Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 99 Bai Ling
The prison was completely dark. On the walls of the corridor, there was a torch every seven or eight steps, emitting a dim yellow light in the darkness.

Zhu Zhijian, dressed in a crimson official robe, walked into the prison. Even though he had worn several layers of robes, a chilly aura still hit him the moment he stepped into the prison, causing him to shiver all over.

Zhu Zhijian tightened his official robe, and then, under the guidance of the imperial prison guards, he walked towards the depths of the imperial prison.
Zhu Zhijian and others walked all the way to the end of the prison before finally stopping in front of a cell.
Ding Kuichu sat on the wooden bed with a dazed look on his face. The flames spread over him, causing him to squint subconsciously.

Ding Kuichu looked outside the cell, and when he saw Zhu Zhijian in a red robe, a light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

He stood up from the bed, walked to the cell door, and held the wooden bars tightly.
"Yu Hui, what's going on? The court has investigated the matter thoroughly."

"What treason? I am the Prime Minister, how could I possibly commit treason? Someone must be trying to frame me. When I get out, I will definitely impeach Qu Shisi and his gang of traitors."

Zhu Zhijian looked at Ding Kuichu, who was surprised, with a complicated look in his eyes.

In the cell, Ding Kuichu's eyes were bloodshot, his face was haggard, and his gray hair was messy like hay. He didn't look like the prime minister of the dynasty at all.

"Mr. Ding, I will continue to call you Mr. Ding."

"Although you have done great things in supporting the emperor, His Highness has also treated you well. He has entrusted you with the position of Prime Minister and the two ministries of military and household affairs. Why did you still want to do such a treasonous thing?" Zhu Zhijian said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Ding Kuichu was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly became furious.

"What nonsense! I have never done anything treasonous. It is clearly Qu Shisi and his gang who are framing me. It must be that old thief Qu Shisi has colluded with Li Chengzhi and others to frame me."

"We have worked together for several years. Others do not trust me, so does Yu Hui also not trust me? How could I possibly plot a rebellion?"

Ding Kuichu's face was red, and he looked angry, but there was a flash of fear in his eyes.

"I know you, how dare I know you"

Zhu Zhijian was silent for a while, and his expression suddenly became indifferent.

Ding Kuichu himself was the one who caused the chaos and ruined his future. If he hadn't tried his best to get the chance to deal with Ding Kuichu, he would have been like the others, waiting to die in the imperial prison.

Although he was still wearing a scarlet robe and was still the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he knew that this was just a move by the court to let him, Ding Kuichu's confidant, personally deal with Ding Kuichu and let everyone in the world see the fate of this traitor who was deserted by his friends and relatives.

After dealing with Ding Kuichu, I'm afraid my position as a minister will be over. How can a traitor who is a confidant of the rebels continue to be a minister of the central government?

But now he no longer dared to have any extravagant hopes. Seeing the former governor's family members having their property confiscated, some beheaded, and some exiled to Qiongzhou, he was able to leave the court safely. What else could he be dissatisfied with?

But it shouldn't be like this. He is just in his early forties, in the prime of life, and he is already a minister. If things continue to develop as they are now, it is only natural that he will be able to assist in the administration in a few years.

But now everything is ruined, official position, title, reputation, everything is ruined
The reason is that this traitor is so crazy that he wants to rebel and establish a Tang king!
"Brother Yu Hui, what do you mean?"

Seeing Zhu Zhijian's cold expression, Ding Kuichu began to feel something was wrong. He suppressed his fear and asked repeatedly with a hoarse voice.
"What do you mean? You, the traitor, wanted to rebel and support the King of Tang. Now that the evidence is solid, I am here to send you off today," Zhu Zhijian said with a grim look on his face.

"Impossible, what King Tang? I don't know anything about him. I have never even seen this King Tang. How can I support him?"

"Brother Yu Hui, you have to believe me, there is definitely someone behind this..."

Ding Kuichu looked terrified and kept speaking, but was interrupted by Zhu Zhijian halfway through.

"Framing you?"

"No one in the court knew about the King of Tang's crossing the sea to Guangzhou. We only saw it in the conspiracy letters between Wang Kun and you."

"I was assigned by the court to go to Guangzhou on the 27th, but I didn't expect that the rebel king had already arrived in Guangzhou when I set out. I personally brought this man back to the court. Could this be false?"

Zhu Zhijian looked angry and stared at Ding Kuichu in the cell.

"After Fuzhou was destroyed, the Tang King fled to Guangzhou. He spent the last ten days drifting on the sea, cut off from any communication with land. Apart from you, the traitor who had planned this, who else knew that the traitor king was about to arrive in Guangzhou?"

"You still want to make excuses after all this."

Zhu Zhijian's face was distorted, and he roared in a low voice
"impossible"

Ding Kuichu's face was dull when he heard Zhu Zhijian's words.
Ever since he learned about the Jinyifu's so-called connection with the Tang King, he has been shocked and angry. This is a naked frame-up. How could he have ever thought of supporting the Tang King?

His Highness Gui Jianguo was in his hands, so why should he look for the King of Tang? Even if Gui Jianguo couldn't be controlled, couldn't he surrender to the Qing court? Why should he guard the Zhu family's broken ship that was about to capsize?

Therefore, he was very confident in his heart that they would never punish him like this without solid evidence for such a thing as riot.
He is the Prime Minister of the dynasty. Not to mention what Regent Qu Shisi is thinking, even the ministers in the court would not agree with Qu Shisi and Regent Gui to do such a mess.

What would the ministers think if they saw that the Prime Minister was killed without authorization just because of a few letters? Everyone would be in danger.
After he entered the imperial prison, he thought about the matter and figured out the origin of the matter. It must be that Qu Shisi and others wanted to resist the Qing army stubbornly, so they came up with this vicious plan to frame him for treason.

They must have known that this matter would not bring him down, but as long as he was not in the court at this time, they could force the court to make a plan to defend Guangdong Province.

But it was precisely because he thought about this clearly that he became more and more certain that they would not dare to touch him.
Those 20,000 Guangdong troops are all his men!
If he were killed, the Guangdong Army would be in a state of panic. Without these 20,000 Guangdong Army soldiers, how could they resist the Qing Army?

So although he was terrified these days, he was still able to calm his mind. But when he heard that Zhu Zhijian was actually in Guangzhou and found the King of Tang as a witness of treason, he suddenly became desperate.

Zhu Zhijian looked at Ding Kuichu, who looked desperate, and sneered.
"You know you're afraid?"

"If I had known this would happen, why would you, a traitor, have done this in the first place?" Zhu Zhijian said in hatred

"No, it's not me. I really don't know what's going on with the King of Tang. I am innocent, innocent," Ding Kuichu shouted.

But Zhu Zhijian no longer paid attention to him. He looked at Ding Kuichu who kept shouting and said in a cold voice:

"Ding Kuichu, you are a heinous criminal and should be put to death by slow slicing. However, His Highness, out of consideration for our old friendship, has decided to grant you a white silk scarf to commit suicide, to save your dignity. Please thank him."

Ding Kuichu's voice suddenly froze when he heard Zhu Zhijian's words. He looked at Zhu Zhijian in front of him in disbelief, and then he could no longer hide the fear in his eyes and shouted loudly:

"You can't kill me, you can't kill me"

"Now that the Qing invaders have invaded, I have 20,000 Guangdong troops under my command. If you kill me, the Guangdong troops will be in chaos. The court cannot kill me."

Ding Kuichu seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. Suddenly, a radiance appeared in his eyes. He stared closely at Zhu Zhijian outside the door.
"I am still useful, I am still useful"

"Yu Hui, tell His Highness that I am willing to cooperate with His Highness in organizing the army and hand over the Guangdong Army to His Highness. Only if I personally come forward can the court take over the Guangdong Army smoothly."

"From now on, I will follow His Highness' lead. Yuhui, tell His Highness that if you let me go, I can resign. I still have some money to contribute to the court."

Ding Kuichu held the wooden railing tightly with his hands, staring at Zhu Zhijian outside the door.
Zhu Zhijian, who was outside the door, sneered and said

"You are about to die, but you, a traitor, still refuse to repent and even want to blackmail the court!"

"Since that's the case, I'll let you die knowingly."

"All the generals of the Guangdong Army are loyal to the court. Five days ago, all the generals of the Guangdong Army have cooperated with Your Highness in the reorganization and have all been assigned to the Longxiang and Wuxiang camps. Now there are no Guangdong Army outside," Zhu Zhijian said with a cold expression.

"impossible"

Ding Kuichu was stunned when he heard this, and then his face showed disbelief. He had been managing the Guangdong Army for several years and had even personally led the Guangdong Army to suppress a rebellion. How could the Guangdong Army cooperate with the court to reorganize in just a few days?
But looking at Zhu Zhijian in front of him with a cold and unhesitating expression, he felt a surge of despair in his heart.

How could he accept such an outcome?

The Guangdong Army, his Guangdong Army, that was his last life-saving trump card, how could it be reorganized like this?
Ding Kuichu's eyes were bloodshot, and he stared at Zhu Zhijian outside the door with red eyes. Suddenly he shouted

"You lied to me. I have been in charge of the Guangdong Army for several years. All the people in the Guangdong Army are my trusted men. All the food and wages they use are paid by me. How could they betray me? How dare they betray me?"

Ding Kuichu stared fiercely at Zhu Zhijian in front of the door
Zhu Zhijian heard this, his face turned cold, and he shouted angrily
"You still don't repent at this point, Ding Kuichu, you really deserve to die."

"The Guangdong Army is the imperial army. All the money they spend is food and money from the imperial court's Guangdong Province. What does it have to do with you, Ding Kuichu?"

"You have committed atrocities and committed treason. Everyone in the world has the right to kill you. You have cut yourself off from the world. Who has ever betrayed you?"

Zhu Zhijian's voice was stern. After he finished speaking, he lost his patience, waved his hand behind him, and suddenly said
"Come here, the time has come, send him on his way," Zhu Zhijian said in a cold voice.

Wow
The cell chain opened, and two Ti riders walked into the cell holding a white silk scarf.
Since entering this place, Ding Kuichu has been thinking about opening this door all the time, but when the door is really opened, he can't help but shrink back.

"You can't kill me. I am Ding Kuichu, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty. Who dares to kill me?"

When Ding Kuichu saw the Tiqi coming in with the white silk, he was terrified and kept yelling while backing away.

The two brocade-clad knights approached the corner with grim expressions.
Ding Kuichu looked at the two approaching Ti cavalrymen, and a light flashed across his face. He seemed to have figured something out, and suddenly shouted:
"I know, I know, this must have been done by that little thief Gui Jianguo"

"He established the Southern Pacification Office and discovered the whereabouts of the King of Tang in advance, so he set up a forged letter to harm me, with the purpose of taking away my military power."

"This tyrant, I helped him ascend the throne, but he dared to murder me. He has such a vicious heart..."

Ding Kuichu's eyes were bright and blazing, as if he had suddenly figured out everything, and he kept shouting
But when Zhu Zhijian heard this, a look of fear appeared on his face. His expression suddenly changed, and he shouted loudly to the Jinyi Tiqi in front of him:

"Audacity, audacity"

"Quick, shut up this traitor!"

The two brocade-robed riders also looked very surprised. They pushed Ding Kuichu to the ground and stuffed a piece of white cloth into his mouth.
"Woooo..."

Ding Kuichu was pressed to the ground, but he continued to struggle, whimpering non-stop.

A white silk was soon hung above the cell. Ding Kuichu had a white cloth stuffed in his mouth and his hands were tied behind his back. He was carried to the front of the white silk by two Ti riders.

Ding Kuichu saw the white silk in front of him, and fear finally flashed in his eyes.
He whimpered and looked at Zhu Zhijian in front of him pleadingly.
Zhu Zhijian's face was cold. Seeing that Ding Kuichu had been brought to Bai Ling, he waved his hand.

The two cavalrymen received the order and used their strength to grab Ding Kuichu and put him on the white silk rope.

When Ding Kuichu's neck was already hanging on the white silk, the two Tiqi immediately let go.
squeak
The beam above made a slight sound, and the white cloth suddenly tightened.

Ding Kuichu kept twisting his body, trying to get off the white silk, but his hands were tied at this time, so there was no way he could break free.
Ding Kuichu's body was hanging on the white silk. He twisted for a while, but as time went by, his struggle became weaker and weaker. Finally, he hung on the white silk motionless.
In the dark cell, Ding Kuichu's body was hanging on the white silk, his eyes bulging and his face was blue and purple. He stared blankly at the dark void in front of him, as if he could still see through the darkness and see the young man on the throne wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and with a calm expression.
The first volume ends here, the next volume will start tomorrow

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(End of this chapter)