Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 97 Disposal
In the Governor's Office, Zhu Lang, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, sat behind the desk. There were five chairs on both sides below. In addition to Qu Shisi and the other four ministers, Su Guansheng was also sitting on a chair.
Below the cabinet ministers stood Wu Zhenyu of the Dali Temple, Wu Bing of the Honglu Temple, and others. The ministers and chief officials of various ministries in the court were also present, making it look like a small court meeting.
The officials were standing on the left and right, and in the middle of the hall stood two figures. They were Zhu Zhijian and Liu Xiangke, who were escorting the King of Tang back to Zhaoqing without stopping.

Zhu Zhijian was wearing a scarlet official robe, with a serious expression on his face. He spoke slowly.

"I set out on the 27th, traveling day and night, and arrived in Guangzhou at noon on the 29th. However, I learned from Guangzhou prefect Chen Bangyan that the King of Tang had already arrived in Guangzhou on the 27th. I immediately sent troops..."

Zhu Zhijian spoke in a low voice, but was interrupted by a voice from above when he was halfway through.

"You mean you really found the King of Tang in Guangzhou?"

Qu Shisi was shocked, staring at Zhu Zhijian below.
"Yes, the King of Tang and his men have been escorted back to Beijing. Their identities have been verified. The man from Guangzhou is indeed the King of Tang."

When the ministers below heard what Zhu Zhijian said, their expressions suddenly changed, and they were slightly shocked.
Several days have passed since the shocking incident that night. In the past few days, the officials in the court have been thinking about it and have reacted.
Now, all the officials in the court have already determined that the so-called rebellion of Ding Kuichu must have been planned by His Royal Highness the Regent in order to seize the military power of the Guangdong Army.
There were also people who sympathized with Ding Kuichu during these days. This was not because Ding Kuichu was popular, but because the ministers were wary of the emperor's brazen violation of the rules and his violent actions to seize power.

Although the ministers were dissatisfied, they all remained silent and no one dared to speak out about the matter.
When Ding Kuichu held the military power and attacked and killed Su Guansheng, they did not dare to impeach him. Now that His Royal Highness the Regent controls tens of thousands of troops inside and outside Zhaoqing, they naturally dare not speak out.
Ding Kuichu wanted to attack them and had to find a way to frame them. But if he angered His Royal Highness the Regent, all he had to do was say that they were traitors and they would be killed in an instant.
It was precisely because they had already determined that this matter was completely false that the ministers were even more horrified when they heard what Zhu Zhijian and others said.
This Ding Kuichu is actually planning a rebellion!
The ministers were in disbelief at first, and then they pondered the whole story. The more they thought about it, the gloomier their expressions became.

The Qing army was about to march south, and Ding Kuichu secretly took the King of Tang to Guangxi Province.

If Your Highness really insists on defending Guangdong Province, once Ding Kuichu leads the Guangdong Army to withdraw at the critical moment, the central government will inevitably be destroyed by the Qing army.

However, Ding Kuichu could lead the Guangdong army into Guangxi Province. After the Gui Regent was captured by the Qing army, Ding Kuichu could use the legal system of Emperor Longwu to support the King of Tang and establish a new dynasty in Guangxi Province!
This rebellion plan, which seemed a bit whimsical to everyone, seemed very likely to succeed at this time against the backdrop of the Qing army's southward advance.
They didn't care too much whether Gui Jianguo was captured or not, but they were still in the city.

If the imperial court was breached by the Qing army, wouldn't they also be buried with the court? How could this be allowed?
"This traitor"

The ministers in the hall also thought of this, their faces were gloomy, and they couldn't help but yelled in a low voice.
The Regent had a calm expression on his face. He had known for a long time that the King of Tang would definitely come to Guangzhou.

Why did he launch the attack at this time instead of earlier? Because he remembered that the Shaowu Dynasty was only established in early November.

That is to say, the King of Tang should have arrived in Guangzhou by the end of October at the latest, otherwise how could Emperor Shaowu be enthroned in November?

He chose the end of October to launch the plan because he had chosen this time point. At this time, the Tang King and his entourage were still floating on the sea, and no one in the court would know the whereabouts of the Tang King.
Even if the King of Tang did not come on the 27th, Zhu Zhijian and others would surely find the King of Tang who had come by sea after they arrived in Guangzhou and searched for two or three days.

Zhu Lang glanced at the gloomy officials below and spoke softly

"Now that the King of Tang has been captured, what do you think should be done with this matter?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zizhuang immediately stood up, bowed to the sky, and spoke loudly.

"Ding Kuichu attempted treason, made friends with eunuchs, disrupted government affairs, and committed ten crimes. I request that the nine clans of this traitor be executed according to the criminal law of Emperor Taizu, and that he be tortured to death by slow slicing," Chen Zizhuang's face was cold.

The ministers were all shocked when they heard Chen Zizhuang's murderous words, but then they remained silent.
Now that Ding Kuichu's rebellion has been verified, who dares to question it?

The Regent above did not respond immediately, but looked at the ministers below and spoke again

"What do you think?"

"This thief Ding Kuichu is guilty of treason and deserves death. We, your Highness, will make your decision."

The ministers were silent for a moment, and then, led by Qu Shisi, they stepped out one after another and responded respectfully.
The ministers bowed their heads and obeyed the order, but the Regent looked unhappy.
On the 27th, when he successfully reorganized the Guangdong Army and took over the military power, it was his most exciting moment. Now that the military power was in hand, how to deal with Ding Kuichu was no longer a matter of concern to him.

He had neither joy nor hatred towards Ding Kuichu. If Ding Kuichu was willing to hand over the military power to him from the beginning, he would let Ding Kuichu continue to be a rubber-stamp-like prime minister in the cabinet until he retired and returned home.

He needed military power to fight against the Qing, but Ding Kuichu refused to give it to him, so he took it himself. It was that simple.
Zhu Lang thought for a moment, then spoke softly.
"Ding Kuichu attempted to rebel, his crime is unforgivable"

"But I am not the kind of person who disregards old friendships. Ding Kuichu supported the new dynasty and served as the Prime Minister. I want to give him a white silk and ask him to commit suicide to save his dignity."

"Considering Ding Kuichu's contribution to the throne, only Ding Kuichu's clan will be executed, and the rest of them will be exiled to Qiongzhou. What do you think?"

The ministers below looked at the calm prince above, and were somewhat surprised. The prince's punishment was not harsh, but rather too lenient.

The ministers thought that the prince was so eager to kill someone that night, and they originally thought that Ding Kuichu would be tortured to death, but they did not expect that after the prince calmed down, he would give such a lenient treatment.
This was treason. Thinking of the cruel fate of the ministers who were sentenced for treason in the history of the Ming Dynasty, Ding Kuichu really wanted to kneel down to His Royal Highness the Regent and shout a few times to thank His Royal Highness for his grace.

The ministers' minds turned, and they also had some understanding of this young regent.
His Highness gave Ding Kuichu a light sentence, obviously because he really remembered the kindness of Ding Kuichu who supported him to ascend the throne. Otherwise, could it be because Ding Kuichu was innocent? The ministers looked at His Highness above and shook their heads slightly in their hearts. If His Highness said it nicely, it was because he was loyal and righteous, but if he said it badly, it was because he was too soft-hearted. It was like this with Wang Kun's 30,000 taels, and now it is the same with Ding Kuichu.

But even so, the ministers felt a little fond of the young man above them. Compared to a benevolent monarch, who would be willing to serve under a cold-blooded and ruthless emperor?
"Your Highness is kind and virtuous, and we admire him."

When the ministers thought of this, they did not hesitate any longer and came out one after another, shouting:

Zhu Lang did not look happy when he heard what the ministers said. He asked everyone to stand up and continued speaking.

"Ding Kuichu was dealt with in this way. Wang Kun and Ma Jixiang were beheaded. Chen Bangfu was executed in secret."

"The fact that Chen Bangfu was involved in the rebellion is still top secret. No one is allowed to make it public. If I know that anyone secretly passed the message to Guangxi Province, I will kill him without mercy."

Zhu Lang glanced at the dozen or so ministers below with a cold gaze.

When the ministers heard this, they were all shocked, and then they all responded.
That night, His Highness took out four letters, but when the ministers came to check, he suddenly took one away. Because of this letter, the ministers in the court had been panicking for several days.

At this point, everyone finally knew who wrote this last letter.

A flash of realization flashed across the eyes of the ministers. No wonder His Highness wanted to take away this last letter.

Chen Bangfu was an important general in Guangxi Province, with 10,000 troops under his command. If it was reported at that time that Chen Bangfu was involved in a rebellion, then Chen Bangfu's 10,000 troops in Guangxi Province would most likely take the risk.

Now that His Highness has directly mentioned Chen Bangfu, it is obvious that he is going to take some measures against the province of Guangxi.

Sure enough, the voice of His Royal Highness the Regent came from above.

"Although Chen Bangfu was involved in treason, he was the only one who committed the treasonous act. It had nothing to do with the soldiers under his command. The Gui army under Chen Bangfu must not be in turmoil."

"I would like to order Lord Qu to lead 2,000 men and General Zheng Wenxiong of Xunzhou to return to Guangxi immediately to take over the Guangxi army. What do you think?"

The ministers looked at the calm faces of the ministers above, and they knew that this must have been something that His Highness had discussed with the ministers long ago.

After all, those elders knew that the fourth person was Chen Bangfu that night.

The reason why His Highness spoke out about this now is that Qu Shisi is about to leave and it is difficult to conceal it, so he has to speak out.

Chen Bangfu was captured, and the 10,000 Gui troops under his command were very likely to mutiny.

Under such circumstances, only Qu Shisi, the former governor of Guangxi Province, had enough prestige and ability to suppress Guangxi Province and smoothly take over the 10,000 troops under Chen Bangfu.

The matter involved military power, and no one dared to be careless. The court had no choice but to send Qu Shisi to Guangxi Province.
Once Ding Kuichu left, Qu Shisi was considered the prime minister by everyone. If Qu Shisi was sent to Guangxi without any explanation, it would most likely cause suspicion and unrest in the court.
Did Qu Shisi make any mistakes? Was he involved in a treason case? Otherwise, why was he exiled from the central government?

Since he has lost power, shouldn't his trusted followers also move out and give up their positions?

It is precisely to avoid the misjudgment of these people in the court that His Royal Highness the Regent must first form a unified opinion among the central officials.
Even if the dozen people in the palace are not the confidants of the cabinet ministers, they have no connection with Ding Kuichu and others. The people promoted by Ding Kuichu have long been dismissed, so the possibility of leaking secrets is very small.

"Your Highness has thought everything through, and we will respectfully listen to your judgment."

Everyone thought of this and without hesitation, they stood up and responded respectfully.

Qu Shisi also stood up to accept the order, and the matter was settled.
By this time, Ding Kuichu and other people involved in the rebellion had been dealt with, and the faces of the ministers were relieved.

Zhu Lang looked at the ministers who were relaxing below him, with a gleam of brilliance in his eyes. It was only right to punish Ding Kuichu and others. As long as Ding Kuichu's conspiracy was proven, no matter how he sentenced these people, no one in the court would object.
He summoned all the important officials in the court today, but his real purpose was not here.

These days, some classmates left messages asking for more updates, but as you can see, the first volume will soon be finished, and the second volume will involve the wars in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. There is too much information to look up, and I am dizzy from looking up information these days. I can only say sorry.

There are two chapters left in the first volume. The name of the first volume is Axe Sound and Candle Shadow, and the name of the next volume is Fujian and Guangdong Storm.

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(End of this chapter)