An article written by Zheng Qia was hand-copied and found its way to the palace in Yangzhou. The article scolded Emperor Xuande for using insidious means to harm and alienate fellow clan members. The diction was mostly written in haiku, which was very literary and catchy to read.
Zhu Zhanji took this article and called Yang Rong who came to see him. Hu Ying was very embarrassed. This seemed to indicate that their planned alienation plan had failed. Zheng Qia was a well-documented Jinshi of the Jianwen Dynasty, and Jianwen
Important members of the Remnant, and public articles written by these people are enough to prove that Emperor Jianwen did not believe the rumors.
There was also a more explicit insult written by another civil servant Cheng Ji. Yang Rong and other ministers did not dare to come before Zhu Zhanji... because Cheng Ji was scolding Xuande for his treacherous tactics, and Renzong was poisoned by his own son in the first place.
, and listed and discussed more than a dozen items. These remarks had been used by the King of Han before (Zhang Ning made suggestions), but mentioning them again in front of Xuande would also arouse the wrath of the saints. After all, he was talking about patricide, which is simply treason! Don't say it is special.
An emperor who pays attention to the way of heaven will make ordinary people furious if they are said like this.
If that's all, the plan has not completely failed. If the Jianwen party doesn't believe it, they can continue to try to make them believe it. But there is another thing: the story of King Xiang's encounter with the assassin has spread to the world.
"Of course the assassins were not sent by us, and no minister would do this." Yang Rong affirmed categorically.
He is right. Officials in the court should do their job well. They are all well-educated people with status and future prospects. Who has the ability to do such a thing? For the reward of a feudal lord, that is impossible.
Who doesn't know that if you do it quietly, you will at least say hello to your colleagues. And if it was really done by a court bureaucrat, it should have been carefully planned and successful. How could it achieve a farce-like result and leave clues on the scene to frame the Jianwen Party?
Hu Ying also agreed: "If it were one of ours, there would be no need to add any unnecessary extravagance to frame Jianwen; naturally it would not be Jianwen Yuchen himself who harmed himself. Weichen thought that it was most likely a play put on by the people of King Xiang...
But the problem is that we just found out about Prince Jianwen not long ago, but King Xiang seems to be fully aware of the internal secrets of the imperial court and handles it perfectly, which is really weird."
Hu Ying did not need to remind Xuande that he had long suspected that there was a spy within his family. He had this feeling before, and then the eunuch Zheng He was questioned because Zheng He was away for a long time; and the factory guards also found out the firearms technology of the Huguang rebels
It's an imported product, so the suspicion is even greater... But this time it's definitely not Zheng He. This eunuch is still far away in the port and can no longer participate in the court's secrets.
Wang Gou'er? Xuande also thought about this eunuch, mainly because the previous eunuch Haitao attacked him; but this person has been in the palace for three dynasties, and he has been in the palace since he was a teenager.
What doubts there are. The key is that Xuande believes that Wang Gouer is questioned because of the internal fight between Haitao and him three years ago. When two dogs fight, they will bite each other and injure each other. It is always impossible to clean up the relationship between Wang Gouer and others.
After the battle over Haitao came to an end, if Emperor Xuande really doubted Wang Gouer, he would not let him be the chief minister of ceremony. The position in the inner palace was only a matter of a word from the emperor.
As soon as he thought of Wang Gou'er, Wang Gou'er looked outside. When Zhu Zhanji noticed it, he raised his arm and made a gesture. Wang Gou'er, who looked respectful and loyal, bent over and walked in cautiously with small steps.
.
Wang Gou'er turned his head and looked at the ministers present. He walked to Xuande's side but said nothing. After getting permission, he put his mouth close to the emperor's ear and spoke a few words in a very low voice. The people below could not hear anything.
When I arrived, I could only see Wang Gouer's throat moving.
Xuande said: "That's it for today. You all can go down first."
Yang Rong and others had no choice but to bow and leave. Then Emperor Xuande called away all the eunuchs and maids around him.
Wang Gouer continued to whisper: "Your Majesty, we have verified it. The spy was sent by Zhang Ning, the king of Hunan, and the Yang family has never lost contact with him... Dongchang actually sent people to interrogate many people, Yang Shiqi's adopted daughter
When Luo Yaoniang learned that Yu Qian's wife, Dong, had returned to Beijing from Huguang, she made a special trip to the capital to inquire about Zhang Ning's current situation. Naturally, this incident was not enough to alarm them so as not to alarm others, but she asked her servants to pay more attention.
Not long ago, Luo Yaoniang had a private meeting with a stranger in a shop in Yangzhou, and they only met once and then left. Our military escort carefully followed the stranger who met Luo Yaoniang to the inn where she was staying; the military escort came back to report to the subordinates
Qian Gang was enslaved. Qian Gang asked his slave for instructions, and the slave ordered Fan Zi to go out to surround the inn and search it. Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity this time and told them to run away. The slave did not dare to arrest the whole city without authorization and make too much noise, so he had to temporarily
To stop, just to try to catch it.
Sure enough, within a few days, the snake came out of the hole!
This time, their collusion was more secretive. First, they placed a shoddy item in an antique shop and sold it at a high price. When people from the Yang family bought the shoddy antique at a high price, they sent out a signal. Then the two parties chose the time to meet at the agreed place.
During the meeting, the slaves had already ordered people to seal up the shop. This was an account book for the sale of antiques. The items sold were described in advance and the price records were recorded. People from the shop were also arrested, and the customers who were exported for purchase were interrogated.
For a young woman... Wang Zhen, the eunuch under my slave, also saw Luo Yaoniang buying this thing with his own eyes."
Wang Gouer gently placed the account book and confession in front of Zhu Zhanji. He then said: "Wang Zhen noticed that they were colluding, so he closely monitored the Yang family, and paid extra attention to Luo Yaoniang's whereabouts.
But this time Luo Yaoniang was more cautious. She did not come forward, but sent a maid to deliver the letter at the agreed place. In order not to be discovered, Wang Zhen had few people around, but he was afraid that he would miss the opportunity this time like last time.
Without asking the slave, we immediately broke into the place where the maid delivered the message to take someone away... We didn't touch the Yang family's maid, firstly, since this slave belonged to the Yang family, she couldn't escape, and secondly, because Wang Zhen didn't have the manpower..."
Wang Gou'er swallowed dryly and paused for a moment, but because the description was so vivid, Xuande seemed a little anxious and urged: "Continue, have you got anyone?"
Wang Gou'er said: "According to what Wang Zhen said, there were two people in the house and they immediately resisted with weapons. One of the two was killed by the military followers led by Wang Zhen, and then the military followers were also stabbed to death; the remaining one
He jumped out of the window and escaped. Although no one was caught alive, fortunately, two letters were found from the body of the murdered Xizuo. One was written by Luo Yaoniang, which was probably the letter sent by the maid just now; the other was written by Zhang
Ning's hand is intended to be given to Yang Shiqi."
After saying that, he took out two letters stained with blood.
Wang Gouer added: "Zhang Ning's handwriting is easy to handle. Send someone to find out the memorials from when he was an official from the Wenhua Palace Treasury, or you can also compare it with the old office files of the Ministry of Rites. Luo Yaoniang's letter can only be found
Don't let her escape, just capture her and interrogate her and compare her."
Zhu Zhanji was reading a letter. Luo Yaoniang's letter had no envelope, only one page. The rest was not seen. It was just a perfectly preserved piece of paper with no defects except for blood stains. It mainly explained the rumors.
He was very closely followed and often followed, and if it was not convenient to meet, he asked the other party (Xiao Zuo) to report back to Zhang Ning as soon as possible after finishing the work, and not to stay too much in Yangzhou... The words Zhang Ning, Yangzhou and other words mentioned in it are extremely important information.
.
Zhu Zhanji put down the letter and took out another one from the envelope, which was written by Zhang Ning and addressed to Yang Shiqi. Zhu Zhanji could remain calm just now, but his expression immediately changed... In it, he thanked Yang Shiqi for providing the information,
As for the news, he was unclear. He also said that the emperor of the "Puppet Dynasty" had no ability. He should have given up the throne to pay off his grandfather's debts. I have long admired Yang Gongxue for his wealth. There is no way out for you following Emperor Xuande, and he has long distrusted him.
You, you might as well come to me. As soon as you come, I will make you the chief minister and marry Luo Yaoniang as your wife. Of course, I don’t force it. Yang Gong can wait first and just treat it as my side.
I completely understand leaving an extra escape route...that's probably what the letter meant.
"Pah!" Zhu Zhanji slapped the letter on the case in anger, his eyes widened.
Wang Gouer hurriedly knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, calm down, the dragon body is important! As long as you give the order, I will arrest Luo Yaoniang and torture her, and then arrest Yang Shiqi to appease the hatred in your heart!"
"Wait a minute." Zhu Zhanji gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, "Don't touch Luo Yaoniang just yet. She is Yang Shiqi's favorite. It's not time yet. I order you to do two things first. What will happen next?
You must not trespass after receiving the oral instructions. First, send more factory guards to keep an eye on Yang's house; second, get Luo Yaoniang's handwriting and interrogate the maid who sent the letter."
Wang Gouer hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, please tell me how I should take the people and physical evidence, and send people directly into the Yang Mansion to search?"
Zhu Zhanji's face turned cold, and he nodded: "Let's do it. Yang Shiqi's house was blatantly entered by factory guards, so everyone in the court can watch, and then I can see clearly who are Yang Shiqi's party members!"
Wang Gou'er said: "Your Majesty is wise. If the ministers in the court smell this, many people will definitely stand up to impeach Yang Shiqi for the Emperor. Especially those who usually have close contacts with Yang Shiqi, they would not dare not do so.
"
This is exactly what Xuande thought. He didn't need to personally arrest a minister. He could just wait and see what happened and ask someone to do it for him. It wouldn't affect his reputation. But Wang Gouer seemed to be too smart today. He actually showed up in front of the emperor.
To say this... is it possible for a dog eunuch like you to guess at the Sacred Heart?!
Wang Gou'er inadvertently caught Zhu Zhanji's intimidating gaze, his legs suddenly softened, and he quickly kowtowed: "I know my sin, I know my sin. From now on, without the emperor's decree, I will never dare to act rashly."
Xuande's momentary unhappiness was relieved, and then he realized that Wang Gou'er's talent and mind were actually a good thing and could be used, so he said: "You just need to understand what should be done and what should not be done."