Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 308 Assassination of the Songjiang Mansion Gentleman

Ma Jixiang, the commander of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics of the East Factory, originally looked at Li Tianjing and Lu Renchang with a sneer on his face, but after hearing what Lu Renchang, Xu Erlu and others said about imitating Wu Zong and Xi Zongchao, their faces became serious.

"Commander, what is the old story of Wu Zongxi and Zong Dynasty?" Qianhu Lingrun, who was following Ma Jixiang, couldn't help asking in a low voice.

Ma Jixiang clenched the knife in his hand: "Emperor Wu Zong and Emperor Xi Zong fell into the water when they were young and died violently. It is rumored that civil officials colluded with their ministers to frame them. Liu Jin was in power in the inner court of Wu Zong Dynasty, and the civil officials in the outer court were suppressed. Liu Jin implemented the New Deal. ;In the Xizong Dynasty, Wei Zhongxian was in power, and the eunuch party suppressed the Donglin Party; now His Majesty, with the Jiangxi and Zhejiang parties as the backbone, has established the Grand Marshal's Office to seize the civilian and military power, and Ma Shiying, the former eunuch of the eunuch party, is in charge of the Ministry of War, opening up a new deal; you say they want what?"

Ling Run also looked serious: "They want to rebel!"

"I don't dare to plot rebellion, but I just want to use some indiscriminate means to do some outrageous things. In this day and age, as long as you are willing to do something for the common people, no matter whether you are an official or the emperor, which one will not take risks!"

Ma Jixiang couldn't help thinking of Zhu Wan who was beheaded in the Jiajing Dynasty for his meritorious service in exterminating pirates but for violating the interests of coastal gentry.

"Record what they said, and submit it to the imperial court," Ma Jixiang ordered, and after Ling Run finished recording, he said in a low voice: "Do it!"

In a short while, about [-] military officers and captains from the Dongchang Investigation and Statistics Bureau, wearing black arrow-sleeved night clothes, rushed in.

With a click, Xuan Chuang was directly smashed to death by Ma Jixiang, and Ma Jixiang stood directly in front of Li Tianjing, Lu Renchang and others.

Seeing this, Xu Erlu was horrified, but when he thought of his extraordinary family background, he had been protected by the emperor and the court ministers since the Jiajing Dynasty, and he was the first family in the Songjiang Mansion. With the official title of Minister of Guanglu Temple, Xu Erlu has some confidence: "What are you doing, this old man is Xu Erlu, Minister of Guanglu Temple, grandson of Xu Ge, you are too bold!"

Squeak!
As soon as Xu Erlu finished speaking, Ma Jixiang's knife sank into his chest, and he pressed Lu Renchang on the table with his backhand.

Xu Erlu looked at all this in disbelief. He didn't expect these people to kill him directly. He seemed to have realized something, and asked Ma Jixiang: "Are you sent by His Majesty? Ever since Li Tianjing left Nanjing, you have Keep up, right?"

Ma Jixiang didn't say anything, just smiled coldly, and spun the knife twice in Xu Erlu's chest, then pulled out the knife and chopped Lu Renchang who was pressed on the table, chopping off half of his head.

"Your Majesty, spare your life!"

At this time, Ling Run and other members of the Dongchang Zhongtong also killed Pan Yunlong, Jiang Hai and others.

But Li Tianjing, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, was frightened at this time, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Ma Jixiang poured a cup of tea on Li Tianjing's face, and Li Tianjing came back to his senses. Seeing Ma Jixiang looking at him, he cupped his hands and asked, "What's your order?"

"You don't have to be afraid, Fu Yin. We are just ordered to get rid of some people who may harm you. You should be your official. If anyone invites you next, you can go and say what you want, but today's matter Needless to say, what do you think?"

When Ma Jixiang said this, Li Tianjing seemed to understand a little bit. He dared to say that he had not escaped His Majesty's eyes and ears. He couldn't help but feel scared for a moment. He didn't know how His Majesty would deal with him next.

……

Zhu Youjian received the report from Dongchang, and seeing Wang Chengen's solemn expression, he couldn't help but wonder: "What is the old story of Wuzong and Xizong?"

Wang Chengen told Zhu Youjian the mystery of the deaths of Wu Zong and Xi Zong, and Zhu Youjian knew that when he became emperor, even if he had imperial power in his hands, even if he resisted foreign aggression, he might not be able to live safely.

This made Zhu Youjian feel a little scared for the first time. He didn't expect that he was the one who saved the whole south from being a slave, but as long as he infringed on the interests of these gentry, someone would want his life.

Zhu Youjian lost his composure and dropped the booklet in his hand on the ground. He couldn't help but look back, and glared at each other, only Wang Chengen was prostrate on the ground.

"Tell Yan Yingyuan to order him to pretend to be a pirate and immediately exterminate the above-mentioned families involved in the case. All the men over the age of 15 in the mansion will be killed for the crime of treason. Men under the age of 15, women, children and young girls will be dispatched to Penghu Dongfan (Taiwan) to reclaim wasteland, and ordered to Fujian. The commander-in-chief Zheng Zhilong is ready to drive away the red ghosts of Dongfan Island, and from now on, change Dongfan to Taiwan, set up a government, and order Zheng Zhilong to also lead the prefect of Taiwan!"

Since Zhu Youjian granted Zheng's company tax-free privileges, Zheng's company has become more and more powerful in the South China Sea. In addition, he can only collect protection fees for Western ships such as the Red Fan Ghost, which is the Netherlands, so Zheng's group is now The conflict with the red ghosts is getting bigger and bigger. Zheng Zhilong even went to Zhu Youjian again to get the support of the court to recover Dongfan Island, drive away the red ghosts, and move the people from the mainland to live in Dongfan Island.

Zhu Youjian has long been concerned about regaining Dongfan Island, but what he has to consider is that Zheng Zhilong wants to regain Dongfan Island now because he wants to expand a larger overseas base for his own Zheng Group. Moreover, the inland people will be relocated to Dongfan to reclaim wasteland, which will undoubtedly further expand the strength of the Zheng Group.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian has been hesitant and has not given Zheng Zhilong a clear answer, although he also knows that the recovery and development of Dongfan Island is a major event that is beneficial to the interests of the entire Chinese nation.

But it’s different now. Zhu Youjian realized that there are still many reactionary gentry in the country, and there are still many who have opinions on his New Deal, and even assassinated his officials and himself. This made Zhu Youjian have to realize that today He still can't turn against Zheng's firm, just like he can't propose that officials and gentry pay food to be enemies of traditional gentry in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, etc. He has to continue to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with these two forces, and isolate the main business activities in Jiangnan. the gentry.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian now has no choice but to agree with Zheng Zhilong's suggestion to recover Dongfan Island, which is tantamount to giving Zheng Zhilong a chance to build Taiwan and expand his own strength. The fact that Zheng's Group spends the profits it earns on building Taiwan is also beneficial to the long-term development of the Han people.

Since they wanted to immigrate, they simply sent the children of those who disobeyed their own families there, no matter how Zheng's group enslaved them, it was the first step for the Han people to completely control Dongfan Island.

Wang Chengen was a little surprised, he didn't expect His Majesty to make such a decision suddenly, but he soon understood: "Your Majesty, if Zheng Zhilong and the Red Fan Ghosts were to go to war, would it trigger a national war? Just look at it, Chongzhen defeated Frangji's fleet in 15 years, and I'm afraid it's even stronger now than it was back then."

"It's okay, I trust Zheng Zhilong, unless his command level is not as good as his son's," Zhu Youjian said.

(End of this chapter)