When Zhang Cheng opened his eyes, he only felt pain in the back of his head. Only then did he realize what he had encountered.
He Zhang Cheng, a dignified second-grade commander of the capital, was in charge of all the troops in Huguang. He was slapped with a slap in the face. It would be too ridiculous to tell anyone about it.
Zhang Cheng didn't have time to think too much. He looked around vigilantly, trying to see which audacious maniac dared to do such an illegal thing in broad daylight.
He noticed that he was in a room that looked like an inn, sitting on a couch, directly opposite a window, and standing in front of the window was a man, tall and tall, with his back to him.
Although he didn't know the man's identity, Zhang Cheng's attention quickly shifted to the table in the room. There was a sheathed long knife lying on the table. He sat up quietly and approached the table to get it. This knife.
Although he didn't know where he was now, with a knife, he had the ability to protect himself.
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch that knife."
The man standing in front of the window turned his back to him and said calmly, "If I want to kill you, I will kill you without even taking a breath."
Zhang Cheng's movements froze. He glanced at the knife on the table, then at the man with his back turned to him, and finally withdrew his hand.
He asked tentatively: "Who is your Excellency?"
The man turned around and said calmly: "I'm the Jin Yiwei commanding the general affairs, Zhang Muzhi."
Zhang Cheng's heart skipped a beat, as expected.
To be able to slap a sap on a commander of the capital quietly, only the Jin Yiwei dared to do such an immoral thing.
He said: "So what if the Jin Yiwei arrests a second-grade imperial official in broad daylight for no reason? How many heads do you have that you can chop off?"
"Your Majesty, you are still being stubborn, that's fine. Since your Majesty will not give up until you see the Yellow River, I will tell you something."
Zhang Muzhi smiled slightly and said, "I can appear here, and I believe you will understand that I am here on the order of His Highness the Crown Prince. As for why Your Highness the Crown Prince wants to deal with you, don't you have any idea in your mind?"
"Colluding with the King of Valley to plot rebellion, how many heads do you think you have enough to chop off?"
Zhang Cheng knew that the thing he least wanted to see happened.
Before the rebellion even started, he was already caught by the court.
But he still wanted to make a desperate struggle: "Arrogant! How dare you talk nonsense? Do you have any evidence?"
Zhang Muzhi paused and seemed to be confused by the question.
He said doubtfully: "Brother, when have you ever seen Jin Yiwei need evidence when arresting someone?"
"Do you think the people from the Ministry of Justice dare to investigate, or the people from the Ministry of Punishment or Dali Temple? Oh, by the way, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the Minister of Dali Temple are both from our East Palace. Do you think they will help a rebel? Avenge?"
Zhang Muzhi turned around and said, "Your Excellency, you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Second-Rank City, which is already the peak of your career. If you had not gone through this troubled waters, you would have become famous, and your descendants would also start their official careers at the Fourth-Rank."
"Wouldn't it be wonderful to spend the rest of your life like this?"
"But now, you have chosen a dead end for yourself. Today I stand in front of you. I think you already understand in your heart that King Gu's defeat is doomed, and if you follow his path to the dark side, you will eventually wait. He came to meet his family at Caishikou and eventually died under the executioner's knife."
"but……"
"Since you and I both have the surname Zhang, maybe we were a family five hundred years ago. How about I show you a clear path?"
Zhang Cheng already had the answer in his heart, but he still asked: "Where is the clear path?"
"Abandon the darkness and turn to the light, and make meritorious deeds."
Zhang Muzhi said, "If you bring King Gu's head to me, I will ensure that nothing happens to your family."
He stared at Zhang Cheng and stopped talking.
Under a combination of kindness and power, the other party had no choice.
In other words, King Gu's intention to rebel is a joke in itself.
Anyone who can reach the position of the second grade is a fool. Zhang Cheng should have some idea in his heart. If he still insists on going his own way at this time, he will be nothing more than a massacre in the end.
Zhang Cheng only hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Are you really able to keep my whole family safe?"
He couldn't believe it.
What he is doing is a rebellion business. Throughout the ages, how many of the defeated rebels have been able to die a good death and live in peace?
Zhang Muzhi is just a conductor, can he make the final say on this matter?
"Of course I can't, but the guy behind me can."
Zhang Muzhi said, "Do you think, if His Highness hadn't protected you, who else in the world would have protected you?"
"Sir, if you don't look back now, when will you wait?"
Zhang Cheng's throat moved slightly and he swallowed.
Prince Gu, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to save my life.
…
Night, Changsha City.
The bright moon is hanging in the sky, and the stars are as bright as falling flowers and flowing water.
King Chongyang tossed and turned and squeezed a corner of the quilt, but he could not fall asleep no matter what.
He now understood that he had boarded a dark ship, and the bastard King Gu asked him to pretend to be Emperor Jianwen in order to use him as an excuse to openly rebel!
Regardless of whether King Gu's rebellion is successful or not, King Chongyang will not end well in the end.
If King Gu fails, then he is an accomplice. Emperor Jianwen was the biggest taboo when he was in this dynasty. However, he looks very similar to Emperor Jianwen and helped King Gu rebel. How can your Majesty spare him? We will definitely cut the grass and roots to avoid future troubles.
If Gu Wang succeeds, he will still not die well. If Gu Wang defeats the court, then he, the titular Jianwen Emperor, will have no value. Instead, he will become a roadblock on Gu Wang's way to the throne.
How Taizu treated King Xiao Ming back then, King Gu will treat him the same way.
King Chongyang thought about his future, and sadly found that his way forward was a dead end.
When he walked out of the Shu Palace, he was like a little sheep entering a wolf's den. Fortunately, he was still complacent and happy to be free.
So happy!
Just when King Chongyang was feeling sad for himself, he suddenly heard the rumble of killing sounds coming from outside. He, who was already timid, was frightened and overwhelmed. He got into bed and covered his head with the quilt, trembling all over. .
I don’t know how long the killing sound lasted before it gradually subsided.
Just as King Chongyang was about to get out of bed, he heard a loud noise, the door was kicked to pieces, and someone rushed in with a knife, his face covered with blood and his face was hideous.
The man grabbed King Chongyang out of his bed like a chicken and shouted: "King Chongyang is here!"
"Emperor Jianwen is here!"
…
"What a noise, so noisy."
After King Gu was woken up, he impatiently climbed up from the couch and lazily walked out, seemingly unaware of the seriousness of the matter.
He pushed open the door and saw a familiar figure in front of him. Before he could speak, a bright silver light flashed past his neck.
King Gu touched his neck, looked down, and saw blood dripping from his hands.
Looking up again, standing opposite was his most effective confidant, Zhang Cheng, the commander of the Huguang capital.
Zhang Cheng held a short knife, the tip of which was stained with blood, and supported the fallen King of the Valley.
"Prince Gu, if you don't die, my whole family will die."
"You can die for me."
…
At dawn, there are beams of light tearing through the darkest horizon.
Zhu Gaojie walked out of the room satisfied. He and his wife had been tossing the whole night, and Zhang Yingzhen had been tormented so much. If he hadn't been worried that his wife's body couldn't bear it, he could have been tossing for another half an hour.
He was walking around in the garden as if exercising.
"King Gu, how do you plan to deal with it?"
A Qi suddenly appeared, and Zhu Gaojie had become accustomed to his elusiveness.
He said: "What else can we do, just kill him. First the King of Han rebelled, and then the King of Gu rebelled. The King of Han has already forgiven him leniently. If he continues to give a lenient sentence to King Gu, wouldn't the kings of the world become human beings?" Or vice versa?"
"You always have to kill chickens to scare monkeys. King Gu jumped out and wanted to be the chicken. It doesn't matter. Killing a vassal king can wake up the sects all over the world, which is not a bad thing."
A Qi asked back: "King Gu is the son of Taizu, and you just kill him like this?"
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Jianwen and Yongle dynasties have reduced vassal vassals. I don’t know how many vassal kings have suffered disaster, but at most they have been abolished and exiled as common people, and no vassal king has ever been killed.
From the beginning to the end, Emperor Jianwen had no intention of killing Zhu Bai, the only King of Xiang who died in the vassal reduction. He chose to commit suicide because King Xiang had a strong temperament and could not bear the humiliation.
"No emperor wants to be blamed for killing his own blood relatives, but I don't care."
Zhu Gaojie's eyes were calm, "Emperor, only those who have imperial power are called emperors. The rule of imperial power is divided into Taoism and Legality. As long as we can grasp the Tao and the law, it doesn't matter what the reputation is. I keep walking forward, and the curses behind me are just It will get further and further away until it is completely gone.”
"King Gu, just kill him. His stupidity has already doomed his fate. He thinks he can change the world, but he doesn't know that if I want to crush him, it will be easier than crushing an ant."
A Qi stared at the man in front of him. Zhu Gaojie's cruelty and coldness once again broke his understanding.
Even if he wanted to kill his own uncle, he wouldn't even blink.
He seemed to have integrated with the empire and became a cold rule and law. Anyone who disobeyed the interests of the Ming Dynasty, no matter who he was, would be killed.
"After the death of King Gu, where is his old team?"
A Qi asked, "The condition you asked Zhang Muzhi to command Zhang Chengkai in Huguang City is that Zhang Cheng should be punished and perform meritorious service. In this way, is it to forgive those who followed King Gu and intended to rebel?"
"I lied to him."
Zhu Gaojie smiled and said, "From the beginning to the end, I was just using Zhang Cheng. The Zhu family can kill the Zhu family, but others cannot. Their hands are stained with the blood of the Zhu family. No matter who it is, as long as they are not named Zhu, All must die.”
A Qi's pupils shrank: "Then why did you ask Zhang Muzhi to tell Zhang Cheng..."
"If Zhang Cheng is not allowed to kill the Valley King, is it possible that Zhang Muzhi should be allowed to kill him?"
Zhu Gaojie shook his head, "Zhang Muzhi can't do this. The simplest way is to lure Zhang Cheng to kill everyone, and then kill Zhang Cheng."
"Killing someone with a borrowed knife, can't you understand such a simple truth?"
(End of chapter)
