The escorted Jinyi guard battalion stood still far away, and Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong quickly ran to the bottom of the steps to kneel and salute, shouting long live. Zhengde walked down the steps slowly with a spring breeze on his face, helped the two of them up, and said, "Hurry up." ”

Zhang Yong got up and bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, the slave maid and the deputy governor Yang were ordered by Song Nan, the governor of the counterinsurgency, to escort the rebel king Zhu Ningyan and a group of rebel generals back to Beijing, fortunately not dishonored. ”

Zhengde nodded and said, "Okay, good." The two of you have worked hard, I have already seen the excerpts you sent on the road, Wan Zhi, go and bring all the prisoners over, and I will interrogate them personally. ”

Wan Zhi, the commander of the Han generals of Jinyiwei, promised loudly, waved his hand and ordered dozens of Han generals to trot over, and the ministers took this opportunity to gather around to congratulate Zhengde, and praised Zhang Yong and Yang Yiqing for their ability. The sweat and ash stains on Zhang Yong's face were mottled, but the smile on his face turned into a flower, while Yang Yiqing still had a cold expression, and there was no trace of a smile on his increasingly thin face.

A moment later, Zhu Ningxiao, He Jin and other prisoners were dragged down from the prisoner car by Wuhua Datie, and two Han generals were escorted to Zhengde in a group. Zhengde squinted his eyes and looked over slowly, and saw that this group of people were wearing a cloak like earth, and he couldn't help but feel very proud, but these people were wearing prison uniforms and a cloak, and they didn't recognize who was who for a while, so he pointed at them and asked, "Who is Zhu Ningyao?" ”

Zhang Yong hurriedly stepped forward, pointed to the burly and fat Zhu Ningxiao in the middle, and said, "Your Majesty, he is." ”

The two Han generals grabbed Zhu Ningxiao's lowered head and leaned back, Zhu Ningyao's pale face was exposed in front of Zhengde, Zhengde recognized him, they actually met, the first emperor died, he ascended the throne, Zhu Ningxiao came to Beijing to participate in his affairs, there are many vassal kings, although they are not all familiar, but there is still an impression.

"You are so bold, you dare to covet my country and lead the people to make trouble on the border, where is I not good for you, why would you do this?" Zhengde's delicate face was covered with frost, and he stared at Zhu Ningxiao and asked.

Zhu Ningyan closed his eyes tightly, and when he heard the words, he opened his eyes, and his eyes were like electricity, and he laughed wildly.

"In front of the emperor, you must not be presumptuous." Liu Jin, who was standing beside Zhengde, shouted loudly.

Zhu Ningxiao laughed endlessly, and said while laughing: "It's so funny, it's so funny." ”

Zhengde held back his anger and said coldly: "What's so funny? Isn't it ridiculous that you're now a prisoner of mine? ”

Zhu Ningxiao said: "The old man is just laughing at what you just said, you said that the old man covets your country, is this country yours?" It's ridiculous. ”

"Presumptuous, slap mouth." Liu Jin shouted, and a eunuch stepped forward and slapped Zhu Ningxiao's wildly smiling face, Zhu Ningjiao was beaten to the corner of his mouth bleeding, still with a smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, what do these thieves say to him? I didn't have to vomit a stomach, and I ordered the execution. Liu Jin said in a low voice.

Zhengde glanced at him coldly and said, "Did I let you beat him?" No matter how bad he is, he is also the descendant of Taizu, and he still can't stop? ”

Liu Jin was startled, and hurriedly ordered the little eunuch to stop, retreating to the side and not daring to speak.

"This Ming Dynasty was handed over to me by the first emperor, is there anything wrong with saying that it is mine?" Zhengde frowned and looked at Zhu Ningxiao.

Zhu Ningjiao spat out the blood in his mouth, and sneered: "The Ming Dynasty belongs to the Zhu family, of course this is true, but is it your Zhu Houzhao?" Joke. ”

Zhengde said coldly: "I am the son of the first emperor, is the orthodoxy of the throne in your eyes nothing?" ”

Zhu Ningxiao laughed and said, "Orthodox? Are you orthodox? You are obviously in the line of King Yan, and King Yan has seized the position of Emperor Jianwen, let me ask you, is Emperor Jianwen orthodox or King Yan orthodox? ”

Zhengde's brows furrowed, and he was speechless for a while.

"If King Yan is orthodox, then I can also be said to be orthodox, why can King Yan take the throne, but I can't? is also a descendant of Taizu, why are you orthodox and I covet the throne? What a joke. ”

Zheng German Cypriot, it is difficult to refute for a while, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, was originally a vassal king, and raised troops to hide from the position of Emperor Wen in the name of Jingnan, and the subsequent thrones are all inherited by the king of Yan, from a certain Cheng dù, this is also a rebellious move; Now that Zhu Ningxiao is talking about this matter, it is difficult to refute.

King Yan is the fourth son of Taizu, and Zhu Ningyan is the first line of Zhu Chang, King of Qingjing, and Zhu Chang is the sixteenth son of Taizu; Neither of them is the eldest son, nor does they have the right to inherit the throne, Zhu Chang even knows that his biological mother is the imperial nobleman Yu, and no one even knows who Zhu Di's biological mother is.

Seeing that Zhengde was in embarrassment, Yang Tinghe saw it in his eyes, he slowly came out and said in front of Zhu Ningxiao: "Zhu Ningyao, you will be strong, the emperor does not care about you in general, but those of us who are courtiers can't help but argue with you." You are a member of the royal family, and you should know the rules of succession to the throne; Although Emperor Yongle is the fourth son of Taizu, during the reign of Taizu, the crown prince Zhu Biao, the king of Qin, and the king of Jin Zhu Li have passed away. King Yan focused on the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, so he did not compete for the throne, but supported the emperor's grandson according to the order of Taizu. That is to say, King Yan is not unqualified to ascend the throne, but he understands the righteousness and thinks about the overall situation; And isn't it too ignorant for you to slander King Yan with this? ”

Zhu Ningxuan sneered: "Let's even think you can quibble, but since you support Emperor Jianwen, why do you want to raise troops to seize the throne?" Isn't this a slap in the face? ”

Yang Tinghe shook his head and sighed: "If the foundation of the Ming Dynasty wants to flourish forever, it not only needs the courtiers to be loyal, but also the emperor's hard work; As a courtier, I don't dare to say that Emperor Jianwen is wrong, but it is a fact that the ministers of the Jianwen Dynasty are in charge, and King Yan raised troops for the sake of the Ming Dynasty's martyrdom. King Yan's accession to the throne is also in line with the hope of the world, and there is no rebellion in the hearts of the people and in ethics, how can you speak. ”

The ministers nodded slowly, Yang Tinghe's defense was clear-sighted, although it may not be convincing to everyone, but at least it is a more reasonable explanation; Zhengde smiled and gave Yang Tinghe a grateful glance, Yang Tinghe nodded slightly, secretly proud in his heart.

Zhu Ningyan was stunned for a long time and suddenly said: "My army is also a martyrdom, not a rebellion, but also for the side of the Qing monarch, for the prosperity of my Ming Dynasty for all generations." ”

Yang Tinghe smiled and said: "You don't have to argue, you are not qualified to appease, back then King Yan was difficult because he was the head of all the kings in the world, which was expected by everyone; You are just a county king, and no matter if there are no ministers in the court, there is no need for appeasement, even if there is this necessity, it will not be your turn. ”

Zhu Ningxiao shouted: "I am a descendant of Taizu, so I have this qualification. ”

Yang Tinghe shook his head and sighed, not even bothering to answer this kind of strong and unreasonable rogue words.

Zhengde also lost interest in this person, waved his hand and said: "Hold it down, what should I do with these people's cabinet votes." ”

In fact, there has already been a conclusion on how to deal with Zhu Ningxiao and others, this matter does not even need to be discussed, the only difficulty is how to punish the other people of King Qing's lineage, and the court and the central government also have different opinions, and some Jianyì will encircle all the prince's lineage; Others tend to behead them all to warn the kings of the world, and Zhengde is inclined to the latter, but they are afraid of being criticized, so they are a little hesitant.

It was the cabinet Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe who all decided to do so, so Zhengde kicked the ball to the cabinet, and he will do it in the future, and it is also the cabinet's idea, not his own idea.

In the afternoon of the same day, Zhengde gave a banquet to Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong in the palace, the big stone in Zhengde's heart was removed, and he was very happy. Liu Jin accompanied the attendant, and his face was solemn from beginning to end, and he didn't say a word.

The banquet lasted until the evening, and Liu Jin finally couldn't stand Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong's continuous talk to Zhengde about Song Nan's merits and left, Zhengde also drunk and said: "Let's get here today, when Song Nan returns to Beijing, I invite you to come in and drink again, and you should also retreat." ”

Yang Yiqing got up and said goodbye, and glanced at Zhang Yong meaningfully before leaving, Zhengde ordered the palace maid to help him into the palace to rest, Zhang Yong thought about it and followed in, Zhengde was lying on the bed in the haze and saw Zhang Yong kneeling straight in front of the bed, and said in surprise: "Why haven't you left yet?" ”

Zhang Yong knelt down a few steps to Zhengde's bedside, and kowtowed again and again: "Your Majesty, the slave maid wants to tell the emperor about another thing in her heart, but she doesn't dare to talk nonsense, because this matter is too incredible; But if the slave and maid don't say it, they are disloyal to the emperor, and if they say it, they are afraid ......"

Zhengde frowned and said, "What are you talking about?" If there is something, he said, can he still be deceived in front of me? ”

Zhang Yong swallowed and spitted at the mouth: "Your Majesty, the slave maid's loyalty to the emperor can be shown every day, if the emperor does not believe what the slave and maid say, please also ask the emperor to forgive the sin, the slave and maid are just dedicated to the emperor." ”

"Are you going to say it or not?" Zhengde reached out and grabbed a thermos on the bed, and he wanted to smash it.

Zhang Yong hurriedly said: "The slave maid said that the emperor was angry. ”

Only then did Zhengde put down the kettle, and he was also intrigued by Zhang Yong's spitting and spitting gesture.

"The slave maid got a heavy news, this time the rebellion against the king Zhu Ningyan was caused by someone in the court colluding with him, and it was a person next to the emperor......"

"What?" Zhengde woke up most of the time, and stood up and glared at Zhang Yongdao: "What did you say?" ”

"The slave and maid don't dare to talk nonsense, this news was obtained by the slave and maid when they raided the Qingwang Mansion, please see, the emperor please see, this is an account book that was confiscated to Zhu Ningyao's secret room and the letter of allegiance of some rebel officials, there are several officials in the capital, the emperor should know."

Zhang Yong took out the account book and a stack of allegiance letters from his arms and handed them over, Zhengde flipped quickly, and suddenly stiffened and said, "Zhang Cai? This dog thing turned out to be Zhu Ningyao's comrade? ”

Zhang Yong nodded and said, "In black and white, it won't be wrong." There is also the head of the Armament Department of the Ministry of War, and the people from the Governor's Office of the Five Armies are also involved. ”

Zhengde sat up abruptly and glared at Zhang Yongdao: "These are all evidence, why don't you hand it over to the cabinet three officials to arrest and convict?" ”

Zhang Yong said in a low voice: "The slave maid just said, these people are all little minions, and the slave and maid suspect that there are other people around the emperor who are colluding with Zhu Ningjiao to rebel, so the slave and maid will not hand over these evidence, otherwise they will be scared." ”

Zhengde said sharply: "Who do you suspect around me?" ”

Zhang Yongdao: "The slave has no evidence, so she doesn't dare to guess." ”

"Say, I'll let you speak."

"The person the slave and maid suspect is none other than Liu Jin, the eunuch who holds the seal of the celebrant and the eunuch." Zhang Yong took a deep breath and said quietly.