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

Chapter 806: Resettlement in Beijing
Apart from this reason, Zhu Shenzui had another concern, which was Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons.

Zhu Shenzui did not take Zhang Xianzhong himself seriously, but his four adopted sons were not simple people. Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Sun Kewang and Ai Nengqi were the mainstays of the anti-Qing resistance in history. Li Dingguo, in particular, was very famous and was called loyal and righteous by later generations. He was the last pillar of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

After Li Dingguo's death, the Southern Ming Dynasty fell. Many people in the world missed Li Dingguo, and they built temples and wrote books for him. Later, he became a god believed in by the people until later generations.

It would be fine to kill Zhang Xianzhong, but once Zhang Xianzhong was killed, his four adopted sons would certainly no longer be used by the court. Among these four people, Li Dingguo was the most famous, and although the other three had various character problems, they were all loyal and righteous people, and occupied an important place in history.

It was a pity to let such a talent go, and for this reason, Zhu Shenzhui thought about it and decided to let Zhang Xianzhong go, and keep him to recruit these four adopted sons to serve the country. But letting Zhang Xianzhong go did not mean that Zhu Shenzhui agreed with Sun Chuanting's plan to deal with Zhang Xianzhong. For example, according to Sun Chuanting's memorial, he planned to give Zhang Xianzhong a post as the commander of a garrison and find a place to house him and his subordinates.

This placement seemed fine on the surface, but in fact it was extremely risky. If Zhang Xianzhong still had rebellious intentions and his subordinates were not separated, who could guarantee that Zhang Xianzhong would not rebel against the court in the future? Therefore, Zhu Shenzhu directly rejected this proposal. After much deliberation, he still felt that it would be more appropriate to bring Zhang Xianzhong to the capital for placement.

"Come here, call for the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhou Anmin!" Zhu Shenzhui said.

Du Xun, who was serving, immediately went out to call Zhou Anmin, and soon Zhou Anmin hurried over.

"Your Majesty the Emperor..." Zhou Anmin arrived at the side hall and when he saw Zhu Shenzhui, he stepped forward to pay his respects.

Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and asked him to sit down, and Zhou Anmin immediately sat down below.

"I'm here to talk to you about something. Please take a look at this memorial first." Zhu Shenzhui didn't beat around the bush and directly handed him the memorial from Sun Chuanting.

Zhou Anmin took it and finished reading it quickly, with a look of joy on his face: "Congratulations to the Regent! The surrender of Zhang Xianzhong's army is a good thing. Now that the issue of Zhang Xianzhong's army has been resolved, the remaining large bandits are only Luo Rucai and Li Zicheng. Now Chen Qiyu, Lu Xiangsheng, Qin Liangyu, and Sun Chuanting's armies have taken the initiative, and the tactics of spreading a net on all sides are coming to an end. If nothing unexpected happens, Luo Rucai and Li Zicheng will be cornered and completely wiped out within half a year at most. Once these two groups are wiped out, the world will be peaceful."

Zhu Shenzhu nodded. What Zhou Anmin said was true. The suppression of the bandits had entered its final stage. Unless something unexpected happened, Luo Rucai and Li Zicheng's troops would not be able to escape. Their defeat was inevitable. However, he did not come to Zhou Anmin to discuss this matter, but to ask him about the arrangement for Zhang Xianzhong. He immediately asked Zhou Anmin about his opinion on Zhang Xianzhong.

When Zhou Anmin heard Zhu Shenzhui's question, he immediately understood what he meant. He knew that Zhu Shenzhui was worried about Zhang Xianzhong. Indeed, as the leader of the bandits and the strongest leader of the rebel army, how could Zhang Xianzhong be an ordinary person? And judging from Sun Chuanting's memorial, it was not appropriate to place Zhang Xianzhong in the garrison.

"I think Zhang Xianzhong should not be settled in the local area, and his troops should definitely not be organized into a garrison," Zhou Anmin replied.

"Oh, why not?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back.

Zhou Anmin said: "Zhang Xianzhong was born a bandit, and he still has the spirit of a wild man. Moreover, he surrendered this time because he was forced to do so, and he did not surrender to the court on his own initiative. If it were not for the victory of Lu Xiangsheng and then Qin Liangyu, how could Zhang Xianzhong surrender to Gao Jie?"

"With Zhang Xianzhong's ability, he would never take this step if he had a lot of troops under his command. Although he has surrendered to the imperial court, who can guarantee that Zhang Xianzhong is not doing this as a temporary measure? Moreover, Zhang Xianzhong was originally a frontier soldier. He became a bandit and did such a big thing. Now he is the commander of the garrison. Can Zhang Xianzhong be willing to do this?"

"If my prediction is correct, Zhang Xianzhong's move is nothing more than to save his life. No one can predict whether there will be any unusual moves in the future. Moreover, it is inappropriate not to split up his troops and settle them in the garrisons. Isn't this equivalent to giving Zhang Xianzhong an opportunity? Once a person like him seizes the opportunity, there will be endless troubles!"

At this point, Zhou Anmin paused and said tentatively: "I think Zhang Xianzhong cannot be kept. How about I send someone to Henan to secretly capture Zhang Xianzhong..."

Zhou Anmin raised his hand and made a downward motion, while looking at Zhu Shenzhui. In Zhou Anmin's opinion, Zhang Xianzhong was such an erratic villain that there were too many uncertainties, so it was better to kill him to avoid future troubles. If Zhu Shenzhui did not want to kill Zhang Xianzhong openly to avoid the court breaking its promise, it would be better for his Jinyiwei to do it. Jinyiwei had many talents, and assassination, poisoning and even other means emerged in an endless stream. As long as the arrangements were made properly and the opportunity was found, it would not be a problem to kill Zhang Xianzhong. As long as Zhang Xianzhong died, this hidden danger would be gone.

Although he was tempted, Zhu Shenzhui still shook his head and said, "Killing Zhang Xianzhong is easy, but there are still hidden dangers after killing him."

"Regent..."

"I understand what you mean. It's nothing more than to make sure that no one can find any evidence against him and deal with him secretly." Zhu Shenzhui interrupted Zhou Anmin before he could finish his sentence. "Although this is feasible, once Zhang Xianzhong is dead, no matter how careful we are, we can't avoid the gossip of the people in the world, not to mention Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates. They surrendered to the court, and then died of an inexplicable illness. Even a fool can figure out how Zhang Xianzhong died. What's the difference between this and dealing with him in an official order?"

"Where is the face of the court? How will the people of the world view me? And if this matter backfires, who can guarantee that there won't be other accidents?"

"This..." Zhou Anmin was stunned. He hadn't thought about these things. He just felt that there would be no problem if the Jinyiwei took action. Since Zhang Xianzhong was untrustworthy, it would be best to get rid of him. As for the big trouble, could it be bigger than Zhang Xianzhong being alive? And even if there were rumors, so what? As long as the Jinyiwei didn't admit it, could anyone have the courage to find fault with the Jinyiwei?
However, it seems that Zhu Shenzhui really does not want to kill Zhang Xianzhong, which makes Zhou Anmin a little confused. Does Zhu Shenzhui still want to use Zhang Xianzhong? No! Absolutely not. Zhou Anmin knows Zhu Shenzhui too well. Zhu Shenzhui is not a person who thinks before and after doing things, otherwise he would not have sat on the position of regent. He does not want to kill Zhang Xianzhong not because of Zhang Xianzhong himself, maybe there are other reasons, but he just can't think of them.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Anmin changed his words and said, "Since we cannot kill Zhang Xianzhong, I think we cannot let Zhang Xianzhong go to the garrison, let alone let him continue to control his troops. Otherwise, how about summoning Zhang Xianzhong to Beijing to settle him down?"

"Go to Beijing? What will be done if he goes to Beijing? Zhang Xianzhong is not an ordinary person. I'm afraid he won't be willing to go to Beijing if we only give him a mansion and gold and silver."

Zhou Anmin thought about it and a light bulb suddenly lit up in his head. He said, "I think if we let Zhang Xianzhong come to the capital, we can assign him a position in the Police Department. The Police Department is now under the jurisdiction of the Jinyiwei. The position of the regent can be appointed without the approval of the court. In addition, if possible, we can give Zhang Xianzhong a noble title to appease him and grant him gold and silver in his mansion. If he really wants to surrender to the court, he will naturally agree. After he arrives in the capital, he will be in the hands of the regent. No matter how capable he is, it will be useless. As long as he is loyal to the court, what's wrong with giving him a lifetime of wealth and honor?"

"If Zhang Xianzhong had ulterior motives and pretended to surrender to the court and refused to enter the capital, then the court could use this as an excuse to punish Zhang Xianzhong. It would not be too late to deal with him now. Whether it is a written decree or my own action, people in the world will not accuse the court of going back on its word, and let the regent lose its credibility."

As soon as Zhou Anmin finished speaking, a smile appeared on Zhu Shenzhui's face.

Zhou Anmin's words touched his heart. If he followed Zhou Anmin's advice, it would be the best choice. If Zhang Xianzhong agreed to come to Beijing, what would happen if he was given a noble title and a job? It was just a small matter of an imperial decree. When Zhang Xianzhong arrived in the capital, he would never be able to stir up trouble again. By then, whether he was flat or round would be up to him.

But once Zhang Xianzhong refuses to enter the capital, his true purpose can be determined, and the court's actions can be impeccable. This will not only solve Zhang Xianzhong's problem, but also split his subordinates. More importantly, his four adopted sons can also be used by the court.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui felt that Zhou Anmin's method was good, and the position of Police Department was the best for Zhang Xianzhong. The Police Department was a newly established department under the jurisdiction of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Moreover, this department was like a soldier but not a soldier. It was mainly responsible for local security, similar to the previous yamen runners. Even if Zhang Xianzhong was given the position of commander of the Police Department, it would not matter. In addition, since he was under his nose, even if Zhang Xianzhong was Monkey King, he could not escape from his palm.

As for the nobility, it goes without saying that it is not a hereditary title, so what if it is given as an earl? Apart from a nice name and a salary, there are no other rights. This is not like other noble titles.

Zhu Shenzui decided to do just that. After discussion, he issued an edict to Zhang Xianzhong, promoting him to the exiled title of Dingbian Bo and granting him a house in the capital. In addition, he was given the post of commander-in-chief of the Southern Police Department of the capital. The police department of the capital was divided into four commanders, east, west, south and north, which were equivalent to four branches in later generations. The commander-in-chief was equivalent to the chief of the branch. This official position was of the fourth rank. Although the rank was not too high, the power was not small. However, each commander-in-chief had a deputy commander and positions of thousand households and hundred households, which were all controlled by the Jinyiwei. Zhang Xianzhong only had the title of commander-in-chief. With just a word from Zhou Anmin, Zhang Xianzhong, the commander-in-chief, was actually just a decoration.

In addition to this, Zhang Xianzhong was given an honorary title of Jinyiwei Zhenfushi, and the privilege of passing on the title of Jinyiwei Baihu to his son. Of course, the latter was just a saying, as Zhang Xianzhong had no son at all, so even if he could pass on the title to his son, there was no one to pass on. However, this reward was impeccable in every aspect.

(End of this chapter)