Who killed the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu Cilang immediately replied:

"A three-tiered formation! Firearms in the front, bows and crossbows next, and spears in the rear."

The moment the words "Triple Formation" were uttered, Huang Degong's bushy beard suddenly trembled.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang quickly added:

"However, when the general defeated Liu Chao, he cleverly changed the three-layered formation into a five-flank formation, and divided the left and right wings to encircle and surround him, thus achieving a great victory."

A sharp glint flashed in Huang Degong's eyes, so fast that it was almost an illusion.

With a push of his thumb, he slammed the drawn goose-feather saber back into its sheath with a clang.

He then paced around Zhu Cilang, tracing a semicircle.

"He speaks eloquently about military formations, and the five-wing division is what the Ministry of War reported."

"Many of my generals are aware of this."

He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"You little rascal, you must have read the military reports beforehand, trying to take advantage of the chaos."

Having said that, he suddenly gripped Zhu Cilang's shoulder blade with his hand.

"explain!"

"When defeating Liu Chao, should I, as commander, be acting on imperial orders to quell the rebellion, or should I act independently?"

Without hesitation, Zhu Cilang blurted out:

"In November of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the general submitted a memorial stating, 'Liu Chao massacred thirty people in Yongcheng, please execute him.' His Majesty approved the memorial with the vermilion seal, 'Suppress and appease as appropriate.'"

"Hahaha!--"

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Degong suddenly threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.

The laughter reverberated throughout the hall, like thunder exploding in one's ears.

Upon hearing this laughter, Zhu Cilang's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "This is bad!"

A chill instantly seeped down my spine, and I realized with a start that I had fallen into Huang Degong's trap.

Those words were just spoken offhand, but I never expected that beneath the bold and unrestrained demeanor of this bearded warrior, he was actually meticulous and shrewd.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Huang Degong suddenly leaned forward and pressed down on him:

"This memorial was kept in the palace and not issued; only the officials of the Ministry of War and I, the commander-in-chief, knew about it. How could you even find out about a secret memorial?"

"Ha, even the Eastern Depot doesn't have your abilities."

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Degong suddenly spun around and took three steps back.

"Unless...you came from the north!"

Zhu Cilang's neck hairs stood on end instantly.

He was so focused on presenting evidence to defend himself that he completely forgot that this memorial was a secret report sent directly to the inner court.

This was something that should have been unknown to everyone except the emperor and the eunuch in charge of writing.

However, Huang Degong was unaware that Zhu Cilang had personally witnessed the details of this matter on his father's desk.

Zhu Cilang knew everything that even the Eastern Depot couldn't investigate.

In Huang Degong's view, how could he know such palace secrets if he did not come from Beijing, which had already fallen?

Huang Degong's eyes blazed with fury, and a murderous aura suddenly surged within him.

"I find your behavior suspicious; you two are clearly spies for the Jianlu Tangma rebellion!"

"They are attempting to spy on our army's strengths and weaknesses, and even trying to assassinate me!"

Zhu Cilang's heart sank, inwardly cursing himself for his "miscalculation in order to use the copper tongues simultaneously; I had completely forgotten this detail."

But his mind was working faster than ever; he had to turn the situation around, and the only way out was…

In the critical moment, Song An suddenly struggled forward:

"Huang Shuai Rongbing!"

"I am a postman of the Ming Dynasty, with my post pass and travel permit still intact. The smell of horse manure from the post station hasn't dissipated yet."

He suddenly slammed his shoulder into the ground, his bound arms scraping heavily against the blue bricks.

A waist token clattered out of his arms and landed on the blue bricks.

It rolled over to Huang Degong's boots, where the brand "Bingzi Qibai Sishiwu" was clearly visible on the back.

Zhang Bingchang immediately squatted down, picked up the waist token with two fingers, and held it up to his eyes as if it were a piece of rotten meat:

"Now that the Jurchens are rampaging through the Central Plains, who knows whether you are loyal or treacherous? You must have already defected to the enemy, and you must have come here with some ulterior motive."

With a sudden flick of his finger, the hardwood waist token spun and flew toward Song An's brow bone, grazing past his ear.

Song An raised his head, his neck turning bright red:

"Huang Shuai, please see the truth!"

"I have been working at the Tianjin Wei post station for six years. Just last month, I delivered a 600-li urgent message to Fengyang."

His neck became increasingly red.

"If there is a single falsehood, may I be struck by lightning."

Zhang Bingchang suddenly strode forward, his boots grinding against the waist token on the ground:

"What a sharp-tongued spy! This waist tag might have been stolen from some postman's corpse."

He then turned and bowed towards the person in the main seat.

"My lord! The evidence is now irrefutable; these two are undoubtedly enemy spies."

Under the immense pressure, Zhu Cilang could clearly hear the throbbing sound of his temples.

A myriad of thoughts tangled and collided in my mind.

He knew he absolutely could not reveal his identity directly; even if he did, no one would believe him now. The only way to break this deadlock was...

"Huang Shuai, please be discerning! The student is not a spy!"

He raised his head to meet Huang Degong's scrutinizing gaze.

"I do indeed have a kinship with the military supervisor Han Zanzhou and Eunuch Han. If I am summoned for questioning, the truth can be immediately verified."

Zhu Cilang was now making a desperate gamble.

Previously, caning only resulted in skin tearing and flesh bruising, but if the charge of espionage were proven, the head would fall in an instant.

"How dare you!"

Zhang Bingchang's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sharply.

"You scoundrel, you've changed your story three times in one hour."

"First he curries favor with the Earl of Jingnan, then he attaches himself to Eunuch Han. Such fickle people must be enemy spies without a doubt."

He suddenly grabbed the gavel and slammed it down heavily.

The shock caused the bamboo divination stick container on the table to overturn, and more than a dozen black-headed divination sticks bounced and scattered on the blue bricks.

"Guards, drag these two traitors out and behead them immediately as a warning to others."

Four fierce-looking constables responded loudly and strode forward.

"Wait a minute—!"

Zhu Cilang's sharp shout abruptly cut off Zhang Bingchang's last words.

Huang Degong tapped his fingers on the sword at his waist, lost in thought.

Just as he was about to wave goodbye, Zhu Cilang's voice rang out again:

"Huang Shuai!"

"Do you still remember that on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month last year, His Majesty asked the general in the warm pavilion, 'Which is the greater threat to the Ming Dynasty: the roving bandits or the Eastern barbarians?'"

Huang Degong's fingers, which were tapping the hilt of the knife, suddenly stopped.

Zhu Cilang pressed his advantage, speaking at a faster pace:

The general replied, "The bandits' ailments are like minor skin diseases, and the Eastern barbarians' ailments are like limb ailments. However, the incessant factional strife in the court and the lack of provisions for the soldiers are the real incurable diseases."

He paused, then asked Huang Degong in return,

"Besides His Majesty, Eunuch Han, and the General, is there anyone else in the world who knows about this?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Degong's angry expression froze instantly, and his fierce eyes fixed on Zhu Cilang.

During that extremely private audience last year, the emperor deliberately dismissed all his attendants, leaving only Han Zanzhou to serve him; the content of the audience could not possibly have been leaked.

Even if the Jurchen spies were incredibly skilled, how could they possibly uncover the private conversations between the emperor and his trusted generals deep within the palace?

This was no ordinary military report or secret dispatch, but rather fragments of memory hidden deep within the palace.

The anger on Huang Degong's face was gradually replaced by great surprise and doubt.

"……His Majesty……"

Huang Degong uttered two words, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"This matter is suspicious; we must not act rashly."

He suddenly turned his head and spoke in a low, stern voice to the armored guard beside him:

"Go and summon the military supervisor. I, the commander, will personally investigate this matter today."

Their gaze returned to Zhu Cilang.

"If he is a spy, I will gladly offer him a sacrificial ceremony before the army; if he truly has a past relationship with Lord Han, then I cannot wrongly accuse him."

The guard clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, turned around, and rushed out of the hall.

The hall fell silent. Huang Degong paced back and forth, his hand resting on the hilt of his knife.

He suddenly stopped and stared out the door, as if looking at the smoke-filled mountains and rivers.