There is no airtight wall in the world, shortly after Yan Song and others left Qianqing Palace.
The imperial army captured Hailongtun, and Bozhou Xuanwei envoy Yang Lie was killed. His family members, relatives and related persons were all charged with treason by the imperial court. This news spread quickly.
As soon as this news came out, it quickly caused an uproar in the capital. Both officials and ordinary people began to discuss the matter seriously.
Night, Prince Yu's Mansion.
Zhu Zaijing naturally learned the news through his own channels.
Afterwards, he called everyone non-stop to Prince Yu's Mansion to discuss the next response.
At this moment, in the study room, Zhu Zaijing was seen sitting on the main seat, his face full of excitement.
"I really didn't expect that it only took the court more than a month to pacify Bozhou!"
When Zhu Zaijing finished speaking, Gao Gong on the side took over and explained.
"Your Highness, the imperial court has made complete preparations before officially sending troops to Bozhou. Whether it is the right time, the right location, or the right people, they are all firmly occupied by the imperial court. How can this battle be invincible?"
Zhang Juzheng on the side was also quite moved when he heard Gao Gong's words, and then added.
"Your Majesty is also very particular about hiring people this time. He appointed Feng Yue, governor of Huguang, as the commander-in-chief of the army!"
"No one in the government or the public knows the situation of the chieftains in the southwest better than Feng Yue. As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles. Because of this, the imperial court was able to pacify Bozhou without any effort!"
After listening to what Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng said, Zhu Zaijing had a thoughtful expression on his face.
At this moment, Xu Jie coughed twice, attracting the attention of everyone present.
"Ahem, everyone, I have something I want to show everyone!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he slowly took out the case files that had been suppressed by the Ministry of Punishment from his sleeve.
In that case file, it was recorded that Ma Ningyuan mobilized the guardsmen without permission, trampled on the seedlings, and caused a loss of life!
When Gao Gong on the side saw this, a look of suspicion suddenly appeared on his face. Immediately, he looked at Xu Jie and then spoke.
"Mr. Xu Ge, show it to me!"
"Um."
Hearing this, Xu Jie responded in a subtle way, and immediately handed the case file in his hand to Gao Gong's hands.
Afterwards, Gao Gong took the case file from Xu Jie's hand and began to browse it carefully.
After Gao Gong finished browsing the contents of the file, he suddenly became furious. He slammed the table and said in a deep voice.
"What a bastard. A small prefect of Hangzhou actually dares to mobilize the guards without permission, trample on seedlings and kill people. Is there any justice in the world?"
"I'll call someone to the Supreme Court tomorrow to impeach Ma Ningyuan!"
Xu Jie took in the expression on Gao Gong's face, picked up the teacup on the side, took a sip, and spoke words of comfort.
"Brother Su Qing, calm down and don't act rashly, so as not to alert the enemy. Besides, aren't we just discussing how to handle this matter next?"
"Yes, Mr. Gao Ge, Mr. Xu Ge is right. We should really calm down now and not get into trouble!"
After Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng on the side also followed suit.
Under the persuasion of Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong's emotions were finally able to calm down.
After that, Zhang Juzheng turned his attention to the case file in Gao Gong's hand and made a request.
"Mr. Gao Ge, can you show me this case file?"
"Here, take it!"
After Gao Gong finished speaking, he handed the case file in his hand to Zhang Juzheng's hand.
After Zhang Juzheng took the case file from Gao Gong's hand, he opened it without any hesitation and began to browse the contents.
This case file records the whole process of how Ma Ningyuan, the prefect of Hangzhou, mobilized the guards without permission, trampled on the rice seedlings, and caused a loss of life when he was promoting the conversion of rice to mulberry!
Although in that case file, Ma Ningyuan's behavior was greatly modified, and most of the fault was placed on the villagers.
But when Zhang Juzheng saw those cold words, he couldn't help but feel his heart tightening.
After Zhang Juzheng finished browsing the contents, he fell into a long silence.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Zaijing, who was sitting in the main seat, took his eyes away from Zhang Juzheng and gave instructions.
"Show it to me!"
Later, Zhu Zaijing was seen taking the case file from the silent Zhang Juzheng.
When Zhu Zaijing saw the case recorded in the file, he felt an unknown fire rising from his heart.
He subconsciously clenched the case file in his hand, so hard that his knuckles turned white.
After a long time, Zhu Zaijing came back to his senses. After looking around, he said in a deep voice.
"The strict party is really causing harm to the country and the people. We absolutely cannot stand by and watch this matter. A small Hangzhou prefect is so confident and disregards human life!"
As soon as Zhu Zaijing finished speaking, Gao Gong beside him also expressed his attitude.
"Well, His Highness is right. We absolutely cannot sit idly by and watch this matter. We must seek justice for those people!"
Zhang Juzheng on the side saw this situation, a look of worry appeared on his face, he frowned, and then spoke.
"You know, this Ma Ningyuan is Hu Zongxian's student, and Hu Zongxian will be transferred to the capital after a while. If this happens, will it..."
Before Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he was angrily interrupted by Gao Gong on the side.
"Hmph, how could a man like Hu Zongxian, who is so loyal to the country, have such a student?"
Xu Jie on the side also deeply agreed with Gao Gong's words, and then sighed with emotion.
"Oh, yes, Hu Zongxian's contribution to the court is not small!"
"Let's not talk about anything else for the moment. Before this, the situation along the southeastern coast was solely supported by him. Now it seems that he will be transferred back to the capital to take up a post by His Majesty. But at this time, something like this happened..."
Zhu Zaijing, who was sitting in the main seat, saw this situation and after thinking about it for a moment, he put forward his own idea.
"Even so, we cannot leave this matter alone. Think of the people who were trampled to death by horses just to protect the seedlings!"
"Perhaps Hu Zongxian himself didn't know anything about this matter from beginning to end. Let's do this so that he can see his student clearly early to avoid making a bigger mistake!"
When Zhu Zaijing finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence.
I don't know how long it took, but Xu Jie came back to his senses and took the lead in expressing his attitude.
"Well, what His Royal Highness Prince Yu said makes sense. Right is right and wrong is wrong. We must take this opportunity to seek justice for the people who have been oppressed by the strict party!"
Hearing this, Gao Gong was not in a hurry to express his position. At this moment, he was caught in a tangle.
On the one hand, he respected Hu Zongxian quite a lot and did not want to see him being involved in this matter and delaying his promising future.
But on the other hand, every time Gao Gong closed his eyes, he unconsciously recalled the entire case recorded in the file.
Finally, after hesitating for a long time, Gao Gong looked in the direction of Xu Jie and made a decisive move.
"Well, what Mr. Xu Ge said makes sense. We really can't let this matter go unchecked. No matter who does something wrong, he will have to pay the price for it, even if he is Hu Zongxian's student!"
After that, everyone turned their attention to Zhang Juzheng, who had not expressed his stance for a long time, waiting for his response.
Facing everyone's gaze, Zhang Juzheng came back to his senses, coughed twice, looked at Xu Jie apologetically, and said.
"Mr. Xu Ge, this matter is too important and affects the whole body. Please allow me to go back and think about it carefully!"
Xu Jie seemed to have expected this, so there was no trace of displeasure on his face, but he waved his hand generously and said.
"Well, indeed, this matter is of great importance and should be considered carefully!"
After Xu Jie finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Zaijing and Gao Gong respectively and continued.
"Anyway, there's no rush. Everyone should go back and think about it carefully before making a decision!"
When Zhang Juzheng heard what Xu Jie said, a look of gratitude appeared on his face. He immediately looked at Xu Jie and spoke.
"Thank you Mr. Xu Ge!"
Afterwards, Zhang Juzheng stood up from his seat and said goodbye to Zhu Zaijing, who was sitting in the main seat.
After that, Zhang Juzheng turned around and left the room without stopping at all.
After walking out of Prince Yu's Mansion, Zhang Juzheng raised his head, looked at the stars hanging in the night sky, and said silently to himself.
"This matter is far from as simple as it seems!"
Afterwards, Zhang Juzheng got on the sedan and headed towards the mansion where he lived in the capital.
…
Along the way, Zhang Juzheng was thinking about Xu Jie's purpose of doing this.
"Speaking of Xu Jie, why did you choose this moment to dig out the case file that had been suppressed by the Ministry of Punishment earlier?"
"What is his purpose? Does he want to take this opportunity to attack the strict party?"
When the sedan that Zhang Juzheng was riding in traveled not far from the mansion where he lived.
Zhang Juzheng got off the sedan, walked slowly on the road with his hands behind his back, and not far away from him, the guards responsible for protecting his safety were observing every move around him.
As for the high-sounding words Xu Jie said, Zhang Juzheng never believed a word. Xu Jie, like Yan Song, never had the common people in his heart!
In this case, how can we talk about seeking justice for the people?
In Zhang Juzheng's view, Xu Jie and Yan Song are the same species. Now, the reason why Xu Jie is trying every means to bring down Yan Dang is to replace him!
Once Xu Jie takes power in the future, he will definitely be the second Yan Song!
"Ma Ningyuan, Hu Zongxian, Gao Hanwen, Zheng Michang, He Maocai, Zhang Runde, Yan Shifan, Yan Song..."
Zhang Juzheng frowned and thought to himself about the people who might be involved in this case.
"Once Ma Ningyuan's case is revealed, the first person to be implicated will be his teacher Hu Zongxian, and then Gao Hanwen, Zheng Michang, and He Maocai!"
"Then, Zhang Runde, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, will not be able to escape the blame. After this, Yan Song and his son will also be involved!"
"This matter can be big or small. At the most serious level, it is a disregard for human life and lawlessness. At the most small level, it is nothing more than the death of a few people in the process of promoting the conversion of rice into mulberry!"
"This case alone is far from being able to bring down Yan Song and the others. Moreover, this case also involves Hu Zongxian. When the time comes, His Majesty may personally end it!"
When Zhang Juzheng came to his senses, he had already reached the door of his house.
When the boys at the door saw Zhang Juzheng coming back, they all saluted him respectfully.
"master!"
"Um."
Zhang Juzheng responded imperceptibly, and then entered the mansion.
After entering the mansion, Zhang Juzheng was not in a hurry to go back to his room to rest. Instead, he came to several wolfberry trees that were growing happily in the courtyard.
Looking at its lush branches and leaves, Zhang Juzheng's brain was running rapidly.
"Since Xu Jieming knows that this case cannot bring down Yan Song and the others, then why does he still show the case file in public? Is it possible that he has some other purpose?"
After thinking in this direction for a long time, Zhang Juzheng did not get the answer. Then, feeling sleepy, Zhang Juzheng decided to put this question aside for the time being.
"It's better to go to bed early and we'll discuss this matter tomorrow!"
…
On the other side, the Forbidden City, Lu Fang's residence.
The sky is dotted with stars, densely covered with stars, like pearls in the night, shining with cold light.
After Feng Bao finished his duty as the Supervisor of Ceremonies, he rushed to Lu Fang's residence to wait.
Feng Bao's shadow also appeared quite clear under the orange light emitted by the lantern.
Although the temperature dropped slightly at night compared to the day, the weather was still unbearably hot. Therefore, soon, bead-sized beads of sweat kept rolling down Feng Bao's forehead.
Feng Bao also used his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his forehead from time to time. Despite the hot weather and the infestation of mosquitoes, Feng Bao had no intention of leaving.
Feng Bao knew very well that what happened today would definitely arouse the dissatisfaction of his godfather Lu Fang!
What he had to do next was to explain clearly to Lu Fang the reason behind this and dispel his suspicions along the way.
Time passed slowly. I don’t know how long it had passed. In Feng Bao’s sight, the figure he had been looking forward to for a long time finally appeared.
Afterwards, I saw Feng Bao's face lit up and he immediately stepped forward to greet him.
After Feng Baozai came to Lu Fang, his attitude was extremely respectful, he leaned down and called softly.
"Godfather!"
When Lu Fang saw that the person coming was Feng Bao, she couldn't help but have a look of surprise on her face. Then, Lu Fang saw the expression on Feng Bao's face, raised her eyebrows, and asked with a half-smile.
"Oh, Feng Bao, it's so late, what are you doing here? Could it be that you're here to give your godfather a lesson?"
"Where, where, godfather is joking, the child is coming here specially to see you!"
When Feng Bao heard what Lu Fang said, a look of panic suddenly appeared on his face, and he quickly explained.
When Lu Fang heard this, she nodded slightly, turned her eyes away from Feng Bao, and gave instructions.
"If you have anything to say, just say it here!"
"Daddy, this... there are so many people here, I'm afraid there will be..."
When Feng Bao heard this, a look of embarrassment appeared on his face at the right moment, and he cautiously asked Lu Fang.
"Well, in that case, let's go with godfather!"
When Lu Fang heard what Feng Bao said, she nodded and then led the way. Seeing this, Feng Bao couldn't help but feel happy and quickly followed Lu Fang's footsteps.
After entering the room, Lu Fang looked around. After confirming that nothing in the room had been moved, he nodded and sat down at the main seat. Feng Bao took the lead and picked up the table. He put the teapot on the table and poured Lu Fang a cup of tea.
After that, Feng Bao knelt on his knees and handed the tea to Lu Fang very respectfully.
"Daddy, please have tea!"
"Um."
Hearing this, Lu Fang looked Feng Bao up and down before taking the teacup and taking a sip.
When Feng Bao saw Lu Fang taking the tea cup from his hand, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and said to himself.
"Since the godfather is willing to accept this cup of tea, it means that there is still room for redemption!"
Feng Bao thought this, and his mood became more and more excited. At this moment, Lu Fang's voice without any emotion sounded.
"Feng Bao, tell me, what do you want to do with your godfather?"
"Fuck... godfather, my master... I mainly want to explain that what happened during the day was not intentional..."
When Feng Bao heard this, his face was full of panic. He raised his head, looked at Lu Fang, and hesitated.
"Feng Bao, you don't have to explain anything to your godfather, this is all your fault!"
When Lu Fang said this, his face was filled with a warm smile. Then, he stood up from his seat and personally helped Feng Bao up from the ground.
Feng Bao looked at the warm smile on Lu Fang's face, and the look of panic on his face became even worse. Because he was so frightened, Feng Bao's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Then, with a 'plop' sound, Feng Bao, who had just been lifted up from the ground by Lu Fang himself, knelt on the ground again.
"Fuck...godfather, please listen to Hai'er's explanation. The thing is like this. It happens to be Hai'er's turn to be on duty in the Ceremony Prison today, and then..."
Lu Fang saw that the content of Feng Bao's narrative was not much different from the information she had received earlier, and her eyes gradually softened when she looked at Feng Bao.
After Feng Bao narrated the whole incident, he raised his head with a guilty conscience, looked at Lu Fang, and said cautiously.
"Fuck...godfather, this is how the whole thing happened!"
"Well, godfather knows!"
Hearing this, Lu Fang glanced at Feng Bao and spoke unhurriedly.
Feng Bao obviously did not expect that Lu Fang would react like this. He couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, mustered up the courage, and confirmed to Lu Fang.
"Fuck...godfather, don't blame me..."
"Oh, what's the blame?"
When Lu Fang heard Feng Bao's words, she raised her eyebrows and asked with a half-smile.
"No...no, no, it's nothing. The child said something wrong, please ask your godfather to punish him!"
Seeing this situation, Feng Bao quickly swallowed the words he had not yet spoken, lowered his head, and spoke with shame.
Lu Fang seemed to have guessed what Feng Bao was thinking, nodded, and then spoke.
"Well, there's no need for punishment. As my godfather said before, all of this is your fault!"
When Feng Bao heard this, his face was full of disbelief. When he was about to say something, Lu Fang waved his hand and interrupted him.
"Okay, it's getting late, you'd better go back and rest early!"
Although Lu Fang's tone was extremely calm, Feng Bao still heard an irrefutable meaning in it.
Thinking of this, Feng Bao couldn't help but have a bitter smile on his face. He leaned down and saluted Lu Fang respectfully.
"Yes, fuck... godfather, please leave now, kid!"
"Um."
Hearing this, Lu Fang took her eyes away from Feng Bao and responded in a subtle way.
After that, Feng Bao took heavy steps and left Lu Fang's residence.
After Feng Bao left, Lu Fang slowly got up from her seat and came to the door.
Lu Fang looked at Feng Bao's leaving figure with a joking look on his face. He shook his head and muttered silently to himself.
"Feng Bao, Feng Bao, you still lack a little firepower!"
"My godfather doesn't have to sit in the position of the palm eunuch until he dies. When my godfather finishes what he needs to do for His Majesty, you will take over!"
Then, Lu Fang looked away, with a dark and unclear look in her eyes.
…
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the evening of the next day.
Outside the Qianqing Palace, the sun slowly set towards the west, and the afterglow fell on the horizon. The sky showed a faint orange color, and then gradually dissipated. The sunset slowly occupied the entire sky, and a breeze blew by, bringing a bit of coolness.
In the Palace of Qianqing, after reading the last memorial sent by General Jiajing, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, he finished reading it.
I saw Lu Fang, who had been waiting beside Jiajing, step forward and report respectfully.
"Your Majesty, this is a personal letter written to you by Yang Xuan, Governor of Jiliao!"
After Lu Fang finished speaking, he took out a letter from his sleeve and respectfully handed it to Jiajing.
"Oh, Yang Xuan?"
After Jiajing finished speaking, he took the letter from Lu Fang's hand and began to read it carefully.
After a long time, Jiajing put the letter aside, chuckled, and then spoke.
"Well, Yang Xuan did a good job. Not only did he assist Zasak Tuhan to put down the rebellion in the tribe, but he also completed the strategic goal set by the court and successfully brought the Chahar tribe under the control of the Ming Dynasty!"
When Jiajing said this, he turned around, looked at Lu Fang, and gave instructions lightly.
"In this way, Lu Fang, on top of the original reward, add some extra rewards and give him more gold, silver and jewelry!"
"You can also choose one or two treasures from my internal funds to give to him. In addition, those soldiers who participated in this battle should not be treated badly!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand!"
(End of chapter)
