Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 287, Signing the Secret Edict

Meanwhile, Meng Shen hurriedly took Xiao Changzi back home, dismissed everyone else, and kept only himself and Xiao Changzi.

Just now, Xiao Changzi's lips moved and he uttered two words.

The two words were spoken so softly that they were almost inaudible, but Meng Shen was all too familiar with the other person's lip movements.

"Receive the imperial decree!"

Meng Shen knelt on the ground.

Xiao Changzi solemnly delivered the secret edict into his hands.

"I have heard that among the great human relationships, the father and son are the most important; among the distinctions of rank, the ruler and the subject are the most important. Recently, the treacherous officials have seized power, oppressing the emperor and father; they have formed cliques and corrupted the court; they have imprisoned me in the palace, defiling the inner palace; and they have not exercised my authority over rewards and punishments..."

The moment Meng Shen saw the contents of the secret edict, tears streamed down his face.

He held the imperial edict, knelt down with a thud, and his face showed endless sorrow.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Meng Shen burst into tears.

Xiao Changzi was startled.

Is this person really that loyal?

After wailing for a while, Meng Shen barely managed to control his emotions. He secretly sent Xiao Changzi away and had Xiao Changzi deliver a message to the Longqing Emperor, saying:

"Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail your trust!"

After Xiao Changzi left, he naturally reported the situation to Fang Yong immediately.

Fang Yong assigned someone to keep an eye on Meng Shen, intending to see who Meng Shen planned to contact to launch a rebellion.

On the other side, Meng Shen held the secret edict, tears streaming down his face, unable to eat or sleep, and restless in all his thoughts.

That evening, Meng Liang returned from Zuixianlou.

Meng Shen quickly pulled him into the room.

The father and son plotted carefully all night.

The next day, the father and son got up early and rode out of the mansion together in a carriage.

The Imperial Guards responsible for tracking them quickly and closely followed the two.

Then they watched as the two drove step by step towards the palace...

But let's talk about yesterday.

The moment Meng Shen received the secret edict, his legs went weak with fear, and he knelt down on the ground.

This is no secret edict; it's a calamity that could wipe out an entire family!
Although Fang Yong destroyed the Cheng family and also killed King Zhongshun, this made Meng Shen very afraid.

But he never thought of rebelling. His most rebellious thought was only to transfer his family business as soon as possible and find an opportunity to escape.

This wasn't because he was particularly loyal to Fang Yong, but because Meng Shen had self-awareness.

He has no military power!
He can't win!
Meng Shen was so terrified by this secret edict that he wept uncontrollably, lost his appetite and sleep, and could not sit or walk in peace...

When their son Meng Liang returned, the father and son discussed the matter all night and agreed that they should immediately surrender to the King of Wu in order to avoid the extermination of their clan.

As for loyalty to the Longqing Emperor…

They had little loyalty when the Longqing Emperor was in power, but now that he is imprisoned, how can they suddenly become loyal?

On the other side, Xiao Changzi reported back to Emperor Longqing.

"Your Majesty, Lord Meng asked me to convey to you that he will certainly not fail your trust!"

At the same time, Xiao Changzi also told Emperor Longqing about Meng Shen's kneeling on the ground and bursting into tears the day before.

The Longqing Emperor was overjoyed and repeatedly said:
"With Minister Meng here, I have hope of restoring peace to the nation!"

In the palace.

Fang Yong's lips twitched as he looked at the father and son kneeling before him, confessing their sins.

After going around in circles, this edict, which carried an unpleasant odor, has returned.

"Alright, stop confessing!"

Fang Yong waved his hand silently.

He had intended to use this secret edict to lure people in, but the fish turned out to be the fish themselves.

Is he that scary?

But you still have to fish.

Fang Yong thought for a moment and said, "Take this secret edict and go contact other loyal and righteous people!"

Meng Shen and Meng Liang exchanged a glance and both said, "Yes!"

However, when the father and son returned home, they were still terrified.

Recalling what Fang Yong had just said, although their lives were saved, the others were probably...

There's no other way; it's better to sacrifice a fellow Daoist than myself.

The two dared not disobey Fang Yong's orders and carried out the plan the next day.

Meng Shen and Meng Liang summoned Wang Cheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

The secret edict was shown to him for viewing.

After reading it, Wang Cheng knelt down with a thud, hugged the secret edict, and wept bitterly.

Meng Shen and Meng Liang followed the plan and said:
"This is His Majesty's secret edict, filled with sincere intentions and deep affection. We are paid by the Emperor, how can we not obey it? We two intend to take this secret edict, conceal weapons in our sleeves, and wait for Fang to come to court next time to assassinate him!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Cheng trembled with emotion, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed:

"I deeply admire Lord Meng's actions for the sake of the country, and I would gladly die for them. However, I fear that the enemy there is exceptionally skilled in martial arts and wears soft armor, making Lord Meng's plan unlikely to succeed!"

Meng Liang said:
"For the sake of the nation and the people, my son and I are willing to die! Failure is no problem. I only ask that you, my brother, take the secret edict to Henan and await news. If it succeeds, then you and the governor of Henan, Tian Tianrui, will lead troops into the capital to protect His Majesty; if it fails, then we will spread the word throughout the land and ask them to raise their own troops to come to the capital to punish the traitors!"

Wang Cheng felt somewhat relieved upon hearing that he was not required to carry out the assassination, but he was still so frightened that he could not stand up several times.

At that moment, he outwardly agreed to the matter and signed his name in blood on the secret edict.

The secret edict was originally prepared by Emperor Longqing as a long document, which he tore off a large piece of his clothing. However, due to hand pain, he only wrote one or two hundred words, leaving many blank spaces for his signature.

After signing the oath, Wang Cheng went straight to the palace.

He was a quintessential Confucian disciple, a sage within and a king without!

The so-called inner sage is someone who focuses on cultivating one's own moral character.

He can find a sage's justification for everything he does; the right to interpret the sage's words is in his hands, and everything he does is in accordance with the sage's standards.

The external king, on the other hand, is a responsibility and commitment to society and all living beings.

Wang Cheng believed that only the rule of the King of Wu could bring happiness and well-being to all the people.

The saying goes: "The revolutions of Tang and Wu were in accordance with Heaven and the people." The way of the sage is not bound by the etiquette between ruler and subject, but truly values ​​the well-being of the common people!
Therefore, Wang Cheng's surrender to the King of Wu was not a treacherous act of betraying his lord, but a righteous act in accordance with Heaven's will!
After Wang Cheng entered the palace, Fang Yong did not mention how he was dealt with.

We will only talk about Meng Shen and his son Meng Liang.

In the time that followed, the two of them contacted various ministers in the court.

There was Liu Yuan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Gao Jing, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Xu Zhongzhen, Minister of Justice.

Zhu Mao, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Qiu Ping, former Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Xu Hui, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

Yang Weiheng, Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

Second-class baron, guerrilla general Qi Jianhui.

Light Cavalry Commandant, Sun Shaozu!

Cavalry Commandant, Sun Huaiyi!
There were a lot of people behind them, but I won't go into detail about those with low official ranks.

After receiving invitations from Meng Shen and Meng Liang, most of these people outwardly agreed, but secretly reported the matter to Fang Yongju.

After all, Fang Yong commands hundreds of thousands of troops, so it's obvious who is stronger and who is weaker.

However, there were also some dim-witted individuals who genuinely intended to rebel.

After all, the plan Meng Shen and Meng Liang described was actually somewhat feasible, and the most dangerous part was handled by these two. They were responsible for assassinating Fang in the palace, so whether they succeeded or not, the others would not be at great risk.

Unfortunately, many officials suffered losses due to Fang Yong's reforms.

For example, Qiu Ping, the former Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

He was doing well in the Ministry of Works, but because Fang Yong was collaborating with some foreign scoundrel, he was dismissed from his post on charges of embezzlement and replaced with someone else.

Heaven has mercy, among the six ministries, he was the least corrupt.

Now he's been dismissed from his post; this is utterly lawless!
(End of this chapter)