Li Qiufeng thought to himself: "This Mrs. Sha was just a little girl back then, a few years younger than Miss Murong, so naturally she didn't know about the conflicts of interests in these courts. Although Fang Guozhen returned to the Ming Dynasty, he never won the trust of the emperor. Moreover, Fang's naval army is famous all over the world, and when it comes to water warfare, it is even better than the naval army under Zhang Shicheng back then. After Fang Guozhen returned to the Ming Dynasty, although the establishment of his naval army was scattered, it was scattered among the garrisons in various places. However, Fang Guozhen treated his subordinates very well, and most of his subordinate officers and soldiers were also loyal to him, so how could the imperial court not be guarded? In the more than 100 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the strict surveillance of the other clan has never been broken. Fang Guozhen's three sons lived separately, and by the time Mrs. Sha was born, the population of the He ethnic group was not less than 10,000 or 20,000. Among these people, there must be people who are dissatisfied with the imperial court and secretly plotting great things. And the person who is responsible for spying on the news is mainly Jinyiwei, and it is the Fang family who is so afraid of Jinyiwei. ”

Mrs. Sha naturally didn't know what Li Qiufeng was thinking, and then said: "That Zhuang Yulou seemed to be quite satisfied when she heard the words of the patriarch and old lady, and said, 'It's good that Old Lady Fang knows this. The ancestors of the Fang family were loyal to the Ming Dynasty and were loyal to the emperor for generations. It's just that there are villains in the court who are obstructing them, so they will send people to monitor the Fang family's movements from time to time. Grandpa Zhang knew that Old Lady Fang was cautious and was by no means a capricious villain. When the Fang family in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province was lured by King Ning to commit rebellion, although some people in the court wanted to implicate the Fang family's bloodline in this big case and uproot the Fang family. Gonggong Zhang spoke up in front of the emperor and tried his best to ensure that Old Lady Fang had nothing to do with this case, which saved Old Lady Fang's bloodline. ’

When I heard this, I was shocked. I can't imagine that our family is so prosperous, and there is still the same clan in Jiangxi. After listening to what Zhuang Yulou said, the patriarch said: "Thanks to Father-in-law Zhang's handling and Father-in-law Xu's efforts, the more than 100 members of this clan were not escorted to the capital for beheading. The two fathers-in-law are the great benefactors of our family, and if they are sent, they will all obey their orders. ’

"That Zhuang Yulou said: 'Old lady Fang, Zhuang has also heard about your deeds when you were young. I think you shook the southeast and did a vigorous career. In terms of merit, it is to be the governor of a province, but it is enough. It's just that those traitors and villains in the court are jealous of the virtuous and inhibiting their abilities, fabricating lies such as what the Fang clan is not available for, and deceiving the emperor, which made the old lady Fang depressed and resigned from the military......

"Zhuang Yulou's voice did not fall, but he heard the patriarch and the old lady say: "This old man didn't take it to heart. The court does not need to be old, and naturally there is a reason not to use it. After the ancestors returned to the Ming Dynasty, although the naval troops under his command had been broken up and divided into various armies, most of the generals who commanded the troops were overserved under the ancestors, and the court was suspicious, but it was not too much. The old man contributed to the imperial court and exterminated the bandits, but he couldn't see them harassing the people, but it wasn't for the sake of being promoted to a knight......

"When Zhuang Yulou heard this, he shook his head and said, "Old lady Fang's words are wrong. As the saying goes, practice literature and martial arts, and sell them to the emperor's family. To contribute to the imperial court, it is natural to fight for a good reputation as a wife and son. Even if Old Lady Fang is open-minded and doesn't care about these fame and fortune, for the sake of future generations, he can't live in this poor country for a long time. I see that your two grandsons are rare talents, can you bear to let them spend their lives here as a cloth farmer?"

"After Zhuang Yulou finished speaking, the patriarch and the old lady didn't speak for a long time, and finally heard him sigh and say: "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings for children and grandchildren, but this is reluctant. That Zhuang Yulou said: "There is a great opportunity right now, not only to let your children and grandchildren enter the official career, but even to shake off the hat of suppressing the Fang clan's intention to rebel for more than a hundred years." ’

Zhuang Yulou paused slightly when he said this, as if he was observing the reaction of the patriarch and the old lady. I looked down through the gap between the tiles, and saw the patriarch and the old lady sitting on a chair, his face calm, but nothing unusual. The eldest uncle and the fourth uncle were nervous, and their eyes wandered on the faces of the patriarch and the elder lady and Nazhuang Yulou. Looking at the eyes of the two of them, they showed an earnest gaze, and they all agreed with Zhuang Yulou's idea.

"After a while, I heard the patriarch say, 'I would like to hear about it.' Seeing that the patriarch and the old lady were relieved, Zhuang Yulou immediately smiled slightly, and said, "The old lady of the good sect has learned that those who intend to usurp the throne at the moment are most urgent to offer the palace, the Liao palace, and the Song palace. Among the three major palaces, the strongest is the Xingxian Palace. Most of the cabinet scholars in the imperial court have worked for the Xingxian Palace. King Ning rebelled, was defeated by Wang Yangming, and was captured. Just made some inquiries, but found that behind King Ning's rebellion, it was very likely that the Xingxian Palace was involved. It's just that the Xingxian palace was well planned, and although it encouraged King Ning to raise troops, it did not leave any evidence. Gonggong Zhang and Gonggong Xu judged that the move of dedicating the palace was a plan to kill two birds with one stone. The first is to let the most powerful of the vassal kings, Ning Wangfu, fight with the imperial court, if Ning Wangfu wins, Xingxian Wangfu can destroy Ning Wangfu in the name of King Qin. If the Ning Palace's Mansion fails, you can remove a powerful opponent who competes with the Xingxian Palace. The second is to use the army of Ning Wangfu to test the reality of the imperial court and prepare for the next move of Xingxian Palace. After the defeat of King Ning, the emperor received a secret report from Jinyiwei and Dongchang, pointing out that Xingxian Wangfu was an accomplice to King Ning's rebellion. It's just that the palace has been densely covered with the eyes and ears of Xingxian Palace, and the news that the emperor is suspicious of Xingxian Wangfu has spread to Huguang. The spies sent to the Xingxian Palace, sending back a secret report, saying that the Xingxian Palace's Mansion was building weapons and armor, intending to start an incident in advance. Old lady Fang, the situation is already very critical, but for the other party's family, this is a good opportunity......'"

Li Qiufeng thought to himself: "Zhuang Yulou back then and Zhuang Hengyun today have not changed much, they are all using these court disputes to move others, using interests as bait, and deceiving people to help him." This person is clever and eloquent, and he is a great figure in the court and in the rivers and lakes. It's just that with his qualifications and merits, how can he only be a petty official in the East Factory, it's really unbelievable. ”

But he heard Mrs. Sha say: "When the patriarch heard Zhuang Yulou say this, he smiled slightly, and said, 'Lord Zhuang, do you want our family to send someone to Huguang Xingxian Wangfu to assassinate Xingxian Wangye?' Then Zhuang Yulou shook his head and said: "In the world, killing only one person will not help in major matters." What's more, the masters of Xingxian Wangfu are like clouds, and wanting to assassinate Xingxian King is tantamount to a fool's dream. We received a secret report, calling Xingxian Wangfu to hide people's eyes, building weapons and armor in the mausoleum of the old Xingxian prince, and hiding the oath of Xingxian Wangfu and several other palaces in the mausoleum. When we go to Luzhou, Huguang'an, we will get the evidence of the private weapons and armor of the royal palace, and more importantly, we must get the affidavit. In this way, the emperor naturally believed that the rebellion of the king of Xingxian was imminent, so he could issue a holy decree to mobilize the army and attack the palace of the king of Xingxian, so as to eliminate these vassal kings who intended to rebel in one fell swoop and protect the Ming dynasty. ’

"When the patriarch heard this, he thought for a moment and said, 'Grandpa Zhang and Grandpa Xu mean to let our Fang family rob the tomb?' Zhuang Yulou shook his head and said: "It's not a tomb robbery, but an errand for the imperial court, attacking the tomb of the old Xingxian prince, and obtaining evidence of the Xingxian Palace's intention to rebel." The patriarch said, "Since it is the intention of Gonggong Zhang and Gonggong Xu, the Fang family will definitely go all out, but with the power of the Fang family, to accomplish such a big thing, I am afraid that it will hit the stone with an egg......

"That Zhuang Yulou didn't wait for the patriarch and old lady to finish speaking, and then said with a smile: "Old lady Fang doesn't have to worry too much, this matter is not only the Fang family. To tell the truth, Dongchang and Jinyiwei jointly handled this case, which was co-chaired by Gonggong Xu of Dongchang and Master Yun Feiyangyun of Jinyiwei Beizhen Fusi. The major gangs in the rivers and lakes, such as Taishan, Kongtong, Kunlun, Emei, Qingcheng, and the beggar gang, will participate in this matter. After the big things are done, when the merits are rewarded, the Fang clan can no longer be monitored by the imperial court. Before Zhuang came to visit Old Lady Fang, Lord Yun Feiyang Yun personally summoned Zhuang and asked Zhuang to bring a message to Old Lady Fang, as long as the Fang clan helped the imperial court to do this, Jinyiwei would destroy all the secret files of the Fang clan. From then on, the children of the Fang family, whether they were officials or businessmen, were no longer under the surveillance of the Jinyi Guard. Old lady Fang, this is what the patriarchs of the Fang family have dreamed of!'"

(End of chapter)