Ming Dynasty: He was ordered to give lectures in prison, but Lao Zhu eavesdropped and made people nu

Chapter 700: Undercurrents surge, the Jurchens take action
The city of Nanjing was shrouded in mist and rain. In the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing memorials. The sound of rain outside the hall could not hide the fatigue and worry between his brows.

“Your Majesty, Lin Che requests an audience.” Eunuch Wang Jinghong reported softly.

Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment with the red brush in his hand, and raised his head: "Announce."

The palace door slowly opened, and a young official in green official uniform walked in. He was about thirty years old, with a gaunt face and a calm look between his eyebrows. This was Lin Che, the strategist that Zhu Yuanzhang had relied on in recent years.

“Your Majesty, I am Lin Che, your servant. I pay my respects to you.” Lin Che bowed respectfully.

"No need to be polite." Zhu Yuanzhang put down his red brush and rubbed his temples. "Lord Lin, why did you come to the palace so late at night?"

Lin Che looked around, and Zhu Yuanzhang understood and waved his hand to signal his attendants to leave. When there were only two people left in the hall, Lin Che took out a secret letter from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"Your Majesty, an urgent secret report has come from the Northeast Guard. It is a matter of great importance. I dare not delay."

Zhu Yuanzhang took the secret letter, opened the wax, and took out the inner page. As his eyes wandered over the paper, his brows furrowed more and more, and finally he slammed the table and stood up!

"Assholes! How dare these Jurchen barbarians be so presumptuous!"

The secret letter fell to the ground. Lin Che bent down to pick it up. It recorded the details of the activities of the Jurchen spies in the Northeast Garrison: they disguised themselves as Ming army officers and soldiers to sneak into the various Garrisons; secretly instigated junior officers to rebel; used gold and silver to buy people's hearts; and even established secret bases in several remote Garrisons.
"Is this reliable?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"It's absolutely true." Lin Che said solemnly, "This is the information sent by the secret agents of the Jinyiwei lurking in the Jurchen tribe at the risk of their lives. Three secret agents have died in the line of duty to deliver this letter."

Zhu Yuanzhang paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, the hem of his dragon robe fluttering with his rapid steps. The sound of rain grew louder, beating on the glazed tiles as fast as a war drum.

“Tell me in detail, what is the Jurchens’ plan?” Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stopped and looked at Lin Che with sharp eyes.

Lin Che took a deep breath. "According to the secret report, the Jurchens plan to proceed in three steps. First, they have infiltrated seven garrisons in the northeast and instigated about 300 officers and soldiers to defect. Second, they plan to launch a surprise attack during the autumn harvest season when the garrison troops are dispersed to seize three key passes. Finally..."

“What happened in the end?”

"Finally, they plan to unite the remnants of Mongolia and the bandits on the border of Goryeo to form a three-way pincer attack, capture Liaodong in one fell swoop, and then threaten Shanhaiguan." Lin Che said in a low voice, "If this plan succeeds, the northeastern gate of our Ming Dynasty will be wide open."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned pale, and he clenched and unclenched his hands unconsciously. He walked to the window, looked at the dim palace lanterns in the rain, and remained silent for a long time.

“Your Majesty, there is one more thing.” Lin Che hesitated.

"explain!"

"The secret report mentioned that the Jurchens' accomplices are not limited to the Northeast Garrison," Lin Che said carefully, "Someone in the court may have been bribed as well."

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around abruptly, his eyes almost bursting with anger: "Who?"

"There is no conclusive evidence yet, but the Jurchens transported a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry to the interior through the Liaodong horse market. According to investigations, more than 200,000 taels of silver flowed into the capital through various channels in the past six months."

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!" Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly, "Whoever dares to collaborate with the enemy and betray the country will be executed by me!"

A flash of lightning flashed outside the palace, illuminating Zhu Yuanzhang's sullen face, followed by a deafening thunder. Lin Che's heart trembled involuntarily, he knew that this storm not only came from the sky, but would also sweep across the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Send an order!" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted, "Immediately summon Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Liu Bowen to the palace to discuss matters! No, wait." He suddenly changed his mind, "Don't alarm too many people first."

Lin Che understood Zhu Yuanzhang's concerns. If there really was a traitor in the court, summoning important officials to discuss the matter with great fanfare would only alert the enemy.

“Your Majesty is wise.” Lin Che whispered, “I have a plan that may resolve this crisis.” Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes and said, “Tell me.”

"The reason why the Jurchens were able to infiltrate the garrisons was because our dynasty attached great importance to the defense of the northeast, making it difficult for them to break through from the outside, so they turned to seek internal disintegration." Lin Che analyzed, "Why don't we relax the defense of the northeast on the surface, create the illusion of troop mobilization, and lure them into taking action in advance."

"Lure the snake out of its hole?" Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be thinking about it.

"That's right. At the same time, we secretly dispatched elite troops to set up ambushes at key passes. Once the Jurchens take action, we can capture them all in one fell swoop." Lin Che's eyes flashed with a sharpness, "More importantly, through this action, we may be able to find out the traitor in the court."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly, his anger slightly fading: "This is a great plan. But you must be careful and not let the news leak out."

"I suggest that this matter should only be known to your majesty and me. The deployment of troops can be carried out secretly by your majesty's trusted generals."

"Who do you think would be a good choice?"

Lin Che thought for a moment and said, "General Lan Yu is brave and good at fighting, familiar with the terrain of the Northeast, and a cautious person. He can take on this important task."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment: "Lan Yu is indeed suitable. But he has an impatient temper and needs someone to assist him. What do you think of Ji Gang?"

Lin Che's eyes lit up: "Jin Yiwei Commander Ji Gang is meticulous and good at intelligence work. If he can cooperate with General Lan Yu, he will be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Okay! It's settled." Zhu Yuanzhang finally smiled. "Lord Lin, you will be in charge of coordinating this matter. Remember, you must act in secret."

“I obey your command.” Lin Che saluted solemnly.

At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the palace, followed by Wang Jinghong's panicked voice: "Your Majesty! It's not good! Urgent military news from six hundred miles northeast!"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Lin Che looked at each other, their hearts sinking at the same time.

"Show it up!" Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly.

Wang Jinghong handed over a muddy military report with trembling hands. Zhu Yuanzhang quickly opened it, glanced at it, and his face suddenly changed.

"Zhang Cheng, the deputy commander of Liaoyang Garrison, rebelled, killed commander Wang Huan, and led more than 300 people to defect to the Jurchens!" Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth, "What a Zhang Cheng! I treated him well, but he dared to do this!"

Lin Che took the military report and read it carefully, frowning: "Your Majesty, this is strange. Zhang Cheng was promoted by Wang Huan, and the two of them were like father and son. How could they suddenly turn against each other?"

"you mean"

"I'm afraid the Jurchens are trying to sow discord between the two of them." Lin Che analyzed, "The secret report mentioned that the Jurchens are good at sowing discord. This is most likely their work."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "What a trifle! Lord Lin, the plan will be implemented ahead of schedule. I will secretly summon Lan Yu and Ji Gang to the palace."

“I’ll arrange it right away.” Lin Che bowed and left.

The rain was still falling, but not as hard as before. Lin Che opened his oil-paper umbrella and walked into the rain. The palace lanterns cast a dim halo in the rain, and his figure gradually moved away, eventually disappearing between the palace walls.

In the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang stood alone in front of the window, holding the blood-stained military report tightly in his hand. His eyes penetrated the rain curtain, as if he saw the distant northeastern border - there, a bigger storm was brewing.

"Jurchen. Jurchen," Zhu Yuanzhang murmured in a low voice, with a dangerous light flashing in his eyes, "I will let you know the consequences of being an enemy of the Ming Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)