Chapter 657 Who Believes
The sound of drums at the right time of You came from a distance, breaking the dead silence of the East Nuan Pavilion.
The eunuch Wang Gui spoke carefully: "This matter can only be said to be an accidental fire?"
Zhang Sheng said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid no one believes it. According to the signs written in the report, the fire in the 'Xiaoyao City' has a very tung oil smell, and all the water tanks that put out the fire were broken! It doesn't look like an accident. There are soldiers, officials, and servants involved in the firefighting. It's unlikely that they can hide the truth. I think the eunuch Wu Zhong is very suspicious, so it's better to push it on him!"
Wang Gui sighed and said, "This is still unreliable! Everyone in the world knows that the deposed prince's family was sent to Fengyang to guard the tomb by the emperor; the emperor also held the court and arranged people to stare in Fengyang. When we say that the deposed prince's family died of murder, it makes people even more suspicious! He also said that it was a eunuch who did something under our eyes. Who ordered it? I am afraid that there is no silver here!"
Zhu Gaoxu felt as irritable as a fire, but he didn't have an attack. Or because of the discomforts and dangers he encountered over the years, there were too many!
His rough palms were rubbing his cheeks over and over, as if he wanted to rub his skin off!
After the two people around him said something, he did not stop them. Instead, he felt that what Wang Gui and Zhang Sheng said were reasonable.
After a while, Zhu Gaoxu finally stopped his trivial actions and said coldly: "It is impossible to make everyone in the world believe it now. The most important thing in front of him is who do you want to believe it?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Sheng and Wang Gui both stopped, looking thoughtful.
Zhu Gaoxu also thought for a while, and the surroundings were very quiet. But he seemed to have hallucinations, and he could vaguely hear the sound of the "drip" clock in his heart! Time is indeed passing, but the sound is not, all he imagined.
Sitting in a quiet and luxurious palace, this is not a battlefield, but Zhu Gaoxu feels like a battlefield at this time!
"The timing is very important, it's fleeting! You can't delay time." Zhu Gaoxu suddenly spoke. He slapped the imperial case gently, his eyes narrowed, and he made up his mind, "Call the ministers and ministers immediately! Ask the ministers, ministers, temple ministers, royal family members in Beijing, and the Duke and Marquis of the State to discuss matters."
Zhu Gaoxu paused and said, "Those who have not left the imperial city have yet to ask them to go straight to Wuying Palace; those who have already paid the time to go home will send someone to the homes to issue an order!"
The two of them bowed together, "Abide by the order!"
When the ministers arrived at Wuying Hall one after another and Zhu Gaoxu also took a sedan chair, it was already dark.
However, at this time, lights were lit inside and outside the palace on the streets of the imperial palace, and the surrounding area was full of bright lights.
The main hall of Wuying Hall was changed to a cabinet office, but the throne above was still left, and no one was sitting there. When Zhu Gaoxu walked into the hall, he saw dozens of people had already arrived inside.
Everyone bowed and clasped their fists to face Zhu Gaoxu, and waited for him to sit up before giving a big gift.
But Zhu Gaoxu did not go to the throne. He took out the secret letter from his sleeve bag, handed it to Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel next to him, and then said straight to the point: "My elder brother died in the fire in Zhongdu Imperial City!"
Unexpectedly, the other voices that had just spoken suddenly disappeared together.
The dozens of people present became silent!
"Everyone is dead, including my elder brother's wife, concubine and son." Zhu Gaoxu continued, "What happened late last night was the night of April 26. This morning, the people who stayed in the department at Zhongdu wrote a memorial and sent it to the capital for 800 miles. I just received the urgent report, and I heard the sound of drums at the hour of You. Please pass on the memorial first."
Still no one spoke, and the hall was silent. Zhu Gaoxu didn't go up to sit, but stood in the north, very close to everyone. His eyes were slightly on the face of Zhang Fu, the Hou of Xincheng.
Zhang Fu was one of the generals of the Northern Expedition and had not left Beijing yet. At this time, his expression was very serious, with several vertical lines between his eyebrows, but no other emotions were seen. Today, all the civil and military officials summoned, all of whom were in power, were indeed calmer than ordinary people, and no one was making noise.
Gradually, there was a low voice in the hall, which was basically a simple conversation between the person who passed the letter paper.
Because there are many people, everyone consciously did not read the secret letter for too long when they read it. After reading the content quickly, they passed it to the next person. Even so, it took a long time for everyone to circulate it.
People were waiting and thinking. At this time, no one whispered in front of Zhu Gaoxu.
After the eunuch Wang Gui sent the wrinkled letter paper back, Zhu Gaoxu said: "Heaven and Earth, the ancestors and ancestors clearly understand, this is not what I did! And it is not my instruction!"
Some civil and military officials who buried their heads looked up at Zhu Gaoxu, and some of them showed confusion on their faces.
Zhu Gaoxu pointed to Zhang Sheng, commander of the Jinyiwei, and Wang Gui, eunuch of the Silijian, and said, "Except for the officials who stayed in the Zhongdu Department, those who were in charge of the "deposed crown prince" were all from the Jinyiwei and the Silijian. What I swear to the heaven is that at least the spirits of the ancestors and ancestors in the heaven, and the people from the Jinyiwei Department, must know the truth."
Suddenly, there were voices and discussions in the hall, and it seemed that some people believed it from the bottom of their hearts.
After all, was the emperor's instruction? The lackeys of the Jinyiwei and the Silijian must be aware of it! Under the surveillance and guards of so many people in the Zhongdu Stay, if someone wants to kill the deposed prince's family, someone must deploy, prepare and take action. It is impossible to hide the matter from everyone! As Zhu Gaoxu said, the Jinyiwei and the Silijian must know.
As the emperor and the grandson of Taizu, Zhu Gaoxu spoke to God and his ancestors to God; if there was a falsehood, and someone knew... it wouldn't be so! After all, all the ministers knew in their hearts that the deposed prince had completely failed and it would be difficult to survive!
"From the report, someone was suspected of setting fires last night." Zhu Gaoxu said, "I decided to send Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the three office officials of the Censorate, and the commander of the Jinyiwei to set off early tomorrow morning to go to Zhongdu to find out the truth!"
At this moment, Hu Yi, the Minister of Rites, bowed and said, "Sage, I think it is not possible! If you make it public to the world and the deposed crown prince dies in Zonghuo, there will be rumors in the world."
For a moment, there was a lot of discussion in the hall and finally it became lively.
Previously, there were only two people around Zhu Gaoxu, and they also had differences on how to claim this matter; at this time, dozens of people in Wuying Hall were even more difficult to talk about, and people's opinions were different.
Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and made a gesture to make the ministers quiet. He said seriously with sad face: "Although the deposed prince is guilty, it is still me."
The father and the legitimate son, my brother. This matter must not be concealed. We must find out the facts in full view of everyone and give an explanation to the royal family! I have decided, so you don’t need to persuade me!"
Suddenly a voice said, "The Lord is wise!"
Zhu Gaoxu and the ministers looked in the voice, and they were all surprised. Because the person who spoke was Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng!
Zhang Fu's daughter and grandson were all victims; after all, the report said that Zhu Gaochi's family of six died, including the "Niu Concubine" Zhang and her son. No wonder everyone was so surprised.
Everyone was surprised and had different expressions. Some officials showed a look of contempt when they looked at each other coldly; they seemed to suspect that Zhang Fu did not even care about his relatives for his wealth.
But Zhang Fu looked at him calmly and said loudly: "This matter is absolutely impossible to do with the Lord and the Minister whom the Lord relies on!"
He looked back and said, "During the 'Jingnan Battle', I knew the priest; during the Yongle period, I fought side by side with the priest, and I knew the priest very well, and I made a plan and then acted, so I could only conquer the Annan Kingdom in several months! The priest's opportunity to do things was as stable as Mount Tai, and it was impossible to be as hasty as last night.
The deposed prince is a serious crime. Even if there are people in the palace who want to persuade the emperor to punish him, it should not be the time (I just ascended the throne, weakened the military power of the vassal kings and launched a large-scale northern expedition), and it would not be so ugly."
Zhang Fu paused for a moment and continued: "If the Jinyiwei or the eunuch in the palace were ordered, why would he give the left-behind officials a chance to witness it? What is the obvious sign of fire written in this memorial? It is so obvious that only foolish and stupid people will have different feelings and suspect the emperor behind their backs!"
When he said this, his voice gradually choked and his eyes were red. His sadness was overwhelming with his face, very sincere, and it seemed that he was not a fake at all. He choked and said, "I am a father, and I am watching my own daughter die in a bad life. I am so young... A white-haired man sent a black-haired man. Do you know that I am sad?"
Zhang Fu suddenly knelt down on the ground and cried, "My father passed away, and I am the head of the family. He promised to take care of his family and protect his relatives in front of his father's spirit. I asked the emperor to find out the real murderer and comfort me, my father's spirit, and my daughter in heaven."
Liu Sheng first went up to persuade Zhang Fu to betray the change, and soon many civil and military officials said good things. After all, Zhang Fu's daughter died, so no one could say anything.
Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward to help Zhang Fu up. He looked Zhang Fu's eyes movedly and said sincerely: "Don't worry, Marquis of Xincheng, I will do my business and punish evil people severely! I have only been a few months since I ascended the throne. It was originally only a few confidants from the Han Palace. It was impossible that so many officials from the Three Laws were my personal personalities. If the yamen investigated together, they would be able to clearly understand and give justice to the deceased!"
When he said this, he also looked sad and said, "I and my elder brother are both born to my father, mother and queen. They grew up together. Regardless of whether they are morally right or wrong, I can't bear to give up my brotherhood..."
"The Lord, I am mourning, I will breathe the dragon body!" someone quickly persuaded.
All the ministers knelt on the ground and said, "The Lord, mourn!"
Zhu Gaoxu covered his face and said, "The Three Laws and the Jinyiwei are preparing overnight and set off as soon as possible tomorrow. We must find out the real murderer!"
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Chapter completed!