Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 71 Zhang Yu and Liu Wentai
Ma Yongcheng also felt that what Wang Yangming said was very true. All the way from the capital, although they were under the banner of escorting Wang Shu to the capital as quickly as possible and prohibited local officials along the way from picking them up and even did not stay at the post station, they just kept on rushing on their way, but the truth would come to light sooner or later, and their whereabouts would be discovered.

But Ma Yongcheng also had his own concerns. He said, "But Zhang Yu and others may not be willing to surrender like this. Moreover, there is a student of Li Dongyang who came to Dongsheng as the prefect of Xi'an. Once this person knows that we, the officials and soldiers of the imperial court, have come to Xi'an, he will definitely take some measures."

"According to my guess, since the prefect Lai has the responsibility to monitor Zhang Yu and others, then the person who is monitoring Zhang Yu and others at the foot of Mount Li must be him. However, I don't know whether the prefect Lai participated in the regicide case, and how much he can obey Li Dongyang.
Governor, I think we can split up into two groups. Commander Yang and I will go to Mount Li to arrest the man, and you and Captain You will go to Xi'an Prefecture to see the prefect Lai to inquire about his background. If he is a student of Li Dongyang but is loyal to the court, you can ask him to send troops to help us arrest him. If he is loyal to Li Dongyang, you can also stop him. "

Wang Yangming did not care at all that he was only a Hanlin scholar, while Ma Yongcheng was the high-ranking governor of the East Factory, and he started to make arrangements directly.

Ma Yongcheng was not angry about this, he just said: "No! Commander Yang will go with you, Captain You will also go with you to arrest the person, I, the governor, will take ten or so servants to Xi'an to meet the prefect."

It was not that Ma Yongcheng was trying to be brave by bringing only a dozen servants to meet the prefect of Xi'an, but that he did not completely trust Wang Yangming, a civil servant, in his heart.

Because the only person who could communicate with Yang Mao, the commander of Jueshengwei, was Wang Yangming, which meant that Wang Yangming was actually the supreme commander of Jueshengwei.

Ma Yongcheng was worried that Wang Yangming would take advantage of his absence to issue a false order to have Jueshengwei kill Zhang Yu and others. After all, civil servants were always cunning, and this was something his grandfather Zhu Houzhao had warned him about countless times.

Wang Yangming also understood what Ma Yongcheng meant, but he did not expose him. He just cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I will follow the order of the Governor. I will take Commander Yang and Captain You's men to Mount Li to get the man first. Governor, take care of yourself!"

As he spoke, Wang Yangming rode his horse and led Yang Mao and others to Mount Li under the guidance of the East Factory spies.

……

Zhang Yu's life at the foot of Mount Li is very comfortable now. He has dozens of concubines and hundreds of servants serving him every day. Liu Wentai and others are not much worse off. These people don't seem to be exiled to the border, but rather come here to enjoy a good life.

On this day, Zhang Yu also received news that a group of imperial guards had appeared in Xi'an Prefecture. He asked Liu Wentai, who came to explain the new situation to him, "Were they really sent by the court to pick up Wang Shu?"

"Yes, it is said that Wang Shu will be sent to Beijing to serve as the Minister of Personnel," Liu Wentai replied.

"Wang Shu has been idle at home for many years and is now over 90 years old. The court actually let him come to Beijing to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel. What about Ma Wensheng? Has he really been overthrown by the three cabinet ministers? But even if Ma Wensheng is overthrown, the three cabinet ministers will not reinstate Wang Shu again!"

Zhang Yu analyzed.

"Eunuch Zhang, do you think they could have deliberately made up an excuse? They said they were escorting Wang Shu to Beijing, but in fact they were here to find us? The cabinet ministers wouldn't really want to silence us, would they?" Liu Wentai asked worriedly.

Because Zhu Houzhao's control of the inner court and the overthrow of Wang Yue and others, as well as the resignation of the chief minister Liu Jian and the third minister Xie Qian, were just a series of events that happened at the end of October. Therefore, even if Zhang Yu and others still had spies in the capital, they had not had time to pass on the news here.

Therefore, Liu Wentai still didn't know what happened in the capital, and just thought that Liu Jian and other cabinet ministers came to silence them. After all, this is what they have been worried about. Zhang Yu did not answer Liu Wentai's words, but asked directly: "Did you find out who the chief officer who came to pick up Wang Shu was?"

"I'm not sure. According to our people, these Jinyiwei are very tight-lipped and don't even speak," Liu Wentai replied.

"It is only November of the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, and there shouldn't be any unexpected events at the imperial court. If they come looking for us, they are probably from the cabinet. It's a pity that a new inspection office has been keeping an eye on us. Otherwise, we would move to the border today and see what they can do!"

After Zhang Yu finished speaking, Liu Wentai couldn't help but say with some frustration: "You don't know, the cabinet ministers also have people outside the Great Wall."

After hearing what Liu Wentai said, Zhang Yu couldn't help but look at Liu Wentai depressedly and said, "Then we can't just sit there and wait for death! If they dare to silence us, then we will tell Shaanxi Governor Yang Yiqing and Li Dongyang's disciple Lai Dongsheng how they forced us to murder the late emperor, and let his good disciple see whether the cabinet minister he admires is loyal or treacherous!"

As Zhang Yu was speaking, he saw his butler running over and saying, "Master, there is a group of people outside the manor, they say they are from the cabinet."

Liu Wentai's expression tensed up, and he asked hurriedly, "Eunuch, are they really here to silence us?"

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes at Liu Wentai speechlessly, "What are you afraid of? I am just a eunuch now, and I am not afraid. What are you afraid of as a man? If they want to silence us, it proves that their life in the court is not easy. We don't need to be afraid of them. Call our people and go out to meet them!"

As Zhang Yu spoke, he brought Liu Wentai and other people who had participated in the murder of Emperor Hongzhi with him, as well as hundreds of family servants, to the gate of the manor. Looking at a large group of Jinyiwei and a civil servant outside the gate, he couldn't help but laugh: "It turns out that they are the cabinet assistants, otherwise those guys in the inspection office would not have failed to notice."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu shouted to the civil servant at the gate, "May I ask who this gentleman is? What order did you receive from the cabinet minister? Why did you suddenly come here to see us? Do you really want to take us to guard the border, or do you want us to meet the late emperor right here?"

"Neither! Eunuch Zhang, you don't know that a lot of big things happened in the capital during the period after you were exiled. The emperor intended to let Liu Jin and others control the inner court, but Eunuch Wang and the cabinet assistants successfully stopped the emperor and killed Liu Jin and other eunuchs. Now Liu Jin and others have been killed, and the emperor is easier to control than before. Moreover, due to his indulgence in beauty, his health has deteriorated and he is bedridden. The status of the cabinet elders has become more respected. Therefore, in order to thank Eunuch Zhang and others for their contribution in saving the gentry of the world, they want to let Eunuch Zhang and others go to Jiangnan to recuperate!"

In order to deceive Zhang Yu, Wang Yangming naturally dared to say anything. He kept mentioning Liu Jin and other eight tigers, and even did not let the emperor Zhu Houzhao go. It was okay that Yang Mao could not hear it, but Captain You almost drew his sword and killed Wang Yangming first.

However, Captain You also knew that Wang Yangming was deliberately deceiving Zhang Yu into opening the city gate, so he forced himself to hold back.

Liu Wentai couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he found out that they were not here to silence him. At the same time, he was eager to go to a place of wealth and luxury like Jiangnan to enjoy life.

Zhang Yu was still a little skeptical and asked, "Since you are here to take us to Jiangnan, why did you bring so many Jinyiwei?"

(End of this chapter)