty minister dare not deceive the king. It is true as just said, Zhu Heng was suspected of being an adulterer, but he was suspected of being an adulterer.
As soon as Zhang Ning arrived at the palace, he compared the handwriting of the original manuscript and quickly cleared up his distaste... because no court official would dare to write such a rebellious article."
Zhu Zhanji said nothing with a cold face, and Wuyang Marquis Xue Lu asked instead: "Zhang Ning is a criminal who is responsible for a murder case. He has no relatives or friends in Le'an. He is a person of unknown origin. What about the King of Han?"
Can you believe what this person says?"
Fu Liangyou said: "Zhang Ning asked the King of Han that why did the prince resist the enemy when the imperial troops were approaching the city? The prince said that it was reported that the leader of the army to suppress the rebellion was Wuyang Hou, so there was nothing to worry about..."
Xue Lu looked calm when he heard this. He is a man. He is not as good as others and doesn't argue hard.
Fu Liangyou continued: "Zhang Ningyan, the situation is getting out of control. Today's Holy Emperor is a wise master, and it is absolutely impossible to send just one Wuyang Marquis here; he will definitely mobilize the main force of the three major battalions, and the emperor will personally conquer or use the British Duke as his commander.
Commander-in-Chief, he pacified Le'an in one fell swoop. He also issued a military order, and if he didn't mean what he said, he would be beheaded and sacrificed to the flag. There were dozens of civil and military personnel at the palace, but no one could refute Zhang Ning's words."
Zhu Zhanji said: "Many of the Han king's subordinates are from Le'an, and they are certainly not willing to abandon their families and careers and go south. Why didn't they stand up and speak out?"
Zhu Zhanji also understood the thoughts of the Han King's subordinates and himself, and he was full of confidence before... Although he faced many people every day and wildly expressed his loyalty and selflessness, he understood in his heart that there were few truly selfless people in the world.
They were all thinking about themselves; the emperor was not fooled by the sweet words of his ministers.
Based on this judgment, Zhu Zhanji formulated an established strategy of occupying the commanding heights of morality, playing hard to get, waiting for opportunities, and finally striking hard to quickly solve the problem. This strategy can be said to be carefully planned and has a sure chance of victory. Zhu Zhanji believes that his political strategy
He was not at the same level as the big, rough uncle. Every step he took seemed to be at a slight disadvantage, but at every step he was beating the King of Han to death. Everything was under control and played with.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yaojin appeared in the middle of the road. That Zhang Ning simply had nothing and nothing. He didn’t have Chen Yaojin’s military power or connections. What’s even more ridiculous was that he was a wanted criminal who didn’t even have a place to stay.
Riding into Le'an could actually affect the general trend of the country at the strategic level... This is so unbelievable that Zhu Zhanji couldn't explain how he felt.
If it weren't for the confession that made him grit his teeth, Zhu Zhanji might still admire this person a little at this time, but when he thought of Zhang Ning actually slandering him for patricide! He couldn't wait to catch this person immediately and let him go through all the torture.
Once again, the last knife cuts a thousand cuts and dies!
In Zhu Zhanji's employment philosophy, two things are indispensable: loyalty and talent. From the beginning, Zhu Zhanji recognized that Zhang Ning was talented, but because he questioned his loyalty, he did not reuse him. Zhu Zhanji did not
I don’t regret that I didn’t recruit such a talent, because this person is simply...shameless!
But is it really shameless? If you don’t accuse the emperor of patricide, how can you achieve your goal in Le’an by taking a different approach? Maybe the real talents are more evil, and those who are within the rules cannot do amazing things.
At this moment, Fu Liangyou continued: "The subordinates of the King of Han could not refute on the spot because they had no words to reply. However, soon the military generals Li Ming and Sun Qihuan conspired to assassinate them in the middle of the night and broke into the Zhu Mansion, but they failed to attack the King of Han.
The soldiers and horses arrived before they could do anything, but their success fell short. As a result, the second guilty general was killed by the King of Han..."
Xue Lu bowed and said: "In addition, we also captured some witnesses who witnessed the incident. Would your Majesty want to hear the details?"
"No need." Zhu Zhanji waved his hand. He seemed to be trying to control his emotions. A king should not get angry in public at will. But he finally asked coldly: "Didn't you arrest someone from the Zhang Ning family? Where are they?"
?”
A bureaucrat reported: "He is being detained on the spot in the Nanjing Military and Horse Prison, awaiting judicial conviction."
Zhu Zhanji said coldly: "Send someone to Nanjing to deliver the decree and execute all the captured criminals."