Han Zanzhou was reprimanded by Chongzhen and was extremely terrified. For Han Zanzhou, all his power comes from Chongzhen, even if he is the prime minister, being deposed is only a matter of Chongzhen's words. If it weren't for Chongzhen's serious illness now and Han Zanzhou's affairs of the third prince had been in charge, I'm afraid that this one thing would have been immediately knocked to the dust. Therefore, Han Zanzhou must make up for his mistakes and no longer disappoint Chongzhen.

When he returned to the Dongchang Yamen, he immediately secretly ordered an investigation, where did the news of the three princes leak from. In order to keep it secret, only a few stall heads in Dongchang knew about the affairs of the three princes, and now these stall heads have taken people out of Beijing to Shandong to carry out rescues, and one of the stall heads who stayed in Nanjing to coordinate was arrested, and after being tortured, they could not ask for any confession, and various evidence shows that this stall has no chance to contact outsiders.

How did it get out? After Han Zanzhou thought about the matter carefully, he set his eyes on Fang Mingxia. He suddenly remembered that apart from a few Dongchang henchmen, Fang Mingxia was the only one who knew about it.

So, Han Zanzhou immediately ordered someone to go to Fang Mansion quickly and arrest Fang Mingxia for questioning.

Fang Mingxia was very disgraceful, and immediately admitted that the matter was said from himself.

"The surname Fang, our family has always regarded you as a confidant, and I treat you well, this is how you repay our family?" Han Zanzhou glared at Fang Mingxia angrily, his voice full of disappointment.

It was he who appreciated and reused Fang Mingxia, and promoted Fang Mingxia from a talented person to a Beijing official imperial history, he had always regarded Fang Mingxia as a confidant, and now he felt really bad about being betrayed.

"Father-in-law Han, the reason why Xia Guan did this is for your sake." Fang Mingxia didn't panic as he imagined, but said with a calm expression.

"Boom, Boom......" Han Zanzhou let out a night owl-like laugh, "I want to hear how you think about me?" ”

"Gonggong Han, have you ever thought that Your Majesty ordered you to find the whereabouts of the Three Princes, but it is rumored that the Three Princes are in Yimeng, Shandong, hundreds of miles of mountains, and the territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, how difficult it is to find the Three Princes and rescue them?

If you can't save the three princes, will you disappoint Your Majesty? Your Majesty is disappointed, do you still want a good end?

And now that the news of the third prince has leaked out, the people who are responsible for rescuing your father-in-law are your henchmen, and now Your Majesty will not take you under the knife no matter what. You only need to find a random scapegoat, cut off a head to easily cover up the matter, or simply deny that the matter was leaked by Dongchang's side, even if you can't save the three princes afterwards, Your Majesty can't blame all the blame on you. Fang Mingxia unfolded his tongue like a spring and chattered.

Han Zanzhou was really a little dizzy by it, and hurriedly pressed his head with his hand, and after thinking for a while, he reacted, and couldn't help but sneer,

"Fang Mingxia, Fang Mingxia, are you taking our family for a fool? If you don't leak the news, our family is at least fifty percent sure of rescuing the three princes, but now that it is leaked out, our family will not even have thirty percent. What do you say, Your Majesty will not blame our family for the responsibility, will Your Majesty reason with our family? Isn't it to cut off our family's heads to vent our anger? ”

"At least Your Majesty won't cut off your father-in-law's head now, isn't it, besides, with Your Majesty's current body, can it still support it until that time? Father-in-law, why should you worry? Fang Mingxia said with a smile.

Han Zanzhou calmed down, narrowed his eyes, and stared at Fang Mingxia deadly: "You tell the truth with our family, have you climbed to the new master?" Otherwise, you wouldn't dare to say such a rebellious thing? Let me guess, who is the master you take refuge in, could it be Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu? “

Fang Mingxia has been staying in Hangzhou for the past year, and King Lu has also been living in Hangzhou, which makes Han Zanzhou can't help but think together, although he didn't guess right, it is not far away.

Because of the persuasion of Chen Yue, Wang Yin and others, Chongzhen regarded the gentry of the clan as the biggest moth of the Ming Dynasty, occupying a large amount of land but never paying taxes. Therefore, the Lu Wang, the Lu Wang, the Tang King and other clans who lost their domains have been living in various parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but Chongzhen has been reluctant to seal the new fief to them, and then he can't bear the persuasion of the ministers, and the Tang King has recently been re-sealed to the remote Guangxi, but the King Lu who is very close to the blood has been perfunctory.

Fang Mingxia knew that it was now time for a showdown, and whether he could persuade Han Zanzhou to get his support was up to now.

"Does my father-in-law really think that if you rescue the three princes, you can sit back and relax, and you can continue to enjoy the glory and wealth of the new dynasty?" Fang Mingxia sneered.

"Father-in-law, don't you know who is in charge of the current Jinyi Guard? In the fanzi you sent out to Shandong to rescue the three princes, most of them were the people who called the Jinyi Guard, right? Even if you rescue the Three Princes, do you think this great achievement will really fall on your head?

Don't you understand, father-in-law? In His Majesty's heart, the most trusted person is not you, but Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, who used to protect Chen Yue in his previous checks and balances on Chen Yue, and once something happened to Daming, the first thing he thought of was Chen Yue. Therefore, even if the third prince returns to Nanjing, Chen Yue's position in the court will be irreplaceable. And then it will be the end of your father-in-law!

Don't forget, it was you who ordered me to go to Wuhu to contact Li Guoying and other Green Battalion generals to compete with the Marquis of Pingnan at that time. And Li Guoying is the murderer who killed Chen Yue's father Chen Jianghe, although Li Guoying was executed by Chen Yue, Chen Yue will definitely put the main responsibility on you and me. The hatred of killing his father is not shared, how can Chen Yue give up?

When Chen Yue defeats the Western Thief and assists the Three Princes to ascend to the throne, will you continue to be allowed to stay on the throne of the celebrant eunuch?

After losing your power, didn't you let Chen Yue handle it at that time? ”

Fang Mingxia's words hit Han Zanzhou's heart like a heavy hammer, although he knew that Fang Mingxia was alarmist, Han Zanzhou's face couldn't help but change greatly.

Chen Yue's meritorious identity is destined to still be reused in the new dynasty, and even control the government as a concubine, and if he really settles accounts with himself at that time, what should he do then?

"No, no, I do everything in accordance with His Majesty's will, not against the Duke of Qi?" Han Zanzhou muttered.

"Don't dream, Gonggong Han, wake up quickly! In the past, we have fought against Chen Yue so many times, and he will not let us go no matter what. Therefore, we must not let Chen Yue continue to be in power, we must support the new master, and then we can take down Chen Yue and control the government! Fang Mingxia said with a hideous face.

"The new master? Who is the new Lord you are talking about? Is it King Lu? Han Zanzhou raised his head and asked with difficulty.

"No, although King Lu lives in Hangzhou, his subordinates have their own team, the vassal king I am talking about is lonely and helpless, and there is not even a henchman eunuch around him, if he becomes the emperor, he must only reuse us. He is Zhu Yujian, the king of Tang! ”

......

It didn't take much effort to convince the stupid Han Zanzhou. Han Zanzhou had done a lot of things against Chen Yue in the past, and he was very afraid that Chen Yue would return to the imperial court to settle accounts with him. If the three princes return to the imperial court, Chen Yue will be the general of the important ministers in charge of the army, and the brother-in-law of the three princes, and he will inevitably be reused, and at that time, Han Zanzhou's status will be worried. So for the sake of his own future and life, sacrificing a third prince is nothing.

As for supporting King Tang, Han Zan was very unimpressed at first, because no matter what aspect, King Tang had no possibility of succession. King Gui, King Hui, and King Lu are the vassal kings who may succeed to the throne.

Fang Mingxia said, the more you burn the cold stove, the greater the benefit, the Tang King who had just been released from prison was alone, and he didn't even have a henchman eunuch by his side, at this time, if the Tang King ascended the throne, the benefit would naturally be the greatest. And King Lu and King Gui each have a group of henchmen, even if they ascend to the throne, they will inevitably reuse their cronies, and it is absolutely impossible for Han Zanzhou to continue to be in charge of the inner palace.

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty is not without strength, and now with the support of the Zheng family in Fujian, as long as the benefits are promised, it is not possible to get the support of the ministers of the imperial court. For Han Zanzhou, following Tang Wang will gain the most in the future, and Han Zanzhou deeply believes this.

......

In Fang Mingxia's heart, there is one person who must be eliminated, and that is Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi State. Since Mei Xianglou was slapped and humiliated in the face two years ago, Fang Mingxia has regarded Chen Yue as an enemy of life and death, and has always wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. However, because of the big difference in status, Fang Mingxia was helpless no matter how much he hated Chen Yue, and now that the throne was facing a change, he finally saw a good opportunity to overthrow Chen Yue.

After leaving Dongchang, Fang Mingxia returned to the Ducha Courtyard, insisted on being on duty until the evening, and returned home to recruit his henchman Fang San.

"How's that going?" Fang Mingxia asked in a deep voice.

"Back to my lord, I followed the surname Liu for a day today, although his whereabouts were mysterious and cautious, but I still found out the clues. At noon today, the surname Liu went to a painting boat in the Qinhuai River, I have checked, the painting boat has recently changed to the owner, the new owner is a Fujianese, surnamed Zheng. Fang San reported.

Fang Mingxia nodded and waved his hand to let Fang San go.

Although he was forced by Liu Kongzhao to take refuge in the Tang Dynasty, he did not trust Liu Kongzhao and Fang Mingxia very much, Liu Kongzhao was just a lost family dog who had lost his title and family background, and he did not have much strength, and there were some things Fang Mingxia preferred to have direct contact with the Zheng family standing behind Liu Kongzhao.

So, Fang Mingxia sent someone to follow Liu Kongzhao, and finally found the place where the Zheng family was.

That night, Fang Mingxia went straight to the Qinhuai River to get on the painting boat, and saw that there were few guests in the painting boat. Fang Mingxia went directly to the second floor, sat in a private room, and revealed his identity to the bustard who came with him.

"I'm Yushi Fang Mingxia, go and invite the real master of your painting boat!"

The old bustard was stunned for a moment, and retreated with a reserved bow. Not long after, a middle-aged man with a full beard walked into the private room.

"Hello Fang Yushi, I'm Zheng Zhibao." Zheng Zhibao arched his hand at Fang Mingxia and sat opposite Fang Mingxia.

"Fang Yushi, you should contact Uncle Liu directly, it seems that it is not in accordance with the rules to come to me." Zheng Zhibao said lightly.

"General Zheng knows that what we are doing is against the sky, and what rules and regulations are we talking about. Liu Kongzhao is an uncle, he is just a lost dog now, and I would rather deal with the Zheng family directly about some things.

What I want to know is that the Zheng family is now extremely wealthy, why do they have to wade into this troubled water? ”

Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui are both earl's commanders, and Zheng Sen is a feudal official like the governor, who controls the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade and is rich and rivals the power of the country, in Fang Mingxia's eyes, the Zheng family has no need to take risks.

"Is it rich? It's just a façade. Now the Zheng family's wealth is like a pavilion built on the beach, and it may collapse if you push it lightly. Zheng Zhibao frowned and sighed,

"The entire Ming Dynasty knows that my Zheng family is a pirate, and being able to rank among the officialdom is an outlier. The court has no time to take care of the southeast due to internal and external troubles, which gave me the opportunity for the Zheng family to become bigger. However, if the Zheng family wants to keep this wealth, they must manage it carefully. Therefore, my brother sent Damu to Nanjing Guozijian and worshiped under Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Donglin Party.

Da Mu was more competitive, and even made war exploits and became governors, and even my two elder brothers were also made earls. But how about that? Now the foundation of my Zheng family is gone.

Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, sealed Zhoushan and laid down Dongfan Island. Now that the shipping route north of Dongfan Island has been completely controlled by Qi Guogong, the fleet of Dongfan Island is always threatening the sea power of my Zheng family.

Chen Yue is a heroic and invincible general who resisted the Qing Dynasty, and my Zheng family cannot compete with him in terms of status, status or strength. If this continues, my Zheng family's overseas power will gradually be encroached upon by Qi Guogong's Dongfan power, and I am afraid that I will lose the entire maritime trade interests in a few years.

Without the huge profits brought by sea trade, my Zheng family will become a source without roots, and it will soon decline, and wealth will only be short-lived.

In terms of fighting, my Zheng family is not the opponent of Qi Guogong, although my brother is the general army of Fujian, but the army of Fujian is not exactly my Zheng family's private soldiers.

Therefore, if you want to defeat the Duke of Qi and regain control of the southeast and control the sea trade, it is simply impossible to rely on force, the only way to defeat the Duke of Qi in the court, and assisting a vassal king to succeed to the throne is the best opportunity for my Zheng family. After some investigation, my brother thought that the Tang King was wise and powerful, and he was a generation of heroes, so he decided to go all out to put the Tang King on the throne of the emperor. ”

Wise and powerful? It's just to see that King Tang is alone and easy to control, Fang Mingxia pouted in his heart, but his heart was relaxed. Since the Zheng family regards Chen Yue as a great enemy, they are natural allies with themselves, and their own strategies can be implemented by the Zheng family.

"Zheng Zongbing's choice is very admirable, Chen Yue, the Duke of Qi, is really the great enemy of both you and me. In this case, there is a plan under the next plan to trap Chen Yue in a place where there is no return, and you can avenge you and me in an instant. ”

Fang Mingxia put his mouth next to Zheng Zhibao's ear and whispered, Zheng Zhibao's eyes widened more and more, and an incredible expression appeared on his face.