Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

The messenger coughed up blood foam: "Shanxi merchants...the eight imperial merchants...are all scapegoats! The real..." He suddenly bit his tongue, and the blood foam that overflowed from the corner of his mouth was mixed with half a jade pendant - it was the one that Zhu Han gave to the orphan in Huaixi twenty years ago!
Zhu Han snatched the jade pendant. The word "Wu" was engraved on the back, but there was a small gap on the edge.

His blood froze as he thought of the disheveled prisoner in the iron mine. It seemed that the other prisoner also had a similar gap on his wrist...

"Let's go to Prince Yan's Mansion!" Zhu Biao jumped on his horse, but Zhu Han held his reins and said, "Biao'er, if my nephew is involved..."

"Then he should be executed according to the law." The prince's eyes were cold and gleaming, "Uncle, you taught me that."

In the study of Prince Yan's mansion, Zhu Di was playing with a gilded hand warmer. He did not stand up when he saw them coming in. "My brother and my nephew are honored to be here. I don't have any iron cage or cave for you to check."

Zhu Han slapped the jade pendant on the table and said, "My fourth nephew, the Shanxi merchants are colluding with the Japanese pirates, and the evidence points to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."

Zhu Di suddenly laughed, shaking the bows and arrows on the wall. "What a false accusation! I have been guarding the northern border for ten years, but I am considered a traitor who collaborates with the enemy and betrays the country?"

"How do you explain the gap in the jade pendant on the inside of the wrist of the Wu family remnant in the iron mine?" Zhu Biao suddenly pulled out the case file, "Three years ago, the Prince of Yan's Mansion purchased 500 stones of sulfur, but its whereabouts are unknown!"

Zhu Di's face suddenly changed. Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried horse hooves outside the window. A scout covered in blood rushed in: "Your Highness! Japanese pirate warships appeared in Bohai Bay, fighting... fighting..."

"What's the banner?" Zhu Han drew his sword.

The scout swallowed his saliva and said, "Fly the flag with the word 'Yan' on it!"

Zhu Di was furious and opened the case: "Absurd! I will immediately call for troops..."

"Nephew, don't be anxious." Zhu Han put the tip of his sword against his throat, "First explain these five hundred stones of sulfur."

Suddenly, there was an explosion in the backyard of the palace. Everyone rushed out and saw the storehouse in flames. Fan Yongdou's body was nailed to the gate tower with a bloody letter stuck in his chest: "Prince Zhu, do you know whether the Yan Palace you are standing on is connected to the Japanese pirates or the Mongols?"

Zhu Han pulled out the letter, which had a wax seal with the previous dynasty's secret patrol pattern to expel the Tartars. He suddenly remembered that on that rainy night twenty years ago, the Huaixi general who was silenced had also given him the same secret letter before his death.

"Not good!" Zhu Biao suddenly pointed to the north, "Beacon Tower!"

Along the Great Wall, smoke rose to the sky and beacon fires shot up into the sky. Zhu Di's face turned pale: "Tatar cavalry! At least 30,000!"

Zhu Han looked at the beacon smoke and suddenly understood the real goal of the Japanese pirates - to sneak into Bohai Sea through the private salt channel of Shanxi merchants, cooperate with the remnants of Mongolia, and attack the heart of northern Xinjiang!
"My fourth nephew will guard the city, and Biaoer will mobilize the troops." Zhu Han jumped on his horse and said, "I'll go to the beacon tower!"

When Zhu Han arrived with reinforcements, the beacon tower was already filled with the bodies of Mongolian cavalrymen. A blood-soaked general knelt in the scorched earth, holding a half-broken Japanese sword in his arms.

"Your Highness... they went to Juyong Pass..." The general suddenly opened his clothes, revealing a wound crawling with maggots, "It's... it's the heart-eating poison of the Japanese pirates..."

Zhu Han's pupils suddenly shrank. The poison found in the orphan from Huaixi twenty years ago actually appeared on the northern border front!

He suddenly thought of the prisoners deep in the iron mine. Some of them seemed to be very similar in size to the Mongolian cavalry...

"Chase!" Zhu Han led the cavalry into the night. Under the moonlight, he saw the swaying black shadows on the wall of Juyongguan. Those Japanese pirates were wearing Ming army armor!

Arrows suddenly rained down from the sky. Zhu Han blocked them with his sword. The arrow feathers were engraved with the Wu family emblem. On the city wall, the bronze masked man lifted his veil - it turned out to be Fan Yongdou, who was supposed to commit suicide in the imperial prison!

"Prince Zhu is very capable." Fan Yongdou stroked the scar with the word Buddha on his chest, "It's a pity that you hid it too deeply. Do you know why the iron mine was chosen in Qixia Mountain?"

He suddenly laughed wildly, and the Mongolian cavalry behind him raised their torches, illuminating the densely packed sulfur bags on the city wall.

Zhu Han was shocked. If Juyongguan was blown up, the entire northern border defense line would completely collapse!
"Surrender." Fan Yongdou lit a fire stick with the tip of his knife, "Maybe I can give you an intact body."

Zhu Han pointed his sword at the sky, and the Seven Star Sword suddenly emitted a clear dragon roar. Twenty years ago, when Taizu bestowed the sword, he said: "This sword will roar when it encounters treacherous people." Tonight, the dragon roar shook the sky, and the snow under the city fell.

"Biao'er!" Zhu Han suddenly shouted. In the darkness, Zhu Biao led the Shenji Camp to charge from the flank, firing muskets at the same time, and the Japanese pirates were immediately thrown to the ground.

Seeing this, Fan Yongdou retreated hastily, but Zhu Han's sword lifted his veil, revealing his face crawling with poisonous insects.

"You...how could you..." Fan Yongdou staggered back, and the torch ignited the sulfur bag. Zhu Han flew up, and the sword light cut off the fuse like a waterfall, but the sparks rekindled in the strong wind.

"Uncle!" Zhu Biao suddenly rushed over and pressed the burning fuse with his body. Zhu Han's eyes were bloodshot, and he threw the scabbard with his backhand, hitting Fan Yongdou's throat.

The blast overturned the city wall, and Zhu Han found Zhu Biao covered in blood in the ruins. The gold ribbon on the prince's chest had been burned to ashes, but in his arms was a half-bloody account book - the original account book that had disappeared from the iron mine.

"Biao'er..." Zhu Han's voice trembled. On that snowy night twenty years ago, he had held the dying prince in his arms like this, using his body warmth to warm the boy's cold body.

Zhu Biao suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes gleaming with brilliance: "Uncle... look... at the last page..."

His bloodstained fingers slid across the yellowed paper. Zhu Han saw in the moonlight that the densely packed accounts finally merged into a line of bloody words: "The 24 generals of Huaixi, their loyal souls will never die."

As the morning mist swept over Juyong Pass, Zhu Han stood on the ruined city wall. Zhu Di came with his personal guards, with frost condensing on his armor: "Brother, the Tatars have retreated."

Zhu Han looked at the vast wilderness in the north and suddenly remembered the secret letter that the Huaixi general who was silenced gave him on that rainy night twenty years ago, which had the same blood words written on it.

He turned around and handed the account book to Zhu Di: "My fourth nephew, it's time to settle the accounts."

In the Fengtian Hall in Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang smashed the seventh teacup: "The remnants of the Wu family colluded with the Japanese pirates and Shanxi merchants, privately forged weapons and plotted rebellion. The evidence is irrefutable!" He looked at the kneeling civil and military officials, "Immediately confiscate the property of the eight great imperial merchants and execute all nine clans!"

Zhu Han suddenly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the gunpowder and sulfur in the iron ore come from Shanxi merchants, and the saltpeter comes from..." He paused for a moment, and the Fengtian Hall was dead silent, "From the Ministry of Works."

The whole court was in uproar, and the jade sceptre in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand cracked. Zhu Han took out the blood-stained account book from his bosom and unfolded it in front of the imperial steps.

The yellowed pages were densely written with dates and names, and the last line read: "On the third day of the third month of the twenty-third year of Hongwu, Li Zhong personally accepted a bribe of 100,000 taels of silver from a Shanxi merchant."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stood up, and the armrest of the dragon throne broke. He pointed at Li Zhong, the Minister of Works, and said, "Drag him out! Lingchi!"

That night, Zhu Han asked for an audience outside the Fengtian Palace. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his sworn brother who had helped him build the country, with white hair on his temples: "Brother Han, do you know...?"

"I know." Zhu Han knelt on the altar, "I will continue to track down the person behind Li Zhong."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly coughed violently, and blood streaked on his handkerchief: "Biao'er...are you awake?"

"Awake." Zhu Han recalled the word "Huai" drawn on the crown prince's palm by his finger when he was unconscious. "His Highness said that he wanted me to bring a message to Your Majesty."

"What words?"

"His Highness said..." Zhu Han looked at the falling locust flowers outside the Fengtian Palace, "He said that His Majesty should not have let that person go twenty years ago."

Zhu Yuanzhang dug his fingertips into the armrest of the dragon throne, and the sandalwood splinters pierced his palm. He stared at the fluttering locust flowers outside the Fengtian Hall, and his Adam's apple rolled twice: "In the Huaixi case that year... I had already exterminated all nine clans, how could it be possible..."

"Royal brother!" Zhu Han suddenly kowtowed, his forehead hitting the gold brick with a dull sound, "When Biao'er was unconscious, he drew a scar on my palm with blood - a scar with the word Buddha!"

In the dead silence of the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly, and his jade belt jingled.

He staggered and held onto the dragon pillar, the hem of his dragon robe swept over the brazier, sparks splashed on the account book, and blue flames rose up.

"Go to the imperial prison!" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was like a knife tempered with ice.

The corridor of the imperial prison was filled with a chilly breeze and a bloody smell. Zhu Yuanzhang's Panlong boots stepped over the puddles, leaving winding water marks on the bluestone slabs.

Zhu Han followed closely behind with the Seven-Star Sword in hand, the pearl on the sword tassel glowing faintly in the darkness.

"Bring me all the files of the remnants of the Wu family!" Zhu Yuanzhang kicked open the iron door, and rust fell on his shoulders.

From deep within the imperial prison came the roar of prisoners, mixed with the muffled sound of swinging iron chains.

Half an hour later, Zhu Han placed a stack of yellowed files on the wooden table in the torture room.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened one of the books with trembling hands, and suddenly froze - there was a piece of human skin sandwiched between the yellowed pages, with a hideous Buddhist scar painted on it with cinnabar.

"This was peeled off from Wu Liangfu's body 20 years ago." Zhu Han lifted up the human skin with the tip of his sword. "Back then, he escaped and went to Mobei under the pseudonym Batur, becoming the number one wizard in Wala."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly coughed violently, and dark purple blood clots appeared on his handkerchief. He staggered and held onto the wooden table, and the bronze animal incense burner on the corner of the table was knocked over, and the incense ash was scattered on the files.

"Pass on my secret order." Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was hoarse like a blunt knife cutting bones, "Order the commander of the Jinyiwei, Jiang Li, to go to Mobei immediately and make sure..."

"Brother!" Zhu Han suddenly interrupted, "Since Wu Liangfu dared to show up, he must have some plan. I request to go north and join Commander Jiang."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a long while, and suddenly pressed the bloodstained handkerchief on Zhu Han's shoulder: "This journey is a life-threatening one, I..."

"Brother." Zhu Han knelt on one knee, the sword tassel pearl rolled into a pool of blood, his throat rolled twice, "I will definitely wipe out the roots."

Outside the Fengtian Hall, locust flowers rustled. Zhu Han knelt on the steps, watching Zhu Yuanzhang's staggering back disappear in the corridor of the imperial prison.

The bloodstains on his shoulder had turned dark purple, and the word "Huai" on his palm was blurred by sweat.

"Uncle!" Zhu Biao's voice suddenly pierced the twilight. The prince leaned against the carved wooden door, the gold ribbon on his chest had been replaced with a plain white satin ribbon, his face as pale as rice paper, "Father..."

When Zhu Han stood up, he knocked over the bronze crane lamp, and the flames cast a swaying shadow on the prince's face: "Biao'er, you should recuperate in Wenhua Palace."

"Wu Liangfu is not dead." Zhu Biao suddenly coughed violently, his fingertips tightly grasping the door frame, "Twenty years ago, on a rainy night, I saw him... under the west wall of the East Palace."

Zhu Han's pupils suddenly shrank. That year, the Hu Weiyong case implicated the 24 generals of Huaixi. The prince came to see him in the rain late at night, kneeling in front of the Fengtian Palace while soaking wet.

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and had three attendants of the Eastern Palace beaten to death. Zhu Biao also fell seriously ill for three months.

"What did you see?" Zhu Han lowered his voice and glanced at the swaying lanterns of the Jinyiwei cavalry outside the door.

Zhu Biao suddenly opened his clothes, revealing a cinnabar birthmark on his chest: "He patted me on the shoulder three times and said... 'Your Highness, remember that the blood of the Huaixi Army will not be shed in vain.'"

The night wind swept by with the smell of blood, and Zhu Han frowned. Twenty years ago, when Wu Liangfu was skinned and stuffed with straw, he personally examined the "corpse", but at this moment, the palm print on the prince's shoulder clearly had the unique purple-blue color of the Western Region Gu poison.

"Uncle." Zhu Biao suddenly grabbed his bloody wrist. "The last page of the Ministry of Works account book... The person behind Li Zhong is the one who escaped the Hu Weiyong case."

Zhu Han was shocked. When Hu Weiyong's nine clans were executed, only his eldest grandson Hu Ji'an disappeared mysteriously. If he was still alive, he would be 45 years old, which was exactly the age when Li Zhong served as the Minister of Works.

"Your Highness suspects..."

"It's not a suspicion." Zhu Biao took out half a jade pendant from his arms, and the cracks were oozing dark red. "Today at Juyongguan, what Fan Yongdou bit before his death was the blood jade passed down from the Hu family."

The jade pendant glowed with an eerie luster under the firelight, and a half-moon was engraved next to the word "Wu" on the back.

Zhu Han suddenly remembered the "Yan-shaped flag" mentioned in the iron mine prisoner's confession, and cold sweat oozed from the back of his neck - if Hu Ji'an surrendered to the King of Yan...

"My fourth uncle has been guarding the northern border for ten years." Zhu Biao suddenly let go of the jade pendant, and it fell to the ground with a crisp sound. "The five hundred stones of sulfur purchased by the Prince of Yan's Mansion three years ago are enough to equip an army of one hundred thousand."

Zhu Han looked at the cold light in the prince's eyes, and recalled that twenty years ago when Zhu Yuanzhang handed over the military power of the northern border to his fourth son, Zhu Biao also stood in front of the Fengtian Hall like this, holding in his hand the only copy of "Salt and Iron Theory".

"Send a message to the Shenji Camp." Zhu Biao suddenly stood up, his white coat rustling in the night wind, "Immediately seal up the Shanxi merchants' granaries in Zhangjiakou, especially..." He paused for a moment, his Adam's apple rolling twice, "especially the granaries with the seal of the word 'Yan' on them."

Zhu Han's sword was already three inches out of its sheath: "Your Highness, are you going to touch my nephew?"

"It's not about moving." Zhu Biao suddenly coughed violently, and dark red blood stains appeared on his handkerchief. "It's about clearing the court of emperors."

Three days later, at a post station thirty miles outside Jinling City.

Zhu Han led twenty Ti cavalrymen at a gallop, and the sound of horse hooves startled the crows in the forest.

The seven-star sword tassel on his waist had been replaced with a plain white one, and in his arms was a secret letter from the prince - "To investigate the Shanxi merchants, they must pass through Zhangjiakou. If they encounter any obstacles, show the sword to King Yan."

"Your Highness!" The leader of the Tiqi suddenly reined in his horse, "The convoy ahead is from the Prince of Yan's Palace."

Zhu Han's pupils shrank suddenly. Thirty mule carts were winding like snakes, and each cart shaft was engraved with the wax seal of the word "Yan". He had drawn his sword half an inch from its sheath when he suddenly heard a night owl cry in the forest, a sound like a baby crying at night.

"Uncle, you are in a good mood." Zhu Di's voice was wrapped in the frost and snow of the northern border, and his bronze mask glowed coldly in the moonlight. "But you can only enter Zhangjiakou tonight, not leave."

Zhu Han reined in his horse and slid out more than ten feet, with the tip of his sword lifting up the curtain - the carriage was actually filled with sulfur and saltpeter, and the corners of the bag were embroidered with the secret patrol pattern of the previous dynasty to expel the Tartars.

"Fourth nephew wants to rebel?" He pointed the sword at Zhu Di's throat, and the Seven Star Sword suddenly let out a clear dragon roar.

Zhu Di suddenly laughed wildly, shaking the snow in the forest and falling: "Uncle, do you know that these three carts of gunpowder are enough to blow up the city of Nanjing?"

He took off his mask, revealing the Buddhist scar on his chest, "Just like the thunder bomb that Wu Liangfu buried in the Yingtian government office twenty years ago." (End of this chapter)