The emperor is ill. This is the latest news from the palace, and it seems that his illness is very serious. Most of the imperial doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau have gone there.
Once again, the court had a very bad premonition: would something happen to the current emperor? The Ming Dynasty could not afford to be turbulent twice.
The ministers couldn't help but worry about this, because there was already a precedent!
The previous emperor passed away just one month after ascending the throne. It was impossible not to make people think too much, and the people in the capital were immediately in a panic.
Wei Zhongxian did not stop his actions, and the interrogation of Feng Sanyuan, Wei Yingjia and Zhang Xiude continued.
Inside the Dongchang prison, Wei Zhongxian sat on a chair, drinking tea expressionlessly with a smug smile on his face.
My guess was correct. The Emperor was using Xiong Tingbi's case to stir up trouble for the people in the court. Let's see how you can impeach me, Old Wei, after this time.
At this time, Wei Zhongxian saw Sun Yunhe, the chief criminal officer of the East Factory, coming out.
Seeing Sun Yunhe's unhappy expression, Wei Zhongxian's face instantly darkened, and he asked in a somewhat cold voice, "Didn't you find out?"
Hearing Wei Zhongxian's words, Sun Yunhe's face was a little embarrassed, and he quickly bowed and said, "My lord, these people are very stubborn. I beat them for a long time, but it's still useless."
Sun Yunhe said hesitantly, "How about severe punishment?"
Facing Wei Zongxian, Sun Yunhe didn't dare to act rashly.
This person is extremely popular now, the most popular person in front of the current emperor, not to mention that this person is his immediate superior. Sun Yunhe can't curry favor with him enough!
Glaring at Sun Yunhe, Wei Zhongxian angrily cursed, "Waste!" Then, with a sullen face, he asked, "How is he?"
"He fainted." Sun Yunhe spoke again, his face still full of embarrassment.
Wei Zhongxian turned around a few times, then turned around abruptly, his face sinister and his eyes icy cold: "Can you endure the torture?"
Sun Yunhe hesitated for a long time before speaking: "These three people are very weak. If they are tortured, it is hard to say what will happen. They might even die."
"Waste!" Wei Zhongxian cursed again, saying angrily, "They can't die, but they must get a confession. They must reveal the mastermind behind this. I tell you, the Emperor is watching us. If we mess up this time, none of you will be safe. Go, continue the interrogation. We want a confession, but the man must be alive."
Although he complained in his heart, Sun Yunhe did not dare to refute or even say anything else. He could only say with a serious expression: "Don't worry, sir. The person is alive and we have obtained a confession."
After saying this, Sun Yunhe turned and walked into the prison.
The situation in the capital was chaotic and extremely complicated because Xiong Tingbi had caused a lot of trouble. However, Xiong Tingbi didn't know about this because he had already rushed to Shenyang at full speed.
Shenyang in February was still freezing cold, unlike the capital. A carriage creaked through the snow. Xiong Tingbi sat in the carriage, his hands stretched out over the stove to warm himself.
"Damn it! After all these years in Liaodi, my hometown is still the best." Just as he was complaining, Xiong Tingbi sneezed loudly and said dissatisfiedly, "If we don't fight a battle soon, I won't feel comfortable at all!"
"Sir, we're here." The accompanying personal guard said loudly.
"Finally, we're here. I've been feeling so suffocated these days." Xiong Tingbi muttered as he lifted the door curtain and jumped out of the car.
As soon as I got off the car, a group of officials surrounded me and asked me how I was doing.
"Mr. Xiong, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you?"
"Ahhh! Achoo!" Xiong Tingbi smelled the strange fragrance on the visitor and sneezed again. He moved aside calmly and said, "Not bad, not bad."
"Sir, please drink the hot soup. This is cooked by my wife herself." Another official opened the food box in his hand.
Xiong Tingbi took a closer look and saw that the bowl of chicken soup was still steaming. However, he never liked eating chicken, so he gave up without any interest.
A line of soldiers and horses emerged from Shenyang City, and a hearty laugh echoed from the city gate, "My lord, you've kept me waiting for so long."
Hearing the familiar voice, Xiong Tingbi's frown relaxed slightly. He broke away from the crowd and greeted him with a smile: "Brother Li."
The man called Li Xiandi by Xiong Tingbi was named Li Guangrong, and his official position was the general of Liaodong.
Although this person was the general of Liaodong, he served in Liaodong together with Li Ruzhen. It can be said that his status was far inferior to Li Ruzhen, or he was just a person with a tablet.
The court appointed Li Guangrong for a simple purpose, which was to split and check Li Ruzhen.
When Xiong Tingbi was in power, Li Guangrong was still valued by him, but as soon as Xiong Tingbi left, Li Guangrong was once again marginalized.
You must know that the Donglin Party relied on the Li family in Liaodong, and it was actually Li Ruzhen and the Donglin Party who got rid of Xiong Tingbi.
In history, Li Ruzhen had a close relationship with the Donglin Party. When the Qing army attacked Tieling, he failed to provide support, which led to the fall of Tieling and he was dismissed from office. In the early Tianqi period, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. In the fourth year of the Chongzhen period, Emperor Chongzhen, remembering Li Chengliang's meritorious service, specially spared his life and allowed him to join the army.
Li Ruzhen was imprisoned, but he was neither killed nor released. He was held as a hostage to prevent the Li family's old generals in Liaodong from causing chaos in Liaodong.
After Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the Donglin Party once again exerted its power, and Li Ruzhen was pardoned and released from prison to join the army.
For Li Ruzhen, this basically meant letting him go back. The army was his territory, and it was the Donglin Party that contributed here.
After Xiong Tingbi was driven away and Yuan Yingtai took over as the governor of Liaodong, the next step was naturally to bring Li Ruzhen back.
The Donglin Party could even shout out things like "Only Yuan Manzi can pacify Liao", let alone bringing back a Li Ruzhen?
However, in the original history, before the Donglin Party could start, Liaodong collapsed, Shenyang and Liaoyang fell, and Yuan Yingtai committed suicide, so there was naturally no way to get Li Ruzhen back.
Although it has not reached that point yet, Xiong Tingbi came to Liaodong to replace Yuan Yingtai, and Li Ruzhen was taken to the capital and imprisoned, so the Donglin Party’s arrangements in Liaodong were completely lost.
The happiest person here was naturally Li Guangrong. His chance had come again. He had been at odds with Yuan Yingtai for a long time. Now that Xiong Tingbi had come, he didn't bother to think too much and ran out to greet him.
Xiong Tingbi looked at Li Guangrong with a naturally happy expression on his face. With Li Rongguang around, he would be able to quickly stabilize the situation after arriving in Liaodong.
The two naturally had mixed feelings when they met. After a brief chat, Xiong Tingbi said directly: "Come on, accompany me to the Jinglüe Yamen."
This trip was naturally to convey the imperial edict and to complete the handover of duties. Only after completing this step could Xiong Tingbi officially take office as the governor of Liaodong and become the official highest military commander of Liaodong.
Xiong Tingbi was extremely anxious now and he didn't want to wait any longer.
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