Ming Dynasty: Pick up attributes from the battlefield to create the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 281 Zhu Ying: It all depends on how important I am to the Emperor.

"Have Liu Lei bring him up directly."

Zhu Ying said in a deep voice.

Not a moment.

Only the sound of footsteps was heard.

Liu Lei was seen carrying a middle-aged man whose arms and legs had been broken, and who lay there like a dead dog.

"Master Hou."

"That place really was an assassin's den. The brothers killed more than thirty well-trained assassins, each of them highly skilled."

"This is the leader."

Liu Lei threw the person he was holding onto the ground.

"Ah...ah..."

The assassin fell to the ground, letting out cries of agony.

"Let's proceed with the interrogation," Zhu Ying said to Liu Lei, not in a hurry.

“Tell me where you came from, and if you answer well, I’ll let you die a quick death.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind making you suffer some physical pain,” Liu Lei said, squatting down and addressing the assassin leader.

"Kill me! Kill me if you dare!" the assassin leader roared madly, seemingly unafraid of death.

Seeing this, Liu Lei decided not to tolerate him.

He grabbed the assassin's left arm with one hand.

I just snapped his little finger.

There was a click.

"what!"

The assassin let out a painful scream.

But Liu Lei did not stop.

Instead, he broke off another of the assassin's fingers, twisting and pinching it forcefully.

"what……"

The entire hall was filled with screams.

The people inside the hall were all seasoned veterans of many battles. Even Xu Huizu, who had followed his father to the battlefield, remained remarkably calm in the face of such torture.

and.

They even felt it was a bit too light.

Who is Zhu Ying?

That is the eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty emperor; how could he possibly be lost?

at last.

After Liu Lei broke and crushed three of his fingers, the assassin leader finally couldn't hold on any longer.

“I said… give me a quick answer, I’ll tell you.”

The leader of the assassins said painfully.

"very good."

Liu Lei nodded in satisfaction, then stood up and turned to look at Zhu Ying.

"I ask, you answer."

Zhu Ying's gaze fell on the assassin.

"Yes...yes." The assassin leader nodded repeatedly.

"What faction do you belong to?" Zhu Ying asked.

"Originally...originally belonged to the Yuan Dynasty's Scouting and Cavalry Division," the assassin leader replied immediately.

"Did Yuan Ting send you to kill me?" Zhu Ying asked.

"The Yuan Dynasty has indeed issued a kill order targeting you."

"Whoever can kill you will be made a king upon returning home," the assassin leader replied.

Hear this.

The people inside the hall couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

"Champion Marquis, it seems your head is quite valuable in the Northern Yuan, enough to be made a king." Lan Yu couldn't help but say upon hearing the reward.

"After all, I captured their emperor and most of their ministers, so the Northern Yuan naturally hates me to the bone." Zhu Ying smiled faintly, completely calm.

but.

Zhu Ying knew very well that for these scouts to risk their lives to kill him, especially outside the palace, it was definitely not just about a princely title. After all, the Northern Yuan was currently in turmoil, with various tribes vying for power. The idea of ​​being granted a princely title was probably already a pipe dream, as they all knew from within their ranks.

"Continue," Zhu Ying said, looking at the assassin.

"There's a bounty on your head in the black market."

"Worth 100,000 gold coins."

“Now that the Great Yuan has split up, even a king can’t bring anything substantial. But this 100,000 gold is different. My brothers are risking everything to assassinate you for this 100,000 gold.” The assassin leader dared not hide anything and replied immediately.

And hear this.

Everyone in the hall paled.

"Ten thousand gold coins, that's no small sum."

"Given Bei Yuan's current situation, they simply cannot afford it."

“The various tribes of the Northern Yuan are now vying for territory and people.”

"The Tatars, the Oirats, the Uriyangkhai, and some other small tribes are all annexing and fighting each other."

“If this 100,000 taels of gold were in their hands, they would never use it to kill the Marquis of Champion,” Fu Youde said.

Fu Youde was naturally very familiar with the situation of the Northern Yuan.

"One hundred thousand gold."

"Whoever receives such a generous reward will definitely live a life of ease and wealth for generations."

"It's not something an ordinary person could afford."

"Even powerful figures in the current government would find it difficult to produce."

“No matter how much Hu Weiyong embezzled in the past, it would be very difficult for him to come up with 100,000 taels of gold,” Lan Yu said.

As someone who had once formed a clique with Hu Weiyong for personal gain, Lan Yu naturally knew some of the details of Hu Weiyong's past embezzlement.

Hearing Lan Yu's words.

Everyone in the hall nodded in agreement.

"Half of this gold has already been cashed out on the black market. Whoever can bring Zhu Ying's head can get the 50,000 gold directly. The remaining half will also be cashed out," the assassin leader replied.

"Where is the black market?" Zhu Ying asked in a deep voice.

Zhu Ying was not surprised by the existence of the black market.

Even in the modern era of later times, black markets still exist, and many shady dealings take place there.

Moreover, in this day and age, information cannot be communicated instantly.

"In Songjiang Prefecture." The assassin dared not conceal the truth.

Obviously.

This black market wouldn't be located within Yingtian Prefecture. After all, the current emperor values ​​the law, and it's a strict one at that. This black market can't be openly conducted, so it naturally needs to be close to Yingtian Prefecture while also being less strictly regulated.

"very good."

Zhu Ying was very satisfied with the assassin's confession.

"There's no need to ask about the rest in too much detail."

"Hand him over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and let them interrogate him."

"Don't hand it over to the Ministry of Justice," Zhu Ying said slowly, addressing Liu Lei.

"Does the Marquis of Champion suspect that the Ministry of Justice is secretly contacting this black market?" Xu Huizu immediately understood Zhu Ying's meaning.

"It's obvious."

Zhu Ying smiled faintly, with a sense of confidence: "Since this black market has existed for so long and can store such a large amount of gold and silver, it would be impossible for it to grow so large and exist for so long if it did not have collusion with officials in the imperial court."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is different; it is directly under the command of the current emperor and has far fewer corrupt elements."

Hearing Zhu Ying's words.

Everyone in the hall nodded in agreement.

"You said you'd give me a quick and painless end."

"I've already said it."

Upon hearing that Zhu Ying intended to hand him over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the assassin roared wildly.

As a scout in the Northern Yuan, belonging to the Northern Yuan's intelligence department, how could he not know the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

"Being able to become the leader of the Northern Yuan Scouts in Yingtian Prefecture is enough to show that you wield considerable power. Using you to eliminate the scouts hidden in the Ming Dynasty is naturally a good thing," Zhu Ying said with a faint smile.

He raised his hand. "Let him live, don't let him die."

"After sending it to the palace, I reported to the Emperor that the mastermind behind my assassination attempt was the Shen family."

"Your Majesty, I request that the entire Shen family be apprehended and thoroughly interrogated, especially Shen Wansan and his sons. A separate interrogation will surely uncover the truth," Zhu Ying said to Liu Lei.

Liu Lei bowed deeply and said, "Your subordinate obeys."

immediately.

Liu Lei didn't waste any time and immediately took the assassin leader away with a few guards.

The people inside the hall looked at Zhu Ying in surprise.

"The Shen family, how dare they be so bold?" Lan Yu asked, quite surprised.

"Yes."

"The Shen family are just merchants. How dare they hire assassins to target a hereditary marquis of our imperial court?"

"Has the Shen family gone mad?" Xu Huizu was quite surprised.

Their words reveal that during Zhu Yuanzhang's era, which was also the early Ming Dynasty, the status of merchants was indeed very low, and they were not even worthy of the attention of these powerful figures.

“You are unaware of this.”

“I was engaged to Miss Shen in the past, but of course, she is not my wife now.”

"Back then, in order to curry favor with the Lü family and to kill me without anyone noticing, the Shen family tricked me into going to Da Ning and then directly incorporated me into the army."

"Later, they even sent people to assassinate my wife and the steward whom I regarded as my uncle."

"My feud with the Shen family is irreconcilable."

“Now that I have gained power in the Ming Dynasty, the Shen family is well aware that I will target them severely, so naturally they hope to get rid of me.” Zhu Ying smiled faintly, making no attempt to conceal the cause and effect of what happened back then.

Hear this.

This was the first time anyone present had learned the reason why Zhu Ying had enlisted.

"So brave."

"The Shen family is really courting death."

"It seems that this black market hiring of hitmen is indeed inextricably linked to the Shen family," Lan Yu said angrily.

"good."

"The Shen family is known as one of the wealthiest families in the Ming Dynasty. It is said that their wealth is comparable to that of a country. It is not difficult for them to come up with 100,000 taels of gold."

"In that case, it must have been the work of the Shen family."

"Please rest assured, Marquis Champion."

"I will go to the palace shortly and request Your Majesty to punish him severely."

"Good, don't wait any longer, follow the Marquis of Champion's personal guards into the palace for an audience."

"The Shen family has some nerve, actually daring to hire someone to assassinate the Marquis of Champion. If they really fail, how will the world view our Great Ming Dynasty?"

now.

Xu Huizu and his men were truly enraged.

They all stood up, filled with righteous indignation, determined to uphold justice for Zhu Ying.

In this regard.

Zhu Ying naturally did not refuse. He immediately stood up, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you all."

"Alright, let's not waste any more time."

"Go to the palace to pay homage to the Emperor."

Lan Yu, with her fiery temper, couldn't hold back any longer and strode quickly towards the outside of the hall.

After bowing to Zhu Ying, the others also left the main hall.

After they left.

"Master."

"There is currently no evidence to prove that the Shen family hired the assassins. Will the current emperor really take action against the Shen family?"

Lin Fu, who had been standing to the side, asked with some concern.

"Uncle Lin, you overestimate the Shen family and underestimate me."

"As far as the current emperor is concerned."

"Today I was assassinated not far from the palace, and the news has spread throughout Yingtian City. This has dealt a significant blow to the dignity of the court. Now the court must find out the real mastermind behind this in order to restore its authority and control over its subjects."

"Besides, the Shen family is just a merchant family, which is not respectable at all in the Ming Dynasty."

"Moreover, the national treasury has already been greatly depleted by the war. Even though the autumn harvest is approaching, it would be a great thing if we could take down the Shen family."

"Now I have given the court and the emperor a reason."

"We'll know once we get to the bottom of it, and I'm sure His Majesty will weigh the options."

"This time, using the imperial court to deal with the Shen family is a great opportunity."

"If it really works out, that would be wonderful, making the Shen family a thing of the past, never to be seen again."

"Even if it doesn't work out, I won't lose anything. Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with the Shen family in the future. It's worth it to make the Shen family suffer," Zhu Ying said with a smile, quite casually.

Obviously.

After the assassination attempt, Zhu Ying conceived the idea of ​​burying the Shen family in hell.

If we can truly use the power of the emperor to exact revenge this time, that would be a great thing.

Even if the loan doesn't go through, Zhu Ying won't suffer a loss.

I heard what Zhu Ying said.

Lin Fu nodded in agreement, then said, "If we can really wipe out the Shen family this time, that would be a great thing, and the young master can finally put his mind at ease."

"I hope the current emperor will destroy the Shen family."

Zhu Ying said with a hint of melancholy, "Now it all depends on how important I am to the Emperor."

……

The main hall of Wenyuan Pavilion!
Lan Yu, Xu Huizu, Chang Mao, Fu Youde and others gathered here.

The fact that so many people could gather here even though it's not a time for court discussions shows how important Zhu Ying is.

"emperor."

"This time, the Marquis of Champion's personal guards have destroyed the assassins' lair and captured their leader and a group of assassins, who have now all been handed over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"The person who assassinated the Marquis of Champion was a scout from the Northern Yuan."

"The Northern Yuan has already issued an order: whoever can kill the Marquis of Champion will be made a king."

"But this time, besides the generous bestowal of the title of king, there's also a bounty of 100,000 gold coins on the black market targeting the Marquis of Champion..."

Lan Yu recounted the entire story she had just heard to Zhu Yuanzhang and his son, whose faces were now grim.

"A reward of 100,000 gold coins?"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately grasped the key point, his brows furrowing.

"Return to the Emperor."

"The Marquis of Champion suspects that this matter is related to the Shen family, because the Marquis of Champion's biggest enemy is the Shen family, and they are so wealthy that they could easily offer a reward of 100,000 gold coins," Lan Yu said again, quite certain.

"I believe what the Marquis of Champion said."

"The Shen family, a mere merchant family, once framed and killed the Marquis of Champion."

"It's no surprise that the bounty is now being offered to the champion," Fu Youde said immediately.

"Yes."

"I also believe what the Marquis of Champion said. Perhaps there is no evidence at the moment to prove that the Shen family did it, but as long as it is handed over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for investigation, it will surely be found out."

"Please make the decision, Your Majesty," Xu Huizu said immediately.

Hear this.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood the cause and effect.

"The Shen family?"

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself, a cold, murderous intent already surging in his old eyes.

For the Shen family.

He had wanted to clean this up for a long time.

It wasn't because of this time, but because he had tricked his grandson into enlisting in the army, which resulted in him narrowly escaping death.

now.

His own grandson suspected that the Shen family was behind it, and although it was just a suspicion, that was enough.

Zhu Yuanzhang had already lost his grandson once, and he would absolutely not tolerate it a second time.

She would not tolerate anyone harming her grandson.

……

(End of this chapter)