Return to Yingtian Outer City from Little Ande Gate, on the way past the Qinhuai River in the northeast direction.
Sun Cheng still couldn't figure out one thing.
That is, who helped this group of Japanese sneak into Yingtian, and how they could avoid the pursuit of Jin Yiwei.
Sun Cheng even had some empathy.
If he was the leader of that group of Japanese, if he wanted to sabotage the abdication ceremony and assassinate the entire Ming court's top brass, then he would never have killed three people in the first month of the first month, and then killed three people opposite the Yamen of Yingtian Prefecture.
Kill all thirty-seven people inside the house.
This defies logic.
If the Japanese people were planning for the abdication ceremony, they would not have been able to alert the enemy in advance.
But these Japanese still did it.
Under the eyes of millions of Yingtian subjects, a shocking murder was committed.
All of a sudden, they were exposed under Jin Yiwei's nose.
This group of Japanese people may not be willing to expose their existence before this.
Sun Cheng keenly felt that this matter must have been requested by those behind the scenes who helped the Japanese sneak into the capital.
But why do these people do this?
Even if the Japanese are exposed in front of Jin Yiwei, we still want them to kill?
Yingtian City looked a little cold in the dark night.
In order to ensure their activities, the Jin Yiwei did not wear too thick clothes, but because of running for a long time, everyone was blushing.
The darkness of night hid Sun Cheng's movement route very well.
And the outer city of Yingtian does not have the same dense population as the inner city.
In the outer city area, there are more cottages and fields.
This was considered during the expansion of Yingtian City.
When Yingtian City is besieged by foreign enemies, Yingtian City can still guarantee a certain supply of food.
However, this arrangement seems to be somewhat outdated now.
Visible to the naked eye, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was unlikely to be invaded by foreign enemies, let alone besieged by enemies.
That's why.
During this time, the Zhili Governor's Office and Yingtian Mansion were discussing whether to use the outer city of Yingtian City as a pilot to try a new economic experiment integrating urban and rural areas.
In fact, this matter already has some foundations.
In recent years, many of the government-owned and private factories in Yingtian Prefecture have been built in the outer area of Yingtian City.
Let’s talk about Sun Cheng and his team.
Wait until the end of the hour.
Sun Cheng and the others finally arrived at the south bank of the Qinhuai River in the outer city.
To the west of the south bank of the outer city is Zhengyangmenwai Street.
To the east of Zhengyangmenwai Street is the Beijing Army's military campus. On weekdays, military and horse drills or troop dispatches are mostly held here.
But under normal circumstances, the campus is a huge open space with not many soldiers and horses stationed there. Only a few teams of officers and soldiers are responsible for daily maintenance.
After passing the Grand Campus, you will find Zhonghe Bridge Street.
Across the street, there is a wasteland near the Qinhuai River.
Opposite the wasteland, to the west is the Shanchuan Altar outside Zhengyang Gate, and to the east is the Temple of Heaven.
In the middle of the two places is Kagura Xiandu, one of the most beautiful places in Jinling.
Kagura Sendu is famous for its divine optimism.
The sacred temple is used to hold sacrifices to the fields, gods and ancestors, and perform music and dance during the festival. There are officials in the temple such as Zhiguan and Zhiguan. It was established in the 11th year of Hongwu and was under the jurisdiction of Taichang Temple.
To the west of the Shengwang Temple, close to the Shanchuan Altar, is the livestock shelter, which is dedicated to raising livestock for royal sacrifices.
Qian Huguan was lying on the river bank, looking at the north bank of the Qinhuai River with only scattered lights on the other side.
"Zhen Fu, if those Japanese are planning to take action during the abdication ceremony, then the other side will be their final destination."
As the capital of Yingtian City, even the vegetation is protected to a certain extent on weekdays. The people in the city used to go out of the city to cut firewood.
In recent years, with the development and application of coal, the vegetation in Yingtian City has become increasingly lush.
On both sides of the Qinhuai River, there are dense vegetation and graceful trees.
Sun Cheng narrowed his eyes: "Tell me, did the Japanese take the Zhonghe Bridge to the west to cross the river, or the Shangfang Bridge to the east to cross the river? Or did they cross the river upstream from this river?"
This is critical.
Wherever the Japanese crossed the Qinhuai River, they were likely to ambush in that direction, waiting for the abdication ceremony to begin in the daytime before launching their final attack.
Qian Huguan whispered: "During the day, His Majesty held the abdication ceremony. After leaving the city, he first went to the Shanchuan Temple and led the civil and military officials to worship the Shanchuan Sheji. Then he entered the Temple of Heaven along the Temple of Heaven Street, where he met the princes, ministers and people.
Relinquish the throne of the emperor to the prince. The prince needs to make three speeches and then receive the emperor's seal. At that time, the new emperor will lead the civil and military officials to comfort the ancestral temple, offer sacrifices to the heaven and earth, and finally return to the city and enter the palace."
"So the focus is on the Temple of Heaven."
Sun Cheng crouched down and placed his hands on the cold ground on the river bank to dissipate the warmth from his body.
Qian Huguan nodded: "At that time, most of the time will be spent in the Temple of Heaven. But..."
Official Qianhu hesitated.
Since the abdication ceremony was confirmed.
The Ministry of Rites and Yousi Yamen began to prepare all the schedule for the abdication ceremony.
The Metropolitan Governor's Office, together with the direct military guards, surrounded the Temple of Heaven and Shanchuan Altar a year ago, prohibiting all outsiders from approaching.
If the Japanese want to create chaos and take the opportunity to assassinate the top officials of the Ming Dynasty, they can only succeed if they enter the Temple of Heaven or the Temple of Mountains and Rivers.
Official Qianhu thought for a while, and finally hesitantly said: "Maybe the Japanese will take action on Temple of Heaven Street."
There is also a great possibility at this time.
Although it is said that the emperor and the civil and military officials will be surrounded by a large number of imperial guards.
But on the Temple of Heaven Street, people were allowed to watch.
On both sides of the street, there were only soldiers and soldiers from the army and soldiers guarding the streets to prevent people from blocking the Temple of Heaven Street.
And if you do it on the Temple of Heaven Street, it is easiest to distinguish the positions of the emperor and the prince.
Although the casualties that may be caused will be much smaller, the princes and ministers who can be around the emperor and the prince are all high-ranking people.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Killing ten magistrates is not as cost-effective as killing one minister directly.
Sun Cheng narrowed his eyes and whispered: "If something is really going to happen during the abdication ceremony, no matter where the Japanese want to take action, they will definitely leave secret sentries around here to keep an eye on the court's movements secretly."
Qianhuguan immediately answered: "So, we can't cross the river on the bridge on both sides now."
"If there are really Japanese people here, you can't walk on Zhonghe Bridge and Shangfang Bridge."
Qian Huguan's eyes sunk, his eyelids shrank, he raised his head and quickly scanned both sides of the north bank of the Qinhuai River.
"Then we can only wade across the river from here."
Sun Cheng nodded: "Take off your outer robe, wrap it in the leather cloth, and put it back on after crossing the river. Be quick."
There are only a few hours left before dawn.
After daybreak, the ceremony in the palace will begin, and a little later, the royal family and the princes and ministers in the court will leave the city.
Sun Cheng gave an order, and the Jinyi guards around him began to take off their robes one after another and put them into the waterproof cowhide bags they carried.
The night is dark.
There are faint stars rippling on the Qinhuai River, and in the distance to the west is the waters of Dongshuiguan Wharf, which is busy day and night.
At this time, many ships had begun to sail from the Yangtze River into the Dongshuiguan waters, waiting to unload the cargo on board so that they could return to the Yangtze River before the waterway was congested during the day.
Sun Cheng and others pushed the package and marched silently in the cold river water.
The aquatic plants along the water's edge on the north shore hid their tracks very well.
A group of awakened teal ducks squawked and slid across the water, breaking the ripples they created on the water.
The last traces also disappeared from the surface of the Qinhuai River.
In the water grassland on the shore, Sun Cheng and others quickly changed into dry clothes, and then began to approach the shore.
Perhaps because the abdication ceremony was approaching, Shen Optimism and the Animal Storage Station had already lit up lights one after another, illuminating a large area on the shore.
Water drops dripped from his forehead.
Sun Cheng pushed his loose hair to one side and stared at the street construction outside the woods on the shore with a dark gaze.
"Zhenfu!"
"There's something going on here!"
A low voice came into Sun Cheng's ears from the east.
Sun Cheng's eyes twitched and he quickly looked over.
They are the Jin Yiwei Tiqi who are responsible for reconnaissance in the east.
Sun Li immediately took Qian Huguan and took a few steps back toward the bank, then slinked toward the east.
After passing through a bush and seeing the scene clearly, Sun Cheng and Qian Huguan's eyes couldn't help but shrink violently.
I saw a corpse wet by the river water lying on the grass among the bushes.
Two Jinyi guards were rummaging through the corpse.
"They are Japanese."
A Jin Yiwei raised his head and took off the black clothes on the body, revealing the clothes underneath.
It is clearly a Japanese costume.
And on this man's waist, there are two knives, one long and one short.
This is also a common equipment worn by Japanese warriors.
The corpse of the Japanese!
Still here on the north bank of the Qinhuai River near the Temple of Mountains and Rivers, the Temple of Heaven!
Sun Cheng's eyes narrowed silently.
Qianhuguan was full of surprise: "Why are there Japanese corpses here?"
He walked up to the body and used the embroidered spring knife in his hand to take off the clothes and lay them on the ground.
Officer Qianhu looked at the corpse carefully.
"There are no wounds on the front, turn it over and take a look."
The Jin Yiwei who was squatting aside immediately turned the body over.
And he also took off all the black clothes from the corpse.
"Still no wounds!"
Qian Huguan's eyes narrowed and his eyes became a little cold.
The Jin Yiwei who was squatting next to the corpse turned the corpse over again, face up.
Jin Yiwei began to open the mouth of the corpse and dug into the mouth with a stick.
"There are no foreign objects. It doesn't look like he drowned."
It was not homicide, and there was no sign of drowning!
Qian Huguan's eyes were in a trance, and he turned back to look at Sun Cheng, who was silent and frowning.
Sun Cheng squinted and pondered for a long time, then said in a low voice: "Look at the limbs and neck. If there are no injuries, take off all the clothes."
Two knights in royal robes immediately obeyed the order.
Start looking at the limbs and neck position of the corpse.
There are no abnormalities in the limbs.
There were no marks on the neck.
The two Jinyi guards took a breath and then began to take off the clothes from the corpse one by one.
Although the body was soaked in river water, it was not white or swollen.
This shows that the body was not dragged from the water to the shore.
Two Jinyi guards searched the corpses one by one.
Suddenly, a guard in Jinyi made a sound, frowned, and pressed his finger on the heart of the corpse.
Then under a few pairs of eyes.
I saw a drop of blood oozing from the heart of the corpse.
"Is it the eye of a needle?"
Jin Yiwei, who was holding his heart, muttered, and then pressed down harder with his hand.
Drops of blood began to seep out from the heart.
Then Jin Yiwei put both hands on his heart.
The drops of blood began to form a small stream of blood.
"Zhenfu?"
Qian Huguan's tone changed somewhat.
Sun Cheng stepped forward lightly, his brows furrowed and his face frosty.
Official Qianhu gave up his position: "My subordinates really can't understand now why there is a Japanese corpse here?"
Sun Cheng whispered: "Kill him?"
Qian Huguan glanced at the spot where blood was oozing from his heart and shook his head: "I'm not sure, it's hard to say. But this position cannot be done by myself."
Sun Cheng hummed and then fell into thinking.
Official Qianhu was not sure whether the Japanese was killed by him, but he said that the needle hole in his heart could not have been made by himself.
That is to say, it is also possible that this Japanese man took the initiative to let others attack him before he was alive.
Or, was asked to do so.
Things suddenly became wrong and complicated again.
"But now we are sure of one thing!"
After Sun Cheng spoke for a while, he spoke with a faint look in his eyes.
Official Qianhu nodded: "The Japanese are indeed around here."
But where are the Japanese hiding?
Qian Huguan raised his head and looked at the lights on the shore.
Under the forest on the shore, shadows are dancing.
Sun Cheng stood up, glanced at the corpse on the ground, frowned a little and said: "Hide it up! You take people to the Shanchuan Altar and the Temple of Heaven, and let the imperial guards there check it out. Take a look at the Shanchuan Altar and the Temple of Heaven.
Is there anything hidden in the Temple of Heaven?"
He did not dare to say whether it was possible that the Shanchuan Altar and the Temple of Heaven were hidden by the Japanese with a large amount of gunpowder, waiting for the abdication ceremony to begin and ignite them, blowing up the entire Ming Dynasty into the sky.
But Qian Huguan understood the meaning.
Nod and take orders.
Qian Huguan looked at Sun Cheng again: "Then I will comfort you..."
"The rest of you will join me and hide as well."
Sun Cheng squinted his eyes, making it unclear what he was thinking.
Qian Huguan thought for a while, but couldn't think of any better way now.
Unless the court is asked to tentatively schedule the abdication ceremony for a few hours later.
But such a request is definitely impossible to obtain.
Not to mention that this was a date set by the emperor himself, with theoretical support from Qin Tian Jian.
It is said that once the abdication ceremony is suspended or postponed, countless rumors and rumors may arise in the court and among the people.
Some people may even think that this is because the imperial court sensed that God might not agree with this abdication, so the imperial court had to suspend the abdication ceremony.
At that time, the prince will be in a dilemma.
So no matter what.
Even if the sky is about to fall in a few hours, the abdication ceremony must be held as scheduled.
Qian Huguan took a deep breath, and for a moment he felt as if his shoulders were as heavy as a ton of stone.
He led the people and quickly disappeared by the river bank.
Sun Cheng also took the remaining people and started groping on the shore, gradually disappearing without a trace.