My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 202 The Last Truth

  Zhang Anshi smiled from ear to ear.

   Three hundred thousand taels... much?

   Of course a lot!

  But... the income is even more astonishing!

So Zhang Anshi said: "That's it... I think the Taifu is more reliable. If you are looking for other young masters, or other Taifu, Shaofu, and various Tatar princes, maybe one hundred thousand taels can be finalized." It's just that I, Zhang Anshi, need to be cautious when doing things. This Tai Tuo does the work first and then pays, which is different from other people. He only accepts money when we, Daming, take you down, and the deposit is only a mere 10,000 taels. I just like such a real person!"

After a pause, he said with high spirits again: "Unexpectedly, you think that you have entered our Daming, you can confuse people's hearts, you can deceive people, and you never thought... The real enemy of Daming is in Nanjing City, inside our Daming, but You Tatar running dog, how could you think that the enemies of Tatar are in Monan, and they are also inside them."

"You think you serve the Tatars, and the Tatars are of one mind with you, but have you ever thought that the Tatars are not a whole? Here... there are various troops, each with their own thoughts, not to mention three hundred thousand taels , even if it is one hundred thousand taels or fifty thousand taels, there are still people vying for it, trying to sell you."

  Scholar: "..."

  The scholar's face became more and more miserable.

  He once thought that many possibilities of his identity being perceived, and all his reflections are almost on himself.

  For example, whether the person I sent out is unreliable, or... I have revealed some flaws myself.

  But I didn’t expect that Zhang Anshi sent someone to go to the desert, not only to the desert, but also to do the same thing as he is doing now.

Zhang Anshi continued cheerfully: "It's not just that! The three hundred thousand taels is actually not just your life, your life is not worth this price in my eyes. I borrow your head to cooperate with them for a long time, so as to understand the movements of Tatar, and in the future, it will be used by me, Ming Dynasty."

  The scholar's eyes showed a trace of unwillingness, and he said coldly: "Who is this Taifu?"

  Speaking of the Tatar Taifu, there are really many. When the Yuan Dynasty entered the Central Plains, the official positions of the Han Dynasty were enshrined.

  Afterwards, the Northern Yuan Dynasty was divided into two tribes, Tatar and Oirat. In order to win over the various tribes, almost every tribal leader was either a grand master or a grand master.

  Zhang Anshi was very satisfied with the scholar's expression, and said with a smile, "I won't tell you."

   "There are only two people who really know my identity." The scholar said: "That is Tatar Khan and Taishi Alutai. As for other people, they may know some of my whereabouts and identity..."

   Having said that, he closed his eyes in pain, trying to remember something.

But Zhang Anshi looked at him and said, "You don't have to guess, you think there are only two people who know your identity, but you never thought about whether these two people... would tell people about you while drinking , You thought they must be tight-lipped, but you never thought that the upper nobles of Tatar knew more or less. You thought that revealing your identity was a matter of life and death, but you never thought that the two people who knew your identity ...But maybe you are just talking about it."

  Zhang Anshi smiled. In fact, he knew that the other party was a smart person, and many things could be revealed with just one click.

   This is just human nature. What is your life and death has to do with your master?

   One drink and some bragging might sell you!

  If those masters of yours were serious in their words and deeds, why were they driven back to Monan to live by herding cattle in the desert?

  The scholar sighed: "So, you know a lot about me, but...in fact, you only know the general idea."

Up to now, Zhang Anshi didn't mind and said calmly: "Yes, what the Taifu told you is that you are in poor health, cough frequently, and you have left Monan to come to Nanjing City. Oh, I also know that you like to wear Confucian clothes... There are all kinds of information, in fact... as long as there are these clues, it is only a matter of time before your whereabouts are finally revealed."

The scholar lowered his head, thinking hard, and then he said with a wry smile: "Three hundred thousand taels, haha, it's only for three hundred thousand taels... People can be so short-sighted! Just three hundred thousand taels, you miss me like this!" The people...I brought them more than three hundred thousand taels of silver, which can cause damage to Daming, and I don't know how many three hundred thousand taels."

  Zhang Anshi said with a smile: "Actually, you understand the truth better than me. For this Taifu, he can get 300,000 taels, which is to bring into his own home. As for the benefits you bring, what use is it to him?"

  The scholar was stunned for a moment, as if suddenly awakened, and then sighed: "Hey...you are right, but I...was confused for a while."

  He looked extremely depressed, and to a certain extent, Zhang Anshi was trying to kill him.

  Zhu Di sat aside, listening to their conversation, without saying a word, but when he heard 300,000 taels, his eyebrows still trembled uncontrollably.

  Obviously there is a cheap one hundred and eighty thousand to spend... Zhang Anshi, this kid, actually...

   Spending money is too generous.

   This is my silver!

Of course, the heartache turned into heartache, but Zhu Di still remained silent. He knew very well that when it came to truth, he could catch people, not to mention three hundred thousand taels, but five hundred thousand or one million taels. I have to grit my teeth and hand it over.

   It's just Zhang Anshi's thinking, but Zhu Di can't help admiring it.

  This guy has never followed the common sense. Who would have thought that when the rebels were approaching day by day and they kept giving countless problems and killing moves, Zhang Anshi would actually go to the desert ahead of time to make another idle move?

  At this time, Zhang Anshi looked at the scholar seriously and said, "Then what about you, why do you serve Tatar?"

  Regarding this question, the scholar said calmly: "My ancestors have served Da Yuan for generations. Does this... need a reason?"

Zhang Anshi said: "The Tartars came to rule the Central Plains and caused disasters to the world. Now they are fleeing in the desert, panicking like a bereaved dog. Why, you still recognize them as masters? Have you forgotten that before the Tartars came to rule, you were still a Han Chinese, right? Song Chen."

  The scholar shook his head and said: "No, I was not a Song official when my ancestors were. My ancestors were not only Liao officials, but also Jin officials. Since then... I have become more Yuan officials."

  Zhang Anshi raised his eyebrows, and said coldly: "Accept the thief as your father?"

  The scholar said: "If An Nanhou came to quarrel with me, then... it seems that now is not the time."

  Zhang Anshi immediately smiled, then calmed down, and said: "Okay, you continue."

  The scholar said: "My name is Zhang Xingyuan, my father Zhang Sidao."

  Zhang Anshi was still confused.

  But at this time, Zhu Di, who was sitting beside him, changed his expression slightly, and then he looked at the scholar steadfastly, and said with a sneer, "The descendant of Zhang Sidao, former Marquis of the Yuan Dynasty?"

  The scholar said straightforwardly: "Yes."

  The so-called Marquis can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty, when the Jin people entered the pass and cooperated with the local nobles in order to rule. Among them, the most famous one was called Jiu Gong!

  These nine wealthy families can set up government offices in their own territories, appoint officials, collect taxes, reward and punish orders, and can be said to be more powerful than the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty.

After that, when Mongols defeated the Jin Dynasty, there were few Mongols. In order to rule, they also followed the practice of the Jin people and bought the Han landlords to arm them. Marquis of the Yuan Dynasty.

These powerful landlords of the Han people were named ten thousand households by the Mongols, and they were divided into various routes, and Han people were recruited locally as soldiers. During the battle, the first wave of the Han army attacked. It was not possible to win, so the Mongols attacked.

   It can be said that these princes made great contributions to the Yuan Dynasty.

   Although they are just small ten thousand households, their strength is deeply rooted. It is not worth mentioning that there are only 10,000 households in the chaobanli that may have entered the Yuan Dynasty.

   But once in place, their power is almost the same as that of the emperor!

Often the population under these jurisdictions is between 30,000 and 60,000 households. If a household has five members, then it directly governs a population of hundreds of thousands to 300,000. The area of ​​jurisdiction ranges from a county to a prefecture. Within this land, they have all the privileges of judicature, taxation, conscription, and appointment of local officials.

In other words, as long as they are willing, in addition to paying a certain amount of taxes to the Yuan Dynasty court on time, they can conscript as many soldiers as they want in their own territory, adjust the tax rate to how much they want, and do judicial proceedings. Judgment can be judged! Local officials, they appointed and dismissed at will, and they didn't even have to report to the court of the Yuan Dynasty. In fact, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty didn't bother to take care of it.

  The most important thing is that this class of princes is hereditary, and how you are hereditary is actually not the same as the Han Dynasty treated princes and kings. There will be various etiquette regulations.

  Rulers, they don’t care whether you have broken any royal laws at all. They will recognize whoever you say will inherit your position.

  At the beginning of Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition, the resistance was the most intense, and this Han Shihou was one of them.

  For example, Zhang Sidao, the father who claims to be Zhang Xingyuan, resisted the most actively after the Ming army went north, even far more intense than many Mongols.

  Many Mongols still exist, and the Central Plains can no longer survive, and the worst is to go back to the desert. But Zhang Sidao was different, and he resisted very fiercely until the general situation was gone, and even the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty ran to the desert. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang recruited Zhang Sidao.

  Zhang Sidao was ashamed of being a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, and went directly to the mountains and forests.

  Zhang Anshi probably knew the cause and effect, and couldn't help asking: "How many years have you been working for the Tatars?"

  Zhang Xingyuan said truthfully: "It has been more than ten years."

  Zhang Anshi immediately said: "More than ten years? Then you must have a lot of followers?"

  Zhang Xingyuan said: "Everywhere in the world there are people who miss Dayuan. It can be said that everyone is a party member."

  Hearing these words, Zhang Anshi couldn't help but sneer.

  Seeing that Zhang Anshi didn't believe it, Zhang Xingyuan said: "My family has been in Yanzhao for generations, and there are countless relatives and friends."

  This kind of prince, he said that he has countless old stories, but he is not wrong.

These local emperors are intertwined in the localities, and these people are just the best at educating their children. Whether it is bowing horses or reading, they are completely different from ordinary people like Zhu Shisan, Zhao Jiu, and Liu Ershili who are illiterate. different.

  In other words, these people themselves... are the objects and talents that various dynasties win over.

  Zhang Anshi couldn't help but said: "That is to say, back then... many of your relatives and friends were willing to work for the Tatars?"

  Zhang Xingyuan nodded.

Zhang Anshi seemed to have thought of something, frowned and said: "So you guys secretly contacted each other, and many of these people have become civil servants and generals of my Ming Dynasty. Even if they are not civil servants and military generals, their local strength should not be underestimated. Watch, is it?"

  Zhang Xingyuan nodded again.

  Zhang An Shidao: "The Yuan people are cruel, so you are so willing to be driven by them?"

"But where is Daming so good?" Zhang Xingyuan coughed, and then said with a sarcasm: "Those who are capable like us, Zhu Yuanzhang uses imperial examinations to restrict them. Not everyone is interested in studying the Four Books. Stereotypes. Besides, did Zhu Yuanzhang kill too few people? When Da Yuan was here, he never treated his loyal ministers badly."

  Zhang Anshi's face turned cold, and he couldn't help raising his voice: "But they slaughtered thousands of people."

  Zhang Xingyuan was noncommittal, and just looked at Zhang Anshi silently for a while.

  After a while, he sighed and said, "No matter what, if you lose, you lose. I have nothing to say..."

  Zhang Anshidao: "Since you are driven by the Tatars, let me ask you why there are such people...for you to drive? For example, Xu Wen, for example, the right sentry who accompanied you today to lead the army to rebel..."

Zhang Xingyuan looked up at Zhang Anshi, and said: "They always miss Dayuan. In Dayuan, their ancestors were also officials, but they didn't feel aggrieved like they were in Daming. The so-called officials in Daming are just low-level officials. That's it, the soldiers and horses in command can't be touched at all, they only have the power of restraint! But in Dayuan, they were all princes, and the emperor of Ming Dynasty, Lao Tzu, can depose you as soon as he is unhappy, and it is very possible to get it Punishment, who would it be without resentment?"

  Paused, he continued: "Of course, the resentment is the resentment... In fact, it's not just that. The reason... so many people are willing to work for me, the root cause, it still has to be attributed to Jing Nan!"

   "Jing Nan?" Zhang Anshi looked puzzled.

   Obviously, this answer was unexpected to him.

Zhang Xingyuan quickly explained the reason, and said: "Although I contacted many people at the beginning, when Zhu Yuanzhang was here, he was on guard against us and the Mongols, so... there were hardly any soldiers and leaders. Opportunity. So at that time, what I did was to visit relatives and friends every day and complain with people. But... Jianwen ascended the throne, and I immediately realized that Jianwen was weak and far inferior to Zhu Yuanzhang. It happened that he wanted to cut down the vassal, I think This is a good opportunity, wait until Zhu Di..."

  Zhu Di sat on the sidelines, resisting the guy calling him by his first name, but he didn't have an attack. He just wanted to know the truth now, instead he didn't interrupt Zhang Xingyuan easily, and just listened quietly.

Zhang Xingyuan continued: "When Zhu Di raised his army, it was time to employ people, so... I placed a lot of people into the Yan army. The original intention was to create chaos within the Ming court, and wait for them to kill for a few years. At that time, Ming Dynasty will definitely be torn apart! At that time, we will re-enter the Central Plains and regain everything from the beginning."

  "But... people are not as good as heaven, who would have thought that in just two or three years, this Zhu Di would enter the city of Nanjing and bring the Ming Dynasty back into unity."

He couldn't help showing a look of regret. To be honest, Zhu Di was really just a small feudal lord in Beiping back then. With this amount of troops and troops, anyone... would feel that he would be defeated. Even if Zhu Di made great efforts to perform a miracle, Mostly it was just a separatist regime, and the entire Ming Dynasty fell into long-term civil strife.

  Who would have thought that Zhu Di, such a small feudal lord, would fight directly across the Yangtze River in the end and end the war quickly!

Zhang Xingyuan continued: "Of course, although these goals have not been achieved, they have also brought us a lot of benefits, that is... the people who originally entered the Yan army, although they did not make any great contributions, became princes. At least... most of them have entered Nanjing more or less because of Conglong Zhigong. It is said that the general Huabuluer, who is the right sentry of the Beijing camp, is a descendant of the Mongolian soldiers. Logically, it is impossible to get Daming's trust, he even entered the Beijing camp and served as a military officer, but it was precisely because of Jing Nan that he was able to control the troops on one side."

  Zhu Di couldn't help being moved, he squinted his eyes, and suddenly understood something at this moment.

  At the time of Jing Nan, there were too few troops, so for anyone who was willing to follow Jing Nan, Zhu Di could almost be said to be willing to come. From this point of view, people like Zhang Xingyuan took advantage of it.

  Zhang An Shidao: "So...you want to kill the king through them, and then what?"

"The matter of killing the king..." Zhang Xingyuan said calmly: "It is actually not good for us, because I also know that the Tatars have swept across the desert several times when Zhu Yuanzhang was in Zhu Yuanzhang, and their strength has not yet recovered. Even if there is civil strife in the Central Plains Well, within ten to twenty years, it will actually be very difficult to gain control of the Central Plains. Rather than that, it is better... let everyone continue to lurk in various parts of the world, waiting for opportunities."

  So Zhang Anshi asked: "Since you know, why did you do it?"

Zhang Xingyuan said: "The reason for doing this is because...you have already noticed our movements. If you haven't noticed, we may be able to live in peace with each other. We can afford to wait until the Tatars rule Mongolia and then cooperate with each other. There is hope of restoring Dae Yuan."

"It's a pity... I know very well who Zhu Di is. Once he detects anti-party activities, he will definitely try his best to chase after him. Sooner or later... we may still leak the whereabouts. To get rid of these completely, the only The best way is to get rid of Zhu Di...By the way..."

   Speaking of this, Zhang Xingyuan took a deep look at Zhang Anshi, and then said: "I still have to get rid of you."

  Zhang Anshi couldn't help laughing and said: "So that's how it is...so you suddenly have so many movements, it can be said that it is dazzling, and you are Xu Wen, and you are planting King Ning, and this time...in fact, it is just jumping over the wall in a hurry."

  Zhang Xingyuan sighed: "My whole life's hard work was finally ruined today, so I have nothing to say."

   Zhang Xingyuan glanced at Zhang Anshi immediately, and said with a bit of emotion: "You are a talent. I thought I was extremely smart, but in the end I am not as good as you. There is nothing to say about success and defeat."

   As he spoke, he actually smiled.

  It's as if... I'm not worried about my future fate.

Instead, he paused, and continued: "I am a dying person, and you know... I have been sick for many days. I have suffered from this disease. In fact, there is not much difference between living and dying. Although today It fell into your hands, but I don’t have many regrets. It’s a pity... Before my father died, he had thought in his heart, looking north to see the Dayuan soldiers and horses entering the pass, but he couldn’t finish it in my hands. Instead, his vitality was seriously injured. Pity."

  Zhu Di finally couldn't sit still, looked at him coldly and said: "Really? It's a pity that the old thief is dead. If not, if I catch him, his body will be broken into pieces."

  Zhang Xingyuan only smiled faintly: "So what? It's just a quick talk. Now... what kind of torture do you want me to suffer, just be straightforward..."

  He smiled wryly: "It's just that I'm already ill and blind, so I shouldn't be able to withstand much torture. I might disappoint you."

  Zhang Anshi glanced at Zhu Di.

  Zhu Di was obviously very angry, so Zhang Anshi said: "Where is the list?"

   "List?" Zhang Xingyuan looked at Zhang Anshi indifferently.

  Zhang Anshi then said: "Hand over the list of those who colluded with you, maybe die a little easier."

  Zhang Xingyuan shook his head: "If you can't get it, I can't tell you."

  Zhang Anshi said again: "In addition to this, there is your wealth..."

When Zhang Anshi said this, he paused, stared at him and said, "I'm afraid it's not because of your family background that you have been able to move around for so long! Your Zhang family... has been a so-called prince for so many generations, even in Jin Dynasty. During the dynasty, there was a side called Wanhu, but it was actually a country within a country. In the past hundreds of years, how many people have been exploited, and the Mongols retreated so quickly. Wealth is taken away, I'm afraid... you can make such a big commotion, you must still hide the family fortune for many generations, shouldn't you say these things?"

  Zhang Xingyuan frowned and remained silent.

   Zhu Di's eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhang Anshi went on to say: "Besides, I deliberately mentioned 300,000 taels of silver just now. When I bought the Tatar Taifu, I have been watching your expression. He didn't have the slightest wave about the 300,000 taels of silver, even You showed sarcasm, so it can be seen...the three hundred thousand taels of silver are nothing in your eyes. What you think is ironic...you actually folded it here just because of a mere three hundred thousand taels. These ...If you don't make it clear, do you want to die so easily?"

  Zhang Xingyuan pursed his lips and said, "I am a smart person, and you are also a smart person..."

He paused, raised his head, looked straight at Zhang Anshi, with a trace of fear in his eyes, and said, "Do you think I would be willing to say it? I said earlier that I am a dying person. I am about to die alone. How can it be possible for you to get what you want? So if you can’t scare me, don’t waste your efforts, it’s better to go to prison quickly, let you vent your anger, other... don’t have to wishful thinking.”

  Zhu Di showed a bit of uneasiness.

  He knew in his heart that Zhang Xingyuan must be a resolute person to be able to run rampant for so long, and ordinary methods would definitely be useless to him.

  Zhu Di stood up and walked aside with an excuse.

   Zhang Anshi understood, so he also stood up and went forward, whispering to Zhu Di.

  Zhu Di said: "This matter is of great importance. It seems that he will not prosecute without punishment, but the ordinary criminal law may not be able to teach him to speak. Whether to call Ji Gang or not, this guy...does it well."

Zhang Anshi shook his head lightly and said: "Your Majesty, this person is seriously ill. I am afraid that Ji Gang's three-legged cat kung fu will be tortured to death before he can master it. Some people cannot be destroyed by criminal law alone." volitional."

Zhu Di frowned, looking worried: "It's really hard to vent my resentment just to smash his body into thousands of pieces. This guy has hidden so much money, and...has so many accomplices...It's a pity to die like this Why don't you... deceive him and give him the desire to survive?"

  Zhang Anshi still shook his head: "Your Majesty, give up, we can't fool him, this person is too smart, he has already distinguished the situation, he will never believe us, he is not Zhu Yong..."

  Zhu Di frowned even deeper, and said irritably, "Then what should I do?"

   "Actually... the minister even arranged a trick..." Zhang Anshi's eyes were dark, and he subconsciously smiled.

  Zhu Di suddenly cheered up, and hurriedly said: "Why didn't you say it earlier, what did you show?"

"We need to wait a bit..." Zhang Anshi said with a trace of mystery: "Put this person under custody first, and don't worry about other places, who knows... It's not safe outside this palace. His followers know that he has been arrested, and they must jump over the wall in a hurry. , wishing to kill people immediately, so I suggested that temporarily imprison him in the palace. Row."

  Zhu Di said surprisingly: "Why bother, I will guard it myself, and I will be his mother... I have not done anything these few days, just stared at him, so I can be sure that nothing will go wrong."

  Zhang Anshi couldn't help showing his admiration: "Your Majesty has worked so hard to eradicate the chaotic party and done it himself. I really admire you."

Zhu Di blushed, looked a little unnaturally, looked elsewhere, and then said: "Of course, I will take care of the affairs of the palace, so don't keep on talking, go to your mother's business quickly! Oh , you should be careful outside the palace, it is best to let the model battalion follow you day and night! I think these people are very reliable, in short, we must not let the thieves take advantage of it."

  Zhang Anshi smiled smugly and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, when it comes to protecting oneself, I am very good at it."

  Zhu Di thought about it carefully and found it reasonable. People all over the world had been assassinated. If only one person survived, then in all likelihood, it would be Zhang Anshi.

  So Zhu Di said: "In this case, let's do things quickly."

   "Yes!" Zhang Anshi didn't dare to hesitate, so he hurried out of the palace.

  (end of this chapter)