Chapter 7: Journey South (2)
Due to the delay in the Liaodong war, the eunuch party's bloody suppression of the Donglin Party was also delayed for nearly a month. When Zhu Yinglong used the alias "Longying" again and entered Jiangsu with Xu Ruyin and Xiong Tingbi, Cui Chengxiu, who held great power in Beijing, threw out the "Three Dynasties' Convention" that had been revised over five years under Wei Zhongxian's instructions. He used the Tianqi Emperor's sacred edict to invert right and wrong, confuse black and white, and slander the Donglin Party people for "seeking merit" and "venting private grievances" in the three cases of the wooden board, the relocation of the palace, and the red pill. The edict was promulgated throughout the land, and messengers were sent out to capture the Donglin Party members.
Zhu Yinglong received this message and had to speed up his journey south, so he took the Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou, taking a water route directly to Jiangnan.
The ancient city of Yangzhou, a prosperous land, has been the hub of land transportation and the throat of north-south water transportation since Emperor Yang of Sui opened the Grand Canal. It is the largest metropolis in southeastern China, with the beautiful scenery of Slender West Lake, known as "the most prosperous place under heaven". The headquarters of "Yinglong Ship Far" and "Yinglong Business Firm" are located here, with Tian Yan, Zhu's brother-in-law, in charge.
In the dark of night, Zhu Yinglong and others arranged for the necessary supplies to be replenished in Yangzhou, and they also changed to a larger ship. Xu Ruyin was shocked by the enormous power and wealth behind Zhu Yinglong's back. She couldn't believe that the small man she had given her 22 years of chastity to actually hid such huge energy behind him. The White Lotus Sect's power was nothing compared to his, and it wasn't even worth mentioning in his eyes. She decided to follow Zhu Yinglong south not just because she wanted to follow her husband, but mainly because she wanted to figure out what kind of person her husband really was and how he had such a huge power that even the White Lotus Sect's intelligence network hadn't detected. After all, the White Lotus Sect was spread throughout the country, and she was its nominal leader, the Holy Maiden, and it was only natural for them to share intelligence.
If it weren't for being delayed in Shandong, Zhu Yinglong would have liked to visit Yangzhou, the ancient city of Yangzhou, a place of prosperity and beauty. However, due to the urgency of the current situation, he couldn't afford to indulge in such leisurely pursuits. From the intelligence transmitted by Anying, it was learned that Xiong Zhaoyi had already led his men into Wuxi, Suzhou, and Changshu, but due to insufficient manpower and Zhu Yinglong's previous orders, they did not take action before the arrival of the Dongchang cavalry.
Zhu Yinglong intended to integrate the White Lotus Sect's intelligence network into the Dark Shadow, with the goal of transforming it into a military intelligence gathering organization. The White Lotus Sect's intelligence network, on the other hand, was meant for collecting information on court and Ming dynasty dynamics, similar to a commercial intelligence organization. Zhu Yinglong was torn between merging them first and then separating them later, or maintaining the status quo. Merging would allow him to better understand various dynamics, but not merging would avoid future troubles due to their different divisions of labor and mutual supervision, achieving a balance of power - this was the so-called art of intrigue.
After careful consideration, Zhu Yinglong finally chose to integrate. What happened afterwards was unpredictable, but what was important was the present moment. Without a perfect intelligence network, it would be foolish to try to outdo Wei Zhongxian, who controlled the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot.
How to integrate, how to integrate, Zhu Yinglong chose the White Lotus Sect's intelligence network as a whole and entered the dark shadow of Zhou Huai'an's control. Xu Ruyin was newly married, but she was still the nominal highest leader of the White Lotus Sect after all. Without an intelligence network, the White Lotus Sect would be like sheep waiting to be slaughtered, this was the only power she could rely on now. If she handed this over as well, she could only be a obedient and listening little wife. However, in front of Zhu Yinglong, especially after speculating about the powerful forces behind him, she didn't have the courage to refuse. If she didn't agree, she knew the consequences would be severe. In the end, she handed over the intelligence network in her hands with painful hesitation. That is to say, she handed over the White Lotus Sect that she could control completely to Zhu Yinglong, leaving herself with nothing but a "Saint Girl" identity.
Zhu Yinglong had no choice but to do this. If the intelligence organization were in Zhou Tianning's or Tian Shuying's hands, he would never have completely stripped Xu Ruyin of her control. Now it might not be a problem and might even be of great help to himself, but in the future, who knows what kind of trouble it could bring? So, taking precautions beforehand and thoroughly cutting off that thought in Xu Ruyin's mind was also a good thing.
Out of a thread of guilt in his heart, Zhu Yinglong became much gentler to Xu Ruyin, and his words were no longer so cold. Sometimes he was even considerate, making them an enviable loving couple. When it came to being thoughtful towards women, the Zhu Yinglong from later times was far superior to ordinary men of this era. The gentle spring breeze by their pillow dispelled the faint cloud in the heart of this beautiful young woman who had never known love. Once they let go of their desires, they became deeply entangled, unable to extricate themselves, like a burst dam. With several hundred years of experience, Zhu Yinglong's understanding of men and women's love was far greater than that of men in this era. In the information explosion of his time, there were even people who specialized in studying the art of love. Compared to men of this era, he understood women's psychological and physical needs better. On Xu Ruyin's body, he turned those so-called theories into practical experience, causing Xu Ruyin to become more and more deeply entrenched in him, unable to escape. This could be considered a classic case of desire giving rise to love.
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