Please call me the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty

The Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youjian sat calmly and composedly behind the desk.

He was waiting for news from Zhou Ling'er.

He wondered what method Zhou Ling'er might have to gather evidence of Cui Chengxiu's treason.

at this time,

Daishan led a woman in from outside.

Zhu Youjian glanced at it and was also taken aback.

He wondered how Daishan had managed to intrude into his palace.

What's going on?

Didn't any of his guards see it?

Moreover, isn't the woman he's holding hands with his sister-in-law, Consort Wang Liang?

Zhu Youjian suddenly stood up and pointed at Daishan:

"What are you doing here? Why are you holding your sister-in-law's hand? Let go of her hand!"

To everyone's surprise, Dai Shan let out a silvery laugh: "Your Majesty, look closely, who exactly am I?"

Then Dai Shan tore off a piece of dough from his face.

Zhu Youjian then realized that the person was not Dai Shan at all, but Zhou Ling'er.

It turns out that Zhou Ling'er's disguise skills are quite advanced.

She dressed up as Dai Shan, put on a mask, and actually fooled Cui Chengxiu.

Zhu Youjian laughed, "So it's you! Tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

So Zhou Ling'er recounted her visit to Cui Chengxiu.

Then, she took the agreement signed by Cui Chengxiu and Daishan out of her bosom and handed it to Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian opened the book and was so angry that his face turned ashen and the veins on his forehead bulged.

He used a punching bag as an excuse: "You, Cui Chengxiu, I made you Minister of War and Left Censor-in-Chief, and also Junior Tutor, and you're still not satisfied? You want to be a king."

Zhu Youjian thought to himself, no wonder. Last time, Daishan led 1 cavalry to attack Shanhaiguan. It turns out they had planned this all along.

Cui Chengxiu is trying to sell out Shanhaiguan.

Zhu Youjian understood that Shanhaiguan was of paramount importance to the Ming Dynasty. As long as Shanhaiguan was in the hands of the Ming court, the Later Jin army could only operate outside the pass.

The area inside the pass is relatively safe, but once Shanhaiguan is lost, the situation will be very different, and there will be a risk of national subjugation and extinction.

Zhu Youjian looked at Consort Wang Liang with concern and asked, "Sister-in-law, did Cui Chengxiu do anything to you?"

Consort Wang shook her head: "No, not at all."

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but feel curious and asked, "Even Cui Chengxiu couldn't tell that Daishan was an imposter?"

So, how did you know she wasn't Dai Shan?

"There's nothing strange about that."

Firstly, Zhou Ling'er has fair and tender skin, no Adam's apple, and smooth and soft hands. How could Dai Shan possibly look like that?

Secondly, she exuded a youthful fragrance, while Dai Shan was a grown man; how could he possibly have that scent?

Zhu Youjian laughed when he heard this, thinking to himself that he hadn't expected his sister-in-law to be so clever.

Consort Wang continued, "Recently, Wei Zhongxian visited Cui Chengxiu's residence."

I overheard them talking outside.

"Oh, what did they all say?"

Wei Zhongxian said he only hated himself, that he wasn't a normal man.

Otherwise, he would declare himself emperor and then take all of the late emperor's concubines for himself, including Empress Zhang and me.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ling'er's face flushed red with anger, and she cursed, "That filthy heart of hers is quite wild."

Wei Zhongxian said that he suffered all kinds of humiliation when he entered the palace.

He was originally a normal man, but in order to enter the palace, he endured humiliation and suffered castration.

Therefore,

He wanted revenge on the Ming Dynasty and would turn the Ming Dynasty upside down.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian thought to himself that Wei Zhongxian and Zhao Gao were somewhat similar.

It is said that Zhao Gao was a native of the State of Zhao. He castrated himself to enter Xianyang in order to take revenge on the State of Qin.

Wei Zhongxian was good at flattery and was very popular with Madam Ke.

In fact, the relationship between Madam Ke and Zhu Youxiao was also ambiguous.

However, Zhu Youxiao considered this matter to be something that could not be made public.

In order to win over Wei Zhongxian, Zhu Youxiao bestowed Madam Ke upon Wei Zhongxian, intending for them to become a couple who would share meals together.

Madam Ke often spoke well of Wei Zhongxian in front of Zhu Youxiao.

Therefore, Wei Zhongxian rose rapidly in rank and his power grew ever greater.

Zhou Ling'er angrily said, "Wei Zhongxian is a pervert. He can no longer be called a human being; he's even worse than a pig or a dog."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ling'er's almond-shaped eyes widened and her willow-leaf eyebrows shot up: "That old bastard Wei Zhongxian is truly vicious."

Hearing Consort Wang's words reminded Zhu Youjian of Sun Ce from back then.

Sun Ce encountered an enemy outside, who shot him in the face with an arrow.

Soon after, Sun Ce died.

Hunting is indeed a very risky activity.

How did Sima Yi seize power from Cao Wei back then?

It was all because Cao Shuang loved hunting and went out hunting, leaving all the affairs of the palace to Sima Yi.

Sima Yi seized the opportunity to launch a coup and take control of the military.

Zhou Ling'er suggested, "Your Majesty, this agreement is currently in our hands. Let's hand it over to Liang Tianqi of the Dali Temple."

"Let him arrest and try Choi Seong-soo."

Consort Wang Liang, however, advised, "Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate."

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Zhu Youjian asked.

Firstly,

It will probably not be so easy to bring down Cui Chengxiu with just this one letter;

Secondly, didn't I hear you captured Tian Ergeng?

"yes!"

"Then let's kill Tian Ergeng first, and then deal with Cui Chengxiu, defeating them one by one."

Otherwise, they could easily join forces.

A cornered dog will jump over the wall; it's capable of anything.

We can use this time to gather more evidence and facts regarding the crimes committed by Wei Zhongxian and Cui Chengxiu.

Logically speaking, Cui Chengxiu was a traitor.

Insulting the Empress's sister-in-law—these two crimes alone are enough to exterminate his entire family.

However, as Consort Wang Liang pointed out, Zhu Youjian also felt that the evidence was somewhat insufficient.

Furthermore, Cui Chengxiu did nothing to Wang Liangfei, and there was no criminal act involved.

Moreover, if this matter gets out, it won't be good for the Empress's sister-in-law's reputation.

Zhu Youjian naturally understood the implication of Consort Wang Liang's words.

"Alright, let's focus our efforts on dealing with Tian Ergeng first."

morning.

Dali Temple.

Liang Tianqi held a public hearing for the case.

Seated on the left are three women: Zhou Ling'er, Zhang Yan, and Wang Liangfei.

Seated on the right are Wei Zhongxian, Cui Chengxiu, Sun Yunhe, and others.

There were hundreds of yamen runners lined up on both sides.

Those yamen runners were all tall and strong, carefully selected, with knives at their waists and canes in their hands, expressionless, and they looked quite intimidating.

Thousands of people gathered outside the Dali Temple to watch.

Some people were carrying baskets filled with eggs.

When they saw those evil people being reprimanded and sentenced,

They would take out eggs and throw them at those evil people to vent their anger.

The hall was completely silent.

Liang Tianqi cleared his throat: "Bring Tian Ergeng."

A bailiff shouted, "Bring Tian Ergeng to the court!"

Before long, Tian Ergeng was brought up.

Zhou Ling'er glanced at it.

Na Tian Ergeng usually acts arrogantly and is always the one bullying others, but today he's getting to experience being bullied himself.

Tian Ergeng was dressed in prison clothes and had disheveled hair.

He wore shackles around his neck and chains on his feet.

They didn't look as vibrant as before.

When Tian Ergeng arrived at the main hall, he knelt down with a thud: "Tian Ergeng greets Lord Liang."

However, this cannot be entirely blamed on Tian Ergeng, because most people would involuntarily feel their legs go weak when they come here.

Wei Zhongxian was not pleased that Tian Ergeng lacked backbone.

Liang Tianqi said loudly, "Answer whatever I ask you. Do you hear me?"

"I heard you."

Someone was taking notes nearby.

"Who is kneeling?"

"Little man Tian Ergeng".

"So, what official position do you hold?"

"I was originally the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Liang Tianqi nodded: "Although your official position isn't very high, your power is considerable."

What crime have you committed? Which article of the law have you violated?

Tian Ergeng thought for a moment and said, "Sir, I don't know what wrong I have committed, why are you arresting me?"

"You don't know what mistake you made, do you?"

Then I'll tell you.

First, you disobeyed the imperial edict;

Secondly, you dared to molest Empress Zhang.

Both of these crimes warrant the extermination of the entire clan.

"Oh dear, I'm innocent! I've never disobeyed the imperial decree, nor have I ever molested Empress Zhang. That's all baseless."

"No?"

"I ask you, did Gao Wencai come to you with an appointment letter issued by the Emperor to take up his post?"

"Yes, that's true."

"So how did you do it?"

Did you complete his onboarding process?

"no."

"Why didn't you process his onboarding?" Liang Tianqi continued to press.

"Your Excellency, our Embroidered Uniform Guard has always been very strict in selecting talent."

Before this, some people who joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard all claimed to be very remarkable and powerful.

However, after testing in actual combat, none of them worked.

Therefore, I set up three challenges.

Especially for important positions like commander of a thousand households, one must pass three tests; if one cannot pass these three tests, I cannot accept the position.

"Oh, so tell me, what are your values?"

"The first test is a tall, strong man. Everyone who wants to join the Embroidered Uniform Guard must knock that strong man down in order to pass the test."

In the second round, we will select ten strong and skilled Imperial Guards to fight against him.

That person had to defeat those ten Imperial Guards to be considered qualified;

In the third level, we captured a wild boar and locked it in a dark room.

"He has to defeat that wild boar to pass the test," Tian Ergeng explained.

Upon hearing this, the people in the hall began to discuss it animatedly.

Liang Tianqi raised his right hand, and everyone fell silent again.

"Did you obtain the imperial court's permission to set up these three barriers?"

No, not at all.

"So, can you personally pass these three tests?" Liang Tianqi looked intently at Tian Ergeng.

"I haven't tried it."

Upon hearing this, Liang Tianqi slammed his hand on the document: "Is this what you call a three-point trial? You're clearly trying to take this opportunity to kill someone!"

The first round, one-on-one, is barely acceptable;

The second level is really too much. Who is so powerful that they can take on ten people at once?

There's a saying: "Even two fists can't beat four hands; even a hero can't withstand a crowd."

Could you handle being the only one to fight ten people?

The third challenge was even more brutal; the wild boars were inherently ferocious and naturally possessed a strong aggression towards humans.

Besides, you've locked him in a dark room. The wild boar has bright eyes and can see the person coming in clearly, but the person going in can't see the wild boar.

This is clearly a blatant disregard for human life.

"Look at that wild boar! Look how badly it injured Gao Wencai!"

Tian Ergeng lowered his head and remained silent, because he had also heard that a wild boar had bitten off a piece of flesh from Gao Wencai's leg, and the pain must have been unimaginable.

"Also, did you accept any gifts from Gao Wencai?"

"No, Lord Liang, this is truly a case of wronging an innocent person."

Tian Ergeng thought to himself, "I can't admit to this."

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, accepting money from others was a capital offense.

"You won't admit it, huh? Fine, keep your cunning eyes open!"

At this moment, a yamen runner shouted down, "Bring on your little mouse eyes!"

Before long, Xiao Haozi was brought up.

Seeing Liang Tianqi's gloomy face, he was so frightened that he almost lost his mind.

"This humble servant greets Your Excellency!"

The little mouse knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice.

Liang Tianqi looked down at him and thought to himself, "Look at your character, you don't deserve to be a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"I ask you, did you accept any bribes from Gao Wencai?"

"This—," Little Mouse dared not deny it and had no choice but to tell the truth, "I took five taels of silver from him."

"Was that five taels of silver given to you by Gao Wencai voluntarily, or did you ask him for it?"

Liang Tianqi was being cautious here; he said this to clearly define the responsibilities.