King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 787: The Sin of King Gongshun

"This man is called Zhang Xin. We asked him to go to Henan to contact people. I don't know where he is now, but he is definitely from the Gongshun Palace!"

Zhang Xin is Ying Qu. This guy changes his name wherever he goes. He is really cunning to the extreme.

"What are their plans?"

"Zhang Xin wants us to assassinate the emperor. We have agreed to kill him with cannon fire when the emperor ascends Daming Gate on the night of the Lantern Festival!"

"Use artillery?" Chen Yuntai was surprised.

Chen Yuntai knew that when the emperor was on his eastern tour two years ago, the White Lotus Sect had attempted assassinations several times, and that they were all related to Prince Gongshun's Palace.

At that time, Zhu Jinghong was still the crown prince, and he suppressed all these matters. Although the emperor received the report, he did not receive any reply.

After hearing these words from the White Lotus Sect's top leaders, Chen Yuntai was sure that Lao Liu was still not giving up, and he didn't know what to say to him.

During the Lantern Festival, the Tianjie outside the Daming Gate will be strictly guarded and a large number of spies will be scattered. The most important thing is that there are so many pedestrians that artillery cannot be set up, and assassination is simply impossible.

After thinking about it carefully, Chen Yuntai still felt it was outrageous, so he asked: "How to hide the artillery? How to set it up? How to ensure that it hits the target?"

Hearing this, Dong Ze first smiled, and then replied: "Your Excellency is overthinking. It is difficult to even get the artillery, let alone transport it into the city, let alone place it in the north city, and in the heavily patrolled Tianjie!"

"We agreed to conspire with them only because we were attracted by the money in the Gongshun Palace. They have always been very generous!"

"For the first advance payment alone, he gave us 20,000 taels of silver, and then he gave us more money after each step was completed. He also said that there would be another 50,000 after the matter was completed. If King Gongshun became the emperor, he would also give us official positions and titles!"

"Prince Gongshun was so sincere, but you lied to him?" Chen Yuntai asked.

"We did trick him, but not completely. Otherwise, he wouldn't have believed the letter. So we gave him the manpower. I think he should be running around in Henan now to make contacts!"

"The token we gave him can indeed be used by him to mobilize manpower, and it is 20 relatively capable people!"

Chen Yuntai asked again: "Recruiting capable personnel to him is also to take his money?"

"Yes!"

"You have all been arrested, and the news has leaked out to the White Lotus. Now that they have learned the news, will they continue with their plans?"

"I don't know!" Dong Ze answered frankly.

"To be honest, what you said is of little use. We can't catch the person for the time being, and even if we catch him, it will be difficult for you to convict him!"

Dong Ze was undoubtedly very disappointed when he heard Chen Yuntai say this: "Except for this news, I have said everything I need to say. We can't squeeze anything out of you. Please give us a quick death!"

Chen Yuntai just smiled, then got up and left. After walking out of the cell, he ordered that Dong Ze's punishment be temporarily suspended.

To him, this information was Dong Ze's alarmist statement, whose purpose was to lure him over and make him commit suicide.

But no matter what, the person named Zhang Xin objectively exists. He will write a letter to the Henan Qianhu Office, asking them to pay special attention to this person named Zhang Xin.

Six days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was October 15th. The team escorting prisoners from Henan Qianhu finally arrived in Beijing at an accelerated speed.

"Sir, the Henan Thousand Households sent several White Lotus rebels, including a serious criminal named Wang Qiu. Henan Thousand Households Liu said he couldn't bring them to trial. Please find a way to deal with them!"

It was only six days after the letter was written, but the other party received it in two days at the earliest. It was obvious that these prisoners had set off before he wrote the letter.

"A serious criminal... Captain Liu is really a good person!" Chen Yuntai said with emotion.

I have to say that this Captain Liu from Henan is indeed the most capable. I have shared a lot of intelligence with him in the past two years, and the two have a good relationship, even though they have not actually met each other many times.

"Let's go and take a look!" Chen Yuntai said with a smile. It was rare for him to be in such a good mood.

In a side courtyard of the Beicheng Qianhu Suo, several prisoners were taken out of a car and were guarded by a dozen captains.

Ying Qu knelt among several people, but his eyes were filled with despair.

From the moment he was arrested ten days ago, he knew that he would not survive, and that this would ruin Zhu Jingyuan's plans, and his family would not be able to survive either.

Even while he was still alive, his family was killed by Zhu Jingyuan out of anger.

Having done a lot of dirty things for Zhu Jingyuan over the years, Ying Qu knew very well how cruel this prince was.

On this side, Chen Yuntai, accompanied by two deputy captains, came to the small courtyard in person. The centurion in charge of escorting from Henan took the initiative to greet him.

After some polite greetings, Chen Yuntai signed the official letter to receive the prisoners, and then went to check the prisoners.

Before the escorting captain introduced him, Chen Yuntai recognized Ying Qu. They had dealt with each other a lot over the years.

"I was wondering who it was. It turns out to be Manager Ying!" Chen Yuntai said in a deep voice.

Although he looked serious, he was actually smiling in his heart. At this moment, he thought of Dong Ze's confession. After all, Ying Qu was Zhu Jingyuan's confidant.

"Come here, take him to the cell, I will interrogate him personally!"

Since the matter involves the emperor and Prince Gongshun, he cannot let too many people know about it, otherwise Chen Yuntai would be seeking death.

Ten minutes later, Ying Qiu was sent to the cell. Sitting opposite him was Chen Yuntai, and the only other people there were two of his trusted captains.

"We have arrested a group of White Lotus rebels before. They said that the Gongshun Palace was planning to assassinate the emperor. They said that a man named Zhang Xin was behind it. Could it be that you are Zhang Xin?"

"That's right!" Ying Qiu admitted frankly.

He was doomed to die, and his family was almost doomed to die. It was all Zhu Jingyuan's fault. Now he was no longer under any restraint, so naturally he would say whatever he wanted.

And because Zhu Jingyuan was cruel to him, Ying Qu would tell everything he knew, just to kill Zhu Jingyuan for revenge.

"Prince Gongshun wants to kill the emperor, and he asked me to collude with the White Lotus bandits to assassinate him, and the time is chosen to be the night of the Lantern Festival next year!"

Next, Ying Qu mentioned some more details, which basically matched what Dong Ze said.

"I have already told you everything you know, and I want to tell you something you don't know!"

"Oh? You say!" Chen Yuntai answered calmly. Things went much more smoothly than he had imagined.

"Prince Gongshun claimed that his illness was fake, but he was actually in excellent health. He had an accomplice in the Imperial Hospital who made a false pulse diagnosis for him!"

"There is a secret passage in Gongshun Palace. One end is in Zhu Jingyuan's study, and the other end is in the rockery on the west side of the palace's back garden!"

"In the eighteenth year of Zhengtong, Prince Gongshun found the White Lotus Sect traitor..."

"The seventeenth year of Zhengtong..."

"The fifteenth year of Zhengtong..."

Ying Qu talked incessantly, telling Chen Yuntai all the shameful things that Zhu Jingyuan had done.

"In May of the tenth year of Zhengtong, the emperor followed the late crown prince to Jinling. In order to damage the late crown prince's reputation, Prince Gongshun secretly ordered a maid to poison the emperor, and asked me to force the imperial physician to diagnose the illness as a cold!"

Ying Qu then described the murder of Zhu Jinghong in more detail, leaving Chen Yuntai dumbfounded.

If he remembered correctly, the emperor had not yet been conferred the title at that time, let alone stirred up the situation. Zhu Jingyuan, the legitimate elder brother, poisoned his younger brother just to bring down the prince.

This person is simply too bad... This is the only conclusion Chen Yuntai could draw.

At this time, Ying Qu said with emotion: "The emperor was originally going to die from the poison, but who knew that he would come back to life a few days later. I guess... the emperor is truly destined to be blessed by heaven, so it is difficult for ordinary evil to infect him at all!"

Chen Yuntai replied: "Yes... Your Majesty is the one who is destined by heaven. Prince Gongshun's ambitious plans are nothing but self-defeating!" "Anything else you want to explain?" Chen Yuntai asked.

"I have said everything that needs to be said. I only want Zhu Jingyuan to die!"

Chen Yuntai didn't know what to say, so he ordered his men to prepare and sign the confession as soon as possible, and then he would verify it based on the testimony.

Chen Yuntai was very cautious in his work, so he would not believe all of Ying Qu's testimony and would always verify it before reporting it to his superiors.

The first thing to investigate is the secret passage of Prince Gongshun's palace and those who are still making trouble.

Now the emperor is so kind and respectful that he would have to ask for permission if he wanted to investigate forcibly. Chen Yuntai did not dare to act rashly, so he went straight into the palace.

There is no doubt that when he arrived at the Qianqing Palace this time, he still failed to see Zhu Jinghong, who was practicing Taoism in the Yingchun Room at that time.

Yu Hai forwarded Chen Yuntai's report, which only mentioned that the White Lotus Sect had been recently discovered to have a connection with Prince Gongshun's Palace, and requested the emperor's approval to search the Prince Gongshun's Palace.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Jinghong looked at Yu Hai beside him and asked, "What do you think?"

"I dare not speak nonsense!"

If Zhu Jinghong's attitude was clear, Yu Hai would dare to speak at this moment, but the key is that the emperor is still struggling.

Zhu Jinghong did not blame him. After repeated consideration, he finally said, "Tell Chen Yuntai to be careful and not to make a big fuss. Cut off the relationship between Prince Gongshun's palace and the White Lotus Sect. He can be regarded as saving Prince Gongshun's life!"

"Yes!"

After Yu Hai agreed, he sent someone to Qianqing Gate to pass on the message. Chen Yuntai was overjoyed when he received the approval.

The Prince Gongshun's Palace was basically in a state of blockade. Upon receiving the order, Chen Yuntai did not delay and sent his confidants to search it that night.

Even though Zhu Jingyuan tried to stop it again and again, the secret passage was still discovered, and his pretense of illness was exposed.

At this point, Zhu Jingyuan realized that his plan had completely collapsed, and he was so grief-stricken and angry that he fainted.

There was chaos in Prince Gongshun's palace, but they were under blockade after all, so no one outside knew what was going on inside.

Even the guards on duty were suspicious when they heard the noise, but no one went in to check.

The people who entered the palace tonight were the Jinyiwei who held the imperial edict. No one would think of going in and causing trouble, and no one would reveal what happened today to anyone.

Although the verification was correct, Chen Yuntai was not in a hurry to report it because there were other situations that needed to be verified. He planned to find out everything and then report it to the emperor at one time.

In the blink of an eye, a few days passed and it was October 25th, and snow had already begun to fall in the capital.

On the east side of the imperial palace, north of Donghua Gate, is where the royal military performances were held. The main hall is called Longwu Hall.

Here today, at this time of heavy snow, a large number of young officers gathered together, each of them looking excited and full of hope.

There were about three hundred young officers present, two hundred of whom were sent out from the Dragon Guards this year, and the remaining one hundred were elite warriors selected from this year's military examination.

In other words, the 300 people here are young military officers who are about to take office. There is a group of them taking office every year.

All of them started out as the seventh rank. The worst of them could be appointed as a captain in a local military headquarters, while the best of them could be appointed as a captain or a captain in the Beijing camp, and the best of them could be appointed as a member of the Imperial Guard.

Of course, if he could continue to serve in the Dragon Guard, it would be a very good choice, but he would still be sent away later.

The more than 300 middle and lower-level officers were an important means for the royal family to break the monopoly of military power by the nobles, and Zhu Jinghong himself attached particular importance to these people.

Two days ago, the Ministry of War submitted the relevant appointment documents, and Zhu Jinghong decided to summon these people today. The location was chosen outside the Longwu Palace, which was spacious enough and the style was suitable.

A group of young military officers had already lined up and were standing in line. There were also officials from the Ministry of War and generals from the Five Military Governor's Office.

Of course, the high-ranking ministers and vice ministers of the Ministry of War, as well as the governors and their associate governors, were waiting for the emperor outside the Qianqing Gate.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Jinghong, with the help of palace maids, changed into a purple robe with cloud pattern and dragon pattern, and put on the emperor's Yishan crown with double dragons playing with pearls on his head.

Although they are called casual clothes, they are actually quite complicated and luxurious, and to be honest, they are not very comfortable to wear.

After tying the leather belt, Xichun stepped back and bowed, "Your Majesty, it's done!"

Now the task of serving Zhu Jinghong personally fell on her and Park Jin-young, and they each brought a few palace maids to take charge.

Since Xichun is on duty today, Park Jinyoung's group took a day off, and the two of them took turns "working".

"it is good!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled, looked through his glasses and saw that there was nothing wrong with himself, then turned around and walked out of the main hall.

As soon as he left the warm room, Yu Hai came to report: "Your Majesty, the people from the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanders' Office are waiting outside the Qianqing Gate!"

"Ok!"

After walking out of the hall and looking at the prepared sedan chair, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "Forget it, there's not much distance to go. I'll just walk there!"

"Yes!"

Although Zhu Jinghong chose to walk, the sedan chair and a large group of people accompanying him still had to follow him to serve.

When Zhu Jinghong approached the Qianqing Gate, a group of officials outside had already spotted him. A dozen of them reminded each other to stand still, and when Zhu Jinghong walked out of the palace gate, they all bowed to him.

"I am here to pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Walking down the stairs, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "Everyone, please stand up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

When Zhu Jinghong came to the bottom of the steps and walked among the ministers, everyone consciously hooked their arms around his waist and surrounded him.

"Auspicious snow means a good harvest. Today's snow is a good omen. You and I, the king and his subject... let's walk on the snow to Longwu Palace together!"

The emperor's farts were all fragrant, and what he said at this moment was even more true, and everyone present praised him.

"Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune. Heaven has just sent down auspicious snow..."

"Now that Your Majesty is on the throne, all the people in the world can enjoy His grace..."

"Your Majesty is wise and capable. This is a blessing for the people, the court, and the Ming Dynasty..."

Amid the flattery of the crowd, Zhu Jinghong, holding the leather belt in his hand, passed through one palace gate after another and headed towards the Longwu Palace.

As he approached, the Longwu Hall became quiet and serious. All the young officers stood upright in six rows, looking straight ahead, standing still and steady like a mountain.

"Your Majesty has arrived. Kneel!"

Following a shout from outside, all the officers knelt down in unison.

In this era of highly centralized imperial power, especially in front of Zhu Jinghong, the emperor on horseback, there was no such thing as being inconvenient to salute while wearing armor.

That’s right, according to Zhu Jinghong’s instructions, these officers did not wear court robes but armor during today’s audience.

When everyone was bowing their heads, Zhu Jinghong had already entered the Longwu Gate. Everywhere he looked, he saw people kneeling on the ground in worship.

(End of this chapter)