King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 702 Why didn't Zhu Chongba report to the authorities?
The next day, Zhu Jinghong got up early and went to the small training ground of the palace, leading a group of guards to play polo.

The polo match was so noisy that it disturbed the palace.

But he had not fought for a while when Deng An came to report that Tang Jian, the assistant governor of the Rear Army Governor's Office, came to pay a visit.

Speaking of a long inheritance, the Tang family of Tang Jian is the most powerful. His ancestor was Tang He, who followed Taizu to start an uprising and establish the country. The Tang family's inheritance can truly be said to be closely related to the country.

However, according to the downgrade of the title stipulated by Emperor Taizu, the Tang family has now been demoted to earl.

But nowadays, when there are no more actual dukes and the highest rank is marquis, the value of earl is extremely high.

But on the other hand, Tang Jian's rank is high, that is, he is the deputy governor. For example, the Shi family, the Liu family, the Hou family, which have lower ranks, now have the highest-level military general such as the governor.

This also reflects a certain sense of checks and balances. The higher the title, the lower the upper limit. The lower the title, the higher the upper limit. This allows the nobles to take turns to be the boss, while the imperial power remains as stable as Mount Tai.

"Please let him in!" Zhu Jinghong responded.

After a while, an old man in his fifties, wearing a gray robe, appeared and came to the training ground under the guidance of Deng An.

At this moment, the polo match is still going on, with the two teams chasing each other, and the field is very lively.

Although Tang Jian has white hair on his temples, he is in very good spirits, and his sharpness may enable him to make further progress.

"General Tang Jian, please take a seat!" Deng An ordered someone to bring a stool.

"No need... I can stand and watch, and I can also move around!" Tang Jian declined.

Tang Jian was a very cautious person and he knew very well that Zhu Jinghong was playing polo at the moment and he was not qualified to sit and watch.

After waiting for a few minutes, Zhu Jinghong still didn't take the score, so he ordered the guards to continue while he left.

Deng An hurriedly led the eunuchs up with towels and tea, but Zhu Jinghong only took the towel.

While wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhu Jinghong said, "General Tang, what brings you here?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, I will go to Hubei to quell the rebellion tomorrow. The emperor has reminded me that if there is anything I don't understand... I can ask Your Highness for advice!"

Tang Jian was indeed able to grasp the key points, and this sentence made Zhu Jinghong feel at ease.

"The Hunan issue is complicated. I am afraid that I may have mishandled it, so I have come to ask Your Highness for advice. I hope Your Highness will be generous in giving me advice!"

"You are a veteran in the army, you know the way... why do you need to ask me for advice?"

Walking around Tang Jian, Zhu Jinghong sat on a chair, looking at the horse racing arena in the distance, and said, "My father just said it casually, and you took it seriously!"

"In front of Your Highness, I am nothing but a veteran general. I have only wasted a few decades!"

"Look at you... you didn't tell me a single truth. It shows that you are really a sly old fool!"

Tang Jian was an earl and served as the deputy governor. He was called an old wily fellow by Zhu Jinghong, but he had no objection at the moment.

Not to mention him, Zhu Jinghong can now suppress the governor-general, the deputy governor, and even the governor above him. Talking and joking with him is like playing.

Zhu Jinghong's confidence was partly due to the fact that he was a prince, but more of it came from his real military achievements, which people could only look up to.

Normally, a person with such great achievements as Zhu Jinghong should not exist in the physical sense.

Tang Jian bent his waist and replied: "I have lived all these years. If I don't even know how to be cunning, then I have eaten the money given by the emperor in vain!"

Zhu Jinghong laughed when he heard this, and then ordered someone to bring a chair to Tang Jian, who then sat down carefully.

After drinking tea with Tang Jian, Zhu Jinghong said in a deep voice: "You came here for the affairs of Hunan, but I have a few words to tell you!"

Tang Jian immediately sat up straight, looking as if he was listening to instructions.

"When we go there, we must prepare carefully in advance and not act rashly. Once we have to act... we must act with the force of thunder and lightning and capture the bandits in one go!"

"On the basis of steady and cautious progress, we must launch the most fierce and swift attack and never give the bandits a chance to breathe!"

Tang Jian was actually very surprised to hear what Zhu Jinghong said. He had a similar feeling as the emperor and thought Zhu Jinghong was making a big deal out of nothing.

But after all, they were more "professional", so Tang Jian did not question them.

"Even a lion will fight a rabbit with all its might. You must not take it lightly!"

"The three military divisions of Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou currently have nearly 100,000 troops. Even if you only mobilize half of them, it will be enough for you to crush these rebels to death!"

He noticed Tang Jian and said, "General Tang, you have to understand... If you make another mistake this time, your position as an official will probably be over!"

It is difficult to convince people with reason, but interests can easily achieve your goals.

Tang Jian could not accept the result of making a mistake and affecting his career.

Now that the emperor has authorized him to mobilize troops from the three provinces, he will attack with all his might, even if it is just to keep his official hat.

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness!" Tang Jian said solemnly.

…………

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed and it is the end of August.

In a valley in Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan, Liu Zhuming was sitting on rocks holding a broadsword. At this moment, his face was grim as he stared at the rubble on the ground.

His head was wrapped in cloth stained with blood, showing that he was seriously injured.

Around him, there were a bunch of remnants of soldiers, almost all of them were injured, some were bandaging, some were resting, and some were eating...

Liu Zhuming did not get carried away by his previous victory, but instead thought about taking steady steps and continuing to consolidate his own strength.

Later, he did exactly that. While building city defenses, he incited the people and sent people to spread the idea of ​​rebellion.

Dividing land, winning people's hearts, and winning over scholars... these things are his basic skills.

He wanted to seize as many prefectures and counties as possible while the imperial court was still in shock, so that he would have more room for maneuver.

His next plan was to develop towards the mountainous areas to the south and west after gaining a foothold in Chenzhou, as the power of the local governments there was relatively weak.

Everything was as he expected, but after mid-July, things started to change.

The imperial court sent a new deputy governor and mobilized elite troops from the Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou regions to encircle and suppress him from three directions.

Thanks to the coordination of high-level generals, the three divisions did not argue with each other, and they cooperated very well in marching and fighting, forming a very stable encirclement.

Although the three military commanders only mobilized a total of 30,000 troops, they were able to defeat the enemy and force them to flee in disarray. After losing cities one after another, they were driven back into the mountains.

However, the imperial court did not stop the suppression. Even though Liu Zhuming hid in the mountains, the government troops had already guarded all the important roads and sent troops into the mountains to hunt him down.

For more than half a month, Liu Zhuming has been hiding from place to place, and the number of followers around him has become fewer and fewer, and now there are only about a hundred people left.

"Your Majesty, the government troops are following closely behind us, we should hurry!"

The person who spoke was Li Qinghou. Although this military advisor was not injured, his panic-stricken look made him look even more embarrassed.

"What Your Majesty? It's all bullshit..." Liu Zhuming smiled bitterly.

As lofty as his ideals were in the past, Liu Zhuming is as depressed now.

At this moment, he wished he could kill himself with a knife so that he would no longer have to suffer the pain of being displaced.

"Your Majesty, as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood... It's time for us to go!" Li Qinghou said in a serious tone.

He wanted to survive, so he was more anxious than Liu Zhuming.

"Do we still have a chance?" Liu Zhuming smiled bitterly.

Li Qinghou nodded: "As long as you are alive, there is a chance!"

"I'll trust you again!" Liu Zhuming stood up.

Looking at his brothers in the distance, Liu Zhuming shouted, "Brothers, it's time to hurry!"

Everyone immediately stood up and followed him into the depths of the mountains. Only by hiding in the mountains could they escape. Liu Zhuming didn't know that as his army was defeated, an undercurrent had already spread among his subordinates.

The person who pulled this undercurrent was the secret agent of the Hunan Thousand Households Unit of the Jinyiwei, who had infiltrated the rebels half a month ago.

Now that the rebels have been defeated and are in a state of panic, it is time for him to make achievements and establish his own career.

Privately, he had spread the news of the reward for his connections: whoever captured Liu Zhuming alive would be pardoned and rewarded with a thousand taels of silver.

Not to mention the huge reward of one thousand taels, the mere fact of pardoning the innocent was enough to make many people disloyal, but Liu Zhuming knew nothing about this.

After walking for a while, they came to a cliff. It would take some effort to cross it.

Everyone took out rope hooks and threw them towards the cliff. After several attempts, one hook finally came out of the tree, and then a nimble person climbed up.

After this man went up, he tied two more rope ladders, and then everyone climbed up.

In order to calm people's hearts, Liu Zhuming chose to go up last at this time, which gave the "traitor" an opportunity to take advantage of.

After most people went up, the man who was previously appointed as a thousand households by Liu Zhuming, brought a few trusted men and approached Liu Zhuming.

"Your Majesty, there is something...I need your help!"

"What help?" Liu Zhuming asked subconsciously.

But when he turned around, he was knocked down by several people approaching him, and then his weapons were disarmed. This scene shocked everyone present.

The people who took action did not dare to delay and dragged Liu Zhuming away, fearing that others would come to "rescue".

But these people were really overthinking it. Although it was surprising that Liu Zhuming was captured, for most people escaping was the most important thing.

Apart from a dozen people scolding, only two people followed and chased after them. However, after chasing for a few steps and seeing that the others did not move, the two men also stopped.

Li Qinghou, who was the most anxious, immediately turned around and left after the scolding. He was afraid that he would also be kidnapped by these people.

But he hadn't walked a few steps when he heard someone behind him say, "Military Advisor, why are you in such a hurry?"

The arrest of Liu Zhuming just now obviously has a certain demonstration effect, so there will be a second one after the first one.

Everyone who had escaped knew that they could be pardoned if the two bandit leaders were captured, but they were afraid of Liu Zhuming's danger and did not dare to move.

Now that someone has taken action, others will become bolder!
So, the two people who caused chaos in Hunan were taken down in this somewhat ridiculous way.

That afternoon, Liu Zhuming and the other man were brought before Tang Jian. Compared to when they were arrested at noon, they had more injuries on their bodies, and it was obvious that they had suffered a lot during the entire transfer process.

The rebellion was completely crushed. Tang Jian was in a very good mood at this time, so he felt less hatred towards the two rebels in front of him.

Walking towards the two people kneeling in the hall, Tang Jian looked at them carefully and said to those around him, "Why did they get beaten like this?"

It had been agreed before that if the leader of the thieves was captured alive, he would be sent to public trial; if he was beaten to death, Tang Jian would have a hard time explaining himself.

The commander-in-chief of the Hunan Provincial Military Commission was present, and he leaned forward and replied, "General, many of our men died because of these two men, and it is understandable that we are venting our anger!"

Tang Jian didn't say much, but looked at the guards on the side and said, "Let them talk!"

After receiving the order, the guard immediately stepped forward and removed the gags from the two men's mouths.

"What do you two have to say?"

Tang Jian wanted to hear the two men beg for mercy, but Liu Zhuming asked, "Who are you?"

Hearing this, Tang Jian almost laughed. These two people actually had the mood to ask him questions.

"I am... the deputy commander of the rear army commander's office, and my loyal minister, Bo Tang Jian!"

Liu Zhuming was deeply surprised, and then asked: "I am just a small thief, why should I bother you, a great god!"

Tang Jian sat back in the main seat and said slowly, "You are not an ordinary thief to be valued so much by the Thirteenth Master!"

"Thirteenth Master? Prince Xiang?" Liu Zhuming asked hesitantly.

Picking up the teacup, Tang Jian calmly replied, "That's right!"

"It seems that he is a real dragon after all, and I am a loach... It's not unfair for me to lose, it's not unfair for me to lose!" Liu Zhuming was completely convinced.

He set himself the final and most powerful opponent, Zhu Jinghong, and he had nothing to say if he lost to him.

Tang Jian saw that this person was completely depressed. He wanted to say something but felt it was pointless, so he ordered his men to take the two away.

"Marshal, now that the bandits have been wiped out, you can rest assured!" said the commander-in-chief of the Hunan Regional Military Commission with a smile.

"Yeah...you can sleep well too!" Tang Jian said with a smile.

…………

Seven days later, Liu Zhuming and the other man were taken to Changsha Prefecture, where the provincial capital of Hunan was located.

Wang Pei'an, the governor of Hunan, has only been in office for ten days, but he has already done a lot.

The first one is to make the Chief Secretary and the Provincial Supervisor obedient. Now I just feel respectful and do my work under him.

He has basically met all the local prefects in Hunan and has already carried out preliminary warnings against these people.

Wang Pei'an is not afraid of offending people, and other people also know that he is upright and, most importantly, has a very strong backing, so they dare not neglect him at all.

So it only took him ten days to establish his authority in Hunan and to govern with drastic measures.

Of course, his main task now is to verify, and it is not time to take action yet.

When Liu Zhuming and the other man were brought in, he immediately convened a trial.

There were more than twenty officials in total, including the Provincial Governor, the Provincial Censor, the Chief Inspector, and the chief officials of the nearby prefectures and counties.

The trial was held in the Changsha government office, so all the officials arrived early and no one dared to put on airs with Wang Pei'an.

However, many people thought they had arrived early, only to find out when they arrived that Wang Pei'an had arrived earlier.

After a few words of idle chat, the trial officially began soon and Liu Zhuming and the other man were escorted up.

"Traitor, do you know your crime?" asked the Changsha prefect after slamming the gavel.

"I was forced into a dead end by the government officials and gentry, so I started a war to save my life... What crime have I committed?"

"Nonsense! How come you have no way to survive in this peaceful and prosperous time?" the Changsha prefect scolded.

"A peaceful and prosperous era? The county government collected taxes five times in the first half of the year? The land lord forced us to pay the tax, and when I had no money, he took my land away and burned down my house... Is this what you call a peaceful and prosperous era?"

This is of course a true story, and Liu Zhuming is not the worst person to suffer.

As the local official, the prefect of Changsha knew everything that was happening below him, because the situation was almost the same in the counties under him.

As long as the court's tasks can be completed, the superiors basically don't care how the subordinates do things, as long as no major mistakes are made.

Things got out of hand in Chenzhou Prefecture, and all the officials in the prefecture and county apologized, which served as a warning to others.

"Since such a wicked thing happened, why didn't you report it to the authorities?"

Hearing what the official said, Liu Zhuming laughed and said, "Why didn't Zhu Chongba report it to the authorities?"

This sentence almost scared everyone present to death. At this moment, all the officials' eyes were swept towards the quiet room on the east side, where the Jinyiwei and Dongchang people were listening.

The officials felt relieved when there was no movement inside.

"Come here, give me severe punishment!" The prefect of Changsha threw the order.

At this time, no one dared to stop the torture, not even Wang Pei'an.

After being severely punished, Liu Zhuming no longer looked like a human being, but he was really tough and would not say anything except some treasonous remarks.

(End of this chapter)