The capital was shaken and everyone was terrified.

When the state apparatus is fully operational, life seems extremely fragile in front of it.

Last night’s killing was just an appetizer. Most of these people were killed immediately if they showed the slightest resistance during the capture process.

The orders of the Jinyiwei were very clear, but anyone who the Jinyiwei considered to have a resistance mentality would be killed on the spot. The main reason for this was that there were too many people involved, and some unimportant people did not need to take up space in the cells of the imperial prison.

When the imperial prison could no longer accommodate people, they could only be sent to the Five Cities Military Division.

After all, the imperial prison was located in the Jinyiwei Yamen, inside the imperial palace, and the dungeon was not big. It was mainly used to arrest important people, mainly officials.

Those who can go to the imperial prison are considered to have a certain status and position.

The bodies of those who were beheaded were dealt with by the Wucheng Bingmasi.

According to statistics, nearly a thousand people died tragically that night, and these people were merely incidental and were not even counted in the case files.

The news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was assassinated began to spread throughout the capital.

"His Royal Highness is such a good person, how could someone want to assassinate him?"

"Yes, that is a great Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering. I heard that the Heroes Chamber of Commerce was founded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Really? I was wondering why the salary was so high. It turned out to be the idea of ​​His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is such a good person."

"I escaped from the plague in my hometown of Henan. My relatives wrote to me saying that His Royal Highness went to Henan in person and suppressed the plague. The plague had to avoid His Royal Highness when they saw him."

"What are you talking about? It didn't take a detour, it just dissipated. His Royal Highness is the reincarnation of the god in heaven, and he is blessed by the gods and Buddhas of freedom. When the plague sees him, it will retreat."

"That makes sense, but I have some news that you may not know."

"What's the news? Tell me quickly."

"Hurry up and tell me. There's no difference between keeping someone on suspense and cutting off their financial resources."

"Hehe, you don't know, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, that's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's eldest son. Before this, no one had ever heard of him, because he had passed away ten years ago."

"But God couldn't stand it anymore. On the night of the burial, the stars in the Xiaoling Mausoleum changed dramatically, and the earth dragon rolled over, saving His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"This is a true resurrection from the dead, but he lost his memory after his resurrection, which led to him wandering outside for more than ten years. It was only in recent months that His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan found him."

"Oh my god, is what you said true? It turns out that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really a person favored by God."

"It's incredible, but it's true that I have never heard of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the past ten years. So it's somewhat true."

"That is somewhat true, but it is really true and there is no falsehood at all."

Discussions about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince quickly became a hot topic throughout the capital. In this age without communications, news spread through word of mouth.

The popularity of the Xiaoling Mausoleum in the past few months made it known to almost everyone in the streets and alleys of the capital, and this time the revelations were easily accepted by the people.

Of course, such revelations were not spread casually. Within half a day, most people in the capital knew about it. The Jinyiwei had contributed greatly to this.

Zhu Yuanzhang's secret manipulation was also indispensable.

In terms of reputation, Zhu Yuanzhang has been able to survive to this day. Even with all kinds of massacres, he still has such a high reputation among the grassroots people and is supported by the majority of people. His methods are evident.

As the suspects were arrested, the routine three-judicial trial began.

Of course, this is just a process, and the main target group is foreign officials.

The most miserable among them were the foreign officials from Japan and Champa.

The foreign ministers of these two countries were directly implicated.

In July of this year, foreign officials from Japan came and wanted to start tribute trade with the Ming Dynasty, but they were always rejected.

Not to mention Champa.

Twenty-three years before the Hongwu reign, there had been several instances of tribute trade, but after that, they had always been the target of attacks because of disrupting the border.

This incident is a good opportunity to use them as a scapegoat.

There were not many officials involved, not even a hundred.

Most of these officials received intelligence provided by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce, and to a large extent, they are the masterminds behind those chambers of commerce.

Among them, officials from the Jiangnan region accounted for as much as 80%.

The interrogation was simple, just a few questions, and that was it.

No signatures or seals are required. It is enough for the three courts to record the process. Even the confession can be omitted.

Under Zhu Yuanzhang's instruction, this case regarding the assassination of the crown prince must be handled quickly.

The case must be closed within three days.

No one dared to disobey such an order, so there could not be any in-depth investigation.

It was not until the morning of the third day that thousands of people were pushed toward the square outside Chengtian Gate.

This was the square where the Crown Prince’s enthronement ceremony and military parade took place.

As always, there were huge crowds of people, and each had a large area of ​​crying.

Rows of prisoners were dressed in prison uniforms, waiting to be beheaded in public at 3:30 p.m.

According to the superiors, it was impossible for the number to be less than three thousand, so the total number of people beheaded today was three thousand six hundred and ninety-seven.

Without exception, all were sentenced to death and executed immediately.

This is hard to imagine in the capital, or even in the entire Ming Dynasty. On just the third day, the assassination case of the crown prince was solved like this.

It is the fastest speed in history.

"The auspicious time has arrived, execution!!!"

With a shout, the execution began.

At this moment, in Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying looked at the memorial in front of him and did not write for a long time.

Looking at the sky, Zhu Ying knew that there were more than 3,000 people outside the palace. Because of his tragic death, Zhu Ying could not bear it after all.

When he was in the Western Regions, he dared to return alone and killed hundreds of enemy bandits.

They also dared to fight to the death with foreign races on the grassland.

However, such bloody means were extremely normal in ancient times, and even the common people who watched did not think there was anything special about them.

Many of the prisoners who were executed cursed Gu Shuanggui instead of Zhu Yuanzhang, let alone Zhu Ying.

However, Zhu Ying felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Your Highness, please have some longan and lotus seed soup."

Ye Yueqing held the bowl of soup and spoke softly.

Zhu Ying hesitated slightly, took it and drank it all in one gulp. The depression in his heart then slightly dissipated.

He knew very well in his heart that what the old man said was right.

In this day and age, it is necessary to maintain the royal dignity, maintain the ruling status of the Zhu family, and maintain the supreme authority of the emperor.

Those who have offended must pay a painful price in blood.

Only in this way can officials and people develop a sense of awe.

In fact, if Zhu Yuanzhang had not been concerned about his eldest grandson's thoughts, this assassination attempt would have involved not just thousands of people, but probably tens of thousands of people, before his anger would be appeased.

It was Zhu Ying who didn't understand. After years on the battlefield, he had long since become indifferent to life and death, and to innocent involvement.

What matters is the final result.

As for the process, it doesn't matter.

This is the emperor, the real emperor.

When the emperor is angry, millions of people will die.

In later generations it is just an idiom, but today it is a real thing, with rivers of blood flowing.

And the people have long been accustomed to it.

"What is Grandpa doing? Is he at Chengtian Gate, watching the beheading?"

Zhu Ying asked.

Ye Yueqing shook her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty is in the Qianqing Palace right now."

Zhu Ying immediately understood the meaning.

As usual, the old man would be in the Huagai Palace, handling government affairs, but at this time, he was obviously waiting for him.

After a slight hesitation, Zhu Ying stood up and walked towards the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go and see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Your Majesty, I feel very uncomfortable when I see you like this."

In the Qianqing Palace, Liu He persuaded His Majesty.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head slightly and said, "I can protect my grandson for a while, but I can't protect him forever. In the future, he will have to shoulder the responsibility of governing the Ming Dynasty himself."

"Some things can only be handled by my grandson himself. I am old now, and I just want my grandson to grow up quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was filled with deep regret.

He had trained his eldest son for thirty-seven years, and in all aspects, he was already the best heir. As emperor, much of his power had been delegated to his eldest son.

But who could have thought that at such an age, when he was already half buried in the ground, he would end up seeing his loved ones die.

The eldest grandson is very outstanding.

But in some aspects, there are still some shortcomings.

In fact, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, personal excellence is not the most important key to being an emperor.

The principle of balance and royal dignity are the factors that Zhu Yuanzhang values.

There is never a shortage of smart people in the Ming Dynasty. What is crucial is how to control them, make them loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the Zhu family, and let the Ming Dynasty be passed down for thousands of years and the national prosperity prolong.

So at this point, Zhu Yuanzhang was very clear that he could not comfort his eldest grandson and had to endure this experience on his own.

As an emperor, sometimes you have to be ruthless.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had no intention of reviewing memorials or handling government affairs, so he just waited patiently in the Qianqing Palace, the place closest to his eldest grandson.

At this time, footsteps were heard.

The familiar voice made Zhu Yuanzhang immediately realize that it was his eldest grandson who came.

Without any hesitation, Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and saw that it was indeed his eldest grandson.

"Grandpa, I'm sorry to have made you worried."

Zhu Ying bowed and said sincerely.

Some words don't need to be said in detail, and you can understand their meaning naturally.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Why should we worry? I believe that this matter will not bother our eldest grandson too much."

"I won't tell you the truth, he will understand it. It's almost time for dinner now. I heard that you didn't eat breakfast today. You must be hungry."

"We have already asked the Guanglu Division to prepare the food. Liu He, why don't you hurry up and have someone deliver the food over."

Liu He quickly said, "I obey your order."

Then he immediately trotted out to pass on the message.

At this moment, a smile also appeared on Liu He's face.

Naturally, he was very happy to see His Majesty and the Crown Prince happy.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson carefully, nodded secretly, and then walked to the desk, took a few files, handed them to his eldest grandson and said, "These are the files of your fourth uncle, your cousin Li Jinglong, and Yunwen."

"Take a good look at it. If you have any ideas, just tell me."

These files were naturally recorded by the Jinyiwei and Liu He.

No one would find assassination attempts easy. When it comes to the succession to the throne, it is naturally impossible for Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen to completely avoid suspicion.

Necessary inquiries are inevitable.

Zhu Ying nodded, took the file and looked through it carefully.

In fact, Zhu Ying also wanted to know whether Prince of Yan Zhu Di was involved in this.

Zhu Di was Zhu Ying's first suspect, and only he had the ability or the means to do so.

Although Zhu Ying did not suppress Zhu Di too thoroughly since entering the palace, apart from transferring the key figure Yao Guangxiao, he did not take any major actions.

But this does not mean that Zhu Ying is completely confident in Zhu Di.

Zhu Di in history also seemed to be forced, but there is a saying that goes, if the king wants his subject to die, the subject must die.

Zhu Di, who violated the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, did not have a good reputation.

Zhu Ying first read the files about Zhu Yunwen, and the key naturally lay in Huang Zicheng.

However, according to the investigation of the Jinyiwei, although Huang Zicheng was a certain suspicion, fundamentally, he had no connection with other crimes.

Huang Zicheng had a pretty good relationship with the literati in Jiangnan. This was the main point, but that was all.

Before and after the incident, Huang Zicheng was almost always in the Hanlin Academy, working with many Hanlin scholars to compile new classics.

This is also what Zhu Ying meant before.

Zhu Ying also believed that neither Zhu Yunwen nor Huang Zicheng had the ability or the courage to do so.

The key lies in Zhu Di.

Judging from the files, there was nothing suspicious about Zhu Di.

Including Li Jinglong.

Li Jinglong's behavior in the recent period was recorded in great detail in the files. He did have some contact with literati in the south of the Yangtze River, but according to feedback, he was mainly serving as a lobbyist for Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

To win over officials who were sent to overseas fiefdoms for Zhu Di.

The scholar, who was usually ignored by everyone, became the treasure of the princes at this time.

After reading the file, Zhu Ying understood clearly.

This matter seems to have nothing to do with Zhu Di.

Although he was somewhat surprised that those people from the Chamber of Commerce actually wanted to assassinate him, he had no choice but to say something when the facts were in front of him.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson who put down the file, with a smile on his face.

Zhu Ying and the old man looked at each other and immediately understood.

The old man's meaning is very clear.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Ying said, "It seems that this matter has nothing to do with Fourth Uncle and Yun Wen."

Zhu Ying knew in his heart that at this moment the old man was handing Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen directly over to him for disposal.

Whether there is any connection or not is just a matter of words from him.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, and laughed happily.