The Ming Dynasty talker in the box

Chapter 11 Prison Disaster
Forbidden City, Qianqing Gate.

The chair in front of you is made of dozens of precious materials such as huanghuali, red sandalwood, ivory, keel, etc. The back of the chair is engraved with a golden dragon, with its body coiled and its head high, lifelike.

This is the dragon chair, which is a symbol of the emperor's power and status, and is also the throne where only the emperor can sit.

Li Zicheng has been in Beijing for several days. He has been to the places he should go to in the Forbidden City and played with the things he should play. Only this chair has he yet to sit on.

Because there is still an important matter that has not been resolved. If this matter is not resolved, he will not have the right or qualification to sit on this chair.

"Old Liu, haven't you found Zhu Youjian's body yet?"

There is a person at the bottom of the steps. This person's right hand is holding a sword inlaid with gems, and his left hand is resting on a beautifully carved jade handle. There is a small brocade bag hanging on his waist, with exquisite embroidery on the brocade bag. Plum blossom pattern.

This man's face is resolute and resolute, like a mountain peak. No matter how wind blows or rains, he always stands firm. He is none other than King Ru, Liu Zongmin, the important minister that Li Zicheng relies on most.

Liu Zongmin responded:
"Your Majesty, I took advantage of the opportunity of the torture to search the whole city, but did not find the body of old Chongzhen. I also turned over the coal mountain in the Royal Forbidden Garden, but found nothing."

Li Zicheng's brows were filled with worry: "Oh, do you think Zhu Youjian is not dead, but took advantage of the chaos and ran out of the capital?"

"The city gate was closed immediately after we entered the city. No one was allowed out, so it was impossible for Chongzhen to escape."

"Then will Zhu Youjian have already left the city before we enter the city?"

"No, I have carefully interrogated him. On the night His Majesty entered the city, many people saw the eunuch Wang Chengen helping Chongzhen to the direction of the Royal Forbidden City. Moreover, Wang Chengen was still holding a white silk ribbon in his hand at that time. "

Li Zicheng paced back and forth in front of the dragon chair:
"We must find Zhu Youjian no matter what, life or death!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Liu Zongmin replied solemnly.

Li Zicheng looked at Liu Zongmin at the bottom of the steps, and his eyebrows gradually softened:
"Old Liu, there are only two of us in this hall, don't be so reserved."

"Yes, Your Majesty, brother."

……

"By the way, how did the fundraising go?"

Liu Zongmin said in an excited tone: "Your Majesty, I recently ordered the entire army to search and arrest people in shifts, and collected a total of 5000 million taels of silver."

"5000 million taels?" Li Zicheng trotted down from the dragon throne: "Really 5000 million taels?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"This is really weird. There are so many banknotes hidden in Beijing, and Zhu Youjian can't even send out a penny. If he had collected all the money into the treasury, he wouldn't be in this situation. .”

Liu Zongmin smiled and said:
"The behavior of Emperor Chongzhen is really difficult to understand, and the ministers in this city are really despicable. However, I also discovered another strange thing in the past two days."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"When I was raising money, I found an iron box. This box is very strange. The surface is as smooth as a mirror and the workmanship is extremely fine."

"Although this box is large, it is very light to carry. I suspect that the inside of this box was hollowed out and contains letters or banknotes."

Li Zongmin frowned and continued:
"I called the best locksmiths in the city, but no one could open it. Finally, I couldn't chop it with a knife or axe. As a result, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hurt it at all."

Li Zicheng became interested: "Oh? There is such an object? Which house did you find it from?"

"I was found at the home of Wang Siyu, who was involved in the incident on the right side of the former Ministry of War."

"Did Wang Siyu explain what that box is?"

"Wang Siyu didn't explain it until his death. I guess the thing hidden in this object is more precious than I thought."

"died?"

"Well, I tried some tricks, but I didn't expect that this person was so weak that he would just die like that."

……

Liu Zongmin continued:

"However, Wang Siyu's youngest son is still in prison for interrogation. I have ordered that the boy not be allowed to die before he gives an explanation." "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

At this time, a sergeant knelt outside Qianqing Gate:
"There is news from the prison that the youngest son of the Wang family is going to reveal the secret of the iron box, but he needs to borrow the iron box..."

Prison, execution chamber.

"I'm telling you, Mr. Wang, it would have been better if you had been recruited earlier. Why do you suffer so much?" said a jailer.

"Yes, Mr. Wang, if you had confessed earlier, my brothers would not have to watch other brothers looking for wealth in the city, while I spent time with you in the dark and damp prison."

another jailer complained.

"Wait until the box is brought. If you dare to be naughty, I will smash your knees carefully."

······
Li Hengqu's thinking is quite clear at the moment. What he needs to do now is to recover his physical strength as much as possible, because what he will do later will be a severe test for his physical strength.

"Judging from the accents of the two eldest brothers, they should be from Shaanxi, right?"

"So what, we are from the same hometown as King Chuang. King Chuang wants to conquer the world, so naturally we have to contribute."

"In this way, the two eldest brothers will give me a bowl of water and some food, and I will tell the two eldest brothers a big secret."

"Drink water? I just prepared a large bucket of water for you, but you didn't want it. Now you want to drink it? I'm telling you, no!"

Li Hengqu rolled his eyes, and then said: "This secret can bring you great wealth, do you really not want to listen to it?"

The jailer sneered and said: "I heard that you dandy boys spend all day drinking wine and sleeping with women. Isn't this secret of yours a secret in the house?"

"A bowl of water and a portion of food are exchanged for a secret. Even if I lie to you, I won't suffer any loss. When the time comes, you can just whip me a few more times to vent your anger."

The two jailers looked at each other and felt that this was indeed the case. There would be no loss anyway.

One of the two men poured water into Li Hengqu's mouth, and the other stuffed pancakes into Li Hengqu's mouth, almost choking him to death.

When he finally recovered, the two people couldn't wait to ask him what his secret was.

"Do you know why King Chuang has not held his enthronement ceremony even though he has been in Beijing for several days?"

"What's the problem with this? We, King Chuang, have already proclaimed themselves emperor and ascended the throne in Xi'an, so naturally we don't need to ascend the throne again."

"The methods are different. After ascending the throne in Xi'an, people in the world will only think that Dashun is an independent warlord force."

"Only by ascending the throne in Beijing can Dashun's orthodox status in China be officially confirmed, and people in the world will truly surrender to Dashun."

Although the two jailers were illiterate, they understood the difference:
"So that's the truth, but since you can understand it, how could we, King Chuang, not understand it? It must have been that we had just entered the city not long ago, and there were many chores, and the enthronement was delayed."

Li Hengqu shook his head: "Anything can be delayed, but this ascension to the throne cannot be delayed."

"Oh, then tell me why our King Chuang doesn't ascend the throne."

"Because King Chuang is looking for someone. Only when he is sure that this person is dead can King Chuang legitimately ascend the throne. But this person is not dead, and I happen to know where he is."

·······
At the gate of the prison.

Dozens of armed guards stood solemnly on both sides.

The jade chariot fell to the ground, and a man walked down. This man had prominent cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a purple-red beard. He was Li Zicheng, Emperor Yongchang of Dashun.

"I want to see for myself what secrets are in this box."

Your king, Li Zongmin, was half a body behind Li Zicheng, following closely. Two clerks carried an iron box and followed carefully.

Not long after, Li Zicheng arrived at the door of the imperial prison execution room and happened to hear a sentence coming from inside:

"Because King Chuang is looking for someone. Only when he is sure that this person is dead can King Chuang legitimately ascend the throne. But this person is not dead, and I happen to know where he is."

(End of this chapter)