In broad daylight, someone actually tried to assassinate the current emperor!
This is intolerable!
Pang Zijin, the lieutenant general of the Yongwei Camp who stayed behind in the capital, shouted, "Li Zuo, you lead the people to chase the assassin, and I will escort His Majesty back to the palace."
After saying that, he came to Chongzhen with a shield in hand, protecting the emperor as he quickly moved towards the imperial city.
There are four battalions in the Yongwei Camp, each with 3,000 men.
Five people form a group with a group leader; two groups form a squad with a squad leader; two squads form a team with a team leader; five teams form a sentry with a sentry leader; ten sentries form a general with a thousand-man general; five generals form a battalion with a battalion general.
Li Zuo is a captain under Pang Zijin. He originally had 500 men under his command. However, as most of them were transferred out of the capital to suppress bandits, he now only has a little over 100 men under his command.
He glanced at Pang Zijin with gratitude and replied loudly, "I obey your command!"
Based on the direction from which the sound of breaking air came, and taking a glance at the location where Wang Chengen was shot, Li Fei led his men to chase in two groups.
One group chased towards the residence of the nobles, while the other group searched the area where the officials lived.
Li Zuo and his men ran for a few steps and stopped in front of a mansion.
Duke Ding's Mansion...
There are five dukes in the Ming Dynasty: Duke of Yingguo Zhang Shize, Duke of Qianguo Mu Tianbo, Duke of Chengguo Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Weiguo Xu Wenjue, and Duke of Dingguo Xu Yunzhen.
Judging from the sound, one of the sounds of breaking through the air came from here.
What to do? Go in or not?
It would be fine if we rushed in and found the assassin.
If the assassin cannot be found, he will definitely be charged with trespassing into the Duke's mansion. At that time, he will be exiled at the least and beheaded at the worst.
Just as he was hesitating, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and faint human voices were heard.
There is no doubt that the people from the Five Cities Military and Imperial Guards must have come. The news of the emperor's assassination spread quickly. If they came early, it would be fine. If they came late, not only would they not get any credit, they would even be impeached and punished.
Looking at the closed door of Duke Dingguo's Mansion, Li Zuo gritted his teeth.
There are at most two assassins, and capturing just one of them would be a huge achievement.
Your rise to fame and fortune begins today, get started!
After thinking this through, he waved his hand and said, "Surround them!"
More than fifty soldiers quickly surrounded the Duke Dingguo's mansion.
After the Jinyiwei and Wucheng Bingmasi arrived from afar, Li Zuo commanded them to surround the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, then withdrew his men, and came to the gate of the mansion and knocked on it.
The nobles were very busy, packing up their gold, silver and treasures in preparation to follow the prince to Nanjing.
The journey is long and difficult, and it is uncertain whether they can return to the capital, so they want to take away all their valuables.
After waiting for a while, a middle-aged man dressed as a servant opened the door and showed his head.
He stared at the more than fifty fully-armed soldiers in front of him and was stunned for a moment. Then his face turned cold and he said coldly: "Who are you? Do you know where this place is?
"Yes, Duke Dingguo's Mansion."
"You know this, but you still dare to act rashly? If you have nothing to do, please disperse quickly. I will not report this to the Duke!"
Li Zuo said solemnly: "I am Li Zuo, the captain of the Yongwei Battalion. When I was escorting His Majesty back to the palace, I encountered an assassin. According to the clues, I found that the assassin appeared nearby. Please open the door and let us go in to search."
Li Zuo had served in the capital for many years, and he knew very well what he could say and what he could not say.
First, he only guessed that the assassin was hiding in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion based on the sound of breaking air.
Secondly, even if he saw the assassin's location with his own eyes, he couldn't say anything for sure.
His Majesty has been assassinated, and according to regulations they have the right to search.
One can do things within the scope of his power. As long as he does not go beyond the limit, no one, even the Lord, can punish him.
The middle-aged servant frowned at first, but when he saw the tiger head painted on Li Zuo’s chest armor, he realized that these people were the emperor’s imperial guards: the Yongwei Battalion.
He put away his previous arrogant attitude, but his expression was still as calm as before: "Please wait a moment, I will reply after asking Duke Dingguo for instructions."
After saying this, he was about to close the door and say goodbye to the guests.
Li Zuo stepped forward and put his foot against the door. "Reply?"
Li Zuo sneered, "Your Majesty was assassinated on his way back to the palace, and we were ordered to track down the assassin. What you just said was a notification, not a discussion. Get out of the way!"
He pushed the middle-aged servant away, opened the door and rushed in with his men.
Seeing someone dare to break into the Duke's Mansion, more than 40 people picked up their weapons and surrounded him. Some used swords, some used bows and crossbows, and some even pointed muskets at Li Zuo.
These are the servants employed by Duke Dingguo's mansion. All of them are strong and healthy and receive a lot of training.
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tense.
The soldiers of the Brave Guards were not afraid at all, they gathered together to form a small array, the outermost layer holding shields, the middle infantry holding swords and spears facing the outside, and the innermost archers and firearms soldiers holding their weapons ready to go.
"This is the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, how dare you act rashly?" The middle-aged servant had a cold face and a threatening tone.
Li Zuo estimated the number of people on both sides and said coldly, "The Great Ming Law stipulates that if civilians privately possess prohibited military weapons such as vests, side plates, fire guns, cannons, flags, and banners, they will be punished with 80 strokes of the cane for each item, and one level higher for each item. If they privately manufacture and possess them, the crime will be increased by one level, with 100 strokes of the cane and exile for 3,000 miles. Those who do not complete the whole thing will not be punished and may be ordered to surrender to the authorities."
Li Zuo didn't lie.
The Ming Dynasty had extremely strict control over armor and firearms, but there were not many requirements for swords, as long as the quantity was not excessive, it would not matter.
Although the control over firearms was now in name only, Li Zuo had the upper hand in legal terms.
The middle-aged servant's expression suddenly changed when he looked at the distinctive armor on the Brave Guard Battalion, the sophisticated weapons in their hands, and felt the murderous aura emanating from them.
He smiled and waved to the servants to leave, then walked slowly to Li Zuo and whispered, "Li Qianzong, I'm just a gatekeeper at the Duke's Mansion, and I really can't make the decision on some things. If you insist on investigating, I won't stop you, but I'll say it in advance. You will bear the consequences yourself."
"Thank you!" Li Zuo gave a look, and his soldiers immediately dispersed their formation and began to search carefully.
Duke Dingguo Xu Yunzhen, who received the news, arrived late.
He came to the front yard with two servants and frowned when he saw Li Zuo.
An ominous premonition came over me.
His Majesty was assassinated, and the Brave Guards were ordered to search his residence.
Is it a coincidence or intentional?
What happened to Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen today has spread throughout the capital. Although it is partly his own fault, Your Majesty's attitude speaks for itself.
He is going to take action against the nobles.
As he was about to leave Beijing, Xu Yunzhen didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Seeing Duke Dingguo standing there without saying anything, Li Zuo stepped forward and bowed, "Li Zuo from the Yongwei Battalion greets Duke Dingguo."
Xu Yunzhen asked worriedly, "Is your Majesty okay?"
"I dare not say more. The Duke will know the answer if he goes to the palace and asks."
Xu Yunzhen understood immediately. He smiled and took out a cloth bag from his sleeve, then threw it to the ground at lightning speed.
Then he picked up the cloth bag and handed it to Li Zuo, saying with a smile: "Mr. Li Qian, your things have fallen."
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