"Shen Qing, you worked hard to pacify the people in Shanxi, and you also assisted Pingxi Marquis to resist the Jurchens. It can be said that your hard work has made great achievements. What crime do you have?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sat firmly on the throne and pretended to be puzzled.
When Shen Zhanran heard this, he kowtowed with sincerity and said, "Your Majesty, a humble minister is guilty of two crimes!"
"Previously, when I was assisting the crown prince in the capital, I was coerced by Li Zushu. Not only did I fail to capture the leader of the thief, but I also caused the treasury to be transferred. This is my crime."
"Later, Wei Chen was ordered to go to Shanxi to provide disaster relief, but it was difficult to stabilize the people, causing the soldiers to be infected with the plague. In order to stabilize the war situation, Wei Chen sent infected soldiers to fight in an attempt to infect the Jurchens."
"But I forgot that there are millions of people of the Ming Dynasty in the Jurchen territory. Once the plague spreads, these people will die in vain, which will harm your Majesty's name of loving the people. This is a crime for a humble minister, so I ask your Majesty to punish you!"
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frowned when he heard this.
Because he had previously heard that Datong soldiers took the initiative to fight, and even before the bodies could be recovered, he had already guessed that Gong Yonggu wanted to use the plague to defeat the Jurchens.
Although this method is somewhat vicious, the Jurchens have always harmed the people of the Ming Dynasty. Even if their clan is destroyed because of this, no one will redress their grievances.
But the problem now is that there are not only Jurchens in Liaodong, but also millions of Ming people.
If the people of Liaodong died innocently because of this, they would definitely be criticized by the imperial censor, and even leave a bad name in the history books.
That's why he went to great lengths to resettle the people just now because he wanted to show his kindness and get rid of the influence of receiving the true biography of Taizu. This was also the reason why he felt relaxed when he saw Shen Zhanran plead guilty.
But he didn't expect that Shen Zhanran not only admitted the plague, but also took the responsibility for the silver being transferred, which made him suspect that Shen Zhanran had other agendas.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't see Shen Zhanran's intention clearly, so he looked at Gong Yonggu who looked surprised and said: "Ping Xihou, do you know about sending infected soldiers to fight?"
When Gong Yonggu heard this, a look of embarrassment flashed across his face, and he whispered: "This matter..."
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen did this without telling Marquis Ping Xi. If you want to punish him, punish Wei Chen!"
Shen Zhanran interrupted Gong Yonggu's words loudly, and then knocked on the ground heavily.
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked and suspicious when he saw Shen Zhanran taking all the responsibilities on himself.
Because judging from Shen Zhanran's previous experiences, the other party was obviously suspicious of him, and was worried that he would end up like Liu Bowen and others, so he deliberately tested him.
Although he had just shown his benevolence by reassuring the people, since Shen Zhanran was suspicious in his heart, he should not be able to believe it so easily with his mind.
In this case, why should Shen Zhanran bear the responsibility of harming the people alone?
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Shen Zhanran and carefully recalled the crimes he had just described.
Suddenly, he thought of Li Jing. Could it be that Li Jing was in danger and Shen Zhanran wanted him to save Li Jing, so he made these remarks.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "Shen Qing, where is Li Jing now?"
When Shen Zhanran heard this, his body trembled slightly, and then he said respectfully: "Master Li has been secretly transported to the south of the Yangtze River by Wang Ruqian in a salt boat since he was captured by Xu Yunzhen."
"In the beginning, Wei Chen could occasionally receive news from him, but in the past two days, not only has there been no news from Mr. Li, but there has also been no news from Master Shen..."
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frowned when he heard Wang Ruqian's name.
Because after he learned about the hidden dangers in Jiangnan, he asked Wu Mengming to investigate the situation of the vassal kings, officials and wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan, so he also knew something about Wang Ruqian's situation.
This Wang Ruqian was originally from Shexian County, Huizhou. He had been engaged in the salt industry for generations and had considerable financial resources. By the time Wang Ruqian arrived, he was already one of the richest households in Jiangnan.
Because Wang Ruqian fell in love with the scenic beauty of the West Lake, he moved his family to Gang'er Lane in Hangzhou and built the "Chunxing Hall". He often held tea parties and met Qian Qianyi, Dong Qichang and others, and had a close friendship with the Donglin Party members in the south.
Now that Wang Ruqian is involved in this matter, there is no doubt that the person behind it is the Donglin Party in the South.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang hated the Donglin Party members in the south, he originally wanted to repel the Jurchens before dealing with them because of the Jurchens.
He wanted to delay them, so he asked Xia Wanchun to go south to divide them, and asked Meng Zhaoxiang to interrogate Xu Yunzhen and others. Z.br>
Unexpectedly, the Donglin Party members dared to attack Li Jing openly, and Waituo slapped him in the face naked, which made him murderous.
So he frowned and asked, "Do you know where Li Jing is in Jiangnan now?"
Shen Zhanran shook his head and said: "After Mr. Li was escorted to Jiangnan, he was originally detained at Wang Ruqian's residence in Hangzhou."
"But he was suddenly taken away by a group of people two days ago. Even Brother Li Wu, who secretly protected Mr. Li, was injured. There has been no news since."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was shocked again.
It turned out that he had only listened to Huang Nilu's report before and did not understand the details. In addition, he had been busy dealing with the affairs of Li Zushu and others, so he did not think much about it.
At this moment, after listening to Shen Zhanran's words, I suddenly realized that there was something wrong with it.
Because he knew that Brother Li Wu was the most alert person and his martial arts was second only to Zhang Dabiao among the Eighteen Cavalrymen. He followed him all the way to Hangzhou before being discovered. It should be because someone special went to see Li Jing and he stepped up his vigilance.
If the gentry in Jiangnan were just worried that Li Jing would bring up old matters again and harm their interests, they could just deal with Li Jing secretly. Why did they have to transport him all the way to Jiangnan and have important people go to see him.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face could not help but darken, and he asked loudly: "Shen Qing, what secrets does Li Jing have? Why did they transport him to Jiangnan?"
When Shen Zhanran heard this, he said with a look of fear: "Your Majesty, Li Zushu once asked Wei Chen about the golden dragon. Wei Chen told him that it was inspired by His Majesty's holy virtue, but he didn't seem to believe it."
"After Master Li learned about this, he was worried that they would make a fuss about the Golden Dragon and affect His Majesty's sanctity."
"So I want to use the opportunity of searching for the missing silver to go deep into the tiger's den. Firstly, it can prove His Majesty's holiness, and secondly, it can also reveal the whereabouts of people with ulterior motives..."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Shen Zhanran's words, he couldn't help but tremble in his heart.
After he suppressed the panic in his heart, he pretended to look at Shen Zhanran unintentionally, but found that the other party was also peeping at him, and he was shocked again.
But after all, he was a man who had gone through countless storms. He immediately calmed down and signaled Shen Zhanran to stand up. Then he said calmly: "Then can you find out the person behind it?"
Shen Zhanran shook his head and said: "The humble minister is incompetent and has not found out the person behind the scenes."
"But according to Brother Li Wu's information, Wei Guogong seems to be involved in this matter, but there is no definite evidence yet."
Zhu Yuanzhang had doubts about Xu Yunjue as early as when Nanliang was robbed.
But through Wu Mengming's inquiring, he knew that Xu Yunjue was a softie with great ambitions and little talent, and did not have half the charm of his ancestor Xu Da, so he excluded Xu Yunjue.
Hearing Shen Zhanran's words at this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think of Li Zushu and his ancestor Li Wenzhong...
Zhu Yuanzhang trembled slightly, then looked at Gong Yonggu and said, "Ping Xihou, can you hold Datong for one month without external aid?"
Gong Yonggu pondered for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if the plague spreads among the Jurchen army, I am confident!"
"It's just that the condition of the soldiers who died last time was not too serious. I'm worried that the infection will not be serious unless..."
"Ping Xihou, we will send you an additional 20,000 people. You must defend Datong for a month!"
After Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted Gong Yonggu's words, he looked at Shen Zhanran and said, "Shen Qing, we want you to stay in the suburbs of Beijing and assist Wang Qing in training his troops as a field officer. Are you willing?"
When Shen Zhanran heard this, a look of surprise flashed across his face, and then he bowed and responded.
