eldest son of Ming dynasty

There is no wind on autumn nights, and the vast night sky has a sense of emptiness at this time.

In Prince Ning’s Mansion,

After Mr. Lou fell asleep,

Her personal maid also returned to the house.

The eyes reflected in the candlelight were somewhat profound, and then she wrote some things on the paper.

And on the second day, he put the things in a rocky corner on the rockery in the inner courtyard of the palace.

She has become very proficient in doing it many times. Just when she passes there, she hands her hand when she turns the corner. The road is already narrow. She doesn't need any big movements, not even squatting. Even if she is following her, she has to follow very close. You can see her movements, otherwise you won't feel anything strange about her.

According to past experience, this thing will be taken away in less than half an hour.

Yuan Xia didn't know who he was until the people above told him, and she couldn't tell it with just her own eyes.

But she knew that there must be others besides her in this huge palace.

She really wanted to find a companion, especially since King Ning was becoming more and more unabashed. The day of chaos was not far away, and she was under increasing pressure.

But as a 'professional', she knows very well that it is actually the safest if she has no relationship or contact with this person.

The person who took the note was the eunuch of the palace.

Although the palace is not as good as the royal palace, the backyard of the female family members cannot be entered by ordinary men who are not eunuchs.

After the eunuch got it, he didn't have the excitement of Yuan Xia's sneaking around. This man's surname was Wang, and his name was Li. He was originally the steward responsible for managing the outsourcing of filthy things such as the palace's feces and urine. With a sweet card He has a sharp tongue and a smart personality. On weekdays, others know that he has many friends and can go to many places.

It was the same today. The big man pushing the cart, who was dressed in linen in autumn and winter, was waiting outside the side door of the palace. Several eunuchs carried the barrel and put it outside the door, not even willing to help him put it in the cart.

However, there is a difference between working in the palace and working for the palace.

The big man is used to this, and the rest is his own business.

"It will be the same time tomorrow, don't miss it."

"Yes, don't worry, father-in-law."

"Look at the reward."

"Thank you father-in-law."

As he spoke, he took a few grains of broken silver, but the wealth was hidden. He turned his big hand and stuffed the silver into his chest.

the other side.

Li Shishi was probably still worried, so he found a close confidant and told him face to face: "From today on, you will be guarding outside the palace. If the maid next to Princess Lou goes out, you must keep an eye on her."

This is a stupid way.

But it was inconvenient for him to send people into the inner courtyard of the palace.

But if you suspect this person, report it directly to Prince Ning and then investigate. That would offend the Lou family.

The princess has a spy by her side, what kind of concept is this? In order to protect himself, Mr. Lou will definitely deny it strongly. Without evidence, Prince Ning will not believe him.

Li Shishi has been ups and downs for many years. Because he knows the interests of people best, he is the least willing to do such things.

Even if I say it, I won’t say it.

When it comes time to say something, that's when there is evidence. Otherwise, if Prince Ning doesn't believe him, it will be extremely stupid.

The person who was assigned this job was also very surprised, "Master, what if she never comes out?"

If a spy is always in contact with the outside world, this is Li Shishi's concept. He is [-] or [-] years old, and he only has a concept of intelligence work. The intelligence community after Zhengde was also innovating on this matter, but he didn't know it.

"Go ahead. If you don't come out, don't come out."

Maybe it would be okay if he didn't come out, that would be better.

For Li Shishi, this matter is a small matter today.

The big thing is that he has to arrange for some people to meet with King Ning.

After all, he has lived a long time and once served as a minister, so he still knows a lot of people, which is much better than Liu Yangzheng.

The palace, the main hall.

Three people came with him.

These people speak much more calmly, and they know etiquette and are observant of etiquette. They are not comparable to those of the Poyang Lake thieves.

"Your Majesty." Li Shishi called.

Prince Ning walked out of the room with a straight face, "What's the matter, Mr. Li?"

As he spoke, he walked out and remained calm when he saw the three people.

Li Shishi turned sideways,

So the three people bowed and said, "I have met the prince."

"Sir, are they...?"

"Your Majesty, my subordinates have mentioned this to you before. There is a Xu family in Wuxi County, Changzhou Prefecture. They are a well-known local family. These three are the three brothers of the Xu family. Xu Shidao, Xu Shide, and Xu Shiren."

"Oh, I have heard of it, I have heard of it..."

……

……

Because Mao Yuwen went south, Han Ziren returned to Nanjing from Suzhou, and he wanted to receive his boss.

The correspondence did not say what the matter was, but it should not be simple for the emperor to send him here.

Mao Yuwen also went to see Liu Jin and talked about some things in the capital. However, Ning Fan's affairs were confidential. The emperor had no decree, so he did not dare to mention it more to avoid leaking the news.

Now apart from the one specifically responsible for monitoring Prince Ning, Han Ziren probably knows a little bit about it. The affairs of Nanchang have always been in charge of him.

The two of them discussed it behind closed doors after they went back by themselves.

Mao Yuwen said: "The emperor must have believed that Ning Fan had evil intentions, and agreed that I would take the first step to try to scare the snake."

"What do you mean, try to scare the snake away?"

"On the way here, I have already let out the news that the imperial court is dissatisfied with Prince Ning's many illegal activities, including land invasion and murder, and wants to start investigating him. This is to test his reaction."

Han Ziren was stunned, "Tishuai, you have come in person. This is not just to scare the snake, but to write the words "touch him" on your forehead."

"That's it. If I don't come in person, how can he feel threatened?"

This is true.

So far, in the court, at least Jin Yiwei has not mentioned anything about treason. However, once Jin Yiwei starts to harass King Ning, many of his things will not be hidden.

In particular, during this period, many people from Jiangnan began to come and go in Nanchang.

"Actually, Prince Ning can't hold himself back anymore. Civil unrest has broken out in many places in the south of the Yangtze River. Although the situation is still stable, once someone takes the lead, there may be chaos everywhere." Han Ziren said.

Mao Yuwen sneered, "They joined together and caught them all at once, without having to distinguish them one by one. I have let the news out, but the people investigating the case should go to Nanchang two days later to give them some time to get in touch with each other." . After a while, you will recall our people in Prince Ning’s Mansion. If he disappears, he will know everything."

When the time comes, it will not only lead to death, but it will also lead to death. When he rebels first, the court will act righteously to destroy him.

But coming so early, Mao Yuwen had other things to do.

He was going to Zhenjiang to meet Zhou Shangwen, the Marquis of Jinglu.

Let me mention an old story here.

Many, many years ago, when Zhu Houzhao first started preparing for the Ming Dynasty cavalry, he appointed Yang Shangyi.

In order to do this well, he gave Yang Shangyi a special power called the power of secret folding.

In fact, it is to open a "complaint channel" for Yang Shangyi, which means soldiers, horses, weapons, military pay, etc., all aspects, no matter who they are, Yang Shangyi can file a complaint against anyone who does not cooperate.

This is different from ordinary memorials.

The memorials of the Ming Dynasty were written by the ministers and then submitted to the Communications Envoy. They were first classified and copied, and then sent to the cabinet. After a discussion, the cabinet ministers drafted the memorials, that is, they made suggestions.

After the vote was drafted, there was the red comment, which was when the emperor used a red pen to express his opinions.

Of course, some unreliable bastards are tired and leave this job to the eunuchs around them, but that's another matter.

In short, this was the original design of the imperial court.

But there is a problem with this, that is, the minister below is reporting something. Before the emperor knows about it, the minister has read it first.

Serious routine matters are no problem.

But what if it’s something important and sensitive?

Those who know first prepare first, and when the emperor asks, they have already prepared the manuscript.

But Mi Zhe is different. Except for the person who wrote it, only the emperor can read it, and no one else knows about it.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, more than 100 ministers were given the right to secretly secrecy.

By the Yongzheng period, the scale expanded to more than 1000 people.

And you can't talk nonsense about who has the secret rights between each other.

You can tell others, but letting the emperor know is also a serious crime.

Because the emperor of the Aisin Gioro family treated ministers as domestic slaves, it was unacceptable to tell outsiders all matters concerning the slaves and their masters.

In this way, the alliance between ministers and ministers is actually broken.

Just like in a small class, when you know that there must be an informant from the class teacher, do you still dare to play with your mobile phone or read novels? Maybe some shameless people will still shamelessly say I dare.

But if the result of being discovered is beheading, would you still dare?

If it were the ministers in the court, they would collude with each other in private. Small things might be fine. A few people are greedy for some money. It doesn't matter in a small area. Moreover, greed for money is not a serious crime of decapitation.

However, as long as there is a major event, such as plotting rebellion or regicide to usurp the throne, it will never be possible.

The premise is that the emperor is a normal person.

Because you don’t know whether the person you are facing has secret rights.

How can you still plan in secret? After planning and planning, he developed twenty accomplices in three years, and there might be some among them who were just trying to get a reputation as a gangster.

Although the Manchus were hateful, the stability of their imperial power was something that no previous dynasty could achieve.

Speaking of which,

Yang Shangyi's later commander of the Ming cavalry was Zhou Shangwen. At that time, as a trusted general who commanded the peak combat power of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Shangwen also had secret rights.

The secret power is a favor that allows them to understand that they are very close to the emperor, so they are rich and powerful, and their rebellion is only theoretically possible.

This is what Mao Yuwen came to deliver this time. But he didn't know what it was, just a big wooden box.

This big wooden box has a red embroidered box inside.

This is the representative of secret right.

A box with only two keys, one for the emperor and one for the minister.

With the matter between Prince Ning and Jiangnan reaching this level, Zhu Houzhao felt that it was time to say hello to Zhou Shangwen, lest he be confused and not know what the emperor's intentions were.

The meaning of the letter he wrote was also very simple. He directly stated that the Jinyi Guards had returned to investigate and that King Ning of Jiangxi was rebellious, so he asked him to rectify his troops and respond in time.

After Zhou Shangwen put down the letter, he was very shocked: How could he still have such great achievements after being far away from the border?