"I, Zhu Chunjie, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, have taken someone under the orders of the Crown Prince. Which of you is Chang Yanling, the Marquis of Huaiyuan?"
I’m really here to catch myself!
Chang Yanling, who had just gotten off the boat, almost got a slap in the face when he heard Zhu Chunjie's words. It was so dizzy!
After finally taking a breath, Chang Yanling asked: "Take me? Why?"
"Why? Hahaha..." Zhu Chunjie laughed, "Of course it was treason! It was revealed that you, Wei Guogong Xu Hongji, and Funing Marquis Zhu Guobi conspired against each other! Your cousin Chang Yan'endu I confessed, and even took out a handwritten letter written by Xu Yongji to conspire against you...Now that there are both witnesses and physical evidence, your Huaiyuan Hou family is over for your generation!"
Why is it over? Why is it over? My family is a meritorious one. Our ancestors have done so much, so this is the end?
Chang Yanling was completely stunned. He was wronged! He did not participate in the conspiracy of Xu Hongji and Zhu Guobi. Moreover, he did not have the capital to rebel. Before the fall of Beijing, he was transferred to the post of Jiujiang garrison commander. Although he had not yet taken up the post, he still handed over his duties in the Nanjing camp. While Shi Kefa, Xu Hongji, and Zhao Zhilong were busy preparing Luobei to go to King Qin to rescue him, he, Liu Kongzhao, the admiral of the Jiang Navy, and Zuo Maodi, the patrol censor, were all planning to march westward to Jiujiang to deploy defenses... .
"It's unjust!" Chang Yanling shouted, "You Jin Yiwei can't unjustly accuse good people!"
Zhu Chunjie smiled: "You can tell whether you are a good person or a bad person when you enter the Zhenfu Division... Come on, please come with us, Marquis Huaiyuan!"
"Please" is a polite word. The imperial guards who followed Zhu Chunjie were all veterans of the new army that overcame difficulties. They were very fierce and like wolves and tigers, they pounced on people. Chang Yanling's bodyguards and generals had never seen this before. They were stunned at that time. No one dared to resist, so they could only watch their marquis being captured by the Jin Yiwei.
However, these Jinyi guards were not very reliable in their work. They only captured Chang Yanling and left without taking his family generals to escort him, nor did they seize the official ship of Cao Jiang Navy that Chang Yanling was riding.
The Chang family members on the dock were also stunned. It took a while before they realized that no one was coming to catch them.
A relatively clever general of the Chang family finally reacted and shouted loudly: "Quickly, get on the boat and go back to Nanjing to report the news to the government!"
Chang Yanling's family members followed him; while he was hurriedly boarding the boat and escaping, Chang Yanling had already asked someone to escort him to the Pingshan Hall of Daming Temple.
Pingshan Hall was now heavily guarded, with golden-armored warriors standing in two rows, each holding swords and spears. Prince Zhu sat high on the throne with a scowl on his face, and there were several ministers and guards on both sides, all of them wearing python robes and black gauze, looking like they were being interrogated by three chambers.
Chang Yanling brought it directly from the dock, and there was no time for him to calm down and think about it - he was a high-ranking marquis a moment ago, and now he has become a rebel! Under such a gap, his head was naturally a mess. Just when he was in a daze, someone suddenly shouted angrily.
"Chang Yanling! You, Xu Hongji, and Zhu Guobi have rebelled!"
"No, no, conscience of heaven and earth, I did not participate in the conspiracy of Wei Guogong and Funing Hou..."
"Nonsense, there are many participants in the rebellion, not just one Duke and one Marquis! Didn't you participate?"
"That's right, without me... they are all Duke of Wei, Marquis of Funing, Marquis of Longping, Marquis of Lingbi, Marquis of Anyuan, Marquis of Yongchang, Bo of Xincheng, Bo of Xiangcheng, Bo of Dongning, and Bo of Cheng'an. .....”
At this point, Chang Yanling suddenly stopped, because he found that he had talked too much and had packed up and sold more than half of the nobles in Nanjing. This is true. Why didn’t I have a door to my mouth? Although he did not participate in those things, he supported it in his heart. He was a loyal minister of Emperor Chongzhen!
"Chang Yanling, these people you are talking about, Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu have already explained!" This time, a young man's voice sounded. It was Zhu Cixiang, the prince of Fujun in the Ming Dynasty.
"Shi Gebu and Gao Futai..." Chang Yanling could hardly believe his ears.
How could such upright men as Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu become traitors?
"Otherwise, why would I allow them to serve as governors of seven provinces and governor of Shandong?" Zhu Cixiang looked at Chang Yanling with a smile.
Chang Yanling is known as an honest and honorable man, and others who sit in his seat will definitely act arrogantly and misbehave. But he is known for being honest and upholding his duties. Based on Zhu Cihong's social experience, such a person either has great ambitions or is naturally honest. Chang Yanling was obviously the latter...so he believed it as soon as he was fooled by Zhu Cixiang.
Chang Houye said angrily: "They are the ones who want King Qin, and they are the ones who want the prince to return to power. Wei Guogong, Funing Marquis and others are just following... How can they change hands and change their hands?" Wei Guogong, Funing Hou and others were sold!"
Zhu Cixiang smiled: "They said you were also involved... They said you planned to recruit 3,000 troops to serve as vanguards in Yangzhou. Is this true?"
"It's unjust, I'm wronged!"
"No recruitment?"
"Recruitment is...but, but..."
Zhu Cixiang smiled and interrupted the stammering Marquis Chang: "That's right. You, a distinguished minister from Nanjing, went to Yangzhou to recruit 3,000 troops. Don't you have a plan?"
Chang Yanling shouted: "It's wrong, it's wrong! I recruited troops just to go to Jiujiang to defend against rogue bandits..."
"Nonsense!" The voice that had first shouted angrily to scare Chang Yanling rang out again. It was a general who looked quite powerful - Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo.
"Going to Jiujiang to guard against rogue bandits?" Zhu Chunchen said with a straight face, "Are there any rogue bandits in Jiujiang to guard against for you?"
"This, this...this was originally there..."
"Hmph," Zhu Chunchen snorted again, "Uncle Ning Nan has already recaptured Wuchang! Why do you need to go to Jiujiang to set up defenses? Tell me honestly, why did you want to privately recruit 3,000 brave men in Yangzhou?"
"It's not private placement..."
Zhu Cixiang looked at Chang Yanling and said, "It's not a private placement, is it a public offering?"
"Public...recruitment?" Chang Yanling heard the word new, but he still understood what it meant. He shook his head hastily, "There is a purpose. The emperor ordered me to recruit troops in Yangzhou."
"Is there an edict?" Zhu Chunchen said coldly, "Then I ask you to recruit troops to prevent the rogue bandits from going eastward. Now it is impossible for the rogue bandits to go eastward. Even if the imperial edict has expired...you are still recruiting soldiers privately. Of course you have evil intentions!"
"It's unjust, I'm wronged..." Chang Yanling was also stupid and didn't know how to defend himself, so he just kept shouting that he was wronged.
"Okay, okay, don't complain!" Zhu Cixiang still had a smile on his face, which made people feel friendly.
He said: "You have been recruiting soldiers for so long, but you still haven't gathered 3,000 people... It's really hard for you. Since you haven't gathered enough people, then I will be lenient and not pursue this matter anymore. .
However, you and the Duke of Wei, the Marquis of Funing, the Marquis of Longping, the Marquis of Lingbi, the Marquis of Anyuan, the Marquis of Yongchang, the Bo of Xincheng, the Bo of Xiangcheng, the Bo of Dongning, the Bo of Cheng'an, and other Nanjing nobles are guilty of scheming. The Palace still needs to pursue the case! "
"I'm wronged, I'm really wronged..." Chang Yanling was aggrieved. He really didn't interfere. What should I do about this!
Zhu Cixiang continued: "However, I have always been lenient and can be lenient to the Nanjing Xunqi families... As long as their clan heads are willing to hand over the military fields, official fields, and hidden fields that have been occupied by the past dynasties, I will no longer pursue this matter."
What? Hand over the military, official, and hidden fields that have been occupied by the past dynasties... Chang Yanling took a breath, that would be at least more than 30 million acres! Nowadays, food prices are high, and land prices are also high. The value of more than 30 million acres of land is hundreds of millions of taels of silver - why are you, the prince, so black-hearted?
Zhu Cixiang looked at Chang Yanling and said with a smile: "Marquis Huaiyuan, please stay in Yangzhou and let Chang Yanen go to Nanjing to convey my wishes to the noble families in Nandu... This is Don’t miss this opportunity to stay alive and protect your family!”
When Chang Yanling heard this, he just sighed bitterly, the prince is trying to dig up the roots of his relatives in the southeast! But he made the matter simple. How could those people in Nanjing hand over so much property for nothing?
