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

Chapter 907 Conspiracy
Sun Chengzong never expected that this was actually a secret memorial from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The signature on the memorial was deliberately concealed by Zhu Shenzui, but the content of the memorial shocked Sun Chengzong.

After reading the memorial at a glance, Sun Chengzong felt unwell. He subconsciously looked up at Zhu Shenzhui, as if he wanted to ask whether what was said in the memorial was true or false.

Zhu Shenzhui did not say anything, but pointed to the remaining books and asked him to continue reading. Sun Chengzong swallowed hard, picked up the books and read them again. The more he read, the uglier his face became, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Deserve to kill! Deserve to kill!"

Sun Chengzong's eyes suddenly turned red and he cursed with gritted teeth. He never thought that there were people in Jiangnan who colluded with each other to do such a thing.

Some Donglin Party officials, local gentry and Jiangnan merchants actually colluded secretly with the Liaodong Jiannu and sold supplies to them on a large scale. The quantity of these supplies was truly astonishing, and their variety was also shocking.

Among them were not only common supplies such as grain, tea, and cloth, but also military supplies such as steel, arrows, armor, and even a large number of cannons and other firearms. There were dozens of different types, each with a huge amount, and many people were involved.

When Sun Chengzong was the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao, he formulated a tactical strategy for Liaodong. In order to blockade Liaodong and force the Jiannu to collapse without a fight, Sun Chengzong spent a lot of effort and finally forced Nurhaci into a desperate situation.

If Sun Chengzong had been given a few more years... No! Even in just one or two years, Nurhaci's Later Jin would have collapsed on its own, and by then it would have been no problem to deal with the Jiannu in Liaodong and completely recover Liaodong. But at that time, Sun Chengzong was forced to resign because of party disputes, and after he left Liaodong, his successors, including Yuan Chonghuan, directly changed his tactics and strategies, which led to his failure.

Sun Chengzong has always been upset about this matter and often feels sorry for it. Now that Zhu Shenzhui has taken control of the Ming Dynasty, he has rearranged the war in Liaodong. Although the Ming Dynasty still maintains a defensive position in Liaodong due to national strength and finances and has not taken the initiative to fight a decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty, from the current tactical arrangements, Zhu Shenzhui has adopted the same approach as Sun Chengzong did back then, that is, to impose a double blockade on the Jiannu militarily and economically, so as to continuously weaken the Jiannu's strength and prepare for the subsequent decisive battle.

For this reason, Sun Chengzong recognized Zhu Shenzhu very much and also had less resistance. In his view, no matter who was the emperor, as long as they were descendants of the Zhu family, the Ming Dynasty would still be the Ming Dynasty. And now it is obvious that Zhu Shenzhu, the Yongming Emperor, was much stronger than the Chongzhen Emperor. Under such an emperor, the Ming Dynasty would be revived in no time.

But he never expected that while the imperial court was implementing a blockade against the Jiannu, officials, gentry and merchants in Jiangnan were secretly engaging in such acts of treason. If these huge amounts of resources were continuously transported from Korea to Liaodong via the sea, then the blockade of the Qing Dynasty by the Ming Dynasty would become a complete joke.

While the war was going on in the front, the people in the rear were colluding with the enemy to hinder the country and even selling out the country for their own profits. Such behavior was actually unimaginable. How could Sun Chengzong not be extremely angry?
Sun Chengzong, who was devoted to the country, hated such villains the most in his life. Many state affairs were ruined by these villains, and the Ming Dynasty became like this. At this moment, he deeply felt Zhu Shenzhu's anger towards the Donglin Party and his determination to completely solve the Donglin Party problem. If he were Zhu Shenzhu, his reaction would probably be even greater than Zhu Shenzhu's. He would want to uproot the entire Donglin Party and send all these traitors to Caishikou to chop off their heads.

After taking a few deep breaths, Sun Chengzong suppressed his anger and bowed deeply to Zhu Shenzhui: "Your Majesty, I apologize for what I said just now..."

"Ah, sir, you don't have to be like that. In fact, what you said is also a mature way to govern the country. What you said just now is not wrong. Although the country has such villains, it also has loyal ministers like you. The same is true for the Donglin Party. One bad apple spoils the whole barrel. We cannot attribute the actions of some Donglin Party members to this."

Sun Chengzong was so ashamed that he could only nod his head. At the same time, Sun Chengzong once again volunteered to go to Jiangnan to handle this matter for the emperor. Since he had these conclusive evidences, none of these people could escape, especially since Sun Chengzong was a member of the Donglin Party. If he came forward to clean up the house, it would save a lot of trouble.

Zhu Shenzui was very satisfied with Sun Chengzong's attitude, but Zhu Shenzui still rejected Sun Chengzong's initiative to ask for the help. The reason was very simple. It was that Sun Chengzong was too old to travel thousands of miles to Jiangnan. Moreover, if this matter was to be done, it would be a major case. These people have extensive roots in the local area and a large network of relationships. Moreover, this case is not small. Once they know that Sun Chengzong went to Jiangnan to deal with them, they would be desperate and do anything.

For Sun Chengzong's safety, it would be better to let someone else handle this matter. But Sun Chengzong insisted and decided to participate. Faced with Sun Chengzong's insistence, Zhu Shenzhu could only take a step back and said that he could participate, but he still could not go to the south. Moreover, since he had promised Sun Chengzong not to implicate too many people and only to strike the main culprit, the Donglin Party needed Sun Chengzong to come forward to appease them. It would be best if the Donglin Party cooperated with the court to solve this problem.

As long as these main culprits were dealt with, Zhu Shenzhui agreed not to implicate other members of the Donglin Party. Even if they were not deeply involved and did not know the inside story, they could be let off. This was Zhu Shenzhui's biggest concession as an emperor.

Listening to Zhu Shenzhu's words, Sun Chengzong was deeply moved and felt that the emperor was full of sincerity. As a minister, he was grateful and naturally would not refuse. And Sun Chengzong took the initiative to propose that if he could not go to Jiangnan, at least he should send important officials who were not implicated in the Donglin Party to Jiangnan to take charge, so that this matter could be done well. If other party members were sent, it would be counterproductive if they took this opportunity to start a prison. Zhu Shenzhu agreed with this suggestion, thought about it and proposed a candidate, asking Sun Chengzong what if Qian Qianyi was responsible for this matter. Sun Chengzong thought about it and felt that Qian Qianyi was sufficient in terms of status and qualifications, but the problem was that Qian Qianyi was a typical literati, and he had a wide range of friends in Jiangnan. Once he was soft-hearted and did not do things well, it would be a bad thing.

So Qian Qianyi can be a candidate, but he cannot be the only candidate. He should be assigned a strong deputy, and the actual task should be done by his deputy. This way, it will be foolproof.

"Ma Shiying, what do you think of this man?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

"Ma Shiying? Was he the former Right Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Xuanfu?" Sun Chengzong asked after recalling the incident.

"That's him!" Zhu Shenzhui smiled and said, "He was dismissed from office after being impeached, and later went to Nanjing. He was reinstated during the Chongzhen reign and is now the Tongzhi of Fengyang. However, he also holds the title of Right Assistant Censor of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate. Moreover, although Ma Shiying is not a member of the Donglin Party, he has a good relationship with many people in the Donglin Party. Zhang Xijun met Ma Shiying in Fengyang before going to Nanjing and was deeply impressed by him. He recommended him to me."

Sun Chengzong thought about it and felt that this person was suitable. Ma Shiying's official position was neither high nor low. Although he was not a member of the Donglin Party, he was very familiar with the Donglin Party and had many friends who were also members of the Donglin Party. Moreover, although he did not have a close relationship with this person, he had met him several times in the capital. He was a smart and capable person.

Moreover, Ma Shiying had been in Jiangnan for many years and was very familiar with the situation there. In particular, Zhu Shenzhui had mentioned just now that Zhang Xijun had specifically mentioned Ma Shiying in the memorial to the emperor. Considering that the emperor had previously sent Zhang Xijun to serve as governor of Zhejiang, as well as the memorials and evidence just now, Sun Chengzong suddenly understood something. It seemed that Ma Shiying should have been the emperor's man, and had taken the initiative to defect to Zhang Xijun when he arrived in Fengyang, otherwise he would not have proposed this candidate.

With Qian Qianyi as the leader and Ma Shiying as the deputy, the staffing would not be a problem. As for whether Qian Qianyi would agree or refuse, Sun Chengzong did not care at all. He knew Qian Qianyi very well. Although Qian Qianyi was a big boss of the Donglin Party, he was more famous. He usually called himself a clean official, liked to talk a lot, and was very enthusiastic about being an official.

Moreover, although Qian Qianyi had various problems, he was from a wealthy family and was fond of fame. Apart from receiving some tributes from his subordinates, he was not keen on money and property. In addition, Qian Qianyi cherished his life very much and was a typical egoist. Others did not know this, but Sun Chengzong knew it very well.

Now that the matter is so big, once Qian Qianyi knows about it he will definitely distance himself from it immediately to avoid getting into trouble. So it is very appropriate to let Qian Qianyi come forward, and with Ma Shiying's assistance, there will be no problem at all.

Sun Chengzong agreed and said that he would persuade Qian Qianyi to handle the matter. Although he could not go to Jiangnan, he could help the emperor deal with the follow-up work in the capital. Zhu Shenzhu did not refuse this request and entrusted the matter to Sun Chengzong. Sun Chengzong was responsible for the matter in the name of the Grand Secretary and reported directly to him. As for other arrangements, they were also handed over to Sun Chengzong. All government offices fully cooperated, including the Jinyiwei, to thoroughly investigate the case.

When leaving the Qianqing Palace, Sun Chengzong discovered that the underwear on his back had been wet at some point. Today's incident had given him too much of a shock, and he was also very worried about what kind of waves this case would cause. But no matter what, he had tried his best, at least he had kept the case within a controllable range and saved most of the Donglin Party members.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Sun Chengzong looked back and secretly admired Zhu Shenzui's methods. In fact, when he was discussing the follow-up with Zhu Shenzui, he had already realized that Zhu Shenzui had never intended to take action against the entire Donglin Party, completely eradicate the Donglin Party in one fell swoop, or even prepare to set off a bloody storm in Jiangnan.

All of Zhu Shenzhui's previous performance and attitude was just a bait, or in other words, he used this opportunity to push the boat along and make Sun Chengzong, including Qian Qianyi, who was not aware of this matter, and other Donglin Party members willingly help the court to rectify its internal affairs, so as to achieve the goal of dividing and disintegrating the Donglin Party.

This is an open conspiracy, and it is also an unsolvable conspiracy.

Zhu Shenzhui's methods are superb, and his deep insight into people's hearts is admirable. In order to save the entire Donglin Party, these Donglin Party leaders must make a choice, and the Donglin Party itself can also avoid the subversion of the entire Donglin Party and the instability of the political situation. In addition, Sun Chengzong is now in charge, Qian Qianyi leads Ma Shiying to charge forward, and other parties cannot intervene. After handling this case, the court will be able to return Jiangnan to the center, and the Donglin Party's foundation in Jiangnan will be much weaker than before. There is only one real winner, the Yongming Emperor Zhu Shenzhui.

(End of this chapter)