"What? The assassination of the Duke of Chu in Tianjin? Everyone was shocked.

"That's right." Wu Changshi had a hint of schadenfreude on his face, "The Duke of Chu is now unconscious, and his life and death are unknown. ”

The six scholars in the cabinet were silent, and when everyone heard the news, they almost thought of the recent rumor in Beijing. The birds are all gone, and the good bow is hidden. Now Liu Jun is about to enter Beijing, but he was assassinated just after arriving in Tianjin, which is too coincidental.

During dinner, Chongzhen dined with the queen and the prince, during which the queen and the prince always looked at him a little wrong. In the end, Chongzhen glared at the prince, "If you have anything you want to say, just say it, don't talk about it." ”

"Father, my son heard that the emperor's brother was assassinated in Tianjin, is this matter related to my father?"

There was a crisp sound, Chongzhen really couldn't hold back and slapped the prince.

"Presumptuous!"

The prince grew so big, it was the first time he was beaten by Chongzhen, and he was stunned on the spot. The queen was also stunned, she didn't expect the emperor to react so violently.

The emperor reacted so violently, but it made the queen and the crown prince believe that Liu Jun's assassination was secretly instigated by the emperor.

Chongzhen sighed, "I'm a little annoyed for a while, but how can you listen to other people's nonsense and doubt me?" ”

Although after receiving the news of the assassination of the Duke of Chu, Chongzhen immediately sent the minister to Tianjin with the best imperial doctor in the palace, but from the court to the people in Beijing, they all suspected that the assassination of the Duke of Chu was the emperor's bird and bow. For a while, there was a lot of discussion in Beijing, and even when the court meeting, everyone looked at Chongzhen with strange eyes.

Many officials were secretly amazed, they didn't expect the emperor to be so decisive and do what he said. And he actually came to the assassin-like method, which is amazing.

Chongzhen sent Dali Temple, the Criminal Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to investigate in the court, and sent Jinyiwei and Dongchang to cooperate in the investigation of the case.

However, the vast majority of people have already decided that this matter was done by the emperor, and now there are so many movements to investigate. It's definitely just a cover-up. Even everyone directly targeted the East Factory, believing that it was the hands of the people from the East Factory.

After all, the commander of Jinyiwei is Liu Jun's uncle, and only Dongchang is the most suspicious, and they have always been the emperor's most obedient lackeys.

Chongzhen was very aggrieved, and the yellow mud fell into the crotch of his pants, and it was not but either. More than anyone else, he wants to find out the truth as soon as possible and clear his name.

Everyone in the world thought that Chu Guogong was stabbed by an assassin he sent, but he was more wronged than Dou E. Chongzhen didn't want Liu Jun to die, although he was also afraid of Liu Jun being in charge, but Liu Jun hadn't shown the slightest inappropriate behavior until now. On the contrary, he and Daming need Liu Jun everywhere.

Not only do they need this elite Chu army trained by Liu Jun to guard the border for the Ming Dynasty, they need to conquer Liaodong again in the future and wipe out the Tartars, but they also need them to suppress the bandits and quell the chaos.

Even Chongzhen needs Liu Jun to solve the new financial crisis for the imperial court, and now that the imperial court's treasury is empty again, Chongzhen wants to see Liu Jun return to Beijing sooner than anyone else, so he waits for Liu Jun to help borrow money from Sihai Bank, waiting for him to find a way to collect the customs and commercial taxes again.

If anyone else changes these, they are not as good as Liu Jun. How could he want Liu Jun to die. Unless his head is dizzy, it is impossible to kill Liu Jun at this time, or send someone to assassinate him.

You don't want to die, you're dead. I can't even wash it when I jump into the Yellow River.

Tianjin.

Tianjin Governor Ma Shiying sighed for a long time, feeling that he had been shot while lying down. He was originally a Jinshi in the 44th year of Wanli, the same department as Ruan Dayue, and later served as the head of the household department in Nanjing. He served as the prefect at the time of the Apocalypse, and when Chongzhen was successfully promoted to the governor of Xuanfu.

As a result, just one month after he took office, he offended the town guard eunuch Wang Kun. Miserably, he was taken from his post. Wang Kun accused him of corruption at the beginning, but in fact, it was only a few thousand taels of silver, which was completely according to the practice of officialdom at that time, who is not like this? Wang Kun scolded him, but because he had less filial piety.

At that time, even many people in the Donglin Restoration Society wrote a book, saying that this was a eunuch framing.

In the following years, Ma Shiying stayed in Nanjing, and married Ruan Dayue, who was also deprived of his post in the same year because of his involvement in the eunuch rebellion case. Before, Zhou Yanru tried to recover, and the resumption of the society ran to raise funds for it, and Ruan Dayue gave 20,000 taels. Later, Zhou Yanru first entered Beijing as the secretary of the ministry, and then entered the cabinet, Zhou Yanru planned to use Ruan, but was resolutely opposed by the second assistant Wu Fu.

In the end, Zhou Yanru had to tell Ruan Dayue that it is impossible for you to make a comeback, or if you change your relatives and friends, I will push it. In the end, Ruan Dayue pushed his good friend Ma Shiying in the same year.

Zhou Yanru did not do anything more, and at the beginning of this year, Ma Shiying officially became the governor of Tianjin.

Ma Shiying has only been the governor of Tianjin for half a year, this time Liu Jiye entered Beijing, for the immediate boss of the governor of Zhili, Ma Shiying is still very concerned, prepared a grand welcome ceremony, with a large group of civil and military officials such as the Tianjin general army, the patrol, the prefect, and the military preparation road rushed to meet each other outside the city.

As a result, before he could talk to his new boss, he saw his new boss being shot to the ground, and he didn't know whether he was alive or dead.

What could be more unlucky than him, the governor?

What's even more unfortunate is that the new boss has an old acquaintance of his, Wang Kun, the eunuch who guarded Xuanfu back then, has been following Liu Jun as a director eunuch for the past two years, and this time he is entering Beijing with Liu Jun.

Wang Kun impeached Ma Shiying that year, which made Ma Shiying lose his office, and in the end Wang Kun did not have any benefit, he was impeached by the Fushe and Donglin Shangshu, and was finally recalled to Beijing.

When the enemy meets, his eyes are red.

Wang Kun angrily reprimanded Ma Shiying, and almost let Liu Jun's guards arrest him.

If it weren't for the backer of Shoufu Zhou Yanru behind him, he would really not be able to get off the stage. Gave up the backyard of the governor's yamen to the unconscious Duke of Chu, and Ma Shifu, who was sitting in the front hall waiting for news from the doctor, calmed down and thought for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more scared he became.

The Tianjin Governor's Yamen is now completely surrounded by the Chu army, and these Chu soldiers are fierce and vicious, and they can't wait to eat them all.

Liu Zeqing, the chief military officer of Tianjin, reported that Chu Guogong's guards had recruited the Beiyang Naval Division on the sea surface of the port.

"The Beiyang Naval Division has taken control of the port and wharf of Tianjin, and now the officers and soldiers of the naval division of the brigade are entering the city, and the gate of Tianjin has been controlled by them."

Liu Zeqing was originally the deputy commander-in-chief of Huaibei, but after this major adjustment, he was transferred to the chief military officer of Tianjin, which was subordinate to the nine towns of Gyeonggi. But for the menacing Beiyang sailors, he didn't dare to make any blocking moves.

He, the chief soldier of Tianjin, was transferred from Jiangbei, and he took up his post barely, and his soldiers came from several military towns in the original, and there were soldiers and horses from all walks of life. Although the current general officer has more power than the original general soldier, it also depends on the situation. The chief officer of the Chu army is naturally a one-man commander of tens of thousands of horses, but he, the chief soldier, can still control his troops for the time being.

And even if he can control the soldiers and horses in Tianjin Town, but he dares to stop the Chu army?

Not to mention the 500-strong Chu State Public Guard in Tianjin City, everyone is equipped with a long gun and a pistol, and it is powerful and extraordinary. They couldn't eat these five hundred. Not to mention, the warships and gunboats on the sea in the harbor.

As soon as the Chu army was assassinated, the gunboats of the Beiyang fleet had already entered the port, the cannon windows were all pulled up, and the black cannons were already aimed at the docks and cities.

He could only do nothing, and watched as the public guard of the State of Chu transferred the Beiyang Naval Division to enter the port and land on the shore into Dagu City, and then quickly came along the Wei River to the Tianjin Acropolis.

In the name of searching for the Assassins, they quickly took control of the port and wharf, and quickly took control of the Tianjin Acropolis, as well as the cities of Dagu, Beiwei, Xianshuigu, and Dingzigu from the port to the vicinity of the Tianjin Acropolis.

Tianjin Acropolis is also known as Zhigu, Haijin. In the second year of Yongle, the Acropolis was built, and there were originally three guards in Tianjin, with nearly 17,000 soldiers. At first, it was just a mud wall, and later a city tower was built, which was an important military town and a grain transit center. With the increase in population and commercial development, Tianjin has become a commercial metropolis with a mix of military and civilian.

Two years ago, seven forts had been built around Tianjin, and now, even these seven forts were controlled by the Chu army. According to the reports of his subordinates, the sailors of the Chu army had unloaded their sharper cannons from the ship and mounted them on the batteries.

From the port of Dagu, to the Tianjin Acropolis, until the Dinggu and the canal are connected, several cities along the Wei River for more than 100 miles are not only controlled by the Chu army, but even the Wei River, which is more than 100 miles away, is also full of warships and gunboats of the Chu army.

Now Liu Zeqing and his soldiers and horses in Tianjin Town have become guest troops, and their own city barracks have been taken over by the Chu army. They were almost disarmed by the Chu army, and they dared not speak out in anger.

Who told the Duke of Chu to be assassinated on their territory?

Liu Zeqing and other generals of Tianjin Town did not dare to say anything, and let the Chu army quickly control the Tianjin Acropolis and Tianjin Port and other Haihe River to the canal.

Tianjin Governor Ma Shiying didn't dare to say a word more.

It's really unfavorable for the passing year, why is this re-emergence so unsmooth. He remembered many things, and thought of the rumors of discord between the new backer Shoufu Zhou Yanru and the Duke of Chu.

I thought of the recent rumor that the bird was hiding all its bows.

What kind of whirlpool am I caught into?

In case this Duke of Chu was really assassinated by the emperor or Shoufu, he didn't dare to imagine it.

Liu Zeqing stood around Ma Shiying, observed left and right, saw that there was no one around, and whispered to him, "Futai, who do you say is this assassination." ”

Ma Shiying looked up at Liu Zeqing, "How do you know about this Fu, it is estimated that it is a Tartar." ”

Some speculations, although more likely, cannot be said and cannot be said.

"But the rumor from before," Liu Zeqing said.

"That's just a rumor by a man with ill intentions, a rumor by a Tartar, a divisive scheme, yes, it must be so." Ma Shiying was adamant.

Liu Zeqing was a little speechless to Ma Shiying, we are our own people, and there is no one else on the side, why do you want to be like this.

"My lord, of course I know that this must have been done by the Tartars, but what if those red-eyed Chu Jun heard those rumors, and then what if they mistakenly believed the rumors?"

Liu Zeqing's words were very clear, in case Liu Jiye and his subordinates thought that it was the emperor's secret instructions, it was difficult to say what the reaction of these Chu troops would be. Once they rebelled, the first to be unlucky would be the court officials who had now been blocked in the city by the Chu army.

Immortals fight, mortals suffer, there is a saying, the city gate is on fire, and the fish in the pond are affected. (To be continued.) )