my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 170 of Chapter 170: Revealed

Zheng Lun was almost going crazy.

His own family fell into the hands of Jin Yiwei, and it was completely conceivable that it was more than auspicious.

He knows better than anyone... Even if his family members are still alive, these people are afraid that they will no longer be human.

Everyone knows Jin Yiwei's methods.

Zhang Anshi stood aside silently, with an innocent look on his face.

But is he innocent?
No, all of this was planned by him.

How shrewd are those people hiding behind Chen Wenjun's backstage? They are able to hide so deeply, which shows their caution.

Such a cautious person will only show his feet just because Zhang Anshi has captured Zheng Lun?

This is obviously impossible.

He is not stupid, how could he not see that this might be a good show he put on?

So... If you really want to catch a big fish, you have to make this play realistic enough, so realistic that even the other party has to believe it.

Then... Jin Yiwei took advantage of the opportunity to arrest Zheng Lun's family members, and then tortured them severely. In the prison... After all, there are so many people talking, and there are so many school lieutenants up and down, it is impossible to be completely airtight.

As for Zheng Lun and the others... even half of their family members died. Could it be that this is also an act?
In this plan, every character is essential.

Ji Gang, who was eager to win back the city, would not have been too hasty in the past, but now it is different, he is in a hurry and has to take risks.

He was like the man who fell into the water, eager to grab a life-saving straw, so Zhang Anshi predicted from the very beginning that he would try his best to catch him directly.

As for Zheng Lun and the others... In fact, they were destined to be sacrificed from the very beginning.

Of course, there are still some considerations in choosing Deng Lun.

So before that, Zhang Anshi asked Zhu Jin to inquire about which ministers in the court had done some unforgivable things in private.

In the end, after screening, several Zheng Luns made it to the list, and their reason for being on the list is very simple... They all have other people's blood debts in their hands.

Of course... After everything is planned properly, it has nothing to do with Zhang Anshi.

This is what Ji Gang did, what does it have to do with Zhang Anshi?
At this moment, Ji Gang only felt his head buzzing, and he was completely stunned.

After so many years of being motivated by interests, and after encountering setbacks, he was eager to make meritorious deeds. How could he have imagined that the mantis stalking the cicada and the oriole would be trapped to his death.

At this time, he had no other choice but to kowtow and confess his guilt.

Zhu Di looked at all this coldly, and was actually quite surprised.

Who would have thought that...in the end...it would be like this.

Zhu Di pursed his lips, and then said lightly: "Zheng Lun's Qing family have made great achievements, and their loyalty can indeed be learned from the sun."

For this sake, what else can I do?It can only be dealt with as Zheng Lun cut up the meat and fed it to the tiger.

Even Yao Guangxiao couldn't help shouting a Buddha's name in the class: "Amitabha, I will not go to hell, whoever goes to hell, good, good."

He confiscated a penny, and rescued Zheng Lun's family members.

Zhu Di said again: "Zheng Qing's family has been working hard for the past few days, please come and invite them to go down and have a rest."

Zheng Lun was still cursing angrily: "Ji Gang, you and I are irreconcilable, irreconcilable..."

Several eunuchs rushed in and dragged them out.

It's just that the scolding is still endless.

Zhu Di didn't even look at Ji Gang who was kneeling on the ground, even if his eyes flashed a little, what flashed in those eyes was only surprisingly indifferent.

After Deng Lun and the others went out, Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi and said, "You came to the court to be interrogated by me because... you want me to know that Zheng Lun and the others are not against the party at all?"

"Of course not." Zhang Anshi said with a smile: "The reason why I invite Your Majesty to have a trial is because... I expected that the person behind Chen Wenjun will be in this court."

As soon as this sentence came out, it was like dropping a bomb, and Baiguan's face suddenly changed.

Zhu Di lowered his brows, his eyes quickly swept over the faces of every member of the Baiguan, then stared at Zhang Anshi and said, "Go on."

Zhang Anshi said: "Judging from Chen Wenjun's side, even the head of the Ministry of War is just a pawn of theirs. This proves that there is at least one big person behind this. Moreover, this person... seems to know the situation in the court very well, so I boldly predict that this person will be in the court, this should not be too much."

"Since it has been confirmed that this person is in the court, Chen Wenjun is used as a pawn, and after Chen Wenjun was captured, I judged from many signs that this person did not act rashly. This proves again that this person should be able to control His Majesty and If some people in Jinyiwei look at it this way, I dare to predict that this person must be a high-ranking person, and he is also quite trusted by His Majesty."

As soon as this remark came out, more people's faces became a little uncomfortable.

Everyone looked at each other, and it seemed that they all began to be afraid. The ghost knows if there is any rebellious party around them!

Zhu Di's eyes became more meaningful, he was surprisingly calm at this moment, and only said: "And then?"

"The minister acting this play is actually to paralyze the other party. It is precisely because the other party knows His Majesty and Jin Yiwei very well. The more Jin Yiwei does not say anything, the more he will not act rashly. But if... when the other party knows... the direction that Jin Yiwei and the minister want to check What's wrong?"

Zhu Di seemed to understand something, and said, "If the other party realizes that Qing and Jin Yiwei have made a mistake, they will definitely think that this is a godsend opportunity, a good opportunity for him to cover up all the evidence."

Zhang Anshi nodded and said: "That's right, so I took Zheng Lun and others, in fact, I wanted to tell the other party that although Chen Wenjun was under our control, this Chen Wenjun was stubborn. Not only did he not confess to any behind-the-scenes instigation, but he frantically tortured innocent people. Climbing and biting. After the other party realizes this situation, of course they will think that this is Chen Wenjun creating opportunities for them."

"With such a god-given opportunity, if they don't make any moves, they will be really stupid. Because they know that Chen Wenjun is still in our hands after all, and chess pieces like Chen Wenjun may not know much, but as long as we surround Chen Wenjun , as long as you have enough time, you will be able to follow the clues and find out something."

Zhu Di nodded. This is the mentality of all those with a guilty conscience. Chen Wenjun may not know much, and this person is very stubborn, but after all, the people behind the scenes have used him for so long. In the process of manipulating him, there must be many If there are any clues, it will inevitably make the people behind the scenes feel uneasy.

And once Jin Yiwei and Zhang Anshi start to 'make mistakes', it is indeed the best time for them to get out of their shells.

Zhang Anshi continued: "So after I captured Zheng Lun and others, I have been asking the Jinyiwei, the boatman of the bank, and the shipping company to pay attention to some unusual things in the capital. You know, many things... Once someone starts to pay attention, then ...that is, if you want people to not know, unless you have nothing to do with it, unfortunately, I really discovered some of them."

When Zhang Anshi said this, he grinned happily.

Zhu Di squinted his eyes and examined Zhang Anshi carefully: "What discovery?"

Zhang Anshi said: "The market has fluctuated..."

"Market?" Zhu Di was a little surprised.

He thought that Zhang Anshi... really noticed something was wrong, but... what does this anti-party have to do with the market?
Baiguan was also confused, so they all looked at Zhang Anshi puzzled, as if waiting for his answer.

Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "In Zhenjiang...someone came to report that it was Zhenjiang...the price of gold suddenly rose sharply."

Zhu Di continued to stare at Zhang Anshi, still frowning, he still couldn't understand.

Zhang Anshi patiently explained: "Your Majesty, the price of gold suddenly started to rise sharply in one place. The only reason is that someone sold a large amount of silver or copper coins in their hands to exchange for gold."

"Often at this time, after a large amount of silver and coins are exchanged for gold, there is a shortage of gold on the market. At this time, the price of gold will start to fluctuate. The price will follow the rise of gold prices, and a transmission effect will begin to appear. For example, many Nanjing Merchants in the city hear that gold in Zhenjiang is expensive, so they will try their best to exchange a lot of gold from the capital to Zhenjiang to earn the price difference."

"But the question is, why would someone...suddenly buy a large amount of gold? You know, this kind of purchase will inevitably lead to a continuous increase in the price of gold, but everyone knows..."

In fact, the hundred officials are still in a daze, and everyone doesn't know.

Zhang Anshidao: "Such a large purchase of gold is actually a disadvantage, because a large-scale purchase is actually buying gold at a high price. Although this gold is valuable, it is difficult to trade in the market. Even if it is traded, it is still expensive. It needs to be exchanged for silver, and the person who buys it... obviously suffers."

"Think about it, Your Majesty. Some people suddenly go crazy and would rather suffer a loss than buy gold. What is the reason? Let me guess one or two."

He paused, and continued: "After the incident, some people have already realized that it is not safe. After Chen Wenjun was arrested, they felt a little uneasy, but at this time...they know better than anyone that they should not act rashly. Once they act rashly, they will Something might happen."

"Until Zheng Lun and the others were arrested, it made them realize that this is the best time to retreat, especially the money that has been used for rebellion over the years must find a way to move away. But this wealth is too great after all. Now, how many people are needed to carry so much silver and copper coins? The movement is huge, and the more people are needed, the more people there are, the more people will talk and the less safe it will be."

Think about it, this Daming is 16 taels per catty, 100 taels of silver is seven or eight catties, but if it is 1000 taels of silver, it is almost as heavy as a person.

If it is a case of rebellion, the amount of money needed must be astronomical. One hundred thousand or one million taels of silver is possible. If it is one million taels of silver, it means a full seventy to eighty thousand catties. For this era, this is almost equivalent to So a mountain has to be emptied.

"For these people, the only function of gold is that its price is much higher than that of silver, and it is easier to carry than silver. Even if it is exchanged for silver in the future, it is extremely convenient. So...they choose to exchange gold The reason why they chose Zhenjiang is because they are in the capital, and Zhenjiang is close to the capital, which is convenient for them to control. In addition, Zhenjiang is a thoroughfare, with a well-developed water network, and the money can be exchanged into gold, which can be transported away at any time .”

"What's more, for them, these things will definitely not be noticed by others. It's just an ordinary purchase of gold, but these people... Although they are all extremely smart, it's just that they are too careless about market changes."

"After learning about what happened in Zhenjiang, I immediately ordered people to go to Zhenjiang to search for those who bought gold. As long as you find these people who bought gold, then... the truth will not be far away."

After Zhu Di listened carefully, he suddenly realized, and said: "So...these people who bought gold...are they just like Chen Wenjun, who don't know anything about it, and are just pawns used by others?"

Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, it's impossible. These people are overly cautious, and because they are too cautious, this involves a lot of gold and silver, but it is impossible to leave it to others. Only the most confidantes, or close relatives can handle it." , they will feel at ease. Besides, they don't think it's a dangerous thing, they just think it's a deal."

Zhu Di's eyes lit up.

Unexpectedly... to uncover the rebellious party behind the scenes... it was only because of gold...

Over the years, Jin Yiwei has used detectives and torture to capture the so-called rebels, and the number of personnel has continued to expand, but now that I think about it carefully, the effect is actually not ideal.

Maybe ten people were arrested, and most of them were innocent people.

This piece of Anshi's method is very fresh, and such overlooked details make it hard to imagine that it has anything to do with the rebellious party.

The ministers didn't seem to notice that among the courtiers of the two classes, an old man wearing a red unicorn robe from the imperial court trembled slightly.

At this time, Zhu Di said: "The people from Zhenjiang... caught it?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty...has already seized him. Just last night, the teaching of the Model Camp led a team of Model Army troops and Jin Yiwei Qianhu Chen Li to arrest him in person."

"At the Xijin Ferry in Zhenjiang, the man was captured and sent to the capital overnight. I ask Your Majesty to summon the ministers for trial. In fact, I want to bring the person behind the scenes into the palace. If others are in the palace, it is equivalent to being cut off from the news. What happened, he didn't know anything."

Zhu Di glanced at the ministers, and couldn't help but feel heroic: "It seems... the traitor is among my ministers. I just don't know, what will he think in his heart at this moment after hearing what you say."

Zhang Anshi was also happy: "Such a person will never change his nature. Even if the sky falls, he should look like he has nothing to do with him. Many people will not cry when they see the coffin."

Zhu Di nodded: "His confidant... is he being interrogated now?"

"Actually..." Zhang Anshi said, "There is no need to interrogate at all."

"No need for interrogation?" Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi in surprise.

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, didn't you say that? The person who buys gold must be the confidant of the person behind the scenes, or a close relative. If it is a confidant, I am afraid that there will be a trial, but if it is a close relative?"

Zhu Di suddenly realized again, and then his eyes flashed among the officials like a knife's edge, and he said in his mouth: "This person...is a close relative of the Qing family in the court?"

Zhang Anshi said: "To this day, do you still want to be lucky? Come out, your nephew Lu Ruyi has already been arrested, don't you...do you still want to pretend that you have nothing to do with yourself?"

The officials were in an uproar, you look at me, I look at you.

Zhu Di stared at everyone's reaction.

Zhu Gaochi was also very surprised when he heard that he had really caught the rebellious party. Immediately, he couldn't help laughing, he was fat, and this music had the charm of Maitreya Buddha.

Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui has been observing his imperial brother, the corners of his mouth are slightly raised, with a meaningful smile.

Here, it is still the world where Ji Gang was injured. He still maintains a kneeling posture, not daring to move. Hearing that Zhang Anshi has caught the rebellious party, he just feels the blood in his body surging, and he almost spits out a mouthful of old blood.

Who would have thought that his majestic commander of Jinyiwei would become a stepping stone for others?

Xie Jin's face was extremely ugly. He wished that this rebellious party would never be found out. Once found out, wouldn't it just encourage the power of Xun Chen?Those who win the world immediately, will they also participate in ruling the world immediately in the future?

This is not the blessing of the country, let alone the blessing of the community.

In the midst of this chaos.

Finally, someone let out a long sigh, which seemed a bit out of place at this moment.

Then I saw the old man in the unicorn clothes, standing up slowly.

His face was quite calm, but he sighed with some regret.

At this point...there is nowhere to hide, if you don't come out, you will just suffer a bigger insult.

"What a clever boy, he was able to find out the old man just because he exchanged gold! This is beyond the imagination of the old man. The matter has come to this point, and the old man has to admire it."

Everyone looked at the old man in unison, and almost everyone showed a look of shock.

Even Zhu Di was shocked.

Obviously...he could never have imagined that the so-called rebellious party was actually this person.

Zhu Di widened his eyes, gritted his teeth and said, "It's you?"

"It's the old man..." The old man sighed again, showing regret and said: "It's a pity, it's not even as good as a doll. But now, I have nothing to say, so I can just let it go."

Zhu Di was obviously angry, and said angrily: "I treat you well, why do you want to rebel?"

The old man raised his head, looked at Zhu Di with a strange look, and then said, "Hasn't Your Majesty ever conspired against him? Your Majesty did it? Why can't others do it? Your Majesty can be the Son of Heaven... Come to think of it, others can be the Son of Heaven too. "

Zhu Di's face became even uglier, obviously his anger became more intense.

The hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone trembled.

Zhu Di sneered and said, "I am Jing Nan!"

The old man showed a slight smile, with a bit of sarcasm in his smile, and said: "Your Majesty has become the emperor, of course he can do whatever he wants, and rebellion is still difficult, but it comes down to success or failure."

Zhu Di shouted: "Lu Zhen, you..."

The old man was Lu Zhen.

Minister of Rites.

Although he is not considered an extremely human minister, he is definitely a person who can grasp the secrets and the center.

The most important thing is... Zhu Di trusts him very much.

The reason for trusting him is that, on the one hand, Lu Zhen was one of the first ministers who took refuge in Zhu Di when he was in Jingnan. In sum, he really has the merits of being a dragon.

On the other hand, this person has always flattered Zhu Di and obeyed Zhu Di's words, which made Zhu Di have a lot of affection for him.

But Lu Zhen was surprisingly calm at this time. Although he still had a bitter look on his face, he did not lose his composure after all.

Zhu Di said: "You are already an extremely human minister, why do you want to take such a risk?"

Lu Zhen looked at Zhu Di with piercing eyes and said, "I have today, not from His Majesty, but from my own deliberation..."

After a pause, Lu Zhen continued: "During the Hongwu period, I was just a juren. I was awarded an official position and ordered to inspect the situation of the local farms. I did a good job and was praised, but...after all, because I was born as a Juren, so... I was only given the title of Inspector in Shandong, and after many years, I was barely promoted to Inspector in Beiping."

He spoke eloquently, showing regret during his speech, and said: "When I inspected the fertile and barren fields in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I was exhausted, but even Beiping's inspector's affairs cost me a full three years. years."

"Afterwards, Your Majesty will rebel. I am in Beiping, of course I have to follow the dragon. I risked my head and followed Your Majesty through life and death. You let me stay in Beiping, and I am still safe. But from now on, you grant me What kind of official position? It’s just a mere magistrate. My life is at stake, and at the risk of killing my family, I’m only a magistrate in the end.”

Zhu Di's face became even more difficult to look at.

But Lu Zhen continued: "In my mind, I'm afraid that my life is coming to an end. At that time, you have already arrived in Nanjing City and became the emperor. It's so majestic, but I'm really sure, a hero. How sad. But at last ... I was not reconciled, so I tried my best to move up and down, and finally reminded you of me. That's why I entered Beijing and served as the young minister of Dali Temple. Minister of Rites."

"You said that I am today because of you. This is wrong. I am today because of myself." Lu Zhen smiled wryly.

Zhu Di looked at him fiercely and said, "Don't tell me you're not satisfied now?"

Lu Zhen shook his head calmly and said, "It's not that I'm not satisfied, it's just that I'm used to gambling."

"Are you used to gambling?"

Lu Zhen said: "Because of you, I have come from a small incident to where I am today. But I know that here... I have reached the end. If I want to go further, even become a prime minister, become a prince, but It is harder than going to the sky. Since you can rebel and let countless people go to heaven, then...why can't others rebel and let me go one step further?"

"So you colluded with the Tartars?"

Lu Zhen didn't deny it, nor did he admit it, but said: "The Tartars in your mouth are good. They are not like your Zhu family. They come from commoner background. They think they have the legal system, so they don't treat ministers mercilessly. Be merciful. If the Tartars enter the customs, at least they know very well that they cannot rule the country well, nor can they control the thousands of people. So...they know how to delegate power. In Daming, I can only do it for them. Minister, if in the Yuan Dynasty, many Han officials, on the surface, are the officials of the Tartars, but in fact, they can be one after another little emperors. They may have the same official position, but in fact... the power in their hands is different. And speak."

Zhu Di smiled: "You are honest."

Lu Zhen said: "Nowadays, I can only tell the truth."

Zhu Di said: "But the most stupid thing about you is that you think you can shake my country."

Lu Zhendao: "When Qin Shihuang and Sui Wendi were here, no one thought that the Great Qin and Sui dynasties would perish in the second generation. How many years will it be until today's Great Ming? In this world, there are very few dynasties that can truly last a hundred years. , the vast majority of so-called countries have a lifespan of only a few decades."

"At the beginning, your father was in chaos for decades, and the world has already complained. After his death, you rebelled, and the world fell apart. Even if you ascended the throne today, it was only a few years. Who knows, what will happen again? What will happen in a few years?"

Zhu Di: "..."

Zhang Anshi: "..."

Hearing Lu Zhen's words, Zhang Anshi seemed to wake up suddenly.

In fact, when he found out that it was Lu Zhen, Zhang Anshi's first reaction was that he felt that this person was really stupid, he was having a good time, and he wanted to be a monster, which was courting death.

But now after hearing Lu Zhen's words, Zhang Anshi suddenly realized that this was just because he had been a human being in two lifetimes, so he had an inherent concept.

Of course he knew that the Ming Dynasty had a history of 300 years, but in fact... in the past dynasties, I don't know how many regimes came out, most of them died after the second or third.

In his view, rebellion in this era is courting death.

But for many people in this world, it may feel that this time... is the best time to rebel.

Zhu Di still stared at him closely, and said coldly, "When did you start colluding with the Tartars?"

"When I was in Beiping." Lu Zhen said calmly, "In Beiping, I was in charge of the mutual market as a supervisor."

Zhu Di said: "So far... which branch of the Tartars have you been in contact with?"

Lu Zhen said: "It's useless to say this, but you should know that your father was able to drive them out of the pass because they were corrupted by the gentleness of the Central Plains, but now, they are outside the pass again and start nomadic herding again." Horses, now all of them are fat and strong, their vitality has recovered, and it won’t be long before they can raise troops to enter the customs. At that time, what will you have to resist?”

Zhu Di's face was tense, obviously angry to the extreme, but at this moment, he calmed down instead, and said quietly: "Where are your accomplices, where are your accomplices?"

Lu Zhen raised his head and looked straight at Zhu Di, seemingly very fearless, and said in his mouth: "I have no accomplices, and I will bear all the blame."

"Can you afford it?" Zhu Di said with a sneer, with heavy eyes, "It seems that what Zhang Anshi said is right, you won't cry when you see the coffin."

Lu Zhen lowered his head at this moment, but was speechless.

Zhu Di still had flames in his eyes, looked at Zhang Anshi and said, "I want him to speak, is there a way?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Yes!"

The answer was decisive.

(End of this chapter)