The tenth day of the twelfth lunar month in the twenty-fifth year of Chongzhen.
The Duke's Mansion of the State of Wei.
"Master, there is a letter from the capital!" The housekeeper came hurriedly to the door of Xu Wenjue's room with a messenger.
Xu Wenjue slowly picked up the teapot, poured a cup of hot tea into the cup, and then slowly said, "Come in."
The door opened and the butler came in with the messenger.
Xu Wenjue took a sip of hot tea and asked, "Is there any new news from the capital?"
"Yes!" The messenger held the letter in both hands and handed it to Xu Wenjue: "Your Majesty has come to court."
"What?" The teacup in Xu Wenjue's hand was unstable and fell to the ground and shattered.
It was hard for him not to be surprised when Chongzhen suddenly went to court after not attending for five months.
After being shocked, Xu Wenjue opened the envelope to check the contents of the letter and asked, "When did it happen?"
"The first day of the twelfth lunar month."
Xu Wenjue continued to ask: "What did His Majesty say in the court?"
"Your Majesty didn't say anything, but Shi Kefa said a lot."
"What did Shi Kefa say? He..." Xu Wenjue stopped talking abruptly.
Because he saw the corresponding content in the letter.
In front of Chongzhen and all the civil and military officials in the court, Shi Kefa impeached him for privately minting the Ming Yuanbao.
Looking at the black words on the white paper, Xu Wenjue felt a chill on his back and his whole body.
He thought he had done it covertly enough, but he was still discovered.
This is a capital crime.
But he doesn't want to die...
what to do?
Xu Wenjue was at a loss for a moment.
After a while, Xu Wenjue stood up and began to change his clothes.
He was not the only one who privately minted the Ming Yuanbao coins, so he had to find other accomplices to discuss countermeasures.
Almost at the same time.
Zhu Guobi, Marquis of Funing, Liu Kongzhao, Earl of Chengyi, Zhao Zhilong, Earl of Xincheng, and Liu Zuochang, Marquis of Anyuan, also received the same news.
They were shocked and immediately contacted each other to plot.
An hour later.
Everyone gathered in a very secluded courtyard.
After they sat down, Zhao Zhilong began to complain: "I didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing at first, but you guys insisted on dragging me into it. Now the truth has been exposed! When the court finds out the truth, we will all die!"
Zhu Guobi snorted coldly: "Don't say those useless things! You said you didn't participate, but when the money was divided, I didn't see you take a penny less."
Zhao Zhilong also snorted coldly: "I invested the capital and took the risk, why should I get less money?"
Zhu Guobi smiled: "Yes, you invested money and took risks, and you still say you don't want to participate?"
"You..." Zhao Zhilong was speechless.
"That's enough," Liu Kongzhao said with a look of disdain, "I've already taken the money, what else is there to say? The most urgent thing is to think of a way to deal with this matter."
"Handle it?" Xu Wenjue smiled. "The Minister of Rites Shi Kefa impeached us in front of His Majesty and all the civil and military officials. Do you think we can handle it?"
Liu Kongzhao shook his head gently: "Don't be too firm in your words. Whether we can handle it depends on your majesty's wishes."
"Haha!" Xu Wenjue's laughter was full of sarcasm. "It's not like you didn't see the contents of the letter. His Majesty meant to set up a joint trial of the three judicial departments! If His Majesty hadn't fainted in the court, the officials of the three judicial departments would have been on their way. You don't think His Majesty intends to spare us, do you?"
Liu Kongzhao exhaled heavily and stopped talking.
Of course he knew that Chongzhen would not forgive them.
The reason I said that was because I wanted Xu Wenjue to make things clear.
Only in this way can other people become aware of the problem.
As expected.
After listening to Xu Wenjue's analysis, Zhu Guobi, Zhao Zhilong and Liu Zuochang frowned at the same time.
After a moment, Zhu Guobi, who had the strongest desire to survive, asked first: "Now that things have come to this, what should we do next?"
"Confess your guilt!" Zhao Zhilong suggested, "As long as we honestly confess our guilt to His Majesty, His Majesty will probably give us a lighter sentence because of the merits of our ancestors."
Liu Zuochang, who had been silent, also nodded and said, "That's right, Your Majesty is not a heartless person. As long as you confess your guilt, you will be forgiven."
"Haha!" Liu Kongzhao laughed: "Duke Cheng Zhu Chunchen and Marquis Yang Xue Lian also thought so back then, what was the result?"
When everyone's eyes were focused on him, Liu Kongzhao deliberately sighed: "Ah! They both died tragically!"
The others were stunned at first, then nodded at the same time.
In fact, the examples of Zhu Chunchen and Xue Lian show that Chongzhen was a heartless person.
Especially to these nobles.
Kill if you can, never let go.
Now they privately mint Ming Yuanbao coins.
According to Ming Dynasty law, he should be sentenced to death by hanging.
Given Chongzhen's character, I'm afraid he won't let them go.
In other words...
If you don't resist, you will surely die.
When they realized the problem, everyone fell silent.
"What should we do?" Zhu Guobi, who had the strongest desire to survive, asked again.
Xu Wenjue spread his hands and said, "Even if you confess, you won't be pardoned. What else can you do?"
Zhu Guobi thought for a moment and said tentatively: "You mean...resistance?"
Xu Wenjue kept his hands open, tilted his head and asked, "What else? Wait to die?"
"But the question is... how to resist?" Zhu Guobi said with great concern: "Even if we confess our crimes and are not pardoned, at most a few of us will die. If the resistance fails, it won't just be a few people who will die, but all three clans of ours!"
"Let me ask everyone present here, what can we use to resist? How can we defeat His Majesty?"
Zhu Guobi's questions touched everyone's souls.
If you want to resist, you must use military force.
They do have some soldiers, but not many in number and their combat effectiveness is average.
All the money added together is not enough for Li Dingguo to fill his teeth.
These are secondary.
The main reason is that he has no official origin.
After all, this world belongs to the Zhu family.
Even if they have an army of one million, they cannot get the response and support of the people of the world.
Without the support of the people, there will be no mass base.
Sooner or later, you will be defeated.
Liu Kongzhao saw Zhu Guobi's worry, and he said in a deep voice: "Don't think about rebelling alone, that will only make us die faster."
Zhu Guobi turned his head and asked seriously: "What do you mean?"
"Isn't the prince in Nanjing? We can get him to rebel with us!"
Zhu Guobi widened his eyes: "This...I'm afraid this won't work?"
"Why not?"
"The prince is the heir to the throne, the future emperor. There is no need for him to rebel!"
"Do you know that there are rumors in the capital that the prince is smuggling to the Jiannu? If your majesty takes it seriously, the prince will have no choice but to rebel!"
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