Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 257: Completely break off relations with this group of Jiangnan civil servants and fight to the death!
The fierce heat wave forced Zhu Youtang to take two steps back.

Zhu Youtang looked at the fire in Xianfu Palace and frowned deeply in worry.

The fire could not be put out and Concubine Shu could not get out. It was not clear whether the eunuchs around her had the ability to rescue Concubine Shu from the fire.

Faced with such a big fire, can they really risk their own lives to rescue Concubine Shu?

The only solution Zhu Youtang could think of now was to send his own guards to rescue Concubine Shu from the sea of ​​fire.

But now, Zhu Youtang does not have these death warriors around him.

At this moment, Wang Zhi and Mou Bin, leading the Western Factory's guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards respectively, rushed to Zhu Youtang in a hurry.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you okay?!"

Wang Zhi and Mou Bin looked nervous, panting and running over in sweat.

Even their clothes were askew and wrinkled, which was enough to show how nervous they were.

After they received the news that the Forbidden City was on fire, they hurriedly ran into the Forbidden City with their subordinates as fast as possible.

They went to the Yangxin Palace first, and after learning that Zhu Youtang had gone to the burning Xianfu Palace, they rushed to the Xianfu Palace without stopping and found Zhu Youtang.

"I'm fine, but Concubine Shu is still in Xianfu Palace..."

Zhu Youtang looked at the two of them and felt a little relieved.

After the accident, Wang Zhi and Mou Bin rushed to the palace as quickly as possible.

Such performance has proved the loyalty of both of them.

At this moment, after knowing that Concubine Shu was still in Xianfu Palace, Wang Zhi ran towards the Palace without any hesitation.

Zhu Youtang was horrified when he saw this, and he shouted, "Wang Zhi, what are you doing? Come back quickly!"

Wang Zhi poured water on his head and wet his whole body.

Without even turning his head, he said, "The Concubine Shu and the heir are still in danger. I will rescue the Concubine Shu for Your Majesty!"

Zhu Youtang was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "Wang Zhi, you come back to me immediately and don't mess around!"

In Zhu Youtang's heart, Concubine Zhang Wan'er is certainly important, but what is more important is the prince in his belly.

That was Zhu Youtang’s first child. If it was a boy, he would definitely be the eldest son of the emperor.

But no matter how important the child is, he is not as important as Wang Zhi.

Even if he lost his concubines, Zhu Youtang could still take in new ones.

Zhu Youtang had to order tens of millions of young girls in the Ming Dynasty to be sent to the palace for him to choose.

Even if he lost his child, Zhu Youtang could still have another one. All he had to do was take more concubines. He could have as many children as he wanted.

But Zhu Youtang would be short of a man as loyal and capable as Wang Zhi.

Zhu Youtang shouted at Wang Zhi and asked him to come back quickly, but Wang Zhi had already disappeared in the sea of ​​fire.

Zhu Youtang hurriedly ordered the Western Factory guards behind him: "Go and find Wang Zhi quickly. Remember not to let anything happen to him!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Dozens of Western Factory soldiers also wet their bodies with water and rushed into the sea of ​​fire fearlessly.

Mou Bin looked at the disappearing backs of Wang Zhi and the Western Factory guards, feeling a little hesitant but also a little admiring.

If it was Zhu Youtang who was in the sea of ​​fire at this moment, Mou Bin guaranteed that he would rush into the sea of ​​fire without hesitation, just like Wang Zhi, and would risk his life to rescue Zhu Youtang.

But at this moment, the person in the sea of ​​fire was just a concubine of Zhu Youtang, not even the queen.

After hesitating for a long time, he still did not choose to take the risk, but chose to stay with Zhu Youtang, who was safer.

Mou Bin was filled with admiration, as Wang Zhi not only saved Concubine Zhang Wan'er, but also Zhu Youtang's heir.

Mou Bin couldn't do such a thing.

"Crack!"

The next moment, the sound of a building collapsing was heard again in Xianfu Palace. Zhu Youtang's face changed and his expression became extremely nervous.

Suddenly, several figures rushed out, quickly came to Zhu Youtang and knelt down.

Immediately afterwards, all the Western Factory soldiers who had rushed into Xianfu Palace also ran out.

On the periphery of the crowd were the guards from the Western Factory.

Among the crowd was Wang Zhi.

Parts of Wang Zhi's eyebrows and hair were singed by the fire, his clothes were torn to pieces, and his body had multiple burns.

In his arms, he was holding the soaked and unconscious Concubine Zhang Wan'er.

In addition to Concubine Zhang Wan'er, Zhang Wan'er's personal maid Weihong was also rescued by the men from the Western Factory.

Like Zhang Wan'er, he was soaked and unconscious.

The first thing Wang Zhi said when he saw Zhu Youtang was: "Your Majesty, this fire must have been set on purpose!"

Zhu Youtang's gaze instantly turned cold, with a bloodthirsty and violent light flashing in his eyes.

Wang Zhi continued, "When I went in to rescue people just now, I found that the door of Jiangyun Palace was locked from the outside."

"When I broke down the door and entered, I found that the Concubine Shu had escaped the disaster by hiding in a water tank in the palace."

"Your Majesty, please let me investigate this matter thoroughly. The West Factory will get to the bottom of this matter!"

As Wang Zhi spoke, he handed Zhang Wan'er in his hand to Zhu Youtang.

But Zhu Youtang did not take it. He just waved his hand, and the palace maids around him hurried forward and took Zhang Wan'er.

Zhu Youtang stretched out his hands and personally helped Wang Zhi up.

"A concubine and a baby boy almost caused me to lose a minister who is my ally!"

"If something unexpected happens to you, my dear, who will... help me to relieve my worries?"

"My dear minister, you have made such a great contribution. I will definitely reward you handsomely. I will confer upon you the title of Earl... No, I will confer upon you the title of Marquis!" Conferring a title on a eunuch was a unique event in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

Even someone as meritorious as Zheng He or as trusted as Wang Zhen never received a title.

The fact that eunuchs could not be granted titles seemed like an iron rule that ran throughout the Ming Dynasty.

But today, Zhu Youtang will break this iron rule and officially confer the title of noble on Wang Zhi, skipping the title of earl and directly conferring the title of marquis.

Such treatment made Mou Bin, who was standing next to him, extremely envious.

Wang Zhi was also shocked, but more moved: "Your Majesty is so kind to me. I am flattered."

"But the case of arson in the imperial palace has not yet been fully investigated, and I feel guilty for accepting this responsibility..."

Zhu Youtang had a gloomy face and suppressed his anger: "The arsonist must be investigated, but the person who instigated it must be arrested even more!"

"Mou Bin, take your men and arrest all those officials now!"

Mou Bin was startled and a little confused. He asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, which officials are you referring to?"

Zhu Youtang looked back at Mou Bin and sneered, "Who else could it be? Of course it must be those Jiangnan civil servants!"

"Today I have just issued an order to strictly investigate the smuggling case in Jiangnan, build ships for sailing to the Western Ocean, reopen the maritime ban, and sail to the Western Ocean again."

"Tonight, there was a fire in my harem. How could such a coincidence happen?!"

"I don't want to kill them all, but they want to kill me. Then I will completely break off relations with this group of Jiangnan civil servants and kill them all!"

"All the people from Jiangnan in the capital should be arrested by me, no one should be spared!"

Upon hearing this, Mou Bin and Wang Zhi were both struck by lightning, their heads buzzing and they gasped in shock.

Your Majesty is going to go to war with all the southern officials in the world!

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Mou Bin did not hesitate for too long and immediately accepted the order.

Zhu Youtang turned around and waved his hand at Mou Bin: "Go, inform the officials in the capital to continue the court meeting tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now!"

Mou Bin bowed and quickly left the palace with the Jinyiwei.

Zhu Youtang looked around again: "Where is the imperial physician? Where is the imperial physician?"

More than a dozen imperial doctors immediately walked out of the crowd and saluted Zhu Youtang respectfully.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

After the fire broke out in the palace, these imperial doctors were summoned here by the eunuchs in the palace and awaited orders.

Zhu Youtang ordered the imperial doctors, "You, come quickly and check Wang Zhi's injuries."

"Send Concubine Shu to the Yangxin Palace for the time being. After she changes into clean clothes, let the imperial physician examine her."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The imperial doctors all obeyed the order, and Concubine Shu was quickly sent to the Yangxin Palace by the palace maids.

The personal maid Weihong, who was rescued together with Concubine Shu, was also arranged to be treated by the imperial physician.

But he was not so lucky as to be sent to Zhu Youtang's Yangxin Palace. Instead, he was sent to one of the five western residences where the palace maids lived, and a separate room was found for her.

Zhu Youtang patted Wang Zhi on the shoulder and said, "There's no need to rush to investigate the arson case. It won't be too late to investigate after you recover from your injuries."

Wang Zhi said anxiously, "Your Majesty, I only have some superficial injuries on my body, it's nothing serious."

Seeing that Mou Bin had gone to handle this shocking case, Wang Zhi became extremely anxious.

"No! If the wound gets infected, it will be very difficult to deal with!"

"During this period of time, I will allow you to rest for a few days. Once your injuries are completely healed, you can help me share my worries."

Zhu Youtang's tone was very firm, so Wang Zhi did not insist any more: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

After Wang Zhi bowed, he quietly left with the Western Factory guards.

Suddenly, an abrupt voice sounded, which seemed extremely discordant.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you okay?"

It was not until this time that Liu Jin, the director of the East Factory, arrived late with his men.

Zhu Youtang looked at Liu Jin coldly and snorted, "Humph, by the time you come to save me, it will be too late."

Suddenly, cold sweat ran down Liu Jin's face.

Liu Jin rushed all the way here and naturally met Mou Bin and Wang Zhi on the way.

As both were factory guards, the Eastern Factory arrived so slowly. It was a dereliction of duty on his part as the Eastern Factory Supervisor!
Liu Jin was so frightened that his legs went limp and he knelt down in front of Zhu Youtang, begging for his crime repeatedly.

"I am late in coming to your rescue, Your Majesty, please punish me."

Zhu Youtang turned around and sat on the dragon chariot behind him, his tone full of indifference: "Get up, the subsequent firefighting work in Xianfu Palace will be handed over to the East Factory."

"Xiao Jing, come with me."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Jing took the order respectfully and quickly followed Zhu Youtang's dragon chariot.

Liu Jin was left kneeling on the ground, feeling extremely regretful.

Liu Jin had already heard the indifference in Zhu Youtang's words.

From then on, his position in Zhu Youtang's heart was certainly inferior to that of Wang Zhi and Mou Bin...

Thinking of this, Liu Jin slapped himself angrily.

"You should have come earlier, you should have come earlier!"

(End of this chapter)