Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 158 Zhu Houzhao deliberately harmed the Minister of Works

The Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture committed suicide by taking poison?

Moreover, he committed suicide on the spot. How powerful must the person behind this be to make a chancellor of the capital commit suicide!

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but look at the cabinet ministers present, thinking that perhaps only high-ranking officials of this level could have such power.

Now, Zhu Houzhao only looked at Xu Guangzuo, the Duke of Dingguo, who came with him: "Now, you believe it, it wasn't these craftsmen who blew up Xu Yanqing, are you getting old and confused! How dare you really think that these craftsmen would kill your son! What grudge could they have against your son!"

"Your Majesty! But my son cannot die in such an unclear way!" Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo replied.

"Killing someone means paying with one's life! I will naturally have someone investigate, not to mention that he is the eldest son of your Duke's Mansion! However, I want you to answer me first, why did you suspect these craftsmen? Who bewitched you? Or who instigated you? Are you deliberately trying to use this incident to interfere with the court's new policy? Answer me!"

When Zhu Houzhao said this, although his tone was calm, it was murderous, and frightened Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo so much that he trembled and quickly prostrated himself on the ground: "Your Majesty, please listen to my explanation. I just heard from people in the palace that these craftsmen were released and acted lawless. Because they were dissatisfied with the court, they took revenge on the high-ranking officials of the court. I was so angry that I lost my mind, so I blamed the craftsmen's disciples!"

Zhu Houzhao snorted:
"Issue an imperial decree to confine Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo to his house for three months! He is allowed to hold a funeral for his son in his mansion! In addition, hand over those people in your mansion who made irresponsible comments on state affairs to me, the East Depot! They must be handed over before midnight today! Otherwise, I will have the East Depot come and take them directly!"

"Yes! I thank Your Majesty for not punishing me!"

Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo replied that it didn't matter to him whether he was under house arrest or not, as he was afraid that Zhu Houzhao would really punish him for conspiracy to interfere in government affairs in a rage, so he was relieved. But at the same time, he began to wonder in his heart, who would be willing to kill his son in order to sow discord between him and the emperor?
Zhu Houzhao looked at the body of Shuntian Prefecture Chancellor Dang Haiwu lying on the ground, and didn't know what to say for a moment. He just asked the cabinet members: "What do you think should be done with this matter now? How should the murderer behind the murder of court officials and the eldest son of Duke Dingguo be tracked down?"

"Your Majesty! There is no doubt that the problem lies with Shuntian Prefecture. Shuntian Prefecture lied about the murderer and misled the court. Unfortunately, the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture has committed suicide, and the case has become a mystery!

In my opinion, the person behind this must be no simple person. This person is not only bold but also careful. He has calculated exactly what the court will do. If we continue to investigate, I am afraid that more people will die, even more and more important people!"

Ma Wensheng replied.

"Your Majesty, what the Prime Minister said is absolutely right. He was an official appointed by the imperial court before, and now he is the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion. There is no guarantee that he will not become an important official in the court in the future, and he may even endanger Your Majesty!" Xu Jin also echoed.

"We have to investigate this matter! We can't let the person behind this act go on so rampant! I really don't believe he can really turn the tables, unless the people in the East Factory, West Factory, Jinyiwei, Wucheng Bingmasi, and Shuntianfu are all just sitting there doing nothing! In the best district in the capital, they dare to commit murders one after another. Are they laughing at me and the court for being incompetent? Are they laughing at me and the Ming court for not being able to find the person behind this? If people like us can't even keep the capital safe, how can we talk about governing the world!"

"This case must be investigated further! And it must be investigated thoroughly in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, the people in charge of the East and West Factories and the Imperial Censor will be replaced! All officials at all levels in Shuntian Prefecture will be dismissed!"

Zhu Houzhao's words put more pressure on Ma Yongcheng, the governor of the East Factory, and he had to grit his teeth and say, "Your Majesty! The people who did this have been targeting the court's abolition of the craftsman registration system, which shows that these people's interests are closely related to the craftsman registration system. In this case, I request your permission. Regardless of the evidence, arrest all the officials of the Ministry of Works and the Armory Bureau first! Interrogate them strictly! We will definitely find out!"

"Your Majesty, no! How can you arrest someone without any concrete evidence?" Cabinet Chief Minister Ma Wensheng hurriedly stopped him.

"Although there is no concrete evidence, it is difficult for them to clear themselves of the suspicion that they are unrelated to this matter. They directly linked the two murders to the craftsman registration system. This must have been done by officials from the Ministry of Works and the Armory Bureau. Otherwise, who would dare to do such an unrelated act!" Ma Wensheng, the governor of the East Factory, replied.

"I won't arrest anyone, but the East Depot does have the power to suspect someone of a crime, so I've approved it. Now, we'll first detain the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Ye Heng, and Junior Supervisor Chi Zong, and bring them to the East Depot for interrogation. We'll also include other officials from the Ministry of Works and the Armory Bureau. If they're not guilty, they'll be released, as long as no one dies! The government can detain civilians with no actual evidence of a crime and interrogate them before determining guilt or innocence. The East Depot can do the same!"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Ma Wensheng had nothing to say.

At this time, Ma Yongcheng, the governor of the East Factory, reminded him, "Your Majesty! The others are all right, except the Minister of Works, who claims to be ill. Do we need to arrest him?"

"Your Majesty! Since the Minister of Works is claiming to be ill and he is an old minister, he has never been involved in state affairs in these days and should have nothing to do with this matter. Can you please not detain him? Wait until he recovers before questioning him again?" Ma Wensheng couldn't help but plead for his old colleague Zeng Jian.

"can!"

Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly, but Ye Heng, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, felt wronged because he had no involvement in the incident. He just cried, "Your Majesty! I am wronged! I really have nothing to do with this matter!"

Although Chi Zong, the Junior Supervisor of the Armory Bureau, was a little frightened, he still cried out: "Your Majesty, spare my life! I am your servant, and I would never do anything that goes against your will!"

Of course, no one cares about them now, and Zhu Houzhao can't believe whether they are guilty or not.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao was still thinking about the Western Factory's report on the latest situation of the Minister of Works Zeng Jian, and wondered if Zeng Jian was really not involved in this matter. On the surface, it seemed that he was the only official in the Ministry of Works and the Armament Bureau system who could escape suspicion, but according to the news from the Western Factory, Zeng Jian's behavior was very abnormal.

The more Zhu Houzhao thought about it, the more strange it seemed to him. He believed that if he was the mastermind behind the scenes, he should be able to guess that he, as the emperor, would dare to directly throw all the officials of the Ministry of Works and the Bureau of Armaments into the East Factory's detention center, just as he had dared to directly execute a large number of civil servants and strip a large number of gentry of their official titles and ranks in Jiangnan.

In that case, as the mastermind behind the scenes, he would definitely try to remove himself and become the person least likely to be involved in this matter. At this time, Zhu Houzhao suddenly remembered something and asked Liu Jin: "According to the scheduled arrangement, should I go to the Ordnance Bureau, which is the original Military Equipment Bureau, to check the inventory and the Ming Dynasty weapons manufacturing workshop tomorrow?"

"Your Majesty, yes! The original plan was to have the Minister of Works accompany you, but now that officials from the Ministry of Works and the Armory have been arrested by the East Factory, and the Minister of Works Zeng Jian is claiming to be ill, it seems that this matter will have to be delayed for some time!"

Liu Jin replied.

"No need to delay! Weapons manufacturing is a major event for the court. It is also related to the recovery of Hetao. Since the Ministry of Works only has the Minister of Works Zeng Jian, I order Zeng Jian to accompany me to the Ordnance Bureau tomorrow!" Zhu Houzhao said.

"But Your Majesty, Zeng Jian is now claiming to be sick and at home, I'm afraid," said Ma Wensheng.

"He has been nursing for so many days, he should be well now. Besides, I need an old minister like him who has been in charge of the Ministry of Works for a long time to give me some advice. Otherwise, I can't see anything. Let the Jinyiwei go and invite him. If he is still sick, carry him to follow me. Because he is an old minister, I will allow him to ride in the jade sedan chair like me!"

Zhu Houzhao said.

……

At this moment.

Zeng Jian, the Minister of Works, also learned about the situation outside from his confidants. After hearing that the officials of the Ministry of Works and the Armory were arrested and taken to the East Factory, he clenched his fists and said, "How dare Zhu Houzhao do this! This shows how incompetent Ma Wensheng and other civil officials are. It's really a disgrace to us civil officials that we can't even control the emperor!"

"They have all been bribed by Your Majesty with money, and have been praised by Your Majesty's people as selfless and virtuous ministers. Naturally, they are blindly flattering Your Majesty!" replied the confidant.

"No matter what, since Zhu Houzhao is determined to investigate further, we have to kill the king to prevent Chi Zong and others from betraying us under torture in the East Factory. Although we run the risk of having our entire clan executed, I believe that most civil servants in the world are willing to see this. As long as we do it perfectly, we won't be afraid of any trouble. Is there any news from the palace? Will Zhu Houzhao go to the Ordnance Bureau today?"

Minister of Works Zeng Jian asked.

"We will go! Although we can't get the specific information, the Imperial Ceremonial Department has already begun preparing for tomorrow's ceremony! The imperial guards have also been notified of the news," the confidant replied.

"Then are our gunpowder and ignition personnel ready?"

Zeng Jian asked.

"We are ready. We have already sent our assassins to infiltrate Guangjiku. As long as Zhu Houzhao comes to the Armory, we can blow him up! Even if Liu Jin and other eunuchs and Ma Wensheng and other treacherous officials go together, they can be blown up together! Then we can get rid of the treacherous officials once and for all!"

The confidant replied.

"When the time comes, there will be no emperor in the court, and it will be a good opportunity to choose an obedient prince to come to Beijing!" Zeng Jian said with a smile.

At this time, hurried footsteps were heard outside. It was the voice of Zeng's housekeeper: "Master, many Jinyiwei came outside, saying they are here to read the imperial decree!"

Zeng Jian heard the noise and hurried out of the secret room. Although he was a little confused, he still asked calmly, "Jinyiwei? What are Jinyiwei doing here?"

"I don't know, he's almost coming in!" replied the butler.

Zeng Jian nodded and then cried out in pain.

At this time, Guo Rong of the Imperial Guard came over and said, "There is an imperial decree! Minister of Works Zeng Jian is to accompany me to inspect the Ordnance Bureau tomorrow!"

"what!"

Zeng Jian cried out instinctively, his heart sinking, thinking that there would be a huge explosion in the Ordnance Bureau tomorrow, and if he followed along he would also be blown to pieces, so he pretended to be suffering from illness and said:
"Ouch! Ouch! Commander Guo, I am still not fully recovered from my illness. Could Your Majesty please allow me to continue to rest at home?"

"No! The Emperor said that if you are still not well, you will be carried away! You will be granted a jade sedan chair! We have to stay here tonight to guard you, and you will be carried to see the Emperor tomorrow morning. Grand Marshal, please take a good rest! Imperial Physician! Come and continue to feel Grand Marshal's pulse!"

Guo Rong said.

Soon, the imperial physician came over, and the Minister of Works Zeng Jian could only continue to cry out in pain, and at the same time he was a little panicked, thinking to himself, what should I do? I just wanted to blow up the emperor, but I didn't want to blow myself up too! I still wanted to live a few more years and enter the cabinet!
(End of this chapter)