Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 164

Due to the multi-window design of the imperial study room, the attic is very spacious and bright.

The death of the Champa envoy can naturally be attributed to suicide, but this conclusion also needs motivation to support it.

As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youtang naturally couldn't do everything by himself, so he mainly judged the murderer from the motives and methods of committing the crime.

"Your Majesty, Champa is hanging overseas. Last year, Annan stopped his troops out of fear of Ming's power, but there is no guarantee that Champa will not be destroyed in the future! Champa is now designed to blame Annan. I feel disgusted, and Annan's actions in the future will definitely be scheming. Wenjin is sacrificing his life for righteousness, and using the death of one person in exchange for a ray of life for Champa, so I think this is the motive for his suicide!" Song Cheng has already investigated the cause of the case. , he replied very seriously.

Zhu Youtang happened to find a military book, which happened to record a bitter trick.

Although Champa still has the name of the country, but now a large area of ​​territory is occupied by the Le Dynasty, and there are generals supporting themselves in the interior, it is really difficult for the current Champa country to protect itself.

They wanted to continue to survive in the covetous and vicious neighbor Li Dynasty, and now they really had no other way but to rely on the prestige of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang thought that pouring dirty water on Annan at this time was considered a wise move, so he couldn't help but nodded slightly, which was regarded as approval of Song Cheng's investigation results.

"Your Majesty, although I have verified that this bloody case was a suicide directed and staged by the envoys of Champa, there is actually a third force in this case!" Song Cheng has been paying attention to Zhu Youtang's reaction, and reported solemnly road.

Huh?
Liu Jin, who had been standing below, heard this inference, and couldn't help looking at the black-faced Shuntian Fu Yin in front of him in surprise.

Zhu Youtang raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "What's going on?"

"I originally mistakenly thought that the Xuefeng Knife of Tiexiangshan fell into the hands of the Annan Mission, but now it is confirmed that what the Annan Mission got was a fake, and the real destination of the Xuefeng Knife lost by Tiexiangshan was the Champa Mission. If it is said that a Xuefeng knife may have been obtained by the mission by coincidence, but two Xuefeng swords appeared in the hands of the two missions one after another, it proves that someone is secretly operating this matter. According to Chen, this person is hiding behind the scenes The person not only gave the Champa envoy Wen Jin the murder weapon, but also bewitched the Champa envoy Wen Jin to frame the Annan mission with his death, this is the real murderer!" Song Cheng's eyes were black and white, and he said own judgment.

Although Zhu Youtang had always suspected that Wu Xun was involved, he didn't expect to be involved so deeply, so he came to the guardrail and asked, "Song Qing, what did you find?"

"I found out earlier that a mysterious person had come to meet Wen Jin at the Huitong Hall, but at that time I didn't suspect that Wen Jin would commit suicide, so I didn't pay much attention to this clue. Now I'm investigating again, but it's no longer possible to verify what happened that day. Who is the mysterious person! However, starting from the whereabouts of Tiexiangshan Xuefengdao, I have found out that the housekeeper of Changningbo Mansion stole Tiexiangshan's Xuefengdao and handed it over to the Champa envoy. This person is probably An important breakthrough." Song Cheng did not hide his previous negligence, and reported the report very seriously.

Mystery man!
Behind the scenes!

Two snow maple knives!

These speculations put another layer of mystery on the case.

Zhu Youtang didn't expect that his relatives would be involved in the incident, so he couldn't help but frowned and said, "Uncle Changning is actually involved?"

"I found out that the housekeeper of Changning Bo's mansion was in charge of stealing and delivering knives, but whether it was instigated by Changning Bo is still unknown! The case of death is not necessarily related, so I haven't continued to dig deeper!" Song Cheng shook his head lightly, looking very rational.

This case can be said to be solved, but it can also be said not to be solved, it all depends on whether the emperor believes his inference.As for Chang Ningbo, although the suspicion is great, everything can still be supported by evidence.

Zhu Youtang knew that he really did not have enough time for Song Cheng, so he touched his chin and said, "Who does the housekeeper of the Changningbo Mansion testify against?"

"Your Majesty, he said that everything has nothing to do with Uncle Changning, it's all his own doing!" Song Cheng knew that he was not good at extorting confessions by torture, so he said bitterly.

Zhu Youtang thought for a moment, then asked earnestly, "In your opinion, who is behind the scenes and what is their motive?"

"I don't dare to make wild guesses, but judging from this person's plan, this person is going to provoke a conflict between Daming and Annan, or even a war!" Song Cheng met Zhu Youtang's gaze and boldly stated his judgment. .

With a decision in his heart, Zhu Youtang walked towards the stairs on the north side and said, "Song Qing, you have worked hard during this time! You hand over the person and the file to Dongchang. You don't need to investigate this case again. The East Factory will deal with it!"

"Your Majesty, please give me some time, I will be able to find out who is behind the scenes for Your Majesty!" Song Cheng suddenly became anxious, and asked solemnly.

This……

When Liu Jin heard Zhu Youtang's arrangement, she turned her head and looked up in puzzlement.

But he didn't understand why the case was handed over to the Dongchang gang. Several important cases were silent in the Dongchang, and they were simply the end of the case.

On the other hand, the Shuntian Governor in front of him is simply a god-man.

Not to mention the wonderful performance earlier, the suicide of the Champa envoy was almost concealed. When everyone suspected that it was the Annan mission or Wu Xun, it turned out that this black-faced god had seen everything.

Zhu Youtang came down the stairs, and said with a firm attitude: "I have made up my mind, let's step down!"

"Your Excellency, I will retire, long live my emperor!" Although Song Cheng was a little disappointed, he still respectfully said goodbye.

Use it to do it, and discard it to hide it. This is the teaching he has always believed in.What's more, this emperor is not a fatuous monarch, so this arrangement must have other meanings.

Seeing Zhu Youtang coming down from above, Liu Jin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you let Song Cheng continue to investigate, maybe he can really find out who is behind the scenes!"

"Because the case of Wen Jin, the envoy of Champa, can't be dug any further!" Zhu Youtang walked towards the tea area, looking like a mirror.

Liu Jin couldn't help being taken aback, and suddenly said in puzzlement, "Your Majesty, why can't we dig deeper? Wouldn't it be good for Song Cheng to find out the people behind the scenes?"

After getting along with each other for a long time, he knew that his master was reasonable, not such a moody king.

"Diplomacy is no small matter, and family ugliness should not be publicized! If Song Cheng really finds out people, can I, Daming, be responsible for the death of the Champa envoy?" Zhu Youtang came to the tea table and sat down. It's a rhetorical question.

After all, he is not the messenger of justice among the hosts, but the helm of the Ming Dynasty, so what needs to be considered is the interests of Daming.As for the truth, sometimes it doesn't have to be dug out.

In the tea area on the south side, there is a quiet and beautiful maid in purple, who has been sitting here and is in charge of making tea at any time.Seeing Zhu Youtang approaching, those very good-looking hands poured out a cup of hot tea, and then served the steaming tea.

Liu Jin got the call, and said thoughtfully: "If we dig out the people behind the scenes, Annan will probably push all the faults to the people behind the scenes. This is really not good for our Daming!"

"Now the Champa envoy sacrificed his life for righteousness, and the Annan envoy did not cooperate with the investigation of the soldiers who disobeyed and killed me. This is the whole story of this case! If you really want to throw a stone at yourself, I will not do it!" Zhu You Picking up the teacup, Tang looked sober and authentic in the world.

Although he has always wanted to find an opportunity to hit Wu Xun with a stick, but this time it has to do with Ming's face and reputation, so the cover cannot be lifted.

There are tens of thousands of ways to deal with Wu Xun, and when it comes to unifying the outside world, internal friction among himself has always been the kind of behavior he despises the most, and it is naturally impossible for him to do it.

"Your Majesty is holy!" Liu Jin sincerely admired Zhu Youtang's choice.

Zhu Youtang sips the fragrant tea slowly, and is also spying on the chess player behind the scenes.

I don't know if the other party had already expected this situation, or just got God's favor, but they escaped a catastrophe. If it was the former, it would be too scary, but if it was the latter, it could only be said that the Duke's Mansion was lucky.

Looking at the overall situation, Zhu Youtang felt that it was not the handiwork of Zhu Fu, the heir of the Duke of Cheng. He should have expert guidance behind him to plan this trick that almost deceived everyone.

In fact, what Song Cheng didn't know was that when he just said that he wanted to find the mysterious person who arrived at the Huitong Hall that night, he already had the answer in his heart.

Dongchang and Jinyiwei have been staring at various marquis residences recently. Although they can't know all their whereabouts, they can still know the general trajectory of their movements.

"That mysterious person is really hateful, and it's fortunate that Your Majesty understands the righteousness, otherwise I would have to peel off that person's skin!" Liu Jin stepped forward to take Zhu Youtang's teacup, but said with hatred.

The corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth rose slightly, and he ordered lightly: "You have someone call Tan Conggui over!"

Duke Cheng's mansion, by the small lake in the backyard.

Wearing brocade clothes, Zhu Fu was sitting on a soft couch, and the table next to him was filled with rich meat and fine wine, and he was watching several dancers performing hard.

Although this prince's appearance is good, but now that his clothes are unbuttoned, his fat face is already slightly red from drinking, and his whole person is full of decadence and coquettishness.

Daming's kindness and reuse of Wu Xun's lineage was originally good, but even though many Wu Xun's disciples had ambitions when they were young, they were easily worn down by time and became members of the peace sect.

The eldest son is different from the descendants of the collateral line. The eldest son needs to wait until the son inherits the father's business, which leads to the fact that there are many princes who have not yet served at the age of 50 or [-].

Zhu Fu's father, Zhu Yiyuan, was in Nanjing as a garrison in Nanjing, but when Zhu Fu stayed in the capital to take care of the family business, what he did most every day was drinking and enjoying himself.

The housekeeper hurried over and reported to Zhu Fu the news that he had just found out, and the Shuntian government office had stopped investigating the case.

Zhu Fu was overjoyed immediately, and raised his glass to the old man next to him in congratulations: "Mister is a great talent, as expected, His Majesty will not dig deeper!"

"Ben... the old man said earlier that there is nothing to worry about, the emperor's mind is not difficult to guess. From the beginning of the plot, the old man knew that there was a way out, and this was a conspiracy!" The old man in commoner clothes looked proud and authentic.

Zhu Fu asked the maiko to retreat, and asked humbly, "In my opinion, what should I do next?"

"Go to the mourning hall of the Funinghou Mansion and cry! Remember, the matter was caused by His Majesty's eagerness to solve the case, and the imperial court should not just send a brocade squad to chase the mission!" The old man's eyes flashed with a gleam of wisdom, and he seemed to speak earnestly warned.

White curtains have been hung up in Funinghou's mansion, and a mourning hall and coffin have been set up in Zhu Wei's residence. Zhu Wei's family members knelt in the mourning hall and cried.

Zhu Wei originally had the opportunity to inherit Earl Funing, but because he was ordered to lead a small team to recover the mission, he never returned, and it can be said that he died young.

"Brother Zhu and I are brothers and sisters, how could we know that yin and yang are separated now!"

"I can't blame Zhu Ji for this matter. His Majesty's will was urgent at that time, so he could only send out the Jinyi team!"

"Obviously the Champa envoy directed and acted on his own, but in the end he ran after the envoy. Could it be that he was so eager to solve the case?"

……

When Zhu Fu came to the mourning hall to pay homage, not only Funing Hou Zhu Yong was here, but also Funing Hou's son Zhu Hui was here, so he began to give eye medicine to the father and son.

After all, the matter still needs a main person in charge, and Zhu Youtang, who is "eager to solve the case" and "urgent in his will", has undoubtedly become the best candidate.

After all, Zhu Yong is a general in the army who has gone through the storm, not to mention that he has seen through Zhu Fu's careful thinking, and there is still such a thing in the city.No matter how much he hated Zhu Youtang in his heart, it was impossible to show it.

Although Zhu Hui had experience in the army with Zhu Yong in the early years, he was directly ignited and said angrily: "This case should not be so urgent, the second brother died unjustly!"

cough!
At this moment, a cough suddenly sounded.

When the three people standing outside the mourning hall heard the movement, they turned their heads and looked over, and it turned out that the one who appeared here was Jin Yiwei's thousand household king, this non-standard foreign relative.

Wang Xiang seemed to be getting more and more sophisticated in dealing with things. He first went to the mourning hall to worship, and then came out and said to Zhu Yong and his son: "Master Hou, my son, please forgive me!"

"Wang Qianhu, what do you intend to bring with you to my residence?" Zhu Hui was disgusted with the emperor's confidant, Wang Xiang, but asked directly.

Zhu Fu noticed that Wang Xiang brought people over, which proved that he did not come here on purpose to pay homage, but came here on business.

"Ben Qianhu really offended you! I shouldn't bother your house, but Zhu Qianhu used to be my boss, so he came in to pay his respects!" Seeing Zhu Hui's hostility, Wang Xiang explained with a smile.

Zhu Hui's hostility remained undiminished, and he immediately issued an order to expel the guest coldly: "We do not welcome you in the Marquis of Funing, you should go to your imperial errand!"

Huh?
Zhu Fu saw that Zhu Yong didn't stop him, so he couldn't help but look at the Wang Xiang who came to humiliate himself, only to find that Wang Xiang was looking at him with a smile, and he couldn't help frowning.

"My lord, please come back to Beizhen Fusi with me!" Wang Xiang looked at Zhu Fu who was gloating, but said with a smile.

As soon as these words came out, it was the turn of Zhu Yong and his son to be dumbfounded.

Originally thought that Wang Xiang was on a business trip, but he came here specifically to find Zhu Fu, and this time he wanted to arrest Zhu Fu.It's just that Zhu Fu is the grand son of Cheng Guogong, so the prime minister is too courageous, right?

Not to mention that it is impossible for Zhu Fu to commit crimes, and Wang Xiang is also a member of the circle of honor and relatives. Now that he has done things like this, it may be difficult to return to this circle again.

Zhu Fu couldn't believe his ears, he pointed to his nose in astonishment and said, "Are you crazy, you Jin Yiwei want to arrest this son?"

"My lord, I just want to cooperate with the investigation this time!" Seeing the other party's shock and arrogance, Wang Xiang explained with a smile.

Zhu Fu snorted with disdain, and said arrogantly: "Cooperate with the investigation? What are you investigating? Otherwise, do you want to continue investigating the murder of the envoys in Champa? Didn't you say it was a suicide case?"

"Your Majesty, it's not the bloody case of the envoys of Zhancheng. We Jinyiwei have just received a secret report that someone in the capital had an affair with a foreign vassal and sold out the information and prohibited items of the capital!" Wang Xiang looked serious and authentic.

Zhu Yong also heard about the prohibited items, so he asked with a serious face: "Who dares to have an affair with a foreign feudal clan?"

Zhu Fu was first secretly startled, but soon realized that it had nothing to do with him, and he still asked disdainfully: "Wang Qianxiang, don't you think that my majestic Duke Cheng will have an affair with a barbarian country in the southwest? "

Zhu Hui knew that although Zhu Fu was arrogant, it was impossible to do such a thing, even if they were in the Funing Houfu, it was impossible for them to do such a loss-making business.

"Marquis Funing, it has been verified that the Annan Mission is carrying prohibited items. It is currently investigating all those who have had contact with Annan's envoy Li Guang'an! My son, according to our Jin Yiwei's eyeliner, my son met with Annan's envoy Li Guang'an two days before the Spring Festival. I have had contact with Guang'an, so please go back to Beizhen Fusi with me and explain the reason!" Wang Xiang first answered Zhu Yong, and then pointed his finger at Zhu Fudao.

Huh?
Although Zhu Hui didn't think that Zhu Fu would communicate with the vassal, the Annan mission did carry contraband, and the prince of the state had contact with the Annan envoy, so it's really no wonder that Jin Yiwei wanted to investigate.

Zhu Fu met Wang Xiang's gaze, but said word by word: "Wang Xiang, you don't want to spit blood, this son has no contact with Annan's envoys!"

"My lord, you actually deny it?"

Just at this moment, a slightly shrill voice came.

Zhu Yong and the others all turned their heads to look, and couldn't help being secretly surprised that it was Tan Conggui from Dongchang who brought his son over.

Qin Conggui saluted Zhu Yong, showing Dongchang's arrogance and authenticity: "Your Majesty, the Zajia was just here to make an inquiry. After all, the Zajia didn't dare to suspect that the Duke of Cheng's mansion would have an affair with a foreign vassal! It's just that you didn't even If you don’t even want to admit it, then don’t blame the Miscellaneous Family for being suspicious! Someone, escort the Young Master back to Dongchang, and the Miscellaneous Family must investigate carefully why the Young Master dare not admit it!”

"Eunuch Tan, is there any misunderstanding?" Zhu Yong, after all, belonged to Duke Cheng's lineage, so he said in an authentic way.

Qin Conggui happened to be Wang Zhi now, so he asked indifferently: "The Jinyiwei people saw it, and the Zajia people saw it. Now that the Annan mission is carrying prohibited items, does Marquis Funing think that the Zajia shouldn't investigate?"

Zhu Yong turned his head to look at Zhu Fu, and had to be suspicious of Zhu Fu's reaction.

Seeing that the two gangsters wanted to arrest him, Zhu Fu immediately said angrily: "I am the son of the Duke of Cheng, if you frame the son of the Duke of Cheng in this way, is it because you want to harm the hearts of all the nobles and relatives in the world!"

"Your Majesty, let's make it clear about your private meeting with the foreign feudal clan. If you don't know clearly, you are a national traitor. Xue Fengdao asked the foreign feudal clan to take it out of the capital. "Facing the clamoring Zhu Fu, Tan Conggui said with a stern tone.

"Snow Maple Knife? I..." Zhu Fu's heart suddenly turned cold when he heard this, but he realized that things were inexplicably developing in a worse direction.

Seeing Zhu Fu who was suddenly quiet, Zhu Yong's face suddenly became gloomy when he thought of Zhu Fu's seductive words just now, and the fists in his sleeves were clenched with veins.

　Sorry, there is only one update today!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)