Early the next morning, Lu Zhenfei came to ask Zhou Renyuan to say that Zhu Yujian had woken up, and Zhou Renyuan hurriedly went to Zhu Yujian's room. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info Zhu Yujian's complexion has improved a little, and he is still wrapped in gauze on his right leg and can't get up.

"Uncle, you came to see you? Are you feeling better? Zhou Renyuan asked with concern.

"You are the fourth son of my brother King Gui, the nephew of Youlang?" Zhu Yujian asked.

"It's the little nephew." Zhou Renyuan said with a smile.

"Listen to Lord Lu and say that you saved me! Thank you so much! Zhu Yujian struggled to get up.

Zhou Renyuan pressed him down, and hurriedly said, "Uncle, lie down quickly, don't touch the wound on your leg." ”

Zhu Yujian motioned for Lu Zhenfei to put a quilt on his back, so that he could lie down more comfortably, so that he could talk to Zhou Renyuan.

"Nephew, this time I was able to escape death thanks to you and Lord Lu!" Zhu Yujian took Zhou Renyuan's hand and sighed, "If it weren't for you, I would never have the light of day!" ”

"Actually, it was the prince who saved you, and the nephew just helped the prince run an errand." Zhou Renyuan smiled.

"Of course the prince wants to thank you, you have already told me this time on the way south! If the imperial court had sent more officials to inspect the Quartet in the early years, maybe this great tomorrow would not have been so dilapidated! Zhu Yujian said with some sadness and indignation.

"Uncle, you can take care of your body with peace of mind, and the rest of the things will be put aside first!" Zhou Renyuan admired Zhu Yujian a little, and he never forgot the world when he was seriously ill, and he was a rare promising vassal king in the late Ming Dynasty.

"Alas--how can I be at ease! Nephew, uncle has something to talk to you about alone, Lord Lu, please stay away for a while. Zhu Yujian said. When Lu Zhenfei heard that their uncle and nephew had a private thing to discuss, he went out of the room and closed the door.

"Nephew, it seems that the emperor trusts you very much, and being able to accompany the prince on a tour is an honor that no vassal king can have!" Zhu Yujian looked at Zhou Renyuan with two eyes and said.

"Where to talk about any glory, the little nephew just hopes to help the emperor and the crown prince, and do his duty as a descendant of the Zhu family." Zhou Renyuan didn't immediately tell him the true purpose of the trip before he carefully understood Zhu Yujian's character.

Zhu Yujian nodded, his face was a little depressed, "Yes, I also wanted to do my duty as a descendant of the Zhu family and raise troops to serve as kings, but ---"

Zhou Ren's foresight touched Zhu Yujian's sadness, and hurriedly comforted, "Uncle don't be sentimental, my nephew and the prince will work hard to persuade the emperor to let you out, and you don't have to suffer from imprisonment anymore." ”

"Nope! No! Zhu Yujian shook his head, "You think about this matter simply, others can persuade the emperor, but you can't." ”

"Why? The little nephew didn't understand. Zhou Renyuan was a little confused.

"Although your father King Gui is the emperor's own uncle, and your uncle King Hui, the rest of the Rui Kings and Fu Kings are the closest clans to the emperor's blood, and I am far away from the other vassal kings. But no matter how close the blood relationship is, don't forget that we are all vassal kings, and it is taboo for vassal kings to participate in politics, and it is even more taboo for vassal kings to lead troops. Don't forget that I was convicted of rebellion and locked up, and the crown prince and other ministers can intercede for me, but what about you, the vassal king sympathizes with a rebellious vassal king, what will the emperor think? Zhu Yujian said excitedly.

Zhou Renyuan drank like a stick, "Then uncle means that I have to avoid suspicion?" ”

"Of course, avoid suspicion. You saved me yesterday, and you must say that you were at the will of the Prince!" Zhu Yujian said categorically, "Besides, I heard that your father has a lot of soldiers in Hengzhou, and the rumors in the court are not a day or two!" ”

Zhou Renyuan saw that Zhu Yujian was thinking about himself, and he was moved, "Thank you uncle for your teachings, my nephew suddenly became enlightened!" ”

"I can't talk about the teachings, it's just that I have experienced more things, and I have learned from the past, and my understanding is not deep!" Zhu Yujian said with a smile.

"Uncle has experienced ups and downs, and he has experienced a lot of experience, and my nephew still has something to teach my uncle a thing or two." Zhou Renyuan opened his heart and said his true intention to negotiate with Zheng Zhilong in the south.

After hearing this, Zhu Yujian pondered for a while, and exclaimed, "You have the heart to make up for the loopholes of this ruined Daming, and it is difficult for you!" It's not a loss that a hero comes out of a teenager, and a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers! His tone changed, "But this trip is difficult!" Zheng Zhilong, I have heard for a long time, although this person is said to be the chief soldier of the imperial court, but he is a pirate, and no one knows how much loyalty and patriotism he has in his heart. To put it bluntly, he is now in control of the Ming Dynasty's sailors, and he is a warlord who divides one side, and it is difficult to make him pay for the army! ”

"No matter how difficult it is, I have to try, in the face of national righteousness, he Zheng Zhilong must always weigh it." Zhou Renyuan said loudly, "Besides, I don't believe that he has no weaknesses, as long as he has weaknesses, I will have a way to convince him!" ”

Zhu Yujian glanced at him and sighed, "You finish this errand and go back to your Hengzhou!" ”

"Why did my uncle say that?" Zhou Renyuan felt strange.

"You, you're too sharp at a young age! This time, you and the crown prince went south all on the support of the emperor, and you are acting in secret, it can be seen that the resistance of the ancestral system and the ministers of the court even the emperor has to scruple three points, and I don't want you to follow in my footsteps in the future. Zhu Yujian's eyes were full of care.

"Well, my nephew will think about it." Zhou Renyuan nodded and agreed.

When Zhou Renyuan came out of the room, Zhu Yujian sighed and said, "Nephew, you can't die before you get out of school!" ”

Zhou Renyuan came to the living room, and Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei were waiting for him.

"Two adults, when you and Governor Ma had a twist and turn about what happened to King Tang, please make sure to clarify that I came on the orders of the crown prince, and this king has never taken the initiative to ask to come to this Fengyang!" Zhou Renyuan reminded.

Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei are both shrewd people, and they immediately realized the meaning of Zhou Renyuan's words, and hurriedly nodded and said, "That's!" Is that! It's all the lower officials and others who ask the prince, and the prince is just acting on orders! ”

"Also, you hope that the future arrangements for the Tang King, this king will not participate, you can just play the emperor directly. Of course, it's best to let it go, even if you don't let it go, the two adults will have to worry a lot, so that Tang Wang can have a safe environment to recuperate. The two adults themselves figured out how to phrase the emperor! ”

"Certainly, definitely, please rest assured."

"Let's go, let's go and take down Shi Yingzhao's confession!"

In Fengyang Prison, Shi Yingzhao seemed to have aged more than ten years overnight, his former arrogance was gone, and he sat on the straw mat in a sluggish spirit.

A group of little eunuchs in the next cell were also depressed, and one of the little eunuchs said, "What does the evil thing that Gonggong Shi did have to do with us?" Why did you lock us up too? ”

"I said little dog, wasn't the stone pier that tied up King Tang moved by you, Hou Xiaowu, and Li Xiaoyan together? Why does it have nothing to do with you? The other little eunuch scoffed.

"Let go of your mother's P, Lu Jiude, you are framing our brothers! The brethren beat him! The puppy was annoyed. A few little eunuchs rolled up their sleeves and beat Lu Jiude, and the eunuchs who had a good relationship with Lu Jiude on weekdays hurriedly fought back. There was a mess in the cell.

"What's going on? Stop it! Lu Zhenfei shouted. He saw this scene as soon as he entered the cell with Zhou Renyuan and Ma Shiying.

Lu Jiude crawled over with a blue nose and swollen face, and shouted with a sad face, "Lord Lu, let me out!" It's me, Lu Jiude! ”

Lu Zhenfei carefully identified it, and recognized it as the eunuch Lu Jiude who had reported to his palace, and quickly ordered the jailer to release him.

"Shi Yingzhao, do you plead guilty now?" Zhou Renyuan asked Shi Yingzhao loudly.

Shi Yingzhao raised his cloudy eyes, and when he saw Lu Jiude on Lu Zhenfei's side, he suddenly burst into anger, and said viciously, "It turns out that you, a dog slave, betrayed our family, and our family will not let you go even if they die!" As he spoke, he stretched out his hands to grab Lu Jiude.

Lu Jiude was startled, and hurriedly hid behind Lu Zhenfei, shouting, "Shi Yingzhao, the evil things you have done are not tolerated, and you will lose your conscience!" ”

"Shi Yingzhao, you are still so arrogant when you are dying, aren't you afraid that this king will ask the emperor to send you to Jinyiwei, so that you can taste the taste of life is worse than death?" Zhou Renyuan said angrily.

"Huh? Jin Yiwei? Shi Yingzhao trembled when he heard this, the torture of this brocade guard was known to the whole world, he immediately knelt on the ground, and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, "Lord, spare your life!" Please don't hand me over to Jinyiwei, the old slave is willing to recruit! The old slave is willing to donate his family property to the court, and begs the prince to let me live. ”

"Oh--? How much property do you have? Zhou Renyuan asked with interest. When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he was anxious to speak, and Zhou Renyuan shook his hand at him.

Shi Yingzhao was overjoyed when he heard this, thinking that there was a play, and hurriedly said, "The old slave has a mansion in Nanjing, and there are 2,000 taels of gold and 200,000 taels of silver in the house, and there are 200 acres of land in Fengyang. ”

"Ah--! This dead eunuch is really rich! When everyone heard that Shi Yingzhao's family property was so large, they all opened their mouths in shock.

"You, a small eunuch guarding the tomb, have so much property? Say, did you embezzle the silver taels of Xiuling? Ma Shiying asked very annoyedly, it seems that the Xiuling Yinliang that he has managed to make up in the past few years has been embezzled a lot by this dead eunuch.

"No, no, Master Ma, the old slave will never dare to embezzle the silver taels of Xiuling! These silver taels were given to the old slaves by the lords of Nanjing! Shi Yingzhao hurriedly replied.

"The lord of Nanjing? Why do they give you so many benefits? Do you understand? The crowd was even more puzzled.

"This ----。" Shi Yingzhao hesitated.

"Don't say yes, then don't blame this king for being polite, it seems that you really want to taste the torture of Jinyiwei!" Zhou Renyuan threatened.

"No, no, the old slave is willing to say, the old slave is willing to say." Shi Yingzhao made up his mind fiercely, and said in order to survive, "A few years ago, when the Zhang thief attacked Fengyang, the old slave fled to Nanjing with the king of Tang and became friends with several lords in Nanjing. After the thief withdrew, they found the old slave and said that they wanted to buy some good land near Fengyang, because the old slave had been here for a long time, so they helped them buy some land at a low price. They gave the money as a reward to the old slave. ”

"How much land did you buy for them? Are they going to give you so much money? Say--! Zhou Renyuan said in a deep voice.

Shi Yingzhao said: "About--about 1.6 million acres!" ”

"What? Oh my God, so much land? Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei were stunned.

Zhou Renyuan laughed angrily, "Ha--ha--- ha--yes!" It's really good! Tell him to list all the names of the people in Nanjing, how much money he spent and how much land he bought! Zhou Renyuan instructed Lu Zhenfei.

Zhou Renyuan walked out of the cell and looked at the sky gloomily, this is really tight in front and tight in the rear!

Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei took Shi Yingzhao's confession out, and saw that Zhou Renyuan was in a very bad mood.

"Lord Wang, this matter is really sensational, you see that this confession bought out an acre of fertile land for three taels of silver, this is simply plunder! But without the plaintiff, it is difficult for our local government to intervene. I also hope that the prince and the prince will seek justice for the people of Anhui! Ma Shiying handed the confession to Zhou Renyuan.

Zhou Renyuan glanced at the confession, which listed the list of heroes and honors of Nanjing, large and small, and the amount of land annexed by each family. Annoyed and hateful in my heart, these moths of the country! "I will take the confession back to Nanjing and hand it over to the prince. First put Shi Yingzhao in Fengyang Prison, and then make a decision after I return to Nanjing. ”

Zhou Renyuan and Mo Zhu changed into civilian clothes and left Fengyang, and rode back to Nanjing.

The two rushed for half a day, and then drank tea and rested in the tea shed next to the official road. I saw a man and a woman coming in from outside the tea shed, the man was handsome and chic and wore a white round-necked gown, the woman was very beautiful, her eyes were heroic, and she wore a red cloak which was very eye-catching. The woman said to the man, "Brother Yan, let's take a break." I've been exhausted from traveling for the past two days! The man smiled slightly, he was shocked when he saw Zhou Renyuan who was drinking tea, and hurriedly said, "Huh--Isn't this Brother Zhou?" ”

Zhou Renyuan was stunned for a moment, and when he looked closely, he was also shocked, and immediately smiled, "Isn't this Yan Gongzi?" It's a blessing, it's a blessing! It turned out that the man and woman who came in were Li Yan and the Red Lady under Li Zicheng.

"Come, come, lady, let me introduce you, this is Brother Zhou." Li Yan called the red lady over.

"The slave family has seen Brother Zhou!" The red lady gave a salute to Zhou Renyuan.

Zhou Renyuan hurriedly returned the salute, "Sister-in-law doesn't need to be polite, if you don't dislike it, how about coming to the younger brother's table together?" "Actually, Zhou Renyuan was playing the drum in his heart, this Li Yan and the red lady were not staying in Shaanxi and Henan, why did they come to the south? Could it be that Li Zicheng has a new move? This had to make him vigilant.

The red lady is a cheerful person, she didn't wait for her husband Li Yan to reply, and sat directly at Zhou Renyuan's table. Li Yan could only sit down with a wry smile when he saw it. When he saw Zhou Renyuan just now, he was actually thinking about it in his heart, although he met the injured Zhou Renyuan in Baoling Temple, and he also had a good impression of him, and even Li Zicheng wanted to recruit him under his command. But Zhou Renyuan's identity is mysterious, and he sees that he does not want to join Li Zicheng's peasant army. Li Yan faintly felt in his heart that he and Zhou Ren were far from being fellow travelers. This time, he and the Red Lady were ordered by Li Zicheng to come to the south to contact the scattered remnants of the peasant army, and prepared to gather them together to form a powerful fist. So he was also on the lookout.

"Brother Zhou, after saying goodbye to Baoling Temple last time, why didn't you go to King Chuang?" Li Yan said tentatively.

Zhou Renyuan mentioned it in his heart, and laughed, "The little brother is a wanderer in the rivers and lakes, and he has no interest in fighting for the world!" ”

"Huh--? Brother Zhou's words are wrong! We don't want to fight for the world, but we want to give ordinary people a good life!" Li Yan argued.

"Huh! Brother Li may not want to fight for the world, but I wonder if this King wants to be the emperor? Zhou Renyuan laughed.

"This ---" Li Yan blushed a little, now Li Zicheng is establishing power in Shaanxi, and he is purging dissidents, and he has already revealed his intention to be an emperor. "If this Ming Dynasty should have changed dynasties a long time ago, it would be understandable for us to be the emperor." Li Yan's loyalty to Li Zicheng is still quite strong.

"Really? Then you mean that the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not a good emperor, and your king Chuang will definitely be a good emperor in the future? Zhou Renyuan tore off his mask and began to face Li Yan directly.

The red lady muttered on the side, "In my opinion, King Chuang may not be a good emperor in the future." ”

Li Yan was furious when he heard this, and yelled at the red lady, "What do you know as a woman, don't shut up yet!" ”

The red lady was also angry, and said loudly, "Brother Yan, although I am a woman, I also understand the reason, why did we join the rebel army in the first place, it was not for the common people in the world to seek a world where everyone has food to eat and everyone has clothes to wear." Since King Chuang entered Shaanxi, he has pulled hundreds of thousands of people, and he is not excluding dissidents now, how many generals he has killed who disagree with him, and those generals are only against indiscriminate killing of innocents. Brother Yan, aren't you also against it? ”

Li Yan's face turned pale, and he held the teacup tightly with one hand.

"According to the younger brother, what Mrs. Sister-in-law said is reasonable. How many innocent civilians did you and Zhang Xianzhong's army kill? How many women of good families have been defiled by your army? That's how you do for the benefit of the people? Zhou Renyuan fanned the flames on the side.

The red lady also lowered her head in shame, and Li Yan hesitated, "The military discipline of the righteous army is poor, I admit this." But in every war, there must be sacrifice. ”

"Sacrifice is at the cost of so many innocent lives? They are the people, not the officers and soldiers who resist you! "Zhou Renyuan's strategy to continue to attack the heart" is a good emperor today. It's a pity that this Ming Dynasty is full of holes, especially the Manchu Qing Dynasty outside the Guan, and there is a tendency to not extinguish my Ming vow not to give up. Be! I'm sorry for the people who are waiting to be fed in this world, so that they don't have enough food and clothing, but can you put all the responsibility on the emperor? Brother Li, as far as I know, Ling Zun is the secretary of the military department in the early years of my dynasty, Li Jingbai Li, and the original sister-in-law is also a lady for everyone, I wonder how they will feel when they see Brother Li under Jiuquan to overthrow his loyal Daming? ”

Li Yan felt a pain in his heart, thinking of his original partner Tang Shi who committed suicide by throwing himself into a well and left him a desperate letter not to rebel on the night before he defected to Li Zicheng. Tang's knowledgeable, virtuous and virtuous, is a lady, the two were originally husband and wife, and respected each other. Unexpectedly, his decision ruined his family and lost his most beloved wife. Although she has married a red lady now, it can be regarded as a harmonious husband and wife, but she still thinks of her often.

When the red lady saw Li Yan full of pain, her heart was also in great pain. Drawing his sword, he shouted at Zhou Renyuan, "Who are you?" They know exactly what we are! The owner of the tea shed was so frightened that he hurriedly hid.

Mo Zhu also immediately pulled out his sword and pointed it at the red lady, shouting, "You two anti-thieves!" Hugh is rude to my lord! ”

"Lord Wang? Are you the prince of the Ming Dynasty? Li Yan came back to his senses and muttered to Zhou Renyuan. The red lady was startled, and hurriedly stood side by side with Li Yan.

"Yes, junior brother, I am the king of Yongming County of Daming!" Zhou Renyuan laughed and stood up.

"Brother Yan, how about we catch this prince and dedicate it to King Chuang?" The red lady is eager to try her sword with her sword.

"Haha--, Brother Li, Mrs. Sister-in-law! With the martial arts of the two of you, you are not the opponent of the younger brother! Zhou Renyuan smiled proudly, and slapped the palm of his right hand on the table with a "bang", and the table was smashed by him with a "bang".

Li Yan and the red lady's faces changed, they were so powerful. The two were a little hesitant, and they were not very sure about dealing with Zhou Renyuan together.

"Don't act rashly, you two! With the skills of the younger brother, the two of them may not be able to get out of this tea shed today. Zhou Renyuan warned.

The red lady was so angry that she stabbed with a sword, and Li Yan hurriedly drew her sword to help when she saw that she was afraid that she would make a mistake. Zhou Renyuan "whoosh" pulled out his sword and hit the red lady and Li Yan's swords twice. The Red Lady and Li Yan suddenly felt that the right hand holding the sword was numb, and the sword almost took off their hands, and they hurriedly flashed to the side.

Zhou Renyuan didn't take advantage of the situation to attack, and stood there and laughed at them, "Do you want to try again?" ”

Li Yan and the red lady smiled miserably, "My husband and wife are not as good as others, if you want to kill, you have to listen to the respect!" ”

"The younger brother won't do anything to the two, the younger brother has a word, Li Zicheng is not an emperor! I hope you will do it for yourself in the future. Alright, you can go! Zhou Renyuan said.

Li Yan and the red lady looked at Zhou Renyuan in surprise, as if they couldn't believe it. When they saw that Zhou Renyuan was not joking, they hugged their fists and said, "Lord Wang, the green mountains do not change, and the green water flows forever!" ”

The two got on the horse, and Zhou Renyuan shouted behind him, "If one day Li Zicheng can't tolerate you, you can go to Hengzhou Guiwang Mansion to find me!"

I'm always ready to welcome both! ”

Li Yan's back was suffocated, and he and the red lady raised their horsewhips, and "driving the ---" disappeared for a while.