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

Chapter 613 Worry
Zhang Xijun has not yet found out who spread the news and how it spread, but he immediately felt something was wrong when he heard about it.

It would be fine for others, but Zhang Xijun is Zhu Shenzhu's man. As an important chess piece placed by Zhu Shenzhu in the capital, what Zhang Xijun knows is not something ordinary people can know.

Although this rumor was not completely accurate, it was nearly half true. In particular, the spearhead was directly pointed at Hengtong Trading Company and the royal family of Shanxi, which made Zhang Xijun break out in a sweat instantly.

Zhang Xijun did not dare to neglect it. He knew that although this rumor had just appeared, it would not take long for it to reach the court and even the ears of Emperor Chongzhen. Even if Zhang Xijun tried to stop it in the capital, he could not stop it. There were so many people talking, and it was impossible to seal everyone's mouths, right? If this was the result, the court and Emperor Chongzhen would definitely react. If we judged it from the worst case scenario, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Zhang Xijun wrote a secret letter without hesitation and sent it to Shanxi, which soon reached Kang Youfu's hands. Kang Youfu was also shocked when he saw the contents of the secret letter, and at the same time he also felt the source of danger.

Because Zhu Shencui was not in Daming, Kang Youfu could not report in time and could only make temporary arrangements. Kang Youfu told Zhu Shencui in the letter that he had made arrangements to prevent any accidents and ordered the gold and silver materials of the branches of Hengtong Commercial Bank to be secretly transferred and stored in a safe place.

In addition, important figures of Hengtong, including the core shopkeepers, temporarily left their posts and were arranged to hide in a place chosen by Kang Youfu. Ordinary business was handed over to the second and third shopkeepers. As for other aspects, a series of arrangements were also made. Although these arrangements could not ensure the loss of Hengtong after an accident, they could at least guarantee the foundation of Hengtong.

In addition to these, Kang Youfu also made other arrangements and arrangements to prevent the court from tracing back to Zhu Shencui during the investigation, and cut off all possible channels of contact with Zhu Shencui. After the disposal, Kang Youfu himself found a reason to hide temporarily and no longer show up, in case the court would take action first. As long as he did not fall into the hands of the court, the court would not find Zhu Shencui for a while. Moreover, Kang Youfu told Zhu Shencui in the letter that even if he was really desperate, he would never betray Zhu Shencui. He, Kang Youfu, was mentally prepared to protect Zhu Shencui even if he died.

Looking at the date on the letter, it has been nearly half a month since Li Kang Youfu sent the letter to Zhu Shenzhui. At the moment, no one knows what the current situation in the Ming Dynasty is, let alone what the reaction of Emperor Chongzhen or the Ming court will be.

The occurrence of this incident was so unexpected that Zhu Shenzhui was not mentally prepared at all. He never thought that his past would be exposed at this time, and in such a way.

Hengtong Commercial Bank is very important to Zhu Shenzhui, because Hengtong is not only Zhu Shenzhui's money bag, but also the foundation of his planning. It can be said that without Hengtong, there would be no Zhu Shenzhui today. Once Hengtong is gone, it will not only be a loss of financial resources, but also affect everything in Ming Dynasty including Mongolia.

In addition, there are his other arrangements in the Ming Dynasty, including his wife Xu Jingqiu, two children, sister-in-law Zhang and uncle Wang Rong, bases and personnel such as Luzhouwei, Yangtoushan and Zhaowuling, as well as his brother-in-law Zhou Anmin and his family in Taiyuan.

That's not all. There are also Xu Xiancheng in Shandong, Sun Chuanting in Shaanxi and others. These people are not only relatives of Zhu Shenzhui, but also have close or distant connections with him. Their ascension to power and their current power are also due to Zhu Shenzhui's secret manipulation. Once Zhu Shenzhui is found responsible, they will all be exposed one by one and no one will be able to escape.

As a member of the royal family, Zhu Shenzhui knew the royal family too well. Since the Jingnan Rebellion, the Ming royal family had been the most stringent in defending against the royal family. No royal family in any dynasty had ever treated the royal family in this way. They even confined all the royal family members like pigs.

If it were just ordinary people rebelling, or local uprisings, the royal family might not have been too worried, because in the eyes of the emperor these rebellions could be suppressed, and no matter how big they were, they would not affect the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

In order to pacify the local area, the emperor could even allow the rebellious party to be appeased to calm the situation. This situation had happened before, just like how Gao Jie was important after he defected to the court.

This was not only the case in the northwest and central plains, but also in the south. In Fujian, in the first year of Chongzhen, the imperial court recruited the famous pirate leader Zheng Zhilong, and appointed him as a coastal defense guerrilla, and appointed him as one of the "Five Tiger Guerrillas Generals."

Soon after, because Zheng Zhilong was stationed in the Min Sea and made great contributions in naval battles against Japanese pirates and the Dutch, the imperial court directly promoted him to general. He transformed from a pirate leader into a senior official of the imperial court and commanded a large number of troops. Zheng Zhilong's experience can only be said to be a legend.

When dealing with traitors, the royal family can be generous and use similar methods to deal with them, but if it involves the royal family, it is completely different. You must know that the current emperor is from the line of Zhu Di, and everyone in the world knows how Zhu Di came to power. It is precisely for this reason that the royal family is particularly concerned about the threat that may pose to the imperial power, and the treatment and suppression are more cruel, and they will not use the same methods as ordinary traitors.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui felt overwhelmed. The sudden bad news made him worried and anxious.

"How could this happen?" At this time, Tana had finished reading the letters and was also shocked.

Zhu Shenzhui had calmed down and was thinking about how to deal with the situation. He shook his head and said, "This matter is extremely strange. If I'm not mistaken, it may be related to Liaodong." "Liaodong? Are you talking about Huang Taiji?"

Zhu Shenzui nodded seriously. He had been thinking about this question while he was astonished. After thinking about it, this possibility was the greatest, because in the battle on the grassland, the Tengger tribe not only defeated the Dorgon brothers, but also showed their strongest side on the battlefield because of this battle.

Especially the new troops and artillery on the battlefield, which were simply not available to ordinary Mongolian tribes. Moreover, the cavalry equipment of the Tenger tribe was also quite elite, no less than that of the Eight Banners soldiers. You must know that the Mongolians simply did not have the production capacity. An ordinary Mongolian family would treat even an iron pot as a treasure, let alone such sophisticated weapons and troops?
The Dorgon brothers were not fools, and Huang Taiji was a man of great talent and strategy. It was natural for them to judge some problems from these situations.

There was no other way at that time because of the war. Zhu Shenzhui actually had concerns before using the new army and artillery. These troops and weapons were used in the battle against the Mongols, but it was different in the battle against the Jiannu, because the Jiannu were not Mongols, and Huang Taiji was not the leader of the Mongolian tribe. These troops and weapons, which should not have appeared on the battlefield, would be difficult to conceal once they were seen by the Jiannu.

But at that time, Zhu Shencui had no choice, because he had no confidence in stopping the Dorgon brothers by relying on the ordinary cavalry of the Tenger tribe and the cavalry of the Tumed tribe. The elite soldiers of the Eight Banners were not vegetarians. Wasn't that how Lin Danhan was defeated? Moreover, the Dorgon brothers also mobilized the coalition forces composed of the Chahar and Khorchin tribes, and put on a posture to directly capture the Tumed. How could Zhu Shencui be careless?
Under such circumstances, he had to use his trump card even if he was exposed. Only by defeating the enemy could he save the Tenger tribe and the current situation in Tumed. If he lost this battle, the consequences would be disastrous. The Tenger tribe would have no choice but to retreat westward, and the entire Tumed would fall into the hands of the Jiannu.

After the war, Zhu Shenzhu was always worried about this matter, but as time went by, he did not see any movement from the Jiannu side, and even when he returned to the Ming Dynasty, he did not hear any relevant news. As time went by, Zhu Shenzhu's heart gradually relaxed. He thought that this matter might have been fooled away, and Huang Taiji was careless and did not carefully inquire about the situation at that time.

But who would have thought that a year had passed since the last war, and these rumors suddenly spread from the capital, and even Zhang Xijun didn't know where these rumors came from. So after reading the letter, Zhu Shenzhui was shocked and thought of Huang Taiji at the same time. He felt that this matter might be related to Liaodong, and it was most likely the rumors spread from Liaodong.

"I think your guess is correct. This incident must be the work of Huang Taiji, otherwise it would not have appeared at this time." Tana agreed with Zhu Shenzhui's judgment, and at the same time asked Zhu Shenzhui worriedly what to do next?
Once Hengtong collapsed and the money bag was gone, not only would Zhu Shenzhui's plan in the Ming Dynasty collapse, but it would also affect the grassland. In addition, more importantly, if the case was traced back to Zhu Shenzhui, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Tana felt that the best way now was to stay in the grassland and not go back, and to send people to bring all of Zhu Shenzhui's family members in Daming over as soon as possible, and even Hengtong's chief manager Kang Youfu and some related personnel to the grassland as soon as possible.

As long as they reach the grassland, they will have nothing to fear. No matter how powerful the Ming Dynasty is, it cannot control the grassland. Relying on the strength of the Tengger tribe, not to mention the current Tumed, even going east to Chahar is no problem, and everyone will be safe.

Losing Hengtong and Daming's arrangements is unavoidable. Choosing the lesser of two evils is the most appropriate response. If the arrangements are not made quickly, it will be too late when the imperial court launches the attack. By then, not only will the preparations for many years be wasted, but even lives may be in danger.

"No!" Zhu Shenzhu rejected it outright and said sternly, "There is no time to lose. I have to go back to Daming immediately!"

"Go back to Ming Dynasty? Are you crazy? Wouldn't that be walking into a trap?" Tana opened her eyes wide in horror.

Zhu Shenzhui shook his head and said seriously, "It's not too late to go back now. If I guessed correctly, even Huang Taiji, who released the news, didn't figure out who was behind Hengtong. He might have vaguely known that there was a shadow of the royal family, but he definitely wouldn't have guessed it was me, otherwise the news wouldn't be so ambiguous."

"Besides, the imperial court's reaction would not be that fast. Right now, there are rebellions everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. Even if Emperor Chongzhen knew about this and was ready to investigate, it would not be enough to just mobilize the East Factory or the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He would have to mobilize troops to Shanxi."

"But don't forget who controls the Jinyiwei in Shanxi. If there is any disturbance, my brother-in-law will definitely react. But there is no news from Taiyuan right now, which proves that things are not at their worst."

"If I go back now, there is still a glimmer of hope. Even if things get worse, I can still fight. If I don't go back and watch the situation deteriorate, I will be too passive. Not only will my years of hard work be destroyed, but the Ming Dynasty will also be completely hopeless. So I must go back, and I have to go back immediately!"

Looking at Zhu Shenzui's determined expression, Tana was speechless and showed a bitter smile and deep worry for a long time...

(End of this chapter)