"Your Majesty, don't you understand what your Majesty means?"
Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo, was shocked when he was named by Chongzhen, but his face was filled with panic.
"Your Majesty, I am only the supervisor responsible for compiling the "Records of Emperor Xizongzhao" at the moment. I don't know anything about things outside the capital. As for the Kong family's surrender to the enemy, I don't know much about it!"
Chongzhen looked at the slightly frightened Zhu Chunchen and sneered. If Jin Yiwei hadn't found some evidence and someone had given him a letter hinting, he would have really thought that this guy was an honest man.
"Li Ruolian, recall this for Zhu Chunchen!"
"I obey the decree!"
Li Ruolian walked from the entrance of Huangji Palace to a few feet in front of Zhu Chunchen: "Mr. Cheng, you don't need to defend yourself. When asked by an official, you only need to answer yes or no!"
"put……"
Zhu Chunchen was about to roar when he saw Chongzhen's cold eyes staring at him. He immediately suppressed the anger in his heart and said to Li Ruolian: "Say it!"
"Mr. Cheng Guo, what are you doing out of the city on July 7th?"
"Going out of the city? My Lord was punished by His Majesty to be confined in the palace for three months. If His Majesty had not returned from duty yesterday and notified the court today, my Lord might still be in the palace."
"Really? Do you know Zhu Kecheng, Liu Chunsheng, Liu Bo and other businessmen?"
"I've heard of it. He seems to be a wealthy businessman in the capital!"
"Just heard of it?"
"Li Ruolian, what do you mean? Not to mention that my father-in-law is not dating them, even if he is dating, so what?
The laws of the Ming Dynasty do not stipulate that the prince cannot communicate with wealthy businessmen, right? "
"Nothing, just telling Duke Cheng that they have been captured!"
"What does that have to do with my father-in-law?"
"Mr. Cheng, your subordinates have spoken so clearly, and yet you are still denying it. Is it interesting?"
Li Ruolian shook his head: "It's really hard for you. The Duke of the country actually hid in a dung cart and left the city.
Then I met a group of wealthy businessmen, and they were wearing masks. These wealthy businessmen are the people the official mentioned. Do you still want to deny it? "
"Do you think you go out of the city secretly and disguise yourself with a mask so that no one can recognize you?
Can a businessman who can turn his family fortune into hundreds of thousands taels be a fool? "
The officials in Huangji Palace suddenly realized, but then they were full of doubts.
From the July 7th date proposed by Li Ruolian, they had already guessed that the sinner's edict was probably the work of Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo.
And those wealthy businessmen were the targets of his support. The wealthy businessmen gave money to confuse the people and scholars, and then they involved the Confucius family and used the Confucius family as their guns.
"My lord, don't you know what you are talking about? My lord has been staying in the house and has never gone out. It is even more nonsense to say that my lord is hiding in a dung truck. If you want to cause trouble for my lord, then bring out real evidence!"
Seeing the disdain on Zhu Chunchen's face, Li Ruolian was not angry.
"The eight major locust merchants colluded with Jiannu and were wiped out. The King of Jin committed suicide. You thought that the clue to convey information to Jiannu was cut off and you were safe.
Unfortunately, what you don’t know is that the heads of the eight major families used some information before their deaths in exchange for not being punished by the nine clans. Among them was information about the Zhangjiakou intelligence transmission point.
Although we arrived late, we still found some information, pointing the finger at the capital.
Although King Dai was not involved in the affairs of the Eight Locust Merchants, why did King Dai take the initiative to go to Fengyang to keep a vigil? "
"Do you know that on July 15th, the news that Jiannu broke through the barrier was reported back to the court, and His Majesty wanted to lead the expedition in person? Why was the city gate closed for half an hour late?
Just to lure people like you to spread the news, do you think we don’t know about the caravan you arranged in Lijia Town that was meant to transport goods but was actually used to deliver intelligence? "
…
Li Ruolian said everything to the point, and the officials listened in confusion.
But in the entire hall, there were still a few people who were thoughtful, including cabinet minister Han Huang. When he heard that the king was acting, he knew where the problem was.
The King Dai took the initiative to go to Fengyang to keep the mourning, which was the oral message he went to deliver. Afterwards, the King Dai took him to explain all the affairs in the palace. When he finally left, he gave him two letters to forward to His Majesty.
He clearly remembered that after the emperor read one of the letters, his face was gloomy and scary. He thought it was some secret information about the Prince's Palace.
Now that I think about it, it should be some details that King Dai added to the collaboration between the Eight Great Locust Merchants and the King of Jin, and it is very likely that Duke Cheng Guo was included among them.
If the traitor in the court is the Duke, then many things can be explained. Only the Duke can control the big and small affairs in the court, and Jiannu can also get the news.
"Mr. Cheng, you have disappointed me so much. Your ancestor Zhu Neng followed Chengzu in the northern expedition to the desert. He was brave and good at fighting. He was named the Ming Dynasty Fengtian Jingnan and sincerely announced the military minister Cheng Guogong. What a magical weapon.
I don’t ask you to be the same as your ancestors, but at least you can be loyal to the Ming Dynasty! "
At this point, there was no point in arguing anymore. Duke Cheng's face turned pale and his body shivered slightly. After a while, his face suddenly returned to calm.
"Succeed as a king or lose as a bandit. How can you walk by the river without getting your shoes wet? Now that this has happened, there is nothing more to say."
"People are selfish. Sometimes we can't help ourselves, but we lose the bet..."
After finishing speaking, he grinned and rushed outside the Huangji Palace.
The sudden turn of events shocked the ministers and screamed. Li Ruolian shouted angrily: "Stop him!"
Outside the Huangji Palace, the swords of the imperial guards and the imperial guards were unsheathed, but Zhu Chunchen did not pause at all and instead accelerated forward and bumped into a spear.
The spear passed through the body, and blood overflowed from the mouth. The body leaned against the spear, and his eyes looked outside the palace, confused and nostalgic.
In just a short time, Chongzhen, protected by Li Ruolian and others, arrived in front of Zhu Chunchen.
"Zhu Chunchen, do you think that if you die and keep the secret for them, those people will be able to protect your family? Are you too naive, or do you think that I dare not kill them?"
puff……
Zhu Chunchen seemed to have thought of something, his eyes widened angrily, and his trembling fingers wanted to point at Chongzhen, but he was too injured and did not lift it up after all.
"You, you, have a good, good, cruel heart..."
After saying this sentence with all his strength, his whole body seemed to have returned to the light, his face flushed and his energy was lifted.
"Your Majesty, if you had been born ten years earlier, how could I have ended up like this!"
"Da Ming has, has...saved!"
After Zhu Chunchen finished speaking, he looked in the direction of Huangji Palace and roared with all his strength: "Kong Xing..."
puff……
Before he finished shouting, Zhu Chunchen spurted out a mouthful of blood again, and then his brain drooped and his whole body was breathless.
Angry roars were heard in the Huangji Hall, and Kong Xingxie and Kong Shangda had doubts on their faces.
The sudden turn of events shocked the officials, and Chongzhen was even more confused.
He just wanted to use his sins to suppress the Kong family, but what is the situation now?
Did Zhu Chunchen really collude with the Kong family?
Or is it that the Kong family has really surrendered to the Jiannu?
