The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 367 This is a show of force to His Majesty
"Someone's been killed!"

This shout stunned the young officials who had started the fight, and they scattered in all directions!

Those who had been relentlessly pursuing Zhen Yan immediately changed direction and ran away.

Most of the soldiers from the Infantry Commander's Office were now bruised and battered, looking utterly disheveled.

However, at least the person is still alive and kicking.

However, poor Tian Wenjing was in a terrible state, lying on the ground, barely breathing.

"Sir, this lord is dead, what should we do?" a soldier asked anxiously.

"What else can we do? You guys stay here, I'll go report to the lord." The leading soldier's tone carried a hint of relief. "Luckily, it wasn't Lord Zhen who died, otherwise, we'd be in big trouble!"

After saying that, he couldn't help but sigh, "Damn it, this is going to be a big problem!"

"I never expected that those scholars, who all look so refined, would be even more ruthless than us when they fight!"

"This is the first time I've ever seen so many high-ranking officials get into a brawl!"

The soldiers were also feeling uneasy.

They didn't know who was beating people, and they had only just met Lord Tian, ​​who was beaten to death.

But they all knew in their hearts: this matter was definitely not over!
This is definitely going to be a big deal!
At this point, their best course of action is to honestly report the matter and let the higher-ups handle it.

Don't get yourself involved.

So, no one said anything more and quickly got to work.

However, looking at Lord Tian lying on the ground, they couldn't help but sigh: this man had truly had the worst luck imaginable.

They were originally going to kill Lord Zhen, but he ended up becoming the scapegoat.

Where's Zhen Yan? He ran away!

At this point, Zhen Yan had already run all the way to the gate of the Forbidden City.

"Killing!"

"Someone is trying to kill me!"

"Your Highness, please help!"

Upon seeing the guards at the gate, Zhen Yan shouted at the top of his lungs.

If an ordinary person dared to cause such a disturbance at the gates of the Forbidden City, the soldiers would have beaten them up without saying a word.

But Zhen Yan is different; he's wearing official robes, so he's clearly not an ordinary person.

"Your Excellency, no noise is allowed outside the Forbidden City!" a guard shouted.

"I want to see the Crown Prince! Someone wants to kill me!" Zhen Yan shouted at the guard. "Quickly go and report to the Crown Prince that someone is trying to kill me, Zhen Yan!"

Although the guard was only a gatekeeper, he was not entirely unaware of what was happening in the court.

Upon hearing that the person in front of him was Zhen Yan, who had submitted three memorials impeaching the emperor, the gentry, and Confucius, his heart skipped a beat: something big was about to happen!
He instinctively looked behind Zhen Yan and, seeing no one chasing after him, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Zhen, please rest here for a while. I will go and report this to you right away."

"Rest assured, no one dares to cause trouble outside the Forbidden City!"

Zhen Yan was still a little scared—just now, he had been attacked while under the protection of the Infantry Commander's Office.

If Tian Wenjing hadn't pushed him out of the crowd, he might be dead or alive now!

I wonder how Brother Tian is doing now?

It shouldn't be a big problem... They want to kill me, not Brother Tian.

By this time, news that dozens of young officials had ganged up on Zhen Yan in the inner city and even caused a death had spread like wildfire.

When Longkodo, the commander of the Infantry Commandery, heard the news, he was startled and almost dropped his teacup.

He looked down on Zhen Yan from the bottom of his heart.

Longkodo was a wealthy man, and he himself was the kind of person who demanded "more taxes" in Zhen's memorial. It would be strange if he had any goodwill towards this Lord Zhen.

Moreover, he was a loyal subordinate promoted by Emperor Qianxi. He was disgusted by such a madman who dared to impeach the emperor and showed no respect for the emperor and father. How could he possibly like him?

Unfortunately, he could not defy the emperor's will. Both the crown prince and Emperor Qianxi valued Zhen Yan highly, and despite his reluctance, he dared not be negligent in the slightest.

Not only did he send his personal guards to watch over Zhen Yan's residence day and night, but he also sent people to escort him in and out. He thought he had done his best.

However, he was still startled when he heard that Zhen Yan had almost been beaten to death.

Although his men didn't know who the young man who did the attack was, Longkodo's first reaction was: this was no accident, someone was behind it!
Those who took action were merely pawns pushed out; the real masterminds remained hidden behind the scenes.

What a courage!
Simply lawless!
This matter is probably aimed at the policy of "officials and gentry paying taxes together with ordinary people".

They're doing this for His Majesty's benefit!

How will His Majesty handle this? Will he be furious and punish them severely? Or will he weigh the pros and cons and postpone the new policy?

Longkodo's mind raced for a few moments, but he quickly came to his senses—

The most important thing now is to find Zhen Yan and protect him.

If anything happens to Zhen Yan, then he probably won't be able to keep his job.

"Men! Gather a squad of men and go protect Lord Zhen!"

"Also, have Deputy Commander Chengshan keep a close watch on the body of Lord Tian, ​​who was beaten to death!"

"Nothing can go wrong before His Majesty's order is issued."

"Also, find out who those people who did the assault are. I need to know who they are within half an hour!"

After saying that, Longkodo strode out the door.

At the same time that Longkodo took action, the news also reached the Southern Study.

The person on duty in the Southern Study right now is Grand Secretary Zhang Ying. Tong Guowei has been spending most of his time at his estate in Xiaotangshan these days. In his words, he's getting old and can't handle the back-and-forth travel, so he can only let capable young people like Zhang Ying do the hard work.

Although Zhang Ying was not happy, he could only suppress his dissatisfaction in front of Emperor Qianxi's uncle.

Upon hearing the report, Zhang Ying's expression changed.

He asked in a deep voice, "You said there was a fight among officials, and someone was killed?"

The one who came to report was the newly appointed Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, Tulihai, who was also considered a veteran official.

As soon as he heard about this, he knew he was in big trouble.

This is practically a carbon copy of the factional strife of the previous dynasty.

But now, this scholar has actually classified the incident as a "fight"!
Fighting is a minor matter; even if someone is killed, it's just a matter of the individual paying with their life.

Moreover, if someone is accidentally injured during a fight, they may not necessarily have to pay with their life.

He hesitated for a moment, then said solemnly, "Grand Secretary Zhang, we must wait for the Infantry Commander's Office to investigate before we can say anything."

"However, now that a sixth-rank official has been beaten to death in the inner city, and someone has run to the Forbidden City to cry for help, this matter is too serious. It would be best to report it to His Majesty as soon as possible."

Zhang Ying nodded: "Such a thing is extremely rare in the world. It is indeed necessary to report it to His Majesty in a timely manner and ask His Majesty to make a decision."

After saying that, he turned to Tulihai and said, "Lord Tulihai, when you report to His Majesty, you must investigate thoroughly!"

"After all, it's a very important matter!"

After Tulihai left, a hint of annoyance appeared on Zhang Ying's face.

Liu Shixun, that guy, is all talk and no action!
They were supposed to attack Zhen Yan, but Zhen Yan got away and killed a complete stranger instead!

How abominable!

Damn it, Liu Shixun, you're clearly more trouble than you're worth!

Now he's in trouble; he has to clean up their messes.

No one dared to keep this news from Emperor Qianxi, so all parties reported it immediately.

When Emperor Qianxi heard the news, he was watching a play with the Empress Dowager.

When the Xiaotangshan Imperial Palace was being built, Shen Ye specially constructed a stage, and several pavilions surrounded by hot spring water were built under the stage. Watching the play while sitting in the pavilion was both comfortable and pleasant.

The performers were famous actors from Beijing. Although there weren't many people watching, they sang with exceptional enthusiasm.

While watching the play, Emperor Qianxi chatted with the Empress Dowager. The mother and son laughed out loud from time to time, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Just as Emperor Qianxi was enjoying this rare moment of family bliss, Liang Jiugong rushed over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Emperor Qianxi's face instantly turned as cold as ice.

He opened his mouth as if to curse, but seeing that the Empress Dowager was in high spirits, he swallowed his words back.

In any case, he couldn't lose his composure right now.

We must not spoil the Empress Dowager's mood.

"Your Majesty, something has happened in the court, and I must go and deal with it."

Emperor Qianxi bowed to the Empress Dowager and said, "I will come to watch the opera with you again later."

"Go ahead and do your work. Consort Yi and the others can keep me company while I listen," the Empress Dowager waved her hand.

As soon as Emperor Qianxi left the courtyard where he had been watching the opera, he angrily shouted, "You scoundrel! How dare you!"

"They've invoked the words of the previous dynasty; this isn't just directed at Zhen Yan, it's directed at me!"

"They're not trying to kill Zhen Yan, they're doing this for my benefit!"

"Hmph, then I'll show them what happens when they anger me!"

After uttering a few curses, Emperor Qianxi gradually calmed down.

He said to Liang Jiugong, "Go and call Tong Guowei here."

"Tell the Crown Prince about this as well, and tell him to go to the Sizhi Study as well."

Having served Emperor Qianxi for so many years, Liang Jiugong understood the importance of prioritizing tasks and urgency.

He knew that all the Qianxi Emperor needed now was an obedient servant.

He knew that saying anything more now would be pointless. So he agreed and hurried off to find someone.

Tong Guowei arrived quickly; he had already received the news.

As the chief Grand Secretary, he had cultivated his influence in the court for many years, and his students and old friends were spread throughout various ministries and departments, giving him his own well-informed sources of information.

Upon hearing this, his first reaction was a mixture of surprise and astonishment: These people are incredibly audacious!
Even his long-time ministers in the court couldn't help but admire this approach.

Because even he himself might not dare to do it!
These people dared to gang up on Zhen Yan in the street, even causing a death, clearly showing off their strength to the Emperor!

To declare it in the most intense way:

If you continue to disregard our interests and insist on implementing the policy of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together, we are not afraid even if you are the emperor!
At worst, we'll fight to the death, and we won't hesitate!

This is no longer a simple political dispute, but a blatant provocation.

Tong Guowei pondered to himself, did these people really think that they could make the Emperor retract his order with such drastic measures? Wouldn't that be too naive?

He knew Emperor Qianxi's temperament better than anyone—the more pressure he applied, the more the emperor would resist. Now that someone had died, he was giving his opponents a handle to use against him.

From the moment he heard the news, Tong Guowei began to ponder how to respond. He felt that if this matter wasn't handled properly, even he himself might be in trouble.

Fortunately, he wasn't deeply involved in this matter.

The crown prince, who was the one who really pushed this thing forward, is about to be thrust into the spotlight. I wonder what he will do.
　The second update for today is here! Hey everyone, it's almost the end of the month, so if you have any monthly tickets, please give me two!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)