Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 100: The Queen Mother is furious, and the confrontation takes place in front of the palace
"Master Jiao, the most powerful thing about Hulong Villa is not martial arts, but intelligence and strategy."

"Each department has its own division and each place has its own garrison."

"I have all the family records for officials above the rank of captain."

Zhu Wusi stood with his hands behind his back, a look of disdain on his face. "Do you really think that using carrier pigeons as bait can really deceive the world? Do you think that hiding letters in the stomachs of cats and dogs and taking them out of the mansion can secretly conceal the information from Hulong Villa?"

"You are too self-righteous."

"They thought everything was flawless, but little did they know that before Yang Yuxuan was executed, I had already sent people to closely monitor the entire Jiao Mansion. Not even a fly could escape my eyes and ears."

Upon hearing this, Jiao Fang's face showed despair and his heart was dead.

When Yang Yanhe and other cabinet elders heard Zhu Wusi's change of words, their faces turned gloomy.

Jiao Fang felt the gazes of many people piercing his back. He suppressed the fear in his heart and snorted again, "Hmph, even if you say a thousand things, where is the evidence?"

"You are so self-righteous even when death is imminent."

Just a few breaths after Zhu Wushi finished speaking, a eunuch came from outside Renshou Palace to announce something.

It is said that the spies from Hulong Villa have come to the palace gate to ask for a meeting.

The Queen Mother had him brought in without saying a word.

After a while, a sturdy young man, holding a wooden box, followed the eunuch into the Renshou Palace respectfully. "I am Duan Tianya, the number one official of Hulong Villa. I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager and the ministers."

"No gift!"

The Queen Mother waved her hand and asked Duan Tianya to stand up.

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

Duan Tianya stood up, bowed, and held the wooden box high above his head. "Your Majesty, this is the evidence that Tianya and the world's number one detective, Zhang Jinjiu, jointly seized. The correspondence and tokens are all here. Please review them, Your Majesty."

After saying this, after Cao Zhengchun took the token, Duan Tianya instinctively retreated to Zhu Wusi's side.

Cao Zhengchun came before the empress dowager holding the wooden box.

"boom!"

The Queen Mother only took a few glances before she slammed the table in anger and stood up: "Jiao Fang, you are so bold."

Jiao Fang fell to his knees and said, "No, Your Majesty, this is a false accusation! I have never colluded with the enemy. This evidence is false. It was fabricated by Zhu Wusi to frame me. Please investigate."

"Framed and forged?"

The Queen Mother sneered and slammed the personal seal in the wooden box against Jiao Fang's face: "Is the personal seal given to you by the late Emperor also fake?"

"The testimonies given by your children and housekeeper are also false?"

"You colluded with the Mongols and intended to overthrow the Ming Dynasty. You used the excuse that Prince Su was plotting treason and secretly mobilized troops from the four important border towns before the Emperor was even coerced by Prince Su. You are so bold."

"I trusted you so much, but you treated me like a fool."

Thinking of what Jiao Fang said earlier, the troops from Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui and other four border areas were urgently mobilized because of concerns about the emperor's safety. However, the evidence of guilt in the Hulong Villa clearly showed that before the emperor was exposed and taken away by Prince Su's men, Xuanfu, Datong and other towns had already been mobilized.

How could the Empress Dowager not see that Jiao Fang's previous words were all lies?

Is he just worried that his plan will be exposed in the future and he will use her, the Queen Mother, as a shield and scapegoat?
"Without the Emperor's order or seal, you forged the seal privately and colluded with the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery to mobilize troops. Jiao Fang, these actions are tantamount to treason. Are you still going to tell me that you did this for the Emperor and the Ming Dynasty?"

"Somebody come!"

"Empress Dowager." Several royal guards walked in.

"Drag Jiao Fang out to me and throw him into the Sky Prison. Let the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Three Departments jointly try him. I want to know how many more treacherous things he has done." The empress dowager pointed at Jiao Fang, her anger still lingering.

At this time, Zhu Wusi came out and bowed, saying, "Empress Dowager, the matter of Elder Jiao Fang can be put on hold for now and dealt with after Your Majesty returns. The most urgent task now is to welcome Your Majesty back and quell the unrest. We must not allow the troops from Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui, and Shanxi to clash with the Prince Su's Palace. Otherwise, if war breaks out, civil unrest in the Ming Dynasty is imminent."

These words were full of righteousness and completely consistent with Zhu Wusi's usual loyal and courageous behavior, as well as his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism.

Although Li Dongyang, Yang Yanhe and others from the cabinet looked at Zhu Wusi strangely, there were so many unexpected changes today that they were confused for a while and could only follow what Zhu Wusi said.

"Yes, Queen Mother, the situation is urgent. Even if Jiao Fang deserves death, there is no need to rush."

"The Divine Marquis's words make sense. The most urgent task right now is to welcome His Majesty back."

"The country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. Your Majesty's safety is paramount. Queen Mother, I personally believe that it is not too late to make any final decisions after Your Majesty's safe return."

"Old minister seconded the proposal!"

All the elders in the cabinet came out to agree.

"Humph!"

The Queen Mother snorted coldly, but she could only suppress her anger and waved her hand, saying, "Then do as you all say."

"Empress Dowager, there have been disturbances on all sides for several days, and the situation is now imminent. I believe that we should first calm the military and inform them of the news that Jiao Fang's family has passed on the imperial decree and is colluding with the enemy. We should also send envoys to appease them first to prevent unrest from actually breaking out."

"Well, do you have any candidates?"

Hearing the Queen Mother's words, Zhu Wusi decisively bowed and said, "Queen Mother, the Minister of War Yang Yuxuan has been beheaded, and the Vice Minister of War is suspected of colluding with Jiao Fang. Whether the Five Military Commandery can be trusted is still unknown."

"The most urgent task right now is to rectify the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery. In Your Majesty's absence, the Tiger Tally is the only token that can command the troops. If it is lost, or falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives like Jiao Fang, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger."

The faces of the ministers in the cabinet turned dark. Although Zhu Wusi did not mention any names, he almost pointed at their noses and told the empress dowager that the civil officials in the cabinet could not be trusted.

Unfortunately, Jiao Fang had just been locked up and imprisoned, so even if they had more ideas, they could only hold them in for the time being.

The Queen Mother looked at Zhu Wusi and asked, "What do you think, Lord Shen?"

"If the Empress Dowager trusts me, I will sign a military order before all of you ministers to rectify the corruption and abuse of power in the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery within three days, investigate and punish the traitors who colluded with Jiao Fang, and send troops to pacify the troops in the four border garrisons to prevent unrest."

The Queen Mother looked at Zhu Wusi deeply and said, "Three days? Can you really do it?"

"Yes, if it exceeds three days, I will leave it to the Queen Mother to deal with." Zhu Wusi said firmly, but with a look of great righteousness. "Your Majesty's safety is unknown to us. Time is of the essence. All I can do is to quell this chaos as quickly as possible. Be prepared to welcome Your Majesty back."

"This……"

The Queen Mother was helpless, as Zhu Wusi's words almost blocked her from refusing.

If she refused in front of all the ministers, wouldn't it implicitly show that she didn't trust Zhu Wusi?

However, the Queen Mother knew that Zhu Wushi had evil ambitions.

At this moment, Cao Zhengchun stepped forward and said, "Empress Dowager, I am in charge of the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In terms of intelligence and strategy, I am definitely not inferior to the Hulong Villa. The Ministry of War and the Five Military Commanders' Office are closely related to the military power and safety of the Ming Dynasty. If I were a Divine Marquis..."

Cao Zhengchun paused deliberately, and when he saw Zhu Wushi's pupils shrink slightly, and his expression seemed to change, he smiled and said, "If the Divine Marquis is not careful, and the thieves use the military token to cause chaos, wouldn't that be even worse?"

These words, which had a profound implication, made everyone present change their expressions.

"Cao Zhengchun, what do you mean by this?" Zhu Wusi's eyes flashed with a dangerous light, and the cold murderous intent was completely undisguised.

Cao Zhengchun responded sharply, refusing to give in: "Don't you think the Divine Marquis knows this?"

"Hmph!" Zhu Wusi's heart was filled with murderous intent, but his expression remained calm. Instead, he displayed a disdainful expression and sarcastically said, "When Yang Yuxuan's entire family was executed, the East Factory was heavily guarded, yet they were still hijacked. What qualifications do you have to bark in front of me?"

"Don't worry about the matter of Yang Yuxuan's family, Lord Shen. The East Factory has already taken care of this matter."

"You are the Divine Marquis, why are you talking about other things?"

"When has the king ever turned his back on the subject?" Zhu Wusi remained unyielding. "On the contrary, Cao Zhengchun, you repeatedly obstructed my efforts to rescue His Majesty. What is your intention?"

(End of this chapter)