The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 321 The Mastermind Finally Revealed

Outside the Pacification Division.

Mou Bin led the elite Jinyiwei to confront Tang Mu and other soldiers.

He has done everything he can and hopes that Tang Mu can turn back from his wrong path.

After all, the Zhenfusi Yamen represents the authority of the Jinyiwei, and more importantly, represents the transcendent status of the Jinyiwei as the emperor's personal army.

If Tang Mu really led the Beijing army to attack the Pacification Office and massacre the Jinyiwei, he would be tantamount to treason and would definitely be executed by the Emperor afterwards!
However, Tang Mu was blinded by hatred at this moment, so he simply would not listen to the advice. Even if he died, he would catch Zhu Chenhao and find out who was behind it.

The two sides are in a standoff and the situation is about to break out!
Just when the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, a rider on a horse came galloping over. It was none other than the familiar Zuo Yidao.

Zuo Yidao rode his horse closer and whispered something to Tang Mu. The latter's pupils suddenly shrank with a look of shock and surprise, and then immediately returned to normal.

Zuo Yidao harshly accused Tang Mu of misbehaving, arbitrarily mobilizing troops and conspiring for treason, and demanded that he immediately hand over his admiral badge.

Then Zuo Yidao retreated back to the office of the Pacification Office, stood beside Mou Bin and whispered a few words. Mou Bin also looked pleased and a hint of joy flashed across his face.

"Tang Mu, why don't you surrender?!"

"Attacking the Pacification Office is tantamount to treason. Do you want your property to be confiscated and your clan to be exterminated?"

Zuo Yidao spoke again, shouting loudly.

Treason!
Conquer the family and exterminate the clan!

As soon as these words came out, the Beijing army soldiers who were ready to fight suddenly quieted down.

This is confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan!

No one is not afraid!
Once Muni is involved, there will be absolutely no way to survive!

The blood that was boiling with hatred earlier showed signs of dying down gradually because of the four words "confiscation of property and extermination of the clan".

Tang Mu seemed to be in hesitation as well, his face was gloomy and hesitant.

At this moment, Lei Xiong suddenly stepped forward and asked sternly: "Tang Mu, have you forgotten the favor of the Marquis?"

"Soldiers, the Marquis died tragically because of the villain's scheme. Do you agree?"

Following Lei Xiong's shout, all the soldiers of the Beijing Army had red eyes and clenched their swords tightly.

"No!"

"Revenge! Blood debt must be paid with blood!"

At this moment, the belief in revenge reached its peak!

Putting aside the kindness that the Marquis had shown them, the Marquis of Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty, a close confidant of the Emperor, was suddenly assassinated by someone else. Anyone would feel heartbroken and aggrieved!

Because of Lei Xiong's words, the soldiers of the three armies were filled with grief and indignation, and showed signs of mutiny again.

Tang Mu looked at Lei Xiong deeply, his eyes extremely cold.

However, he did not say much, just patted Lei Xiong's shoulder heavily, then raised his knife and looked at Mou Bin and Zuo Yidao.

"No one can stop me today!"

"My men, avenge the Marquis! I, Tang Mu, will bear all the blame!"

As he said this, Tang Mu waved his hand heavily.

"Brothers, kill!"

Seeing this, Mou Bin and Zuo Yidao shouted loudly: "Protect the Pacification Office!"

"Anyone who dares to enter will be killed without mercy!"

The war was about to break out, and the deafening shouts of killing resounded through the night, frightening countless people.

At the same time, in a secluded courtyard in the capital city.

Li Shishi and Wang Lun were both present, their expressions extremely solemn.

The three great advisers under the command of Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao, apart from the Juren Liu Yangzheng, were these two.

Li Shishi was undoubtedly the leader of the three great counselors, because he was not an ordinary person, but a Jinshi who served as the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

He was a Jinshi in the second year of Chenghua. Although he was not morally upright and lacked ability, his career was very successful. He once reached the high position of Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. However, he was suddenly impeached by the censors for corruption and bribery after only a few years. Li Shishi had no choice but to resign and retire. The court immediately dismissed him, so Li Shishi was idle at home.

Li Shishi's home was very close to Ning Wang's Mansion. Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao was amazed at his family's wealth and power, and tried hard to make friends with Li Shishi. The latter also harbored resentment towards the court because he was dismissed from office, so he secretly colluded with Zhu Chenhao and became Zhu Chenhao's cronies.

Wang Lun was also a Jinshi graduate and an official appointed by the imperial court. He served as a councilor of Jiangxi Province, but he accepted Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao's supporters and gave him advice.

The two of them were different from Liu Yangzheng, who was just a juren and had no hope of a career in officialdom, so he wanted to be an opportunist and tried to help Zhu Chenhao rebel and ascend to the throne to become a loyal minister.

Both of them were legitimate officials appointed by the imperial court, but precisely because of this, their relationship with Zhu Chenhao was destined to be based entirely on interests. There was no loyalty to speak of, and it was even more impossible for them to follow Zhu Chenhao to death!
When Li Dongyang explained Zhu Chenhao's situation one by one, the two of them reacted instantly. Their every move was under the eyes of the Emperor, and they didn't know when their property would be confiscated and their family would be exterminated!

Zhu Chenhao, this idiot, is completely unaware of the situation and is still making intensive preparations for rebellion. This is the saddest thing!
Therefore, the two had no choice but to obey Li Dongyang and Prince Ning, sneak into the capital secretly, and plan this show.

"Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao is dead!"

"Tang Mu, Chang Kuohai and others have led the Beijing troops in mutiny!"

"Zhu Chenhao and Liu Yangzheng were also thrown into the imperial prison by His Majesty the Emperor and tortured!"

Wang Lun looked at Li Shishi and said in a deep voice: "Old man, now we are just one step away. When the Beijing Army and the Jinyiwei start fighting, we can take advantage of the chaos and retreat!" Li Shishi opened his eyes and asked: "Have you arranged a retreat?"

"Don't worry, old sir. Once the martial law is lifted in the capital, we can take a carriage and leave the city. No one will know that you and I have been to the capital, let alone know that this event that overturned the court was done by you and me!"

Wang Lun was even a little excited.

Because the feeling of manipulating everything behind the scenes is so intoxicating.

You must know that the two of them successfully killed the Ming Dynasty's Zhongshan Marquis, and also eliminated Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao, the heads of the two major forces in the court!

Just a marginal figure, yet he can manipulate the overall situation in the court. This is simply a perfect experience!

Li Shishi glanced at Wang Lun expressionlessly, then sneered: "Don't flatter yourself. This is not a plan between you and me, but a plan by Li Dongyang!"

"You and I are just pawns!"

If he had no choice, Li Shishi really would not want to get involved in such a life-and-death struggle.

Unfortunately, he made a wrong move back then, which brought ruin to his family and forced him to be controlled by others.

"Li Dongyang is indeed a famous scholar in the world!"

"It's horrible that he can plot against the government while living in the countryside!"

Hearing this, Wang Lun's face was filled with awe.

"Fortunately, it's him, Li Dongyang!"

"Otherwise, if we follow this idiot Zhu Chenhao in rebellion, we won't even know how we died!"

"I think Nanchang has also started to take action. I estimate that the prince's accusation will arrive in the capital soon. In this way, all the charges will be pushed onto Zhu Chenhao and Liu Yangzheng, and we can at least be safe!"

This is Li Dongyang’s plan.

Li Shishi and Wang Lun secretly sneaked into the capital and assassinated Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao. They then used this incident to pin the blame on Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao and forced the court to investigate Zhu Chenhao. They learned of Zhu Chenhao's treasonous activities. At the same time, the Ning Wang's son's accusation memorial was on the way to the capital.

It is undoubtedly a strange story that a son reported his father for treason.

But this is the last chance to preserve the Ning Palace. After all, Prince Ning selflessly reported his father's conspiracy to rebel, which was completely a show of loyalty to the country.

According to the court's previous handling, Zhu Chenhao would naturally be killed, and his other three sons would also be wiped out. The remaining "meritorious" Prince Ning would naturally inherit the title of Prince Ning.

After all, the Ning clan’s lineage is also the bloodline of Emperor Taizu Gao, and the imperial court will not easily let the lineage be cut off.

The Prince of Ning's act of "killing his own relatives for the sake of justice" is undoubtedly a golden signboard. The imperial court will naturally not be stingy with rewards. Instead, it will praise him highly to intimidate those royal princes who have ulterior motives.

Don't rebel, otherwise you will be deserted by your friends and relatives. Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao is the best proof of this!

According to Li Dongyang's plan, once this strategy is completed, the situation in the court will be completely changed.

First of all, Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, whom Li Dongyang hated to the core, was assassinated and killed, and everything he had worked hard for would instantly come to naught.

Tang Mu, An Guo and other arrogant and brave generals led their troops to attack the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division, which was tantamount to treason and was bound to arouse the fear and suspicion of Emperor Zhu Houzhao. These trusted generals who followed Tang Hao would inevitably be suppressed and liquidated, and the desire of military generals and nobles to rise would become a joke.

As there was irrefutable evidence that Zhu Chenhao was plotting treason, the civil officials and gentry would naturally not miss this great opportunity. They seized the opportunity to attack the emperor and force him to purge the royal family's power in the court.

In this way, the rise of military generals and nobles was interrupted, the royal family and princes were expelled from the court, and the civil officials and gentry could make a comeback and once again monopolize power and control the government!

Without that damned Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao, no one could stop the civil officials and gentry!

As for Li Dongyang himself, it seems that he has not gained anything, but as long as the civil officials and gentry regain control of the government, he, Li Dongyang, will naturally have a chance to make a comeback. Moreover, after this incident, the Prince of Ning will listen to him, and Li Dongyang can take advantage of the situation to break his own death situation.

I have to admit that this cruel and vicious plot is really hard to guard against.

Li Shishi and Wang Lun were still chatting, checking for omissions and making sure the strategy was implemented perfectly.

Just at this moment, a guard hurried in.

"My Lords, it's done!"

"The sound of killing from the Pacification Office shook the sky!"

In view of the tense situation, they did not dare to get close to the scene for direct observation, but even so, they could hear shouting and killing from that direction in the distance. It was obvious that the Beijing army soldiers were really attacking the Zhenfusi Yamen.

Upon hearing this, Wang Lun excitedly slammed the table and stood up.

"it is good!"

"that is really good!"

"Zhu Chenhao's money was not wasted!"

"I can't believe he can even bribe the commanders of the Beijing Army!"

Li Shishi sneered when he heard this: "Weren't we the same way at the beginning?"

"Who in this world doesn't love money? The emperors of the Ming Dynasty set up imperial estates to openly exploit the people's wealth and plunder their blood and sweat. Why do they accuse us gentry of corruption and bribery? It's really sad and ridiculous!"

Obviously, Li Shishi is still dissatisfied with the court and the emperor because of his dismissal from office!
"Oh, I guess the little emperor must be mad now, right? Hahaha..."

Just as Li Shishi was laughing wildly, an angry voice was heard.

"I don't know how your Majesty is doing, but you are in trouble today!"

(End of this chapter)