"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Hurry up and search along the streets, alleys, mansions, and courtyards, no matter how high the official rank is, how big the grade is! ”

On August 20, the fifth year of the Apocalypse, taking advantage of the night, the Jinyi guards of Fusi in the north and south towns who received the news were dispatched one after another, and nearly 3,000 Jinyi guards began to search the courtyards and houses on both sides of Zhengyangmen Street.

Not only them, but also the 6th Shangzhi Battalion that stayed in the capital also began to strengthen inspections.

The three guards of the imperial city began to search the surroundings of the imperial city, but if there was any existence in the mansion that violated the "Da Ming Law", they were all caught in the edict.

For a while, all the soldiers and horses in the entire capital moved, and only the soldiers and horses of the five cities who obeyed the orders of the military department looked confused.

"Good ...... The people in the entire capital have moved, so we don't know why, and sure enough, they are still mixed up with the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies. ”

"Don't talk nonsense, being heard by the people above will inevitably be beaten on the board."

Some of the soldiers and horses of the Five Cities patrolling the streets couldn't help but sigh, and at the same time, they also showed envy for the army directly under the Governor's Office of the Five Armies.

But at the same time, they were also curious, wanting to know what was going on, so that it was worth all the troops and Jinyi guards in the capital to be dispatched.

Not only them, but even the princes in the court were also curious.

In such curiosity, one person glanced through the crack in the door at the soldiers and horses of the Shangzhi Gong Guard Battalion patrolling the street, and then turned around and walked back to the study in the backyard.

As he stepped into the study, the candle flame in the study illuminated his face.

Yao Zongwen, who was dressed in Taoist robes, frowned at the more than ten Wenchen in the room and said, "This look, it seems that something big has happened. ”

Although the ranks of these more than ten officials have crossed a lot, they are all civilian officials who hold real power, and among them, Tang Binyin and Gu Tianjun, who are the leaders of the Xuan Party and the Kun Party, also frowned and analyzed:

"If it is a big deal, it can only be that something happened to King Qi."

"It should be, after all, it was supposed to be a prisoner in Taimiao today, but as a result, not a single figure of the four cavalry guards showed up."

The ministers are not stupid, the Taimiao sacrifice of prisoners is not something that can be changed.

Today, Zhu Youxiao brought nearly 3,000 Beijing officials and tens of thousands of troops, and hundreds of thousands of people were waiting to hold a ceremony for Zhu Youzhen to sacrifice prisoners, but things were strangely delayed.

When Lu Wenzhao went to the emperor's side, the emperor's face became ugly, and everyone was not blind.

Since the emperor is fine during the day, it is only possible that something happened to Zhu Youzhen.

As for whether the northern captives came over, the ministers did not consider this possibility at all.

Although they are political enemies with Zhu Youzhen, it is undeniable that the Shangzhi soldiers and horses under Zhu Youzhen's command will defend the North Zhili as impregnable.

"According to King Qi's temperament, I'm afraid he won't miss the appointment." Yao Zongwen said it in detail:

"The old man heard that there were rumors in Fangshan that King Qi was infected when he was exploring the Fangshan Coal Mine, so he didn't come to the capital for a few days, and he didn't settle in Fangshan County."

"It's not impossible ......to get sick," the other ministers who heard the words looked at each other, and one of them said boldly:

"The ancients said that early wisdom is easy to die early, and there are seventeen heirs of the first emperor, and the male only survives Long Live and King Qi, and the daughter only survives three people."

"Throughout the ages, such as King Qi, such as those who have made contributions to their early wisdom, are nothing more than the Ganluo of Qin and Huo of the Two Hans."

"Maybe this sweep of the set, some kind of bad disease may be ......"

If this person pointed out, the ministers were refreshed.

If Zhu Youzhen is really infected with a vicious disease and his time is running out, then it will be time for them to start wooing the military officials under the command of the Qi Wang Party.

If Zhu Youzhen really died, his people would not all follow the emperor directly, but would develop into a war of various parties.

At that time, the five parties will be able to jump out of the eunuch party and begin to prepare to receive Zhu Youzhen's "legacy".

Zhu Youzhen's legacy, whether it is the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, the Imperial Horse Supervisor, or the City Ship Division.

As long as one portion is eaten, the five parties will immediately recover, and if they can eat two servings, Donglin and the imperial power will be suppressed back by them.

Therefore, the minds of the people began to come alive, but they were also very vigilant.

Whether it was the Liao Shang incident before the Battle of Liao or the Huaibei famine incident, Zhu Youzhen relied on showing weakness in exchange for the five parties to take it lightly, and then attacked head-on and divided the interests.

Who knows the current situation, is it Zhu Youzhen playing again?

After eating Zhu Youzhen's trap a few times, I am afraid that the five parties will not even have a few people left.

The losses caused by the departure of Fang Congzhe and the others, Yao Zongwen and they have not made up for it until now.

"We have to be more vigilant, besides, the five cities of the military department are not in our hands at the moment, and the imperial city is still garrisoned by the three guards of the imperial city and the general of the Han Dynasty, so it is better to quietly watch the situation now."

Gu Tianjun opened his mouth with a heavy expression, and won the approval of everyone.

"If King Qi really hasn't come forward all the time, or if something happens in the inner court, it's not too late to make a move."

"Without the King of Qi, if you appease the feudal domains and win over Sun Yingyuan, then even if you make a move, it will be too late."

Gu Tianjun's words made everyone feel uneasy in their hearts, at this moment, they only hope that what they want will come true, Zhu Youzhen...... It's better to really die of illness.

——————

"Zhu Youzhen, this kid, won't really be infected as rumored, he is already dying......"

In King Fu's Mansion, Zhu Changxun walked left and right, feeling very uneasy.

At present, this capital is full of his enemies, and only his mother-in-law, Zheng Guifei, can pass on some news, but it doesn't have much effect.

If Zhu Youzhen is really dead, it is not difficult to predict, and a political turmoil far beyond the death of the emperor will completely break out.

What's more important is that if Zhu Youzhen dies, then the matter of the kings' overseas vassals will be suspended.

No one will promote the matter of overseas vassalage as vigorously as Zhu Youzhen, so Zhu Changxun is so worried about Zhu Youzhen.

At this moment, he even felt that even if he died Zhu Youxiao, he couldn't die Zhu Youzhen.

"Father, the old King of Zhou, please go to the palace of the King of Zhou with the kings to catch up."

When Zhu Changxun was worried, Zhu Youxiang walked into the study with a not-so-good news and informed Zhu Changxun.

Zhu Changxun, who heard the words, immediately knew that this was the kings holding together.

"Let's go!"

Without hesitation, Zhu Changxun immediately took Zhu Youxiang to the Zhou Palace, and at the same time, all the princes and county kings in the entire Baiwangfu City went to the Zhou Palace.

The guards outside the Zhou Wang's Mansion were pressed by thousands for a while, surrounding the entire Zhou Wangfu.

These were the guards of the kings, Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen allowed the prince to bring a hundred guards to the north, and the county king to bring fifty.

Therefore, in fact, the number of guards in the Hundred Kings City should not be underestimated, and the number is nearly nine thousand.

However, this is just a large number, in the face of the Shangzhi Gong Guard Camp guarding the Qi Palace, no vassal king will have a brain pump, and want to fight with Shangzhi.

It's just that this also shows that it is not Zhu Youxiao who can suppress the kings, but Zhu Youzhen.

Zhu Youxiao's attitude towards the kings' overseas vassals was not as obvious as Zhu Youzhen's, and it was a bit like half-pushing.

If Zhu Youzhen really died of illness, then wouldn't the kings become clowns?

This idea is not only thinking about Zhu Changxun, but also thinking about all the vassal kings.

Therefore, in the face of the call of Zhu Suqin, the king of Zhou, all the vassal kings gathered together.

After Zhu Changxun entered the Zhou Palace, he was taken into the carrying hall, and the carrying hall, which was enough to accommodate hundreds of people, was very crowded at the moment.

Many vassal kings came in person, Zhu Changxun sat in the front row as a Fu Domain, and behind him were his three half-brothers, Rui Wang Zhu Changhao, Hui Wang Zhu Changrun, and Gui Wang Zhu Changying.

"Third Brother ......"

Seeing Zhu Changxun coming, as the three kings of small shrimp in the battle for the country, he was very respectful to him, and Zhu Changxun did not make a fool at this time.

If something unexpected really broke out, perhaps the more than 300 guards around his three younger brothers would become a big force.

"Later, the three of you pay attention to my words, don't be surrounded by Zhu Suqin's old horseman." Zhu Changxun explained.

"Yes......" The three kings responded honestly, and at the same time, with the sound of crutches and pestles on the floor tiles, everyone stopped talking and looked at the main seat on the carrying hall.

"Ahem......"

Zhu Suqin walked out accompanied by Zhu Gongqi and Zhu Shaoyan, coughed to indicate that he came out, and said to everyone with a smile:

"Brothers, nephews, and grandchildren...... Everyone can come with a face, which really makes the old man happy. ”

So saying, he sat down on his throne and continued:

"Everyone knows that tonight's capital is not peaceful, and the old man gathered all the clans to come just to report the group for warmth."

"We are not greedy for power, but since Banzai promised to let me wait for overseas vassals, and we have also sold most of our assets, then things must have a settlement."

"Over there in the palace, Lone has already sent someone to go, as long as Banzai gives me a letter, I can disperse."

"But ......" Zhu Suqin paused, glanced at the kings of His Highness, and his mind was lively.

"After all, we are going to move overseas, and there has never been such a thing as an overseas domain."

"The conditions that the King of Qi promised us at the beginning are also about the same, so if the kings are overseas vassals, the old man recommends the King of Qi as the clan supervisor who supervises the hundred kings, so as to show Long Live and the Ming that we have no disobedience."

"Old thing......" Hearing Zhu Suqin's righteous and awe-inspiring words, if he was someone who didn't know why, maybe he really thought that he wanted to protect Zhu Youzhen.

But the problem is that no one here is a fool, and it is uncertain whether Zhu Youzhen is dead or alive now.

If they agree to Zhu Suqin's suggestion, it means that Zhu Suqin can use this recognition to seek benefits for himself.

Once Zhu Youzhen dies, I am afraid that the position of the so-called "clan supervisor" will fall to this old horseman.

At that time, even if the affairs of the overseas domain are settled, and the emperor is far away, this old horseman will probably use this position to become the leader of the Hundred Kings Alliance......

However, even if he knows the other party's thoughts, Zhou Fan is the largest domain in the world after all, and no one wants to face hard steel, but wants to follow others.

Therefore, no one took the initiative to stand up and refute Zhu Suqin's words at the first time.

Zhu Suqin was very satisfied with this situation, in his opinion, Qin Fan was on the side of the top, and he did not dare to confront him, and Chu Fan had the black material of the pseudo-Chu King case, and he did not dare to stand up and be the first bird.

In addition, Zhu Fengquan, the king of Shu who has the ability to threaten him, is still on the road at the moment, and the only ones left are the Fu Domain, the Jin Domain, and the Zhao Domain.

Therefore, he focused on Zhu Changxun, Zhu Qiugui, and Zhu Ci (yú).

However, Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, and Zhu Ci, the king of Zhao, closed their lips and teeth at the moment, obviously not wanting to be the first bird.

Seeing the performance of the two, Zhu Changxun couldn't help but scold the "waste" in his heart, and was ready to open his mouth to dismiss Zhu Suqin's words.

"This ......"

"I'm afraid this matter should be decided by King Qi, and His Royal Highness has overstepped his responsibilities."

Suddenly, a young voice sounded, and everyone looked towards the voice, and the person who spoke was a young man who was one of the two people standing behind Zhu Shuoxi, the old Tang King.

"This is Tang Shisun Zhu Yujian, I didn't expect that the old Tang King and Tang Shizi didn't speak, but he spoke first."

"This identity and status, I'm afraid that speaking out will fall on the face of King Zhou."

"I heard that he and his father are not favored, I'm afraid that the old Tang King may not be able to help."

Many people recognized this person, and this person was the well-known Longwu Emperor Zhu Yujian in later generations.

It's just that Zhu Yujian in this era did not continue to be imprisoned because of Zhu Youzhen, and after learning that he was going to go overseas in the future, Zhu Yujian taught himself the art of war for two and a half years.

Most of the guards of the Tang Palace's mansion have been trained by him, so in the Tang Palace, his discourse weight is actually only lower than that of the old Tang King Zhu Shuoxi.

"Hehe, Tang Shisun, this is all a matter of uncles and uncles, although your suggestion is not unreasonable, it is not applicable to the present."

Zhu Suqin hid a knife in his smile, and secretly ridiculed Zhu Yujian's young age, but as soon as Zhu Suqin finished speaking, he heard Zhu Yujian sneer:

"There is a son who is in harmony with the court, and he is in Su Gong Shaolun. Qiong Zhimi, Yu Linju, and Qi Ling. ”

"I'm sorry about King Zhou's nephew, when it comes to seniority, I want to be a generation older than you."

Zhu Suqin's genealogy and the backing of the various feudal names were not familiar, and Zhu Yujian lost face in public, and he was called the king's nephew by a young boy at a young age, and immediately stopped pretending:

"Humph! This place is a place to discuss state affairs, what is the ranking of seniority? ”

Zhu Suqin saw that he couldn't hold it down, so he began to play the scene cards again, but when it came to the scene cards and hard bones, there were still some ...... in the Ming Dynasty clan

"According to His Royal Highness King Zhou, then it is even more impossible to make a hasty conclusion, and we should wait for His Royal Highness King Qi to arrive."

Another young voice sounded, and everyone turned their heads to look, only to see a thirty-year-old feudal king Kankan who was majestic and had a great Confucian demeanor spoke.

"It's King Ji ......"

"It turns out that he is King Ji......"

When the name of King Ji appeared, some princes and disciples of the Chu Domain, Xiang Domain, and other feudal clans began to discuss.

Ji King Zhu Youdong, as an outlier among the kings of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youdong is only thirty-two years old this year.

However, he has been famous for a long time, and he is known as the "British Wealth" in the land of Huguang, and the Confucian scholars and officials of Changsha also respect him very much.

Compared with the notorious Chu Domain, the reputation of the Ji Wangfu can be said to be due to Zhu Youdong alone.

Therefore, when Zhu Youdong spoke, Zhu Suqin, who was sitting on the throne, also felt that things were a little tricky.

"Many matters, let's wait for King Qi to sacrifice the Taimiao!"

At this time, a young voice sounded, and when everyone looked, they saw that it was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old young man dressed in the costume of a vassal prince.

This person is Zhu Changqing, the son of Huai, but although he is currently the son of the world, he is actually the future king of Huai.

His father, grandfather, and uncle have all passed away, and if he wasn't too young, he would have inherited the title of King Huai long ago.

Although the strength of the Huai Domain was not very strong, it was by no means very weak.

Therefore, Zhu Changqing's opening actually represents a certain direction.

"This ...... It should indeed wait for King Qi to return to Beijing before discussing it. ”

"Indeed"

"Let's wait for King Qi to return to Beijing."

Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, opened his mouth cautiously, and several vassal kings next to him also responded.

With the beginning of this group of people, other vassal kings also began to say that they would wait for Zhu Youzhen to return to Beijing, after all, the matter of overseas vassal affairs was handled and promoted by Zhu Youzhen.

What the overseas environment is like, and whether there can be troops to go to sea to protect them and establish a vassal state, these are only Zhu Youzhen's certainty.

In the eyes of many vassal kings, the authority and words of Zhu Youzhen, the king of Qi, are even heavier than those of today's Son of Heaven.

In comparison, what qualifications does the Zhou Domain, who does not even have military power, have to become the leader of the alliance?

In this regard, Zhu Suqin also felt very aggrieved.

Since the number of guards in each domain was the same, and the Zhou domain was limited by the Ming Dynasty and could not expand its army, he had no way to force the kings to recognize him as the leader of the alliance.

After glancing at everyone, he snorted coldly:

"Since that's the case, let's wait for His Royal Highness King Qi to return to Beijing."

"The premise is that he comes back first......" Zhu Suqin added in his heart, obviously not believing that Zhu Youzhen could return to Beijing.

After all, Zhu Youzhen's personality and style of doing things are vigorous and resolute, and he has not returned to Beijing after delaying for so many days, saying that there is nothing to do, and the hundreds of thousands of ghosts under his command do not believe it.

Also accompanied by Zhu Suqin's words, many vassal kings began to slowly withdraw, and Zhu Changxun also mixed in with everyone and quietly left the Zhou Palace.

After returning to the Fu Palace, he tried to get Zhu Youxiang to contact Cui Wensheng, and the same gathered with the feudal lords was the renovated nobles.

However, compared with the deliberations of Wenchen and the vassals, Xungui's side can be said to be a little petty.

Xu Xigao and Zhu Chunchen gathered a large group of nobles who were dissatisfied with Zhu Youzhen and went to the British Mansion.

It's just that Zhang Weixian, as a British duke, didn't even see them, and directly chose to seal the mansion.

"There will always be a day when they regret it!"

Looking at the closed gate of the mansion, Zhu Chunchen said a cruel word viciously, and then returned to the Chengguo Mansion with Xu Xigao with the nobles.

They are ready to wait here for dawn, if Zhu Youzhen is really killed, then they will definitely ask Zhu Youxiao to cancel the increase and decrease system of title inheritance.

However, these actions of theirs were all seen by the Jinyi Guards of Nanzhen Fusi.

"Bang!"

"Do they think that without my brother, I am just a puppet at the mercy of others?!"

"Bang-"

When the ministers, vassals, and lords were still planning, in the inner court's Heart Cultivation Palace, Zhu Youxiao, who knew the whole story, was furious, and kept smashing the utensils in the palace to vent his anger.

Lu Wenzhao knelt on the gold bricks and didn't dare to speak, while the five eunuchs were also implicated, and everyone knelt.

"Lu Wenzhao, whose minister are you!"

It seems that the anger is coming up, and the furious Zhu Youxiao grabbed the inkstone and smashed it at Lu Wenzhao, Lu Wenzhao was hit in the back, although it hurt, he still gritted his teeth and said:

"Minister, long live the minister!"

"Since you are my courtier, why didn't you report it when you knew about it, and helped your brother hide it from me!" Zhu Youxiao stepped forward and kicked Lu Wenzhao hard, and Lu Wenzhao also gritted his teeth and responded:

"Your Highness knows, if you know the news, you will inevitably cancel the prisoner sacrifice ceremony, and the ambitious people of the wolf son in Beijing will also take the opportunity to jump out."

"I have military power, and I'm afraid of them, worms?!" Zhu Youxiao turned around and walked to the back of the table, and pulled out the sword at once.

"Military power can only be used for deterrence! Don't use it to kill your courtiers! Lu Wenzhao exhorted, and this sentence was also what Zhu Youzhen once said to him.

"The king regards the minister as a sibling, and the minister regards the king as the heart. The monarch regards the minister as a dog and a horse, and the minister regards the monarch as a countryman. The king regards the minister as a mustard, and the minister regards the king as an enemy! ”

"Hooray! It's not that you don't understand this truth! ”

"It's easy to kill, but as soon as this head is opened, the future generals will definitely be domineering, thinking that as long as there are soldiers in their hands, Wenchen can be killed, so that I can repeat the rebellion of the five generations!"

"Emperor Taizu Gao thought the same way back then, so he didn't blindly use soldiers and horses to suppress it."

Lu Wenzhao's heartfelt words made Zhu Youxiao clench the sword in his hand.

He didn't know that he couldn't open the head of killing Wenchen with soldiers and horses, but he ......

"What did my brother say......"

After a long time, Zhu Youxiao calmed down a little and regained his former calm and demeanor again.

"Your Highness said that the ceremony of offering prisoners will be held in two days, and he will arrive on time."

"......" listened to Lu Wenzhao's words, and Zhu Youxiao walked back and forth.

He was thinking about how to use means to suppress the forces of all sides for two days, and after walking for a while, he stopped and said to the five eunuchs:

"Spread the order to Sun Yingyuan, tomorrow transfer Jin Wuwei and Shen Cewei to the south, Wu Xiangwei and Teng Xiangwei to the west, and the four guards and horses are stationed at Yongdingmen to prepare for the sacrifice of prisoners the day after tomorrow."

"Wei Zhongxian." Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian, and Wei Zhongxian also cautiously raised his head and looked at Zhu Youxiao.

"Take care of your people!"

Zhu Youxiao said the words "your person" for the first time, which made Wei Zhongxian's scalp tingle, and cold sweat welled up from the pores all over his body:

"Long live, the slave is a long live slave, the slave under the slave is naturally also a long live slave, where is the slave and the slave?"

Wei Zhongxian expressed his loyalty without thinking, because he knew that although he had a thousand pure troops in this inner court, with the force of these pure troops, at most he would discipline and discipline the palace maids.

He really wants to rebel, I'm afraid that before the soldiers and horses are assembled, the 1,500 Han generals stationed in the outer court will come in, not to mention the three guards of the imperial city in the hands of Zhu Youxiao.

"Stand down!"

Zhu Youxiao frowned, then turned his back to everyone, and everyone slowly got up, and finally exited the palace.

In the huge Qianqing Palace, only Zhu Youxiao's lonely back was left in the end, and he also sighed after everyone left, supported the dragon case with both hands, and looked up at the "Daming Kunyu Quantu".

Looking at the hanging map, Zhu Youxiao did not have the same vigor as before at this moment, but felt a burst of emptiness.

Of the sixteen siblings, only four remained, and now even the last brother was sick.

For Zhu Youxiao, it was not only his last brother who fell ill, but also the minister of the Ming Dynasty's stable forces.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao only felt a sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart, his limbs were weak, and even his voice had a hint of crying:

"Is it true that God is going to take away my last brother......

(End of chapter)