Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 176
After a while, there were fewer people asking questions. Everyone looked at Tan Ma, waiting to tell what they thought the result would be.

However, Tan Ma said to them: "The emperor is not dead. It is said that he saved others after falling into the river!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the lobby exploded again.

"What, you fell into the water and still didn't die in this winter? How is this possible?"

"Isn't it true that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would die easily if he fell into the water? Why won't he die this time?"

"..."

In the midst of the crowd, Li Zicheng frowned and immediately shouted: "There is no need to report rumors randomly. It's just that the Ming Dynasty emperor fell into the water and didn't die. How can we still spread rumors that he saved others?"

If this kind of thing spreads, the reputation of the Ming Emperor will definitely be even higher!

Think about it, an emperor fell into the water but ignored his own safety and instead saved others. Even ordinary people may not be able to do this kind of thing!What will people in the world think after hearing this?
After hearing this, Tan Ma quickly replied: "Your Highness, everyone in Yangzhou Prefecture is saying this. It is said that there were people from Yangzhou Prefecture punting the boat at that time. When they saw the emperor's ship sinking, they hurried over to save people, and then they saw The emperor rescued people in the river. More than one person saw this, and they all had their names."

Hearing this, the hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at each other. There is such an emperor, regardless of his own safety, in the freezing and snowy weather, to save others in the roaring river, instead of hurriedly getting on the boat?

I don’t understand it, but I still don’t understand it. One fact is that it seems that this emperor is really a good emperor!

In this year, we have met face to face more than once or twice. We have had many contacts and understandings of what kind of person the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was.Thinking about it carefully, it seems that the current emperor is such a person?

But they are rebelling against the emperor!
Thinking about this, some people were silent, but some people quickly spoke: "This is just a rumor, don't spread it."

Tan Ma didn't understand. He looked at the military advisor who was speaking and wanted to explain again, but Song Xiance glared at him and said, "Why don't you go down?"

He couldn't explain it in detail, saying that if this matter spread, it would be a rebel team. The emperor is so good, does the rebellion mean much?It will have an impact on the morale of the Dashun Army, so you must not spread it!

If he really said this, as the think tank of the Dashun Army, it would be equivalent to admitting that the founding of the Dashun Kingdom had lost its rationality.

Tan Ma was a little frightened when he saw the always good-tempered military advisor staring at him. Although he really wanted to explain, he still didn't dare to say any more and went down immediately.

Afterwards, Song Xiance looked at Li Zicheng and said with a smile: "Your Highness, we can now confirm that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has indeed led his troops to Yingtian Mansion. Everything is under our control and we can act according to the plan!"

When Li Zicheng heard this, he immediately burst into laughter, raised his glass and said, "Come and drink to the Dashun Kingdom next year!"

"Cheers to Dashun Country next year!" No one in the lobby was ignorant and immediately raised their glasses and shouted.

........................

On New Year's Eve, outside Nanjing, although it didn't snow again, the ground was completely white and there was thick snow everywhere. Only the official road was a little better. After all, there were people coming and going, so the snow could often be cleared.

But on this New Year's Eve, most people are gathering at home, and there are almost no people on official roads.

The reason why I say almost is because there is a person and a horse in the vast white field.

The horse was huffing and puffing out puffs of white air, seeming a little tired.

The man was also a horse lover. He did not ride, but held the reins and walked slowly and deeply through the snow on the official road.

You can see that this man has a strong body, slightly erect eyebrows, slender and curved eyes, a red face and a beard with frost on his beard. He obviously traveled a long way, or at least stayed in the wilderness for a long time.

Looking up at the tall Nanjing city in the distance, the man patted the horse's neck and exhaled: "We will be there soon. Let's see what kind of person the current emperor is."

He is from Tongzhou, right next to the capital, so he knows what kind of person the current emperor is!
Later, he went to the south to serve as an official, far away from the capital, but unexpectedly, news came one after another that the emperor actually led the troops in person and won the battle.

At that time, he felt that the news was too outrageous. How could this be possible?

However, in the following time, more and more news spread to the south, which seemed to confirm that the emperor really led the army to conquer the country.But the news that followed said that the emperor was singled out and had a great shot, and so on, and he didn't believe it.

Because he is a marksman himself and knows how talented and how hard it takes to become a marksman!How could the emperor become a marksman when he was always busy?
However, more and more news emerged, and it was a fact that Li's army was driven south. If the emperor had not led the army to victory, how could Li's army have gone south?

Later, he heard that Jianlu's army had entered the pass and Li's army had returned to the north. He was worried that the north was in danger.

Unexpectedly, the army of Li thieves jumped south again, and Jianlu was also defeated.

With all this, it can be confirmed that the emperor can really fight!This was really different from his previous understanding, and it was a bit hard for him to imagine.

Subsequent national policies were spread to the south one by one through Di Bao, which made him see that this seemed not something that the emperor in his previous impression could do?
He has too many doubts about the current emperor!
Then the emperor led his troops south and stationed himself at Yangzhou Mansion for a while, then crossed the river, which was close to where he was.

At that time, he was still guarding his mother's tomb. He heard about what the emperor was doing in Yangzhou Mansion, and learned about the sinking of the emperor's ship. He also saw with his own eyes that the local government went up to the Yangtze River to search for the drowned Jin Yiwei.

Being close at hand, a lot of information can be made clear.

For example, the emperor did lead the army in person, not in name; the emperor was indeed a good emperor and very courageous, reforming the salt policy, saving the people of Yangzhou from the storm, and even rumored that the emperor saved the Jinyi Guards School regardless of his own safety after falling into the water. Lieutenant's matter.

Just when he was very curious about the emperor, he unexpectedly saw the imperial guards sent by the emperor to summon him.

This made him strange. In the eyes of the emperor, he should be nothing. He was just the lowest official of the Ming Dynasty, a mere historian. Although he had been transferred to Guangdong as the chief registrar due to his meritorious service, in the eyes of the emperor, he was still an official. He was just the lowest official, and he was actually summoned by the emperor?
To be honest, if he hadn't confirmed that the person delivering the order was really the Jinyi Guards School Captain, he would have suspected that someone was joking with him.

In keeping his filial piety, he did not just leave. After he had packed up, he immediately rushed to Nanjing to meet him.

Who doesn't want to be promoted?This is an opportunity for him, and he must seize it.But for him, he wanted to see with his own eyes why the current emperor had changed so much. Are all the rumors true or exaggerated?

In short, seeing is believing!
On the way from Changzhou to Nanjing, he once again heard rumors about the emperor. Along the way, the people were grateful to the emperor and told how the emperor had helped them avoid hunger and cold, etc.

Now, we finally arrived in Nanjing City, and we were about to meet the emperor!

Thinking about this, he got a little excited!

After walking one foot deeper and one foot shallower, we finally arrived at the foot of Nanjing City.

He saw that the soldiers guarding the city were not hiding in a sheltered corner, but were right where they were supposed to be, which surprised him again!

It's not easy to do this on such a cold day without Shangguan!
Perhaps they saw him carrying a bow, a sword and a horse on his back. Several city guards immediately surrounded him. The leader shouted and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Yan Yingyuan, the former Jiangyin Dianshi, who is here to see you!" Yan Yingyuan said, taking the initiative to take out the road guide and hand it to the leading defender.

The leading defender verified his identity, ordered his men to move out of the way, and at the same time handed back the road guide, and asked with some surprise: "Why did your Majesty call for an audience?"

It's just a piece of history, but it's really strange that he was summoned by the emperor!

Yan Yingyuan himself didn't know. He put away the road guide and said with a smile: "I don't know either. Maybe I am doing my duty faithfully?"

When he was in charge of Jiangyin Dianshi, the pirate Gu Sanmazi led hundreds of warships to invade Huangtian Port, but he was frightened back by his sharp shots. He also put down the salt pirates, subdued the civil unrest, and protected the stability of the country. In these troubled times, perhaps It's relatively rare.

However, this is the reason for being summoned by the emperor to fulfill his duties, which is still a bit reluctant!
He took the horse and asked where the inn was. Before leaving, Yan Yingyuan also said to the friendly soldiers in front of him: "You are not bad. On New Year's Eve, even in such a cold day, you are still fulfilling your duties!"

When the city defenders heard this, they all laughed immediately.

The leader responded: "His Majesty paid two years of military pay early this morning, and also said that the military pay will be paid on time in the future. If we don't take it seriously, it will be a minor crime, but what will we do if we lose this job?"

Yan Yingyuan: "..."

Even the soldiers guarding the gate are paid two years of military pay, and future military pay will also be paid on time. This means that this is probably the case for all soldiers in Nanjing City, right?

Where did the emperor get so much money?
As soon as this idea came up, he probably understood it again.

The emperor is in the capital, so how to raise money in Yangzhou Prefecture is probably how to raise money in Nanjing City!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but admire the emperor he was about to meet.Being able to raise money is also a skill!At least other emperors couldn't do it!

He said goodbye to the gatekeepers and walked all the way to the inn he found out about.

Then, he discovered another strange phenomenon.

In the city of Nanjing, it seems that every household is cooking New Year's Eve dinner, filled with smoke?

The Nanjing people he met on the street, no matter how they were dressed, were all happy and said happy new year to him whenever they met. Even he, a passerby, had encountered people saying happy new year to him several times.

Walking on the streets of Nanjing and looking at the scene in front of him, Yan Yingyuan suddenly thought that the world was now at peace!
However, he knew the actual situation very well. There were thieves and chaos everywhere, and even the emperor had to lead his troops south!

But why do people in Nanjing, no matter rich or poor, celebrate the New Year happily?

This is impossible!
Unable to bear it, he stopped a passerby and asked about the situation, of course, in a more tactful way.

But who would have thought that before he could finish his words, a passerby laughed and interrupted him: "Your Majesty has inspected all the grain stores and rice shops. All Nanjing people can buy grain at fair prices in limited quantities. If you don't have money, you can borrow it first." .Tell me, can you be unhappy?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Yingyuan understood.He naturally knows how far the price of rice in Jiangnan has risen.If Jiangyin is like this, Nanjing will only be higher.

Therefore, he expected that many people would starve to death on New Year's Eve, and some would sell their children and daughters on New Year's Eve. In short, such situations could happen everywhere.

Unexpectedly, Nanjing was not the place where the emperor implemented food controls!

For ordinary people, it is really a great joy and it is life-saving!

Yan Yingyuan was very emotional. The current emperor is really courageous. He can do such a thing in Nanjing. It's amazing!
By the time he arrived at the inn and checked in, it was already afternoon and it was almost time for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Yan Yingyuan also had a family in Jiangyin, but there were too many uncertainties about this interview, so he came to Nanjing alone.Thinking about having New Year's Eve dinner and being alone this year, I couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

The Chinese New Year, for the Han people, is the biggest festival, the most important moment, and the most important!

Maybe go out and have a look, have a bottle of wine, cut a few pounds of meat, and have a better New Year’s Eve dinner by yourself!Anyway, at this time, it is definitely impossible for the emperor to summon him.

However, what he never expected was that just as he was about to go out, the captain of the Imperial Guard came to his door and said that he was summoned by the emperor.

It’s a New Year’s Eve dinner, and the emperor actually summons me?

Surprised, he immediately packed up his clothes and hurried to the Forbidden City with the Imperial Guard.

In Wuying Hall, as soon as he entered the hall, he saw that the hall was filled with cases, but a group of generals were having New Year's Eve dinner?

Yan Yingyuan did not dare to neglect, and immediately went to the palace to pay homage to him. The mountain shouted, "Long live the emperor!"

The generals in the palace were all a little curious, wondering how this man in ordinary clothes could be summoned by the emperor on New Year's Eve?
Yan Yingyuan has been relieved of his official position as a historian, and the newly appointed chief registrar has not yet taken up his post, so he is in a state of no official position.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw that Yan Yingyuan's appearance seemed a bit like the legendary Guan Gong, he immediately secretly marveled, and then immediately said: "I am flat, give me a seat, and let's have New Year's Eve dinner together!"

When Yan Yingyuan heard this, he didn't expect the emperor to be so kind. He quickly thanked him and was led behind the generals. A table was placed on the table, two meat dishes, a pot of wine, and a large bowl of rice were served, and then they were gone.

Looking up slightly, he saw that the dishes on other people's desks were the same as his, two dishes, a pot of wine, and a big bowl of rice. This was not as good as the New Year's Eve dinner he prepared in Jiangyin!
Yan Yingyuan was just thinking when he heard Emperor Chongzhen say: "I heard that Yan Qing is also a marksman. He once scared off pirates with three arrows?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Yingyuan quickly stood up and went to the center of the hall to reply.As a result, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and waved his hands and said: "Today is New Year's Eve. I and you will celebrate the New Year together. No need to bother, just reply at the table!"

Hearing this, Yan Yingyuan was grateful for the emperor's kindness, so he quickly thanked him, and then replied at the banquet: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is overly complimentary. I only have a small success in archery. It's the pirate who knows that Jiangyin is heavily defended and has seen it." After Wei Chen's archery skills, he did not dare to attack by force, so he retreated."

In fact, the pirate Gu San Mazi was impressed by him and considered him his elder brother, and did not dare to offend Jiangyin again.If it were in the original history, during the Battle of Jiangyin, Gu Sanmazi led his navy to aid Jiangyin. After three days of hard fighting, he failed and had to sail away.

In front of the emperor, Yan Yingyuan would definitely not say that the pirates were okay.

At this time, many of the Beijing camp generals in Wuying Palace were immediately unconvinced when they heard this.

Is everyone a marksman?

No, Tang Tong rolled his eyes and immediately said: "Your Majesty, since this is also a marksman, I am curious and want to see him."

Others listened and agreed.

Wu Wu is the best. Before the competition, who can be convinced?

Emperor Chongzhen himself was a little curious. After hearing this, he smiled and said, "Come on, bring me my black iron bow and let Yan Qing try it out?"

In the Wuying Palace, only the emperor had bows and arrows, and no other weapons were brought into the palace.

Upon hearing this, all the generals suddenly showed inexplicable smiles, and they all looked forward to it.

No matter how good this newcomer's archery skills are, how can the emperor's bow be fired by ordinary people?
Yan Yingyuan had long heard that the emperor was also a marksman, and he was also curious. Now that he had the opportunity to try the emperor's bow, it would be the best thing.So, he left the table, and after arriving in the palace, he took the emperor's black iron bow.

When Yan Yingyuan took over the Xuantie Bow, he immediately became solemn.This bow turned out to be heavier than what he used!

So, he didn't dare to be careless, and he quickly became angry and took a good posture before starting to draw the bow.

The generals in Wuying Hall were all staring at it, and they saw Yan Yingyuan slowly pulling out the bow string, but before it was fully drawn, he slowly put it back, and then said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty's bow, the power of the bow is terrible." Up to five hundred kilograms, the humble minister is incompetent and can only draw a bow with a power of four hundred kilograms at most!"

When he said this, there was still a trace of doubt in his heart. Is the emperor's bow a decoration, or is it for daily use?
If it is used in daily terms, the emperor's strength is really the greatest he has ever seen in his life!
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately laughed and said, "That's right. When we turn back, you and Chen Qing, the commander of Longwei Camp, will have a discussion."

The other generals in Wuying Hall have seen Yan Yingyuan's arm strength, and they can't help but dare not underestimate it. Although they don't know how accurate it is, this strength is definitely possible!
A military general, he doesn't have so much hypocrisy. After seeing Yan Yingyuan's strength, he has more recognition for him.

After Yan Yingyuan sat back on the table, he heard Emperor Chongzhen ask again with a smile: "I wonder if Yan Qing may have contacted the pirate named Gu Sanmazi. I know that he has loyalty in his heart and I want to recruit him!"

Just because this Gu San Mazi could lead the boat division to rescue Jiangyin when it was heavily besieged by Manchu soldiers and horses, it was already better than most civilian and military generals of this era.But now, Emperor Chongzhen was in great need of navy, so he had this idea to recruit Gu San Mazi's fleet.

There was originally a Nanjing Navy, but apparently it was due to a storm that the Nanjing Navy only had a few small boats, and the only large ship almost cheated the emperor.There is a cycle in building a new navy. The easiest and fastest way to build a navy is through recruitment.

After hearing the emperor's words, Yan Yingyuan couldn't help being stunned, and quickly replied: "I don't know where he is? But your Majesty has a purpose, and I should try my best to find him and recruit him!"

Although he did have a friendship with Gu San Mazi, he really didn't know where Gu San Mazi's lair was?
Emperor Chongzhen didn't know if he was telling the truth, but that didn't matter. He only needed to find Gu Sanmazi through Yan Yingyuan. If he could recruit someone, he could recruit him. If he couldn't, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Today's Ming Navy, the most powerful is Zheng Zhilong's fleet.

But although Zheng Zhilong's fleet is the Ming Dynasty Navy in name, it is actually just wearing a layer of Ming Dynasty skin. Zheng Zhilong has the final say in everything about the navy.

In the original history, Zheng Zhilong had no intention of imperial court at all.He has the final say in controlling the Longwu Dynasty.Seeing that the situation was unfavorable and the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were aggressive, they tricked Emperor Longwu and surrendered to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.

Based on this history, Emperor Chongzhen did not place his naval hopes on Zheng Zhilong.However, Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong, still named Zheng Sen at this time, was loyal and loyal.

Originally he was supposed to be studying in the Imperial College in Nanjing at this time, but as the Chinese New Year was approaching, Emperor Chongzhen sent Jin Yiwei to check and found that he had returned to Fujian to celebrate the New Year.

Zheng Zhilong's naval force still needs to open a gap in Zheng Chenggong to be safe.

Of course, it doesn't mean that you can't deal with Zheng Zhilong directly, because from Zheng Zhilong's life, he is not like a pirate, but more like a businessman, a businessman who cares about everything and only cares about profits.

As long as Zheng Zhilong sees that Zheng Zhilong obeys the court and Emperor Chongzhen, his interests can be maximized. In this case, I believe he can conquer Zheng Zhilong.

But if you want to convince Zheng Zhilong at this time, the price will be relatively high.

Because of the chaos in the south, from Zheng Zhilong's point of view, there is no telling when the Ming Dynasty will be gone.Under such circumstances, Zheng Zhilong was asked to remain loyal to the imperial court, either by ignoring the imperial court at all, or by being perfunctory, or by offering high prices to the imperial court.

The original history has proved that this Zheng Zhilong is not the Lu Buwei in history, and he does not have such a vicious vision!
If you contact Zheng Zhilong at this time and agree to his conditions, you may end up raising a tiger.Zheng Zhilong's strength at sea is further strengthened, which is not what Emperor Chongzhen wants to see.

Because at this time, the imperial court's strength at sea was basically equal to 0, and there was no means to restrain Zheng Zhilong.

When Zuo Liangyu and Li Zicheng's bandits are defeated, the chaos in the south is basically settled, and Zheng Zhilong can see that this world is still the world of the Ming Dynasty, then he can negotiate with Zheng Zhilong, and the price paid by the court will be less. And he can speak harder to pressure Zheng Zhilong.

Because what Emperor Chongzhen wanted was for the court to have absolute control over the navy, rather than to control the navy through Zheng Zhilong.

The more troublesome thing is that the navy is not as good as the army. If it is the army, disrupting and reorganizing the army can basically remove the influence of the original generals.However, the navy is a technical branch, and the sailors and generals on the ship are all from the Zheng family. At present, the court does not have enough reserve sailors and generals to disrupt Zheng Zhilong's navy for reorganization.

It was also for this reason that Emperor Chongzhen asked Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming to rebuild the Dongjiang Army, also known as the Dongjiang Navy.At that time, whether it is for containment or mixing and rearranging, it can be used.

However, rebuilding the Dongjiang Navy also takes time, which is basically equivalent to rebuilding a navy.Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen recruited Gu San Mazi's navy to help him in emergencies.

In addition, in the battle against thieves such as Li Zicheng and Zuo Liangyu in the south, although the navy is also needed, it is only inland lakes and rivers. It is not as indispensable as the naval battle. It can depend on the situation.

Of course, the bandits led by Li Zicheng and Zuo Liangyu did not have decent naval forces, which was also crucial.Otherwise, if the navy must be used to determine the outcome, then no matter how high the cost, Emperor Chongzhen must contact Zheng Zhilong and ask him to serve the court, and then find a way to recruit Zheng Zhilong's navy afterwards.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen heard Yan Yingyuan's words, smiled and nodded and said, "I wonder if Yan Qing is proficient in water warfare?"

After hearing this, Yan Yingyuan immediately responded: "I dare not say that I am proficient in it, but I know a little about water warfare."

Chinese people generally have a problem, or it is a tradition, and that is modesty.Yan Yingyuan dares to say that he knows something, but he actually knows water warfare.

Think about it, Jiangyin is a city on the edge of the Yangtze River.Yan Yingyuan is the canonical historian of Jiangyin. To keep Jiangyin safe, he must understand both land and water.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen said to Yan Yingyuan: "I am going to rebuild the Nanjing Navy. If you can recruit Gu Sanmazi's navy, then I will rebuild the Nanjing Navy based on Gu Sanmazi's fleet. I will temporarily replace you." As the deputy general of the Nanjing Navy, Gu Sanmazi can be a guerrilla for the Nanjing Navy."

Yan Yingyuan actually followed the civil official route, first writing history books, and then becoming chief bookkeeper.But he is not a Jinshi. Under normal circumstances, if he works for a lifetime, he will end up working as a county magistrate in a remote county.

Now, if Yan Yingyuan can recruit pirates like Gu Sanmazi, even though he is a civilian-turned-military general, he will start as a deputy general, commonly known as the deputy general. Although it is only a temporary replacement, this can be regarded as a step to the sky.

Yan Yingyuan was naturally overjoyed after hearing this, and hurriedly replied: "I will definitely do my best to recruit Gu Sanmazi."

When the generals in Wuying Hall heard these words, they were a little surprised that the emperor valued this Yan Yingyuan so much.

Thinking like this, most of them changed their views on Yan Yingyuan. When Emperor Chongzhen asked them to let go of eating and drinking, they no longer put on airs, but took the initiative to talk to Yan Yingyuan and accepted Yan Yingyuan.

Yan Yingyuan was also very knowledgeable. He knew that these generals were the generals from the Beijing camp who followed the emperor south, and were considered the emperor's confidants. Therefore, he always maintained a low profile and made friends with these generals.

The atmosphere in the hall seemed very harmonious.

About half an hour later, Emperor Chongzhen saw that everyone had almost finished eating, so he smiled at them and said: "The soldiers from the Beijing camp followed me south, far away from their hometown. We can't reunite with our relatives during the Chinese New Year. I went over to see them. Everyone Celebrate the New Year together!”

In fact, the emperor spent the Chinese New Year with them instead of spending time with those royal relatives, dignitaries and dignitaries, which shows that in the eyes of the emperor, they are the most important.

Therefore, after hearing the emperor's words, all the generals stood up and accompanied the emperor to visit the soldiers in the capital camp. As one of them, Yan Yingyuan naturally wanted to follow.

As a result, he saw how high Emperor Chongzhen's prestige was in the military!

Yan Yingyuan could naturally tell that the soldiers in the Beijing camp sincerely respected Emperor Chongzhen, and this reverence was definitely not because the emperor visited them, but had already been like this before.

Seeing how the emperor was so kind to these soldiers in the capital camp, and how he didn't bother to look at the soldiers on duty after seeing them in the camp, and how he didn't think they were humble, he knew that the legendary things about the emperor were absolutely true. !
These soldiers can die for the emperor, so how can they not win the battle on the battlefield?
Even Yan Yingyuan thought about himself and was impressed by the emperor's charm without knowing it. He thought about how such a good emperor could not work hard for him?If nothing else, I will do my best to recruit Gu Sanmazi!
At night, Yan Yingyuan returned to the inn, and rushed back to Jiangyin tomorrow to try to get Gu San Mazi to take care of him.And Emperor Chongzhen naturally returned to the palace.

But instead of staying up late, he had to take care of business.

Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou, the chief and deputy garrison eunuchs of Nanjing, did not even eat the New Year's Eve dinner and kept waiting for the emperor's summons.

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen finally received the two of them, he quickly paid homage and shouted long live the mountain.

When Emperor Chongzhen faced the two eunuchs, he lost his smile and just asked lightly: "Is there any result?"

Both of them said that there was something suspicious about the shipwreck and rushed to investigate. Although it had only been a day, but they heard about the emperor's method of dealing with other people, they did not dare to delay at all and went to the front line to investigate.

At this time, after hearing the emperor's first question, Han Zanzhou quickly reported: "Long live my lord, I personally inspected the corpses of those craftsmen and found that they were not killed by the heavy snow, but were driven into their heads with long nails." Death, covered by hair, is extremely difficult to detect.”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he thought that it was indeed the case!

Taking a boat to the center of the river, such a big fortune ship sank quickly. If it was a natural accident, the possibility was lower than if he had traveled across time!
Someone wants to die!

So, he stared at the two eunuchs in front of him and motioned for them to continue reporting.

But who knows, the two eunuchs looked at me and I looked at you, and they were speechless.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, his face sank and he asked: "Is it gone?"

When Lu Jiude saw that the emperor was looking at him, he said with a sad face: "Long live my lord, only one day has passed, and I haven't had time to continue the investigation."

It does take a lot of time to exhume and examine thirty or forty corpses in one day.

Emperor Chongzhen was not an unreasonable person, so he asked: "Then what is the next step for you to investigate? Do you have any ideas?"

Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou naturally discussed it before coming to see the emperor. When they heard the emperor's question, they quickly responded: "I want to investigate the people around the craftsmen to see if there is anything suspicious. Then investigate further..."

Han Zanzhou and Lu Jiude said that he was thinking, isn't this the result of the discussion between the two?So, without waiting for Lu Jiude to speak, he rushed to say: "I want to investigate the people in the Nanjing Navy who picked up the ship to see if there is anything suspicious!"

When Lu Jiude heard his arrogance, he glanced at him and hurriedly said: "The servants have given strict orders to keep the craftsmen's affairs secret. I believe that those rebels must not know that their methods of harming people have been exposed." Know.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen asked: "How many people did you bring to investigate?"

When Lu Jiude heard this, he was slightly stunned. He knew why the emperor asked this, and said with a somewhat ugly face: "More than 200 people!"

There were thirty or forty corpses alone, and it would definitely not be possible if there were too few people to carry them.

In other words, it would be very difficult for two eunuchs to take so many people to investigate without the news leaking out!
So Emperor Chongzhen told them: "Privately reveal the methods used by the rebels to kill the craftsmen, and let as many people know as possible!"

"???" Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou couldn't help but have question marks on their foreheads after hearing this.It was too late to keep it secret, so why did it spread throughout the city?
Naturally, they didn't know that Emperor Chongzhen was not particularly concerned about finding out the real culprit. He wanted to fix all the nobles and some officials in Nanjing.Forcing them to donate money before was just the first step. How could they let them go just because they paid money?

The chaos in the late Ming Dynasty was ultimately caused by problems in property distribution.Nowadays, the wealth in Jiangnan has been concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people, which is the source of the unrest and the focus of Emperor Chongzhen's attack.

The simplest and most direct thing is to use the fact that someone dared to murder people this time to clean up all the nobles and officials who have proven unworthy in history.

Therefore, he wanted everyone to know that the sinking of the No. [-] warship in the middle of the river was not a coincidence, but that someone really wanted to murder him as the emperor!
Although Lu Jiude and Han Zanzhou might be able to guess the emperor's thoughts on weekdays, it was not possible for them to guess the emperor's thoughts just after contact with him. Therefore, they were naturally confused about the emperor's orders.

Shortly after the two left, Fang Zhenghua came over with the interrogation results from Jin Yiwei.

"Long live Lord, this Uncle Cheng Yi is really a ruthless man." Fang Zhenghua said as he presented the confession in his hand to the emperor and continued to play, "According to the servants in his house, Liu Kongzhao sent his uncle Liu Laichen to He and his grandmother Hu secretly killed her."

Emperor Chongzhen was not surprised at all after hearing this, because this matter was recorded in later generations, and the motive for the crime was also very clear. It was only reasonable that the title of Count Chengyi should have been inherited by his uncle.

Liu Kongzhen's grandfather Shang Zhong and his step-wife Hu had a son Laichen, and his father Xinchen was the daughter of a maid. After Liu Shangzhong's death, the title should be inherited by Laichen, because Laichen was young and was inherited by Liu Xinchen.Logically speaking, after Liu Xinchen's death, the title should be returned to Liu Laichen, but how could Liu Kongzhen be willing to kill Liu Laichen and the Hu family.

Moreover, according to historical records, Liu Kongzhao was very arrogant.Relying on the military power of the Nanjing Navy in his hands, he dared to pursue and kill ministers he was dissatisfied with with a knife in front of King Fu of Nanming.Even if he doesn't actually kill, but just shows off, you can still tell how arrogant and domineering he is.

Later, when the Qing Dynasty moved south, he ran away directly; King Fu of Nanming followed him and wanted to take refuge with him, but he refused directly for fear of attracting the Manchu soldiers.

Emperor Chongzhen could not have a good impression of Liu Kongzhao.Therefore, since he was suspected, Emperor Chongzhen had no burden at all and asked the Jin Yiwei to arrest him for interrogation.

In this way, the interrogation revealed that he had harmed his uncle and grandmother. This was not what Emperor Chongzhen cared about, so he continued to read.

No, Fang Zhenghua picked out the most important content and presented it to Emperor Chongzhen: "A son from a family in Chengyi's house was Liu Kongzhao's confidant. He couldn't withstand the methods of Jin Yiwei. There was a situation that said that the day Liu Kongzhao fell into the water , seemed to have expected it, so they were able to rescue Liu Kongzhao in time and rescued Liu Kongzhao. However, when they wanted to change Liu Kongzhao's clothes immediately and warm themselves by the fire, they were rejected by him. They just got angry at the craftsmen, saying that it was the fault of the craftsmen. It caused him to fall into the water. After a long delay, he got cold!"

Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly after hearing this, found the confession mentioned by Fang Zhenghua, and read it carefully.

If you don't doubt it, it seems like this is nothing.If you have a bad temper and take your anger out on others, you will get angry easily.It seems that he had expected this, but Liu Kongzhao said that it is easy to slip in snowy weather and be careful, which is reasonable.

However, if it is first determined that Liu Kongzhao may be the person who rebelled against the emperor, then these two things can be treated as doubtful.

After Emperor Chongzhen read the entire confession, he asked Fang Zhenghua: "Why is there no confession from Liu Kongzhao himself?"

After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua quickly replied: "I have been in a coma since I was taken to prison."

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he thought for a moment and said, "First find a doctor to cure him."

"My slave obeys the order!" Fang Zhenghua replied quickly after hearing this.

In fact, he really wanted to find out the murderer. The emperor almost died, and he almost died. Fortunately, the emperor saved him!
At that time, if the emperor had tied a rope and got on the boat first and fell into the water, even if he was good at it, he was a landlubber and could not swim, so he would probably die.

He would rather face ten or a hundred thieves fighting than fall into the water!

After Fang Zhenghua went to deliver the decree, Emperor Chongzhen leaned on the back of the dragon chair and looked at the candlelight in the palace. When he was quiet by himself, he couldn't help but think about the year that was about to pass.

Time flies so fast, but a lot of things have been done. From the current point of view, the situation in the north has been stabilized. In the next year, we will calm down the chaos in the south. The most important thing is that the rebel army cannot be allowed to mess around again. To escape and mess up the Ming Dynasty again, we have to work hard on the morale of the military and the people!
In this way, time finally came to the 18th year of Chongzhen, which was unprecedented in history.

Just after this year, Emperor Chongzhen focused his attention on rectifying the Nanjing army.

On New Year's Eve, military pay is mainly settled, and the military pay is initially divided according to physical strength.To accomplish this in one day is already impressive.

Further rectification is still necessary.Only after the city of Nanjing is settled can we concentrate on dealing with the huge army of thieves.

However, he did not know that someone in Nanjing City had sent an envoy to the rebels.

(End of this chapter)