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

Chapter 633: The Nine Clans Should Be Punished
Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei were imprisoned for a whole night. During that night, apart from two soldiers who came in and fed them some water and food, no one else came, and no one came to take them out.

When the soldiers came in, Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei intended to ask about the other party's origins, and also shouted that they wanted to see the other party's superiors, but the two soldiers ignored them completely, just fed them the food and left, ignoring their anxious questions and pretending not to know.

It was getting dark and the woodshed was silent. Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei were tied up so tightly that they couldn't break free. They couldn't see anyone and didn't know who had them. In addition, after today's accident, they were both shocked and tired. They fell asleep without knowing when.

When they woke up, everything was still the same. There was a faint light outside. A night had passed, but Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei were worried about what would happen next.

After about an hour, there was finally movement outside the door, followed by the sound of the door opening. The two soldiers who had fed them water and food yesterday walked in, along with a man who looked like a leading officer.

"Who are you? I am not afraid of being killed or cut into pieces, so why are you humiliating me like this? I want to see your superior! I want to see your superior!"

Seeing people coming, Yang Wenyue shouted that although Cao Minglei was not as tough as Yang Wenyue, he also said that he wanted to see the other side's superior, and said that even if the two armies were fighting, this should not be done. What's more, one of them was a general and the other was a governor, both of them were officials appointed by the court. What was his intention to lock them up for a whole day and ignore them?

The leader looked at the disheveled Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei, and smelled a strange smell in the air in the woodshed, and immediately frowned.

After all, they have been detained here for a whole day since they were captured yesterday. Someone arranged for Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei's food and drink, but no one took their defecation and urination into consideration. After being detained for a whole day, they could still hold back their large bowel movements, but they couldn't hold back their small ones. The two of them couldn't hold it back in the early morning, and there was a puddle of water on their bodies. No wonder they smelled so bad.

"Sir Yang, General Cao, I'm sorry for wronging you." The leader said to them with a fist. Seeing that the man didn't seem angry, but rather very polite, Yang Wenyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately asked: "Who are you? Why did you attack Baoding? Why did you detain me and General Cao here? Where is your superior?"

"Haha, Sir Yang, don't worry. I'm here for this very reason." The man replied with a smile, and then said to the soldier beside him, "Why are you still standing there? Why don't you untie the ropes quickly and help the two lords go out to change clothes?"

"Yes!" the soldier responded, then stepped forward to untie the ropes that bound Yang Wenyue and Cao Minglei, and then led them out of the woodshed.

When they got outside, Yang Wenyue realized that the place where he was detained was his own governor's office. After the two were taken out, they went straight to a nearby wing. On the way there, Yang Wenyue could see clearly that there was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps in the entire governor's office. These soldiers were wearing armor and holding weapons, and they looked extremely elite. Although Cao Minglei was a military general among the two and had good martial arts, not to mention that he had no weapons with his bare hands, even if he was given a knife, in such a situation, Cao Minglei would not be able to rush out even if he had three heads and six arms.

Arriving at the wing room, the two separated, one went to the left and the other to the right, changing clothes and washing up. After a while, Yang Wenyue finished washing up and changed into clean clothes. Although he still looked haggard, he looked much better than before.

"Sir Yang, please follow me..." At this time, an officer said to him and made a gesture of invitation.

Yang Wenyue looked towards where Cao Minglei went: "Where is General Cao? Where is he?"

"General Cao has other arrangements. Please come in, Lord Yang." The other party said with a smile.

Yang Wenyue's eyes swept over the other person and he snorted coldly. He knew that he was probably going to meet the real boss. As the governor of Baoding, Yang Wenyue was not afraid of death. Moreover, he was extremely curious about who the person who conquered Baoding was and what his purpose was. He had long wanted to meet him.

With a wave of his sleeves, Yang Wenyue asked the other party to lead the way. Seeing his attitude, the other party was not annoyed. He smiled and took Yang Wenyue out of the wing room. The other party was in front and Yang Wenyue was behind. There were two soldiers escorting Yang Wenyue behind him. The group walked through the corridor to the backyard. This was Yang Wenyue's yamen, and the backyard was also where Yang Wenyue lived on weekdays. Naturally, he was very familiar with it.

After a while, they came to a place where Yang Wenyue's study was located. The person leading the way asked Yang Wenyue to wait for a moment, knocked on the door and a man came out. The man looked at Yang Wenyue, nodded slightly and said, "Master Yang, come in."

Yang Wenyue walked in without any fear.

When they got inside, there were three people in the study. Yang Wenyue recognized the one standing on the left at a glance. Wasn't this the general who captured him? Wang Jinwu grinned at Yang Wenyue when he saw him, revealing his white teeth, which made Yang Wenyue's heart suddenly jump. On the other side of Wang Jinwu stood Wang Hai, who looked much kinder and nodded slightly to Yang Wenyue.

The two of them were standing, and the person sitting was Zhu Shencui. At this time, Zhu Shencui was sitting on the chair where Yang Wenyue usually sat. In front of him were the official documents and some letters that Yang Wenyue usually handled. Some of them were open, and some were casually placed aside. It seemed that Zhu Shencui had already read them all.

"Master Yang? Sit down!"

Hearing the noise, Zhu Shenzhui looked up at Yang Wenyue who had entered the room, sized him up, and waved his hand. As soon as he finished speaking, the person who led him in brought a chair. Yang Wenyue looked at the other person and sat down without hesitation, then looked back at Zhu Shenzhui with a sharp look in his eyes.

Just as Yang Wenyue was about to ask about the other party's identity and origin, Zhu Shenzhu spoke first.

"Master Yang was a Jinshi in the 47th year of the Wanli reign, right?"

Yang Wenyue was stunned, not understanding why the other party would ask this question. Zhu Shenzhui continued, "The 47th year of Wanli, the imperial examination was not easy. I remember Yuan Chonghuan was also a Jinshi in this year. By the way, Sun Chuanting, who is now suppressing bandits in Shaanxi, was also a Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli. In addition, there are Ma Shiying, Li Shiyuan, Zhang Jimeng, Yang Wenchang, etc."

Zhu Shenzhui's words made Yang Wenyue slightly stunned. At the same time, he was also surprised that Zhu Shenzhui could name these people who took the same exam in the 47th year of Wanli.

Although it was no secret that the same class of Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli was a success, it was something that most people would not know about, especially a soldier. In the eyes of civil officials, soldiers were all soldiers, and even illiterate people without culture. Even if some soldiers knew how to read, they were just ordinary at best.

In the Ming Dynasty, civil officials were respected and military officials were despised. In the eyes of civil officials, no matter how high the rank of a military officer was, he was still not as good as an ordinary civil official, let alone a civil official who was a Jinshi.

The man in front of him looked young, probably in his early thirties, but he seemed to have an extraordinary bearing. As soon as he opened his mouth, he named several people who had taken the imperial examinations in the same year as him. Although these people were not ranked high in the imperial examinations, they were not simple in the same subject. Including himself, they were all famous.

Among them, there is no need to talk about Yuan Chonghuan. He was once the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao and the number one person in the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, his so-called five-year plan to pacify Liao was shattered, and coupled with the invasion of the Jiannu, he was executed by Emperor Chongzhen.

Although Sun Chuanting had a difficult career at the beginning, he is now the governor and is in charge of the suppression of bandits in Shaanxi. He did a good job in Shaanxi. Many bandits were eliminated by Sun Chuanting, and the situation in Shaanxi improved greatly. The court praised him very much. As for Ma Shiying, he was not an ordinary person. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, he was the right assistant censor and governor of Xuanfu. Later, because he was impeached by the eunuchs in charge, Ma Shiying was demoted to Nanjing. Because of his good relationship with Wang Xigun, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhou Yanru, the cabinet minister, he was reinstated as the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War and the right assistant censor, and the governor of Lu, Feng and other military affairs, with a status equivalent to Yang Wenyue.

The rest are not listed one by one, but they are all outstanding people. It can be seen that there are many famous people among the Jinshi in the 47th year of Wanli, including Yang Wenyue. However, if you don't ask carefully, it is difficult for outsiders to know about this matter. How can the person asking the question know who this person is? What is his origin?

Just as Yang Wenyue was secretly guessing the other party's identity, Zhu Shenzhui said, "There are many talented people among the Jinshi candidates in the 47th year of Wanli, including Lord Yang. Many of them are both civil and military, and can be called capable officials. Lord Yang was promoted to the Military Department in the 5th year of Tianqi, and was repeatedly transferred to the Rites Department. In the 2nd year of Chongzhen, he was appointed as the Right Counselor of Jiangxi, and served as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huguang and Guangxi, the Left and Right Provincial Governors of Yunnan and Shanxi, and the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of Deng and Lai. Last year, he was promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor-General of Baoding..."

Zhu Shenzhu spoke eloquently and described Yang Wenyue's experience clearly, which shocked Yang Wenyue. If he had not intentionally investigated, how could someone say that he knew his experience so clearly? And where did he know all this?

"Who are you? How do you know all this?" Yang Wenyue couldn't help but ask.

Zhu Shenzhui smiled and did not answer Yang Wenyue's question. Instead, he asked, "Lord Yang has been an official for many years. He has served not only in the central government but also in the local areas. He is now the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor of Baoding. I wonder what Lord Yang thinks of the current situation in the Ming Dynasty? What do you think?"

Yang Wenyue's face darkened. The other party was so arrogant that he actually asked such a question?
He immediately said: "The Holy Emperor is in power, and there are many virtuous and upright people in the court. Although there are some hidden dangers, they are not a cause for concern. It will take time to pacify the four directions and create a prosperous era again. We, the ministers, will do our best for the country, live up to the grace of the Holy Emperor, and be worthy of the people..."

"Haha! Hahaha!" Before Yang Wenyue could finish his words, Zhu Shenzui couldn't help but burst into laughter, shaking his head as he laughed, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Who are you? Why are you laughing so arrogantly? Don't you know the relationship between a ruler and his subjects?" Yang Wenyue was furious and stood up and started yelling.

When the people nearby saw Yang Wenyue stand up, they reached out and gently pressed his shoulder. Yang Wenyue couldn't bear the force and fell back into his chair. He still stared at Zhu Shenzui angrily, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

"The boy Chongzhen is stubborn, suspicious, ambitious, arrogant, impatient and suspicious. He has neither the bearing of a monarch nor the means of an emperor. How can he be called a saintly emperor? It's ridiculous. If he were a saintly emperor, Emperor Yang of Sui would be an excellent ruler! Yes, to be honest, Emperor Yang of Sui was indeed an excellent ruler. He opened the Grand Canal, conquered Goryeo, promoted the imperial examination system, eliminated the aristocratic families... Which of his actions would not be a great contribution to future generations? It's just that he was too impatient. In order to suppress the aristocratic families, he provoked a rebellion and eventually died in the second generation. If he had taken his time, he might have succeeded. What a pity, what a pity..."

"You... you are so arrogant! You are so arrogant and bold to criticize your king and father like this. You are a traitor and your entire clan should be killed!" Yang Wenyue's eyes were almost spitting fire. How could there be such a bold person in this world? This was the first time he had seen such a bold person.

(End of this chapter)