The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 316: Lord Tang was assassinated?

Kunning Palace.

His Majesty the Emperor is accompanying Queen Xia.

Especially when Empress Xia's belly gradually grew bigger, Zhu Houzhao would come to accompany her whenever he had time.

Queen Xia lay in Zhu Houzhao's arms with a happy face. This was the happiest moment of her life.

As long as you wait patiently for the birth of your baby, all the rumors will be dispelled.

Even if she gave birth to a princess, it could prove that there was nothing wrong with her body. This time it was a princess, and next time it would be a prince.

Moreover, since the imperial physician confirmed that she was pregnant, the entire Kunning Palace was under martial law, and the four guards were responsible for guarding. Even Queen Xia's daily drinking water and meals had to be eaten by the palace maids before entering her mouth. There were also old maids in the palace sent by Empress Dowager Zhang to check whether there was anything wrong with the food and water at all times.

This is not about making a mountain out of a molehill, but about giving importance.

In the deep palaces of every dynasty, pregnancy and childbirth are undoubtedly the biggest problems for concubines.

Not only do you have to ensure the safety of your offspring, but you also have to be on guard against all kinds of conspiracies and intrigues in the deep palace!
After all, legitimate sons and illegitimate sons, eldest sons and second sons, these are all different!

A mother’s status is determined by her sons, and this is an irrefutable truth!

What's more, Queen Xia was currently pregnant with Emperor Zhengde's first child!
Even if she was an imperial princess, she was the eldest princess of Emperor Zhengde, and her status was extremely noble!

At this moment, the entire Forbidden City is serving the Kunning Palace, waiting for the arrival of this noble life.

Moreover, His Majesty the Emperor strictly blocked the news of the Empress' pregnancy for fear of any unexpected events.

Reducing some variables, avoiding some troubles, and having a peaceful and smooth childbirth, this is what Zhu Houzhao and Queen Xia are hoping for at this moment.

"Your Majesty, do you think the baby in my belly is a boy or a girl?"

Zhu Houzhao subconsciously reached out and gently stroked Queen Xia's belly, smiling and saying, "Everything is fine, everything is fine!"

Hearing this, Queen Xia looked at Zhu Houzhao in disbelief.

"Your Majesty, if it's a boy, then he would be your eldest son. Isn't that better?"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Houzhao smiled and shook his head.

"Perhaps in the past, I definitely hoped that you would give birth to a legitimate son."

"But when Zhang Jingshu was pregnant, the barbarian showed that he really wanted a daughter. I asked him curiously why he didn't value offspring."

"Do you know what this guy said?"

Queen Xia shook her head with curiosity.

"I don't know."

"Hahaha……"

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "This bastard said that a daughter is a father's sweetheart, and a son is his father's creditor!"

"This daughter is good in every way. She is considerate and caring. Who wouldn't like her as a father?"

"But this son is a little creditor. He is naughty and mischievous and always causes trouble. Even when he grows up, he will still get into trouble, and even bigger trouble. When the time comes, it will be his father who will clean up his mess. Isn't this a real creditor coming to your door?"

Queen Xia couldn't help but burst out laughing and did not agree with this statement.

I think only the Marquis of Zhongshan would dare to speak such nonsense in front of Your Majesty.

After all, in this era where etiquette and laws are respected, the system of primogeniture has long been deeply rooted in people's minds, and the impact it brings is that boys are favored over girls.

Even if there are parents who love their children, they are a minority. Girls will even be drowned in the hands of ignorant men and women in the countryside, because only boys can become the labor force to help the family with farming. They cannot afford to raise girls and simply do not want to raise them.

"Your Majesty, I still want a son. After all, this is your eldest son!"

"If Your Majesty has a legitimate eldest son, then the government and the people will feel at ease and will not have other thoughts."

Zhu Houzhao nodded when he heard this and subconsciously squeezed Queen Xia's hand.

"The Queen is interested."

This is indeed true.

Zhu Houzhao knew better than anyone what would happen if the emperor had no son.

Because Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao once gave him a clear and straightforward analysis of why the coup d'état broke out at the end of the Jingtai period!

The crux of the problem was that Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu had no son, and Shi Heng and other close ministers were worried that after Zhu Qiyu died of illness, Zhu Jianshen, the son of Zhu Qizhen, would ascend the throne and become emperor, and would immediately liquidate them. After all, the reason why Zhu Jianshen was deposed from the throne was because of the instigation of these close ministers of Emperor Jingtai. No one dared to take such hatred lightly.

If Zhu Qiyu's son Zhu Jianji had not died young, if he could grow up safely, even if Zhu Qiyu was seriously ill, these court officials would not dare to have any other thoughts. How could the Ming emperor who had ruled the country for eight years not be prepared at all?

Unfortunately, Zhu Jianji died young, and Zhu Qiyu never had a son after that.

So when his condition worsened, Jingtai's confidants such as Shi Heng had to think about him and had to become disloyal.

Should they continue to be loyal to the dying Emperor Jingtai and wait for Zhu Jianshen to ascend the throne and settle accounts with them, or should they take a gamble, break into the Nan Palace and help the retired Emperor Zhu Qizhen ascend the throne again, becoming his loyal minister and continuing to enjoy wealth and glory?

This choice is not difficult to make.

As for whether Zhu Jianshen would be able to ascend the throne after Zhu Qizhen's successful restoration, who could guarantee it?
After all, it was well known that Zhu Qizhen disliked Zhu Jianshen. The reason why he appointed him as the crown prince after the restoration was that he had to do so in order to stabilize the overall situation. Later, he tried many times to depose Zhu Jianshen and support his second son, Prince De Zhu Jianlin, to take the throne. In the end, he failed because of the resolute opposition of the civil officials and gentry.

This is the truth behind the "Dou Men Incident".

These are also the unknown secrets of the Zhu family.

So, for Zhu Houzhao, having a legitimate eldest son would not only make him happy, but would also make the entire Ming Dynasty happy. It would also consolidate his position as Emperor Zhengde and further enhance his imperial prestige!
"Whether it's a boy or a girl, they are all our children. I will treat them equally!"

Queen Xia's eyes were a little red, and then she hugged Zhu Houzhao tightly.

However, just when the man and woman were in love, Zhang Yong rushed in, crawling.

"His Majesty!"

"Zhongshan Hou was assassinated!"

"Now he is poisoned and his life or death is unknown!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire bedroom fell silent in an instant.

All the palace maids and guards looked terrified and immediately knelt on the ground in horror.

All the eunuchs in the Forbidden City knew very well how important Marquis Zhongshan was to His Majesty the Emperor.

At this moment, the Marquis of Zhongshan has been assassinated and his life or death is unknown, so Your Majesty...

Zhu Houzhao suddenly sat up straight, his face extremely gloomy.

"How did he get assassinated?"

"Who would assassinate Lord Tang at this time?"

"Damn it! Who on earth did this?"

Facing the furious emperor, Zhang Yong prostrated himself on the ground in fear.

"Marquis Tang and Chosun envoy Cui Tan were touring the capital. At sunset, they were escorting the drunk Cui Tan back to Huitong Hall. When they passed Wudao Street, they were attacked. Dozens of assassins in black suddenly attacked them. All their weapons were poisoned, and they even used bows and crossbows..."

"check!"

Zhu Houzhao suppressed his inner rage and gave the order with gritted teeth.

"Send an order to the Beijing camp, order Xu Tianci and Leng Hantie to lead the Beijing army, blockade the entire capital area, and catch these beasts for me!"

"Order the Jinyiwei East and West Factories to immediately send out all their manpower to track down all clues. No matter who is involved, I will kill them!"

"Order the Imperial Hospital to go and treat Marquis Zhongshan immediately. If anything happens to Marquis Tang, I will bury the entire Imperial Hospital with him!"

Orders were issued one after another!

Each one is filled with the endless anger of the Ming Emperor!

Even after Zhang Yong turned and left, Zhu Houzhao still couldn't suppress his anger.

Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan!
Savage Tang Hao!

These are not only his subjects, but also his close and trusted friends and comrades-in-arms, and the men on whom he relies most!

Before the appearance of the barbarians, Zhu Houzhao was just a capricious and willful little emperor. Once he encountered constraints and restrictions from civil officials and gentry, his first thought was to kill people. He wanted to kill all these disobedient civil officials and gentry.

The little emperor at that time could not even be considered the Son of Heaven, he was just a puppet.

It was the barbarians who had been helping him to gather power, it was the barbarians who had been training soldiers for him, and it was the barbarians who had been helping him to expand overseas...

After all this, the barbarians were no longer his subjects to Zhu Houzhao. They were more like "both teachers and friends", or even "like teachers and fathers".

"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"

"Tang Hou is a lucky man, nothing will happen to him!"

Queen Xia looked at the emperor with red eyes and was at a loss for a moment, so she hurriedly spoke to comfort him.

However, Zhu Houzhao just looked at her coldly, then got up and left.

"Queen, take a rest early and don't get involved in other affairs."

Zhu Houzhao strode out of Kunning Palace and headed straight for the palace gate. "I want to leave the palace and go see Lord Tang!"

Since His Majesty the Emperor has spoken, the imperial guards naturally dare not stop him.

When Zhu Houzhao hurried to Zhongshan Marquis' Mansion, he saw that everyone in the mansion was in a gloomy mood.

The ward where Tang Hao was located was already surrounded by doctors. However, basins of pungent black blood were brought out from the room. Everyone knew that the situation was very serious!
When the Emperor arrived, everyone knelt on the ground, even the doctors.

Zhu Houzhao saw this and shouted angrily: "Hurry up and treat Lord Tang!"

The doctor then hurriedly stood up and continued the rescue work.

Zhu Houzhao had someone bring a chair and sat in the yard with his arms and legs spread out.

Tang Mu and Chang Kuohai were brought up, both of them looked dazed, as if struck by lightning.

Because they saw with their own eyes that the Marquis was shot by the poisonous arrow in order to protect them!
"Tell me, what's going on?" Zhu Houzhao asked patiently.

Tang Mu shuddered and quickly recounted the assassination.

It was obvious that the four of them had been targeted for a long time, so the killers were lying in ambush on the road they had to take.

"Bows and crossbows, huh? That's a good trick!" Zhu Houzhao sneered, "Go check it out!"

"These bows and crossbows are all military equipment. Each one has a provenance. No matter who is implicated, find them all for me!"

After giving the order in a murderous tone, Zhu Houzhao immediately looked at Mou Bin, his stern eyes not concealing his murderous intent at all.

"Mou Bin, how come you, the Jinyiwei, happened to be there?"

Upon hearing this, Mou Bin knelt down on the ground and respectfully took out a note.

"Your Majesty clearly shows you!"

"Someone shot an arrow into my Pacification Division!"

Zhu Houzhao was shocked when he heard this and immediately took the note. He saw the five words "Wudaojie Cihou" written on it.

"As soon as I saw this note, I did not dare to be careless and immediately mobilized the elite imperial cavalry to rush to Wudao Street. The result is... Now it seems that I and others have fallen into someone else's calculations!"

Paper does exist.

But does this rule out Mou Bin as a member of the Imperial Guard?

Zhu Houzhao looked at Mou Bin coldly, and the man's past life kept emerging in his mind.

Fortunately, Mou Bin has always been an upright person, so Zhu Houzhao reluctantly dispelled his suspicions about him.

This time, Mou Bin's Jinyiwei were really tricked.

But the question is, why did the mastermind behind this do this?
First he sent someone to assassinate Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao, and then informed the Jinyiwei, asking them to rush to Wudao Street to rescue him?

Do not!
not like this!
Something is wrong with the time!
Zhu Houzhao keenly grasped the crux of the problem.

When Mou Bin arrived, Lord Tang was shot by an arrow.

In other words, the reason why the mastermind sent the message to Mou Bin was not to let Mou Bin lead the Jinyiwei Tiqi to rescue people, but to let Mou Bin lead the Tiqi to capture people!

"Have the assassins been caught?"

"Can you leave him alive?"

Mou Bin nodded hurriedly.

"There are three people left alive, the rest are all dead and are being tortured now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a captain came over with a pale face and whispered something to Mou Bin.

After hearing this, Mou Bin's face changed drastically, and he subconsciously exclaimed: "How is this possible?!"

Zhu Houzhao realized that something was wrong and asked hurriedly: "What happened?"

"Your Majesty, these people, including the dead assassins, are all... Japanese!"

Mou Bin replied with a bitter look.

"Japanese?"

"You told me they are all Japanese?"

Zhu Houzhao roared in frustration: "So this assassination was carried out by a group of Japanese remnants who somehow crossed the ocean to the Ming Dynasty, and then sneaked into the capital of the Ming Dynasty through unknown means, and conspired to assassinate the Marquis of Zhongshan. Do they want to kill the Marquis of Zhongshan to avenge their country's destruction?"

"Are all of you Jinyiwei useless?"

Faced with the Emperor's furious rebuke, Mou Bin was almost frightened to death.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I will check it out right away!"

"Get lost!" Zhu Houzhao shouted angrily: "Find out how they got here! Find out who helped them sneak in! If you can't even figure this out, I will abolish your Jinyiwei!"

This is not the first time, and it will definitely not be the last.

Because the Jinyiwei were useless and incompetent, Zhu Houzhao had the idea of ​​reforming and rectifying them more than once.

However, the savages told him that the Jinyiwei, under the leadership of Mou Bin, was a good and upright sword, and that some things would be very effective if they were given the task, which was why Zhu Houzhao was patient again and again.

But now, Zhu Houzhao really couldn't bear it anymore.

He couldn't understand how stupid Mou Bin was to train such a group of useless Jinyiwei!

how?

You've become so used to being a good person that you've even forgotten your roots?

Hearing the Emperor's last words, Mou Bin could not help but tremble, then he hurriedly got up and left.

He knew very well in his heart that no matter what the outcome this time, his role as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would come to an end today.

His Majesty the Emperor's dissatisfaction with him had long been evident, and this time, because of the assassination of Marquis Tang, he would inevitably be implicated.

However, Mou Bin knew very well that he was not the only one implicated in this case!
That damned mastermind has completely touched the emperor's bottom line!
The Jinyiwei tortured the assassin to interrogate him about the murder, while the East and West Factories collected and gathered intelligence, and with the cooperation of the factory guards, they tried to find out the mastermind behind the murder through some clues.

Xu Tianci and Leng Hantie mobilized troops overnight to blockade the entire capital and even the surrounding areas of the capital. They learned from the soldiers at the city gate that no one had sneaked out of the city at the time of the incident!
This means that the contact of these assassins, or the person who provided them with assistance, must still be in the capital.

Zhu Houzhao never left, but sat in the yard with a grim face and said nothing.

He is waiting for a result.

Such an earth-shaking event in the capital city naturally could not be concealed from the powerful and noble officials.

When they learned that Lord Tang had been assassinated and his life or death was unknown, they were all shocked.

Yang Tinghe slumped in the chair with a pale face, muttering: "Lord Tang was assassinated, is his life or death unknown?"

"Whose bastard did this? Damn it!"

The Prime Minister of the Cabinet grabbed the teacup on the table, which was his favorite thing, but he smashed it to the ground in anger and broke it into pieces!
The situation was originally very good. Tang Hao and he also reached a cooperation, and the development of Daming would enter a new stage!

But at this critical juncture, Tang Hao was assassinated?
What will the Ming Dynasty become?
Yang Tinghe remained silent.

Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao's face also changed drastically.

"This is impossible!"

"Who would assassinate Tang Hao at this time?"

"Which bastard did this?"

Zhu Chenhao was a little panicked, because this looked a bit like something he had done in the past.

Back then in Nanchang, Jiangxi, those officials and gentry who were unwilling to submit to him were all assassinated to death by the assassins he recruited. This was called “eliminating dissidents”!
So Zhu Chenhao subconsciously looked at his trusted adviser Liu Yangzheng, who shook his head in horror.

"My Lord, how dare I act on my own without your order?"

"Didn't you really do it?" Zhu Chenhao asked sternly.

Liu Yangzheng smiled bitterly and shook his head, and hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, have you forgotten that I have been persuading you to win over the Marquis of Zhongshan, and now it is almost successful, so why would I send someone to assassinate the Marquis of Tang?"

This is indeed the case.

Zhu Chenhao couldn't help but pace back and forth with his hands behind his back and sigh.

"Who is that?!"

"Send a message back to Nanchang immediately. I'm worried that they are behind this!"

Zhu Chenhao said with a gloomy face: "If they really did it, whether they were deceived or acted on their own initiative, we will be in big trouble next!"

Liu Yangzheng felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave when he heard this.

Big trouble?

Not just trouble!
They will be buried with Lord Tang!

Why would Nanchang act on its own?

Aren’t you just cheating?
But what if they really did it?
The fate of myself and others will be... death without a burial place!
(End of this chapter)