Since Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing, the Forbidden City in Nanjing has lost its luster, leaving only a few left-behind eunuchs and officials who were waiting to die or were squeezed out of the capital. However, when the King of Han came to Nanjing, the center of power was restored here.
status.
In the corner of the high red wall, two officials in red robes were talking quietly. One of them, a lean middle-aged man, was Mr. Wang who had an argument with Zhu Heng, Minister of War, yesterday; the other had a lot of beard and was slightly older.
The person was also an important official in front of the King of Han. The King said calmly and irritatedly: "An old acquaintance from the north said that the daughter of Brother Li who stayed in Le'an was captured by the government and... alas, was sent to the camp as a charge.
Camp whore!”
The bearded man stamped his foot, raised his voice a little, and said angrily: "I thought she would commit suicide to keep her integrity, but I didn't expect it to happen like this! It has really embarrassed the old Li family. How can I have the dignity to stand among my colleagues in the future?"
before?"
Mr. Wang hurriedly said: "It's not Miss Li's fault, it's Zhu Heng's fault. If it weren't for him, how could we have abandoned our family and children?"
"Zhu Heng, hum!" the bearded man said angrily, "This man puts on such an ugly face all day long, it's really uncomfortable to look at. He seems to be the only one in the world who cares about the country and the people." "Please search Piao Tian Literature for better and updated novels.
Faster! ."
"If you really care about the country and the people, that's all. I think you are actually a hypocrite." Mr. Wang still said calmly, "When we were in Le'an, Zhu Heng and Zhang Ning, who is now in Huguang, had a close relationship.
Some people said that Zhu Heng had second thoughts, but there was no way to catch him at the time. This time he stirred up some mystery in the court, and anyone with a discerning eye would think it was a shime medicine sold in a gourd! The dignified king of Han and Huguang formed an alliance, and those who benefited the most
Who is it? Isn’t it Zhang Ning who relies on us as the mainstay?"
Seeing the bearded man nodding his head, Mr. Wang added: "I am contacting all my colleagues to jointly submit a letter to expose Zhu Heng's conspiracy. Mr. Li must be a part of it."
"It should be, it should be. I always vent my anger with the old brothers through the same nostril, and I will never turn my arms outward."
At this moment, I saw a young man in green robes hurriedly looking for him. When he saw him, he greeted him: "Master Wang, so you are here to make it easier for students to find you. Something big has happened!" Master Wang hurriedly asked: "What's the matter?
?”
The young man in green robe looked at Zuoyou, and then said mysteriously: "General Luo just intercepted a person at Sanshan Gate, carrying a secret message from Lord Zhu, Minister of War. General Luo asked Lord Wang to come over quickly.
make a decision."
The bearded man named Li hurriedly asked: "Which General Luo?"
Mr. Wang said: "It doesn't matter which General Luo is, he is one of ours anyway. What is the content of the letter?"
The green-robed official said: "General Luo didn't dare to open the seal. Why don't you rush to tell the students and ask them to invite Mr. Wang?"
... Soon Zhu Heng also learned that Ziji's people had been detained. The person who was detained was none other than the domestic slave he sent to Huguang to contact Zhang Ning not long ago. There was a rumor that the domestic slave had been arrested.
The reason was that he had evidence of colluding with foreign enemies. Zhu Heng could guess with his toes that it was a reply written by Zhang Ning to him. Now he also wanted to know what the content of the letter was.
In fact, he had never thought that this kind of letter was evidence of crime before. Although the "King of Xiang" in Huguang was at odds with Nanjing in terms of banner, he was obviously not the enemy of the King of Han. Now everyone's biggest enemy is the imperial court. Not to mention Zhu Henghe
The contact with Zhang Ning was just to explore the way based on the previous friendship, and there was no real collusion; he, Zhu Heng, was a person involved in the planning and an important minister, and he couldn't even do this independently?
Zhu Heng was a little worried, but he still kept his composure. Early the next morning, he prepared to go to the Ministry of War office outside the imperial city to run errands as if nothing had happened, but he was stopped as soon as he walked out of the exit.
Zhu Heng was furious and immediately rebuked the sergeant who came to block the road. Shimei dared to block the Minister of War. I had not yet taken off my black gauze hat. Unexpectedly, the sergeant leader said that he had obtained permission from the King of Han to set up defenses here and let Lord Zhu rest at home for a few days.
You cannot go out at will.
Although he was angry in his heart, Zhu Heng couldn't force his way in after hearing this, so he had to go back to the mansion. The situation in front of him gave him a bad premonition, and the King of Han probably saved face and room for not arresting him. What was Zhang Ning's reply?
Wrote shime?
A few days later, one of his colleagues and friends finally came to tell the truth. The sergeant hǎoxiàng who guarded the door just stared at Zhu Heng and refused to let him go out, but did not prevent officials from the same dynasty from visiting.
The friend told the truth and the letter was delivered to the King of Han Dynasty. Zhang Ning's intention in the letter was that Zhu Heng would no longer be able to survive in Nanjing and would go to Huguang to join him. He was welcome at any time.
Zhu Heng felt very bad when he heard this. Zhang Ning probably meant well when he said this, and Zhu Heng liked him so much that he invited him like this. But if the reply was sent to the King of Han at this juncture, it would probably make a big fuss.
At this time, his son Zhu Sheng said: "Isn't this reasonable? The letter can only prove that the king of Xiang sought talents, and my father did not agree. How can this still punish my father?"
Zhu Heng glanced at his son and thought that his son Bijing was only a teenager, so it was not a big mistake to think that everything could be justified. He sat back on the chair slumpedly, feeling as if everything was over.
The friend comforted him and said, "The King of Han will appreciate Brother Zhu's hard work, so Brother Zhu doesn't have to worry too much."
"With such a good opportunity, would the gang named Wang give up easily?" Zhu Heng said coldly.
His friend added: "I think the King of Han has not yet made up his mind. He has also rejected the alliance with King Xiang of Huguang. We will wait for the outcome of this matter. The prince has been fighting for many years and is good at military affairs. Maybe he can
He has the long-term vision of King Zhao in Hufu, riding and shooting."
Zhu Heng shook his head and sighed, and said dejectedly: "Brother, you don't have to come here again. It would be implicated. I can't bear it."
"With Brother Zhu's words, am I still afraid of something?"
The two of them talked for a while, and the friend said goodbye. Zhu Heng didn't see him off either, but his son saw him off politely.
Zhu Heng said nothing when he faced a calligraphy on the wall. The two columns of cursive writing on it read "Quietness to cultivate one's morality, frugality to cultivate virtue". To this day, he can't help but reflect: Is this the way Ziji has always been an official?
wrong?
But he turned out to be an unknown person. He could reach the level of a minister in front of the King of Han. He really couldn't rely on caution and obedience. This kind of temperament cannot be said to be right or wrong. I'm afraid he will succeed or fail.
Just when Zhu Heng was at a loss what to do, a servant suddenly came to ask in the evening: Did the master order a batch of jewelry a few days ago?
Zhu Heng said upset: "Why do I order jewelry? Just tell my wife about this kind of thing."
The servant said: "The villain sent someone to ask Madam, but she also said she didn't know. I wanted to send those people away, but unexpectedly they insisted that the master had ordered something for Madam. Seeing that they were telling the truth, the servant said, I don’t dare to make my own decisions, so I have to ask the master... How about I send them away again now?"
"Wait a minute." Zhu Heng raised his hand to stop the servant. He thought to himself that since the accident, in the past few days, except for a close friend who came to visit, others were afraid to avoid him. People from Shime Jewelry Store were clearly seen outside the house. There are so many soldiers, why do they come here to do business?
Zhu Heng felt strange, so he asked someone to invite the businessman to the teahouse to meet and see what was going on.
When the people came, they saw four attendants in blue robes and scarves and a woman in a pink skirt. The woman wore a silk hat and walked very gracefully and decently. The group of people did look a bit like people from a jewelry store, because There are many women who patronize difāng. It is also common for jewelry stores to have women as butlers.
The woman took a box from the boy's hand, opened it, and saw a few gold and jade objects displayed inside: "I pay my respects to Zhu Butang, please take a look, do you like these things?"
Seeing that they were really here to sell jewelry, Zhu Heng became impatient. He waved his sleeves and was about to ask someone to see them off. Unexpectedly, the woman rushed over and said, "If these things are not to your liking, we have brought a rare treasure. It's just But..." She turned to look at the servant of the Zhu family standing at the door of the teahouse, "Since Zhu Butang has come to meet us, why don't you wait for a while, I guarantee that you will be interested in that thing."
"Oh?" Zhu Heng touched his beard and winked at the servant, "I would like to take a look. I will definitely be interested in the shime stuff."
After the servant walked away, the woman lifted her veil. Zhu Heng was stunned for a moment. He saw a facial pattern on the woman's left cheekbone, which was a butterfly with bright red eyes. She asked her to apply a little pink and white. Her face looked extremely charming, but she didn't have the temperament of that serious woman. Zhu Heng suddenly felt like he had seen this woman somewhere before, but when he thought about it carefully, he still had a vague impression; maybe it was because he was in Shime The enchanting geisha he saw at Fengyue Place gave him the illusion of déjà vu.
This woman was the Peach Blossom Fairy. Zhu Heng could not remember her, but she remembered Zhu Heng. They had indeed met once before. During Le'an, the Peach Blossom Fairy was also with Zhang Ning.
The woman said: "We are not here to sell jewelry, but to save Zhu Butang."
Zhu Heng was surprised and said calmly: "I am fine at home, why do you need someone to rescue me?"
The woman smiled and said nothing, just looking at Zhu Heng. This look made him feel that hǎoxiàngziji was talking nonsense; since they had already made their words clear, there was no point in speaking in official terms. Zhu Heng paused for a moment and then sank in. Voice: "You are..."
"Jianwen Jun's people." The woman said seriously.
Zhu Heng thought for a moment and asked, "Did King Xiang send you here?"
The woman shook her head and said: "Jianwen Jun is Jianwen Jun, and the King of Xiang is the King of Xiang. Although we are all one family, the errands below us have their own affairs. As far as I know, the King of Xiang's informants have not yet been able to operate in Nanjing. Come; but our people have found out that Zhu Butang is the person the King of Xiang is looking for, so he should be nearby to help you."
"Is there any evidence to seal the letter?" Zhu Heng asked.
The woman said: "You want a seal? Zhu Butang has never seen or recognized the evidence of the relationship between us, so what's the use of having it in front of you?"
"I have no proof, how can I believe you just because of my shimmy?" Zhu Heng said coldly.
The woman said: "Given Zhu Butang's current situation, let's take the risk to save you. If Ruguo is fake, can there be any benefits?"
Zhu Hengxin said: Ruguo is pretending to be a political opponent. Does Ziji take it as real evidence that he is determined to defect? This kind of trick is very common in Zhu Heng's experience. The yamen wants to catch the criminals.
The method includes this kind of method, which is called "fishing" as the swordsman calls it.
At this moment, the woman urged: "The King of Han has not imprisoned you yet, so we have a chance. If ruguo really reaches that point, Zhu Butang will probably have no chance of being rescued."