Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 306 Who is the new emperor?
But Yuan Pengnian quickly realized that if the news of killing the king spreads, people in the world will never believe that he has such courage in the event, and will only think that he was forced by Gao Hongtu. Instigate.

At that moment Yuan Pengnian said: "Teacher, the student will sever the teacher-student relationship with you."

"It's even more nonsense, isn't it true that you don't have three hundred taels of silver to sever the teacher-student relationship at this time?" Gao Hongtu said with a dark face, "Besides, the teacher-student relationship can be broken if you want?"

After a pause, Gao Hongtu asked again: "Is the Du Hongyu you mentioned reliable?"

What Gao Hongtu meant was, is this Du Hongyu determined enough to kill the king?Don't go to kill the king in the end, but instead run to report you and me to the Holy One.

"Master, don't worry, this Du Hongyu is absolutely reliable." Yuan Pengnian said hastily, "Because he has a hatred with Ma Mingpao, or with Shi Yi."

"Hate of Extermination?" Gao Hongtu asked, "What's going on?"

Yuan Pengnian said: "The thing is, this Du Hongyu is also a money-greedy person, and he is extremely stingy, so he didn't want to buy the bonds when the stock exchange first sold them. After the bond prices rose to the sky, he got excited instead. , not only took out all the family assets, but even borrowed high-interest usury from many banks."

After a pause, he said again: "In the end, the bond price avalanche, Du Hongyu lost everything, and those banks urged him to pay back the money every day, but how could he have the money to repay the loan? In the end, those banks were in a hurry, so he Spending money to hire a dealer to press debts, but Du Hongyu is not a good person, so the two sides clashed."

"In the end, Du Hongyu wiped out Daxing, but his family was almost wiped out. Only he, his mother, and young son were rescued by students and survived."

"Then Du Hongyu hated the Exchange and Ma Mingpao."

"After a few words from the student, he even hated the Holy One."

"So that's how it is." Gao Hongtu asked again, "Who else knows about Du Hongyu?"

"Except for the students and Du Hongyu who know about it, the only one who knows is the teacher." Yuan Pengnian said hastily.

"It's okay." Gao Hongtu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and said, "Yuan Pengnian, listen to the old man. Du Hongyu killed the king because he was cheated of all his money by the exchange. The Revenge of the Holy One has nothing to do with you, Yuan Pengnian, and it has nothing to do with the old man, do you understand?"

"Student understands." Yuan Pengnian's face showed a tangled look.

According to his original intention, this matter should naturally be publicized, even if he sacrificed his life for it.

It is true that killing the king is treasonous, but if he sacrificed his life for the purpose of practicing the great way of ruling the world with the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats, it undoubtedly has another meaning. In his mind, this will be recorded in the annals of history.

Gao Hongtu said again: "Besides, you haven't been to the bamboo charcoal workshop tonight."

"Yes." Yuan Pengnian bowed his head and said, "The student has not been to the bamboo charcoal workshop tonight."

"Okay, you can go back quickly." Gao Hongtu sent Yuan Pengnian away and called the old servant in again.

"Ah Fu, you go to Wei Guo..." Gao Hongtu said in the middle of the sentence, "Forget it, the old man will visit Wei Guogong in person, after all, the matter is very important."

This matter would not have been possible without the support of Wei Guogong.

Duke Wei alone is not enough, there is also sincerity.

Before going out, Gao Hongtu glanced at the night sky.

Tonight is destined to be recorded in the annals of Ming Dynasty.

As for merits and demerits, let posterity comment.

It is enough for him, Gao Hongtu, to have a clear conscience.

……

At dawn the next day.

Meng Zhaoxiang was awakened from sleep by the newly married Mrs. Ru.

"What's wrong?" Meng Zhaoxiang yawned and asked.

Mrs. Ru said: "The steward said that Mr. Wu and the others are here, and that there is something urgent."

"Master Wu?" Meng Zhaoxiang was obviously still asleep, and his mind was a little dazed, "Which Master Wu?"

"Naturally, it is Mr. Wu Linzheng, the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple who has the closest relationship with you, sir." Mrs. Ru said, "There is shocking news about Yangzhou Shengjia."

"News about Sheng Jia?"

Meng Zhaoxiang was taken aback, and his drowsiness disappeared for a while.

At that moment, Meng Zhaoxiang got up with his clothes on as quickly as possible, and hurried to the living room again.

It was not only Wu Linzheng who came, but also Chen Liangmo and Wu Ganlai.

"Elder Uncle, what a disaster!" Wu Linzheng said anxiously, "The officials just got a shocking news. The Luanjia stationed in Yangzhou was attacked by unknown thieves, and the entire royal boat that the Holy Majesty was on was blown to pieces!"

"Ah?" Meng Zhaoxiang's eyes darkened, and he almost fainted on the spot. Thanks to Wu Ganlai and Chen Liangmo's quick response, they hurriedly stepped forward one from the left and one from the right to help, so that Meng Zhaoxiang didn't fall to the ground.

Gathering his mind, Meng Zhaoxiang asked anxiously, "Where is the Holy One? Do you have any definite news?"

"The imperial boat was blown to pieces, how can there be any definite news." Wu Linzheng sighed, but thought to himself, he might have been smashed to pieces and sank to the bottom of the canal!
Meng Zhaoxiang wiped off his cold sweat, and said again: "Where did you get the news, is it credible?"

Wu Linzheng said: "The news came from the Secretary of General Administration. The Yangzhou government sent someone to send it overnight. It should be credible. How dare the Yangzhou government talk nonsense about such things?"

"Oh, so many disasters, Daming really has many disasters."

Meng Zhaoxiang let out a long sigh, and slumped down on the grand teacher's chair.

At this moment, Meng Zhaoxiang really felt tired like never before.

The Holy Majesty seemed to have changed since Meishan became enlightened. Daming saw that he had improved again, and it was no longer an extravagant hope to rejuvenate, but this happened in the end.

The Donglin Party really has no bottom line!
Seeing Meng Zhaoxiang slumped on the grand teacher's chair, Wu Linzheng, Wu Ganlai, and Chen Liangmo couldn't hide their disappointment. At this critical juncture, as the one with the highest rank among the nine ministers who went to the disaster, shouldn't they turn the tide? , leading everyone to defeat the Donglin Party's conspiracy?What's the matter with slumping on the grand teacher's chair and expressing emotion?

At that moment, Wu Linzheng said anxiously: "Oh, my great uncle, don't express your emotions. The most urgent thing is to quickly think of a countermeasure to stabilize the situation in Nanjing, and then welcome the prince to Nanjing as soon as possible."

"What do you mean?" Meng Zhaoxiang said, "You mean they want to support Yongwang?"

Meng Zhaoxiang was also confused, and the thinking ability of the whole brain was not as good as before.

"Isn't this obvious?" Wu Ganlai stomped his feet and said anxiously, "The crown prince is an adult, but King Yong is only twelve years old and still a child. Of course those people hope that King Yong will succeed him."

Meng Zhaoxiang finally came to his senses and said urgently, "Mr. Shi Ge needs to come forward to deal with this matter."

"Just Elder Shige is not enough." Chen Liangmo said, "I also learned that Elder Huiluge and Jinfutai, who together with us came out from Beijing following the late emperor, will definitely support the crown prince."

"So I'll split things up." Meng Zhaoxiang nodded and said.

At that moment, the four of them split up to find Shi Kefa, Lu Zhenfei and Jin Xuan.

……

After a night of rapid marching without hesitation, at dawn the next day, Chongzhen and the accompanying four hundred or so prince Qin arrived at the wharf at Puzikou from near Yangzhou.

At this time, Zheng Sen had already been waiting at the pier with more than [-] other Qin Wang Shizi.

"Your Majesty." Zheng Sen cupped his hands and said, "The boats are ready and you can cross the river at any time."

"Yeah." Chongzhen nodded, and asked, "Is the head and tail done cleanly? Didn't you show any flaws?"

The key to this play is not to let the Donglin Party in Nanjing know that Chongzhen is still alive. Only in this way will they desperately help Zhu Cizhao to the top, otherwise the Donglin Party will not be able to sing this play.

Although only the first half in Yangzhou is enough, but if the Donglin Party can finish the second half, we should try our best to let them finish the second half.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Zheng Sen said, "It's under the banner of the Zheng family's caravan."

After saying this, Zheng Sen continued: "Our Zheng family sends caravans to Nanjing every year to purchase silk, porcelain and tea. Even the people in the Caojiang Admiral's Office know about it, so no one will be suspicious."

"Okay, then let's cross the river." After Chongzhen finished speaking, he boarded the merchant ship first.

After boarding the ship, he said to Zheng Sen: "Go to the Caojiang Admiral's Office outside Dinghuai Gate first."

……

At this time, the morning dynasty in Nanjing had already begun.

As mentioned earlier, because Zhu Cizhao got up late, the court meeting in Nanjing was changed from morning court to noon court, but today's court meeting cannot be delayed, so the eunuch had to lift Zhu Cizhao from the bed.

When Zhu Cizhen sat on the throne sleepily, he found that there were already a large number of red-robed officials standing in the hall, and there were even many green-robed officials standing in the corridors outside the hall, adding up to hundreds of people.

Zhu Cizhen couldn't help but turned his head and asked He Zhikong: "He Banban, it's not the ten dynasties that come together today, why are so many officials here? Is something wrong?"

He Zhikong hummed lightly and said, "Your Highness, something serious has happened."

"Is something serious?" Zhu Cizhao's expression froze, and he didn't ask any more questions right now.

At this time, two more civil servants wearing Wusha and python robes strode in outside the hall.

The first person is Shi Kefa, the chief assistant of the cabinet who has not seen for a long time. Behind Shi Kefa is Lu Zhenfei, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and Dongge University scholar who has just entered the cabinet with the emperor's decree.

The expressions of both of them are very dignified, appearing to be preoccupied.

Seeing this, the civil and military officials gathered in the main hall and the corridors outside the hall couldn't help whispering, and the discussion was naturally the theme of today's court meeting - who will be the new emperor?

It is impossible to hide the fact that the Holy Majesty was assassinated in Yangzhou.

Although the exact news is unknown, the general situation has already spread throughout Nanjing in private.

Even the peddlers in the streets and the famous prostitutes on the Qinhuai River already knew that the Holy Majesty was assassinated in Yangzhou and was blown up to nothing by gunpowder.

Therefore, the ascension of the new emperor to the throne is already a certainty.

The only suspense is whether to take advantage of the trend to support Yongwang, who is the supervisor of the country, as the new emperor, or to quickly bring the prince from Xuzhou to Nanjing to become the emperor?

According to the Huangming Zu Xun formulated by Emperor Taizu Gao, there is no doubt that he should be the crown prince.

Because the crown prince is the descendant of the first Zhou empress, and also the eldest son of the first emperor, he is undoubtedly the first heir to the throne. Although King Yong is the supervisor of the country, he is even ranked behind King Ding in terms of order.

But everyone knows that this time things are by no means as simple as imagined.

Lu Zhenfei walked into the main hall and looked around, and found that Meng Zhaoxiang, Wu Linzheng, Wu Ganlai and Chen Liangmo who were looking for Jin Xuan were not there, so he turned his head and cast a helpless look at Shi Kefa.

Shi Kefa was planning to invite King Yong to start the court meeting.

Seeing this, he could only wait patiently.

Fortunately, after waiting for a short time, they saw Meng Zhaoxiang and the other four running in sweating profusely.

At this time, Meng Zhaoxiang and the others didn't care about the dignity of civil servants, so they ran straight to Shi Kefa and Lu Zhenfei.

"I've seen two elders in the pavilion." Meng Zhaoxiang and the four bowed to each other.

"No." Shi Kefa waved his hand and asked, "Where's Jinfu Terrace?"

"Oh, don't mention it soon." Wu Linzheng sighed, and said in a low voice, "Early this morning, Jinfutai was sent to the admiral's office by Wang Guerzilla from the Caojiang admiral's office, and then placed under house arrest."

"Ah? There is such a thing?" Shi Kefa and Lu Zhenfei's expressions changed drastically.

If there is no support from Jin Xuan for this court meeting, the variables will increase immediately.

Because there are currently three important military forces stationed in Nanjing.

The first is the Beijing Battalion, with a total of [-] soldiers. However, because they are guard soldiers, they lack training and are scarce in weapons and armor, so their combat effectiveness is low.

The admiral of the Beijing camp was originally Han Zanzhou.

After Han Zan and Zhou Fuju, Zuo Guangxian, Zuoqian capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, served as the admiral of the Beijing camp all the time.

The reason why Gao Hongtu wanted to promote Yuan Pengnian as Zuoqian capital censor was that Yuan Pengnian had strong execution ability and was more suitable for admiral Jingying than Zuo Guangxian.

However, besides the admiral, Beijing Camp also has a governor.

In the Ming Dynasty, Wei Guogong was always the governor of the Beijing Camp.

In addition to the Beijing camp, there were also [-] pacesetters from the Caojiang Admiral's Office and [-] cavalry from Xuzhou brought by Yingtian Governor Jin Xuan to Nanjing. Although these two armies were small in strength, they were elite.

Especially Jin Xuan's [-] iron cavalry, all of them were servants under the commander of the border town and the lieutenant general, and had fought many battles with Jiannu, so it can be said that they were experienced in many battles.

Shi Kefa, Lu Zhenfei, and Meng Zhaoxiang originally thought that as long as there were [-] cavalrymen like Jin Xuan, and Jin Xuan was also the admiral of Cao Jiang, it was equivalent to having [-] elite soldiers. It is not a big problem for the Wanjing battalion to fall to the Donglin Party, because if there is a real fight, they are sure to win.

However, the plan did not change quickly, and it was never expected that this would happen.

Jin Xuan would be deceived by the guerrillas under his command to the Caojiang Admiral's Office and put under house arrest. Now not only the [-] soldiers in the Caojiang Admiral's Office lost control, but even the [-] cavalry could not move.

"It's urgent, we can only send [-] cavalry to Beijing to maintain the court!"

Shi Kefa is still a bit decisive, knowing that he cannot be soft at this time.

"No." Lu Zhenfei sighed, "Three thousand cavalry can only be mobilized by Jin Xuan himself and the Wang Ming flag. .”

"What should I do?" Now even Shi Kefa had no idea.

(End of this chapter)