On the 18th day of the first lunar month in the 26th year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen to deliver two oral instructions to Li Ruolian.
The content of the first oral order was to ask the Nanjing Jinyiwei to prepare to arrest Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi and others.
The content of the second oral order was to let the Fujian Jinyiwei prepare to capture Zheng Zhilong.
However, he only asked them to prepare in advance but did not tell them when to arrest them.
It also did not say what to do after the arrest.
After hearing these two sentences, Li Ruolian thought he had heard wrongly.
He asked, "Did Eunuch Wang convey the wrong instructions?"
Wang Chengen glared and said, "This is His Majesty's order. If you say one wrong word, you will lose your head. How could I convey it wrongly?"
“But isn’t this somewhat true?”
Wang Chengen asked, "What's wrong?"
Li Ruo Lian began to explain: "Your Majesty already knows that there is a traitor in the Nanjing Jinyiwei. If you want to successfully capture Xu Wenjue and others, you should send people from the capital to the south to catch them by surprise, instead of telling the Nanjing Jinyiwei the news."
"Once the traitors in Nanjing know this news, they will leak it out immediately. By the time they are prepared, we won't be able to catch them even if we send more people from the capital."
"The same logic applies to arresting Zheng Zhilong in Fujian!"
"Haha," Wang Chengen smiled faintly, imitating Chongzhen's behavior: "Commander Li is indeed a little smart, but not smart enough."
Li Ruo Lian stood there and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "What Eunuch Wang meant was... Your Majesty doesn't really want to arrest them, but wants them to know that Your Majesty wants to arrest them?"
"Haha," Wang Chengen smiled faintly again: "I dare not speculate on your majesty's will. Commander Li, please make arrangements quickly and don't delay your majesty's important matters."
"As you wish." Li Ruolian bowed and left quickly.
On the way back to the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen met the chief minister of the cabinet, Xie Sanbin.
He was holding an exquisite wooden box, which seemed to contain something very precious.
Wang Chengen stopped and asked, "Master Xie, what is this?"
"I have something important to report to your majesty."
"Your Majesty is ill and cannot meet you. If you have anything to say, just tell me and I will convey it to you."
Xie Sanbin had no choice but to hand the wooden box to Wang Chengen and said, "North Korea has sent another envoy, asking Your Majesty to send troops to Korea to wipe out the Jiannu."
Wang Chengen pointed at the box and asked, "What's in here?"
"Inside is a century-old mountain ginseng, a tribute from the King of Korea."
"It's really rare for him to be so filial," Wang Chengen held the box in his hand, "Don't worry, I will tell your majesty every word."
When Chongzhen saw the old mountain ginseng, the pain in his waist suddenly disappeared.
However, he only accepted the gift and did not agree to the King of Korea's request.
Time quickly came to the end of March.
At this time, the struggle in the court had reached a fever pitch.
Unlike previous party struggles, this time it was a war between the North and the South.
The Nanjing court united to deal with the Beijing court.
The most obvious example is the appointment and removal of officials.
When an official from a certain place leaves office for various reasons.
The Beijing court, under the banner of Chongzhen, recommended Official A to take up the post.
The Nanjing court recommended Official B to take up the post in the name of Prince Regent Zhu Cilang.
Since neither side would give in, it was impossible to decide on a candidate.
Where there are no local officials, signs of chaos will soon appear.
Fortunately, there is no war and no need to levy additional taxes.
The impact on people's lives was not that great.
On the first day of April, Qian Qianyi received a handwritten letter from Zheng Zhilong.
After reading the contents of the letter, Qian Qianyi became a little restless.
Zheng Zhilong told him in the letter that Chongzhen asked the Fujian Jinyiwei to be prepared to arrest him at any time.
Because he had his people in the Fujian Jinyiwei, he knew about this.
In the letter, he threatened Qian Qianyi if he did not help him come up with a plan to survive this disaster.
Once caught, he will drag everyone down with him.
After reading the contents of the letter, Qian Qianyi began to feel scared.
He knew that Zheng Zhilong was telling the truth.
Because the Jinyiwei in Nanjing also told him some time ago that their superiors had asked them to be prepared to arrest Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi and others at any time.
In other words...
The Ming Emperor Chongzhen did not intend to let these people go, but to solve the problem in his own way.
If Zheng Zhilong cannot be saved, he and many others will be implicated.
What to do?
After thinking for a long time, Qian Qianyi decided to discuss it with Liu Kongzhao.
Still the same old place.
Qian Qianyi brought Ma Shiying, and Liu Kongzhao brought Zhu Guobi.
Before they sat down, Zhu Guobi said proudly: "Mr. Qian has figured it out!"
Qian Qianyi snorted coldly: "If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb!"
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything." Zhu Guobi immediately shut up, sat on the chair and started sipping tea.
After they sat down, Qian Qianyi asked first: "Have you contacted Zheng Zhilong?"
Liu Kongzhao did not hide it and admitted: "We are all guilty people. We can only protect ourselves by uniting together."
Qian Qianyi was silent for a moment and then asked: "Tell me, what do you want to do?"
"We don't want to do anything but save our lives."
"Save your life?" Qian Qianyi sneered: "No one can save your life, not even the prince."
Liu Kongzhao stared into Qian Qianyi's eyes: "What about after the crown prince ascends the throne? Isn't that possible?"
"You want to hold the prince hostage for rebellion?"
"I didn't say that."
"Your intentions are obvious."
Seeing that Liu Kongzhao refused to admit it, Qian Qianyi continued to persuade him: "The sky of the Ming Dynasty has not yet fallen. You will surely die now."
Looking at Qian Qianyi's serious expression, Liu Kongzhao knew that Qian Qianyi would not rebel easily.
Without the help of civil officials, his chances of success were absolutely zero.
He sighed and said, "I don't want to rebel, I just want to save my life. As for what to do, please help me find a way to survive."
Qian Qianyi was in a difficult situation.
He didn't want to care about the life and death of the Nanjing nobles.
However, Liu Kongzhao, Zhu Guobi and others contacted Zheng Zhilong and reached an offensive and defensive alliance.
Once the Nanjing nobles fall, Zheng Zhilong, who has lost his allies, will fall sooner or later.
If he falls, he will drag everyone down with him.
In other words, helping the Nanjing nobles is helping themselves.
But the nobles of Nanjing had committed capital crimes, how could they be allowed to live?
Qian Qianyi, who had been dragged into the water, was in a dilemma.
After thinking for a long time, Qian Qianyi suddenly had an idea in his mind.
He stood up and said, "I have come up with a plan. I wonder if you two would like to hear it."
Liu Kongzhao and Zhu Guobi stood up and saluted at the same time: "Mr. Qian, please speak."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
