Chapter 1648 The Truth in the Mist

In another time and space, although Zhang Juzheng visited Gao Gong when he returned to his hometown and visited him again when he returned to Beijing, he said all the nice things he could, helped him solve some practical difficulties, and conveyed a strong desire for reconciliation, but it was difficult to eliminate the tremendous hatred in Gao Gong's heart.

But Gao Gong was skilled in political tactics, so he naturally would not confront Zhang Juzheng face to face. Instead, he pretended to be friendly with him and took advantage of Zhang's eagerness to make peace, and got a lot of benefits. For example, he restored all kinds of retirement benefits that were cancelled because he was dismissed and went home. He also arranged iron rice bowls for his nephews, etc.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng left, he began to write negative materials. Gao Gong was already on his deathbed, but he used his last moments to write down his hatred in a tearful "Last Words on the Sickbed", exposing how Zhang Juzheng colluded with Feng Bao to frame him, how he deceived the emperor and his son, and how he harmed the court.

But after the materials were written, he ordered his adopted son Gao Wuguan to keep them properly and not show them to anyone as long as Zhang Juzheng was alive. He also ordered that even if Zhang Juzheng died, he should not rush to ask someone to present them to the emperor, let alone let the ministers review them. Instead, he ordered them to be printed into a booklet and circulated in society.

Gao Wuguan strictly followed what Gao Gong said, and as a result, "Last Words on the Sickbed" had a wide social impact and became a strong catalyst for the final liquidation of Zhang Juzheng.

At that time, the court had already exposed and criticized Zhang Juzheng in all aspects under the suggestion of Emperor Wanli. Someone presented the "Last Words on the Sickbed" to Wanli at the right time. This gave that ungrateful guy an excuse to settle accounts with Zhang Juzheng - see, he was the one who deceived my mother and son in the beginning! So he has been deceiving me all these years! What is there to hesitate about? Get his whole family!

Maybe "Zhuge Liang's last plan to kill Wei Yan" is a joke, but "Gao Gong's last letter to avenge his great hatred" is a true story.

Gao Gong never expected that his revenge would be so effective against a ruthless man like Wanli. Zhang Juzheng's entire family was almost wiped out...

Although the contradiction between Gao and Zhang is not as serious as it was then, but seeing that the tenth year of Wanli is getting closer and closer, Zhao Hao has to be cautious and take precautions...

~~

Gao family ancestral tomb.

Gao Gong was stunned for a long time by Zhao Hao's question. Finally, he smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it. Since the young master has spoken, then I will naturally listen. I promise not to slander him."

"You won't slander him in the future?" Zhao Hao asked, "You won't write a memoir or something, and then slander him a hundred years later, right?"

"Don't worry, it won't happen." Gao Gong felt a chill down his spine when he heard this. This was exactly what he was thinking! If he hadn't started writing yet and hadn't told anyone about this idea, he would have thought that everyone around him was a spy from the East Factory.

"That's good, that's good." Zhao Hao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Don't blame me for being suspicious, Mr. Xuan. It would be a blessing if my father-in-law could have a result like you in the future."

"This..." Gao Gong was stunned again. "You don't think highly of Ling Yue?"

"My father-in-law himself holds the same view." Zhao Hao said softly, "He often says that one of the two, Wanli's new policies will succeed or Zhang's family will be ruined and destroyed first."

"Oh?" Gao Gong's heart trembled. He looked at the big sedan chair in the yard of the village and remained silent for a long time.

~~

After bidding farewell to Gao Gong, Zhang Xianggong hurried on his journey.

Thirty-two strong men worked together and on the fourth day of April, they sent Mr. Zhang back to his hometown Jiangling after twenty years.

The funeral ceremony was naturally extremely solemn. Officials in Huguang, from the governor down, all wore mourning for the old lord. Everything was extremely magnificent, and I'm sure that the old student Zhang Wenming would be very happy in his grave.

After the burial, Zhang Juzheng closed the door to visitors and stayed at home to accompany his 73-year-old mother.

However, all this was just appearance. The express train from the capital, which traveled 800 miles, came almost every day to deliver important memorials to Zhang's residence. On the return trip, it would bring back Mr. Zhang's draft.

Although Zhang Xianggong was in mourning at home, he never relaxed the power in his hands for a single day.

Zhao Hao stayed in Jiangling until the end of April. In addition to accompanying his father-in-law, mother-in-law and great-mother-in-law, he was mainly there to secretly investigate the cause of Zhang Wenming's death...

Although the Jinyiwei had already reached an investigation conclusion - Lao Fengjun had indeed fallen into the water accidentally.

However, the decay of the organization must be synchronous. It is impossible for the government to be completely rotten while the secret service agencies are still accurate and efficient.

Therefore, Zhao Hao did not trust the conclusion of the Jinyiwei, and he still ordered the Special Operations Department to conduct a secret investigation.

Sure enough, the problem was discovered after the investigation.

Feng Bao told him that on the night Zhang Wenming fell into the water, everyone on the boat, including the Jinyiwei who were protecting the old prince, were all tortured.

However, the truth is, those who were punished were the servants on the ship at the time, and the guests were only imprisoned in the local Jinyiwei prison for a few days and then released safely.

Of course, when they heard that Mr. Zhang had returned, they all ran away to other places to hide.

So either Feng Bao deliberately deceived him, or the Dongchang guards who were sent to investigate were bribed by the Jinyi Guards in Huguang and helped to deceive their superiors.

Zhao Hao was more inclined to the latter. After all, it was normal for the factory guards to be so rotten. And with Eunuch Feng's power and status, no one should be able to threaten him...

So he ordered the secret arrest of the escaped guests.

The guests actually thought the case was closed, and they went out to avoid the limelight mainly because they were afraid that Zhang Xianggong would be angry with them, so they were almost defenseless. Basically, they went to Yueyang, Wuchang, and Changsha. Moreover, they openly went to various entertainment venues, so it was a piece of cake for the Special Operations Department to catch them.

When the black cloth covering their heads was removed, they were horrified to find that they were in Dongting Lake.

The three-decker pleasure boat they were riding on was the same one where Zhang Wenming fell into the water during the Double Ninth Festival banquet last year.

In the middle of the vast Dongting Lake, with no one to turn to, this group of pampered masters were subjected to professional interrogation by special technical interrogators.

I only went halfway through the basic routine, and before I could get the extra meal, I gave up everything...

Looking at the confessions being presented one by one, Zhao Hao smiled and said to Cai Ming who was accompanying him, "That's right. Money, sex and alcohol will corrode a person's will. It has nothing to do with a man refusing to surrender even at the cost of his life."

"Yes." Cai Ming nodded and said, "Even the Jinyiwei were dragged into this. The enemy must be very powerful."

"Let's wait and see." Zhao Hao looked through the confessions. This time, those guys admitted that someone had asked them to get Zhang Wenming drunk on purpose and gave him drugs, saying that there would be a good show to watch later.

The attendant who helped Zhang Wenming to relieve himself at the stern was actually his lover. The two of them were going to do something shameful, so they sent their attendants away...

Moreover, a guest confessed that the young man was actually the man of Guangyuan King Zhu Xianhe.

Seeing this, Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh. He understood what his opponent was planning.

It really is the tried and tested card of the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty! And he is a vassal king who has a mortal feud with my father-in-law!

In addition to being the King of Guangyuan, Zhu Xianhe was also the Liaofu Zongli.

He was the younger brother of Zhu Xianyu, the deposed Liao King. The Liao Kingdom was abolished, but someone had to take care of the Liao King's royal family, right? So Zhu Xianyu was appointed as the "Liao Palace Zongli", the boss of the tens of thousands of royal family members in the Liao vassal state.

The Liao vassal king was deposed, his kingdom was abolished, and his government was seized. It was generally recognized that Zhang Juzheng was avenging the death of his grandfather, so the two sides were an absolute feud. It was reasonable for Zhu Xianhe to kill Zhang Juzheng's father.

Moreover, the royal family was the largest landlord group in the Ming Dynasty, and the land survey had the greatest impact on them.

There was also a "clearing of vassal states" in Wanli's new policy, the purpose of which was to reduce the number of royal family members and limit the number of royal family members through strict examination. Naturally, it also seriously affected the interests of royal family members.

Killing Zhang Wenming would not only avenge the death, but also make it possible to avoid the land reclamation and the vassal state reclamation, killing three birds with one stone!

Therefore, Zhu Xianhe had sufficient motives and the ability to commit the crime, and seemed to be the culprit.

"But is this really the end?" After reading the confession, Zhao Hao paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. "Why do I feel so familiar?"

"Sir, are you referring to the five gentlemen who opposed the seizure of love?" Cai Ming said softly.

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "It seems that you feel the same way."

"Yes, these useless members of the royal family are brave, but do they have the brains?" Cai Ming nodded and said, "If the young master had not come to Jiangling to investigate in person, they would have gotten away with it."

"Who said it wasn't true? How could a bunch of pigs who are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish such a thing?" Zhao Hao rubbed his face with both hands, and said depressedly for a long while: "But if we investigate further, I'm afraid the gain will outweigh the loss."

"Yes." Cai Ming nodded. He understood what Zhao Hao meant. Because those who instigated Zhu Xianhe behind the scenes were definitely not afraid that Zhu Xianhe would be found out.

Because once the case is traced back to him, the Liao vassal will surely cause trouble, and the royal families in various places will also respond. By then, the whole country will be in chaos, and the empress dowager and the emperor will definitely try to keep things quiet.

As long as the Zhu family still has the final say, this situation will not change. Therefore, the civil servant group... more accurately, the bureaucratic landlord group, especially likes to use them as pawns.

Of course, Zhao Hao has countless ways to make Zhu Xianhe die in an accident or disease. But Zhang Wenming is not his grandfather, so he doesn't need to dirty his hands for him, which may cause trouble for him.

"Sir, what should we do?" Cai Ming asked softly, "Should we report this to Prime Minister Zhang?"

"It's not the right time yet." Zhao Hao shook his head slowly and said, "For us, it's enough to confirm that those guys really have no bottom line. As for my father-in-law, he hasn't recovered from his grief yet, so don't rub salt into his wounds."

Then he ordered: "Record all their confessions according to the standards of the Ministry of Justice. Each page must be signed, sealed and stamped with fingerprints."

Obviously, Zhao Hao had no intention of giving up this card, but was just preparing to play it at the right time...

"Then what?" Cai Ming asked again.

"Let's make use of the Special Operations Team's waste. It's not bad to let them be informants." Zhao Hao said calmly: "With sharp weapons, the desire to kill will arise. We can withstand the scrutiny of future generations."

"I understand." Cai Ming nodded and went to convey the order to the special operations team.

Zhao Hao would not kill easily. Especially since the Jiangnan Group had reached its current state, if he did not control his desires, he would easily turn into a monster that brought disaster to the country and the people.

The desire to kill is of course included.

(End of this chapter)