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

Chapter 524 To Tangshan

Jiang Bin!

Jiang Bin had been with Zhu Houzhao for more than ten years and had always been a person Zhu Houzhao trusted very much.

But everyone knew that Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Bin had always had a bad relationship. Zhu Houzhao had never been good to Jiang Bin because Jiang Bin was a man of low character and greed, and he instigated Zhu Houzhao to do many evil things that bullied men and women.

Zhu Houxuan also told Zhu Houzhao about Jiang Bin's problems several times, but Zhu Houzhao did not take it to heart, did not care about his shortcomings, and always doted on Jiang Bin.

It has to be said that Jiang Bin was really good at pleasing Zhu Houzhao. He was tall and strong, brave and good at fighting, the type Zhu Houzhao admired. He was also good at observing people's expressions and eloquent. He had no bottom line in doing things to please Zhu Houzhao, so he was always entrusted with important tasks by Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houxuan really looked down on Jiang Bin. Although Jiang Bin was always respectful to him, calling him "Uncle Imperial" left and right, Zhu Houxuan was always rude to him.

In fact, this was also done intentionally by Zhu Houxun. He had a good relationship with Jiang Bin. What would Zhu Houzhao think?
Jiang Bin himself was somewhat confused in this regard. After Zhu Houxuan was named King of Wu, Jiang Bin used various means to show his goodwill to Zhu Houxuan.
Zhu Houxuan could understand Jiang Bin's desire and purpose to improve his relationship with him, but he could not accept Jiang Bin's goodwill.

After all, there are two representative figures of the Imperial Guards. One is the Chief of Staff Jiang Jiangong, who is from the royal group; the other is the Governor of the Imperial Guards Jiang Bin, who is the highest military commander besides Zhu Houzhao.

If Zhu Houxuan accepted Jiang Bin's overtures and established a good relationship with Jiang Bin, would he have the ability to threaten Zhu Houzhao? Given the relationship between Zhu Houxuan and Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao might not care about this for a while, but who can guarantee that he will not care about this forever?

So Zhu Houxuan rejected Jiang Bin's advances at that time, but Jiang Bin seemed a little confused at the time and still refused to give in. Zhu Houxuan had to reject Jiang Bin in a more drastic way by publicly humiliating him. This did stop Jiang Bin, but it also made their relationship worse.
Now Zhu Houzhao is suspected of falling into the water, and Jiang Bin is suspected of detaining Jiang Jiangong in order to block the news from Zhu Houxuan. Jiang Bin has a motive for doing so.
Could it be that Jiang Bin secretly murdered Zhu Houzhao?
Zhu Houxuan frowned tightly. From the perspective of motivation, Jiang Bin had no reason to assassinate Zhu Houzhao, because Zhu Houzhao was Jiang Bin's biggest backer. Jiang Bin was originally just an unknown frontier general, and it was all thanks to Zhu Houzhao that he had his current wealth and status.

Then why did Zhu Houzhao fall into the water?

Could it be an accident?
Zhu Houxuan immediately rejected this idea. This accident was too coincidental! Why did it happen when he was leaving the capital? Why did it happen when he was leaving the capital?
Then why did Zhu Houzhao fall into the water and his life or death is unknown?

Zhu Houxuan thought about it for a long time, but he just couldn't figure it out.
At this time, there was a knock on the hatch.
"Your Highness, it's time for dinner." The servant's voice came from outside the door.

Zhu Houxuan suddenly realized that it was already pitch dark.
He had no appetite, but still asked the servants to bring in dinner. He knew that he would consume a lot of energy in the next few days, so he had to force himself to eat a lot.
He chewed the food mechanically, his brain never stopping to think.
"Where are we?" Zhu Houxuan asked.

"We have traveled one third of the distance. The wind direction is wrong and the steam turbine has had several problems. We are not going fast. We will reach Tianjin in another day," an attendant replied hastily.

Zhu Houxuan paused, stood up, looked at the dark sea, and said, "Turn and go to Caofeidian Port further north!"

"Go to Caofeidian Port? But aren't we going to Tianjin Port?" the attendant asked in surprise. "Why? Can't we do it?" Zhu Houxuan said in a deep voice.

The attendant realized that he had been talking too much and said quickly, "Yes, sir! I'll have the captain turn around right away!"

After saying that, he hurried out. After a while, the sound of a group of people adjusting the sails came from outside.

Zhu Houxuan took a deep breath. He now attached great importance to his own safety. He was worried that someone could still detect that he had boarded the merchant ship to Tianjin. After all, the enemy this time seemed very powerful, so he couldn't help but be cautious.

He could avoid this situation by turning midway. Caofeidian Port is a subsidiary port of Tangshan Industrial Zone. It usually transports various industrial raw materials and products. The ships coming and going are all from the Royal Group. It is not as prosperous as Tianjin Port, but it is not as mixed as Tianjin Port either. It is much safer.

Zhu Houxuan also believed that in this situation, he needed to go back to Tangshan Industrial Zone first, because this was where he had the most confidence.
The merchant ship sailed hard on the Bohai Sea for another day. When the lighthouse of Caofeidian Port lit up, Zhu Houxun stepped onto solid ground wrapped in his robe.

Their arrival was very sudden, and the staff of Caofeidian Port were completely unprepared. However, they quickly prepared a carriage for Zhu Houxuan and his party. In the night, they braved the severe cold and set out on the road to Tangshan Industrial Zone.
Zhu Houxuan kept sending out attendants on the carriage to pass on messages. When he arrived at the Tangshan Industrial Zone, the office buildings in the industrial zone were brightly lit. Many ministerial-level figures from the Royal Group were already waiting there. They were all very surprised by Zhu Houxuan's sudden arrival.

Zhu Houxuan didn't waste any words and directly told the story. Everyone at the meeting was stunned by the news, and many people didn't know what to do.
At this time, Zhu Houxuan played the role of a stabilizing force. His calmness gradually calmed down many ministers.
"Your Highness! What should we do now?" asked Wu Liangshan, Minister of the General Logistics Department.

All the ministers attending the meeting looked at Zhu Houxuan.

"It's enough for you to know about this matter. Don't spread it outside for now. In addition, all departments and units should raise the alert level to the highest level." Zhu Houxuan said in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!" everyone said hurriedly.

Then Zhu Houxuan looked at Wu Liangshan and asked, "How many weapons are there in the General Logistics Department's warehouse now?"

"Your Highness, the General Logistics Department now has 61,325 Zhengde Type 16 rifles and 13,472 Zhengde Type 16 cavalry lances. The only thing is that there are fewer artillery pieces. There are only more than 100 red-coated cannons of various calibers." Wu Liangshan said, listing them all.

Even Zhu Houxuan was surprised and couldn't help asking, "How come the General Logistics Department has so many weapons?"

(End of this chapter)