The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 343: Burning the Jinyiwei Yamen

Temasek.

The once bustling street is now sparsely populated, with waiters trying listlessly to attract customers.

People passing by were all in a hurry, as if there was something scary here.

"Pah... You're useless. You can't even get a single customer all day. You'll have nothing to eat today."

At the door of a restaurant, the fat and big-eared shopkeeper slapped the young man who was trying to attract customers in the face as if it was free.

A passerby looked reluctant and wanted to step forward to persuade them, but was stopped by someone next to him:
"You don't want to live anymore..."

Before he finished speaking, several people fled in panic from another restaurant not far away.

But before he could run far, he was stopped by a strong man who came out from the side road and pinned to the ground.

A young man struggled and shouted: "What are you doing? I'm going to sue you in the government office..."

A sturdy man said fiercely: "Sue the officials? If you eat without paying, it will be useless even if the king of heaven comes."

The young man shouted, "You guys are cheating me. You said a pound of shrimps would cost two cents, but when you collected the money, you changed it to two thousand cents."

The strong man sneered and said, "Two cents for a pound of shrimp, are you dreaming?"

"Besides, our shrimps are clearly marked with prices, one or two cents. You can't blame anyone if you didn't see it clearly."

The one point he mentioned is weight, and one ounce is one hundred points.

The young man shouted: "You wrote that number very small, deliberately confusing people..."

Another strong man kicked him in the stomach, causing him to hold his stomach in pain and shrink like a shrimp, unable to utter the rest of the words.

"Why waste time talking to him? Drag him in, tie him up, and notify their ship owner to come and redeem him."

Afterwards, a dozen strong men dragged those people into the store.

People passing by didn't find this scene strange at all, they just quickened their pace and tried to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

The passerby who was kind at first was so scared that his legs went limp:

"Here...here...is there no law?"

His companion whispered: "The emperor is far away, they are the kings here..."

"Besides, most of the shops here are owned by officials in Beijing. Who dares to manage them?"

As they were talking, they passed by a casino.

There were only five or six ragged men squatting or curled up like dogs on both sides of the gate.

If you look closely, you can see that they all have an iron chain tied around their necks.

"This is……"

"He owed gambling debts and couldn't pay them back, so he was caught by the casino and used as a slave..."

"Remember, don't be kind here. Not only will it hurt yourself, but it will also hurt your companions and their families."

The passerby nodded hurriedly: "I understand... I didn't expect Temasek to be like this. I will never come here again."

One of his companions sighed, “All ships passing through Malacca have to come here to get customs documents.”

"As long as you are a sailor, you can't help coming."

Another companion said: "Actually, it hasn't always been like this. It was very prosperous a few years ago."

"The crew loved coming up here to rest... Unfortunately, those days are gone forever."

Others also sighed with emotion, and complained about how inhumane the government office here was, and that they brought all this upon themselves.

Not far from the roadside, Xu Chailao, who was dressed in casual clothes, had a gloomy expression on his face.

He witnessed everything but did not step forward to stop it because he could not control it.

What made him even more uncomfortable was that everything that happened today was the result of his weakness.

Everything on the street is the biggest mockery of him.

Cen Xintong comforted him, "Don't worry about it. The capital will definitely deal with it after receiving the secret report. Everything will be fine then."

Xu Chai Lao shook his head and said, "I have failed Chen Bandu's trust..."

Cen Xintong opened his mouth, wanting to say something to comfort her, but he couldn't utter a word.

He also knew about Chen Jingke's original design.

Including how to manage, for example, the Governor's Office must be tough and enforce the new laws, and all those who disobey must be expelled.

All violations will be tried according to law.

A general degree of fairness and justice must be ensured.

They were even told about the consequences of the Governor-General's weakness.

It’s a pity that the more talented a person is, the more confident he is and the less likely he is to listen to other people’s opinions.

Xu Chailao thought he knew Nanyang and businessmen better, so he did not listen to this advice.

In the end, all of Chen Jingke's speculations came true.

This is what makes them most ashamed.

Not only that, they also have to consider their future careers.

"When you first discovered the signs and reminded me, I should have reported the matter in a timely manner..."

"But for the sake of my own career, I chose to conceal it, thinking that I could solve it by my own ability."

"It turns out that I overestimated myself."

He was born a businessman and was weak and compromising at the beginning. Who would take him seriously?
A governor who has lost his prestige is a complete joke.

At this point, he said with deep regret: "I feel most sorry for you. I made you suffer the punishment together with me."

As the head of the Royal Guard in Temasek, he did not report such a big thing, which is a serious dereliction of duty.

It's no surprise that they are held accountable.

Cen Xintong smiled and said, "We are brothers, why are you saying these things?"

"Without your help, I wouldn't be where I am today. We brothers share weal and woe."

Then he said seriously: "In fact, I am also wrong. I knew you were going astray, but I failed to stop you and instead covered up for you."

"If I had reported this matter at the beginning, there wouldn't be the disastrous consequences today."

"As a friend, I failed to fulfill my responsibility to correct the mistake..."

Xu Chai Lao felt even worse. If he had known this would happen...

Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in this world.

Taking a deep breath and discarding these negative emotions, he said in a deep voice:
"Have you collected all the evidence?"

Cen Xintong nodded and said, "Don't worry, everything that happened in these years is recorded by the Jinyiwei Yamen. We are just waiting for the court to send someone to deal with it."

Xu Chailao nodded. The big mistake had already been made and he could only try his best to remedy it.

All he can do now is to collect the evidence and hand it over to the court when the time comes.

As for how the court would use it and how it would deal with everything here, he didn't know.

But he believed that given the importance of Temasek, the court would not ignore it.

Just as the two were talking, another Jinyiwei suddenly ran over and said breathlessly:
"Bai... Bai Hu... No... Something bad has happened..."

Cen Xintong was startled and asked, "Tell me quickly, what happened?"

The Jinyiwei took a few deep breaths before saying, "Water... the government office is under fire."

The two men were horrified and no longer cared about their dignity. They ran towards the yamen.

As soon as they left, a man selling candied haws not far away made a few gestures towards the distance.

A man came over immediately, and the two of them whispered to each other and then left.

Xu Chai Lao and his companions ran all the way to the Jinyiwei Yamen and found that it was already engulfed in fire.

The Jinyiwei were still trying to rescue people, but they were helpless in the face of such a huge fire.

Xu Chailao stared at the sea of ​​fire in a daze, as if he was frightened silly.

Cen Xintong's face turned pale, and he grabbed a passing Jinyiwei and asked:
"Where are the files? Have the files inside been transferred?"

The Jinyiwei shook his head and said, "The fire started suddenly, we..." Cen Xintong pushed him away and was about to rush into the fire.

But he was hugged by his subordinates around him: "Captain, please don't be impulsive."

The fire burned for two days and one night, and the huge Jinyiwei Yamen was reduced to ashes.

Also burned were all the files from the past few years, including all the evidence they had collected.

Fortunately, the incident happened during the day and there were no casualties.

Xu Chailao seemed to be frightened and hid in the yamen and never showed up again.

On the contrary, Cen Xintong seemed to be crazy and ordered the Jinyiwei to search for the murderer everywhere.

However, nothing was achieved.

The merchants who were extremely arrogant before seemed to have received some news and behaved much more restrainedly.

For example, the people tied up at the entrance of the casino disappeared.

But that’s all, what is supposed to happen is still happening.

Two months passed by in the blink of an eye, and one day a huge fleet suddenly appeared on the sea.

There are more than two hundred ships of all sizes.

Among them, there were twenty treasure ships and nearly sixty warships.

These ships all flew two flags, Ming and Qin.

This is an official ship, and experienced people immediately came to this conclusion.

But the word "Qin" has puzzled many people. Is there a senior general with the surname Qin in the South China Sea Fleet?

Although they couldn't figure it out, they knew they couldn't provoke it, so all the ships along the way avoided it.

The tractors at Temasek Port also took immediate action to make room for the fleet.

This behavior of cutting in line did not cause any dissatisfaction from other fleets.

On the contrary, many fleets were asking whose ship it was and what it was going to do.

If they are sailing far out to sea, can they pay protection fees and follow the fleet?

Ocean trade is highly profitable, but also very risky.

Danger does not only come from nature, every person you meet is a source of danger.

They were caravans one moment and pirates the next.

After robbing the other party and destroying all traces, he becomes a legitimate businessman again.

On this sea, no one knows what happened.

Therefore, people who go overseas tend to stick together, and few dare to go alone.

Serious sea merchants liked to follow the imperial caravans to seek shelter.

Even if they have to pay high protection fees, they are willing to do so.

The fleet in front of them was obviously affiliated with the government, so they naturally wanted to follow it.

However, before they could take action, the fleet took action first.

Sixty warships separated from the main force and completely blocked the port, while also sending personnel to patrol around the island.

This move caused great panic. What on earth had happened?

However, no one could answer their questions.
-
This fleet was none other than Prince Zhu Chong's fleet.

After more than twenty days of sailing, they finally arrived at Temasek Island.

When the fleet came to a stop, Zhu Chong stood on the deck and looked at the panicked merchant ships with cold eyes:

"Let those two losers come to see me."

Xu Yingxu immediately sent someone to find Xu Chailao and Cen Xintong.

Upon learning that it was the King of Qin who had arrived, Xu Chailao, who had been hiding at home, did not dare to be negligent and immediately went to greet him.

At the same time, I was still wondering whether the King of Qin was passing by or came here to deal with the Temasek issue?
Cen Xintong was different. When he heard that King Qin was coming, he couldn't help but take a breath.

As a Jinyiwei, how could he not know who Qin Wang Zhu Chong was?

Moreover, he immediately confirmed that Zhu Chong was sent by the court to handle the matter.

The King of Qin was dispatched, it seems that the court is extremely dissatisfied with the situation here.

Cen Xintong seemed to see blood in front of his eyes.

But he was no longer in the mood to worry about others, as he was not sure whether he could survive.

Given the King of Qin's temperament, it would not be surprising if he killed himself.

Cen Xintong didn't know that Zhu Chong was just passing by, and thought he came specifically to deal with this matter.

But the final result is no different.

Soon the two appeared on Zhu Chong's flagship.

Looking at the two of them, Zhu Chong was very disdainful: "Tell us about what happened here in detail."

The two did not dare to delay and quickly explained the whole story.

Zhu Chong's expression remained indifferent from beginning to end, as if all the bad behavior on the island could not cause the slightest change in his emotions.

This made Xu Chailao very puzzled. Wasn't the King of Qin angry at all?
When he talked about the fire in the Jinyiwei Yamen, Zhu Chong no longer spared any face and said:

"waste."

Cen Xintong was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly explained:

"Reporting to the King of Qin, Governor Xu and I have long noticed that something is amiss, and we have made two copies of the evidence."

"One copy is kept in the Jinyiwei Yamen, and the other is kept somewhere else."

When the Jinyiwei Yamen caught fire before, they pretended to be angry and afraid, just to perform for the people behind the scenes.

Zhu Chong's expression finally changed a little. He looked down at the two of them and said:

"You two idiots are not that stupid to think of this."

Xu Chailao felt a little aggrieved. This King of Qin... really didn't treat people as human beings.

After all, I am the Governor of Temasek appointed by the court.

Cen Xintong was delighted and said humbly, "Thank you, King Qin, for your praise. I am ashamed to accept it."

Zhu Chong said jokingly: "How did you know I was praising you?"

Cen Xintong said respectfully: "Your Majesty is a genius in the world. Being considered not stupid by you is the greatest compliment to me."

Zhu Chong smiled, finally looked him in the eye, and said:

"You are very sensible. I like sensible people. Your lives are saved for now."

Cen Xintong immediately kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness."

Only then did Xu Chailao realize that something was wrong and that he had been on the brink of death.

Thinking back to some of the rumors about Zhu Chong, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

It’s no wonder that he was ignorant. When he defected to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Chong had already been imprisoned for a long time.

This matter is considered a taboo in the Ming Dynasty and few people talk about it, so it is normal that he does not have a deep understanding of it.

Then, Zhu Chong did not ask them to collect evidence, but asked:

"Then tell me, how should we deal with those people on the island?"

Cen Xintong's eyes turned cold, and he said, "Killing, not killing is not enough to shock people, not killing is not enough to reshape the rules."

The rules here have been completely corrupted and their reputation has become a disaster.

Only by starting over completely can we re-establish rules and order.

Only in this way can the world see the court's determination and regain confidence in this place.

"Haha..." Zhu Chong laughed and said, "Okay, then kill him."

"Come here, gather all the people on this island together. I want to open a court to try the case."

(End of this chapter)