The ruthless emperor in the late Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 247: Meeting the Queen Mother
"Second uncle is confused."

"Eldest son, it's better to run away, it will be too late if you delay."

One in the city of Nanjing is in the courtyard, an old servant anxiously said to his young master.

"Don't worry, Uncle Fu. As the saying goes, it's a blessing, not a disaster. A disaster can't be avoided."

This young man was Zheng Zhilong's eldest son, Zheng Sen. He waved his hand when he heard the words. Although his face was extremely dignified, he was not in a hurry.

After finishing speaking, he paced back and forth in the study, as if thinking about something.

Uncle Fu chased after him and said urgently again: "I'm afraid the court will not let it go easily this time. It's too dangerous for the eldest son to stay in Nanjing, so let's run away first!"

"Is it the land of the king in the whole world, the shore of the land, and the minister of the king? Even if I escape from Nanjing now, where can I escape to? I can escape for a while, but I can't escape for a lifetime!"

Zheng Sen sighed, today's Zixiong is very talented, with the heart to dominate the world and the ambition to conquer the world.

As long as the emperor doesn't want to let go, even if he escapes to sea, he will be caught one day. Sun Kewang and Ai Nengqi are the best examples.

The two thought they would be able to survive by hiding in the deep mountains with a group of confidants, but under the reward offered by the court, they were tied up by their own subordinates in only three months, and they went to the county government to surrender.

Therefore, if his Zheng family also chooses to resist or flee, the final fate is estimated to be the same. After all, people with ulterior motives and those who are sellers and seek glory, no one can guard against them.

What's more, crises always coexist. This incident is a catastrophe for the Zheng family, but it may be a rare opportunity for him personally.

Thinking of this, Zheng Sen showed a look of determination on his face, and said, "I can't sit still, I will go to the palace to meet the Queen Mother." After speaking, he strode out.

"Young master..."

Uncle Fu behind him was stunned, it took him a long time to react, and he quickly shouted.

Obviously thought that the eldest son was in a hurry and confused, how honorable is the queen mother?Is it because he said he can see you?
Zheng Sen didn't pay attention to him, and it wasn't because he was in a hurry, because he knew that he would never see the queen mother as usual, but now he has a great opportunity, and this is his opportunity.

Sure enough, when he came to the gate of the palace, Zheng Sen only waited for a quarter of an hour after he announced his home, but he was actually taken in, or directly to Qianqingmen, where Zhang Yan usually meets ministers.

Along the way, Zheng Sen was full of excitement and anticipation, but also nervous and apprehensive. When he came to Qianqingmen, his palms were full of sweat, but fortunately, he could still keep calm on his face.

At this time, Ma Shiying and the six ministers were all on the platform, and they were still discussing with Zhang Yan how to deal with the Zheng family, and Zuo Liangyu on the side did not dare to interrupt.

Zhang Yan, Ma Shiying and other officials were quite surprised that Zheng Zhilong's eldest son, Zheng Sen, suddenly came to the gate of the palace to ask for an audience.

Ma Shiying even slapped his forehead, blaming himself for forgetting that Zheng Zhilong's eldest son was still in Nanjing, and not arresting him immediately.

For Zheng Sen, Zhang Yan also has some impressions. The main reason is that last year Qian Qianyi surrendered to Jiannu and became a traitor, which caused a lot of trouble in the whole Jiangnan.

As Qian Qianyi's disciple, Zheng Sen was naturally the first to bear the brunt of being abused and hated by countless people. All his former classmates and friends also cut boundaries with him and broke up with him. For a while, Zheng Sen almost became a street rat.

In this situation, whoever it was would definitely leave Nanjing, but Zheng Sen insisted on not leaving, even if he was unpopular and humiliated in public, he would still take the initiative to attend those literary gatherings.

"The Empress Dowager has a decree, Xuan Shizi Zheng Sen has an audience!"

"Student Zheng Sen, pay homage to Queen Mother Yi'an!"

After Zheng Sen was brought in, he bowed to Zhang Yan and saluted.

As a Gongsheng of the Guozijian, on normal occasions, even when meeting the emperor, there is no need to kneel down and salute.

When Zhang Yan first came to Jiangnan, Zheng Sen followed a group of Jiangnan scholars, and he just watched from a distance in Jiangbei, and couldn't see clearly at all.

And Zhang Yan is not as flamboyant as the red lady, and she usually lives in seclusion, so the literati in the entire Jiangnan, only heard about Zhang Yan, the famous queen mother, but did not see her face.

At this moment, Zheng Sen couldn't help taking a bold peek.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager Yi'an was over forty years old, but she was still extremely beautiful, graceful and luxurious, her heart was full of ups and downs, so she quickly lowered her head.

"Free gift!"

Zhang Yan saw that he was imposing and talented, neither humble nor overbearing, but his tone was not too harsh.

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

"Zheng Sen, what do you have to do with my Daming Sheji, you want to meet Aijia?" Zhang Yan asked slowly.

Ma Shiying and other big shots were also staring at Zheng Sen, especially the strong murderous intent in Zuo Liangyu's eyes, which made people shudder.

Faced with so many fierce gazes, although Zheng Sen was also very nervous, he did not lose his composure at all. He clasped his hands and replied: "This time, the student asked to see the Queen Mother. Apart from pleading guilty to the Queen Mother on behalf of my father and second uncle, there is one more important thing to report to the Queen Mother. !"

"Oh, then you should first talk about Zheng Zhihu's killing of court officials."

Zhang Yan nodded. She was not unreasonable. The Zheng family wanted to ask for an explanation. Naturally, they had to listen first. This was the reason why she agreed to meet Zheng Sen. As for the other thing Zheng Sen said, it was I don't care much.

Seeing that the queen mother was willing to listen to his explanation, Zheng Sen was also relieved. The secret rumors were indeed true. This queen mother is indeed very wise and kind, so he should bet right this time.

So he accidentally beat Zheng Zhihu to death and told everything about the officials who came to measure Chashan.

But he only explained that his second uncle was drunk and was dissatisfied with the number of acres in the tea mountain, so he got angry for a while and accidentally killed the official, but he didn't say a word about the extortion by the official.

Obviously, he also knew that once this matter was exposed, the Zheng family might really be doomed.

"So, this matter is purely that Zheng Zhihu's personal drinking and killing has nothing to do with your entire Zheng family?"

After listening, Zhang Yan's tone softened a lot. If Zheng Sen's words are true, then this matter is simple. It's just a murder for life, and Zheng Zhihu just needs to be brought to justice.

After all, Zheng Zhihu is also an official, and the incident happened for a reason, so it is indeed inappropriate to count it as a rebellion by the entire Zheng family who killed officials.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, my second uncle was indeed responsible for this matter alone, and my father and all his subordinates did not know about it in advance."

Zheng Sen quickly replied, as for the crime of pleading that the father wrote to the court, he was detained by him.

"It's nonsense. You said that the second uncle accidentally killed the civil official who came to measure the tea mountain. How did the other ten or so small officials die? Are they all also killed by accident? I can see that it is you Zheng The family is dissatisfied with the new policy of the imperial court and wants to take the opportunity to rebel!"

Zuo Liangyu jumped out and said with a sneer, obviously he wanted to label the Zheng family as rebels so that he could claim credit for it.

This time Ma Shiying did not refute Zuo Liangyu, but looked at Zheng Sen, and even Zhang Yan's eyes became severe again.

Obviously killing one person by mistake is reasonable, but killing more than a dozen people was definitely intentional. Such a reckless killing of court officials did not put the court in the slightest.

(End of this chapter)