After a night of extravagance, the palace of Ninghua Prince became quiet until early in the morning. At this time, Ninghua Prince Zhu Zhongmao was lying on the woman's belly and fell asleep.
The woman under Zhu Zhongshao wanted to turn over but did not dare to wake Zhu Zhongshao. She could only grit her teeth and beg the prince to wake up quickly.
Since the Beijing army was stationed outside the city of Taiyuan, it was unreasonable for Wang Zheng, the prefect of Taiyuan, not to do something. After all, the Beijing army was the emperor's personal army, and the governor was the famous Ma Wensheng.
If he can please Ma Wensheng, and if he has the opportunity to say a few nice words to the Holy Father in the future, his career will be bright. But Ma Wensheng sent someone to deliver a letter yesterday, saying that he had something important to ask for and wanted to sit down with Ninghua King Zhu Zhongmao. But everyone who knows what the scene was like in the Ninghua Palace last night will naturally be sent to the king. Savior in hand.
Wang Zheng did not dare to neglect this prince. Early this morning, he dressed up and went to Ninghua Prince's Mansion to deliver the message.
After a night of spring flowers and autumn moon, the janitor of Ninghua Palace also stayed up all night. He wanted to take a nap in the morning and squint for a while. Unexpectedly, just as he fell asleep, there was a "dong-dong" knock on the door.
The janitor frowned and changed his position to continue sleeping, but the knocking on the door did not stop and became louder and louder. The janitor stood up and cursed:
"It's so early in the morning, who the hell guy, didn't you knock on the door????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The servant had just opened the door a crack with sleepy eyes. Wang Zheng pushed the door directly in and shouted:
"Go and report to the prince that Wang Zheng, the prefect of Taiyuan, needs to see you for something important!"
The janitor had also seen Wang Zheng on weekdays, and knew that this was a master who was not easy to mess with. He quickly slapped himself a few times, sobered up, and nodded and bowed.
"Okay, please go into the lobby and wait for a moment. I'll report it right away."
It is absolutely impossible to go in and report directly to Zhu Zhongmao. Zhu Zhongmao's moody temper is well known in the palace. Although he works in Ninghua Prince's palace and has a generous monthly salary, he died accidentally.
The janitor first found Ma Jian and Zhang Binjin. When the two heard that the Taiyuan magistrate personally came to the house, they did not dare to be careless and immediately ran towards Zhu Zhongshao's bedroom.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, wake up, we have a guest." Ma Jian leaned in front of the bed and called softly.
Zhang Binjin winked at the woman under Zhu Zhongshao. The woman understood instantly. After carefully pushing away the sleeping Zhu Zhongshao, she didn't dare to stay for long. She only put on a robe and ran out in a hurry.
Zhu Zhongshao heard the noise at this time, opened his eyes, stood up, gave Ma Jian a big mouth with his backhand, and cursed:
"You bastard, you are looking for death!"
Ma Jian ignored the pain on his face and murmured a few words in Zhu Zhongshao's ear. Zhu Zhongshao suddenly lost all sleep. He immediately stood up and dressed, saying: "Quickly, go to the hall to entertain the prefect Wang well. Don't neglect it."
…
That evening, Wang Zheng, the prefect of Taiyuan, held a banquet at Furong Tower in the city and invited Zhu Zhongshao, the king of Ninghua, and Ma Wensheng, the governor of Beijing.
Ma Wensheng didn't like to hold large banquets with officials and indulge in extravagance. He didn't want to go to the banquet, but when he thought about asking for food from Ninghua King Zhu Zhongmao, he had no choice but to go to the city.
In a private room on the second floor of Furong Building, all the prominent figures in Taiyuan Mansion were gathered, including Taiyuan Magistrate Wang Zheng, Ninghua King Zhu Zhongshao, and Jingying Governor Ma Wensheng.
On the table are pepper and vinegar pork with head and hooves, braised beef, frog legs, and dragon vegetables.
After several rounds of drinking, Ninghua King Zhu Zhongshao raised his glass and toasted:
"I, the king, have always heard of the reputation of Governor Ma. Now I am leading the capital army south to put down the rebellion. The traitor chief will surely be frightened and surrender after hearing this."
"Hey, Your Majesty, your words are serious. I accept the Emperor's favor and receive the King's generous salary, so I should be loyal to the country!" Ma Wensheng raised his glass in reply.
Wang Zheng next to him also held a cup and said with a smile:
"Then I wish the governor a good start and success!"
Suddenly, there was a noise outside the private room. Wang Zheng frowned, slapped the table and shouted: "Where is the waiter? Come in quickly!"
"Masters, what are your orders?"
"What's the noise outside the door? Tell them to shut up!"
The waiter spread his hands and said with a wry smile:
"Hey, you guys don't know something. A few down-and-out businessmen came to the restaurant. After dinner, they had no money to pay, but they wanted to pay on credit. How do you think this makes sense?"
Ma Wensheng smiled and said: "Everyone has their downfalls. As long as these people are ambitious, they may be able to make a comeback in the future."
Zhu Zhongshao clapped his hands and agreed: "What Governor Ma said makes sense. I will pay for the meals of these people. Let them go."
Zhu Zhongshao took out a silver coin from his sleeve and handed it to the waiter. The waiter saw that the silver coin was enough to come to Furong Tower for several meals.
He smiled brightly, nodded and bowed to thank the businessmen outside the house.
After a while, before Ma Wensheng could talk about supplies, Zhu Zhongshao said: "These two years have been years of great disaster, and it has not been easy for the court. This time the Beijing army goes south to quell the rebellion, I am willing to spend a hundred Ten thousand taels of silver will be used for military expenses to help the court quell the chaos!"
Zhu Zhongshao has always been known as a "virtuous man with a reputation far and wide." Ma Wensheng had heard about it for a long time when he was training in the capital. He just saw Zhu Zhongshao taking the initiative to take out money to help a businessman who had never met him. In my heart, I was even more sure that Zhu Zhongshao was a wise king. At this moment, I saw that Zhu Zhongshao was willing to provide funds to help me. I was moved and raised my glass to express my thanks.
Ma Wensheng even sighed in his heart, if the next prince could be like Zhu Zhongshao and follow His Majesty's will, it would be much easier to ask for silver.
Early the next morning, Ma Wensheng gave the order and the army set off!
Because in the past two days, after the Beijing army set up camp, many soldiers entered the city to help the people, or went to the fields to help farmers plow and weed. These things the Beijing army did were things that the officers and soldiers of Taiyuan Prefecture had never done before. Therefore, it also left a lot of positive comments.
When the army set off, some people from Taiyuan City came to see them off again, while Zhu Zhongshao on the city gate looked at the leaving Beijing army with a cold face.
"Your Majesty, why do you want to give them one million taels of silver? You are His Majesty's uncle. If you don't give it, how dare they fart!"
I saw Zhang Binjin also had a gloomy face, feeling a little dissatisfied.
Zhu Zhongshao snorted coldly and said: "Do you think it is just a simple Beijing army asking me for silver? If it is these warriors, I will naturally look down on them. They are not even qualified to eat with me! Why should the Beijing army go south? However, I set up camp in Taiyuan Prefecture and wrote to the king saying that I have something important to ask for. Is it unclear whether he is asking me for silver? I am afraid it is the will of the Holy One. If I care about these one million taels of silver, I will refuse. Ma Wensheng. As the nephew of the emperor, I will definitely not give up. This time, I will give the emperor a face, which just fulfills my reputation as a "good king". The mountain is high and the emperor is far away. As long as the emperor does not make things difficult for us, we will still You can eat and drink as you should, just like before.”
"The prince is so considerate, and the villain is so impressed!"
"Then what if the Holy Spirit will send someone to ask for it again in the future?"
"You want it again? If you want it again, you don't take this king and his uncle Wang seriously at all!"
Zhu Zhongshao let out a strange cry, sneered repeatedly, turned to look at Ma Jian and said:
"You know what to do with the one million taels that I have lost."
Ma Jian nodded repeatedly, patted his chest, and said with a flattering smile: "Prince, please don't worry, I will make up for it twice as much!"
Zhu Zhongshao nodded and said in a cold voice: "I am annoyed by the people who sent Ma Wensheng away, and the land plowed by the Beijing army for them. I feel disgusted by it. You guys can do whatever you want."
Ma Jian had been Zhu Zhongshao's lackey for many years, and he instantly understood what he meant. As soon as the Beijing army retreated, hundreds of cavalry rushed out of the city. The man leading the charge was Ma Jian. He had a gloomy face and coldly snorted:
"This bunch of unruly people are all suspected of being collaborators. Beat me up hard!"
For a moment, shouts were everywhere, and the official and military horse teams in the city were dispatched. The people were screamed repeatedly under the whips of their horse whips. What's more, some horse teams went straight to the farmland on both sides. In the blink of an eye, countless horse hooves trampled the farmland wantonly, and the people's Crying festivals come one after another.
"Dad! Suddenly a man's frightened cry rang out among the many cries. Under the horrified eyes of many people, an old man in his seventies was seen running desperately towards the seedling field. When many horse teams were about to come, the old man was not afraid at all. meaning.
When the cavalry saw the old man in front of them, they had no intention of stopping. The leader of the army raised his whip and shouted: "This old guy definitely doesn't dare to stop us, keep going!"
The old man ran to the middle of his seedling field and lay down with his face pressed against the ground. He opened his hands to protect the green seedlings, as if he were protecting his own children.
When the old man's son saw that the cavalry had no intention of stopping, he cried: "Dad! I will fight you beasts! The man jumped up and lay down in front of the old man.
This was like the beginning, and more people followed the example of the old man and his son, regardless of the whipping of the horse whip, and also rushed towards them as if they were flying. cultivated farmland.
There were more and more people, and the cavalry did not dare to rush forward anymore. If so many lives were lost, they could not afford it. The general quickly tightened the reins in his hands. When the soldiers following him saw the general reining in their horses and stopped suddenly, they quickly pulled back the reins in their hands.
But the horse continued to rush towards the crowd like a madman.
There were continuous screams, and someone was trampled to death by the horse's hooves.
The general's face was dripping with sweat. He knew what these lives meant.
"They are all unruly people! They are anti-people! Arrest them all! Ma Jian, who was in the distance, saw the people forming a circle to protect the farmland, and he hissed in anger and roared at the top of his lungs.
Not far away, several people dressed in farmer-like clothes, in a corner where they were not easily spotted, witnessed everything that had just happened.
"Sir, all this has just been written down."
As he spoke, a person next to him quickly took notes with a pen. This person, who was called an adult, gritted his teeth, wiped the tears from his eyes, and said:
"In broad daylight, these people dare to act so wantonly. It seems that the people of Taiyuan Prefecture are living in dire straits, far from what the rumors say."
"Sir, why didn't we show up and stop them just now?"
"This time we came here to conduct a secret investigation under His Majesty's order. This matter is far from simple. The reason why these generals dared to kill people blatantly must be supported by someone behind them! If we show up rashly, those arrested will definitely be some small gangsters. And those big fish behind them will definitely still be at large."
"You are so talented, I can't wait any longer!" The remaining people said in unison with their fists clasped.
"This matter is important this time. People's lives are at stake. There is no need for flying pigeons to pass the message. Di Yang, take everything you just recorded and quickly go to Beijing to report to the emperor. I will follow them into the city and continue to collect evidence. Look at this Who is behind Taiyuan Mansion!
Before Ma Wensheng led the Beijing army out of the customs, Zhu Youtang secretly summoned a group of Jinyi guards and asked them to set out to be responsible for the intelligence investigation of government offices in important cities across the country.
These Jin Yiwei were all carefully selected by Mou Bin, the commander of the Jin Yiwei palm seal. Each of them was highly skilled in martial arts, witty and brave, and they were all loyal to Zhu Youtang.
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