"I will arrange it right away!"
Wang Chengen hurried out of the hall, found a clean set of guard uniform, and brought it back for Chongzhen to change into.
He didn't dare let Chongzhen wear eunuch's clothes, as that would undermine the emperor's dignity.
After changing clothes, Chongzhen and Wang Chengen squeezed into a carriage and went to the imperial prison.
The Jinyiwei Prison was not located inside the imperial city, but northwest of Zhengyang Gate in the inner city.
The straight-line distance to the imperial city is less than three miles.
To be cautious, the news of Chongzhen leaving the palace was not to be exposed.
Wang Chengen only brought a hundred guards with him, and arranged some soldiers from the Yongwei Camp in plain clothes along the way.
In the darkness of night, the carriage moved very fast.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the gate of Jinyiwei Prison.
"Stop, this is a restricted area for the Imperial Guards, no one is allowed to enter... So it's Eunuch Wang, what brings you here?"
When the Jinyiwei on duty saw that the person coming was Wang Chengen, his attitude suddenly changed 180 degrees.
Wang Chengen raised his proud head and looked arrogant.
As the emperor's closest eunuch, he has the right to be so arrogant.
"This is..." The Jinyiwei looked at the guard behind Wang Chengen.
Chongzhen was wearing a guard's uniform and armor, with an iron helmet on his head, and followed behind Wang Chengen with his head lowered.
Wang Chengen smiled coldly: "What? Is there something wrong?"
“I dare not, I dare not!” The Jinyiwei on duty did not dare to ask more questions when he heard Wang Chengen’s cold voice.
Not only could he not afford to offend Wang Chengen, even the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard did not dare to say anything more to Wang Chengen.
After all, Wang Chengen would be half an emperor once he walked to that palace gate!
After receiving the news, Wang Guoxing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, did not dare to delay and hurried out with his men to greet them.
"Eunuch Wang, how are you? What brings you here?"
Wang Chengen glanced at Wang Guoxing, then looked back at the Jinyiwei just now, and shook his head in dissatisfaction: "You Jinyiwei are so boring, you all say the same thing."
Wang Guoxing chuckled and let Wang Chengen and Chongzhen, who was disguised as a guard, in.
"I won't drink tea." Wang Chengen stopped at an intersection and said calmly, "I heard that Li Chuang's general Liu Fangliang was escorted to Beijing. We want to meet him."
"This..." Wang Guoxing looked embarrassed.
Although the Jinyiwei had great power, their jobs were difficult to perform.
Take Liu Fangliang as an example. After Li Xingzhong came to Beijing, he handed Liu Fangliang over to the Jinyiwei.
Nothing could happen to Liu Fangliang before the emperor gave the order.
If something goes wrong, all the responsibility will be borne by the Jinyiwei.
You'll lose your head!
"Let me ask you a question. Did Eunuch Wang come with a decree from His Majesty?"
Wang Chengen complained in his heart: Is Wang Guoxing stupid? Not only did I bring the imperial edict, I even brought His Majesty with me!
Of course he would not admit it, but just said casually: "No, I just want to see what the bandits look like."
This...is difficult to deal with without any decree!
Looking at the eunuch in front of him who was deeply trusted by the emperor, Wang Guoxing was somewhat hesitant.
Agree, I'm afraid something might happen to Liu Fangliang.
I don't agree, for fear of offending Wang Chengen.
"What? Are you afraid that I will kill Liu Fangliang?" Wang Chengen asked sarcastically.
"I dare not, I dare not!"
Wang Chengen was afraid that Chongzhen would be anxious, so he pressed the issue, "Are you going to let me see you? Just give me a straight answer!"
"This... I... Eunuch Wang, wait a moment. I cannot make the decision on this matter. I need to consult the commander-in-chief."
"Why don't you go now?"
Wang Guoxing turned around, pouted, and sent someone to deliver a letter to Li Ruolian.
Li Ruolian had just left the imperial prison. After receiving the news from Wang Guoxing, he squinted his eyes and thought for a while.
He had already guessed it in his mind.
"Tell Wang Guoxing that Eunuch Wang is a close minister to His Majesty. He can see whoever he wants to see, and no one is allowed to stop him. There is no time limit, and no one is allowed to listen in."
"I will tell you right away!"
It was around midnight when I saw Liu Fangliang.
In the depressing cell, the lights flickered.
The cells in the imperial prison were not all as dark, damp, and full of insects and rats as they were in movies and TV dramas.
Some of the cells are not only dry and odor-free, but also very comfortable to live in.
The cell where Liu Fangliang lived was of this type.
Because he was a serious criminal of the imperial court, he was kept in solitary confinement in an isolated area.
Chongzhen walked out of the cell and looked at Liu Fangliang lying on the ground.
A general in the past, a prisoner today.
Although his appearance was still as majestic as ever, his condition was very bad.
His pale face was stained with dried blood, and his eyes and brows showed fatigue.
Chongzhen looked for a while, then turned around and sat on the chair prepared by Wang Chengen.
He turned his back to Liu Fangliang and asked, "Is that Liu Fangliang in prison?"
Liu Fangliang closed his eyes and did not answer.
"I am here to ask you a question." Chongzhen said again.
This time Liu Fangliang did not remain indifferent, but took a deep breath and sat up.
Although he rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, when he learned that the Ming Emperor had something to ask him, he decided to give the other party a certain amount of respect.
Um?
What caught my eye was the back of a chair and a figure.
It’s just the back view, it doesn’t matter!
Liu Fangliang sat on the ground and asked calmly, "Who are you?"
"Like you, we are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty!"
Liu Fangliang shook his body, raised his head and looked carefully at the back.
After a moment, he shook his head to deny his previous guess, and said: "I am the Great Shunci Marquis, the General of the Left Camp, not a citizen of the Ming Dynasty!"
Chongzhen said in a low voice: "You are a Ming citizen in life and a Ming ghost in death. Your experience as a bandit in between is not worth mentioning."
Liu Fangliang was about to retort when Chongzhen interrupted him: "I am here to ask you, Liu Fangliang, why did you rebel?"
"Natural disasters and man-made calamities have left the people in dire straits. If they don't rebel, they will either starve to death or be forced to death by officials investigating taxes. If it were you, would you not rebel?"
"You can eat and drink enough after the rebellion, why don't you surrender to the court, but continue to rebel?" Chongzhen continued to ask.
Liu Fangliang's calm mood was disturbed by these words. "As long as corrupt officials are still around, we will not surrender! Moreover, there are still many people starving in the world. We must save the people from danger!"
Chongzhen sneered, and his powerful aura made Liu Fangliang feel a little cold.
"Do you believe what you just said? Why are bandits called bandits? They use the banner of equal distribution of land and exemption of grain tax to commit rape and looting!"
"They are just a few individuals! Our Dashun army has strict military discipline and we do not harm anyone wherever we go!" Liu Fangliang argued stiffly.
Chongzhen snorted coldly and decided to change the subject.
Liu Fangliang still has certain illusions about "Dashun", and we must help him break his illusions and face reality.
"I am here to ask you, how long do you think the so-called Dashun can last?"
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