Chapter 383 The sword points at the Tatars, and the clouds move in all directions!
"Hey, have you heard that the imperial court is about to send troops to the north!"
"Use soldiers? You mean to fight the Tatars, right? So fast?"
In a teahouse on the edge of the capital, everyone was chatting in different tones.
"Can't it be done quickly?"
One of them took a sip of tea, looked excited, and said loudly:
"Those barbarians from the north, I heard, are about to invade our Ming Dynasty! The border is full of smoke, and there are small groups of Tatar troops everywhere. It is said that the Tatar army is about to move south."
His words immediately caused everyone to exclaim:
"That's not good. The Tatars are very cruel. If we are invaded by them, our good days will be over."
"No, no wonder there was talk in the market a while ago that the Tatars were coming, but I still didn't believe it. Now the imperial court is preparing to send troops, so it seems the situation is not good..."
Everyone was talking a lot, their words full of hatred for the Tatars, and they felt very confused about the upcoming war.
Although they are in the capital, the Tatar invasion is going south. If the imperial army cannot resist it, it will be terrible!
"What are you guys doing in such a hurry?"
A somewhat rich middle-aged man in the teahouse picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said with a smile:
"This time, I heard that the Crown Prince personally led the troops on the expedition. Think about it, when has our Crown Prince ever lost a battle?"
"When he was still a prince, he followed Lord Yongle on the grasslands and beat up Tatars and Oara people, and even chopped off the heads of other Khans!"
"Later, he pacified Liaodong and conquered the Japanese state. It can be said that he was both wise and brave, and he was invincible in every battle."
"This time the Tatars dare to come back and invade our Ming Dynasty. I see, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be able to defeat them easily!"
Zhu Gaojie's past achievements are indeed quite dazzling. Whether externally or internally, he has demonstrated his super military ability, and he is not the kind of brainless warrior.
Therefore, after the people were initially frightened by the rumors of Tatar invasion, the situation was quickly calmed down as Zhu Gaojie ordered the Jinyi Guards to take action.
Without him, Jin Yiwei came forward and said, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has conquered east and west, and how many times has he ever lost a battle? It's just a Tatar, what's the point?
Therefore, when everyone is discussing now, the original fear has disappeared. At most, they are worried about what to do if the Ming army fails to hold on and the Tatars break through the defense line and go south to plunder.
"What Brother Liu said is absolutely true. Some time ago, I heard that the imperial court was purchasing good beef tendon wood and the like. It was probably for the purpose of building weapons and was already prepared."
While they were talking, everyone suddenly heard a loud noise coming from outside the teahouse. When they looked at the window, they discovered that it was a group of soldiers and government officials escorting dozens of people to the execution ground.
"Recently, the imperial court has been very vigorous in investigating and punishing corruption. Which country is this?"
Someone calculated silently for a while and said with some uncertainty:
"It should be the eighth family, right? It was said that last time it was a minister."
"Tch, so what about the minister? These corrupt officials deserve to die. Let me tell you, His Highness the Crown Prince did the right thing!"
…
boom!
In the house of Wang Zhi, the Minister of Civil Service, the ground was covered with broken teacups.
"I'm really pissed off!"
In the past, the official who always appeared calm and composed now seemed a little angry.
There was no other way. In just ten days, under the order of Zhu Gaojie, the Jinyiwei investigated more than a dozen cases of corrupt officials. Even a minister of his official department was taken away and imprisoned in the sky prison.
And among the dozen or so officials, the vast majority are his faction's civilian partisans.
"Sir, this prince has gone too far!"
"Master Fei has always been upright, but he was classified as a corrupt official. Not only did his home be ransacked, but he also beheaded him in public!"
"Nowadays, people in the court are in panic, fearing that they will be caught by the imperial guards. Many officials below have turned to Xia Yuanji."
"Lord Tianguan, you really have to deal with this matter. Now His Majesty is seriously ill and is refusing to act. This prince is young and energetic. If he continues to act like this, what else will he do?"
Everyone gathered around Wang Zhi, trying to persuade him with every word. On the one hand, they were frightened by Zhu Gaojie's ruthless methods, and on the other hand, they were also very dissatisfied with Zhu Gaojie's current behavior.
Scholar-officials, scholar-officials, I’m talking about these court officials. Your prince just found a reason to label so many officials as corrupt, and beheaded them and ransacked their homes at every turn. How could they, who are used to being pampered and privileged, endure this?
?
Wang Zhi rubbed the tea cup in his hand expressionlessly. After a long time, he said in a hoarse voice:
"Don't rush."
"Since the prince has decided to personally lead the army on an expedition, now is the time when his momentum is at its peak. It is unreasonable to prepare military resources. Let's just stay out of the way."
"After he goes to war, he will have no time to take care of the affairs of the court. By then, we will make him vomit out whatever he eats!"
"Yang Rong and the others are just withered bones in the grave. It's hard to do anything. You don't have to get angry in a hurry. We will naturally find out in the future."
Seeing that everyone seemed to want to talk, Wang Zhi waved his hand to stop them.
"I told you that the position of prince is not so easy to achieve."
"Does he think that with a little military merit and the help of the cabinet, he can do whatever he wants?"
"Since ancient times, how can the battle for the throne be so easy? Although the King of Han was exiled to the northwest by him, he still has a certain strength, and the other princes are not without their ability to compete."
"Does he really think that the position of the prince under him is so secure? If he doesn't comfort me at this time, he will go out to fight with some Tatars."
"Huh," Wang Zhi sneered and shook his head. "Just wait and see, the fun is yet to come."
Seeing Wang Zhi say this, everyone put their hearts back into their stomachs.
As close associates of Wang Zhi and his family, they all know that now is the most critical moment for them and the Donggong family.
Either the prince rose to power by virtue of his military exploits, succeeded him to the throne, and then slowly began to deal with them.
Either they overthrew the prince and supported another prince to ascend to the throne. From then on, they would enjoy prosperity and wealth forever.
After all, the prince's consistent performance was very dissatisfied with officials like them who had aristocratic family backgrounds and huge wealth.
From the last time the prince went to Jiangnan, it can be seen that he seems to have a strong "malice" towards the world's scholar-bureaucrats and wealthy families.
If this is the case, then they have no choice but to try their best to have a fight with His Highness the Crown Prince!