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

“A deeper meaning?” he murmured. “He is my brother, Biao’er’s shadow. The deeper the shadow, the brighter the light.”

Zhang Delin bowed his head and remained silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and ordered: "Issue the decree—a new granary supervisor shall be appointed in the Northern Garrison, still under the name of the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Ning shall not appoint him."

"According to the order."

Yin Yan entered from outside, bringing with him a chilling aura: "Your Highness, the decree has been issued. The affairs of Beizhen are now entirely under the jurisdiction of the Crown Prince."

Zhu Han was leaning against the window reading a book when he heard this and simply said, "It should have been done long ago."

"His Majesty's decree did not mention the Prince at all."

"better."

Gu Qingping handed over the tea and said in a low voice, "Has Your Highness considered that doing this would make His Highness uneasy?"

“If he is uneasy, then go and make him feel at ease.” Zhu Han put down his book and lowered his gaze slightly. “If a tree is not protected by the wind, its roots will not grow deep.”

Yin Yan hesitated for a moment, then said, “Your Highness, although the northern garrison has been pacified, the southern grain transport has not ceased. Some of the remaining members of the Transport Commissioner’s faction are still in league with foreign vassals.”

Zhu Han looked up: "An outer vassal state?"

"According to a secret report, envoys were traveling to and from Jiaozhi (Vietnam) to exchange silver through the 'salt route.' Half of the silver went into their private accounts."

"who?"

"Wu Yunsheng's former subordinate - named Lu Que".

Zhu Han flicked his fingertips and tapped the table a few times.

“Lu Que…” he said slowly, “A good name. Que means palace gate. If he dares to tamper with silver outside the gate, I will let him into the palace.”

Gu Qingping was slightly startled: "Your Highness wants to capture him?"

"I will not capture him." Zhu Han's smile gradually appeared. "I want him to come by himself."

Ten days later, at the Salt Road Post Station in the eastern suburbs of Jinling.

A merchant wagon slowly entered the city. The wagon was piled high with sacks, beneath which lay fine silver and printing molds.

The post station gate suddenly opened, and a clerk in blue robes stepped forward, cupping his hands and smiling, "Master Lu? Please come to the Prince's residence."

Lu Que was taken aback: "The Prince's Mansion?"

"The Prince of Ning has something to discuss with me."

Lu Que was startled, but dared not refuse.

Half an hour later, he knelt down in front of the main hall of the Prince Ning's mansion.

Zhu Han was not wearing court robes, but was dressed in a black fox fur coat, and was twirling a silver coin in his hand.

"Lu Que," Zhu Han slowly uttered his name, "How much silver did you get for that batch of salt?"

Lu Que broke out in a cold sweat: "Your Highness, please understand, I was merely following custom to make a settlement..."

"Example?" Zhu Han chuckled. "My seal is not on the example."

He tossed it with his hand, and the silver coin drew an arc in the air before landing in front of Lu Que with a dull thud.

"If you really want to live, go to the Shuntian government office tomorrow and hand over the 'foreign vassal silver accounts.' I won't arrest you."

Lu Que looked up in alarm: "Does Your Highness want me to confess?"

"I want you to 'join the cause'."

"cast……?"

"Send it to the Crown Prince." Zhu Han's tone was extremely light, yet every word was piercing. "This case will be called 'The Crown Prince's Investigation.' If you utter a single word about Prince Ning, I will have you stripped of your head."

Lu Que trembled all over and kowtowed repeatedly.

Zhu Han nodded slightly, then turned and left.

Gu Qingping greeted him from the corridor and asked in a low voice, "Why did Your Highness spare his life?"

"A lowly life is more useful," Zhu Han said. "If everyone dies, where will the Crown Prince's merits come from?"

Three days later, the Shuntian Transport Commissioner reported: "The Crown Prince has reported that the salt commissioner's silver case involves the private exchange of silver by foreign vassals, and the guilty official Lu Que has already surrendered."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed three times: "The Crown Prince has rendered meritorious service again."

Zhang Delin whispered from the side, "This skill came very quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze shifted: "Speed ​​is the key."

He looked at the snow falling outside the hall and suddenly sighed, "Brother Han's hands are truly steady."

Late spring, Nanjing.

The peach blossoms in the back garden of the East Palace are in full bloom.

Zhu Biao stood under the flowers, looking at Gu Qingping: "Uncle Prince has not entered the palace recently."

"He's busy," Gu Qingping smiled, "busy so that you won't be busy."

Zhu Biao thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“If one day I can stand alone in the court, he can truly rest for a day.”

Gu Qingping said softly, "If Your Highness can stand, then he can step down."

"Will that day be too far away?"

"Perhaps not long."

A breeze rises, and petals flutter down.

The distant sound of the bells from the Prince Ning's residence drifted over, clear and steady.

Zhu Han sat alone, a new book spread out on his desk. Yin Yan brought him an urgent report from the palace.

"His Majesty orders that the Crown Prince's Palace will conduct a river patrol, to begin in the autumn."

Zhu Han nodded: "We have to patrol again."

"Does Your Highness wish to travel with us?"

Zhu Han closed the book, his smile barely perceptible: "My shadow has been long enough. If it follows any further, it will become a reality."

He got up and walked to the window, where the moonlight was as silvery as silver.

"The palace will be sealed tomorrow, and I need to return to Fengyang."

Yin Yan was stunned: "Your Highness is leaving the capital?"

Zhu Han looked up at the distant sky: "My brother is in Jinling, with the world in his grasp. I was merely his shadow for a while. Now that the wind has calmed and the water is clear, the shadow should also dissipate."

Gu Qingping stepped in, holding a teacup in her hands.

"Is Your Highness really leaving?"

"Walk."

"What about the Crown Prince's Palace?"

"He should be all grown up by now."

Zhu Han took the tea and smiled faintly: "The flower pattern is already on the silver; if you try to imprint it again, it won't leave a mark."

Night had not yet fallen, but the lights in the Prince Ning's mansion had already gone out. The shadows of the paulownia trees in the courtyard fell on the blue bricks, and the sound of the wind was as still as silk.

At the first crow of the rooster at dawn, Zhu Han had already tied his hair up and put on his armor, with a thin book tucked into his sleeve.

Yin Yan prepared the horse and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, there are three ferry crossings on the road to Fengyang. I think the Feihao River Station is more secure."

"Let's take the main crossing." Zhu Han mounted his horse. "We need to avoid it, so people can see us."

Gu Qingping held the lantern and saw him off, its flame flickering in the morning mist: "Be careful on your journey. In Fengyang, the old villages are being renovated, and the government is urging us to pay taxes. Recently, some people have been using this as an excuse to hide silver."

"The house can be altered, but the silver cannot." Zhu Han turned the reins, his smile extremely faint. "If anyone wants to alter it, I will alter it back for them."

The cavalry emerged from the city gates as dawn broke. A thin mist still lingered over the river, and waterbirds flew close to the ridges of the water.

Heading south along the Li River to the border of Chuzhou, the dirt road gradually hardened, and the sound of horses' hooves rang out.

Arriving at Haoshui Post Station in the afternoon, the postmaster was dark-skinned and thin, and unusually respectful: "Your Highness must be tired from your journey. Food has been prepared in the backyard. However, two groups of guests stopped here last night and inquired about Fengyang Warehouse."

"What do you want to ask?" Yin Yan asked.

"Ask about the seal and the name of the official in charge of the warehouse. I'm afraid of leaks, so I just say I don't know."

Zhu Han did not answer and went into the room. The food was not yet warm, so he pushed it aside and opened the thin book in his sleeve.

The book cover is old, and the four characters "Old Records of Caonan" are written in faint red ink on the corner.

His gaze sharpened, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Deep within my mind, it was as if someone was gently knocking on the door, a short, sharp sound:
—"Check-in: Haoshui Post Station. Received: One copy of 'Old Records of Caonan: Lost Office Chapter', with a 'Map of Salt Tax Villages' attached."

Zhu Han closed the book without making a sound. Seeing his expression relax slightly, Yin Yan lowered his voice: "Your Highness?"

"After the meal, we'll cross the ferry, walk another ten li, and then take a small path, avoiding the pavilion entrance." Zhu Han stood up. "We won't stay at the inn tonight."

The postmaster was taken aback: "Your Highness, the road ahead is desolate, and it will be difficult to travel in the dark."

“It’s dark,” Zhu Han said, “so that you can see the lights.”

As evening fell, a purple glow appeared on the horizon, and the river breeze carried a dampness.

The horse caravan bypassed the pavilion and entered a narrow path flanked by two banks, where the grass stalks reached their knees. After walking for a short while, a spark suddenly flashed in the woods ahead, only to be extinguished shortly afterward.

Yin Yan raised his hand, and the group froze. The surrounding area was utterly silent, save for the sound of water.

A moment later, a wild rabbit darted out of the grass, startling the horse in front.

"Don't move." Zhu Han pressed down on the horse's head and said softly, "The spark isn't in the grass, it's in someone's sleeve."

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp arrow whistled through the air and headed straight for his face.

Yin Yan jerked the reins, and the horse swerved to the side. The arrow grazed Zhu Han's temple and embedded itself in the tree trunk.

"Protect the inner flank!" Yin Yan roared, as swords flashed.

Three fires broke out in the forest at the same time, but the ones that shone only briefly before going out.

In a few swift movements, four men dressed in black leaped out of the forest and crouched low beneath the horse's belly.

The horse neighed in alarm, its front hooves stamping wildly. Taking advantage of the situation, the man in black slipped into the shadows beneath the horse's belly, his blade as sharp as a fine rain.

Zhu Han did not retreat. Instead, he spurred his horse forward slightly, turned his body slightly, and with a flick of his wrist, the thin book in his sleeve snapped shut. The corner of the book struck the back of the blade that was thrusting towards him. With a short "clang," the blade deflected and grazed his sleeve.

The man in black was jolted in the wrist, and the knife slipped from his hand and fell to the grass.

"Take them alive." Zhu Han's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of pressure.

In no more than ten rounds, all the men in black were subdued.

Yin Yan grabbed one man by the back of the neck and shouted, "Who ordered this!"

The man gritted his teeth and remained silent, but his eyes unconsciously glanced southward.

Another man tried to commit suicide by crashing into a tree in the chaos, but a scabbard was placed across his throat. He gasped for breath and finally uttered two words: "Sizhou."

“Sizhou?” Yin Yan was taken aback.

Zhu Han ripped off the man's mask and glanced at him: "Salt Road Hand."

"What salt trader?" Yin Yan didn't understand.

"The salt-carrying cook, walking at night, knows how to identify aquatic plants."

Zhu Han flicked the mud off his sleeves. "They're not after my life, they're after my path. Who are they blocking? Me, or my seal?"

The man in black remained silent, his gaze fixed on the thin book in Zhu Han's arms.

"Let's go." Zhu Han raised his hand. "We'll change our route to Sizhou Pagoda."

As the night deepened, the shadow of the tower appeared in the distance.

Only the foundation of Sizhou Pagoda remains, with its bricks scattered. Nearby residents used the bricks to build stoves, but the foundation is still standing, its shadow resembling a shadow that refuses to fall.

Zhu Han dismounted and walked around the base of the tower, stepping on the old bricks.

At the south corner, there is a brick that is half a shade darker in color, and its edges are polished to be more rounded than the bricks next to it.

He squatted down, reached out and gripped the brick seam with his finger, and lifted it to the side. The brick actually rose steadily by half a finger.

“Pry it open,” he said.

Two soldiers worked together to lift the brick, revealing a narrow, shallow compartment containing something wrapped in gray cloth.

Yin Yan peeled it open, revealing a small seal with the two characters "Salt Tax" extremely fine on the seal face, and next to it was a thin wooden flower—the shadow of half a flower.

“It’s fake,” Yin Yan said. “The wood grain is coarse and the pattern is wrong.”

"The important thing is not the flowers."

Zhu Han picked up the small seal and ran his thumb along its edge. “The left vertical stroke of the character ‘课’ in ‘盐课’ is too straight, indicating someone who is not a seasoned official.”

He casually pressed the seal onto the brick surface, glanced at it, and said, "The ink doesn't match; it smells too strongly of Nancao. Who has been here, hiding Nancao ink under the Sizhou Pagoda?"

The man in black lowered his head and remained silent.

Zhu Han didn't press him. He stood up and walked around the base of the tower again.

The wind was strong at night, and the haystacks on the tower base rustled, with the faint sound of insects.

When he reached the northwest corner, he suddenly stopped, kicked over a pile of tiles, and found a hemp rope and two worn-out straw sandals under the tiles.

"The person blocking the road is wearing new soles, but these shoes are old."

He said in a low voice, "There are two paths, the new one and the old one. The new one is the hands, the old one is the heart. There are people in Sizhou who want to use the old salt tax case to get close to the new seal of the Crown Prince."

He turned around and glanced at the man in black: "I roughly know about your master."

The man in black moved his lips, but refused to utter a sound.

Yin Yan remained calm and changed his question: "Who is watching over the Sizhou Pagoda?"

The man in black finally said, "He's the county magistrate's cousin."

"What's your cousin's surname?" Zhu Han asked.

"His surname is Cui."

“Cui…” Zhu Han smiled, “The Cui family of Fengyang, Xi Yin.”

He ordered: "Seal off this place and do not disturb the people. Take the people to the post station as before, but do not use weapons. Proceed to Fengyang tomorrow."

The next day, when we entered Fengyang City, the sunlight was thin and cold, the streets and alleys were narrow, and the gray brick walls stretched along the old alleys.

At the site of the old house renovation, piles of ash and tiles lay in the corner, where children played with them, creating artificial mountains.

The magistrate of Fengyang County greeted them at the city gate with gifts.

Zhu Han forbade any fanfare and simply followed him into the county office.

On the table in the back hall were more than twenty new and old seals, next to which was a wooden box sealed with a vermilion paper strip that read: "Cui Family Collection". In the corner was a stove with tea being heated on it.

“Your Highness,” the magistrate bowed, “this is a copy of the old seal of the Cui family, as you wrote in your letter.”

"When did I receive any notes?" Zhu Han asked calmly.

The magistrate was stunned, and half of his face turned pale.

“The notes were written by someone else.” Zhu Han walked over, picked up a seal and looked at it. “The handwriting is good, the strokes resemble a solitary hand, but there’s an added touch of slipperiness. Bring me his paper.”

The magistrate hurriedly retrieved the letter. The handwriting on the paper was steady and the sentences were concise: "Copy the seal of the Cui family and seal the Sizhou Pagoda." It was signed "Prince Ning".

Zhu Han narrowed his eyes slightly: "Judging from the shape of the characters, the hand of this person was taught by officials and wanted to flatten all the horizontal strokes. I write horizontal strokes without flattening them."

Yin Yan whispered: "Fake notes."

"Only if it looks convincing can it be effective."

He folded the paper into four pieces and stuffed it back into the magistrate's hand: "Since someone is issuing the order on my behalf, I'll go along with it this time."

Gu Qingping, standing to the side, pondered for a moment: "Does Your Highness want to borrow the notes to lure people to your door?"

"Let them come in by themselves, so I don't have to knock on your door." Zhu Han looked to the side of the hall, "Where are the Cui family members?"

"He's being held in the east wing," the magistrate hurriedly replied. "We only managed to find out about one cousin named Cui Xun, who often goes to the pagoda in Sizhou to offer incense."

"Incense offering?" Yin Yan frowned.

"According to old custom, a small shrine was placed at the base of the pagoda."

“Bring him here,” Zhu Han said.

A moment later, Cui Xun was brought in. He was about twenty years old, with a pale face, thin lips, and a wandering gaze.

Upon seeing Zhu Han, his knees buckled and he knelt down, blurting out, "This humble servant was unaware of Your Highness's arrival... This humble servant was merely entrusted to watch over the tower and bricks, and dared not touch the seal."

"Who instructed them?" Zhu Han asked.

“A high-ranking official from Shuntian said he needed to temporarily hide something and could retrieve it later.”

"What's your surname?" Yin Yan pressed.

All we know is that his seal has the character '允' on it.

Yin Yan was taken aback: "Wu Yunsheng is dead."

"Yin Keliu, the name can be borrowed." Zhu Han said calmly, "How many times have you been with him?"

"Only twice. Once to hide, once to retrieve. The second time I failed to retrieve it, and I was arrested."

Cui Xun, trembling with fear, suddenly looked up at the thin booklet on Zhu Han's sleeve and said in an even lower voice, "He also said... that the prince wrote a note."

"Have you seen the journal?"

"I didn't see him. He only said that the prince could write and told me to be obedient."

Zhu Han smiled, neither angry nor pleased.

Before his smile faded, he turned to the county magistrate: "From today onwards, the county government will remain open as usual. You only need to do two things: first, clear out the salt ticket registers in the city, replace them with new paper, but do not stamp them; second, return all the old seals to the Cui family, in their original positions."

He paused, then said, "If anyone comes to 'take' it again, let them take it and see where they go."

The magistrate broke out in a cold sweat: "Your Highness, if we release a tiger—"

“If we don’t release the tiger, how will we know which mountain path it will take?” Zhu Han turned around. “I will wait for him outside the city.”

As night fell, the east gate of Fengyang City was shrouded in shadow, and two paper lanterns hung from the eaves of the old post station.

The lamplight was barely visible, only illuminating a blurry outline. (End of Chapter)