Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 440: A Good Man Checks Out a Good Man
"Sir, may I ask what position the gentleman who entered earlier holds?"

"You ask me? Who should I ask?"

Seeing that the soldier in front of him was not easy to talk to, Jin Yingyuan wanted to ask from another place, but before he could make a move, a voice came from the side.

"That's the newly appointed Yingtian prefect Lu Shaochun."

When he heard the words, he looked in the direction of the voice and saw a slightly plump middle-aged man looking at him with a smile.

"He didn't mean to oppose you. He followed His Majesty to fight all over the world. He really didn't know."

Hearing this, Jin Yingyuan felt better. After thanking the middle-aged man, he turned his attention to the small courtyard opposite.

What happened in the past two days had nothing to do with him, and a dignified envoy from a foreign vassal state would not come here to be bullied by a small pawn.

After all, these vassals are only submitting to the master of this land, and it doesn't matter who the master is.

But he finally came, and even waited outside the courtyard for two days.

In the final analysis, the master of the Ming Dynasty must be the current emperor. Anyone else's replacement will only cause the situation to change. No matter how this matter is finally resolved, His Majesty will eventually return to the palace, and this will be his only chance to get rid of the envoys and meet the emperor of the Celestial Empire.

He thought clearly that on the surface this place was crowded with people and it was impossible to keep anything secret, but people in the same city were divided into many circles. Even if the news of his request to see the emperor spread throughout Southern Zhili, his colleagues hiding in the guesthouse would probably know nothing about it.

Obviously, this is a gamble.

I bet the current emperor is different from previous emperors. I bet news will not spread so quickly. Everything is based only on his own judgment, and there is no evidence at all.

But he had no choice. If he allowed the Satsuma clan to act recklessly, the Ryukyu Kingdom would surely end in their hands for at least one or two generations.
"Lord Qian, Lord Qian is here!"

Just as Jin Yingyuan's thoughts were drifting, the middle-aged man standing beside him spoke again in a low voice. When he looked up, he saw an old man who looked like a banished immortal walking towards the gate with his head held high.

Why is he here?
Is there a turning point?

After two days, he had found out almost all the details of the matter, and he also knew that the prime minister had resigned from his post out of anger.

Qian Qianyi, who was supposed to be outside and not caring about worldly affairs, actually appeared here. So it was time for this matter to come to an end.

From his point of view, Lord Qian's handling of the matter was extremely appropriate.

He expressed his support for Your Majesty by resigning, but he never waited on Your Majesty. This showed his dissatisfaction with certain people without being gullible. No matter what the final outcome of the matter was, he, as the Prime Minister, was a role model for all officials and scholars.

Once the banner of Zhejiang literary world falls, it is possible that Mr. Qian will be the only one who can be called the leader of Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

As his mind turned, Jin Yingyuan couldn't help but sigh that the talented people of the Ming Dynasty were like carp crossing the river. If the situation was deeper, what methods would the young emperor have?

After all, we are the Celestial Empire, not like foreign barbarians like us.

After sighing in his heart, Jin Yingyuan's thoughts turned to his family again.

Ryukyu was a small country with a population smaller than that of a county in the Ming Dynasty. Because of this, when faced with the control of the Satsuma Domain, it did not even have the slightest thought of resisting.

Over the past few decades, the Satsuma Domain, which paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty under the name of Ryukyu, became increasingly powerful, but the real master was like a puppet, being clamped and unable to move.

Fortunately.
"Liu Zongzhou is lenient to himself and strict to others, but he is actually a beast in human form with a rotten inside! How can Your Majesty ignore the government and the people because of the words of such an evil person?!!"

Just as Jin Yingyuan was complaining about his own kingdom, a heart-wrenching plea was heard from the courtyard.

He had met Lord Qian before and knew that this was the voice of the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty. But when he was wondering how the current emperor would respond, Lord Qian's old but loud voice came into his ears again.

"There are witnesses and evidence! How can it be false? Your Majesty must not be deceived by Wang Mang!"

Something is wrong.

After hearing these words, Jin Yingyuan probably guessed the emperor's answer, but according to his thinking, since Liu Zongzhou, the troublemaker, had already been disgraced, the emperor should just go with the flow and accept the request of the court officials and return to the palace. However, he didn't know why he responded in this way.

Is there any backup plan?

The development of the situation ultimately exceeded his imagination. There was crying and pleading in the backyard, so much so that he, who was guarding outside, could not tell what was going on inside. But just when he was getting anxious, the noise became clearer.

"There is a will!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Now, some people with bad intentions have taken advantage of the incident in the court to frame important officials of the country. I have specially appointed Liu Zongzhou, the Minister of Rites, as an imperial envoy to go to Zhejiang to investigate the relevant matters!"

Liu Zongzhou?
Wasn't it he who forced the emperor to this point?

Why is he being sent out to investigate Zhejiang now?
Jin Yingyuan was confused by the development of the matter after hearing the words. However, he was still thinking about it when a cold snort came from his side.

"Your Majesty is just too nostalgic!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Jin Yingyuan saw that the face that originally looked like Maitreya actually had some angry look in its eyes. He then asked the other party a few more questions, and after a moment he finally understood the situation.

The family broke the law, but Liu Zongzhou was asked to investigate. Isn't this an obvious attempt to make a big deal out of a small matter?

Thinking of this, Jin Yingyuan felt his mind was in a mess. It was obvious that the development of the situation was far beyond his understanding.

According to his thinking, the emperor had experienced many battles and even killed tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers at will. It seemed that he was not a kind-hearted person.

Now that someone had made the report, regardless of whether it was true or false, they should have taken the opportunity to beat Liu Zongzhou to death with a stick, but they didn't expect that such an arrangement would be made.

I don't understand.

As his mind turned, he wanted to ask the middle-aged man a few more questions, but when he turned around, he saw that the middle-aged man had already squeezed out of the crowd and seemed to be talking to someone he knew.

"Going in?"

"Go in."

"Then why don't you go back?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man showed some embarrassment on his face. Then he turned his head to look in the direction of the yard and began to explain to the person in front of him.

"I wanted to see how His Majesty would deal with Liu Zongzhou, but I didn't expect... Hey!" The middle-aged man sighed heavily, and after half a breath, he continued: "Didn't he just transport some money and food to the front when he was in Hangzhou? How can such a small contribution be worthy of such a royal grace?!"

"Is this something you're worried about?"

"My subordinates dare not."

Although his body did not move at all, the words spoken by the middle-aged man were already somewhat panic-stricken. Seeing him like this, the person opposite him changed his tone.

"Who doesn't know that His Majesty is nostalgic? Our commander and General Xiang have wasted half their lives." At this point, the man paused, as if he felt that it was inappropriate to talk about his superiors behind their backs, and then changed his words: "Look at the Duke's Mansion. Everyone says that His Majesty insisted on the marriage because he didn't want to ruin the reputation of Miss Xu. But I think the real reason is the Second Master Xu who died in Guangzhou." "Second Master of the Duke's Mansion?"

"Well, when the Tartars besieged the city, Your Majesty was guarding the city the whole time. That night, dozens of white-armored soldiers led the attack on the city, and the Second Master of the Xu family saved you."

These things were known not only to people in Yingtian City but also to many people in the whole Nanzhili. However, when the middle-aged man heard his boss talking about it, he could only act as if he had never seen the world, and it was obvious that he was trying to please him.

"Get started!"

Just as the two were chatting outside the crowd, a loud shout came from the yard, and then the surrounding people and the soldiers who were maintaining order all knelt on the ground. However, the middle-aged man, relying on his inconspicuous place, quietly raised his head.

He had worked for the court for most of his life and had obtained a little official position, but when the emperor went to war it would take more than half a year. Even though the Jinyiwei had the duty of protecting the emperor, he had never seen the true face of the emperor.

Now that this matter was settled, he was just sent to keep an eye on Lu Shaochun's movements, and he would not miss such an opportunity.

"Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long, long live the emperor!"

As the cheers rang out, a team of armored soldiers walked out of the gate first, followed by the unparalleled warrior named Hu Yiqing leading a war horse to the outside of the gate, and then a young man wearing the standard armor of the Ming army appeared in the field of vision.

It turns out that Your Majesty never takes off his armor.

Thinking of this, all the rumors at that time suddenly emerged in the middle-aged man's mind. When he squinted his eyes to see if there was a long scar on His Majesty's face, he saw a figure rushing out from where he was originally standing.

"Escort!"

"There are assassins!"

The figure's movements were quite fast, but were the soldiers around him just for show?

The man had just taken two steps when he was pinned to the ground by several soldiers as ferocious as wolves and tigers. Then a muffled shout came from the crowd.

"I have something to report! I am not an assassin! I am not an assassin!"

Your humble servant?

Zhu Cilang felt a little surprised when he heard this. All the officials, big and small, in Yingtian City had channels to reach the emperor in roundabout ways, so there was no need for them to resort to such means.

Thinking about it this way, this must be from another place.

But what happened in this place that was worth the risk of disturbing the Holy Emperor?
With this in mind, Zhu Cilang waved his hand gently, and then the man came to within seven or eight steps of him under the restraint of the soldier.

"Who are you?"

"Your Majesty, I am Jin Yingyuan, the Minister of Ryukyu, and I have something important to report to Your Majesty."

After hearing the words, Zhu Cilang glanced at Qian Qianyi behind him. When he saw the other party nodded in confirmation, he thought for a moment and waved his hand, then went straight to the palace.

The incident happened too suddenly. It took only about ten breaths from the time Jin Yingyuan rushed out to the time Zhu Cilang rode away.

Since nothing serious happened, everyone was happy. However, the middle-aged man failed to see whether the emperor had a scar on his face. When he saw Jin Yingyuan being escorted by the soldiers and following the emperor away, he started cursing.

"You bastard! You actually surprised the emperor right under my nose! Wait and see! Watch!"

"Don't curse, he can't hear you."

As his boss's voice came, the middle-aged man withdrew his magical powers in disappointment, and when he was about to return to the yamen, his boss gently pulled him.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man was a little surprised, but there were so many people here that it was difficult to ask too many questions, so he followed his boss to the secluded place.

About half an incense stick's time later, the two entered a restaurant. After ordering a few ordinary dishes from the child, they found a table in the corner.

"Qian Hu, another errand?"

At this point, the middle-aged man had nothing to hide, so he started asking questions as soon as he sat down. However, his boss remained silent after hearing the question, as if he had some concerns.

Faced with this situation, the middle-aged man's heart sank. In the past two months, the commander had been sending spies to Jiangbei like crazy, but those spies had no response at all.

Seeing his boss like this at this time, he began to have some guesses.

I'm afraid he has done his duty for his country.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man showed some determination on his face, but before he could express his opinion, his boss's words came again.

"The higher-ups want you to go back to Hangzhou."

"Hangzhou?"

"Ah."

"Are you focusing on Liu Zongzhou's case?"

"Ah."

After getting confirmation from his superior, the middle-aged man's face darkened. He had thought that he was going to carry out a life-threatening mission, but this had never happened before. He didn't know what in Hangzhou made him so resistant.

"There really is no one left. Otherwise, the commander wouldn't know how to do it."

"Does your Majesty have a scar on his face?"

Not only did the middle-aged man interrupt his superior, but his words were also irrelevant. However, the captain did not seem to care and stayed still for three or two breaths before answering in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty's information is top secret, but you have received the emperor's grace, so we will break this rule." At this point, the captain paused, and when the middle-aged man's face showed some anxiety, he continued, "Your Majesty does have a scar on his face, and that scar was indeed left when he was guarding Hangzhou."

"Thank you, Qianhu!"

After he finished speaking, the middle-aged man drank the wine in front of him, and then the two of them fell into silence.

He was originally a member of the Hangzhou Qianhu Suo. Although the power and responsibilities of the Jinyiwei had been greatly reduced since the Chongzhen period, he was still able to earn some money. With the savings of his parents, he finally got married at the age of thirty.

Life was dull and enjoyable, but everything changed completely last year.

That day, his wife took her children out to buy food, but unexpectedly they ran into the Su family's rebellion.

War has no mercy. Su's two underage children were beaten to death by the servants, and his wife also died of her injuries after the fight.

He knew that his concern for the scar could be considered a bit morbid, but after that the Tartars attacked the city, and the scar was left on His Majesty's face forever.

This can probably be considered as the proof that the three of them once existed in this world.

Attached is the current territory map
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(End of this chapter)