In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, this year, Zhu Yuanzhang built five towers on the Chengtianmen and Duanmen platforms.
Thousand-step corridors on the left and right sides were built in the square in front of Chengtianmen.
On the east side of the square are the five departments of officials, households, rites, soldiers and workers, and on the west side are the governor's office of the five armies and the Jinyiwei Yamen.
As for the punishment department, it is outside Taipingmen in the north of the imperial city.
Today's Jinyiwei Yamen, even after several months, can still smell a faint smell of paint.
Today's Ming Dynasty certainly doesn't pay much attention to these things.
Jiang Wei should have entered directly, and then the envoys from the south and north towns would report a lot of information about the capital today.
But seeing Song Zhong's appearance, it was obvious that he had something extremely private.
He waved his hand, and the Jin Yiwei men who followed him immediately dispersed, and then Jiang Wei followed Song Zhong into the house.
"If anything happens, I have to report it separately."
Jiang Wei asked directly. Song Zhong's behavior made him a little confused. There were many secrets in the Jinyi Guard, but generally speaking, the envoys of the two towns belonged to his confidants and there was no need to deliberately conceal them.
"Commander Chiang, please take a look." Song Zhong did not hesitate and immediately turned the portrait with his back to the wall.
Jiang Wei looked at it and felt that the person in the portrait was very familiar just at a glance.
After taking a closer look, he recognized it immediately.
Then he turned around and scolded: "Song Zhong, you are so brave. You dare to copy the portrait of His Highness in private. Do you know that this is a crime of beheading?"
Portraits of the emperor, prince, many princes, grandsons, and even noble ministers.
Copying without permission is a crime of disrespect.
This is probably equivalent to the infringement of portrait rights in later generations.
In ancient times, it was not a good thing to randomly draw other people's faces. It was insulting.
There are only two types of conventional portraits, either they are left for inheritance and for future generations to commemorate.
Or it's the arrest document of a wanted criminal.
Obviously, according to his past work habits, the portrait Zhang Qianhu drew looks exactly like the portrait of a wanted criminal at first glance.
This is why Jiang Wei reprimanded angrily.
"Commander Chiang calms down his anger. His humble position naturally understands such taboos, but the key point is that the person in the painting is not His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Song Zhong explained quickly.
"What do you mean by this?" Jiang Wei asked with a slight frown.
"The person in this portrait was someone I met in a teahouse by the Qinhuai River earlier. He is the owner of the teahouse."
"When I saw him at that time, I was astonished. This boy is not very old, about twenty, but he is very similar to His Highness, both in appearance and temperament."
"The humble position was filled with fear. Fortunately, Zhang Qianhu from the Yamen was also there at that time."
"Zhang Qianhu is proficient in painting. His humble duty is to ask Zhang Qianhu to describe this boy's appearance."
"This is it."
Song Zhong explained the whole story clearly and logically.
He currently doesn't know how to deal with this matter.
"really?"
"really."
After Jiang Wei confirmed it for the second time, he frowned and walked to the portrait to take a closer look.
Upon closer inspection, it turns out that the person in the portrait is very different from His Royal Highness.
Zhang Qianhu's painting attainments are obviously not low, and the temperament of the people in this painting is clearly reflected.
It's just that the more Jiang Wei looked at it, the more frightened he became.
The two of them are so similar.
To say that the person in this painting has nothing to do with His Royal Highness, no one would believe it.
"This person's surname is Zhu and his given name is Ying. I don't dare to investigate privately at the moment. I just want to wait for Commander Chiang to come back and make a decision."
Song Zhong said carefully from the side.
This is the cleverness of why he is able to reach his current position.
One of the disadvantages of things related to the royal family like this is that it gets caught in a whirlpool.
When living in a place like Jinyiwei Yamen, being wise and protecting yourself is the basic way.
Jiang Wei nodded slightly and said: "Don't investigate on your own. Even the people who are going with you must be careful."
"This kind of thing is of great concern, especially now that the prince has passed away. Your Majesty has already decided that the grandson will take the throne."
"Now a person like this suddenly appears."
"If there is such a sinister conspiracy, you and I will fall into the abyss and be unable to escape."
Hearing Jiang Wei's words, Song Zhong believed it. Now there was a turmoil outside. Although Jiang Wei didn't say it explicitly, Song Zhong also understood in his heart.
His Majesty is becoming increasingly irritable, emotionally unstable, and extremely prone to madness.
If someone really takes this opportunity to set up a shocking conspiracy, then the matter cannot be underestimated.
It may even be related to the stability of the entire Ming Empire.
"Send someone to check who owns the title deed of the tea house. Don't delve too much into other matters."
"He is a breakfast vendor. Tomorrow morning, I will go with you to see this person, and then hand it over to the Holy One for judgment."
Jiang Wei said thoughtfully.
"I understand the humble position." Song Zhong responded.
........
Prince Yan's Mansion in Nanjing City.
"Master, you are indeed right. My father chose my young nephew after all."
Zhu Di said a little dejectedly.
In his opinion, he is the best candidate for the throne. How could you choose that boy Zhu Yunwen?
"Even if His Majesty wants to choose His Highness, he will be obstructed by the ministers." Yao Guangxiao said.
"What do you mean by this?"
Zhu Di drank the wine in one gulp and asked Yao Guangxiao.
"Two days ago, the poor monk learned from his friends that after the death of the crown prince, His Majesty summoned a group of important ministers to discuss the matter of the crown prince at Donggemen."
"At that time, His Majesty proposed to appoint His Royal Highness King Yan as the Crown Prince, but Liu Sanwu strongly opposed it."
Yao Guangxiao said slowly, then paused for a moment.
"This Liu Sanwu, why do you oppose this king? Why should you oppose this king?" Zhu Di shouted bitterly.
Only then did he realize that his father had thought of making him the prince.
It was just blocked by these damn civil servants.
"His Highness values martial arts over literature, so they will naturally oppose His Highness." Yao Guangxiao simply stated.
Zhu Di looked ruthless and said in a cold voice: "These civil servants are so eloquent that they stir up trouble and sow discord between me and my father. If there is a chance in the future, I will kill them all!"
When Yao Guangxiao heard this, his expression did not change at all.
King Yan Zhu Di killed many officials in Peiping. Some of them did commit crimes, and a small number were done by Zhu Di to eliminate dissidents.
In this way, the whole of Peiping was managed by Zhu Di.
After a while, Zhu Di's anger calmed down and he asked: "How is that boy Zhu Ying doing lately?"
"The teahouse given by His Highness has clearly opened today. It is said that the business is extremely hot. It only took most of the day and it was already a sensation in Nanjing." Yao Guangxiao said with a smile.
He doesn't care about the profit of the tea house. The hot business of the tea house makes his arrangements more convenient.
"This kid actually has such abilities." Zhu Di said.
"Zhu Ying is indeed very capable, but it is also easier to control." Yao Guangxiao said with a chuckle.
"This matter must be arranged as soon as possible, the sooner the better,"
"This matter must be settled before my nephew is canonized." Zhu Di said in a deep voice.
"That's right." Yao Guangxiao agreed.
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