I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 76 A shocking case
Hu Zongxian put down the document and said resolutely: "Since His Royal Highness has made up his mind to take this opportunity to thoroughly rectify the three towns of Shanxi, Datong and Xuanfu, then I will not hesitate to sacrifice my life."

Xu Wei smiled and said, "Ruzhen doesn't need to be so serious. The Jin Party and the Jin merchants seem to be deeply rooted, but can they be compared with the former Prime Minister Yang Gong and the ferocious Yan Party?
The imperial power is awe-inspiring, and the majesty of heaven is magnificent. No matter how powerful a force is, as long as Xiyuan issues a decree and the imperial guards are dispatched, it will collapse in an instant. "

Hu Zongxian remained silent.

Xu Wei handed over a note: "Brother Ruzhen, where are these people?"

Hu Zongxian took the note and took a look at it. "Former Datong Town General Zhao Guoliang, Deputy Generals Yang Lu, Xiao Ling, Lieutenant Generals Wu Qiyong, and Lin Dongyang are in the manor of the wealthy Tian family outside the city right now. They might be scolding me."

Xu Wei said to the person outside the door, "Go and invite Captain Song in."

"Captain Song?"

"Song Gongliang, the fifth son of Xining Marquis Song, is currently serving as a captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Imperial Guard. He is the real boss this time, and he is leading the Imperial Guard to arrest someone."

Xu Wei lowered his voice and said, "Captain Song married the daughter of Captain Chen Changyan of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Chen Changyan?"

"Brother Chen, the eldest of Princess Yu, Captain Song is the cousin-in-law of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Hu Zongxian understood it clearly.

It seems that the prince attaches great importance to this matter and the people he sent out are the most trusted ones.

Song Gongliang walked in wearing a red bullfighting suit and a big hat. He was in his early twenties and looked heroic.

"Song Gongliang, a captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, meets with Hu Butang of the Ministry of War."

"Captain Song, please don't be polite." Hu Zongxian said politely, "Mr. Wenchang told me that Captain Song is the real boss this time. I am responsible for assisting him. If you need anything, please feel free to ask."

"Thank you, Hubu Tang!"

Soon, hundreds of soldiers surrounded the manor of the wealthy family outside Datong City, and the slaves inside were scared and ran around everywhere.

Amid the noise, Zhao Guoliang, the former general of Datong Town, walked out with a gloomy face, stared at the garrison commanders Xue Ang and Gao Wenyong, and spoke viciously.

"Xue Ang, Gao Wenyong, please don't go too far!"

"General Zhao, we are also following orders today." Xue Ang and Gao Wenyong replied with a bow, and stepped to the sides to make way for Song Gongliang.

"Who are you?" Zhao Guoliang asked in a deep voice.

"Song Gongliang, a captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Imperial Guard."

Everyone was terrified.

"By order!"

Song Gongliang shouted.

Everyone fell to their knees.

"The Ministry of War's Du Shizhong Hu reported that the Gengxu Incident was actually caused by the border generals and officials of Datong and Shanxi who accepted bribes from illegal merchants, sought personal gain, provoked the northern barbarians, and then secretly let the northern barbarians enter the pass and harassed the local area.
Their crimes are unforgivable, their punishments are unforgivable, and the Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division is ordered to arrest the relevant people and deport them to the capital to be tried and sentenced by the officials!"

After Song Gongliang finished reading the imperial edict, he began to call out the names: "Zhao Guoliang, Yang Lu, Xiao Ling, Wu Qiyong, Lin Dongyang, all seven of you are here, so that I don't have to arrest people everywhere.

Someone come! "

"exist!"

"Take it!"

"Yes!"

Soon, a hurricane swept across Datong and Shanxi Town, and sixty-three people above the garrison level were arrested, including twelve retired generals and deputy generals.

Then this hurricane swept towards Shanxi Province, and seventy-five governors, prefects, and county magistrates were arrested, of whom fifty-one had retired.

Thirty-seven local merchants and wealthy families in Datong, Daizhou, Shuozhou, Xinzhou, Taiyuan, Pingyao, and Qixian were arrested, totaling 541 prisoners. All of them were sent to the capital by the Jinyiwei.

Shanxi was shocked, the capital was shocked, the whole world was shocked.

In the study room of Gao Gong's mansion in the capital, Gao Gong and Yang Bo looked at each other worriedly.

Gao Gong said sadly: "Your Highness has great means. He actually traced back from the Gengxu Incident and caught all the elites of my Jin Party over the past few decades."

Yang Bo's eyes flickered, hiding an unspeakable fear.

"The Gengxu Incident was a thorn in the emperor's heart. He has remembered it for more than ten years. Now it has been pulled out by the prince, bloody. How many people must die before the emperor can relieve his hatred."

Gao Gong raised his head and asked, "Mr. Wei Yue, what exactly is the Gengxu Incident?"

Yang Bo was silent for a while, then said sadly: "Altan Khan, the leader of the Tumed tribe of Mongolia, has been asking our Ming Dynasty to open a horse market at the Datong border, but was flatly rejected by the court.

In June of the 1550th year of Jiajing (), Altan Khan led his army to attack Datong, and General Zhang Da and Deputy General Lin Chun were killed in the battle. General Qiu Luan of Xuanda was panicked and had no idea what to do, so he bribed Altan Khan with a large sum of money to ask him to move the invaders to other places and not attack Datong.

In August, Altan Khan moved his troops eastward and first attacked Xuanfu, but was resisted by the garrison. The Minister of War Ding Rukui requested to dispatch troops to strengthen the defense of Gubeikou and other places.

Then, under the guidance of Duoyan Weiyingke and others, Altan Khan made a feint to the east and attacked in the west. On August 14, he led several thousand cavalry to feint an attack on Gubeikou, while he led the main force to launch a surprise attack on Huangyugou from Pigeon Cave.

Governor Ji-Liao and Chief Censor Wang Ruxiao and General Luo Xihan mobilized their main forces to fight back with artillery fire, arrows and stones, but their rear was cut off and the entire army was defeated.

Altan went from Shixiaying to Miyun, then attacked Huairou and Changping, and reached Tongzhou, where he plundered everywhere. Then Altan camped at Gushan, Rukou, and other places 20 miles east of Luhe River, and martial law was imposed in the capital.

Yang Bo sighed heavily, "Since the Tumu Incident, there has been no warning in the capital for a hundred years. Now Altan Khan has suddenly arrived at the city gates. We are extremely frightened and at a loss as to what to do.

At that time, the military registers of the capital were all fictitious, with only 40,000 to 50,000 imperial guards, half of whom were old and weak, and half were servants of the ministers of internal and external affairs. They also lacked war equipment and armor, and their combat effectiveness was extremely poor.

In the midst of panic, Ding Rukui, the Minister of War, asked Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, how to fight and defend. Yan Song said that if you fight on the frontier, you can conceal your defeat, but if you fight in the suburbs of Beijing, you cannot conceal your defeat. Altan is just a predator, and he will leave naturally when he is full.

Ding Rukui understood and warned the generals not to act rashly. The generals all defended their positions without fighting and did not fire a single arrow. So Altan's soldiers burned and looted freely outside the city for eight days. After looting to their heart's content, they received the court's promise to pay tribute and withdrew from Gubeikou.

Afterwards, Yan Song framed Ding Rukui for other crimes to avoid responsibility."

Gao Gong listened quietly, because what Yang Bo had just said was just the surface, and what he was going to talk about next was the inside story hidden under the water.

"A few years later, Qiu Luan died of illness. Someone reported to the Jinyiwei that Qiu Luan had bribed Altan Khan with a large sum of money during the Gengxu Rebellion to make him move his invaders to other places and not commit crimes in Datong.

At that time, Jinyiwei commander Lu Bing presented the evidence of Qiu Luan's crime to the emperor. The emperor was furious and ordered the three courts to hold a trial. Qiu Luan was convicted of treason and his body was opened and mutilated.

Now the prince has found out from nowhere that it was the Shanxi merchants who wanted to open up the border and set up horse markets to make huge profits. However, the Shanxi Party was still weak at that time and was suppressed by the Yan Party and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Party, so it could not do it.

So they bribed Altan Khan of the Tumed tribe with a large sum of money to break the border and force the court to open up the border. However, Altan Khan led his troops directly into the capital and threatened the capital, which led to the Gengxu Incident.

The prince handed the evidence to Hu Yingjia, the military official, who impeached him, which led to this shocking case.

Gao Gong asked in confusion, "Lord Wei Yue, it's been more than a decade since the Gengxu Incident, how could the Crown Prince find out so clearly? Moreover, this matter is of great importance and extremely secretive, how could the Crown Prince find out about it?"

"If you don't want people to know, then don't do it. More than a decade has passed, and those involved think they are safe and sound, so they are not so tight-lipped.

I guess that it might be the Jinyiwei's spies in the border towns of Shanxi and Datong who got some information and then passed it to the prince."

Gao Gong stroked his beard and said, "How come the news about the Imperial Guards came to the prince's mind? The Border Intelligence Investigation Section under the Supervisory Office received the Nine Border Intelligence Investigation personnel from the Imperial Guards. I'm sure the border town spies were also transferred at that time.

That happened several months ago, and the prince had been keeping it to himself, but now he suddenly strikes out. But how much of this big case is true and how much is false? "

Yang Bo sneered, "How much is true and how much is false, does it matter? In the Gengxu Rebellion, the emperor lost all face and was forced by the civil officials to kill more than a dozen people. Even the Yan Party was almost overthrown.

Now that the truth has been uncovered, the Gengxu Incident was caused by some people who colluded with the enemy and sold out the pass for their own selfish desires. The emperor's bad name has been cleared. Do you think he will think it is true or false?"

Gao Gong remained silent. From the perspective of Emperor Jiajing, this major case must be true, and it couldn't be any more true!
　Fourth update!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)