Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 130 Are the White Lotus Cult bandits our own people?

"Welcome all beings back to their pure, empty homeland~"

Zhao Quan's limbs were extremely frenzied. In his madness, he even went so far as to strip off the clothes of a female believer and cut off a believer's finger with a knife.

To the fanatical believers, these actions were all "gifts" and "rewards".

As the "ritual" progressed, the boys and girls drew closer to the campfire, their eyes revealing a hint of fear. However, under the influence of opium, their bodies numbly followed the adults' movements.

These young boys and girls are usually the believers' own flesh and blood.

Instead of showing any pity, the believers pushed the child toward the fire.

"Hurry, hurry! Jump in and you'll find ultimate bliss!"

Zhao Quan waved his magical weapon, urging the believers to move. They approached step by step, trying to squeeze all the hesitant boys and girls into the bonfire.

In an instant, some of the boys and girls who had come to their senses felt the scorching heat of the flames and cried out in pain.

The more this happens, the more fanatical the believers become.

"You came crying, you leave crying, but you'll be reborn in the Pure Land! Go then!"

Zhao Quan's eyes were filled with madness as he stepped forward to grab a child and throw him into the bonfire.

Just then, a clear, ethereal sound suddenly came from the woods nearby.

"You who offer young boys and girls as sacrifices, disregarding human life, deserve to enter the deepest hell!"

"Who goes there?!"

Zhao Quan was startled and abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

Under the influence of opium, he became confused and disoriented, even losing his sense of direction.

"stop!"

He grabbed a handful of burning charcoal, and the pain brought him back to some clarity.

He immediately signaled some of the believers with knives in the room to come closer, requesting permission to go and investigate.

But after taking only two steps, he heard a voice from another source.

"You who offer up young boys and girls are not only disregarding human life, but deserve to go to the deepest hell!"

The voice, with its melody, sounded like celestial chants, and these people's senses were heightened, especially under the influence of hallucinations.

For a moment, the believers who heard this were somewhat flustered.

"You who offer up young boys and girls are not only disregarding human life, but deserve to go to the deepest hell!"

The sound kept changing, like a demonic chant echoing in every corner.

someone shouted.

"The parents who never gave birth to me have unleashed divine punishment!"

Someone else shouted.

"It's Maitreya Buddha descending to earth!"

Others said.

"The officers and soldiers are here!"

This sentence sounds more like it was shouted from the forest, but the believers, who are already in a state of hallucination, cannot tell the difference.

"Run! Run!"

In an instant, these people scattered like headless flies.

"Stop! Don't run!"

Zhao Quan let out hoarse shouts, but to no avail, because he himself was also somewhat confused and was even about to faint.

"Who on earth is behind this?!"

He couldn't help but feel flustered, his mind racing, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

In a daze, amidst the chaotic crowd, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and instantly lost consciousness.

"During the Jiajing era, there was a leader of the White Lotus sect named Zhao Quan who lured tens of thousands of Han Chinese from Yanbei to migrate to the Hetao region to farm for the Mongols. They submitted to Altan Khan of the Mongols, becoming a major threat to our Great Ming Dynasty."

In the Northern Garrison Command's office, Zhang Jianxiu slammed his fist on the table in anger, then exhaled.

"Fortunately, after the Longqing Peace Treaty, Anda Khan sent Zhao Quan back. Zhao Quan was later executed by slow slicing. Now that we have captured Zhao Quan, it is probably a great achievement!"

After saying this, Zhang Jianxiu beamed with joy and let out a hearty laugh.

I thought my trip to Yuquan Mountain tonight would be fruitless, but I never expected to capture a White Lotus Sect bandit leader named Zhao Quan. At least I can finally hold my head high in front of my father, Zhang Juzheng.

You should know that he personally knocked Zhao Quan unconscious and carried him back.

In contrast to his fourth brother Zhang Jianxiu, Zhang Yunxiu sat to one side of the main hall of the Northern Garrison Command, his face showing an unpredictable expression.

Zhao has been caught, but what's next?

The White Lotus Sect's mischief is like an iceberg hidden beneath the surface of the sea; the more you dig, the deeper it gets.

Pulling out a radish brings out the mud; is Xu Xuemo the only one behind the White Lotus Sect?
Was Zhang Siwei involved? Were the gentry in the southeast region involved?
So the White Lotus rebels who had been causing havoc on the people were actually actually upright and honest gentry from the southeast.
These people colluded with Japanese pirates abroad and White Lotus rebels at home, disregarding the laws and regulations of the court and treating the safety of ordinary people as bargaining chips in their court struggles.
As we saw tonight, in order to control their followers, they used hallucinogens like opium and even sacrificed young boys and girls.

This heinous act has truly crossed his bottom line.

"I wonder how Zhao Quan is doing? With the methods of our Northern Garrison, he'll have no choice but to confess!" Zhang Jianxiu grinned maliciously, clearly not intending to let the man go. But just as he stood up to go check, a Jinyiwei captain rushed over to report, whispering something in Zhang Jianxiu's ear.

Zhang Jianxiu's smile gradually faded, and finally he became as serious as an iron plate, speaking in a stiff voice.

"Understood, but don't spread this around yet."

Zhang Yunxiu sensed something was wrong and asked, "You found out my identity?"

"I got the answer." Zhang Jianxiu looked annoyed. "But I regret asking. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have rushed to bring him to the Northern Garrison."

He sighed heavily and said.

"This man is Ling Xuanying, the son of Ling Yunyi, the Minister of War! We're in trouble!"

!!!

Zhang Yunxiu's eyes widened, his heart filled with countless shocks. So all these officials in the court were corrupt? Not a single one of them was clean?
But as he thought about it, he suddenly understood why Zhang Jianxiu was so frustrated.

This Ling Yunyi is a member of the "Zhang Party"!

But then Zhang Jianxiu covered his head and said...

"It's all over, it's all over! The flood has washed away the Dragon King Temple! This Ling Yunyi has always been on good terms with Father. He was a fellow Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) with Father and had contributed a lot to the new policies in the past!"

How did this investigation end up involving me?

What's it like to investigate a case thoroughly, only to find that the investigation has been conducted on one of your own people?
Zhang Jianxiu wished he could twist the head off the young master of the Ling family, but he couldn't. The man was currently in the Northern Garrison Prison, and if he killed him to silence him in front of everyone, wouldn't that further confirm the relationship between the "Zhang Party" and the White Lotus Sect?

No matter how high Zhang Juzheng's authority was, or how much the emperor valued Zhang Yunxiu, anyone who became involved with the White Lotus Sect was guilty of treason.

All efforts will vanish in an instant.

"The older they get, the more cunning they become! The older they get, the more cunning they become! These people are not satisfied with harming the country and the people, they still have to resort to these conspiracies and tricks, it is truly hateful!"

At the Beizhenfusi Yamen, the brothers Zhang Jianxiu and Zhang Yunxiu stayed up until late at night. Zhang Jianxiu paced back and forth in the main hall, looking extremely anxious.

Zhang Yunxiu, however, did not seem so surprised. If they had really captured the White Lotus Sect leader, the fact that things had gone so smoothly would have been truly surprising.

To calm his older brother down, Zhang Yunxiu asked casually.

"Speaking of which, isn't the Minister of War Liang Menglong? How come it's Ling Yunyi?"

He had this question just now. Even if he had information on this topic, historical records are never that detailed. Many details are simply not mentioned in historical books.

"Who says there can only be one Minister of War?"

Zhang Jianxiu then stopped and looked at his younger brother with great confusion.

Why does my younger brother sometimes seem so clever and sometimes so dull?

Being able to show off a little made him feel a bit better, he explained.

"Ling Yunyi was in charge of the Grand Canal and the waterways, while Liang Menglong was in charge of military affairs with the additional title of Minister of War. The two had different responsibilities, and both were Ministers of War."

However, overall, it was Ling Yunyi who managed all the affairs of the Ministry of War.

There were actually two Ministers of War. Zhang Yunxiu was stunned for a moment. Faced with the complicated official title system of the Ming Dynasty, his mind went blank.

I'd rather not think about these things.

After a while, Zhang Jianxiu became anxious again, staring with his bull-like eyes.

"I think we should stop investigating and collecting evidence. These 'pure' people are very shrewd and will definitely push us to our deaths!"

I, Zhang Jianxiu, am a rough man and couldn't think of any plan, so I took a sharp knife, went to the residence of Zhang Siwei and Xu Xuemo, and killed those two scoundrels! That's it! Everything's settled!

Zhang Yunxiu glanced at the other person speechlessly and said.

"You're quite decisive, killing them all and then dying yourself, leaving your father and me to clean up your mess."

“I, Zhang Jianxiu, will take full responsibility for my actions. If I kill them, the Qingliu faction will be leaderless. Will they still oppose us?”

Zhang Yunxiu sighed and said, "Do you really think there are only Zhang Siwei and Xu Xuemo? If that's the case, then that would be good."

"Who else?"

Zhang Jianxiu's mind went blank for a moment.

Just then, a report came from outside the door from the captain.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Minister Ling has arrived at the yamen."

Zhang Jianxiu immediately ordered, "Quickly invite him in. We'll go directly to the prison to see Ling Xuanying."

It was already past midnight. Fortunately, the captains left in the Northern Garrison Command were mostly Zhang Jianxiu's confidants.

Otherwise, this news would probably have spread to the residences of the officials in the court overnight.

In the cold midnight wind, an elderly man with white hair, wearing a black cloak, and with a look of anxiety on his face, entered the hall.

Even though he was old, Ling Yunyi, the Minister of War, was still very healthy. He had military experience.

But right now, the gloom on his brow wouldn't go away.

As he entered the lobby, he glanced at Zhang Yunxiu, then fixed his gaze on Zhang Jianxiu, and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Zhang Qianshi! Is my son inside the yamen?"

With a sigh, Zhang Jianxiu said dejectedly, "Minister Ling, please come with me."

　Note 1: Xu Boling, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his book "Yin Jing Jun": "There is a medicine produced in overseas countries and the Western Regions called 'He Fu Rong', which is also known as opium in China... It is poisonous and is mainly used to enhance male sexual function, strengthen essence and replenish vital energy."

　　There will be another chapter at 8 o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)