Daming prepares the emperor

The birds chirped a few times outside the window, jumped from tree to tree, and stared intently at the east with their dark eyes.

The sun has not yet risen, and the sky and the earth are in a hazy darkness, with a few rays of light trying to break free from the shackles of darkness.

Yuan Kai opened one eye, looked at the sky, fell asleep again, and turned over on the bed.

"Boom!"

Someone knocked on the door outside: "My lord, my lord, wake up."

Yuan Kai sat up abruptly, and said loudly, "Is it Han Baihu?"

Han Baihu whispered: "It's me, is it convenient for adults to meet?"

"It's convenient, please come in quickly." Yuan Kai got out of bed and found the fire folder, lit the small lamp on the table, opened the door, and looked at Han Baihu outside expectantly, "Is there any news from Beijing?"

"Yes." Han Baihu came in sideways with a few pieces of paper in his hand, under the dim light, his joy was clearly illuminated, "As expected, Master Yuan, the palace is exactly what we thought!"

"Really?" Yuan Kai said, "I don't read what the letter says, just tell me."

"After receiving our news, the higher-ups sent people to stop the official clothes-carrying boats in the river ahead, and ordered them to travel day and night and come back non-stop. It is estimated that they will arrive today!"

"So fast." Yuan Kai said excitedly, "I won't sleep, you change your clothes too, let's go to the pier and wait."

---

The river rolled and flowed forward, the waves kept hitting the shore, and the aquatic plants fell and straightened under the impact.

The sky was bright at this time, and the rising sun shone on the countless white sails, almost dyeing them golden, and the breeze swelled, helping the ships while bringing coolness and moisture to the shore.

Yuan Kai and Han Baihu had been waiting for more than an hour.

"These official ships are grain ships." Han Baihu said, "They must have made two batches of ships. In the winter, the monsters in the water saw that the grain ships were launched ahead of schedule. That was actually the first batch of ships completed. "

"I think so too." Yuan Kai said, "Since they use Yunyi as a bargaining chip to threaten Fang Zhifu, they should fulfill their promise as soon as possible, at least not in such a hurry. The more they cover up, the more flaws will be revealed. .”

Han Baihu stroked his train of thought, and continued to add: "There is evil spirit on the battlefield, and the ships that have used cover-ups will reveal their secrets as soon as they arrive. In order to prevent this, they unexpectedly came up with the idea of ​​making two batches of ships, one for use To deal with the inspection, a batch is used to transport grain, and when someone comes, it is faked as an official boat and goes out of the river, it is really a good skill and courage."

"There is a war ahead, but they racked their brains to be greedy. It's really hard for them." Yuan Kai said coldly, "If we don't clean up these silverfish, we will be in vain this time."

Han Baihu said: "I don't know if the cells in the edict prison are full, even if they are full, I have to ask my relationship to make some room for them."

Speaking of prison cells, Yuan Kai suddenly thought of Fang Keqin. He was still locked up in the prison of the prefect’s yamen in Hangzhou. Those common people were also waiting at the door day and night. When the husband was tired, he would change his wife to wait. Changed my grandson to wait. The bureau in Zhejiang has been fighting for more than ten days without knowing it. In these ten days, the number of people at the gate has never decreased.

So you don't go, my people's parents.

The anger in his chest slowly subsided, turning into grief and regret.Although the determination to investigate to the end has not changed, after all, I feel a little confused. There are so many corrupt officials in the world, and their methods are so cunning and insidious. When will there be real peace?

Yuan Kai said slowly: "Do you still remember the old shipwright who asked us to come to the dock? The common people hope that someone will make decisions for them, even if they dare not say..."

I couldn't continue talking, and there was no need to continue talking.

A mast appeared at the end of the river, Yuan Kai's eyesight was not very good, but today, that boat seemed to have some kind of attraction, which firmly stuck his eyes, and other boats couldn't get into his eyes at all. It seemed that the voice in his heart told him that there was the truth, and there was the right way.

A well-dressed Jinyi guard came off the boat, full of vigor and heroism, it was Zhang Ziming who was sent here.

He strode towards the two of them, cupped his hands towards Yuan Kai, and said, "Master Yuan, by order, I have escorted all the boats."

Many official ships stopped one after another and lined up in a row.

Yuan Kai met Zhang Ziming, he was considered a celebrity in the capital, delivered letters during the Hongdu War, took care of the young crown prince, and later worked in Beizhen Fusi.

Yuan Kai, who is now a pure minister, naturally has an indescribable closeness to him, and after a salute, he cut straight to the point: "Master Zhang, are these all ships from Zhejiang?"

"Scattered in various parts of Zhejiang." Zhang Ziming said, "I carefully checked the documents and deadlines of the river government. As soon as you came, these boats all left the shore for different reasons. It seemed that there was something wrong with them. Brought it."

Yuan Kai reached out and nodded, and couldn't help but smile: "It's the same as the number of grain ships."

Zhang Ziming was sent by Zhu Biao. Before he left, he went to the palace. He received advice from Miansheng. He had a clear understanding of the Hangzhou case. He not only had his own considerations in his heart, but also had an understanding of the situation. , and said: "The number is enough to prove our guess, but..."

"But what?"

"However, I have checked these ships, and there is no dark room at all, and there are no problems in several demon towns in Zhejiang." Zhang Ziming continued, "It seems that someone has used a good cover-up method, maybe only the capital secretary The priests here can crack it."

"The decree tells us to take the boat to Yingtian?" Yuan Kai asked.

Zhang Ziming shook his head: "The decree tells us to settle the Hangzhou matter in Hangzhou."

Yuan Kai said: "Then the only way is to arrest the officials of the Hedao Yamen, interrogate the masters who cast the spell, and then hunt them down. Officials face officials, law meets law, and there will be a good result."

"Master Yuan, don't worry, there is a solution without breaking the law." Zhang Ziming said to himself, "Han Baihu, go and call the people from the Hedao Yamen."

Zhang Ziming is Han Baihu's immediate boss. He came. Han Baihu, a man with strong bones and a slap bigger than a cattail fan, felt more at ease. The horse went away in a hurry.

---

"There are people coming from Beijing again." Lu Yiliang said weakly, he had long lost his former prestige, sitting on a chair with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, staring blankly at the ground in a daze, as if there was something there Like a flower bud.

The blood-red flower was watered with his life, and it bloomed after watering it.

He Yonglian was also very depressed, with several strands of hair drooping on his forehead, covering his red eyes. He didn't even hear what Lu Yiliang said the first time. After a while, he asked: "What do you mean?" What?"

"I said, someone is coming from Beijing." Lu Yiliang took a deep breath, "It's that Zhang Ziming, he has surrounded the official boat."

"Zhang Ziming?"

He Yonglian said something in a low voice, and raised his hand to fetch the teacup. There was no water in the cup, and there was sticky new tea at the bottom. The teapot was on the table. Also no water.

The teapot was thrown to the ground, rolled around a few times, and hit the table leg to stop.

Lu Yiliang seemed to be stimulated by the bang, and he sat up straight suddenly, facing He Yonglian: "I'm dead this time, Lao He, I'll take your blame, and then I will confess the people from the Ministry of Industry." .”

He Yonglian was startled: "How to say?"

"What do you need to say!" Lu Yiliang said, "You are from the east of Zhejiang, and you can still get out if you work hard. That damned Han Duo and that damned Hu Weiyong clearly treat me and the others as outcasts. Yes. Li Yinbing, the gold that was sent to Li Yinbing has been lost, and it is even more unreliable. Lao He, we have been together for so many years, I know that although you are not a good person, you have a conscience. Who is lucky in my family? If I can survive, I will entrust it to you."

He Yonglian did not expect that Lu Yiliang would make such a decision. He must know that when a person dies, he is willing to give a back. No matter whether he can survive this time, Lu Yiliang's words made him feel a little warmth from the bottom of his heart. meaning.

"That's it!" Lu Yiliang said, "During the interrogation, you can blame me for the crime, but they will at most convict you of negligence and demote you."

"Old Lu, your thinking is too simple." He Yonglian didn't continue to say anything, looking at the window and said, "They have discovered the secret of the official ship, but they may not be able to unlock the spell. We can... ..."

Speaking of this, he himself couldn't go on talking. He really couldn't imagine how they could struggle. Even if the demon town in Hangzhou couldn't help it, there was still the demon town in Beijing, and Zhang Zhong and Zhou Dian could not help it. Living gods, everything is just a matter of time.

"Old He, don't talk about it." Lu Yiliang said, "At this point, I don't want to say that the imperial salary is not enough, so we are greedy. If it is really not enough, we can stop it if we are greedy .If greed is forced from above and below, and you can’t stop, you can not be an official. I know, I just don’t want to! I don’t want money, power, and others to support me. If I do it again, I will be greedy again!”

"..." He Yonglian stared at him blankly, without saying a word.

"Because I always feel that I can't be caught!" Lu Yiliang laughed twice, "For my crime, the Holy Majesty should personally intervene and sentence me to Ling Chi. Old Lu, I don't want to suffer like that."

"Then, what should we do?" He Yonglian asked subconsciously.

"When I entered the prison, I was also afraid that I would not be able to withstand Jin Yiwei's torture, so I gave you a confession, so let's stay here."

"What's here?" He Yonglian asked tremblingly.

Lu Yiliang ignored him, walked around the room a few times, found a piece of paper, a pen, and a box of ink pads, and wrote a confession letter in a short while, affixing his finger prints.

Putting the paper on the table, he moved a chair, put it down properly against the beam, and pulled out a long piece of white silk from his sleeve, then stepped on the chair and stood it up.

He Yonglian ran over as if waking up from a dream, fell on the ground, his face was swollen, hugged Lu Yiliang's leg and shouted: "What are you doing? It's not a foregone conclusion, it's not a foregone conclusion!"

Lu Yiliang had already tied the white silk around the beam and tied it in a knot, and was about to tie it around his neck, when seeing He Yonglian's appearance, tears filled his eyes that would have dried up even if he died.

"Old He, I didn't expect you to send me off for the last ride. You are not a good person, and neither am I. We are quite a match, and now you are more pleasing to the eye than anyone else. In the next life, we will be brothers."

As he said that, he jumped into the noose, kicked the chair, and his face began to turn red.

He Yonglian turned pale with fright, hugged his leg and desperately tried to lift it, but he was a bit old, he was an official and enjoyed the blessings, he didn't have much exercise, his hands were powerless, how could it be easy to lift Lu Yiliang, he tried several times It didn't work even once, but was almost kicked aside by kicking legs.

He Yonglian was so anxious that he was about to vomit blood, suddenly remembered something, brought the chair he had been sitting on, stepped on it, and reached out to untie Lu Yiliang's knot.

After all this tossing, Lu Yiliang also hanged for a while, his face began to turn blue and purple, he was gasping for breath, his eyes protruded outwards, and the hand holding the white silk subconsciously for survival lost all strength and fell to his side limply. The ones are like two noodles.

"Old Lu, Lao Lu, you can't die, what will I do if you die." He Yonglian hated himself to death, why didn't he put a pair of scissors here?

Lu Yiliang's vision was already blurred, he looked at He Yonglian who was coming to rescue him again, hoarsely, and in a voice weaker than a mosquito, he said the last sentence: "Old... He, let, let me Die... die with peace of mind."

He Yonglian's hand stopped.

It was as if a thunderbolt split him from the outside to the inside, making his feet unable to move and his hands frozen in the air, watching Lu Yiliang swallow his last breath.

Two tears rolled out of his eyes.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, Han Baihu ran in three steps and two steps, kicked open the closed door, and shouted: "He Yonglian, Lu Yiliang, what happened to you, come with me Bar!"

After shouting, Han Baihu looked at the situation in the house and was also stunned.

---

"Why did you only arrest one person?" Zhang Ziming asked.

Yuan Kai also looked at Han Baihu with questioning eyes.

"There is only one." Han Baihu scratched his head, "The other one is dead."

"Dead?" Yuan Kai looked at He Yonglian who had a dazed expression, "How did he die? When?"

"When I went in, the scriptures were hanging on the beam." Han Baihu frowned and said, "I touched it, but it was still hot, and I just died not long ago."

As he spoke, he took out Lu Yiliang's confession letter from his pocket and handed it to the two of them: "It should have committed suicide in fear of crime. This is on the table."

Yuan Kai flipped through it quickly, and found that the content was similar to what he thought. He put down his hands and sighed: "If I knew it was like this, why did I do it in the first place?"

Zhang Ziming said: "The body is asked to be examined by Wu Zuo."

Han Baihu said: "Yes, people have been sent."

Zhang Ziming asked the people around him: "Is the grain ship coming?"

"Go back to my lord, it's coming."

"Okay, just stop here," Zhang Ziming said, "Order the merchant ships and civilian ships to retreat first, and seal this part of the river."

Someone was ordered to evacuate the river immediately.

After a while, the water area near the pier was empty, with only a row of official ships and a lone grain ship floating on the water.

Zhang Ziming ordered people to drag the grain boat and an official boat to shallow water, and did not stop until they were almost on the shore.

Yuan Kai was still puzzled: "Master Zhang, what is the order? How can we identify these official ships?"

"I won't keep it to myself." Zhang Ziming took out the imperial decree, "There is a decree."

Yuan Kai, Han Baihu, and the guards in Jinyi all lifted up their clothes and knelt down. Except for Zhang Ziming, everyone on the side of the pier was a bit shorter.

"Follow the emperor's decree of the heavenly carrier. Burn one of the grain ship and one of the official ship. When the fire is extinguished, a few nails are extinguished. Hereby."

The kneeling people said in unison: "The minister waits for the order."

With a bang, red light flooded the water, the big guy knelt on the ground, looked sideways, and saw that the grain ship was already on fire, emitting layers of heat waves, and the blazing flames rushed towards the sky, struggling to twist moving, like the soul of a wicked man wanting to break free from the shackles of his body.

Yuan Kai was the first to stand up: "The fire puts out a few nails... There is no better idea than this, Holy Spirit."

"That's right!" Han Baihu's eyes were shining, and he stood up immediately, "It was burned cleanly, whether it is true or false, it is all clear, there is nothing to say!"

When he read the imperial decree just now, although he was a step late, He Yonglian knelt down after all. He couldn't stand up now, he had no strength all over his body, and he sat on the ground paralyzed, staring at the fire in a daze.

Zhang Ziming glanced at him, rolled up the imperial decree and put it into his sleeve, and said slowly: "Cheating can't hide the essence. After the fire is extinguished, if two different ships have almost the same number and size of nails, they will arrest people on the spot. All the official ships that got off sailed to Yingtian, and let the people in the department find a way."

He Yonglian said: "No need to burn it, I told you all, no need to burn it..."

He was sweating profusely, his hands and feet were cold, and he was trembling all over. Looking at the flames, it was like looking at an evil spirit.

Zhang Ziming said contemptuously: "Do you want to resist the order?"

He Yonglian trembled and fell to the ground with his head stuck in the soil: "I dare not."

"Continue to burn." Zhang Ziming said, "We don't slander anyone. After the burning is over, we will see for ourselves. If the nails are the same, let this Mr. He sign the signature. If it is not the same, let him go back to the yamen."

He Yonglian knew that his defense and confession were useless, and the Jinyi Guards were ordered to use this military supply case to deter other officials.He, like the dead Lu Yiliang, is the straw that fuels the flames.

When he saw many figures counting nails, He Yonglian's eyes darkened and he passed out.

Zhang Ziming was leading the people on the shoal, when Han Baihu saw He Yonglian collapsed, he said to Yuan Kai, "Master Yuan, he fainted from fright."

Yuan Kai said: "Let him faint, and wake him up again when he is in charge."

Han Baihu stopped looking at him, and said with a smile, "The Holy One is indeed the Holy One. I will burn them all down, so as not to linger and change again."

"I hope that the next batch of new officials in Hangzhou can resist the temptation." Yuan Kai sighed, "After the Ministry of Industry is tracked down, Huaixi's vitality will be severely damaged, but the nobles have just won the victory, and the court... how about it?" Yes."

"Is it up to you and me to consider the court situation?" Han Baihu found that Yuan Kai's mood was not right since he came to the pier, so he wanted to give him some advice, "Whoever the Holy Majesty decides to use, he will use. Anyone who wants to be abolished can be abolished. His old man and His Royal Highness are Daming's sky, and everything else is empty. Fame and fortune are like fleeting clouds. Master Yuan, if you want to make a career, don't catch the wrong one chips."

Yuan Kai knew that he had good intentions, cupped his hands and said, "I've been taught."

Only then did Han Baihu's eyes return to peace: "This time I came to Zhejiang, I got along very well with Mr. Yuan. Maybe there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future. The other brothers in Zhenfu Division also think so."

The meaning of Jin Yiwei is the meaning of the emperor, and the attitude of Jin Yiwei is the attitude of the emperor.Yuan Kai immediately understood that the test given to him was passed by the Holy Majesty and the Crown Prince.