Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 88 Arrest
In the evening, lanterns were already lit in the Beizhenfusi Yamen.
As soon as Ma Jixiang entered the government office, he saw Li Chengzhi and a few others hurriedly entering the government office.

Ma Jixiang looked at Li Chengzhi with a dignified expression, his eyes flickered slightly. The Southern Pacification Office had already moved out of the Jinyi Mansion. Since the Southern Pacification Office moved out, Li Chengzhi has never been to the Jinyi Mansion again.

Ma Jixiang's mind was turning, but his face remained calm as he walked forward.

"What's the important matter, Li Tongzhi?"

The highest official title Li Chengzhi holds now is the Vice Governor of the Jinyiwei Commandery and the Director of the Southern Pacification Office.

"Commander, His Highness has given you an order."

Li Chengzhi's face was solemn. After greeting Ma Jixiang, he spoke in a deep voice.

Ma Jixiang's face became solemn when he heard this, and then he bowed to Li Chengzhi. This bow was not to Li Chengzhi, but to the oral instructions of the regent.
"Your Highness has ordered the Royal Guards to summon all the ministers and officials of the six ministries and above of the fourth rank to the palace for a quick discussion."

Li Chengzhi finished speaking, then stepped aside and continued speaking.

"Your Highness has issued an urgent order. I intend to invite Commander Ma, Elder Ding, Elder Lu, Elder Chen, and officials from the four ministries of military, household, ritual, and punishment to come to the palace to meet you."

"I would like to invite Lord Qu, Lord He, Lord Su, and officials from the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Works, and other ministries to come in and see the commander. What do you think?"

Li Chengzhi spoke repeatedly. Ma Jixiang was a little unresponsive when he heard it, and responded subconsciously:

"Very good"

"In this case, please ask the commander to quickly recruit people into the palace. I will go first."

Seeing that Ma Jixiang agreed, Li Chengzhi looked anxious, clasped his hands, and was about to take his people away.

Until this moment, Ma Jixiang came back to his senses. Seeing that Li Chengzhi was about to leave, he immediately stepped forward to stop Li Chengzhi and said
"What is so urgent? Please explain clearly, Mr. Li."

The court had just been dismissed in the afternoon, and it was only evening, but His Highness was so eager to recruit officials in the court. Something big must have happened.
Ma Jixiang thought about what he had just discussed in Ding Mansion, and his heart suddenly tightened. Could it be that Wang Kun had confessed their affairs so quickly?
But after thinking about it, Ma Jixiang quickly calmed down and realized that this should not be the case.
Even if Wang Kun exposed their selling of official positions, there was no need to make such a big scene. It was just selling an official position. This kind of thing is not a big deal, and it is not a serious crime that will kill the entire clan. Why mobilize so many people?
Moreover, if they really wanted to punish Ding Kuichu, how could they let me invite Ding Kuichu at this time?

But something must have happened suddenly in the court at this time, and even the Jinyiwei commander himself didn't know about it, otherwise Li Chengzhi wouldn't be so panicked.

He had to figure out what was going on.

Seeing Li Chengzhi's hesitant expression, Ma Jixiang's eyes turned and he spoke again.
"If Brother Li doesn't explain clearly, when I go to ask the elders, how should I answer them if they ask me?"

"If no one can explain clearly, rumors will spread in the court, which will make the court more chaotic."

Li Chengzhi listened to what Ma Jixiang said, thought for a moment, and seemed to have made up his mind, and then he spoke

"Your Highness has ordered that this information must not be leaked at all, but Commander Ma is not an outsider, so I will say a few more words."

"The palace just received an urgent military intelligence report after noon."

Ma Jixiang's expression changed slightly, and he was about to continue asking questions, but Li Chengzhi waved his hand and said

"I have violated the rules by revealing this military intelligence. I dare not say more about the specific reasons. Commander, please do not embarrass me any further."

"This matter is urgent. I will inform all the ministers right away. Please also inform Minister Ding and others as soon as possible. The military situation is urgent and there is no time to delay."

Li Chengzhi bowed, and without waiting for Ma Jixiang to speak, he led his men out of the Northern Pacification Office in a hurry.
Ma Jixiang looked at Li Chengzhi's hurriedly leaving back and couldn't help cursing in his heart, what do you mean by not an outsider? It was obvious that it was impossible to keep the military report secret for too long. Li Chengzhi had revealed a little bit of it in advance to curry favor with him.
Ma Jixiang thought about Li Chengzhi's words and what they had been discussing in the past few days, and his expression suddenly changed.

According to Li Chengzhi, the reason why His Highness urgently summoned all the ministers was because the palace received a military report in the afternoon.

But at this time, apart from the Qing army invading Guangdong Province, what other military reports could make His Highness so anxious?

He could conclude that the military report Li Chengzhi mentioned must mean that the Qing army had really invaded Guangdong Province.
But the more this happened, the more panicked Ma Jixiang became. Although they had just reported to the court this morning that the Qing army's vanguard had reached Meiguan, that was just a fabrication.

But now, the Qing army has really entered Meiguan.

Why did they choose Meiguan over other options? It was because they knew that Meiguan was important enough. Once it was lost, it would definitely shake the Guangdong Province. This would be a fatal matter.

We must ask Lord Ding to quickly persuade His Highness to move west to Guangxi Province. Guangdong Province is already a dead end, and we must not stay in Zhaoqing any longer!
Ma Jixiang's heart tightened, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes

Ma Jixiang had a serious look on his face. He called his trusted aides and ordered them to pass on the message to several cabinet ministers and officials from various departments. Ma Jixiang himself mounted his horse and rode towards Ding Kuichu's residence in the dark.
He must tell Ding Kuichu the news as soon as possible so that Ding Kuichu can prepare early!
At nightfall, the sky had completely darkened, but the entrance to the Governor's Mansion was brightly lit.
Li Chengzhi stood in the shadow of the gate, occasionally looking out at the road outside the governor's mansion. When he found that there was no one on the street again, his face became more and more anxious.

At this time, all the ministers and most of the officials had already entered the palace, but Ding Kuichu was nowhere to be seen. How could he not be anxious?

He kept thinking about his actions, thinking that his whereabouts might have been exposed here, and then thinking that there might be a leak there.
Thinking that Ding Kuichu might have already escaped from the city, his face became more and more terrified. If that was true, then he would never be able to atone for his sins.

He looked at Deng Mingwu who had been silent. Although Deng Mingwu had no expression on his face, if one looked closely, one could see that Deng Mingwu's hands were tightly clenched in the darkness, with veins running down the back of his hands.
Li Chengzhi looked irritable, looking at Deng Mingwu beside him, he couldn't help but whispered

"What's going on at the Ding Mansion? Where are your people? Why haven't you reported back in so long? What do they do for a living?"

Deng Mingwu couldn't care less about Li Chengzhi's attitude at this time, and couldn't help but say

"Ma Jixiang rode into Ding's house two quarters of an hour ago. A quarter of an hour ago, the spies reported that there was still no carriage outside the Ding's house."

"According to your instructions, the spies dared not get too close to the Ding Mansion and could only follow from a distance. How could I find out what was going on in the Ding Mansion?"

"I told you before that I would send people to secretly surround the Ding Mansion, but you didn't listen, and now you blame me."

Deng Mingwu's face also became anxious, and he couldn't help but speak angrily

"Mobilize people. Do you think Ma Jixiang's Jinyiwei are just here to eat and do nothing? How many people are needed to surround the Ding Mansion? As soon as I mobilize people, Ma Jixiang will definitely find something wrong."

"Do you think we are the only ones outside the Ding Mansion? Do you know how many soldiers are hiding in the Ding Mansion? Do you think I don't know that we are going to surround the mansion?"

"Ding Kuichu has been running Zhaoqing for many years. Who knows if there are any secret rooms or secret passages in his mansion? If Ding Kuichu becomes alert and escapes from the city, do you know how big a problem this will be? How can I mobilize people to surround the mansion?"

In the darkness at the door, the two men quarreled quietly, and the soldiers of the Northern Pacification Division retreated far away, not daring to listen to the dispute between their two chief officers.
After the two of them had a quarrel, they calmed down. Deng Mingwu looked at Li Chengzhi, who had a gloomy expression, and said again:
"What should we do now? Ding Kuichu hasn't come out yet. Should we borrow troops from the Imperial Guards and go directly into the mansion to arrest him?"

"No, we must not enter the palace to arrest him." "The government has not launched the attack yet. Even if Ding Kuichu discovered the danger from somewhere, both sides still have room to maneuver. Even if we would rather let him leave the city, we must not arrest him first."

"Even if he leaves the city now, he dare not do anything. Now the court has said nothing. Even if Ding Kuichu joins the army, what can he do? If he dares to lead troops to attack the city, he will be a traitor."

Li Chengzhi said gloomily, although that is what he said, if Ding Kuichu really discovered their plan from somewhere, he would not dare to attack the city, but he would probably just leave with his 20,000 troops.

With these 20,000 troops in hand, it would not be impossible for him to find another member of the Zhu family and establish another court.

Without these 20,000 Guangdong troops, His Highness would only have less than 10,000 Guangxi troops. In this case, don't even think about defending Guangdong Province. Even being able to defend Guangxi Province is already a very rare thing.
Both of them had gloomy expressions on their faces. The scene fell into silence for a while. Only the heavy breathing of the two people could be heard in the darkness.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence.

A soldier in a scarlet military uniform, sweating profusely, hurried towards the two men and answered:

"The spy from the Ding Mansion reported that Ding Kuichu's carriage has left the Ding Mansion and is heading towards the Governor's Mansion."

Li Chengzhi and the other man looked at each other after hearing this, and their expressions suddenly relaxed.

Li Chengzhi waved away the Tiqi who came to report back, his face became serious, and he looked at Deng Mingwu who was standing beside him.

"Now that he has left the mansion, Ding Kuichu should be arriving at the Governor's Mansion soon. I will meet him at the door, and you go to the West Garden to prepare."

"Yes"

Deng Mingwu also had a serious expression on his face. He responded and hurried into the mansion.
At the gate of the Governor's Mansion, a large carriage stopped. Ding Kuichu, dressed in a bright red official robe, slowly got off the carriage. Ma Jixiang, who was following behind the carriage, also got off the horse and walked behind Ding Kuichu.

Li Chengzhi finally relaxed when he saw Ding Kuichu getting off the carriage with a serious look on his face.

But then, an anxious look appeared on Li Chengzhi's face. He walked out of the house quickly and greeted Ding Kuichu and the other man at the door.

"All the ministers have arrived at the palace, except for Minister Ding."

"There are many people attending the court this time, so the venue will be changed to the West Garden. Lord Ding, please follow me into the palace. Your Highness must be waiting anxiously."

Ding Kuichu ignored the anxiety on Li Chengzhi's face, nodded to Li Chengzhi, and walked into the mansion.

This palace was originally the Governor's Mansion of Guangdong and Guangxi. He had lived in the mansion for several years and was probably more familiar with the structure of the mansion than Li Chengzhi. There was no need for anyone to lead the way.

Li Chengzhi didn't care. He followed behind Ding Kuichu and glanced at Ma Jixiang with dissatisfaction.

Seeing Li Chengzhi's expression, Ma Jixiang also looked helpless, so he could only bow slightly to apologize.

Since he guessed that the Qing army was going to Guangdong Province, he went straight to Ding Mansion to discuss with Ding Kuichu.
After Ding Kuichu learned about this, he decided to send Qu Shisi to fight against the Qing army on the condition that 6,000 soldiers of the Guangdong Army would be sent.
Although they had this plan before, they knew that the so-called Qing invasion was just an excuse they made up, and their focus was still on forcing the court to move the capital.
But things are different now. The Qing army has really entered Guangdong Province this time. They don't need to make any effort to move the capital. The court will naturally decide to move the capital.
In this case, their primary goal naturally became to take the opportunity to eliminate Qu Shisi and prevent Qu Shisi, a senior official from the province of Guangxi, from continuing to hinder them after he retreated to the province.
It was this discussion between the two that caused them to delay their time.
In the Governor's Mansion, Ding Kuichu walked in front, and Li Chengzhi and Ma Jixiang followed behind. When they arrived at the West Garden, they saw that the lights in the West Garden were on, and several palace guards were already guarding the door.

Li Chengzhi quickly took a few steps forward and gestured to the guards at the door. The guards did not move when they saw Li Chengzhi in front of them, and the three of them walked directly into the courtyard.

The three of them walked into the courtyard. Li Chengzhi stood at the door, bowed to the two of them, and said

"Your Highness and the other ministers are in the room. Please come in, Minister Ding. I have something important to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Li Chengzhi bowed and stood aside. Ding Kuichu nodded and took Ma Jixiang to the room.

Ding Kuichu opened the door and saw that the large hall was brightly lit, but there was no one in the hall.

Ding Kuichu glanced at Ma Jixiang behind him with a look of surprise on his face, then turned to look at Li Chengzhi who was still standing outside the room.
"What's going on, Your Highness?"

Ding Kuichu looked at Li Chengzhi at the door with a dissatisfied look on his face.

But Li Chengzhi seemed to be oblivious to Ding Kuichu's question. He suddenly shouted coldly into the room.
"Hands on"

As soon as Li Chengzhi finished speaking, a dozen burly riders in brocade clothes suddenly jumped out from behind the hall, holding long swords and approaching Ding Kuichu in the field.
At the same time, dozens of knife-wielding guards rushed in from outside the courtyard, blocking the room inside and outside.

"Li Chengzhi, what do you want to do?"

There was a sudden change in the scene. Ding Kuichu was stunned for a moment, and then his face suddenly showed anger. He shouted at Li Chengzhi:
"Ding Kuichu, you've committed a crime!"

"Hurry up and knock his official hat off to me."

Li Chengzhi had a cold expression on his face. He waved his hand gently, and all the imperial guards in the room stepped forward and arrested Ding Kuichu and the other two.
"How dare you! I am the Prime Minister of the imperial court. What do you want to do? Rebellion?"

"Let me go, or I will make you wait..."

Ding Kuichu shouted angrily, but the other cavalrymen didn't care what he said at this moment. They rushed forward and held the two men behind them.

The two wanted to struggle, but how could a civil official, a wealthy and long-time leader of a brocade robe, resist a group of fierce soldiers? Their official hats were knocked off, their faces were disheveled, their clothes were messy, and they were in a mess.

Compared to Ding Kuichu's anger, Ma Jixiang's face was full of fear, and he kept shouting

"Li Tongzhi, Brother Li, what are you doing? What does this mean?"

Li Chengzhi's face was cold, but he no longer cared about the two of them.

“Keep an eye on them”

Li Chengzhi waved his hand and spoke in a cold voice, and the guards escorted the struggling two men back.

Li Chengzhi watched the two being taken away, and then he let out a long breath. He wiped his forehead and found that his forehead was covered with cold sweat.
Li Chengzhi nodded to Deng Mingwu who walked out of the room, and then his face became serious again, and he walked out of the yard.
His Highness was still waiting in the back garden. He had to report the news of the successful capture of Ding Kuichu to His Highness as soon as possible.

Although Ding Kuichu has been caught now, the real focus tonight is not on him, but on His Highness.

Timed quiz, everyone can guess how Ding Kuichu will be dealt with
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(End of this chapter)