Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 240 Whose Winter Has Come
Before the northern section of the canal was completely frozen, Chu Fan and his group finally arrived in Beijing.

For most of them, this was the first time they left their fiefdom.

When the king saw the emperor, he knelt on the ground and refused to get up.

"Open the palace door."

After Zhu Changluo finished giving his orders, Chen Ju asked Wang An and Zou Yi to open the door of Fengxian Hall together.

Zhu Huakui and his companions were not qualified to enter the Fengxian Hall to worship, but they all knew that the emperor wanted to settle this family matter together with the portraits and spirit tablets of his ancestors.

The first snow had just fallen, and there was only a thin layer of snow in the courtyard outside Fengxian Hall, but it was still chilly.

Zhu Changluo looked at them.

If this case had not broken out, would it have been better for Zhu Changluo and the imperial court to continue to suppress the resentment in the hearts of many officials and gentry and not let it break out, or would it have been better for him to have more excuses to take action against the royal family and officials and gentry again after it broke out?

This is no longer important. There are only two questions to be asked now.

"Ancestors, the bloodline of Chu's great ancestor must not be desecrated." Zhu Changluo first set the tone, and then asked, "Zhu Huakui, twenty-nine clan members have sued you for not being of the bloodline of the former king of Chu. Now, in front of the ancestors, I come to question you. Over at the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager is questioning your mother and the rest of the female family members. Over at the Jinyiwei, the Northern Pacification Division is questioning the Wang clan members."

Staring at Zhu Huakui's head, Zhu Changluo paused and said coldly: "Answer my questions truthfully. When the three files are compared, if there are mistakes or omissions without reasonable explanation, then one of you must be guilty of deceiving the emperor first."

"…I dare not. I am wronged."

Zhu Huakui's emotions had already collapsed. After all, Hou Gongchen had made it clear: no matter what, his role as the King of Chu had come to an end.

"Don't rush to cry out for injustice." Zhu Changluo looked at him, "Wang An, write this down yourself. Prince of Chu, Zhu Huakui, let me ask you first, you two brothers are posthumous children, and there must be a lot of rumors in the Chu clan over the years. Since you were a child, have you ever asked your biological mother or stepmother about this matter?"

"…I have asked."

"How many times? Do you remember the year, month, and day? What was your reply?"

Zhu Changluo asked this question in the snow in front of Fengxian Hall.

Regarding the bloodline of the current King of Chu, we cannot simply make assumptions, as that would appear to be the emperor making false accusations and finding excuses in order to move against the royal family.

There is no convincing detection technology nowadays, but cross-examination, comparison of confessions, and finding of doubts, such a file obtained from many people's mouths, more or less shows that the emperor himself handled the matter with caution.

In fact, cross-examination was not just taking place in Beijing. Hou Gongchen and Wang Bing, who stayed in Wuchang Prefecture, were also investigating more people who were still there at the time.

In the Jinyiwei, Tian Ergeng, who had gained some experience in the Jinyiwei and received some influence in front of the emperor, was now transferred to the Beizhenfusi.

He is still a centurion, but now he works in the Imperial Prison.

Tian Ergeng asked his father about this job, saying that it seemed that this job would offend people. Tian Le told him that the more the emperor trusted him, the more he would offend people. It was Tian Le who took the initiative to request that he be transferred to the imperial prison.

Now the people that Tian Ergeng offends are of higher and higher levels, this is the princess's family.

"You don't have to take chances." Tian Ergeng said to Wang Ruyan and others, "I won't tell you the results of the clan leader's investigation in Wuchang Prefecture. But whether your answers are true or false will determine the future and fate of your Wang family."

Wang Ruyan’s face was pale. They had heard of the horrors of the imperial prison in the past, but now they were there in person.

As a princess, she was sent to the imperial prison. The emperor's attitude was obvious.

Tian Ergeng didn't even start asking questions, but kept putting pressure on.

"Over the years, there have been so many officials, eunuchs, and maids in the palace. If it is really a posthumous child, the former king of Chu must have made many arrangements. I asked them one by one and found out what they said. I can only tell you that my eyes have been opened. After all, it is none of my business. The clearer I am of this matter, the better. This is human nature."

"Speaking of human nature, it reminds me of the candidates and tribute students who were arrested a few days ago..."

Tian Ergeng chatted with them like this.

He is young and full of energy.

After making them uneasy with all kinds of chatter, he suddenly asked them a few questions related to that year.

The question didn't seem to matter much, after all, it wasn't a direct question to them whether they had mixed up the real thing in the past, or whether they had actively conspired or followed the orders of the former king of Chu.

In the Cining Palace, there was the Empress Dowager, who had great power.

There were only four people in front of her: one was the Queen Mother of the King of Chu, one was the biological mother listed on the King of Chu's roster, and the other two were the real biological mothers of the two brothers Zhu Huakui and Zhu Huabi as identified in the memorials of the Chu clan.

"If it is really the child of you two, it is a hardship for the mother and child not to recognize each other, and it is a great sin to conceal the fact! If this really happened back then, you naturally had no power to disobey. The brothers of the King of Chu are young, and this matter is not theirs to decide. But for their lives, and for the lives of your father's family, you should tell the truth now!"

This is the capital city, where the royal family is investigating the authenticity of the King of Chu, a member of the Chu royal family.

At the local level, the ripples caused by the Chu vassal riots, storming the government offices and killing local officials finally turned into huge waves, first hitting Huguang and Jiangnan.

Liang Yunlong not only received the official document sent by Shen Li, but also received a letter from Wang Xijue.

He needs to make this decision.

In front of him were the Right Councillor Lu Changgeng and the Inspector Wu Kai.

Lu Changgeng was once entrusted by him to travel to Nanjing to compete for the share of the newly added gold and silver on behalf of Huguang. He was a capable confidant of his in Huguang.

Wu Kai's last official post was the Imperial Inspector of Salt in Hedong. During his tenure, he not only surveyed and drew a detailed "Map of the Hedong Salt Pond" comparable to the Qingming Shanghe Tu, but also presided over the repair of the flood control embankment system to protect the salt pond.

"The Inspectorate means that if a local official is involved in the case, no leniency will be shown. The Prime Minister means..." Liang Yunlong paused, "Huguang has vast territory and fertile fields, connecting the north and the south. Water conservancy, roads and bridges are of utmost priority for Huguang. The Chu vassal state is the beginning. The land invaded by the Huguang royal family, the manors that have been deducted from their salaries, and the land hidden by the Huguang gentry should all be rectified through this matter." Lu Changgeng and Wu Kai both looked serious, knowing that the court's determination to propose the reform of the royal salary would not change because of the riot in the Chu vassal state.

Instead, they should take advantage of the situation in Huguang to create even greater waves.

"Jinyiwei Commander Wang Zhizhen is still in Huguang, and there will be no more chaos among the royal vassal states." Liang Yunlong looked at Wu Kai again, "This is what Grand Marshal Jian said in his letter."

"... Governor, you are so cautious. Who did you find out?" Lu Changgeng asked solemnly and looked at Wu Kai again.

"We are still collecting autumn grain, Futai..."

"So I want you two to come together to handle it." Liang Yunlong's eyes turned cold. "Since he is involved in this matter, how can we be afraid? After all, he is an official appointed by the court. Once the imperial decree arrives, we will arrest him and bring him to the capital for trial!"

"Who is it?"

Lu Changgeng was shocked.

After all, he was just an official of the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office, and the investigation of the case was done by the Governor-General and the Censorate.

Wu Kai said succinctly: "Xu Yinghuang, the prefect of Wuchang Prefecture."

"Him?" Lu Changgeng asked in a lost voice, "Why..."

"The profits of the Wuchang Taxation Bureau, the annexation of Wuchang Prefecture's land. And his hometown, Chun'an County, last year the Zhejiang Province returned nearly 3 million taels of stolen money."

Lu Changgeng was slightly distracted, and only heard Liang Yunlong say: "If the imperial edict arrives, the affairs of Wuchang Prefecture will be handled by Yuan Bai first."

"…I obey your orders."

The three people in Wuchang City did not have to wait too long. Currently, all matters concerning the Chu vassal were being handled by the post station system managed by the Privy Council with the standards of urgent military intelligence.

Early in the morning of the fifth day, Wu Kai arrived at the Jiangxia County Government Office and found Gong Nai.

"I'd like to borrow the Jiangxia yamen runners, County Magistrate, come with me to arrest the person."

Gong Nai trembled with fear: "Press the stage, who shall we catch?"

Just lend him money, why should he accompany you?
Wu Kai didn't say anything to him. He just asked him to select the fast and strong squad first, and then left the county government office.

Not far east from the Jiangxia County Government Office is the Wuchang Prefecture Government Office.

Gong Nai initially thought that Wu Kai was going to the area around the Prince of Chu's Palace in the east, but he didn't expect that Wu Kai would turn left directly in front of the gate of Wuchang Prefecture.

"Take off the sticks of the government officials, and do not move! By order, arrest the prefect of Wuchang and bring him to justice."

Gong Nai's pupils contracted as he looked at the inspector who walked in and intimidated the government officials.

The Chu vassal riot, the Wuchang prefect was actually involved?

Then he became a little excited: Could it be that being the first to provide clues means he has done a great job?
Let him accompany us to arrest the top official. Now is the critical period for collecting taxes. Could it be...

In the lobby of the government office, Xu Yinghuang was entertaining the Censor Li Tao and treating him as the leader. He was also wondering why he suddenly came today to discuss matters concerning the military preparations of Wuchang Prefecture.

It seems that the deputy military envoy here is seriously injured, so he needs to pay personal attention to it.

But at this moment, seeing Wu Kai and his men advancing without any notice, his expression could not help but change slightly.

Li Tao also stood up and stared at Xu Yinghuang.

"The inspector is here..."

He wanted to deal with it a little and find out the situation, but Wu Kai bowed to Li Tao first and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister."

"You have ulterior motives and instigated the vassal lords to cause me, the magistrate, to seriously injure two deputy envoys. How can I appease my subordinates if I don't show up?"

Xu Yinghuang's face changed drastically, and Wu Kai had already taken out a letter: "The imperial edict has arrived. After the request of the governor and the provincial inspector of Huguang, Xu Yinghuang, the prefect of Wuchang Prefecture, was arrested and sent to Beijing for questioning."

According to the imperial system, the imperial censors, the censors and the sub-officials of the sixth rank and below can interrogate officials on their own and then discuss and report to the emperor for punishment. If officials in Beijing or officials above the fifth rank in other places commit crimes, they must report to the emperor for approval and are not allowed to interrogate officials without authorization. If officials in prefectures, counties and cities commit crimes, their superiors are not allowed to interrogate them without authorization. They are only allowed to provide the reasons for their crimes and report them in a sealed form. If they are allowed, they can be questioned.

Xu Yinghuang was a prefect of a prefecture, a fourth-rank official. When he committed a crime, the local government first petitioned for punishment, which was a correct procedure.

What Gong Nai didn't understand was that, since he had alarmed Li Tao and had come to calm him down personally, why didn't the Neisi Yamen take it directly?

Then he quickly found out the reason: "Officials and clerks of the government office, please hurry to the hall to wait for questioning. Magistrate, please use the county yamen runners to temporarily serve as the hall attendants."

"I understand, I understand..."

He is so excited.

It seems that the problem in Wuchang government office is very serious! So serious that we need to identify which officials in the government office are in cahoots with Xu Yinghuang.

After all, Xu Yinghuang has been the prefect of Wuchang for seven years!
They were not here to arrest Xu Yinghuang. Someone of such high rank would of course be taken away by the Nei Si and escorted to Beijing for trial.

They are here to cooperate with the inspector to clean up the gates of the Wuchang government office first!

Soon, the people standing on duty in the lobby of the government office became the runners from the Jiangxia County government office. They looked on in surprise as the runners from the government office, who used to be of higher rank than them, stood trembling in fear inside and outside the hall waiting to be interrogated one by one by the inspector.

Things are really getting bigger and bigger!
(End of this chapter)