Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 46 The Most Unlikely Person

"Your Majesty, I will never let you down." Li Banghua knelt down to accept the decree and express his gratitude.

Zhu Changgan spoke a few more words to Cao Huachun, then asked Wang Chengen to prepare the sedan chair and prepare to return to the palace. Before leaving, he glanced at Huang Degong.

But it was this one glance that made Huang Degong so happy.

Watching the emperor's sedan chair going further and further away, Cao Huachun turned his head and looked at Huang Degong, "How dare you be so bold as to kill Duke Cheng?"

"Eunuch Cao, it's not that I want to kill Duke Cheng, but it's His Majesty who wants to kill him. I just did what I should do."

Cao Huachun's eyes were sharp, "Do you think you are the only one who understood His Majesty's intention? I understood it, and Sun Yingyuan also understood it, but why didn't he do it?"

"Your Majesty values ​​wisdom above all else. If no one takes the blame for Duke Cheng's death, how will the entire court view Your Majesty?"

"..." Huang Degong suddenly raised his head, his eyes widened.

His head buzzed and his face turned pale.

Huang Degong understood what Eunuch Cao meant. The emperor was a man who would not take responsibility, so he naturally heard everything that happened in the court.

Your Majesty has always been clean and honest, and has never tarnished the reputation of a "wise monarch". You may not be able to accomplish something, but you must never take any responsibility!
There were only five dukes in the Ming Dynasty, and one of them died... It is foreseeable that there would be an uproar in the court.

Sweat was pouring down Huang Degong's forehead, and he fell to his knees with a plop.

Cao Huachun sighed, "It's already been done. I will try my best to protect you... But then again, you may not be without a chance."

"Your Majesty has changed a lot in recent days. Perhaps he can escape this disaster."

"Thank you, Eunuch Cao!" Huang Degong escorted Cao Huachun out of the barracks, hit himself twice in the face, and scolded himself, "You are so greedy and reckless, how can you only remember the food and not the beating?"

……

Prince Xiang's Mansion,
Chongzhen found some time to run out of the study.

His expression was extremely ugly at this moment. Could Duke Chengguo just kill him if he said so?
Not only was Duke Chengguo killed, but also the Earl of Xinjian, the Earl of Qingping, the Earl of Pengcheng... several nobles, and thousands of soldiers in the Beijing camp were killed?
Such a bloody and murderous reputation, for a king like me who works hard to govern the country to have to bear it, where does this put me?
"My reputation as a wise ruler has been completely ruined." Chongzhen was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. He cursed: "Even if you want to do such a thing, just let others do it. Why do you have to be there?"

But there was one thing he didn't understand. Why was Zhu Changgan so sure that Zhu Chunchen would bring people here?

And he was so confident.

He listened to Zhu Changgan's movements in his mind, and only heard him say, "Wang Chengen, you go see him. I won't go."

"It's the Emperor!" came Wang Chengen's voice.

Outside the palace, there was a man kneeling there. When he saw the emperor's sedan chair approaching, he quickly moved forward, swallowed his saliva and asked, "Xiangcheng Earl Li Shouqi pays homage to Your Majesty."

Chongzhen's figure suddenly paused, his eyes widened, and he murmured, "Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng?"

"It could be him?"

"How could it be him?"

Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng, was once the governor of the Beijing Camp. Initially, because Li Banghua reorganized the Beijing Camp, he and the Duke of Chengguo Zhu Chunchen slandered and suppressed Li Banghua. Later, Zhu Chunchen became the governor of the Beijing Camp, and he was promoted again by Zhu Chunchen.

He is the most unlikely...

But it was him.

Zhu Chunchen was able to lead his men to the Yongwei Camp thanks to the instigation of Xiangcheng Earl Li Shouqi, who played a great role.

He was the first one to take people to find Zhu Chunchen, crying and begging Zhu Chunchen to take charge of the soldiers in the Beijing camp.

It was also he who brought the nobles of the Beijing Camp and Zhu Chunchen's direct descendants to persuade Zhu Chunchen to come to the Yongwei Camp to make some noise in order to ask His Majesty for some silver.

Moreover, he followed the whole way until they were five miles away from the Yongwei Camp, and then he left the main force on the grounds of having a stomachache and needing to defecate. Neither Zhu Chunchen nor anyone else noticed that he had run away.

Wang Chengen whispered in the ear of Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng: "His Majesty is not suitable to see you for the time being, but His Majesty said that this contribution has been recorded!" "Reward three thousand gold, and your sons and nephews can return home safely tomorrow." (Three thousand gold in ancient times was not gold. The ancients referred to copper as gold. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, gold was not measured in units, and one gold referred to one tael of silver)
Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng, knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

What he cared about was not the money, but the emperor's attitude. If His Majesty gave him a reward, it meant that he was safe.

Three days ago, people from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly found Li Shouqi and arrested him, his two sons and a nephew. They also produced evidence that the three of them had accidentally beaten someone to death in a busy city.

He was told a huge secret: His Majesty wanted to take action against Duke Chengguo, giving him two choices.

1. After Duke Chengguo dies, his entire family will be buried with him.

Second, after making meritorious contributions while serving his sentence, the whole family was released.

He has no other choice but to let his friend die rather than let himself die.

Since the emperor told him the plan, it means he is not afraid of him telling others.

He told Zhu Chunchen about this plan, which might hinder the emperor's plan. Duke Chengguo could live, but his entire family would die.

That's why all this happened.

Xiangcheng Earl Li Shouqi watched the emperor's sedan chair disappear from his sight before he slowly stood up.

He murmured to himself, "It has changed, it has really changed, it has become horrible!"

……

Chongzhen stood there in a daze, not reacting for a long time.

Until a voice came from far away,

"Prince? Prince is here to use the toilet again?" Mr. Dugu shouted outside the toilet.

"Mr. Dugu, I'm not in the toilet, I'm in the kitchen." Chongzhen hurriedly walked out of the kitchen, holding two white steamed buns in his hands, pretending to stuff them into his mouth as he walked.

"Hey, Prince, didn't you just have lunch? It's only been an hour, why are you eating again?"

"Hungry..." Chongzhen blushed instantly, and his face, ears, and neck all turned red.

Mr. Dugu said helplessly: "Your Highness is really rude. I am talking to you about the essence of Confucianism, why are you thinking about your stomach?"

As an emperor, how could he have ever lied?
Now that I’m being scolded like this by my teacher, I can’t even raise my head.

"I understand what you are blaming me for." Chongzhen swallowed the steamed bun and followed Mr. Dugu into the study again.

"It is a great honor to admit one's mistakes and improve upon them!" Mr. Dugu nodded. Overall, he was still very satisfied with the "Prince".

Although he was sometimes naughty and would sneak out and stay outside for a while, he was extremely studious and serious when talking about Confucianism.

I just taught the "Prince" about eight-legged essay today, and found that the "Prince" learned it by himself and has a certain level of writing ability.

The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty were different from those in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The latter mainly focused on poetry, essays and policy papers and emphasized personal talent.

The Ming Dynasty focused on Confucian classics, and thus the eight-part essay was born. In addition to having a sufficient understanding of the topic, it also required high writing skills.

Before, he was amazed at the "Prince"'s ability to draw inferences from one instance to another and understand the essence of Confucianism. But now, Chongzhen's article came out, which made him eyes light up again.

"Is there really anyone in this world who is born knowing this?"

"I heard that my son Qilin is hungry?" King Xiang Zhu Yiming came in from outside with inexplicable excitement, holding a pot of mutton in his hand.

“……” Chongzhen’s face turned pale and he couldn’t eat any more.

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(End of this chapter)