Chapter 491: Peeling off the cocoon
The Yanqi are in the palace. Since Emperor Chengzu established the Yanqi, their mission has been to protect the royal family.
"Emperor Chengzu once said, 'I have fought from north to south and from south to north in my life. I have done many things by myself, so that scholars and officials dare not speak out.'
When I am here, they dare not raise their heads. If I am gone one day, my descendants will not be able to control them. So, the Yanqi should protect my descendants."
Yan San stood in front of the side hall and spoke in a sharp voice.
Inside is the Yanqi's torture chamber, where imperial doctors are treating prisoners.
"Emperor Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing and launched five northern expeditions, all of which were to prepare for a rainy day and make plans for his descendants." Jiang Qingzhi couldn't help but be fascinated when he thought of that heroic ruler.
"When Emperor Chengzu decided to move the capital, the scholars and officials opposed it. Emperor Chengzu dismissed more than ten officials and punished many people with caning. Emperor Chengzu said to all officials: I have made up my mind. Anyone who dares to dissuade me will be exiled!"
Yan San said: "Emperor Chengzu was an emperor on horseback, and he would leave the palace from time to time. He was assassinated many times in his life, but he escaped danger every time..."
"What a pity." Jiang Qingzhi sighed.
Yan San was silent.
Unfortunately, after Chengzu, from Renzong to the previous emperor, the ministers gradually suppressed the emperors.
Jiang Qingzhi couldn't help but ask: "I'm a little curious, the late emperor..."
Yan San's cheeks trembled, "That is a shame for Yan Qi."
Emperor Zhengde fell into the water and died of illness. In Jiang Qingzhi's view, this was a joke.
When the emperor travels, aren't the guards following him proficient in water?
"The guards who were accompanying him at the time..." Yan San suddenly stopped talking. The imperial physician walked out and said, "This time he will probably need to recuperate for half a month."
"Thank you for your hard work." Yan San nodded.
Jiang Qingzhi followed Yan San in, and in the darkness, he saw a man with his hands tied, slumped beside a wooden pillar.
"That's the man." Yan San said, "I should have been the one to investigate this matter, but His Majesty asked Chang Weibo to get involved as well."
When the prince passed away, the Taoist was heartbroken and asked Jiang Qingzhi to investigate the matter.
Jiang Qingzhi still remembered what Daoye looked like at that time. He leaned over and asked, "Why did you do it?"
If it were someone else, they would definitely ask how this person poisoned, what kind of poison it was, whether there was someone behind the scenes, etc.
There was admiration in Yan San's eyes.
In these matters, motivation is what matters most.
The man's naked upper body was covered with wounds. He opened his eyes, which were full of bloodshot and looked quite scary. He laughed and said, "The prince deserves death!"
Jiang Qingzhi said: "My patience is limited."
Wang Ze sneered, "Chen Song, do you want to be tortured again?"
The man looked at Jiang Qingzhi and suddenly smiled. "Yanqi is the most mysterious force in the palace. I heard that even Lu Bing didn't dare to ask about it. You are the first person to see me besides Yanqi and the imperial physician after being captured for a long time. It can be seen that your identity is not simple. My request is not high, just wine and meat, and let me die quickly."
Jiang Qingzhi remained silent.
The man looked at him for a long time and sighed, "Are all young people nowadays so patient?"
"The only people in the palace who had the motive to poison the crown prince were the late Empress Dowager Zhang and the concubines. The concubines had no chance. The late Empress Dowager Zhang had been dead for many years, and most of the people she left behind were dead. To be honest, even if they were not dead, why would they die for Empress Dowager Zhang?"
This has been Jiang Qingzhi's long-standing question.
Daoye had encountered numerous dangers in his life. He was nearly burned to death several times when he traveled in the early years, and was almost strangled to death by several palace maids in the palace. The deaths of his children were also somewhat unsettling.
After being tortured and interrogated, those people's confessions all pointed to the late Empress Dowager Zhang.
But what virtue and ability did Empress Dowager Zhang have that she could still make those eunuchs and palace maids willing to die for her so many years after her death?
People are selfish. If the late Empress Dowager Zhang could make these people still willing to die for her after so many years, how could she have fought to the point of life and death with the Taoist priest?
Until this moment, Jiang Qingzhi felt that he had found the answer to this question.
The man was startled. Jiang Qingzhi said coldly, "If the former Queen Mother Zhang had this ability, she would not have been defeated in the fight with Your Majesty."
Yan San took a deep breath and glanced at Wang Ze.
Wang Ze shook his head, indicating that he had not said anything to Jiang Qingzhi.
Chen Song chuckled, "It seems that the Yanqi people don't trust you!"
Wang Ze laughed dryly and said, "This person has confessed that he is not Empress Dowager Zhang's man."
Hey!
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Yan San and said, "This is not a cooperative attitude."
Yan San said calmly: "This matter is serious, we have to be cautious. In addition, we have to see if our partners are capable enough."
"Well, now you see it." Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette.
Yan San nodded, "I think that Long Wilbur should be a good partner."
"Changwei Bo?" Chen Song was startled. "So you are Changwei Bo?" He looked at Jiang Qingzhi carefully. "I did the most menial job for the Crown Prince. I heard that His Majesty found his cousin. This cousin is quite remarkable. He is both civil and military. I thought at that time whether I could find a chance to kill you, but unfortunately I couldn't find the chance."
Damn it!
Thinking that the prince was poisoned to death by this group of people without any consciousness, if they used such means on himself... Jiang Qingzhi couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
He suddenly smiled and lit up the incense, "Did this person explain where he came from?" Wang Ze said, "It is said that some people in the palace are dissatisfied with the royal family... and they organized themselves."
"Do you believe it?" Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Yan San.
Yan San shook his head, "I don't believe it. In the previous dynasty, there was such an organization in the palace. After several actions, it was uprooted by the Mongol emperor."
Wang Ze said: "There are too many people in the palace. Some people have ulterior motives or have been bribed to win over people in the palace. There are such people now."
But those were more like spies than death warriors.
Chen Song laughed, "I heard that His Majesty once praised Changwei Bo as my talented horse, and that he is also my champion marquis. Since Changwei Bo is so amazing, can you guess my identity?"
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of the medicinal smoke, letting it swirl around in his lungs, and slowly said, "Poisoning the prince can be attributed to hatred for the royal family. To be honest, I have always believed that the palace is not a place for people to stay. After a long time, this person..."
Jiang Qingzhi pointed to his head and said, "After a while, this person will become abnormal. Once a person becomes abnormal, nothing he does will be strange. Assassinating the king or poisoning the crown prince is not a big deal."
He shook off the ashes from his cigarette, "But you shouldn't have said you wanted to poison me!"
Chen Song still smiled.
"Even if he is a perverted lunatic, he must have a motive to kill people. Even if this motive seems extremely absurd, it can still be traced back to a consistent cause. You said the cause was that the royal family deserved to die. So, why did you want to poison me?"
"Long Wilbur assists His Majesty..."
"No." Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "There are so many people who help your majesty. Not to mention others, Concubine Lu Jing helps your majesty to control the harem. If you kill her, I think the harem will be in chaos for a long time. And there are more opportunities to poison her... Why don't you wait and do it?"
Yan San found that Chen Song's smile was a little stiff.
His heart skipped a beat and his eyes became sharp.
"Although I am a relative, my last name is Jiang, not Zhu. I have nothing to do with your motive for murder. So let me guess what made you want to kill me."
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal smoke and said slowly: "I seem to be able to help Your Majesty in the court, but the ones who helped Your Majesty the most were Yan Song and his son."
He continued, "The way of civil and military affairs, the civil side is not your motivation. Then what about the military side? Altan's subordinates are invincible in the nine frontiers, and the soldiers in the nine frontiers are terrified. Even if they see more than a hundred enemy cavalry, they dare not attack. If this continues, Altan's ambition will swell...
He would lead his army southwards, trying to restore the glory of the Mongols and rule the Central Plains again. But I defeated Altan's men several times, shattering his beautiful dream..."
Jiang Qingzhi looked at Chen Song, "There are only two forces in the world who want to kill me. The Confucians want to kill me the most because the Mohists have shaken the foundation of their privileges and their power to cover the sky with one hand.
The second is Altan. The Confucians want to kill me, and they have more chances outside. So, you are not a Confucian. "
Wang Ze stared at Chen Song intently... Yan San had asked him to invite Jiang Qingzhi before, but Wang Ze had some objections. He felt that Jiang Qingzhi should not be involved in this matter.
——They are your Majesty’s relatives.
Yan San said so.
But at this moment, Wang Ze felt that he might be wrong.
The smile on Chen Song's face was as stiff as a rock, and there was panic in his eyes.
Even though he had been tortured dozens of times, Chen Song had never had such an expression.
"Let's use the process of elimination. Since you are not a Confucian, then the only people who want to kill me are those of Altan Khan."
Jiang Qingzhi exhaled smoke and smiled.
"If Altan could have sent people into the Ming Palace, he would have destroyed the Ming Dynasty long ago!" Chen Song suddenly laughed and said sarcastically, "Chang Wei Bo's story is good. I find it very useful."
Wang Ze was stunned.
Jiang Qingzhi flicked the cigarette with his index finger and said, "Altan doesn't have the ability to do that. Oh, I have another story."
Jiang Qingzhi said slowly: "I have heard that when the capital was conquered, Emperor Taizu Gao cleaned up the palace. But there were too many people, and the royal family also needed people. So many people stayed.
Let me make an assumption. If the Mongols had planted people in the palace in advance... Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu were both extremely powerful, and they had strict control over the eunuchs and palace servants, so this group of people would not be able to find any opportunity.
The emperors who followed became increasingly weaker under the pressure of their ministers...After the Battle of Tumu, the emperors were even weaker than ever before."
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Yan San and said, "The king is no match for his subjects. Anyone who has read history books knows that they will look for helpers. The name of this helper is... eunuchs! The ancestral precept that eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in government affairs has been forgotten."
Yan San and Wang Ze looked at him uncomfortably.
"So, those people stepped out from the deep palace to the front. They began to stir up the situation and create disturbances."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "The previous emperor fell into the water and died. To be honest, I have always felt that the scholars and officials are the most suspicious. But I am thinking, even if the scholars and officials have the courage, how can they do it without the cooperation of the people in the palace?"
Jiang Qingzhi stood up and said, "The emperor and his ministers fought to the death for power, and those people played both sides in the middle. The scholars and officials felt that they were omnipotent and could easily find allies in the palace. So, the two hit it off.
The previous emperor fell into the water and later fell ill and died.
Your Majesty's children died young, he was nearly burned to death several times while traveling, and was almost strangled to death by several palace maids in the palace...Apart from the scholars and officials, who in the palace cooperated with all this?"
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Yan San and said, "It was Altan who wanted to kill me, but who is in league with Altan?"
"Remnants of the Mongols!" Wang Ze blurted out.
Jiang Qingzhi had already walked outside the hall, stretched himself, looked at the blue sky and white clouds, and said comfortably, "Comfortable!"
(End of this chapter)
