The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 434 Undercurrent
Zhu Qizhen was unhappy. "My Great Ming has a vast territory, and Jiangnan is the richest of the rich. Although we have moved inland, we have been given farmland. How can we not be able to maintain food and clothing?"

Cao Jixiang whispered: "There are always people who are not good at farming, and..."

"If you don't know how to do it, then learn it. What's the difficulty?" Zhu Qizhen said, "I don't know how to do farming, but I have learned it."

Cao Jixiang did not dare to persuade him any further, and could only bow his head and say, "Yes, I was wrong."

Zhu Qizhen frowned, but he was not angry with him. After all, he was loyal to him.

Queen Qian said softly, "It would be great if we could have the best of both worlds. There would be no invasion from the Japanese pirates, and we could still make a living by fishing as they wish."

Zhu Qizhen certainly wanted to have the best of both worlds, but the Ming Dynasty had a long coastline, and those people were called Japanese pirates, but in fact most of them were Ming Dynasty civilians disguised as pirates.

Kill this one, and they will reappear somewhere else.

However, Zhu Qizhen was distressed for a while before nodding and saying, "What the queen said makes sense. We should have the best of both worlds."

Although the man's words were unpleasant to the ear, there was some truth in what he said.

Queen Qian smiled when she heard this. She knew the emperor. He was the kind of person who loved him to live and hated him to death.

Although he said that he wanted to catch that man, he was actually very happy in his heart, so he agreed with what he said to some extent.

Queen Qian vaguely felt that it was not good for the emperor to do this, but she couldn't help but like the emperor's preference.

Because she is always the favored one.

The palace was in commotion for most of the night, and Zhu Qizhen and Queen Qian did not go to bed until late at night.

Cao Jixiang and others hid in a side hall, expressing their gratitude to the emperor and empress while feeling the thrill of surviving a calamity.

However, Pan Yun, who did all these things, slept very well. She flew all the way out of the palace and ran around Beijing two and a half laps before she got rid of the people who were chasing her. When she returned home, her energy was exhausted. After washing, she lay down and fell asleep, and slept soundly.

After seeing that she returned safely and without a tail, Yin Song turned around and went back to the house to lie down.

The two brothers and sisters tacitly did not express any opinions on this matter.

The next day, while Pan Yun was still asleep, Yin Song went to the palace to work. He wandered around the palace under the pretext of surveying the new feng shui for the new year, as if nothing had happened.

What surprised Yin Song was that nothing seemed to have happened in the palace, and everything was just the same as before.

But after walking around, he still found a clue.

The palace was more tightly guarded, and all the people in the Imperial Observatory were gathered together. The deputy supervisor in charge of the affairs of the Observatory walked up to him and the two officials Qiu and Dong with a notebook and asked, "Where were you last night?"

The three of them answered at the same time: "At home."

Deputy Supervisor: “Is there any witness?”

The three of them said in unison: "Family."

The deputy supervisor frowned, "Only family members? I'm afraid this can't be used as testimony."

Yin Song asked, "Did something happen in the palace last night?"

Deputy Supervisor: "Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. Think about who can testify for you? It's around the time of the dog hour to the pig hour."

Qiu Guanzheng: "Chun Chun, not sleeping at night is like seeking death. Apart from family members, there is really no one who can testify."

The deputy supervisor was speechless, so he turned to look at Yin Song and Dong Guanzheng: "Where are you two?"

They both said, "Me too."

The deputy supervisor closed the notebook with a snap, turned around and left, "Alright, just remember what I just said. If the Jinyiwei come looking for you, come find me."

The three of them agreed together, and as soon as the deputy supervisor left, they all looked at Chun Guanzheng.

Yin Song smiled and asked, "How was the star sign last night?"

"Go away," Qiu Guanzheng pulled him aside and asked Chun Guanzheng directly, "Were you watching the stars in the palace last night?"

Chunguanzheng glanced at them and said nothing.

Qiu Guanzheng knew the answer immediately and asked, "What happened last night?"

Chun Guanzheng didn't answer and turned to leave, but Yin Song and Dong Guanzheng each grabbed one of his arms and held him still.

Qiu Guanzheng walked around to Chun Guanzheng and interrogated him, "Tell me quickly, the emperor got very angry when he received the report of the Luchuan battle last autumn, but I told you in advance so that you could receive the news before you could tell the fortune."

Chun Guanzheng: "...The emperor may not ask for divination this time."

Dong Guanzheng: "It is better to be prepared. You know everything. It is night now. The emperor will definitely not call you. You should always consider us."

Yin Song: "That's right, we have helped you a lot before."

Qiu Guanzheng: "As a human being or an official, you must not be ungrateful..."

"Alright, alright, what kind of person would I be if I continue talking like this?" Chun Guanzheng paused and said, "An assassin entered the palace last night."

"Assassin?" Yin Song looked unconvinced. "Who is so bold as to enter the palace and assassinate the emperor?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false?" Chun Guanzheng said, "That person's martial arts skills were extremely high. I suspected that she might have entered the martial arts world. I only chased her for more than a mile before she was left behind. However, two people from the Northern Pacification Office chased her for a long time."

Chun Guanzheng paused and lowered his voice and said, "I suspect she is a woman."

Yin Song's eyebrows jumped and he asked, "Did you figure it out?"

"No, I figured it out," Chun Guanzheng said, "I felt something was strange when I saw her, and after a divination, it turned out to be a girl."

For people like them, sometimes what they see is just the feeling, not the problem with the other person's disguise.

Yin Song said he understood and only asked, "Have you told the Northern Pacification Office?"

Chun Guanzheng glanced at him and said, "I'm not stupid. Those old men in the Northern Pacification Office have always looked down on us. Even if I tell them, they won't believe me. Why should I tell them?"

Yin Song felt relieved, but his expression did not change. Seeing that he was fine, Qiu Guanzheng took over and asked, "Which female senior is there in the wild in the Jianghu?"

Dong Guanzheng shook his head: "I can't remember."

"Are you sure that the other party has entered the martial arts? This cultivation level is not low. The other party must be at least 50 or 60 years old, right?"

Chun Guanzheng: "Not that big. Judging from his figure, he is only in his twenties or thirties."

"Impossible. It's harder for a warrior to enter the martial arts world than it is for us. Even the most talented people don't enter the martial arts world before the age of 35, let alone a woman. It's even more impossible."

Chun Guanzheng sneered: "Practicing martial arts depends on one's physique, what does it have to do with gender? When I look at her figure, I feel that she is not big, do you doubt my eyesight?"

Dong Guanzheng: "I didn't doubt your vision, I was just reasoning according to common sense."

"No doubt about it. Let me tell you now that she is less than 30 years old. Do you believe it?"

Dong Guanzheng: "...You are irrational, and your age has shrunk again."

Chun Guanzheng: "So you still don't believe in my eyesight."

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Yin Song and Qiu Guanzheng turned around and walked out.

Yin Song turned his head and said, "Those people in the Northern Pacification Office have always been arrogant. Someone entered the palace and left right under their noses. They will definitely not let him go after being hit so hard in the face. Next, they will definitely catch people everywhere like mad dogs. Do you think they can catch him? Let's take a gamble."

Yin Song said first: "I bet they can't do it."

Qiu Guanzheng: "Are you so sure?"

Yin Song nodded.

Qiu Guanzheng thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll bet that they can catch him. How much do I bet?"

Yin Song asked tentatively: "Ten taels?"

Qiu Guan was surprised: "Have you become rich? Or are you crazy because of lack of money?"

Yin Song: "...Then how much do you say?"

Qiu Guan was extending a finger.

Yin Song frowned: "One or two?"

Qiu Guanzheng said seriously, "One cent."

Yin Song's face became expressionless.

Qiu Guanzheng: "You said that when you gamble, you are gambling for the fun of the process, not the money. Didn't you always gamble a penny before?"

"That was before."

Qiu Guanzheng: "You are suddenly so generous. I have a feeling that you know her and are sure she won't be arrested?"

Yin Song: "I believe in Chun Guanzheng's vision. It's not easy for Jinyiwei to catch a martial artist under 30 years old, regardless of whether she is a man or a woman."

Qiu Guanzheng thought so too.

The atmosphere in the palace was a little tense. The emperor did not say anything, but the incident of breaking into the palace at night was still fermenting and surging in the undercurrent.

Wang Zhen hadn't slept all night, and just as he opened his tired eyes he received this bolt from the blue.

He sat on the bed for a long time without saying anything.

The young eunuch kneeling on the ground couldn't help but raise his head and look at him secretly.

Wang Zhen then asked in a hoarse voice with a solemn face, "Who was serving His Majesty at that time?"

The young eunuch said in a trembling voice: "It was Eunuch Cao who brought people to serve him."

"Cao Jixiang~" Wang Zhen responded in an ambiguous tone, and stood up and said, "Change your clothes, and order someone to call everyone who stayed there last night to the East Factory and interrogate them thoroughly about what happened."

The young eunuch whispered, "But your majesty said that this matter cannot be made public. Eunuch Cao is still serving your majesty..."

Wang Zhen turned his head and looked at him expressionlessly. The young eunuch trembled and immediately lowered his head: "I will go right away."

Only then did Wang Zhen get ready to meet the emperor.

The two of them tacitly did not talk about what happened yesterday, and naturally did not mention the assassin entering the palace.

Wang Zhen served the emperor meals, reviewed memorials, and participated in state affairs every day, until a Jinyiwei came in quickly and whispered in the emperor's ear.

Zhu Qizhen then put down his pen and raised his head with frosty eyes, "Mr. Wang, did you ask the East Factory to arrest Cao Banban?"

Wang Zhen looked up in surprise and bowed quickly, saying, "How could that be? I just had him called in for questioning. It must be that the people below were mistaken."

Wang Zhen said solemnly: "Your Majesty, those people in Jianghu shout about freedom, but they always use force to break the law, making it impossible for anyone except themselves to be free.

If this kind of thing is not stopped, they will do even more outrageous things in the future.”

"Especially the people in the martial arts world set their goal to become famous. Today, that thief broke into the palace to become famous. Next time, someone from another sect will break into the palace to become famous. If this continues, the palace will become their training ground." Wang Zhen bowed and said in a deep voice, "I also ask Your Majesty to allow the East Factory and the Northern Pacification Office to cooperate in this case and bring this treasonous person to justice."

Zhu Qizhen pondered. Although he was still angry with Wang Zhen, it was undeniable that what he said was right.

This matter indeed cannot set a precedent.

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a long time and said, "I have handed this matter over to the Northern Pacification Office. You can hand Cao Jixiang and others over to the Northern Pacification Office for questioning."

Wang Zhen's heart tightened, and he felt very sorry, but he still bowed his head and said obediently: "Yes, I will go and see him off personally."

Zhu Qizhen felt much more comfortable. Although he knew that his obedience was fake, he still couldn't help but feel satisfied. He thought it would be great if everyone could be as obedient as him. Even if they were not satisfied, they would have to keep it to themselves.

Unfortunately, many people in this world cannot learn to know when to stop, and even less can they learn to read other people's faces.

(End of this chapter)