King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Park Yongxin finally saw the huge ship mentioned in the previous letter, but when he saw it, he was held down and tied up by two strong soldiers.

When he chose to invest actively, Park Yongxin did not feel the slightest bit of panic or fear. Although his heart was beating fast, he was able to remain calm and did not do anything out of line.

But when he saw this steel behemoth that was as big as a mountain, the fear in his heart roared like waves, and his face turned pale in an instant.

When he was carried onto the boat, he realized that the imperial court's move this time was not a small one, and his Park family would not be implicated in the investigation.

The imperial court must have used such a powerful weapon to wipe out all the Japanese pirates, and the fact that his Park family was secretly communicating with the Japanese must have been known to the imperial court.

He was afraid that the strategy he had thought of before would not be enough to get away with it, and he would have to think of other ways.

Park Yongxin felt his body going a little weak and his thoughts trembling.

The journey to the ship was very long, as if it would take a lifetime. He slowly raised his head and looked at the end of the stairs, which seemed to be the end of his life.

Soon, he was carried onto the wide deck, from where he could see the sea far away and even the entire Quanzhou city.

The soldiers guarding him on both sides were very rude. They pulled Park Yongxin with great force, causing him pain, but he didn't even dare to make a sound.

After walking forward for a while, they stopped. Park Yongxin subconsciously looked up and saw a pale-complexioned young man standing in front of him. He was looking at him with pure murderous intent in his eyes.

"Take it in, the prince is waiting."

The young man said something in a low voice, turned around and led the way. Park Yongxin's heart beat faster, almost jumping out of his throat.

Someone had asked him questions before and told him about the prince's assassination. But even though he was mentally prepared and even though he knew that he was coming to meet the prince of the Ming Dynasty, when the time really came, he still couldn't help but feel terrified.

This is the deterrence of imperial power, and it applies to anyone in any country in this era.

In a trance, Park Yongxin felt himself being brought into a large house, and then pressed hard to the ground, unable to move at all.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived."

That cold voice came again. Park Yongxin wanted to look up, but the soldiers on both sides were so strong that he couldn't lift his head at all.

"Ah."

Another voice came, calm and gentle: "Come closer and let me see."

As soon as he finished speaking, Park Yongxin felt his body lighten and was pulled forward roughly. Then a strong hand pinched his chin and forced him to raise his head.

Sitting in front of him was a young man in casual clothes with a dignified demeanor, who was looking at him with a smile.

"Are you Park Yongxin?"

Zhu Tan looked at Pu Yongxin calmly and said softly, "Do you admit your guilt?"

"I...I know my crime!"

Park Yongxin's voice was a little trembling. He knew that he would not survive no matter what. All he could do now was to protect his family and his descendants.

No matter what, we have to find a way to hold on for seven days.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Zhu Tan was a little surprised and asked again: "What crime do you know?"

"I...I was not strict in my governance, and as a result, my subordinates committed heinous crimes. I..."

"Oh, it was all done by your subordinates, right?"

Zhu Tan saw the soldiers on both sides desperately pressing down Pu Yongxin, as if they wanted to crush him into potato chips, and then he said, "Let him go, or he will be crushed to death."

"Your Highness, this person..."

Ma He was a little anxious. After Lin Zheng’s previous assassination attempt, everyone was now facing a powerful enemy.

In fact, Ma He was a little bit against Zhu Tan's meeting with Park Yongxin, but he dared not disobey the prince's order and had to agree.

Now the prince has ordered people to let him go, what if this man gets desperate and does something desperate...

"I have so many people protecting me, why would I be afraid of him?"

Zhu Tan smiled, not caring at all: "I was not prepared when I was stabbed before, but now I am on guard, how can he succeed?"

"Are you so unconfident?"

Zhu Tan's two sentences made the guards on his left and right blush, and Ma He felt embarrassed.

The reason is very simple, they are all the prince's entourage, and protecting their master is their duty. But now they are being treated as a powerful enemy by a businessman, isn't it a loss of face?
"Alright, just let go." Zhu Tan said with a smile, "Even if he is given a few more courage, he won't dare to do anything to me."

After collecting it, Zhu Tan looked at Park Yongxin again and asked with a smile: "Master Park, do you think so?"

Upon hearing this, Pu Yongxin was agitated and said subconsciously: "I dare not. I am shocked when I see the emperor's face, and..."

"Well, let go."

Zhu Tan was too lazy to listen to Park Yongxin's rhetoric. He waved his hand, and the soldiers on both sides let him go. Then they took a few steps forward, standing in front of Zhu Tan without blocking their view.

Being held down by someone, Park Yongxin felt relaxed and a little relieved in his heart.

Only now did he have time to observe Zhu Tan carefully. He saw that the other party had an indifferent expression and a smile on his lips. It seemed that he did not take him seriously at all, or even the whole matter seriously. Immediately, the thoughts in his mind dissipated a little.

Things might not be as serious as he thought.

"Master Park, someone under your command tried to assassinate me, and you said you didn't know about it?"

"Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Park Yongxin kowtowed heavily and said in a tearful voice, "I really don't know the truth."

"Yesterday evening, I took my wife and children out of the city to escape the heat in the farm. I had no idea what was happening in the city, let alone that the prince was coming!"

"I returned to the city today and heard that my subordinates had committed such a heinous act. I was deeply terrified and terrified. I…"

"You said you didn't know, and I believed you."

Before Park Yongxin could finish his defense, Zhu Tan interrupted him, but what he said made Park Yongxin stunned.

Not only Park Yongxin, but Ma He on the side was also stunned.

Ma He couldn't help but look at Zhu Tan. Seeing that Zhu Tan still had a smile on his face, his heart skipped a beat.

With the little he knew about his master, he knew that his master was going to trick someone, and he wanted to trick him to death.

"But the people under your command assassinated the king, and you, as the head of the family, cannot escape responsibility."

Zhu Tan leaned back in his chair, glanced at Park Yongxin with a smile, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

"I...I will leave it to the prince to deal with!"

Park Yongxin was very familiar with this feeling, too familiar.

Every time he was controlled by the bureaucrats above him, they would speak in this tone, and then they would make huge demands.

Normally, when Park Yongxin heard this, he would definitely curse in his heart, but today was different.

If the King of Lu could propose conditions, he would agree to any condition. He was afraid that the other party would not propose conditions, which would be a big deal.

"It is not my business to deal with you."

Zhu Tan put down his teacup and chuckled, "But I am the victim of this matter. I was frightened by your subordinates. As the master, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Park Yongxin immediately kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, whatever you say is fine. I have absolutely no complaints." "Your Majesty, please understand. I was really cheated by the people below."

"Yes." Zhu Tan nodded: "Since you want to atone for your sins, I will give you a chance."

"Five million taels of silver, and I will not pursue this matter. How do you think?"

hum.

Park Yongxin felt a buzzing in his head and was almost shocked to death by this number.

He knew that King Lu would definitely ask for a high price, but he didn't expect him to ask for such a high price.

Five million taels of silver, you are so bold.

The Pu family has been doing business in Quanzhou for so many years, and even if they took out all the cash, they would probably only have enough for five million taels.

Park Yongxin's face turned pale instantly. He was a smart man and quickly saw the clues.

Prince Lu must have already figured out the strength of the Park family, and he is going to take the five million directly from the root.

Looking at Park Yongxin's expression, Zhu Tan smiled gently and asked.

"What, you don't agree?"

"No, no, I dare not."

Pu Yongxin's voice trembled, but he still made up his mind and said, "I am willing to give it, but Your Majesty... it's such a large amount, can you give me a few days to raise it? I..."

"As long as you agree, it's fine. You don't have to raise funds."

"Mahe."

Zhu Tan waved his hand, and Ma He on the side had an idea and immediately stepped forward and took out the document that had been prepared long ago from his arms. Without showing it to Park Yongxin, he directly held his hand, smeared cinnabar on it, and pressed it upwards.

This was what Zhu Tan asked him to prepare yesterday. Until now, Ma He still hasn't figured out what the prince is going to do.

The Park family has committed a serious crime, so just confiscate their property directly. Why do they need to sign any documents? This is the first time I've heard of this.

After Ma He pressed Park Yongxin's signature and sealed the document, he handed it to Zhu Tan. Zhu Tan took a look at it and his smile deepened. He then looked at Park Yongxin, only to see that his expression was wavering. He must have been confused.

"Well, considering your sincerity and willingness to use all of the Park family's assets in Quanzhou as compensation, I will let the matter of your men assassinating me go."

Zhu Tan put the document on the table and said to Pu Yongxin, "Next, let's talk about other things."

Park Yongxin was really confused and his mind was in a daze.

He had known for a long time that the Pu family's assets in Quanzhou would definitely not be able to be preserved. He had originally wanted to use the liquidation of the assets to buy time, but Zhu Tan had never given him this opportunity.

And from what Prince Lu said, there is something else going on?
Pu Yongxin looked at Zhu Tan steadily and said in a trembling voice: "My Lord, you have taken over the Pu family's assets, then I, a commoner..."

"Don't worry, you're not done yet."

Zhu Tan's smile faded at this time, and he said again: "When I came to Quanzhou yesterday, I ran into a merchant ship on fire at sea."

"We sent people there and found that the cabin was full of innocent people who had been burned to death."

"At the same time, my soldiers captured a lot of people at sea. Master Park, who do you think did this?"

Hearing this, Park Yongxin felt like the sky had fallen on him. He just stared at Zhu Tan in a daze, unable to say a word.

He really didn't know about this.

Originally, I thought the matter was handled cleanly. All the people under the Park family were dealt with, and those who knew the details of the Park family were also urgently dismissed. Those who should be sent to Penghu were sent to Penghu, and those who should be sent elsewhere were sent elsewhere.

But I didn't expect such a big mistake to happen.

"You, the Park family, are really brave."

Zhu Tan looked at Pu Yongxin calmly with cold eyes and said softly, "You killed innocent people to cover up your crimes. What is human life in your eyes? Insignificant?"

"King, lord..."

"There were 217 people on board, all locked up in the cabin and burned to death. Do you think this will destroy the bodies?"

Zhu Tan narrowed his eyes and said, "Piao Yongxin, I don't care about solving the case, but how are you going to explain the tragic deaths of these innocent people?"

"Common people, grass..."

Park Yongxin's mind was in a mess. He realized that he had fallen into Prince Lu's trap, but he had no idea how to get out of it.

In order to atone his sins, he had just handed over all his family's properties in Quanzhou.

"All the land and estates of your Park family outside the city will be confiscated and used to compensate the families of the deceased."

Zhu Tan's cold voice came, and he waved his hand again. Ma He took another step forward and did the same thing, pressing Pu Yongxin's hand to sign.

Park Yongxin didn't struggle the whole time. No matter what Ma He did, he just felt his whole body was cold, as if he fell into an ice cave.

If the assassination of the prince could be somewhat appeased by apologizing, then the crime of harming the people would be something that his Park family could not escape no matter what. He took the matter too lightly.

After signing, Ma He placed the document respectfully on Zhu Tan's desk. At this time, he roughly understood what Zhu Tan meant.

The prince didn't want to leave any room for criticism, and wanted to make sure the matter was done thoroughly.

"Your Park family has been murdering civilians, killing more than 200 people. Someone will be specially assigned to investigate, and no one will be able to escape."

Zhu Tan narrowed his eyes and looked at Park Yongxin, and said again: "Finally, I have to do my own thing."

Park Yongxin's thoughts were completely confused at this time. He no longer dared to look into Prince Lu's eyes. He was only thinking about how to delay time.

"Park Yongxin, your Park family colluded with the Japanese pirates, causing many islands and reefs along the coast to be attacked and countless civilians to die tragically!"

"Now, I want to ask you, how did your Park family contact the Japanese pirates? Why did you help them sell stolen goods and provide them with supplies?"

Hearing this, Park Yongxin's internal organs were shaken, he was terrified, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The connection with the Japanese is just a superficial appearance; the Park family’s deepest secret is hidden in it.

He had originally wanted to negotiate on this matter, but now that Prince Lu asked directly, it proved that the court already knew about this matter and knew a lot.

The more you speak now, the more loopholes you will reveal.

In order to keep the secret and delay time, Park Yongxin just knelt there without saying a word.

Zhu Tan narrowed his eyes and looked at Park Yongxin, he saw all the changes in the other party.

The reason why he proceeded step by step and gave Park Yongxin hope at the beginning was to verify his guess.

It now seems that the relationship between the Park family and the Japanese pirates may not only be about selling stolen goods and mutual benefit, but there are deeper secrets hidden in it.

Park Yongxin is silent now, probably trying to delay time.

Zhu Tan could already infer most of the facts from Park Yongxin's change in attitude, so there was no need to ask him.

Seeing that he didn't speak, he waved his hand and said, "If he doesn't want to talk, take him away."

"Tell the people of Quanzhou Dusi to search for me along the way this man came."

"I want to see what the Park family has hidden!" (End of this chapter)