Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 226 Storm
Capital.

Zhang Xijun handed a letter to the visitor. After receiving the letter, the visitor said nothing, bowed and turned away.

This person was Zhou Anmin's contact person in the capital, responsible for delivering messages to Zhang Xijun. Zhang Xijun had never asked about this person's identity, but he had a vague guess. Moreover, since he arrived in the capital, this person had been in contact with him. They rarely met on weekdays, and Zhang Xijun would only inform him in the agreed way when necessary.

Just like now, Zhang Xijun posted a meeting message in the store in the afternoon, and when the agreed time arrived that evening, this person came quietly and knocked on Zhang Xijun's door.

When the two met, Zhang Xijun didn't say anything and just gave the letter to the other party. After the other party left and disappeared in the darkness, Zhang Xijun withdrew his gaze and gently closed the door.

After being in the capital for some time, Zhang Xijun and Wei Liangqing's relationship became better and better, and they had already become very good friends.

Wei Liangqing proposed several times to find a job for Zhang Xijun. He also said that since Zhang Xijun had a part-time job as an Imperial Guard, he might as well join the Northern Pacification Office directly. With his uncle Wei Zhongxian's status and position, and his other good brother Tian Ergeng also planning to join the Imperial Guard at Wei Zhongxian's instruction, once Zhang Xijun entered the Northern Pacification Office, it would not be a problem for him to become a thousand households.

As for why it was difficult for Tian Ergeng to join the Jinyiwei, it was not because he did not have the qualifications, but because his qualifications were too high. This was because his rank was not low. As a deputy governor, he was a military officer of the second rank, while the commander of the Jinyiwei was only of the third rank. From this point of view, unless Tian Ergeng directly served as the commander, it would be impossible for him to serve as the deputy commander or even the deputy commander.

The current Jinyiwei commander is still Luo Sigong. Since Wei Zhongxian brought down Wang An and then kicked out Wei Chao, Wei Zhongxian has become the first person in the inner court. Luo Sigong is a smart man. When he saw that the situation was not good, he immediately turned the ship around and ran to the front of Emperor Tianqi to express his loyalty. He wiped his tears and said that he was blinded by lard and was instigated to do wrong things. He begged the emperor to forgive him.

In the face of Luo Sigong's initiative to surrender, Emperor Tianqi gave him a warning but did not remove him from his position as the commander of the Jinyiwei. After all, Luo Sigong had been in charge of the Jinyiwei for many years, and Emperor Wanli had always trusted Luo Sigong, so the Jinyiwei had always done a good job in his hands.

After resolving the issues in the palace, the next step was to target the civil service group in the court. Emperor Tianqi did not want to take action against Luo Sigong at this time. After all, the Jinyiwei organization was too special and needed stability. Once Luo Sigong left, Emperor Tianqi would not have a good candidate to replace him for the time being. In addition, Luo Sigong had been in the Jinyiwei for many years and everyone in the Jinyiwei was his people. If his departure caused the Jinyiwei department to malfunction, this would not be the result that Emperor Tianqi wanted to see.

Another is to contain Wei Zhongxian, who was a man of the Emperor Tianqi, and whose rise was also tacitly approved and supported by the Emperor Tianqi. But Wei Zhongxian's rise was too fast, which had attracted the attention of the Donglin Party. Now the Donglin Party has begun to take measures against Wei Zhongxian, intending to suppress the threat posed by Wei Zhongxian to the Donglin Party.

In this situation, Wei Zhongxian did not have the ability to directly fight against the Donglin Party. If he made a better commander of the Jinyiwei, the Donglin Party would inevitably attack Wei Zhongxian more. Considering the importance of Wei Zhongxian as a chess piece, Emperor Tianqi decided to keep Luo Sigong for the time being. After all, Luo Sigong had a good relationship with the civil officials, and his control of the Jinyiwei could paralyze the Donglin Party. Anyway, Luo Sigong had already bowed to him and expressed his support for the emperor. In this case, why bother to replace him in a hurry?
There are many advantages to keeping Luo Sigong. Not only can it paralyze the Donglin Party, but it can also use Luo Sigong to remind Wei Zhongxian. Although the Tianqi Emperor is young, he is not weak in political scheming. Moreover, after being the emperor for more than a year, he has become quite experienced in the use of tactics.

Zhang Xijun still refused Wei Liangqing's kindness. Zhang Xijun saw clearly in the capital that the court in the capital was a vortex. This vortex was not only large but also very deep. Once you enter it, you will have no choice. Zhang Xijun did not want to fall into this vortex and become a pawn. It would be safer to stand outside the vortex and stay out of it.

Besides, he has a very good relationship with Wei Liangqing now, so what's the point of having an official position? It's better to be a commoner and be friends with Wei Liangqing. Once he really joins the Jinyiwei, the identities of both parties will change, and Zhang Xijun will not be able to be as calm and indifferent as he is now.

After sending the contact away, Zhang Xijun frowned slightly and sat thinking. Beside him, the candlelight flickered slightly, casting his shadow on the wall.

The content of today's letter is written in cipher text. The so-called cipher text is a secret writing method agreed upon by him and Zhu Shenzhui before coming to the capital. This method is very simple. It is to use a book as a code book and select the page number and line of a certain word in the book for secret writing.

After receiving the letter, write the contents of the book in secret and then compose sentences to obtain the real information in the letter.

This method is not rare in later generations. Anyone who has watched a few episodes of spy TV dramas can figure it out. But it is different in this era. Such letters are kept confidential. Even if someone takes them away, no one can understand what is written inside. "Sorry..." Zhang Xijun frowned and sighed. He now hopes that this letter can be delivered to Zhu Shenzhu as soon as possible. The content of this letter is not simple and is related to Zhu Shenzhu. Zhang Xijun just learned this news this morning. After learning it, he was very calm on the surface, but he was extremely alert in his heart.

Just this morning at Wei Liangqing's residence, Zhang Xijun accidentally learned a piece of news. The news came from Shanxi. The censor Liu Ce submitted a memorial to the emperor, impeaching Xu Shaoji, the governor of Shanxi. He not only impeached Xu Shaoji for occupying a position without doing anything, but also mentioned the situation of the Shanxi royal family.

It specifically pointed out that some royal family members in Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province, had secretly colluded with the Mongols to engage in smuggling trade between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia. This behavior not only violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty court, but also violated the Ming Dynasty's management system for royal family members. The court was required to thoroughly investigate the matter.

After hearing this, Zhang Xijun was shocked. Xu Shaoji's problem had nothing to do with him, but the mention of the Shanxi royal family, especially the mention of the royal family smuggling problem in Pingyang City, was different. Wasn't this memorial about Zhu Shenzhui's case? Liu Ce almost wrote Zhu Shenzhui's name directly on it. Others didn't know, but how could Zhang Xijun not know? Shanxi, Pingyang, royal family, smuggling... if not Zhu Shenzhui, who else?

The affairs of the royal family have always been of no importance, especially in the Ming Dynasty, which is different from other dynasties. You have to know what happened in the Jingnan Campaign and how Emperor Yongle Zhu Di took over the throne from his nephew. After Yongle, the court was extremely strict in guarding the royal family. Once Emperor Tianqi ordered a strict investigation, it would be a big deal.

This matter is not a small matter now. Once Zhu Shenzhu is found out, everything will be over. Zhang Xijun hurried back home in a hurry, hung up the contact code in the store, and wrote a letter to Pingyang as soon as possible. After the letter was sent, Zhang Xijun was relieved and thought about it carefully. However, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was strange.

Of course Zhang Xijun knew about Zhu Shenzhui's situation, not to mention that he was the second shopkeeper of Hengtong Commercial Bank before. Zhu Shenzhui was the real owner of Hengtong Commercial Bank, but not many people knew about this. Except for a few key figures in Hengtong Commercial Bank, outsiders did not know about it.

Even when he went to the company, Zhu Shenzhui rarely showed up in front of outsiders, and never revealed his true identity. Even if the company's clerks had seen him, they only knew that he was "Sixth Master". In addition, Zhu Shenzhui always disguised himself every time he went, so outsiders had never seen his true face.

In addition, Zhu Shenzhui was always careful in his actions. He would choose people he trusted when he went to the grassland to do business, and these people would not reveal his identity. As for Pingyang City, even fewer people knew that he was the owner of Hengtong. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui had not bought any property for himself until now. The family of four still lived in the old house, and even did the chores at home by themselves.

Under such circumstances, how did an imperial censor in Beijing know about the situation in Shanxi? And how did he directly point out that the royal family in Pingyang City had colluded with the Mongols to engage in smuggling? Zhang Xijun couldn't figure it out, and couldn't figure out how this news reached Liu Ce's ears.

No matter what, this was a big deal, Zhang Xijun did not dare to delay and sent the letter overnight. He was now Zhu Shenzhui's man, and if Zhu Shenzhui got into trouble, he would not be in a good situation either. Moreover, Zhang Xijun always admired Zhu Shenzhui in his heart. In his opinion, Zhu Shenzhui was the one who could really do big things. Only Zhu Shenzhui in the Ming Dynasty could allow Zhang Xijun to truly realize his revenge. Without Zhu Shenzhui, all his efforts over the years would have gone to waste.

The letter was sent out in the hope of giving Zhu Shenzhui a warning before the court could react, so that he could deal with the Pingyang issue as soon as possible and never give the court any evidence against him.

As for the capital, Zhang Xijun has also made up his mind. He will go to Wei Liangqing tomorrow to inquire about the news from Wei Liangqing. If possible, it would be best to borrow the power of Wei Zhongxian from Wei Liangqing to suppress the matter. As long as the matter can be suppressed, the risk can be overcome.

The problem was how to do it. Zhang Xijun was not worried about Wei Liangqing. With his understanding of Wei Liangqing, Wei Liangqing would definitely help him as long as he asked. But it was different for Wei Zhongxian. Although Wei Zhongxian was there, and Zhou Anmin and Wang Rong also got in touch with Wei Zhongxian, it was a royal family issue, so Wei Zhongxian must not be aware of anything.

After all, it was just an exchange of interests with Wei Zhongxian. Even if the relationship was good, the two sides were not the same kind of people. Wei Zhongxian was a dog beside the Tianqi Emperor. His real master was the Tianqi Emperor. The issue of the royal family was related to the imperial power. Wei Zhongxian could not hide the truth behind his master for a little benefit. So Zhang Xijun had to think carefully about what to do next.

(End of this chapter)