King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

In the courtyard.

The two looked at each other.

Zhu Gaoxu sneered and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, although he was very disdainful of Zhu Gaochi's question.

But at the same time, I can also understand the prince's mood and thoughts at this moment, and know that he can't believe that these things are true and those people can do such cruel things.

In this matter, it is not the prince's fault for acting in this way and having this expression.

When he heard the report from the Jinyiwei, the case presented, and the detailed details of the implementation, the expression and demeanor he showed was nothing compared to Zhu Gaochi's current attitude, and the two were not much different.

It is also hard to imagine that these individuals could be so bold and do such incredible and bizarre things in such a critical situation.

When he first heard the news, he wasn't in a good mood at all.

He also couldn't believe it, so he put aside the information presented by the Jinyiwei and told Ji Gang and Zhu Gaosui not to act rashly and to wait for his news.

After issuing this long list of orders, Zhu Gaoxu was of course not idle at all. He directly ordered Lao He to notify his men to secretly verify the information submitted by the Jinyiwei to see if there were any problems or any hidden secrets, etc.

But he didn't know until he checked. Once he checked, he was really shocked.

What's the problem here? Is there any so-called discord or some hidden secret?
These are all real things that happened. The information submitted by the Jinyiwei is not false at all, and there is no deliberate frame-up, etc.

He was also extremely surprised.

I can't figure out what's in these people's heads, or what they're thinking, and what gives them the confidence to be so unscrupulous.

However, after careful consideration, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have figured out some of the tricks here, and seemed to have guessed what those individuals were thinking, or what gave them the confidence to be so bold.

to be honest.

It is actually very simple and can be summed up in three words: 'darkness beneath the lamp'.

Because this matter involved so many people, with the six ministers and important officials in the court acting as guarantors, and the three brothers Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui joining forces to put pressure on them and warn them with strict orders.

to this end.

That's what happens, according to normal logic.

As long as you are a normal person, it is definitely impossible and you will never do such a thing.

Of course, no matter whether it was the six ministers of the six ministries and important officials in the court who acted as guarantors, or the three brothers Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Gaosui, with such a strong joint pressure, no one would have thought that someone would go against their will and do something irrational in this matter.

Therefore, we should just treat it as a matter of the moment and let it pass by.

I won't ask at all.
It is precisely because of such thoughts that those bastards who were recorded in the case were so unscrupulous, giving them enough confidence to do such daring and cruel things.

But even Zhu Gaoxu had to admit that these personal thoughts and control over human nature were truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

This is really true in these matters.

Whether it was Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaosui, or other ministers in the court who put pressure on him.

Really, we didn't dwell on this matter too much. It was like we were deliberately avoiding it, as if the incident had never happened. We had a good understanding with each other.

If the Jinyiwei hadn't accidentally discovered the clues in this matter, noticed some clues, and conducted in-depth investigations and visits, these bastards would have really taken advantage of the opportunity.

Here, I fooled everyone and treated everyone as fools. I made a fortune quietly and without anyone knowing. It was so comfortable and satisfying.

Thinking about it, after a brief pause, Zhu Gaoxu withdrew his gaze from him, took a few deep breaths, and did not look at him coldly or speak harshly. He shook his head slightly and sighed:

"Boss"

"I know what you mean."

"But I want to tell you about this matter."

"Everything is clear and there are no clues or problems."

"And the crimes committed by the people on these lists are not just the words of the Jinyiwei. They have been verified by the Third Brother and me. After everything is confirmed to be true and that they are real events, I will give you this list for you to review."

"certainly."

"I don't want to say anything else. If you don't believe me, Boss, you can ask your people to take the list in your hand and check it carefully. The truth and falsehood will be clearly visible. After all, although these people are very careful, they have done what they did, and the traces can never be covered up."

After hearing this.

Got such a reply.

The knowledge of the list of letters was the result of inspection and verification by the three forces led by Jinyiwei, assisted by Zhu Gaosui and Zhu Gaoxu.

Although Zhu Gaochi was very reluctant to believe it, he still had a little hope in his heart. After Zhu Gaoxu's answer, his hope was slowly shattered and crushed. He realized that in the current matter, there was really no room for suspicion and doubt, and it was a real thing.

Because it involves three forces, even though the third brother and Zhu Gaoxu are in cahoots, as for the Jinyiwei Ji Gang, although he seems to be controlled by Zhu Gaoxu, what you see may not be true.

Jinyiwei!

The old man’s personal army, the old man’s eyes monitoring the world.

How was it possible that he was so easily won over by Zhu Gaoxu and became his supporter?
Even though Ji Gang is superstitious and avoids it, it only applies to Ji Gang.

There are so many people in the Jinyiwei, and investigating the current incident, there must be countless Jinyiwei involved. How could this matter be suppressed by just Ji Gang?

In other words, faced with such a situation, does Ji Gang have the courage to deceive his superiors and subordinates and really stand on Zhu Gaoxu's side?
No matter what others think or think, Zhu Gaochi feels that it is definitely impossible.

If Ji Gang was caught by Zhu Gaoxu, at most he would be reported to Emperor Yongle, which would not be a capital crime. But if Ji Gang could not distinguish the situation and really dared to collude with Zhu Gaoxu and do such dirty things, then he would surely die.

And how could Ji Gang, who was able to become the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, be a fool?
How can we not tell which of these things are important and which are not, what can be done and what cannot be done?
to this end.

How could the things Zhu Gaoxu just said not be true? How could there be any fraud or frame-up in them?

As he thought about it, Zhu Gaochi frowned, his fat face filled with endless anger. With a 'bang', he slapped the table in front of him heavily, and stood up straight from the chair. With a slightly trembling voice, he roared angrily:

"These bastards, these bastards."

"How dare they?"

"They are hypocritical, disregarding the emperor's grace, pushing their luck, and not knowing what is good for them. They should all be dragged out and beheaded."

Tell the truth.

At this moment, Zhu Gaochi was really angry, because most of the people on the list were from his faction!
As a result, these bastards actually did such disgusting things.

Isn't this a slap in the face of him as the crown prince? They did this on purpose to disgust him? They have clearly given these people a chance, and have clearly said that they will let bygones be bygones, but these bastards don't know how to stop when they are ahead, and don't know what it means to stop when enough is enough.

This is simply intolerable and infuriating.

Regarding the current matters, with the six ministers, important officials in the court, as well as him, the King of Han, and the King of Zhao, so many people have joined forces to put pressure on them, yet these individuals still dare to be so blatant and do such audacious things in an attempt to get away with it.

Can be imagined.

In certain things, at certain times, these people have all kinds of thoughts and ideas?

Is it possible for such a person to expect these people to be loyal to him and serve the country wholeheartedly?

Not to mention whether others believe these nonsense or not, even if he himself heard it, he would absolutely not dare to believe it, and it is impossible for him to believe these people.

Moreover, so many things have happened over the years. God knows how many things these bastards have done in secret.

This is exactly the real reason why Zhu Gaochi was so angry.

Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised at all in this situation. He nodded imperceptibly and agreed:

"Yes."

"I plan to have the Royal Guards arrest all of these individuals and conduct a thorough investigation of their assets."

"No."

"I think most of the people on these lists are your people."

"I would definitely like to hear your opinion on this. I want to see if there are any people you would like to make an exception for. If so, we can put forward the names of these people in advance."

"Then you won't have to work so hard, and you won't have to feel so bad, right?"

Zhu Gaoxu did not lie in this statement.

People who are greedy are not necessarily useless.

Just like Heshen of the Qing Dynasty, his ability to get things done is truly top-notch, and he has a place in all dynasties.

For the emperor, there is no distinction between loyal and treacherous ministers. As long as they can truly do practical things for the court and serve the emperor, even if there are some minor flaws, it is acceptable.

Of course, if it really reaches an unacceptable level, then it is not impossible to just capture and kill him.

Just think of it as raising pigs, fatten them up and then kill them.

By then, all the money that people have greedily obtained will be collected and put into the national treasury, which will not be a big loss for the imperial court. In a sense, it can be regarded as making the best use of resources in the true sense and it is not a big deal.

After all, these things are common in all dynasties and have happened countless times.

After hearing this, Zhu Gaochi paused slightly, but in just a moment, he slowly savored the deep meaning and implications of Zhu Gaoxu's words.

Thinking about it, after a brief pause, Zhu Gaochi let out a long breath, couldn't help but sighed, closed his eyes with some heartache, and did not answer Zhu Gaoxu's question immediately, but asked:

"Second child"

"What are you going to do?"

"Like you said, what happens after we capture all these people?"

"Are we really going to wipe out all of these people and kill them all?"

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu raised his eyebrows, slowly raised his head, looked at the prince standing aside with interest, who looked a little depressed and lonely, smiled, and asked back:
"What?"

"Boss, are you reluctant to give it up?"

"Didn't you just say that you wanted to take these people out and chop off their heads?"

"It was only a moment, what happened?"

"You changed your mind again?"

"Are you reluctant to give up on this matter?"

Asked several questions in a row.

When Zhu Gaochi heard this, his expression changed. He looked at him for a moment, shook his head slightly, and replied:
"How can it be!"

"For all the bastards' bad deeds, I wish I could kill them one by one with my own hands. How could I be reluctant to do so?"

"only"

"If you start killing people like this, I'm afraid it won't be a good thing for you!"

"Second!"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help laughing. He raised his hand and gently patted the prince's shoulder. He nodded with a smile and said:
"These things"

"The old man is not here, and it's not easy for you, the prince, to show up."

"As the regent of the state, I am the only one who can clean up and purge them, to make an example of them and set an example for them."

"Moreover"

"Haven't a lot of things happened to me in these few years?"

"How many ministers, big and small, have been sent to the guillotine because of me, because of the orders I gave, and because of me?"

“As the saying goes: Too much debt is never a burden.”

"I already have so much blood debt on my shoulders, how can I possibly care about these little things in front of me?"

"What can we do if we give the order?"

"Can they bite me?"

"Or, in other words, in this matter, the evidence is solid and the opportunities have been given. Who can still argue with me here and say that I am wrong?"

"What can they do to me?"

"But I have never been afraid of these people." (End of this chapter)