Chapter Seventeen: The Conspiracy of Death Author: ?? Year: ?? Month: ?? txt ??? Traditional Chinese

  The Last Campaign

  Although the news of Ning Wang's rebellion was a bit late, it still reached the palace. Although Wang Shouren had already fled to Ji'an and prepared to counterattack, officials in the capital did not know this.

  They only knew that Ning Wang had sent them a lot of money over the years, so it seemed that his rebellion this time must have been carefully planned and difficult to quell. As a result, there was a flurry of panic in the capital, with many people packing their bags and preparing to flee.

  Only two people showed completely different attitudes, one was confident and the other was delighted.

  Confidently, the Minister of War, Wang Qiang, patted his chest and comforted everyone's fragile hearts:

  "Don't panic, everyone! I sent Wang Bo'an (style name Shouren) to garrison southern Jiangxi back then precisely for today. With him there, the rebels will definitely be captured within a few days!"

  That's easy for you to say, is it really that simple?

  At least at that time, few people believed in what Wang Shangshu said.

  The delighted person was Zhu Houzhao, he was overjoyed, so happy that he danced with joy.

  Zhu Chenhao, you actually dare to rebel? Fine, great! Watch me personally go and capture you!

  For Zhu Houzhao, who was always restless and never content, this was a godsend. He didn't have to go out of the pass and travel so far to fight the Mongols; there was already one right in front of him, how convenient!

  He quickly gave the order - to go into battle personally!

  The ministers could ignore Wang Qiong's words, but they couldn't ignore this gentleman, so the previous scene reappeared, with countless ministers rushing to submit memorials and pushing out Yang Tinghe, hoping that Master Yang would take the lead in speaking out and stop Zhu Houzhao's reckless actions.

  But this time, Zhu Houzhao did not back down.

  He has endured for too long, these old men have been controlling him for over a decade, it seems they won't stop until he's in his coffin.

  And this "Yang Shifu", really thinks he's something special, not like he's your son, what right does he have to interfere?!

  Facing Zhu Houzhao's firm gaze and resolute tone, Yang Tinghe understood that this time they could not stop this master.

  Let him go!

  Yang Tinghe reluctantly took on the task of staying behind to guard, watching Zhu Houzhao pack up his luggage, put on his armor, and prepare for a glorious expedition.

  At that time, most officials in the court opposed Zhu Houzhao's expedition, except for one person, Jiang Bin, who was Zhu Houzhao's first favorite minister.

  He strongly encouraged Zhu Houzhao to take the field in person and actively made all kinds of preparations, this hard work also won the praise of Zhu Houzhao.

  However, Zhu Houzhao did not know that this seemingly obedient slave had an ulterior motive and plot behind his humble agreement to go on the expedition.

  With Jiang Bin's help, Zhu Houzhao quickly assembled the elite of all the capital's military forces and formally set out on campaign in August 1519.

  Just as everything was ready and only waiting for the opening of the road, several fast horses rushed into the capital, bringing an urgent memorial.

  The memorial was sent by Wang Shouren, and the content is very simple. It's just to tell everyone that there's no need to rush or deploy troops. I, Wang Shouren, have already solved the problem. Everyone can rest at home now.

  This is an express report; according to convention, it should be immediately presented to His Imperial Majesty and then celebrated throughout the empire, with peace reigning supreme.

  However, Jiang Bin went against his usual practice and hid this telegram away.

  This was a very strange move, he did this, absolutely not just to satisfy Zhu Houzhao's interest in traveling south, the real reason is that only by inviting the emperor out of the capital can he have the possibility to realize his own plan.

  Wearing his shining armor, Zhu Houzhao finally stepped out of the Zhengyang Gate as scheduled. The feeling of freedom once again filled his entire body. The beautiful Jiangnan was calling him, and he had completely lost interest in this magnificent capital behind him. For him, leaving here meant a kind of liberation.

  However, Zhu Zhanji would never have thought that this was his last expedition and also his last adventure. In this journey, he would encounter a truly fatal death trap and be shrouded in the shadow of the god of death, leaving behind an eternal mystery.

  Of course, this will also be the end of his legendary life, and soon after, he will get real and thorough relief.

  The expedition team set out, in this team, apart from the excited Zhu Houzhao, there were two other people with ulterior motives, one was Jiang Bin who had a sinister heart, and the other was Qian Ning whose mind was not at peace.

  Jiang Bin was calculating his own affairs, so let's not talk about it for now. As for why Qian Ning was flustered and confused, we've already mentioned the reason before: he was one of Zhu Chenhao's people, a mole planted beside the Emperor.

  He had already learned that Zhu Chenhao was defeated, and the briber had fallen into the law net. What should he do as the one who accepted the bribe? It's not very realistic to expect Zhu Chenhao to show loyalty and not turn him in. This guy has committed a capital offense!

  Maybe in prison, the confession has been written for tens of thousands of words, including which year, month and day, what was sent, how much was sent, whether it was received with the left hand or the right hand, all were written clearly.

  He walked and thought about how to solve this problem all the way. Although he knew that the road ahead was treacherous, he still had to be forced to move on, which was really a kind of torture.

  Fortunately, his torment was soon to end, for Jiang Bin had decided to take his life and put an end to his suffering once and for all.

  The big team didn't go far, and he received the emperor's order to return to the capital to help with business (Mr. Zhu also did some business), he suddenly felt that something was wrong, since the emperor had already left, what kind of business needed to be taken care of?

  But he had no choice and could only obediently return home.

  This was Jiang Bin's plan to lure the tiger out of the mountain. After all, everyone was familiar with each other, and it wasn't easy to make a move in person. He suggested that Zhu Houzhao arrange for Qian Ning to return to Beijing while sending someone to rush to Jiangxi on horseback to find evidence of Qian Ning's collusion with the vassal king.

  Qian Ning's brother Qian received the money, but his hands were soft. This evidence was naturally found in a bamboo basket. The envoy returned to report to Jiang Bin, and Jiang Bin reported to Zhu Houzhao, who said:

  "Dog slave, I've suspected him for a long time!"

  It's similar to what was said when Liu Jin was killed - if you've been suspicious for a long time, why didn't you act sooner?

  The tree fell and the monkeys scattered, the wall fell and the crowd pushed, soon, Qian Ning was arrested and his house was searched, things were done quite neatly, this second largest power usurper since Liu Jin's era (the first is Comrade Jiang Bin) collapsed and was put in prison.

  It is ironic that this prisoner outlived both Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Bin, who put him in jail.

  The Shadow Menace

  After settling the matter of Qiu Ning, Zhu Zhanji continued on his journey. His itinerary was as follows: departing from the capital city, passing through Baoding and entering Shandong, crossing Jining to reach Yangzhou, then heading south via Nanjing and Hangzhou to arrive in Jiangxi.

  It can be seen that this is a travel route condensed with the wisdom of Zhu Houzhao, with both humanistic scenery (Yangzhou produces beautiful women) and natural landscapes. Although he had already received news of Zhu Chenhao's defeat, it did not dispel his pleasure in traveling, on the contrary, he was prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to have a good time and relax.

  It is said that when the emperor goes on an inspection tour, local officials should be happy, but as soon as this tourist route was made public, officials along the way were suddenly frightened out of their wits.

  Because they have a common understanding: the emperor should just stay in the capital, don't go anywhere, why bother running around? You take care of food and accommodation, everyone is busy serving you, so don't cause trouble.

  It seems that the officials of the Ming Dynasty were really not enlightened. You know, more than 200 years later, in the prosperous Jiangnan region, local officials would be eager for the emperor to visit their humble abode. Not only could they take advantage of the opportunity to embezzle some money, but if they served well, they might even leave a deep impression on the emperor and get promoted and rich, isn't that wonderful?

  But wanting the emperor to come is not that easy, you have to pay money, this is also a major way for famous corrupt officials and gentlemen to make money, whoever gives more money, he will arrange where the emperor goes to play. If it were in the Zhengde years, I estimate he would lose money.

  In this way, the officials took the money they had extorted from the people to flatter the emperor, received a few words of praise from His Majesty, and then knelt down neatly on the ground, skillfully knocked their heads several times, making loud and rhythmic sounds, shed a few tears, and shouted in unison with fixed phrases: "Kill the slaves!"

  I have a mediocre impression of the civil officials in the Ming Dynasty. These people always like to whisper among themselves, form cliques and sometimes even make false accusations, excluding those who are different from them. However, they still deserve praise for daring to uphold their principles, daring to risk being beheaded or flogged, daring to scold the emperor, daring to scold the eunuchs in power, and daring to disobey orders, which is not an easy thing to do.

  In my opinion, parents raise their children for many years, not to let them call themselves "slaves" every day and kowtow everywhere. There should be something on a person's body - dignity.

  At that time, the local officials seemed to have some backbone, and they all expressed different opinions on this traveling emperor without exception. As soon as Zhu Houzhao arrived in Tongzhou, a memorial from the imperial censor of Baoding Prefecture arrived, which roughly said that the road was dangerous and inconvenient, so it's better for you to go back.

  Zhu Houzhao ignored him.

  After passing Baoding and before entering Shandong, a memorial from the Shandong censor also arrived, advising him to turn back.

  Zhu Houzhao went back.

  But he was willing to go back, not because of his persuasion, but because he had lost something.

  Then he left the main team and ran wildly for hundreds of miles, bringing a few followers, and in one breath ran back to the capital from the Shandong border, just to say a word to a woman:

  "I'm here to pick you up."

  The woman surnamed Liu, known as "Liu Ji" in historical records, was a woman whom Zhu Houzhao loved dearly. Before departing, he had originally planned to bring Liu Ji along with him, but considering the dangers of the battlefield, Zhu Houzhao spared her and decided to place her in the suburbs of the capital city, waiting for further developments.

  Before leaving, Liu Ji gave Zhu Houzhao a jade hairpin, agreeing to use it as a token of their meeting if nothing unexpected happened.

  But unexpectedly it happened, when passing by Lugou Bridge (right at this place), he was suddenly excited and rushed too fast, losing the jade hairpin.

  Although there were no sanitation workers sweeping every day at that time, after all, there were hundreds of thousands of troops behind, and tens of millions of feet went down, let alone jade hairpins, even jade clubs would be trampled to nothing.

  At that time, Zhu Houzhao didn't take it seriously either. When he arrived in Shandong, he heard that Zhu Chenhao was finished and sent someone to pick up Liu Ji.

  Although this Liu Ji was a weak woman, she was a stubborn person. Seeing that the visitor had no token, she refused to leave even if she were beaten to death.

  The envoy returned and reported to Zhu Houzhao, saying that this matter was difficult to handle, she refused to come.

  It's indeed difficult, but can't just dismiss the troops and return to the court because of this woman, will His Majesty the Emperor personally make a trip for her?

  Among a hundred emperors, there would be a hundred who said no, Zhu Houzhao was the one hundred and first.

  He thought it was worth running for the woman he liked.

  Then, after extreme surprise, Liu Ji got on Zhu Houzhao's boat and set off for Shandong together.

  This matter once again tested the limits of the officials' patience, you played and now you're acting alone, leaving the group without permission, that's too much!

  Before the officials in the capital could take action, a certain Inspector Xiong from Shandong had already submitted a memorial.

  It can be seen that this censor has racked his brains and his memorial is a strange document. The general meaning is:

  "Your Majesty the Emperor, accompanied by a few attendants, is sleeping outdoors in casual clothes. This won't do! If something happens, what will become of the state? What will become of your mother (the Empress Dowager)?"

  Zhu Houzhao was well-behaved and did not accept bribes, which is not easy.

  After receiving the order, he continued to move forward, entered Shandong, passed Dezhou, passed Jining, and advanced towards Yangzhou.

  In Shandong, troubles never end. Historical records show a multitude of evil deeds, such as showing off military power, bullying local officials, and plundering wealth. Zhu Houzhao also gained a very bad reputation because of this.

  But if you look closely, most of the evil deeds have a subject in front of them - Bin.

  He was responsible for it, he searched for it, he forged imperial orders (falsely transmitted the emperor's will), and so on, there were many such cases.

  Jiang Bin relied on Zhu Houzhao's trust, acting arbitrarily and recklessly. Zhu Houzhao, who had everything he needed, would often play pranks just for fun.

  Jiang Bin is different, he was originally just a small military officer, nothing at all, if he doesn't take this opportunity to make a fortune, when will he?

  He went too far, wherever he went, he immediately asked the local government for money. If they didn't give it to him, he would arbitrarily pin a crime on them and even put a noose around the neck of the local officials, not treating people as human beings. He also sent out soldiers to search for the property of the common people everywhere. Those who dared to resist were beaten, making the local area restless. His arrogance became more and more excessive, using the tiger's might to pretend to be a hero, even when he saw Cheng Guogong Zhu Fu, he had to kneel down!

  Zhu Fu is the descendant of Zhu Neng, a meritorious general who followed Zhu Di to battle during the Jingnan campaign. In the Battle of Zhending that year, Zhu Neng dared to lead dozens of men in pursuit of tens of thousands of enemy soldiers. If the old man's spirit in heaven saw his descendants being so incompetent, he might have gotten angry enough to come back to life.

  Although Zhu Houzhao had also done some similar not-so-righteous things, overall he was still relatively measured in his actions. He could even tolerate the officials who pointed at his nose and scolded him, so why couldn't he tolerate ordinary people?

  But he is responsible for all this, Jiang Bin is a vicious dog, and he is the master of the vicious dog.

  But Zhu Houzhao did not realize that due to his endless indulgence, this vicious dog had turned into a ferocious wolf, which was about to turn its sharp teeth on its master.

  Jiang Bin was a military general, he made his name by fighting wars, and was very brave in battle. It is said that once on the battlefield, half of his face was pierced by an arrow, this rough man didn't say a word, immediately pulled it out, blood gushing from his face didn't stop him, continued to fight, scaring the enemy so much they were terrified. This scene can be compared to Comrade Xiahou Dun's in those years.

  But apart from being brave and fierce, he is a thorough scoundrel, corrupt and greedy, extorting and blackmailing without restraint. Zhu Houzhao knew about these things but did not want to interfere much, thinking that this person just wanted to make some money, which was understandable and acceptable.

  Unfortunately, he was wrong.

  Jiang Bin's appetite is huge, he not only wants his money, but also his life and everything he has.

  For this, he set up a trap, preparing to take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of Zhu Houzhao. As for all this, Zhu Houzhao was still in the dark, and in his eyes, Jiang Bin was a very reliable and obedient person. After all, he was just a young man under thirty years old, lacking social experience.

  Zhu Houzhao's life was indeed colorful, in his short decade or so of life, he encountered three rebellions, Liu Jin (existence controversial), Zhu Chenhao, and most recently Zhu Chenhao.

  Perhaps it was the blessing of heaven that these three rebellions did not harm a single hair on his head, but this time is different, the mortal threat has already arrived at his side.

  The sinister hand of conspiracy is slowly reaching out to the unsuspecting Zhu Houzhao, and soon it will throttle the emperor's throat and put him to death.