I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 523 Return to Beijing
"After Senior Brother Chen Hong received the news from Zhou Shan, which was the fifth day after His Majesty did not show up, he immediately activated the emergency plan and sent me to Dalian to inform His Highness," said Mu Huanmin.

"Is this all the information you know?" Zhu Houxuan asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Mu Huanmin replied.

"How many days did it take you to get from the capital to Dalian?" Zhu Houxuan asked.

"I came here by train. The weather was bad and the train stopped and started frequently. The journey that should have taken two days ended up taking five," said Mu Huanmin.

Mu Huanmin was riding a special train, which had only one locomotive and one carriage, and could reach a speed of 22 kilometers per hour. If it ran for 24 hours, it could cover the 1700-mile distance in two days.
"Your mission is accomplished, go and have a good rest!" Zhu Houxuan patted Mu Huanmin on the shoulder and said.

"Yes, sir!" Mu Huanmin saluted and left the room.

At this moment, someone reported that another envoy had arrived from the capital. Zhu Houxuan soon found out that this was an envoy who set out in the same group as Mu Huanmin. He was there to serve as a backup for Mu Huanmin in case something happened to him and the information could not be transmitted.

According to the emergency plan, Mu Huanmin's group of envoys will have at least 6 people, two of whom will take the train, two will go through the post station, and the remaining two will probably go by water.
Chen Hong indeed raised the alert level to the highest level in the capital, and he lived up to Zhu Houxuan's expectations of him.
"Prepare the vehicles, prepare to return to the capital!" Zhu Houxuan ordered calmly, although his heart was not at peace, he didn't know what was waiting for him in the capital.
The attendants around him immediately became busy.
Just after a quarter of an hour, an attendant pushed the door open and said, "Your Highness, the special train is ready! You can leave at any time!"

Zhu Houxuan woke up from his deep thoughts. He did not move, but said, "Let the servants come in!"

Following Zhu Houxuan's order, twenty attendants came in. Zhu Houxuan's eyes swept over them and finally stopped on one person. "You stay, the others go out."

After the others left, Zhu Houxuan pointed to a set of clothes and said to the attendant: "Zhan Chuanzhong, I order you to put on this set of clothes, then get on the carriage to the station and take my special train."

That set of clothes is Zhu Houxuan's clothes
Zhan Chuanzhong's height and figure are very similar to Zhu Houxun. In such a cold day, he wears thick clothes that cover his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes exposed. As long as he doesn't speak, others can't tell whether he is Zhu Houxun or not.

A hint of fanaticism flashed in Zhan Chuanzhong's eyes. He straightened his chest and said firmly: "Yes, sir! I will obey all your orders unconditionally!" Zhan Chuanzhong was not stupid. He had realized Zhu Houxuan's intention of doing this, but he still did not hesitate!

Zhu Houxuan looked at Zhan Chuanzhong's somewhat immature face and sighed deeply in his heart. He knew that doing so would put Zhan Chuanzhong and the train crew at great risk, but he had to do it because this was no longer the time to be soft-hearted.
Zhu Houzhao has already met with an accident, so he can only be cautious now. It is impossible for him to take a special train back to Beijing. Although it is faster and more comfortable, the train route is relatively fixed and it is easy to be ambushed, so he will not take a special train back to Beijing.

But the information he has at hand is still too little, so he needs someone to take the risk to test the unknown enemy, to test his power and see how far he can project his power.
Then Zhu Houxuan could use these to judge the strength of the enemy.
Perhaps testing in this way would cost Zhan Chuanzhong and his men their lives, but Zhu Houxuan knew that he was responsible for the lives of more people, and he was clear about which was more important.
He watched from upstairs as Zhan Chuanzhong, who was wrapped up tightly, got on a carriage with a group of people and headed towards the train station.
Zhu Houxuan then put on his clothes and said to the attendants who stayed behind, "Let's go to the dock!"

Zhu Houxuan had now taken off his dragon robe and put on a very ordinary piece of clothing. He also asked his attendants to take off their uniforms and put on more ordinary clothes. They boarded several ordinary decorated carriages and headed towards the dock.
When they arrived at the dock, a merchant ship heading to Tianjin Port was waiting for them. The wind and snow had subsided a little by then.
After they boarded the ship, they were sent to a room near the boiler. This merchant ship was powered by steam and sails, so the room near the boiler would be warmer.
Sailing in this weather is a very tiring job, and the crew has reserved the best places for the new passengers.

Zhu Houxuan did not refuse and stayed alone in the cabin. The winter sun shone through the glass onto the upper half of his face, while the lower half of his face was shrouded in darkness.
Zhu Houxuan is in a very uneasy mood now. He is using the existing intelligence to analyze who is behind this!

He has now realized how unfavorable the situation in the capital is to him.
It was really because his power structure in the capital was too weird. In the faction of the Royal Group, apart from him, no one else had enough political influence.
This is first of all because the Royal Group is inherently deficient. The Royal Group is essentially Zhu Houzhao's personal royal industry. The ministers of the Royal Group can call the shots in many places and can mobilize more resources than many Beijing officials, but that is only in the economic aspect. Politically, they have no political identity and naturally have no political influence.
The Royal Group controlled Shuntian Prefecture, the capital district and northern Zhili, and Zhan Bin was promoted to the second rank. However, Zhan Bin, who was born as a juren, was a thorn in the eyes of many people for being able to climb to this level, so he could not mix with other officials at all.
Zhu Houxuan served as regent for more than ten years, but he failed to establish his own faction among the court officials.

First, his identity is inherently insufficient;
Second, he had to be mindful of the impact, fearing that forming cliques among the court officials would make Zhu Houzhao think too much;

The third reason is Zhu Houzhao’s own. Many people think that Zhu Houzhao is not destined to be an emperor. He joined you just to get the credit of being a dragon. But you work hard for state affairs every day, as if you want to be ahead of Zhu Houzhao. You can’t even be an emperor. How can I get back what I invested in you? So why should I invest in you?
It is precisely because of these reasons that although Zhu Houxuan promoted a group of officials who were keen on reform, he could let these officials do things, but no one was willing to let them be completely loyal to him.

So Zhu Houxuan found that when he left Beijing and Zhu Houzhao's life and death were unknown, no one in the Royal Group could take charge of the situation.

Chen Hong was not able to take charge of the overall situation. Chen Hong had been Zhu Houxuan's secretary for more than ten years. He was very prestigious in the Royal Group and could stabilize the Royal Group. However, he had no influence in the court and no one cared about him.
Now is the time when Zhu Houxuan is at his weakest.
Zhu Houxuan thought quickly, who in the capital could block the news of Zhu Houzhao falling into the water? And who could detain Ningguogong Jiang Jiangong?
And why would he block the news? What good would it do him to block the news?

Zhu Houxuan quickly thought of a person——Duke Anguo Jiang Bin
(End of this chapter)