boyutpedia Page 489
Page 489
And they finally found out which Wang Zhi was now in charge of the Western Depot.
It was Wang Zhi, the one who stirred up a bloody storm during the Chenghua era!
The officials were astonished when they heard the news. They never expected that this person was still alive and had been reinstated by the emperor.
Most of the officials in the Zhengde reign had not experienced the events of the Xianzong reign, but they had all heard of Wang Zhi's notorious reputation. Now that this man had regained control of the Western Depot and was targeting them, the civil officials were outraged and submitted petitions to Zhu Houzhao, demanding that he abolish the Western Depot and punish Wang Zhi. Many officials even wanted to go to the palace to meet the emperor.
However, Zhu Houzhao kept the matter under wraps and refused to see the officials, using the excuse of illness and inconvenience to meet with court officials. But these past few days, Zhu Houzhao had been excitedly telling Jiang Ning about what Wang Zhi had done.
Wang Zhi didn't stop there after imprisoning the Minister of Personnel. On the third day, the Vice Minister of Justice was imprisoned for riding in a carriage that exceeded the permitted size. Then, he imprisoned the Vice Minister of Rites, the Censor, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Principal of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy. The reasons for the arrests were varied.
In just a few days, Wang Zhi arrested many well-known officials of high rank and threw them into prison. Now, the prisons of the Western Depot are filled with cries of agony.
Judging from Wang Zhi's actions over the past few days, it's clear to everyone that Zhu Houzhao is very dissatisfied with the civil service group and has sent Wang Zhi to deal with them. The officials in the court are all aware of this.
But Wang Zhi's attacks on them were even more ruthless than during the Chenghua reign, which they simply couldn't bear. On the morning of the fifth day, when Zhu Houzhao was supposed to attend the morning court session but instead claimed to be ill and didn't, all the civil officials gathered at Zuoshun Gate to kneel and remonstrate. The number of people was even larger than the last time, and even the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were present.
"Your Majesty, we demand to see you!!!"
The officials of the court shouted themselves hoarse at Zuoshun Gate, calling out for Zhu Houzhao.
"Humph."
Although Zhu Houzhao, who was on a high point in the distance, remained expressionless, he was still somewhat startled by the scene.
He didn't expect this incident to escalate to such a huge extent, with almost all the officials in the court present. It could be said that Wang Zhi had provoked public outrage.
"Brother Jiang, this scene is rarely seen since the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said to Jiang Ning, who was standing beside him.
Jiang Ning, who originally didn't want to come but was persuaded by Zhu Houzhao, asked after hearing what the other party said.
Has this happened before?
Zhu Houzhao said, "Yes, but not many, and the scale is not as large as this time."
Jiang Ning looked at him.
Aren't you afraid of losing control of the situation?
Zhu Houzhao smiled upon hearing this.
"If it doesn't break, it won't stand."
The situation was already bad enough; Zhu Houzhao himself almost lost his life. He was determined to govern the country with an iron fist, and this was just the beginning.
Zhu Houzhao was not worried about the situation getting out of control; he was only worried that Wang Zhi would not be able to withstand the pressure and, like Gu Dayong, would not dare to confront the civil officials directly. That would be the most difficult situation for him.
He has already notified Wang Zhi to handle it, and he just wants to see how Wang Zhi resolves it, and whether it will be like what Gu Dayong did before.
At that moment, a figure strode over from not far from Zuoshun Gate. It was Wang Zhi, followed by a number of eunuchs from the Western Depot.
Upon seeing Wang Zhi arrive, the noisy Zuoshun Gate fell silent for a moment, and all the officials looked at Wang Zhi.
"Today is neither the day of the morning court nor your day off. You are all here instead of on duty. Are you trying to force me to abdicate?"
Wang Zhi looked down at them with a cold expression, his lips moving slightly as he uttered these words.
Upon hearing his words, the young official's face turned angry and he was about to stand up and start arguing, but he was stopped by three elderly men kneeling in front of all the officials. One of them stood up and looked at Wang Zhi with a calm expression.
"Eunuch Wang, it's been a long time."
Wang Zhi also looked at him and smiled.
"Who is this Governor? It's you."
Wang Zhi chuckled softly, his expression one of utter disdain.
"During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, Grand Secretary Liu was merely a lecturer in the Eastern Palace. Now he is the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. This is truly a cause for celebration."
Grand Secretary Liu's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, and he smiled and said, "It is my good fortune that Eunuch Wang still remembers me. I also congratulate Eunuch Wang on his return to the capital. However, is it inappropriate for Eunuch Wang to target officials of our Great Ming Dynasty in this way?"
"inappropriate?"
Wang Zhi laughed.
……
at the same time.
Huguang.
Huarong County.
"Holy Maiden, the plan has failed, Blue Phoenix is dead."
A middle-aged man knelt down in front of Ren Yingying and said.
Ren Yingying's expression froze upon hearing this.
"what happened?"
Didn't she send Lan Fenghuang and Zhu Shijin into the palace to conspire with those civil officials to control the emperor in order to plan for the future?
Before sending Lan Fenghuang to the capital, Ren Yingying had already made secret contact with some officials in the court. This time, she sent people to the capital to discuss cooperation. She knew that there were no experts in the palace. Previously, Huang Zhonggong, one of the Four Friends of Jiangnan, could freely enter and leave the palace and even captured a cook. Ren Yingying sent two first-class experts, Lan Fenghuang and Zhu Shijin, along with many subordinates. She originally thought that this matter would be easy to accomplish, but now that Zhu Shijin has returned, he tells her this result.
“Holy Maiden, it was Jiang Ning who went to the capital. He killed Lan Fenghuang and protected the dog emperor.”
Fearing blame for not completing the task, Zhu Shijin quickly said.
"what?"
Upon hearing the name Jiang Ning, Ren Yingying's expression became somewhat out of control.
"Why is he everywhere?!"
Chapter 666: Make it cleaner
"After Lan Fenghuang and I entered the capital, things went very smoothly at first. We had already reached an agreement with the officials that the Holy Maiden had instructed us to take action. However, on the night of the operation, the people from the Eastern Depot arrested those officials. I killed a few of the Eastern Depot agents and escaped. The plan failed, and I wanted to reunite with Lan Fenghuang, but I didn't expect that Lan Fenghuang and her subordinates had already been killed. Later, I hid in the capital, avoiding the court's search and arrest while secretly investigating the case. Finally, I learned that Jiang Ning had entered the palace and killed the Five Poisons Sect master who was about to administer the Three Corpse Brain God Pill to the dog emperor. He then attacked our gathering point that very night, killed Lan Fenghuang, and slaughtered the people of the Five Poisons Sect."
Ren Yingying's face turned very ugly as she listened to her subordinate's report.
After giving his report, Zhu Shijin knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.
Originally, Zhu Shijin had gone into hiding the night he was arrested and did not leave the capital immediately. He dared not leave, as the plan had failed too suddenly and Lan Fenghuang was dead. If he returned without finding anything, he would surely die. Zhu Shijin was prepared to find out what was going on and was also preparing to enter the palace to take action against the emperor and complete the task given to him by Ren Yingying. However, after finding out that Jiang Ning was also in the capital, Zhu Shijin dared not linger and fled the capital overnight.
"How did he get into the capital? Were your movements exposed?"
Ren Yingying said with a gloomy expression.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Shijin quickly replied, "Reporting to the Holy Maiden, we do not know when Jiang Ning entered the capital, but our entry into the capital was very secretive and will never be exposed."
Ren Yingying did not speak.
She didn't believe that Lan Fenghuang and her group had leaked their whereabouts beforehand. If they had, Jiang Ning would have come knocking on their door long ago, instead of waiting until the day the operation began.
There are only two possibilities: either an internal traitor sent the intelligence to the Huashan Sect, so Jiang Ning went to the capital to cooperate with the emperor and wait for them to come to him; or Jiang Ning already knew the emperor and went to the capital because he learned that the emperor was in danger, and happened to run into them.
However, Ren Yingying immediately rejected the second option, saying it was impossible for Jiang Ning to know the emperor.
Rather than believing the second theory, it's more believable that there's a mole within their ranks.
Ren Yingying immediately became suspicious of Liu Zhengfeng, but then frowned.
Besides her, only Ren Woxing and a handful of others knew about this operation. Liu Zhengfeng was not among them; he was unaware of the plan and probably had no opportunity to tip it off.
But if it wasn't Liu Zhengfeng, then who was it?
Ren Yingying frowned. This plan had not only failed, but Lan Fenghuang had also been dragged into it, resulting in a great loss.
Especially the Blue Phoenix.
Ren Yingying valued Lan Fenghuang highly. Even though Lan Fenghuang was the first to escape when Jiang Ning was besieged last time, and Ren Woxing tried to kill her, Ren Yingying protected her. As a result, Lan Fenghuang died. It is conceivable that the Five Poisons Sect will be in turmoil and may even break away from the sect in order to compete for the position of sect leader.
After all, Lan Fenghuang is loyal to her, but the people under Lan Fenghuang's command may not be.
Where is Liu Daxia?
Ren Yingying asked.
Zhu Shijin hurriedly replied, "He was arrested by the Eastern Depot before I left the capital. I left the capital immediately afterward and dared not linger."
Ren Yingying remained expressionless.
She made a special trip to the other party's hometown for this collaboration, and this is the result.
After a while.
Ren Yingying stood up.
"Let's go back."
Now that her plan had been exposed, there was no point in staying here any longer; she needed to reunite with Ren Woxing.
"Yes."
Zhu Shijin responded, then looked up tentatively and asked, "Holy Maiden, what about here?"
They are currently in Liu Daxia's hometown, where the Liu family wields considerable influence.
Ren Yingying glanced at him without saying a word, but the meaning in her eyes frightened Zhu Shijin so much that he quickly lowered his head.
"My subordinate understands."
Ren Yingying left, leaving behind a single sentence as she walked past Zhu Shijin.
"Make it cleaner."
"Yes."
The next day, a strange thing happened in Huarong County.
The Liu family, a powerful and influential family in Huarong County, was wiped out overnight, including all the servants. Upon receiving the news, the magistrate of Huarong County rushed to the Liu residence and found corpses everywhere. In addition, all the valuables in the Liu residence were gone; it could be said that it had been completely looted.
……
"What's wrong with it? I don't see anything wrong with it."
Wang Zhi gave a forced smile.
Grand Secretary Liu looked at him and said, "Eunuch Wang has been arresting court officials without cause, causing turmoil in the court. Officials are all living in fear. Aren't you afraid of causing trouble?"
"Without cause? Please be more careful with your words, Grand Secretary Liu."
Wang Zhi sneered.
"When I arrest someone, I always insist on evidence. When have I ever arrested someone without cause?"
Grand Secretary Liu said in a deep voice, "I would like to ask Eunuch Wang, what crimes have so many officials arrested in the Western Depot prison committed?"
Wang Zhi rolled his eyes and said, "The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice violated the law by using a vehicle that exceeded the permitted specifications; the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites is suspected of embezzlement; and the Censor is suspected of embezzlement..."
Wang Zhi listed a long list of crimes committed by the arrested officials, which angered many civil servants. One official stood up and angrily retorted.
When did Li Yu ever slander His Majesty?
"You are framing me!"
"That's right!"
Other officials also stood up and shouted.
"If you want to incriminate someone, why bother?"
"Release them immediately!"
The officials started arguing, and Zuoshun Gate became extremely noisy.
Faced with the boiling crowd of officials, Wang Zhi remained calm, his gaze fixed on them without any change.
Seeing that Wang Zhi remained silent, the group of civil officials became even more arrogant and even began to insult him.
"You eunuch, you have harmed a minister, you deserve a terrible death!"
Listening to the civil officials' insults, Wang Zhi remained expressionless, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
It's been a long time since I've heard such pleasant insults.
Faced with their insults, the officials felt insulted when they saw that Wang Zhi not only did not get angry but also laughed. They rolled up their sleeves, eager to try their luck.
Seeing the indignant officials, the three Grand Secretaries sensed something was wrong. Before they could say anything, a young civil official couldn't hold back any longer. He rolled up his sleeves and rushed over, shouting.
"You castrated dog, prepare to die!"