Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 337 All officials admit defeat and hope that the emperor and father will show a kind face!

As for Liang Shibiao and Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen could no longer move, his eyes filled with fear.

He didn't expect that he would die, which instantly extinguished his desire to become a noble and powerful official.

Liang Shibiao was still spitting blood at this time. He looked at the three people who were captured with confusion in his eyes and opened his mouth slightly a few times.

What he couldn't understand was why someone would come to kill them?

But after a while, he finally understood that the emperor must have known that they were aware of the murder of Zhang Tong, and that was why he chose to teach these unruly civil servants in his outer court a lesson in this way.

When Liang Shibiao thought of this, he turned his eyes to look in the direction of the Forbidden City, said "How cruel!", then tilted his head and died on the spot!

And Chen Zhen had already died.

Because the two censors were killed in a busy street outside the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and because the Mansion was hosting a funeral and there was a constant stream of officials coming and going, this scene was quickly witnessed by the court officials, who were all horrified.

Wang Shike, also a censor of the Censorate, had walked almost all the way to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion to pay his respects with the two men, but was just a few steps behind. He saw with his own eyes the scene of the two censors being shot and falling to the ground, and was so frightened that his legs went weak on the spot.

After a while.

Wang Shike finally came to his senses and strength. He did not go to pay his respects, but hurried back to the Censorate.

"elder brother!"

"Someone is rebelling!"

Wang Shike was the younger brother of Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Shizhong.

So, as soon as Wang Shike returned to the Censorate, he went to Wang Shizhong's duty room and spoke to him breathlessly.

Wang Shizhong was also shocked when he heard from his brother that someone had rebelled. When Wang Shike came in, he hurriedly asked, "Who rebelled? Who dared to rebel in the capital?"

Wang Shike replied with gritted teeth: "I don't know either, but I saw someone shoot and kill the censor Liang Shibiao and Chen Zhen with a musket on the street, on the way to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion!"

"Brother, who is so bold?"

"A dignified censor was shot dead in the street!"

"Is there any more royal law?"

As Wang Shike spoke, he asked about Wang Shizhong with tears in his eyes.

Wang Shizhong slumped into his chair, looking distraught.

Wang Shike couldn't help but shout: "Brother?"

"Your Majesty is trying to intimidate our outer court officials!"

Wang Shizhong suddenly murmured this sentence after Wang Shike shouted.

Wang Shike was naturally shocked when he heard his brother say this: "Your Majesty?"

Wang Shizhong immediately raised his head and looked at Wang Shike seriously:
"Don't tell anyone what I just said, and don't discuss what you saw today. Just treat it as an ordinary vendetta! Do you understand?"

"understand!"

"But I don't understand, why would they be killed?"

Wang Shike asked after answering.

Wang Shizhong laughed: "Not knowing the reason is sometimes a good thing! It means you are not involved."

"Our Majesty is truly daring and courageous. He is a great leader who can revive the country!"

then.

Wang Shizhong sighed again, then stood up and walked out.

"Brother, where are you going?"

Wang Shike asked when he saw this.

Wang Shizhong said: "Don't follow me, don't ask, just pretend you don't know."

After that.

Wang Shizhong came to Deputy Censor-in-Chief Min Kai.

At this time, Min Kai also learned about this from the Censor of the Censorate, with whom he was on good terms.

When Wang Shizhong arrived, he saw that Min Kai's hands were shaking as he held the tea, causing ripples in the tea soup.

"Your Majesty has fought back."

"Shouldn't you stop now?!"

Wang Shizhong was dismissing the people around Min Kai, and after saying this, he gritted his teeth and asked Min Kai this question.

He came to Min Kai to question him because he knew that Liang Shibiao and Chen Zhen were close to Min Kai from Renhe County, Zhejiang Province, and they were both the backers of the coastal big families in the court, and there were also suspicious signs that they had been plotting something recently.

Therefore, Wang Shizhong was very sure that the assassination of Zhang Tong was related to them, so he questioned Min Kai.

Min Kai put the teacup back.

Because he found that he was thirsty now, but he didn't feel like drinking anymore. Only after Wang Shizhong said this: "No matter what others do, I am really scared and I dare not continue to challenge Shengwei!"

Wang Shizhong snorted and said, "It's good to be afraid."

At this time, Min Kai stood up and spread his hands to Wang Shizhong and asked:

"But I'm afraid it'll be useless if I stop!"

"I'm afraid now that others won't be able to stop!"

"You should know that when you are in the government, you have no choice. The accumulated problems that have been formed over the years cannot be stopped just because someone wants to, or can admit defeat just because someone wants to."

Min Kai said this as he brushed his sleeves and turned to look outside.

Wang Shizhong nodded after hearing this, and then continued: "But our former Qingliu leader, Grand Tutor Yang Gong, has returned home and given up, and even his son has changed his position, so why should the people below continue to be stubborn and stubborn?"

"This matter is actually Yang Xindu's fault!"

"As soon as the emperor showed his intention to seize power, he surrendered first, which made his subordinates lose their backbone. No one could restrain the radicals, the timid ones decisively became turtles, and the shameless ones even rebelled directly."

"He might as well just serve as the Prime Minister of the Restoration for His Majesty and purge and eliminate his party first. This would be better than fighting on our own now!"

Min Kai began to blame Yang Tinghe.

Wang Shizhong laughed at this time: "It seems that I am a coward."

"I don't mean to scold you! Now that the emperor is so powerful, the smarter people know how to be cowards. I just hate that I didn't become a coward like you sooner!"

Min Kai replied at this time.

Wang Shizhong sat on a chair nearby and said earnestly, "We can't go on like this. If the king and father are unkind, it will not benefit anyone!"

"you're right."

"A father teaches his son to accept a small stick and walk away with a big stick. There is no reason to resist just because the king or father is using a big stick to attack him."

Min Kai nodded.

It turned out that Liang Shibiao and Chen Zhen were shot to death with muskets in a busy city, which was indeed the will of Emperor Jiajing.

Zhu Houcong said that he would give Wang Bangqi a chance to make meritorious deeds and atone for his sins, and this was the opportunity.

He took advantage of the fact that the musket had not been found yet and asked Wang Bangqi to let his men kill the two censors again, and teach the court officials outside the court a lesson, saying that since you do not follow the rules and use muskets to assassinate, I will also deal with you in this way.

It just so happens that the lost musket has not been found yet, so before the lost musket is found, there is a possibility that the minister will be killed by the musket.

When the time comes, let’s see who gets scared first.

When Zhu Houcong did this, the court officials were truly horrified.

That's why Wang Shizhong came to Min Kai to talk about this, and Min Kai also acted so panicked and frightened.

Zhu Houcong soon learned about the assassination of the two censors.

to this end.

Zhu Houcong ordered the Imperial Guards and the Military Department to conduct a thorough investigation and ordered them to investigate the whereabouts of the musket.

Then, Guo Xun formally wrote a memorial, saying that it was Wang Bangqi who lost the musket.

Zhu Houcong ordered the arrest of Wang Bangqi, but Wang Bangqi had committed suicide by taking poison, leaving only a letter saying that his muskets had killed all his enemies. He gave the assassins a total of six muskets, and these people would continue to kill his enemies for him.

As a result, everyone in the capital was uneasy. No one knew who Wang Bangqi might have as enemies. They also began to inquire about where the other three muskets were and in whose hands, in addition to the three found by the Embroidered Uniform Guard on the day the two censors were assassinated.

Zhu Houcong therefore said that this was related to the loss of the army's muskets in the capital, which was why the thieves were so rampant. Not only did they kill the imperial envoy in the street, but they also killed the censor. He demanded that the whereabouts of all the lost muskets must be traced as soon as possible to restore peace to the capital.

It was a miracle that shortly after the two censors were assassinated, the three muskets lost by Wang Bangqi's troops appeared outside the gate of the Censorate that day. Some righteous people voluntarily presented the three muskets, saying that they had picked them up at the gate of the neighborhood where their home was.

Zhu Houcong was very pleased with this and rewarded this righteous man.

Zhu Houcong also realized that the person behind the scenes had given in.

Let’s talk.

When Zhu Houcong issued an order to send ministers to inspect the East and deal with the secret obstruction of those who opposed this matter and the disloyal elements who had overturned the table before, the wealthy families along the coast also sent people to the East in secret and informed the Japanese daimyo Otomo Yoshiaki that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had sent a fleet to inspect the East.

"Doesn't it mean that our country has an ancestral precept not to invade Japan?"

Otomo Yoshiaki asked in astonishment.

(End of this chapter)