Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

The next morning, Zhu Biao stood in front of the ruins of the manor, holding his sword tightly, his eyes firm: "Uncle, Jiangnan is finally peaceful."

Zhu Biao stood alone in the courtyard of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, holding a scroll of book with a focused look. Although his eyes stayed on the pages of the book, his mind was recalling the events of the recent days.

"Your Highness, His Royal Highness Prince Jing has arrived." The accompanying eunuch reminded softly, bringing Zhu Biao back from his thoughts.

Zhu Biao smiled slightly and turned to walk into the inner hall. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Zhu Han sitting at the table, grinding ink with his head down. His expression was as calm as usual, but there was a bit of sharpness hidden in his eyes.

"Uncle." Zhu Biao stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "You came to the East Palace early this morning. Do you have any new instructions?"

Zhu Han raised his head and smiled faintly: "Biao'er, I am very satisfied with your performance in the manor yesterday. Today, I am here to prepare the next arrangements for you."

Zhu Biao's expression slightly changed when he heard this, and then he sat up straight: "Uncle, please tell me clearly."

Zhu Han nodded, picked up a secret letter on the table and handed it to Zhu Biao: "This is the latest news from the court. The East Factory discovered that several prefectures and counties in the north have privately cast weapons. Although the specific behind-the-scenes has not been verified, this is definitely not the work of ordinary craftsmen."

Zhu Biao took the secret letter, quickly glanced through it, and frowned slightly: "Privately casting weapons? If this is true, it will be a major threat to the court. Who do you think will be involved in this, uncle?"

Zhu Han's eyes were slightly cold, and his tone was calm but powerful: "Biao'er, weapons are the foundation of war. Those who dare to forge weapons must have ambitions. Who needs these weapons the most, inside or outside the court? The answer is obvious."

Zhu Biao whispered: "Rebellion?"

Zhu Han nodded: "That's right. But we don't have solid evidence right now, and any rash action will only alert the other party. This time, you need to go to the north in person, investigate these prefectures and counties, and find the source of the privately forged weapons."

Zhu Biao held the letter tightly, his expression solemn: "Uncle, rest assured, I will find out the truth and live up to your trust."

Zhu Han stood up, walked to Zhu Biao, and patted him on the shoulder gently: "Biao'er, you are leaving the capital alone this time. I will not accompany you, but I will arrange secret guards to assist you at any time. Remember, no matter how dangerous the situation is, steadiness is your greatest weapon."

Zhu Biao nodded solemnly: "Yes, uncle!"

Zhu Biao changed into the clothes of an ordinary merchant, hiding his identity as the prince, and only brought a few guards and Lin Chuan with him. They rode on horseback to a small town in the north. Although the streets were crowded, they were a bit deserted.

"Your Highness, this is one of the places where we received the secret report - Pingcheng County." Lin Chuan said in a low voice.

Zhu Biao looked around and said in a deep voice, "Lin Chuan, you arrange for someone to gather information first. I'll go to the blacksmith shop in town to have a look. Privately cast weapons must leave traces. Starting from their iron materials, we may be able to find clues."

Lin Chuan responded and quickly led his men to act separately.

Zhu Biao walked into the largest blacksmith shop in the town. The fire was burning brightly in the shop, and several shirtless craftsmen were swinging hammers to forge red-hot iron into farm tools. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man. When he saw Zhu Biao coming in, he smiled and greeted him: "Sir, are you looking for iron tools? The hoes and shovels in our shop are all top-quality goods."

Zhu Biao pretended to be casual and nodded: "The shopkeeper's business is good. This iron material looks extraordinary."

When the shopkeeper heard this, a hint of pride flashed across his face: "Sir, you have a good eye. I brought this iron material from Jingdong. It is very tough, and the farm tools forged from it are very durable."

Zhu Biao was thinking about something, and his eyes swept across the corner of the shop. He saw that among the pile of iron materials, there were a few pieces of iron that were faintly glowing green, and their shapes were also different from ordinary iron ingots.

"Boss, these pieces of iron don't seem to be common. Do they have any special uses?" Zhu Biao asked casually.

The shopkeeper's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal. He smiled and said, "Sir, you are really an expert. This is a good material I accidentally received. It's just not suitable for making farm tools. If you want to make fine tools, it would be perfect."

Zhu Biao nodded, secretly alert in his heart. He chatted casually for a few words and then turned away.

That night, Zhu Biao and Lin Chuan met in the inn. Lin Chuan reported in a low voice: "Your Highness, my people found out that there is an abandoned workshop outside the town. There is no one there during the day, but there seems to be people active at night. I suspect that it may be the place where private weapons are forged."

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment and asked, "What about the blacksmith shop in town? Is there anything unusual?"

Lin Chuan nodded: "According to our secret observation, the largest blacksmith shop ships out some iron every day, and the destination is unknown. Moreover, their iron is indeed mixed with some special iron of excellent quality."

Zhu Biao nodded slowly, "Very good. These two places must be related. Tonight, we will split into two groups. I will go to the abandoned workshop to investigate, and you will lead people to keep an eye on the blacksmith shop and make sure to catch the person who transported the iron."

Lin Chuan looked worried: "Your Highness, there may be danger in the abandoned workshop, please let me go."

Zhu Biao's eyes were firm: "No need. As the crown prince, I must confirm the truth myself. You act according to the plan. If there is any unusual movement, report it immediately."

Lin Chuan couldn't refute and could only nod: "I understand."

The night was as dark as ink. Zhu Biao and two guards quietly approached the abandoned workshop. From afar, there was a faint light in the workshop and a faint clinking sound.

"Sure enough, there is someone there." Zhu Biao said in a low voice, and then signaled the guards to surround the workshop separately. He then went around to the side of the workshop alone and quietly climbed up a dilapidated window.

Through the window, he saw several strong men busy around a simple forge. The fire was blazing, and there were several unformed swords on the iron rack next to it.

"Sure enough, they are privately forging weapons!" Zhu Biao was shocked and was about to retreat when he heard a deep voice: "Hurry up! This batch of swords must be completed before tomorrow. The prince is waiting for them!"

Zhu Biao's heart trembled and his eyes suddenly turned cold.

"Your Majesty? Could there be something behind this..." A terrible guess flashed through his mind, but he suppressed the fluctuations in his heart and waited quietly for the opportunity.

Zhu Biao did not act rashly in the end, but wrote down the layout of the workshop one by one, returned to the inn and reunited with Lin Chuan. The next morning, he called everyone together and made a detailed encirclement and suppression plan.

"We will take action tonight," Zhu Biao said coldly, "We will take action at the abandoned workshop and the blacksmith shop at the same time. We must obtain all the evidence and leave no future troubles."

Lin Chuan asked, "Your Highness, if it is true as you guessed, there are many people involved. Should we report this to His Highness Prince Jing first?"

Zhu Biao's eyes were firm: "No, the matter is not yet clear. Any disturbance will alert the enemy. Let's get the clues first, and then make a decision with the uncle."

Lin Chuan accepted the order solemnly: "Yes!"

Zhu Biao sat in the dark room of the inn, the candlelight flickering slightly. His eyes swept across the map on the table with a cold look, and he pointed his finger at the two marks of the workshop and the blacksmith shop, and said in a deep voice: "Tonight's action must be accurate and swift. Once the enemy notices, they will immediately clear the evidence." Lin Chuan stood aside, his expression solemn: "Your Highness, my people have already deployed around the blacksmith shop, just waiting for your order."

Zhu Biao nodded slightly and turned his gaze to another guard: "How is the defense of the abandoned workshop?"

The guard saluted and said, "I just returned from the vicinity of the workshop. Although the security there is lax, the craftsmen in the workshop are all very skilled. I'm afraid they are not ordinary craftsmen."

"They are indeed well-trained people." Zhu Biao said in a low voice, then raised his head to look at Lin Chuan, "We must avoid alerting their superiors. This operation can only succeed, not fail."

Lin Chuan asked in a deep voice: "Your Highness, if we find deeper clues in the abandoned workshop, what should we do?"

Zhu Biao's eyes were firm, his hand on the hilt of the sword: "Control the scene first. If there are any fish that slip through the net, they will not be allowed to escape from the town. Every clue here may lead to the mastermind behind the scenes."

Lin Chuan nodded: "I understand, and I will live up to your trust."

The forge in the abandoned workshop was still burning, and the flames illuminated the entire room red. Several craftsmen were busy polishing weapons, and the corners were filled with swords and unfinished iron crossbows.

A burly craftsman raised his head, looked outside the door, frowned and said, "It's so late, why hasn't the guy who delivered the iron materials come back yet?"

Another person smiled and said, "I guess he got delayed in town again. There's no rush to finish these jobs anyway."

"Let your guard down or you'll lose your life!" The burly craftsman glared at him fiercely, then turned around to check the pile of swords. "This batch of goods must be shipped out tomorrow morning. When the time comes, hand it over to the 'steward' and our mission will be accomplished."

In the darkness outside the door, Zhu Biao and several guards approached the workshop quietly. He motioned for everyone to stop, glanced through the window, and whispered, "Sure enough, they are working overnight, I'm afraid they will evacuate tomorrow."

A guard leaned in and whispered, "Your Highness, should we start now?"

Zhu Biao waved his hand and pointed to a low wall behind the workshop: "The front door of the workshop is too open, it's easy to alert the enemy. Let's go around to the back door and block their retreat."

The guards took orders, climbed over the low wall, and firmly controlled the back door. Zhu Biao drew his sword and ordered in a cold voice: "Action."

Several guards quickly broke into the room. When the craftsmen heard the noise, they drew their swords and fought back. However, Zhu Biao's men were well-trained and subdued them before they had time to react.

"Stop! Don't move!" Zhu Biao kicked over a craftsman who tried to resist, put the tip of his sword against his throat, and asked coldly, "Who sent you to forge weapons here?"

The burly craftsman's face turned pale, he clenched his teeth and said nothing.

Zhu Biao sneered, "You're being stubborn? Very good, then I'll show you the consequences of being stubborn." He turned to look at the guards beside him, "Search the workshop and take out everything."

The guards acted quickly, and within a few moments they had found dozens of shining swords from a pile of wooden boxes in the corner. Each of the swords had a strange pattern engraved on the handle, like some kind of family emblem.

Zhu Biao picked up a knife, examined it carefully, and frowned slightly: "This pattern... doesn't look like a common thing, it looks more like the mark of a certain force."

He looked coldly at the bound craftsman and said, "One last question, where are these weapons going?"

The burly craftsman gritted his teeth and finally whispered, "Send it...send it to a warehouse outside Ping'an County. It's a place specially used for transferring these goods."

"Warehouse?" Zhu Biao's eyes flashed, and he immediately said to Lin Chuan: "Take a few people to keep an eye on this place, and the rest of you follow me to the warehouse!"

At the same time, Lin Chuan led another team to quietly surround the blacksmith shop in the town. The lights in the shop were off, but a carriage full of iron materials was parked at the door.

"Your Highness is indeed as good as a god. There is something fishy about this blacksmith shop." Lin Chuan said in a low voice, and then signaled his men to block the front and back roads.

Inside the blacksmith shop, the shopkeeper was secretly counting the account books. He lowered his voice and said to a strong man beside him: "These iron materials must be transported tonight, otherwise if the government finds us after dawn, we will all die."

The strong man nodded: "Don't worry, the driver has been arranged and will leave soon."

Just as they were about to take action, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Lin Chuan and his men rushed in, shouting, "Don't move! Everyone, put your hands on your heads!"

The shopkeeper fell to the ground in fear, while the sturdy man suddenly pulled out a dagger and tried to resist, but Lin Chuan knocked the weapon out of his hand with a sword and pinned him to the ground.

"You've been exposed!" Lin Chuan sneered, and then ordered people to search the blacksmith shop.

A moment later, Lin Chuan found several shipping lists in the dark room in the backyard, which detailed the source and destination of the iron materials.

"What a great blacksmith shop!" Lin Chuan snorted coldly, immediately put away the shipping list, and returned with the prisoners to meet Zhu Biao.

The two operations were successfully completed, and Zhu Biao and Lin Chuan met at the inn. Lin Chuan presented the shipping list to Zhu Biao: "Your Highness, these records show that the iron materials of the blacksmith shop came from several mines in the west of Beijing, and the final destination was the Ping'an County warehouse mentioned by the craftsmen."

Zhu Biao carefully checked the shipping list and said in a deep voice: "It seems that the warehouse in Ping'an County is the center of privately forged weapons. The action tonight did not alarm too many people, but the next step is the most critical one."

Lin Chuan asked: "Your Highness, shall we go to the warehouse immediately?"

Zhu Biao shook his head: "No. The other party must have a backup plan. We need to secretly mobilize more manpower. Send someone to notify the emperor's uncle immediately and report all the findings tonight."

Lin Chuan cupped his hands and replied, "Yes! I'll do it right away."

Zhu Biao stared at the warehouse marked on the map with a stern look in his eyes. He said in a low voice, "The warehouse in Ping'an County is the last link to uncover the mastermind behind this. From now on, we must not let them have any chance to breathe!"

In the inn, Zhu Biao and Lin Chuan have made arrangements. The clues collected last night clearly point to the warehouse, and the secret guards sent by Zhu Han have also arrived secretly and are hiding outside the city.

"Your Highness, there are not many guards around the warehouse, but according to the spies, the security inside is extremely tight, and there are secret sentinels at the entrances and exits." Lin Chuan said as he pointed to the sketch of the warehouse.

Zhu Biao whispered, "The tight security means that the place is extremely important. Since it is a transit hub, there must be inventory inside, and there may even be records. Our goal is not only to destroy the weapons, but also to find the core evidence of the mastermind behind the scenes."

Lin Chuan nodded: "I understand, but if there are a large number of enemies in the warehouse, a head-on attack would probably result in heavy losses." (End of this chapter)