Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 628: Imperial Horse Supervisor Li Guofu
Zhu Shenzhui's situation was different from that of Zhu Di and Prince Ning.

Zhu Di's campaign to quell the rebellion was to protect himself, Prince Ning's rebellion was for his ambition, and Zhu Shenzhui's rebellion was to address the Ming Dynasty's current internal and external troubles.

The Ming Dynasty was in a state of despair, and if it continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before the country fell. Although Zhu Shenzhui had no other choice but to launch the rebellion ahead of time, what he wanted to do was not the same as the Ning Wang Rebellion, but to restore order and rebuild China.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty had not reached its final stage until Li Zicheng conquered the capital and Emperor Chongzhen fled to Coal Hill and hanged himself. You should know that there were many capable ministers in the late Ming Dynasty. Not to mention old ministers like Sun Chengzong and Xu Guangqi, even new ministers like Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng were enough to save the world. As for Hong Chengchou, although his reputation in history was extremely bad, he was even included in the biography of traitors and was reviled in later generations because he defected to Huang Taiji.

But in terms of ability, Hong Chengchou was not inferior at all. It was precisely because of his later surrender that the Qing Dynasty had the opportunity to rule the Central Plains. If Hong Chengchou had not given advice to the Qing Dynasty, how could the Eight Banners Army, no matter how capable they were at fighting, have replaced the Ming Dynasty?
In addition to these civil officials, there are also a large number of military generals, such as Qin Liangyu, Cao Wenzhao's uncle and nephew, He Renlong, etc. Which one is not a battle-hardened general? Zuo Liangyu is slightly inferior, but he can also take charge of a situation. As for Liaodong, it goes without saying that Zu Dashou is also capable. The famous Wu Sangui is now a young hero. As long as these people are used well, the Ming Dynasty can be said to be as stable as Mount Tai. As for the Liaodong Jiannu, they are even more vulnerable.

Unfortunately, Emperor Chongzhen had no idea how to employ people, let alone govern the country. After Emperor Tianqi's death, Emperor Chongzhen was handed over a country with stable imperial power and strong strength. However, when Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he completely changed all of this, destroying Emperor Tianqi's years of hard work. Not only did he kill Wei Zhongxian directly, he also eradicated all the eunuchs who were originally the emperor's party, which led to a major change in the political structure, which was out of control.

All of this was done by Emperor Chongzhen. He did not think he had done anything wrong, and each move pushed the Ming Dynasty further into the fire pit. As he reigned longer, the Ming Dynasty became weaker and weaker, which eventually led to rebellions everywhere. The people were living in misery, and foreign enemies became stronger and stronger, but the emperor was unable to stop them from outside the country. As a result, the giant Ming Dynasty was constantly bleeding, and finally it fell down on its deathbed.

Zhu Shenzui did not stay in the capital for long. After only two days, he quietly left the capital and embarked on the return journey.

On the way back and forth, Zhu Shenzhui deliberately chose the route from Yuxia Pass to the capital, not only to hurry on his way, but also to actually walk this route himself, and at the same time to understand the specific conditions of this route.

The facts were similar to what Zhu Shenzhu had expected. Because of the bandits like Gao Yingxiang, the Ming Dynasty did not have many troops stationed in northern Zhili. Apart from the garrisons in Changping and Baoding, there were only some local garrison troops.

There were 6,000 Ming troops in Changping, and slightly fewer in Baoding, at around 5,000. The two armies together had no more than 10,000 people.

However, these are all figures on the books. Zhu Shenzui has sent people to investigate. The actual number of Ming troops in Changping is only over 3,000, and nearly half of them are unpaid. The army in Baoding is not much better, with 40% of the unpaid wages. Even if the civilians and local garrison troops are added together, the total number of the two armies will not exceed 8,000.

Moreover, the equipment and combat effectiveness of these troops were not good enough. They might be able to fight against bandits, but they were far inferior to the elite border troops, not to mention fighting against Zhu Shenzhui's cavalry and new troops. In Zhu Shenzhui's words, these Ming troops were basically prone to collapse at the first touch, and he was fully confident that he could easily defeat the other side as long as the two armies faced each other.

As for the local garrisons and city defense forces, there is no need to mention them. Their combat effectiveness is even worse. They can barely defend themselves by relying on city walls and firearms, and they are completely vulnerable in field battles.

After all this journey, when Zhu Shenzhui returned to Shanxi and arrived at Zhaowuling, he had a clear idea in his mind. At this time, news came from the court that Emperor Chongzhen had finally decided to continue investigating the Hengtong incident after struggling for a long time. He was going to send an angel to Shanxi to first capture Zhou Anmin of the Shanxi Jinyiwei, and then take action against the Hengtong head office. At the same time, he ordered the arrest of the royal family members of Pingyang Prefecture to find out the truth.

This result was already expected by Zhu Shenzhui. After learning the news, he sent people to the north first and directly intercepted the people sent by Emperor Chongzhen. After arresting the people, he found the imperial edict on them. After reading the imperial edict, Zhu Shenzhui sneered in his heart. The content of the imperial edict was just as he thought. In addition, there was clearly another meaning. This meaning was that Emperor Chongzhen and some people in the court had set their eyes on Hengtong's financial resources and intended to take this opportunity to swallow up the entire Hengtong in one gulp.

"Is this Eunuch Li?" Zhu Shenzhui looked at the eunuch who was tied up tightly and asked with a smile.

Li Guofu stared with horrified eyes. He was a powerful eunuch appointed by the emperor the day before, but in the blink of an eye he became a prisoner. He had no idea what was going on.

The night before, he was grabbed from his bed without knowing what was going on, tied up without knowing what was going on, thrown into a carriage and bumped along the way, and was finally brought here.

The man in front of him was tall, with a majestic face, a beard and an extraordinary bearing. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, he showed an extraordinary demeanor. Li Guofu hummed a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything because his mouth was blocked. Zhu Shenzhu looked at him with a smile. After a moment, he seemed to think of something, slapped his forehead and laughed, "Look at me, I actually forgot that the eunuch is not in a position to speak right now, blame me, blame me! Someone, come! Untie the eunuch, how can you be so rude when a distinguished guest comes?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man appeared from the side, took the hemp core out of Li Guofu's mouth, then pulled out a dagger and cut the rope that bound him, and then retreated.

After being untied and having nothing in his mouth, Li Guofu gasped for breath, his expression of fear easing slightly. He just wanted to get up, but because he had been tied up for too long, his whole body was numb. He struggled a few times but couldn't stand up. He could only sit on the ground and look up at Zhu Shenzhui.

"You... who are you? I am Li Guofu, the imperial eunuch, and I am on a tour of Shanxi under the order of the emperor. How dare you murder me? You are so bold!"

"Ouch!" Zhu Shenzhui was startled and made a frightened expression. He said to those around him, "Oh my god! The chief eunuch of the Imperial Stables? This rank is not low! It is said that the Imperial Stables is in charge of the army? No wonder this eunuch Li has such courage. It is really impressive!"

"Everyone, if we touch Eunuch Li, wouldn't that be a capital crime? He is not only the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, but he also carries the emperor's orders. What if the emperor gets angry and wants to kill me? What should I do?"

As soon as the words fell, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter. Some people laughed and said that this was a serious crime and that the entire clan would be exterminated. But some people said that exterminating the entire clan was impossible. If the emperor wanted to exterminate Zhu Shenzhui's entire clan, wouldn't that mean exterminating himself as well? At best, he would just kill Zhu Shenzhui. Some people joked that it would be better to kneel down and beg for mercy from Eunuch Li. As long as they were sincere, Eunuch Li might let everyone go, and this matter would be resolved.

However, some people objected, saying that since he had already done it, why bother with so much? Anyway, no one else would know about it, so it would be better to kill this eunuch directly. What about the Imperial Stables? If he falls into the hands of everyone, he will be just a lamb to be chopped off.

Everyone was talking at once, but Zhu Shenzhui just smiled and said nothing. Li Guofu was even more frightened after hearing this. He still hadn't figured out who these people were, but they had the guts to arrest him and tease him on purpose. Could it be that these people were bandits who came from somewhere? Or even the big bosses among the bandits?
"Okay, okay, stop talking nonsense. Look, what are you talking about? Eunuch Li's face has changed because of what you said. This is not the way to treat guests." Zhu Shenzhu waved his hand, and the voices of the crowd stopped. Then Zhu Shenzhu looked at Li Guofu with interest and asked him with a smile that if he was a eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, why did he bring so few people with him? Moreover, when he entered Shanxi, there was no escort from the officials and soldiers, only a few dozen people traveling lightly?
Li Guofu's movements slowed down a bit. He barely stood up and did not answer Zhu Shenzhui's question. Instead, he asked who Zhu Shenzhui was and whether he knew that arresting him was a grave crime. It was not too late to stop now. After all, no irreversible consequences had been caused. As long as Zhu Shenzhui could turn back and let him go, he could forgive him. Otherwise, it would be too late to regret.

After hearing this, Zhu Shenzhui laughed out loud. Li Guofu was still pretending to be so arrogant in front of him. However, Zhu Shenzhui admired Li Guofu. Although he was a eunuch, he was quite courageous. Even in this situation, he still saved himself and persuaded others. He was a real man.

"Li Guofu, what is this?" Zhu Shenzhui laughed, turned around, picked up something and threw it in front of him and asked back.

Li Guofu was stunned when he took a closer look. Wasn't the thing thrown in front of him the imperial edict he always carried with him? And now it was scattered in front of him like a piece of rag. For a moment, Li Guofu was so angry that he trembled all over.

"You...you! How dare you! This is an imperial decree! Doing this is a serious crime!"

"I know, I know. It's no big deal if I'm guilty of a serious crime." Zhu Shenzhui said lightly, "The person has been arrested. I've also read the imperial edict. What can you do to me?"

"My family... my family..." Li Guofu had never seen such an arrogant person before. He opened his mouth to continue scolding. In the Ming Dynasty, such a thing actually happened. Even if the other party was a bandit, so what? He, Li Guofu, should be loyal to the emperor today. Even if he dies, he must maintain the dignity of the Ming Dynasty!

But before Li Guofu could get excited, Zhu Shenzhui said, "Didn't you just ask me who I was? Since you are an angel and you came here on orders, how come you don't know who I am? The imperial edict clearly states that Hengtong should be sealed off and the royal family members who have connections with Hengtong should be arrested. How come you don't recognize me when I'm already here?"

Li Guofu was shocked when he heard this. He had never thought that Zhu Shenzhui was such an identity, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. After carefully looking at Zhu Shenzhui, Li Guofu believed it a little, because the Zhu family was easy to recognize. Zhu Shenzhui had a slightly long square face, a high nose bridge, long eyes and thin eyebrows, and a short beard. This appearance was 70% similar to the portrait of Emperor Taizu enshrined in the palace.

(End of this chapter)