Chapter 108: Secret Destiny of Going South

As night fell, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was worried, once again opened the secret report that Li Weizheng had just sent. The assassin hid in the Qin King's mansion. He had left two hours ago and headed south, protected by the thirty personal guards of the Qin King.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang knew where they were going. Seeing that the game was about to reach its climax, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little hesitant. After all, it was his own son. Is it really going to turn against him? The father-son family affection and the power of the rule of law fought repeatedly in his heart, which made him suffer. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think of the past years. At that time, he was busy fighting to win the world. He ignored his sons except the eldest son, especially his second son. He had almost lived under the shadow of his eldest son since he was a child. He was humble and small, and had never received cheers or halos.

Yes, as a father, he was full of guilt for his second son, but as the king of a country and the controller of the Ming Dynasty, he had to abandon this affection. The most ruthless person in the world was also the imperial family. Zhu Yuanzhang deeply realized this point that for the sake of the Zhu family's succession and the stability of the Ming Dynasty, he had to make up his mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang's blood gradually became cold, and he finally made a step to compete for the game.

"I ordered the commander of the Jinyiwei and Li Wei from Qianhou to come to see me quickly!"

Half an hour later, Li Wei was riding a horse to the palace. He met Jiang Yan, the commander of the Jinyiwei who was rushing to the palace at the gate of the palace. Li Weizheng hurriedly bowed and asked, "Sir, is there any urgent matter for the emperor to tell us so late?"

"I don't know, probably because of the murder of the envoy of the Northern Dynasty of Japan. Alas, it's a headache!" Jiang Yan knew of course that Li Weizheng had sent someone to keep an eye on the envoy of the Southern Dynasty, and he also knew that this was a secret task assigned by the emperor alone to Li Weizheng. However, the emperor wanted to investigate the murder of the Japanese envoy, so he had to pretend to be confused and send Leng Qianqiu to investigate seriously. In fact, it's better not to see too thoroughly about some things. For example, Li Weizheng was summoned with him tonight, and he knew that the matter tonight must end up on Li Weizheng. As for why, he didn't want to know, so it's hard to be smart, and even more difficult to be confused...

The two of them waited outside the imperial study room for a while, and a eunuch came out and whispered: "The emperor ordered you to go in."

The two walked into the imperial study room one by one and one behind and knelt down, "I bow to His Majesty the Emperor."

"You guys get up!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing the memorials. When he saw the two of them coming, he stopped writing and asked Jiang Yan: "How is the investigation of the murder of the envoy of the Northern Dynasties of Japan?"

"Report to Your Majesty, Leng Qianhu already has a definite evidence that it was done by the envoys of the Southern Dynasties. According to investigation, there were two of them missing, and there would be a formal report tomorrow morning."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "I guessed that it was the Southern Dynasties envoys, but this is their internal affairs. We should not interfere too much. Just hand over the evidence to the Japanese Northern Dynasties mission, let them resolve it, and then behead the other personnel involved in the Jiaofangsi to me, and the case will be settled."

"There are my husbands who follow the order."

After Zhu Yuanzhang solved the assassination of the Japanese envoy, he took a letter from the desk and said: "This is the real purpose of your visit tonight. The Guangzhou gentry Zhang Rugao wrote to me by using his relationship with the capital. It reflects that many counties in Guangdong have a large amount of rice bran mixed in the food to help the victims. The people are full of grievances. I suspect that some officials are greedy for relief grains. I think that the emperor of Guangdong is far away and I can't take care of it. I have already ordered Guangdong Xuanfu to investigate Luo Ziqi, but I am still worried. I want your Jinyiwei to participate in the investigation of the case at the same time. If the evidence is conclusive, you can peel the stolen officials on the spot and show them to the public to comfort the victims' emotions."

"I obey the order!" Jiang Yan accepted the order and turned to Li Wei and said, "You three will be responsible for this matter!"

"Subordinates obey the order."

The three of them tacitly arranged the matter, and Jiang Yan and Li Weizheng retreated together. Zhu Yuanzhang did not deliberately try to keep one of them. When they retreated, Zhu Yuanzhang took out a sealed decree from the drawer and handed it to the personal guard beside him and said, "Transfer this sealed decree to Li Weizheng and pass on my oral decree. This matter is of great importance. He must obtain conclusive evidence for me."

The guard agreed and hurried away after receiving the secret order. Zhu Yuanzhang focused his mind for a moment, and then temporarily put down the affairs of Guangdong and focused on reviewing the memorials.

Let’s talk about Jiang Yan and Li Wei leaving the palace, so the two parted ways. Jiang Yan went to Leng Qianqiu to convey the emperor’s will for the assassination, while Li Wei returned to the Jinyiwei Yamen to prepare for the southward journey to Guangdong...

He knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had to let him go to Guangdong, and the disaster relief food case was just a cover. Just like the assassination case, he had already reported to him that Fengya Kikuchi had entered the Jiaofangsi. The consequences were obvious, but he was unable to act rashly. He was killed by the envoy of the Northern Dynasties. Afterwards, he launched an investigation as if he had no idea about anything. Li Weizheng suddenly had a strong premonition that the real purpose of Zhu Yuanzhang's order to go to Guangdong to investigate was probably related to these two Japanese.

As soon as he entered the room, Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guard came with him. He was like a puppet man. As soon as he entered the door, he handed over the secret decree to Li Weizheng, leaving a sentence, "The secret decree given to you by the emperor and the oral decree of the emperor, this matter is of great importance, and you must obtain conclusive evidence."

Then it disappeared into the dark night.

Li Weizheng closed the door and window, pulled the curtains up, and locked the door. Then he took out Zhu Yuanzhang's secret order, with only one sentence on it: "I ordered the Jinyiwei thousand households Li Weizheng to secretly investigate the case of Guangdong Nanhaiwei smuggling Japanese silver."

It's true that it has something to do with Japan.

Li Wei was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, his feet raised high on the table, and his hands gently pinched his seal hall. No surprise, everything was walking on the track he expected, "Japan, Kikuchi brothers and sisters, smuggling silver, Qin King, assassinating the prince." When these keywords were connected, all the questions were solved. It was obvious that this was the fundamental reason why Zhu Yuanzhang promoted him to Qianhu, because he was indeed the most suitable candidate to investigate the case.

However, judging from Zhu Yuanzhang's oral decree, "You must get conclusive evidence" he was actually very conflicted. He actually slapped a slap, and it depends on how he untied the knot. If he is well solved, there will be nothing wrong. If he cannot be solved, Li Weizheng will fall to the ground.

Li Weizheng couldn't help but think of King Yan Zhu Di again. This was also a major challenge he would face in the future. From the current point of view, history is still moving along the established track and has not changed anything because of his arrival. Perhaps it is because his energy is too small and not enough to shake the big ship of history. In the years to come, he may be able to change anything, but in any case, opportunities will only be left to those who are prepared. Without long-term plans, there will be immediate worries. Perhaps, he should consider preparing a way out for himself.

Li Wei was slowly coming to the imperial prison behind the Jinyiwei General Office with his hands behind his back. This was a place where all the officials of the Ming Dynasty were disgusted with horrific torture instruments. Tens of thousands of prisoners were executed here, including corrupt officials, but also innocent officials and their families. There was no saying that they had been released after the sentence, they were all severely interrogated. Then they followed the emperor's will to make a decision, beheaded or exiled. If the case cannot be settled, they will be detained for a long time until they were tortured and died. Therefore, a large number of prisoners could not survive and died. Every night there were carriages to transport bodies.

The imperial prison is divided into two parts: above and underground, covering a large area. Each institute has its own independent cells here. According to different cases, Li Weizheng came to the three westernmost prison cells. Tonight, a hundred households named Chen Ying were on duty. He was promoted by Li Weizheng not long ago. When Qianhu arrived, he immediately knelt down and bowed, "See Lord Qianhu."

"I'll come and see the criminal!"

Li Wei was walking into the prison with his hands behind his back. The cell was very dark, full of the smell of death, and the conditions were also very bad. Cells were separated by iron fences as thick as arms. In recent years, there were few major cases. Most of the cells were corrupt officials arrested from nearby places. If the place was far away, the Jinyiwei handled the case on the spot and killed people on the spot, but most of the cells were empty.

Perhaps because he got used to it in the Jinyiwei, Li Weizheng's heart gradually became numb. He had no choice but to beg and moans in the prison cell. It was impossible to release people. He did not have this power. Only Jiang Yan had the right to approve the release of people. In addition, there was a national amnesty. This situation was rare in ten years. In addition, it was a gray escape and bribed with money.

This is actually a hidden rule among the Jinyiwei. If some people who have not been convicted of the crime have enough money, they will pay a lot of money to buy Jinyiwei officials and get the person out by disguising their bodies. They have been recorded in Jinyiwei and have died. From then on, they have changed their identity and evaporated from the human world. Some Jinyiwei officials also fell in love with a beautiful female prisoner and took the person away in this way. For example, Zhao Yue directly took the person away when the house was raided.

This kind of hidden rules was particularly popular in various prisons in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and it was also there in the early Ming Dynasty, but it was not common. Zhu Yuanzhang's severe punishment in the early Ming Dynasty had a strong deterrent effect on the literati and officials, and he could not form this gray culture in the upper class. But only at the bottom class, there were cases. On the contrary, in the Jinyiwei Zhao Prison, which was flooded with power and lost supervision, this situation was quite common. Especially in the Guo Heng case and the empty seal case a few years ago, a large number of people were arrested and imprisoned. Every day, the dead people were piled up in the carriage and were transported away, and there was no time to confirm whether they died. In this case, a loophole appeared. Many Jinyiwei with a little power would use this loophole to make huge profits. The superiors also turned a blind eye and kept their subordinates' financial resources, but it was limited to those who were not convicted and detained for a long time. No one dared to move the person who had the case.

Li Weizheng knew very well that this gray release was his first use today.

He walked to the prison cell of the Guan Zhou Dexing case. There were four prison cells, two female relatives and two male criminals. Since the Zhou Dexing case was over, Zhu Yuanzhang had already approved the beheading, and almost all male criminals in the Zhou family were killed, while some related criminals and female relatives were exiled to Yunnan. In the past few days, most of the prisoners have been sent away. There are still more than a dozen women, children and seven or eight related criminals left in the prison cell.

These women obviously suffered enough, all of them looked sad and dull. When they saw senior officials of the Jinyiwei coming over, they all instinctively hid in the corner and looked at him in horror. Li Wei glanced at them and said to Chen Ying, a hundred households: "These women are innocently implicated. Don't make things difficult for them anymore. I'll send them away tomorrow or the day after tomorrow!"

"Yes! My subordinates obey the order."

Li Weizheng took a few more steps and came to another cell. There were two old men in the cell, both of whom were fifty or sixty years old. Li Weizheng came to the cell to find them. These two were famous doctors in the capital, one with the surname Huangfu and the other with Ma. They had been treated for high-ranking officials for a long time. The two of them were implicated because they concealed the prescription of abortion medicine for Zhou Ji, but their crimes were not concluded, and no one dared to protect them. In other words, they would have to retire in the imperial prison. According to normal circumstances, they would only have three months of life at most. Moreover, they were both fifty or sixty years old. It would be a blessing to live for one month under the severe torture of the Jinyiwei.

Both famous doctors were obviously beaten up and lay dying on the broken mat. They saw countless patients, but in the end they could not see their own illness. However, what Li Weizheng saw was their superb medical skills and understanding of the nobles. It would be a pity to be imprisoned in the imperial prison.

"Is there a car to transport the body tonight?" Li Weizheng turned around and asked Chen Ying.

"Report to Qianhu, some, the car will arrive in half an hour. We have three bodies to send away."

Li Wei was thinking for a moment and said, "I want these two people. I will disguise them as bodies tonight and transport them away and secretly send them to my mansion."

He fell in love with these two famous doctors. He has considered a long-term plan these days. These two famous doctors can use it in this plan. Before he goes south, he has to start preparing for this plan.

Chen Ying nodded quickly and agreed, "Don't worry, sir, I will do it properly for this little thing and there will be no mistakes."

After doing this, Li Wei was turning around and leaving the imperial prison. He cleaned up the table a little and went home.

It was drizzling in the sky, and the streets were empty, and there was a hint of coolness in the misty autumn rain. Li Wei was speeding up and moving on the street. Jiang Qi ordered him to set off early the morning after tomorrow, but he still had a lot of things to arrange. Time was already a little tight. He rushed to the door and Li Wei was finding a carriage parked opposite him, and several family members were waiting next to him, as if there were guests at home.

He ran up the steps, butler Li Fu opened the door, and Li Wei was asking as he entered, "Who is here at home?"

"It's Fei Qianhu's wife who is here, she comes to visit her wife."

"So that's it!" Li Wei was walking a few steps, then stopped again, and said to Li Fu: "Uncle Afu, I have something important to discuss with you."

Li Fu quickly smiled and said, "Young Master, just give me instructions if you have something to do, there is no need to discuss it."

Li Wei was pondering for a moment and said, "I want to open a pharmacy in Peking, and I want to find someone I absolutely trust to run it. I wonder if Uncle Afu is willing to go."

‘Go to Peiping to open a pharmacy.’ Li Fu was stunned. He really didn’t understand why Li Weizheng had this idea. He asked hesitantly: “Young Master, are you kidding?”

Li Weizheng shook his head and said solemnly: "It's not a joke. I found two obedient and superb medical doctors. They will help Uncle Afu build a pharmacy and make a name for themselves. As for why I went to Peking to open a pharmacy, Uncle Afu won't ask for it for the time being. In short, this matter is related to the life and death of my Li family in the future, and it is very important."

Li Fu has been in the Li family for forty years and has long regarded himself as a member of the Li family. He was shocked when he heard the problem was so serious and nodded quickly and agreed: "Young master, don't worry! I will definitely run the pharmacy in Peiping."

"Then thank you Uncle Afu!" Li Weizheng smiled gratefully and said, "Tomorrow we will discuss the specific matters carefully and try to prepare as much as possible."

"Brother, what are you discussing?" Qianqian walked over from the side and said with a smile.

"Young master, I'll go there first." Li Fu greeted him and went down first.

When Li Fu walked away, Li Weizheng said to Qianqian: "I plan to ask Uncle Fu to open a shop in Peking. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time."

"Why do you want to open a store in Peking?" Qianqian was also surprised.

Li Weizheng smiled and shook his head and said, "This matter is hard to describe in one sentence. It has something to do with the Ming Dynasty. I want to leave a way out for myself, so don't ask."

"Brother, is the emperor going to kill you?" Qianqian stopped and looked at him with a worried look. She was deeply impressed by Zhu Yuanzhang's cruelty to killing people, and she would associate everything with it.

"Don't talk nonsense! Things are not what you think, you will know in the future." Li Weijing smiled and patted her head, and changed the subject and said, "By the way, is the business of the pencil shop good these two days?"

When talking about the pencil shop, Qianqian suddenly remembered something and smiled and said, "Brother, who will buy pencils today?"

"I can't guess."

"I guess you can't guess it, let me tell you, it was Zhu Yunwen who secretly came to buy pencils without telling the prince today, and only a eunuch accompanied him."

‘Zhu Yunwen?’ Li Wei was right and didn’t expect it. He smiled and asked, “What did he say?”

Qianqian remembered Zhu Yunwen's sneaky look and couldn't help but smile: "He complained to me, saying that his masters forced him to study all day long, and he didn't even make a move. Today, we finally had time to sneak out. We chatted for a while, and I think he was actually quite pitiful."

"Yes! Although he has a noble status, he is not actually happy. You are the same age as him, so you can talk about it." Li Weizheng did not take this matter to heart. He was leaving the day after tomorrow. There were still many things to explain to Qianqian. He pondered for a while and said, "Qian'er, I may have to go on a business trip in Guangdong for several months, at most half a year. The only thing I don't feel at ease is Zi Tong. Take good care of Zi Tong for me, and I will hand her over to you."

Qianqian was shocked and asked hurriedly: "Brother, are you going to Guangdong? When?"

"I'll leave early the morning after tomorrow."

Qianqian was silent, and after a while, she said, "Brother, don't worry! I will take good care of my family. Besides, Aunt Yan is also there. She has experience, so there should be no problem with my elder sister. But you must come back before she gives birth, which is very important."

Li Weijing nodded, "I'll go and comfort her now!"

Zhu Cheng was in a good mood these days. Since the emperor agreed to support the Southern Dynasties of Japan, the Southern Dynasties envoy of Kikuchi Takei specially sent someone to send a precious red coral. He promised to report to Prince Liangcheng after returning to the country to expand his trade with him. He begged the silver ship to ask him to send Kikuchi and sister back to his country. The Kikuchi and sister had already left Beijing safely and were on their way to Guangdong.

Zhu Chuang ordered Zhao Wuji to take the Kikuchi brothers and sisters to Guangdong not to send them back to China, but to serve as hostages. The silver ship that should have arrived a few months ago has not arrived due to Japan's repeated breaks of contracts. Using the Kikuchi brothers and sisters as hostages is to threaten the Kikuchi Takeshi. If the silver ship is not available, I will not release anyone back.

Although everything went smoothly, Zhu Chuang still had a trace of waving in his heart, that was the failure to fight for the Jinyiwei. Zhao Yue was actually killed by Li Weizheng, which made him extremely angry. Even if he was annoyed, he could do nothing. Of course, he knew that Zhao Yue was not Li Weizheng's opponent, but Zhao Yue was not fighting alone, and there was also the "Doxiushi" Lu Siyuan! But so far, he could not see where the "Doxiushi" was? He only saw that he was careless about what he explained. Zhao Yue had only warned Zhou Dexing's woman afterwards, saying that he had done something before, which made Zhu Chuang feel a little dissatisfied with Lu Siyuan.

Zhu Chuang was lying on a soft chair, looking at a letter with a gloomy face. It was Lu Siyuan who sent someone to send him to say that an official in Guangdong embezzled disaster relief grain. The emperor ordered the Jinyiwei to send someone to investigate the case, and the task fell on the three offices. According to Jiang Yan's opinion, Li Weizheng took the people to investigate the case himself.

"I don't know if this matter will affect Your Highness. I tell you that if you need it, Your Highness can just order your subordinates."

Zhu Xi put down the letter and his heart was pounding. Why is it so coincidental that the father sent someone to Guangdong to investigate the case, but it was Li Weizheng again. Is it really a narrow road for enemies? Or is it just a coincidence?

Zhu Ren paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Although most of his actions ended in failure in the past, he did not lose much, at most it was a regret. This time it was extraordinary. One hundred thousand taels of silver was almost half of his wealth, and it was of great importance. Once seized, the secret of his private expansion of the army would be very likely to be exposed.

You must not be careless at all. He will return to the Fengguo tomorrow, but this matter is like a weight, weighing heavily on Zhu Chuang's heart. Zhu Chuang pondered for a long time. He cannot be negligent about this matter. Even if it is not targeted at him, he must prevent accidents.

Thinking of this, Zhu Xi immediately wrote a letter and handed it to a confidant, and instructed him: "You should hurry to Guangzhou to inform Zhao Wuji that Li Weizheng led the Jinyiwei to investigate the case in Guangzhou soon. I will give him full authority to deal with this matter. No more mistakes are allowed!"

At the same time, he ordered people to tell Lu Siyuan that he would always pay attention to the news coming from Guangdong, and that Feige would report to him no matter any news.

At the same time when Zhu Ceng was worried about the incident in Guangdong, a carriage stopped in front of the side door of the Yan Prince's Mansion in a dense drizzle. Leng swing walked down the carriage. He held an oil-paper umbrella and waited at the door for a while. Soon the door opened and he was led into the Yan Prince's Mansion.

Like Zhu Chuang, Zhu Di also returned to Peiping tomorrow. He was discussing with Yao Guangxiao about laying out eyeliners in major cities in the Ming Dynasty. He placed a map of the Ming Dynasty in front of them. The two looked at the map and looked at it to find a suitable place.

Zhu Di had considered this matter before, and it is now officially put on the agenda, but it requires strong financial resources to lay eyeliners in various places. Zhu Di had a little inadequacies. Although he was granted the title of Yan State, he could not interfere in politics. He also treated his soldiers well in leading the army. He had little wealth. Although Zhu Yuanzhang gave him generous rewards, it was still not enough to establish a huge intelligence network.
To be continued...