Chapter 100: The Hall of the Junyu, Ghosts and Monsters

Zhao Xian was stunned and let go of the eunuch.

Not only was he in disbelief, but Shu Ao, Chen Rui and others behind him also had doubtful looks on their faces.

The governor followed the clues and investigated the private mining and minting of copper coins, and all the clues pointed to the Yueyang Palace.

After some planning, Shu Ao finally found out that the leader of the mine thieves was hiding in the Yueyang Palace.

Governor Zhao Xian made a bold statement and also linked the unusual movements of the state guards to the Yueyang Palace.

The clues from various departments were gathered together, and several parties gathered together to find a breakthrough from here.

Now, they were told that Zhu Yingyan was dead! ?

This is a royal relative, how could he die so easily without any clear reason? ?

Zhao Xian took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Shu Ao, the imperial censor behind him, suddenly said, "Mr. Zhao, let's go in and pay our respects."

No matter what, you have to go in and take a look.

Regardless of whether Zhu Yingyan's death was real or fake, based on the clues he had found, the miners were inside the Yueyang Palace, so he had to go in and find out.

Zhao Xian understood what Shu Ao meant and nodded immediately without hesitation.

Regardless of whether his behavior was frivolous or not, he acted on his urgency and ordered people to restrain the eunuch who had just answered his question.

Zhao Xian was about to take the lead and go in to pay his respects.

Suddenly, there was a burst of shouting and cursing coming from the side next to the palace.

Several people frowned and turned to look.

I saw several strong men coming out from the palace.

Then he was caught by the soldiers and pinned to the ground like a dead dog.

A moment later, a captain came up to them quickly, saluted Zhao Xian, and said with a happy face, "Mr. Zhao, several unidentified thieves have been found in the palace!"

"I found some letters on him!"

After saying that, he presented a stack of letters with both hands.

The villain just happened to climb over the wall from the direction he was watching, and he couldn't help but be happy, after all, this was a great achievement.

But Zhao Xian's expression was not so good.

He looked at the letter in the Qianhu official's hand, frowned and said nothing, not even reaching out to take it.

Zhao Xian has been an official for many years. If he doesn't notice that there is something fishy about this matter, then he has been an official in vain.

But now he was not the only one present.

A hand reached out from Zhao Xian's side and took the letter.

Zhao Xian turned his head.

Chen Rui nodded in response, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhao, now that you have a clue, why are you hesitating?"

He refused to give in.

The inspector Shu Ao saw the situation on the field most clearly and was hesitant to speak.

He understood Governor Zhao Xian's hesitation.

It’s too easy!

It's like a clue is delivered right in front of you!
Instead, people don't dare to accept the challenge easily!
As for Chen Rui, his case is even simpler. After all, he is the chief officer in charge of civil affairs. When a military disaster occurs in the territory, his responsibility is naturally weaker than Zhao Xian's.

Even though Chen Rui understood that there was something fishy going on, if there was anything wrong, he could hand it over to the imperial envoy and let him make his own judgment.

All in all, it shows an attitude of doing one's best.

Shu Ao was somewhere between the two and couldn't make up his mind for a while.

As soon as Chen Ruifang finished speaking, he directly opened the envelope and started to look through it in front of several people.

Zhan En looked a little nervous.

Zhao Xian saw that the matter was done and just looked at him coldly.

As Chen Rui finished reading one of the letters at a glance, a look of surprise and enlightenment suddenly appeared on his face.

He put the letter away, ignored the governor Zhao Xian, and handed it directly to the inspector Shu Ao, saying solemnly: "Imperial Censor Shu, please take a look first."

Zhao Xian's face changed and he flew into a rage: "Chen Rui! How dare you!"

Chen Rui was not afraid. After handing the letter to Shu Ao, he stood between the two of them.

Facing Zhao Xian's anger, he just said indifferently: "Governor Zhao, this is for your own good. Just consider it as avoiding suspicion."

Zhao Xian's heart skipped a beat, and he keenly noticed something wrong in Chen Rui's words.

He ignored Chen Rui and looked at Shu Ao with some uneasiness in his heart: "Shu Yushi, what did the letter say?"

Apart from other things, those who were Jinshi have the ability to read ten lines at a glance.

Shu Ao finished reading it after just a quick glance, his expression changing from gloomy to bright.

Facing Zhao Xian's question, he did not even raise his head, and said thoughtfully: "The letter roughly says..."

"Zhu Yingyan, the Lieutenant General of the Yueyang Palace, conspired with others and did something rebellious."

"This group of people are miners who are driven by someone. The person who drove them warned Zhu Yingyan that he had been found out and told him to flee immediately. Someone would protect him."

"Before escaping, you should give him a scapegoat to take the blame for stealing someone's seal."

The voice just fell.

Governor Zhao Xian immediately felt something was wrong!

Just as he was about to speak, the commander-in-chief Zhan En came out and looked at Zhao Xian in astonishment, "Is that so?!"

Zhan En cupped his hands and said, "Governor Zhao, you really should avoid suspicion in this matter. Let me take charge of this place."

As the commander-in-chief, he would naturally take over the power of command and dispatch.

After that, he turned to Chen Rui and discussed, "Prefect, since we have the evidence, there is no need to be polite with the Yueyang Palace! Just conduct a large-scale search!"

Chen Rui nodded: "It should be so!"

After saying this, he heaved a sigh of relief - it looked like there was hope of closing the case.

Zhan En gave orders immediately, ordering the soldiers to rush into the mansion and search.

Chen Rui and Zhan En hit it off immediately and sent Governor Zhao Xian into the cold.

Stealing the seal!

Who else but Zhao Xian!
At that time, Ji Ruzhi, the deputy military commander who was in charge of the encirclement and suppression of the pirates, "happened" to withdraw most of Tang Bin's guards, which led to the subsequent events.

And this transfer order was issued by the Governor's Office!

Everyone can see the current situation clearly.

But it was precisely this kind of cheap frame-up that Chen Rui and Zhan En jumped in immediately - a lieutenant of the auxiliary state and a governor were enough to close the case!
As for whether there are any problems?
That is something that people from Northern Zhili need to consider!

Having done this far, it is enough to clear myself of any responsibility.

The soldiers filed in and poured into the Yueyang Palace. Chen Rui and Zhan En walked in hand in hand, with their heads held high.

Zhao Xian trembled his lips, but ultimately did not speak.

Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Zhao Xian turned around.

Shu Ao slowly spoke, "In the Chu vassal state alone, there is one prince, six princes of the provincial Yong'an, 198 generals of the Zhen, Fu, and Fengguo, 640 lieutenants, and 447 county and county ladies and lords."

"Don't even mention the Beiji and Jing vassals. Add them together and there are probably hundreds of people supporting the country. They are like cabbages."

"Now that a deputy minister has died, you want to close the case. This is too much of a disrespect for the imperial envoy."

"Chen Rui is short-sighted, and Zhan En doesn't know what's good for him. They both want to end it hastily. This little trick may not end well."

"Minister Zhao might as well retreat while the tide is still blowing and wait for the imperial envoy."

Zhao Xian remained silent.

……

Huguang meets in the city on the tenth day of May.

The Yangtze River spans east and west.

The Han River connects the north and the south.

Huguang, where two rivers meet, has always been the heart of the country and a thoroughfare connecting nine provinces.

As the meeting place of Huguang, Wuchang Prefecture's wharf has always been bustling with people from all walks of life.

Today, the largest dock in Wuchang Prefecture was cleared out, and all irrelevant people were sent to other docks.

Clean water was sprinkled on the ground and yellow earth was paved on the road. The first row was filled with officials from the provincial government and the governor's office who were welcoming them. In the circle outside, the runners and guards stood still, holding their ceremonial guards high.

We have been waiting since noon, and it has been sunny in Wuchang Prefecture for a few days, but it is drizzling again.

The officers were naturally a little impatient, but they only endured it under pressure from their superiors.

"Didn't they say the imperial envoy would arrive at noon? It's almost afternoon now!" Chen Rui frowned, looking rather anxious.

No matter what the outcome is, the most painful time is when waiting for trial.

Now the matter has been attributed to the Yueyang Palace and the suspected Governor Zhao Xian.

But his judgment is still inevitable.

On the left and right of Chen Rui stood Zheng Yunqi, the Left Councillor of Huguang, and Feng Shiyu, the Left Councillor.

Zheng Yunqian looked up at Chen Rui and didn't respond.

This governor has not been involved in the civil affairs of the province these days and is really completely in the dark.

As the current Chief Secretary, second only to Chen Rui, he would naturally be happy to see Chen Rui step down. This might be an opportunity for him.

Feng Shiyu took over the conversation: "From Nanzhili to Huguang, the prefectures and counties along the way have been more or less affected by floods, so it is normal that they are a little slow."

Sailing upstream is slow in nature, and as the trackers had to be deployed for flood prevention, it was normal for the journey to be delayed.

Chen Rui remained silent.

He looked up at the Huguang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Du Si and Commander-in-Chief Zhan En who were standing not far away. He saw that they were very good at cultivating their Qi and there was no sign of uneasiness on their faces.

Chen Rui couldn't help but take a deep breath and try to control his emotions a little.

The left councillor Zheng Yunqin looked curious and asked, "Why didn't Governor Zhao and Censor Shu come to welcome the imperial envoy?"

Although the governor and the inspector general are also imperial envoys, they are still different from the imperial envoys who are here to investigate cases and handle special matters.

Even if you just come over to say hello, it is necessary.

When Chen Rui heard this, he remembered that several people had gathered at Yueyang Palace a few days ago, and he couldn't help but smile.

Although I don't know who did it, at least the perpetrators have been found.

While someone would be blamed for the crime, Chen Rui wouldn't appear to be incompetent.

He said sarcastically, "The first person to do this will have no descendants. They are so focused on investigating a major case that they are naturally unable to get away now."

After saying this, Chen Rui finally calmed down a little.

Zheng Yunqiang knew it well and pretended to say "oh".

Governor Zhao Xian had previously ignored the matter and was determined to get to the bottom of it, which had already caused disgrace to the officials at all levels.

Now that I have shit on my butt, I can only stay indoors.

A few of them were chatting idly.

The sky gradually darkened and the rain stopped from time to time.

It was not until the sun was setting that several official ships of the imperial envoy finally appeared in sight.

No matter the size or shape, the official ships are like bright stars in the night sky, standing out among the hundreds of ships on the Yangtze River.

When the officials who were waiting to welcome him saw this, they became agitated.

Looking forward to it, whispering to each other.

Chen Rui quickly led the officials of the Provincial Government to greet them.

The Commandery and the Censorate also welcomed him on the left and right.

The three officers came to welcome them, and a tall ship in the lead, with a mighty momentum, like the sky collapsing, pressed steadily on the dock.

The shadow of the ship fell on the welcoming officials, and they all looked up.

I saw several imperial envoys standing on the deck, leaning half of their bodies out, looking down with cold expressions.

Condescending.

The officials from the three departments of Huguang on the field all shuddered.

……

at the same time.

Not far from the pier, in an unknown mansion somewhere in the city.

The courtyard is divided into three parts, and when you walk to the tea room at the deepest end, you can hear the sound of conversation from time to time.

Inside the tea room, a middle-aged man with a wealthy look was sitting cross-legged in front of the tea table with a pot of tea in his hand.

Sitting opposite the coffee table was a young man, scratching his ears and cheeks nervously.

The middle-aged man leisurely poured himself a glass and took a sip.

The young man sitting opposite him couldn't help but urge, "Uncle Zong, the imperial envoy must have entered the city by now! How can you not be anxious at all!?"

The wealthy middle-aged man turned a deaf ear and took another sip of tea.

Seeing his nephew's anxious look, he shook his head and said comfortingly: "The imperial envoy is here to investigate Zhang Chucheng's case. What does it have to do with us?"

"You look so impatient, if I didn't know, I would think it was you who did it."

The young man opposite him stood up immediately, looking unfriendly: "Uncle Zong, don't set me up with your words. Even if we rank them according to suspicion, it's Uncle Zong first, not this king's turn!"

The wealthy man smiled faintly: "If that's the case, then why are you in such a hurry?"

"Didn't Chen Rui, Zhao Xian, Zhan En, and Shu Ao find out the truth about the matter in Yueyang Palace a few days ago?"

"The mine thieves were raised by the Yueyang Palace. Officially, Zhao Xian cooperated with him. What does this have to do with us?"

The young man was speechless after hearing this.

It's okay to cheat outsiders, but you can also cheat yourself.

Let’s not talk about the matter of supporting thieves and bandits.

Just to ensure that Lieutenant Fuguo passed away in a dignified manner, there were only a few people in Huguang who were capable of doing such a thing.

Not related? You are kidding!
The wealthy man extended his hand to signal the other party to sit down, restrained his expression, and said seriously: "That matter has nothing to do with me."

"At the beginning, Zhang Chucheng just wanted to investigate the private casting of copper and armor, so why would I do that?"

"Don't talk about the black hand. When he found out about the Changsha gentry, Prince Ji was hit on the left cheek and then he stretched out his right cheek to be hit. What do you think the prince is in front of these imperial envoys?"

"Black hand? I'm not crazy!"

The private minting of coins and weapons was a major tradition of the Ming Dynasty.

Because of historical issues, the central government's copper coins had lost their credibility, and people in remote prefectures would rather barter than use the copper coins minted by the central government. Yunnan used seashells, Sichuan and Guizhou used fennel, silver, salt and cloth, Jiangxi and Huguang used rice, grain, silver and cloth, and Shanxi and Shaanxi used fur.

Where there is a gap, someone will naturally fill it.

The imperial court's copper coins had large face values ​​and were not valuable, so local people privately minted coins with smaller face values, aiming to make a small profit in order to open up the market.

The more direct ones were that the officials of the garrisons gathered together to set up a furnace, and the local officials allowed their sons to cast coins privately.

A more obscure way is to pretend to be a merchant or a gentry, while hiding behind the scenes.

After the scale and industrial chain were formed, local officials naturally became part of the chain, and then they began to neglect their duties, deceive each other, and deceive the central authorities.

As it has developed to this day, it can be said that every place has its own currency.

Not to mention weapons and armor, the wealthy families always have some in stock in the cellars.

Why is it a small matter?
I have never heard of anyone being sentenced to death or expelled from the country for privately minting coins or weapons!

Zhu Qitao, the auxiliary general of Prince Qingcheng’s palace, is a clear example.

This person hid weapons and kept thousands of bandits. After the crime was exposed, Emperor Sejong only deducted one-third of his rice from him.

From then on, minting coins and making armor would almost certainly result in a salary deduction or demotion.

If that's the case, why would he attack the imperial envoy?

The wealthy middle-aged man's expression turned into resentment, and he said helplessly: "I don't know what kind of stupid dog Zhu Yingyan is."

"How dare they use our names to collude and commit such a heinous crime!"

"He's forcing everyone to clean up his mess. He deserves to die!"

He didn't dare recall what happened that day.

At this point, he finally relaxed his tone: "But no matter what, this matter was originally done by Zhu Yingyan."

"We have presented all the evidence and witnesses to these people, and even added some extras to make the imperial envoys appear meritorious."

"Now that things have come to this, it's time to end it so that everyone can look good."

Everyone has needs.

What the Huguang officials want is stability. What they want is peace and tranquility, and the imperial envoy naturally has what he wants too.

If Zhao Xian had not offended too many people with this action, he would really have to worry about how to feed those imperial envoys who were eager to make achievements.

Now, all the officials in Huguang have reached a tacit understanding, and everyone is naturally happy. As long as the imperial envoy nods, the matter will be settled.

The young man sitting opposite shook his head and did not respond.

He was not sure whether what this uncle said was true or false.

After all, even his own brothers would never admit to such a crime, so he naturally had to keep it a secret.

But no matter what.

The pirates were kept in his house.

The mine thieves belonged to his uncle.

Although he was transferred by the Yueyang Palace under a false pretext, it was impossible for him to stay out of the rain.

I don't know how this uncle can be so optimistic.

Just at this moment, a eunuch walked in hurriedly.

The young man could no longer hold back and asked, "The imperial envoy is here!?"

The wealthy middle-aged man also showed a concerned look.

The eunuch replied cautiously to the young man, "Your Majesty is wise. It is the imperial envoy who has arrived."

The two looked at each other, both with solemn expressions.

The middle-aged man with a sturdy figure asked, "Who are the imperial envoys?"

The eunuch quickly replied: "There are the Chief Censor Hai Rui and the head of the Ministry of Clan Affairs Wu Jinghe..."

As soon as the words fell, the wealthy middle-aged man's face changed: "Who!?"

In charge of clan affairs! ?

The imperial envoy is investigating a case, so why did he call in the clan officials?
The young man also looked terrified.

The eunuch repeated it again.

The wealthy middle-aged man naturally heard it clearly. He took a deep breath and waved his hand: "Go on."

The eunuch recalled for a moment and continued, "Li, the chief official, is in the court..."

The plump middle-aged man stood up and paced back and forth in the tea room.

Everyone knows that Li Zaiting is Zhang Chucheng's senior brother. If he is sent to investigate the case thoroughly with hatred, there may be some trouble.

The eunuch was still reporting: "There are also Duke Chengguo and Jinyiwei Commander Zhu Xizhong."

The wealthy middle-aged man showed an unbelievable look: "Who!?"

The commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, the Three Dukes, the Duke of the State, and the nobles who were about to die were actually sent to be imperial envoys! ?
Why is there such a big scene?!

(End of this chapter)