Chapter 101 Arrived as expected, a little tricky and a big fool

As the sun sets and the afterglow shines, a huge official ship is docked at the pier.

Clean water was sprinkled on the ground, yellow earth was paved on the road, and the guards raised the ceremonial weapons in their hands higher.

There was a commotion, and after a long while, the people who were waiting for him finally saw someone.

Under the inquiring gazes of the officials of the three departments, the imperial envoy on the official ship finally walked down from the ship.

There were dozens of people in the group, led by three people.

However, this was beyond the expectations of many officials from the Three Departments.

In addition to subordinates, eunuchs and others, there was also a large number of guards wearing swords and armor who got off the ship with the imperial envoy!
They filed out from the boat and occupied the entire dock in the blink of an eye!
The officials from the three ministries were just about to meet them, but when they saw this situation, their faces turned pale.

Among the officials welcoming them, there are quite a few with experience in central government. The sharp-eyed ones can tell just by looking at their attire that they are people from the Five Armies of the Beijing Camp!
Why did they bring the Beijing camp here too?
They are here to welcome us, what are they doing?
The welcoming yamen runners and guards were pushed out of sight in a flash, and were replaced by a guard who was as fierce as a wolf.

The three chiefs looked at each other and saw a hint of uneasiness in each other's eyes.

Chen Rui suppressed his fear and took a step forward.

He bowed first and said, "Your Majesty, may I greet you with respect?"

The imperial envoy represented the emperor, so the first courtesy they had to show when meeting him was naturally asking the emperor how he was doing. This was a rare way for local officials to show filial piety.

"Your Majesty, we respectfully wish you the best." Commander-in-Chief Zhan En and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Du Si were a step behind, and the rest of the officials followed closely behind.

They all knelt down to greet him.

"Holy Holy Gong."

The one who answered was the Minister of the Imperial Clan Wu Jinghe.

As the son-in-law of the emperor, he is also the person who best represents the emperor among the imperial envoys.

Zhan En felt somewhat relieved when he saw that the prince consort had a fairly friendly attitude.

After some formalities, he looked hesitantly at the soldiers surrounding him and asked carefully, "Angel, what is this...?"

Is this an investigation or a suppression of rebellion?

Make such a gesture!

Wu Jinghe did not answer, but looked at Hai Rui beside him.

The latter understood and took a step forward.

Hai Rui walked up to the three officers in charge of the three divisions, and without even glancing at them, he coldly ordered, "Knock off their official hats!"

His face was serious, his voice was cold, and a chill came over me!

Zhan En was shocked and said hurriedly: "Angel!"

Du Si also looked at Hai Rui in disbelief: "Censor Hai! What crime have I committed?!"

Only Chen Rui, as the head of a province, was guilty of the incident of burning the imperial envoy in the province, so he was naturally prepared.

At this moment, he just gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, without any extra expression.

When the Imperial Guards saw that Hai Rui did not speak again, they immediately stepped forward and took off the black hats of the three officials.

Du Si was still dissatisfied and subconsciously tried to shake off the Jinyiwei, but the two of them held up his arms and roughly slapped off his black gauze hat, revealing his disheveled hair.

Upon seeing this, Chen Rui and Zhan En understood what it meant to bring humiliation upon themselves, and they immediately took off their official hats and knelt down to apologize.

Upon seeing this, the officials of the three departments took two steps back, their faces filled with shock and confusion.

Hai Rui met Du Si's red eyes and asked expressionlessly, "Are you dissatisfied, Censor Du?"

Du Si held his neck high and said nothing.

Hai Rui no longer looked at him, but instead faced the group of officials from the three departments and scanned them one by one. The atmosphere on the dock became more and more restless.

He slowly said, "Censor Du asked a good question. What crime has he committed?"

"I was just about to ask the emperor a question, the governors, the provincial governors, the chief military commanders..."

He faced north and spoke each word with emphasis.

"I handed over the operation of an entire province, including military, political, and criminal justice affairs, to you, yet such a heinous crime occurred in Huguang!"

At this point, his tone was already chilling: "Do you know your guilt?"

The words fell.

Dozens of officials from the three departments fell to their knees as if a switch had been pressed!
A huge crowd of people said in unison: "We are guilty!"

Hai Rui glanced at the crowd. He certainly understood that not all of these people were involved in the Zhang Chucheng case.

The three heads of the departments whose official positions he had just taken away were not necessarily all guilty.

However, when doing things at the local level, whether it is being straightforward or making a show of force, the authority must be established.

As for offending people?
He is now a lone minister and has the emperor's full trust, so why would he care about whether he would offend anyone!
Hai Rui did not allow the officials to stand up, but only signaled eunuch Sun Long to announce the decree.

Sun Long hurried forward and asked someone to bring over the incense table.

He then unfolded the imperial edict and read it in a serious tone: "I ascended the throne at a young age, and have lived in the deep palace for a long time. I have little knowledge and do not understand the sufferings of the people. I sit on the throne of the emperor, but the sky is high and vast, and I do not know the real situation in the country."

"I have appointed governors and provincial governors to travel around the country and investigate the sufferings of the people, so as to serve as my eyes and ears and make up for my shortcomings."

"However, I heard that there are thieves in Huguang who are plotting treason. They dared to drive bandits to attack the county office and burn the imperial envoy! They are rampant and rebellious, and they are reckless!"

"Isn't this breaking my wings and blocking my hearing?"

"Using weapons against the imperial envoy is no different from using them against me. How can this be tolerated?"

"I have specially ordered Wu Jinghe, the head of the Imperial Clan Affairs Office, Zhu Xizhong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Hai Rui, the assistant censor-in-chief, and Li Zaiting, the chief secretary, to inspect Huguang and thoroughly investigate this case!"

"When traveling in the province, do what is convenient for you!"

Sun Long finished reading the imperial edict in one breath, then stood aside silently.

Outside the dock, there were rows of guards, looking murderous.

The people surrounded by the guards knelt down, sweating profusely.

This is intolerable... Those are really strong words.

This would constitute the crime of treason and everyone would be implicated!

Especially the imperial envoy and his entourage, including the censor, the secretary, the nobles, and the clan members, their identities cover a full range.

It was almost a naked declaration - no matter who was involved in this case, they were all within the Five Elements, and no one could escape.

It has come to this, how can we end it without killing a lot of people?!
The officials of the three ministries who were kneeling to listen to the order were all terrified and at a loss as to what to do.

Even some officials involved could not help but tremble.

At this moment, Chen Rui suddenly stood up and said hurriedly: "Angel! This was done by Zhu Yingyan, the Lieutenant General of the Yueyang Palace!"

"I, along with the Governor Zhao Xian, the Imperial Inspector Shu Ao, and the Commander-in-Chief Zhan En, have personally investigated this case! We have both witnesses and evidence, and there is absolutely no mistake!"

"Tell the angels about this, and ask Your Majesty to calm down."

He couldn't help but not panic.

The emperor's attitude was much more violent than he had imagined!

The imperial envoy's regulations were even more exaggerated than expected!

How could this be?

Hai Rui stared at Chen Rui quietly, waiting for him to finish speaking.

Then he suddenly asked, "Does the governor think that Zhu Yingyan is the mastermind or an accomplice?"

He was too lazy to ask how people died.

The key to the problem is whether the matter should end here.

When Chen Rui was choked by these words, Zhan En immediately said: “Angel, according to the prisoner’s confession, it may be related to Governor Zhao Xian!”

At this point, there was no need for him to care about Zhao Xian, so he might as well use him to take over.

Hai Rui ignored him, just nodded and passed over the matter.

Instead, he looked at the Censor Du Si and said, "Censor Du, last year, the Lieutenant General Zhu Yingyan of the Yueyang Palace gathered a crowd to rob and kill people. Did you know that?"

Du Si's expression remained unchanged.

He pretended to think about it and asked in confusion, "Is this really true?"

Hai Rui stared at Du Si for a long while, then nodded slowly: "Yuezhou Prefecture reported the case to the Censorate, and you were the Deputy Censorate Envoy at that time."

He paused and added, "According to Sun Yizheng's confession, you negotiated with him and gave him eight hundred taels of silver, and then you two worked together to suppress the matter."

Du Si finally couldn't hold it back anymore and his expression changed slightly.

He keenly grasped the key word - confession! ?

Sun Yizhen, a junior minister, was actually thrown into prison like this?
Du Si's mind was full of thoughts and he was trying to find a solution.

Hai Rui no longer needed to watch his performance. He waved his sleeves and ordered in a deep voice, "Arrest him and put him in jail!"

As soon as the words fell, the two Jinyiwei roared and rushed towards Du Si. Chen Rui and Zhan En were trembling with fear and dared not breathe.

This scene naturally also fell into the eyes of the crowds of onlookers outside the dock.

Many people applauded - they couldn't hear anything, but no matter what the reason, the fall of a high-ranking official is always something worth applauding.

Let alone anything else, the fact that there have been heavy floods in Huguang for days and the various government offices have done nothing is enough to cause resentment.

Not to mention the oppression they have suffered for a time and the accumulated dissatisfaction.

Of course, in addition to the common people, there were also people who wanted to find out the true identity of the imperial envoy.

They stood in the crowd in groups of three or four, occasionally exchanging glances and then leaving to return home to report.

Probing is inevitable.

I wonder how many people were moved by the moment when the imperial envoy entered the city.

Each government sent people out to gather information, wanting to see how serious the storm was.

In addition to the close-up views, there are also views from a distance.

Zhu Changwen deliberately chose a private room of a restaurant that was not far away and had a view of the pier. He leaned quietly against the window and peeked out.

He stared through the window at the meeting between the imperial envoy and the officials from Huguang at the dock, not wanting to miss a single move.

After a while, the imperial envoys left the dock, surrounded by officials from the three ministries.

Just at this moment, the door of the private room behind me was knocked three times, and then there was a sound of it being pushed open.

Zhu Changwen didn't even turn his head, still staring towards the dock.

When the imperial envoy and his party boarded the carriage and could no longer see any movement, he frowned and asked, "What happened at the dock just now?"

He was far away and couldn't see clearly, he could only see some vague commotion.

The bookkeeper, who had just entered the room, replied respectfully, "The three chiefs of the auxiliary state general were all stripped of their official hats by the imperial envoy, and the provincial governor Du Si was even arrested directly by Hai Rui."

The royal palace naturally has its subordinate officials, such as the registrar, who is a ninth-rank official.

Zhu Changwen opened the window slightly and looked at the dock, where another imperial decree was being announced.

It is unknown what was said, but when Xu Xuemao stepped forward to receive the order, he replaced Chen Rui and stood at the position of head of the Provincial Government.

The bookkeeper also saw this scene and guessed: "This should be a consolation after establishing authority, in order to drive the officials of Huguang."

"Xu Xuemo is Zhang Juzheng's man. If nothing goes wrong, he should be the governor now."

From a fourth-rank deputy censor to a second-rank official, it turns out that one must follow the right person.

Zhu Changwen was not an official, so he did not have so many emotions. He just stared at the dock with a serious expression and muttered, "Zongzheng is here too."

Although the imperial consorts of this dynasty have never had much power, the meaning of sending the Chief of the Imperial Clan Wu Jinghe here at this critical juncture is self-evident.

This really can't be resolved peacefully!
Zhu Changwen snorted in disgust.

He was just a Censor-in-Chief and a Provincial Governor. His death was fine, but it caused such a big fuss!
How could the world lack civil servants? Taizu killed so many of them!
Besides, isn’t the Yueyang Palace enough to explain?

Do you have to get to the bottom of it?

Even soldiers were sent here. Who are they doing this for?

The accountant didn't know what the master was thinking, so he explained, "Nominally, Wu Jinghe is the leader this time, but..."

"In the end, it should be Hai Rui who takes the lead, Li Zaiting who does the work, Wu Jinghe and Zhu Xizhong. In the end, they are all trying to suppress us."

When he toured the local areas with the civil officials, no relatives or nobles could interfere in his duties.

Zhu Changwen was startled, then looked at it carefully again.

After a while, he turned around and asked in confusion: "Zhu Xizhong? Why didn't I see him getting off the boat?"

To be honest, the most powerful person in this group is the dying Duke Chengguo.

That sick tiger was, after all, the leader of the Imperial Guard.

It was also because he was restrained enough and always kind to others. Otherwise, if he really wanted to abuse his power, even Lu Bing, who was extremely powerful at the time, might not be able to match him.

It was common for royal family members to beat up governors, but no one dared to cause trouble at the Jinyiwei Thousand Households Office.

It is impossible not to pay attention to the whereabouts of such a person.

The bookkeeper shook his head and said, "They only said that the imperial envoy was the Duke of Chengguo, but no one was seen."

Zhu Changwen frowned.

Or is it that the situation is so desperate that you can’t even get off the boat, so you simply don’t show up?

Or maybe, is he elusive on purpose?
But no matter what, he had already sensed that the turmoil that had stirred up Huguang would probably not end easily.

Zhu Changwen closed the window only after he saw the imperial envoy's team slowly leaving the dock and passing the street below the restaurant.

He looked at the bookkeeper: "Is Zhou Changshi not back yet?"

Recently, the tempers of several masters in the palace have been flaming up at the slightest provocation, and the registrar had to be very careful in replying: "General Fuguo, please be patient and wait."

"The situation in Prince Chu's mansion is complicated, and it's not easy to meet the concubine."

Zhu Changwen sighed impatiently: "It is also because the timing is special now that I cannot easily show up at the Prince Chu's Mansion, otherwise I would have gone there in person."

After saying this, he also felt a little regretful about what he did that day.

When Zhang Chucheng was investigating the minting of copper coins in Changsha, he had a slight conflict with him.

If you are humiliated, you will naturally feel depressed.

It just so happened that Zhu Yingyan came to his house afterwards and said that he wanted to dampen Zhang Chucheng's enthusiasm and asked him for help.

Naturally, he was happy to see it happen and casually lent a hand.

result!

Who knew that idiot Zhu Yingyan would kill people's spirit in this way!
How could he do such a stupid thing!

He has been in a state of panic until now, but no one has yet to find out whether he is guilty or not.

But when the imperial envoy was about to arrive, he had no choice but to humble himself and beg for mercy to clean up his past mistakes.

Zhu Changwen sat back in his chair, looking somewhat tired.

Just then, there was knock on the door again.

An elegant man in a long gown pushed the door open and walked in.

"General Fuguo." He saluted first.

Zhu Changwen immediately stood up and returned the greeting, "Zhou Changshi, what's going on? What did the Concubine say?"

The Chief Secretary was a fifth-rank official, the core of the royal palace, and even members of the royal family could not lose their manners.

Zhou Changshi shook his head: "I have not seen Concubine Chu."

Zhu Changwen's face was filled with disappointment that he couldn't help but show.

The Prince of Chu's Palace was the source of the Chu vassal state, and the Prince of Yueyang's Palace was branched off from the Prince of Chu's Palace.

Not only the entire Wuchang Prefecture, but it can be said that the entire Hubei Province is under the care of the Prince of Chu's Palace.

The matter in which he lent a hand to the Yueyang Palace had gotten out of control.

If you want to clean your butt now, you have to put aside your pride and come to them for help.

There is no prince in the Chu Palace who has succeeded to the throne now, and the Dowager Consort is the most respected, so naturally he would ask to see her.

Unfortunately, it is so rare.

Just as he was about to comfort her and find another way out, Zhou Changshi took a breath and spoke again: "General Fuguo, although I have never seen the Concubine Dowager, but..."

"I met the King of Dong'an. I didn't say anything to him, but he said he wanted to see you."

Zhu Changwen was stunned.

King of Dong'an?
He is also a prince of the Chu clan. He is naturally powerful, but he is a little low-key in his daily life.

However, we have no contact on a daily basis, so why would he take the initiative to see me?

Did you guess something?
Or maybe the incident involving that idiot Zhu Yingyan is related to this Prince Dong'an?
It turned over in my mind, then I put it aside.

Things have come to this point, no matter what the reason, there is absolutely no reason for him to refuse.

Zhu Changwen nodded and said, "I was just about to meet him! Let's go, we'll talk on the way!"

After saying this, he was about to move and wanted to go out.

Zhou Changshi quickly grabbed him.

Zhou Changshi smiled bitterly and said, "Not now."

"He said that the imperial envoys are coming today, and they are going to host a welcoming dinner for them. Please come with us for the dinner."

Zhu Changwen almost jumped up: "We are welcoming the imperial envoy? Are you crazy?"

(End of this chapter)