I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 61 Hai Rui in the Imperial Prison
The Imperial Prison, also known as the Jinyi Prison, was managed by the Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division, where prisoners could be tortured and interrogated directly to obtain imperial orders.

The Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate had no right to intervene and were regarded by the world as a hell on earth.

"Your servant greets Commander Zhu." An eunuch wearing a steel-forked hat and a dark green embroidered robe stepped forward and bowed to Zhu Xixiao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Are you Wang Cheng from the East Factory?" Zhu Xixiao asked with narrowed eyes.

"In reply to Commander Zhu, I have been granted the position of Chief of the Imperial Horse Administration by the Emperor's grace, and will no longer work for the East Depot."

"Oh, congratulations, Wang Jiancheng." Zhu Xixiao's eyes flashed and he bowed.

"You're too polite, Governor Zhu."

"Wang Jiancheng came to my Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division. Do you have any official business?"

"In reply to Commander Zhu, I am here to see the imperial prisoner Hai Rui on the orders of the Emperor."

Zhu Xixiao's eyes twitched violently.

Hai Rui was in a hot pot in the imperial prison.

In the memorial "Memorial on Public Security", he directly pointed out the bad policies of Emperor Jiajing, such as his love of Taoism, his large-scale construction projects and his excessive extravagance, which shocked the whole country.

Although the emperor was furious and stripped him of his post and sent him to prison, his reputation was still renowned throughout the country.

Every day, people would pass on messages through various connections, asking for his help. Others would bring food and clothing to Hai Rui, including high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

Zhu Xixiao had a terrible headache.

Now the emperor has sent someone to "visit" Hai Rui. Is it to see if he is in good health? Or to see if he has not died of illness yet?
"Before I came here, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stopped me and asked me to bring a jar of pickles from Liubiju in the capital, and four multi-grain steamed buns from the old Mo family, which are Hai Rui's favorites."

Zhu Xixiao narrowed his eyes, and the prince also got involved.

This is even more complicated!
Now, all the civil and military officials in the court dare not regard the prince as an ordinary person.

Which ordinary person can give the emperor advice to set up a Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office and obtain some financial power in the name of Southeast Anti-Japanese.

How could anyone remotely command and manage the Coordination Office with the help of the maritime trade license? The three major businesses, Xingruixiang, Deshengmao and Lianshengxiang, which were established, led more than a dozen businesses in the southeast and monopolized the maritime trade.

Which ordinary person could give the emperor timely advice to change the name of the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office to the Donation and Relief Coordination Bureau, which would not only avoid the surging public opinion but also expand the business?

Zhu Xixiao also heard that over the past year or so, the fall of the Yan Party, Gao Gong's entry into the cabinet, and Xu Jie's failure all seemed to have the shadow of the prince.

As a nobleman, Zhu Xixiao knew very well that if it were not for the great victory in Xianghe, the Guihai Rebellion in midsummer would probably have evolved into the Gengxu Rebellion of that year.

The civil officials and literati would put most of the blame on the emperor, forcing him to kill people, including some civil and military officials who worked for the emperor and were not tolerated by the mainstream civil officials and literati.

Who knew that after the great victory in Xianghe, the situation would be reversed.

The emperor took the opportunity to put the blame on the civil officials and beheaded Yang Xuan, the governor of Ji and Liao, Xu Shen, the governor of Shuntian, and others who were elected by the civil officials, directly at Caishikou.

This greatly shocked all the civil officials in the court.

The great victory in Xianghe was closely related to the Crown Prince.

In 20 days, he assembled 9,000 elite soldiers, loaded them on ships in Ningbo, set sail with favorable winds, and sailed all the way to Tianjin, suddenly appearing in the capital. Then he caught the northern barbarians by surprise, beheaded 4,000 of them, and won an unprecedented victory in the Jiajing Dynasty.

Only a madman would think this way, do this, and then accomplish it!
Is the prince crazy?

Many thoughts flashed through Zhu Xixiao's mind, but he remained calm.

"Since Wang Jiancheng has received the emperor's order and the prince's entrustment, please follow me in."

"Thank you, Commander Zhu."

When I arrived at the gate of the Beizhenfusi Prison, an indescribable stench hit my nose.

Two flag bearers presented a box.

"There are scented beads inside. Put them into your nostrils to keep away odors and filth. Please, Wang Jiancheng."

"Thank you, Commander Zhu."

The two men stuffed scent beads into their nostrils and walked into the gate of the imperial prison.

Four jailers cleared the way at the front gate, and two more jailers each held a lantern to light the way. Behind them followed a dozen guards and flags.

"Where is Wang Jiancheng doing business in the Imperial Stables?"

"In reply to Commander Zhu, I will obey the emperor's order and take up my post in the new military camp."

"Oh, the new military camp led by Qi Yuanjing (Qi Jiguang), the commander-in-chief of Jizhou Town and the director of the Military and Political Training Department of the Beijing Camp?"

"Yes."

"I thought Wang Jiancheng was going to the Warrior Camp on business?"

"The Emperor has handed over the Warriors Camp to Liu Yi to lead."

"Liu Yi?"

"Ah, that is the eunuch Liu Yi who followed the crown prince from Prince Yu's mansion to the Western Garden and was later promoted to the position of Supervisor of the Internal Affairs Bureau. He has now been promoted to Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Horse Bureau and is stationed in the Warrior Camp."

Zhu Xixiao remained calm, but his heart was in turmoil.

The Guihai Rebellion and the Xianghe victory secretly changed the power in the capital, but most of the civil officials who had always been indifferent to the soldiers did not notice it for the time being.

"Wang Jiancheng, I heard that the emperor intends to set up a special office to manage the military affairs of the Beijing Camp. My brother is the governor of the Beijing Camp and is deeply involved in the military affairs. I wonder if Wang Jiancheng has heard of it?"

"Commander Zhu is well-informed. The emperor's order has already reached the Imperial Household Department, and it may have been issued by now. You can speak freely, Wang.

The emperor wanted to set up the Beijing Military Administration Supervision Office to focus on the Beijing Military Administration. The emperor said that the military administration in the capital was in a mess, which allowed the northern barbarians to take advantage of the situation and almost caused a disaster. It must be strictly rectified, so the emperor made a decisive decision to set up such an office.

It is said that it has a quartermaster's office, a training office, and an ordnance office, and also has a new army camp for training new soldiers. It also has the Arms Bureau, the Firearms Bureau, and the Warriors Camp.

"Will the Warriors Camp be allocated there as well?"

Zhu Xixiao was shocked.

The Armour and Equipment Bureau and the Firearms Bureau are among the twenty-four offices in the palace, responsible for the manufacture of armour and firearms, and the emperor can allocate them to whoever he wants.

Zhu Xixiao couldn't take care of it for the time being, as he was concerned about the Warriors Camp.

The Warrior Battalion and the Four Guards Battalion belong to the imperial guards and are not the same as the Beijing Battalion.

"Yes, I don't know what the emperor means, and I dare not speculate."

Maybe we should train the Warrior Battalion as well.

The emperor may feel that the imperial guards are corrupt and difficult to use, and want to revitalize them?
The divine will is unpredictable.

However, Zhu Xixiao could guess that his brother Zhu Xizhong must be in the Governor-General's Office.

He is a very qualified tool man.

The Crown Prince will definitely be the one in charge of the Assistant Supervisory Office, and he will insert his people into the office. The Imperial Stables, as the eunuch military supervisor, will also be involved.

The Coordination Office was changed to the Coordination Bureau and continued to thrive.

Now there is an office for supervising military affairs in the Beijing Camp. The prince's layout is really stable. He has the shrewdness of the emperor, but he is far-sighted and cautious in doing things.

Well, it seems that there is a Prince Yu between the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

Alas, poor Prince Yu!
The two talked as they walked, and soon came to a solitary cell inside.

This can be said to be the cleanest place in the entire imperial prison.

Hai Rui, wearing gray clothes and with unkempt hair and a dirty face, sat in a haystack, staring at the window on the high wall, greedily looking at the ray of sunlight.

"Mr. Gangfeng." Wang Cheng nodded to Zhu Xixiao and walked forward and said.

Hai Rui turned around and saw Wang Cheng's clothes and knew at a glance that he was a eunuch.

"It turns out that someone has come from the palace. Is it time for me to die?" Hai Rui stood up, calmly straightened his clothes, and removed the straw from his head.

(End of this chapter)