The weather was gloomy, with dark clouds and strong winds. Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han Dynasty, tugged on his cloak. He was surrounded by an empty and uninhabited wilderness.
After King Han pinched his fingers and blew three slogans, a dark figure quietly walked out of the shadows in the distance. He was wearing night clothes, and even his face was completely covered, with only a pair of small eyes exposed.
.
"How are things going?"
King Zhu Gaoxu of Han Dynasty spoke with a calm expression.
The assassin replied in a hoarse voice: "According to your order, everything is ready. After the completion of the matter, the King of Chu will definitely be ruined and fall from the clouds into the abyss."
King Zhu Gaoxu of Han Dynasty nodded after hearing this, and said with a slight sneer: "King Chu, let me see how you deal with it this time! Some chess pieces have been buried by me before you noticed it. Maybe no one usually notices it.
, but as long as the chess piece explodes at the critical moment, no matter how powerful you are, it will be difficult to resist."
In the palace of Prince Chu, Zhu Muchen looked at the gloomy sky and couldn't help but sigh.
"The weather is getting colder."
After hearing what he said, Aji quickly came over with a leather jacket and put it on Zhu Muchen's shoulders.
"My lord, the weather has turned cold, so you must pay more attention to your health."
Zhu Muchen smiled and said to Aji: "You are now a high-ranking official of the first rank. You can just leave small things like getting clothes to the servants."
"I don't trust it if I leave it to others."
Aji shook his head and said firmly.
Hearing this, Zhu Muchen felt warm in his heart. He raised his hand and patted Aji on the shoulder. Then he took Aji and walked outside the Prince of Chu's Mansion. The factories for making firecrackers had already been set up, and he wanted to go there in person.
Check it out.
Originally, according to the reports from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War, the operation of the gun factory was very smooth, and there was no need for him to inspect it at all, but Zhu Muchen always felt uneasy, so he went to visit it in person.
Aji was also a little confused about this: "Your Majesty, I can just check on the fire gun factory by myself. Why bother you to go in person?"
Zhu Muchen shook his head and said calmly: "No matter how big or small it is, I am the main person in charge of this strategy after all, so I have to go and observe it myself. If I only let you do everything, I will
It’s not a good thing to lose control of the overall progress. And I also need to pay attention to some specific details.”
"As expected of you, Your Majesty, your thinking and vision have far surpassed ours."
Aji nodded in praise after hearing this, and his admiration for Zhu Muchen increased.
Soon, Zhu Muchen and Aji arrived at the factory where fire guns were made. The official in charge of the factory, after seeing him, hurriedly saluted and said hello.
"King Chu, why did you come here in person? The smell of smoke in this place is very strong, which is not good for your health."
"It doesn't matter."
Zhu Muchen waved his hand, and then explained to the official that he wanted to check out the fire gun refining factory.
The official did not hesitate and immediately took Zhu Muchen on a tour of the Fire Gun Factory. Along the way, he also introduced to Zhu Muchen the functions of each part and the progress of the construction. During the process, Zhu Muchen observed every detail in detail and proposed some modifications.
suggestion.
Later, he saw some officers and soldiers carrying boxes out. Thinking that he had not received any news about the need for military supplies recently, he asked doubtfully: "Where are these muskets going to be transported?"
The official in charge of the gun factory changed his expression and hurriedly explained: "There was a decree from the palace this morning, saying that some fire guns should be used to enrich the armament. We haven't had time to report it to you yet."
Zhu Muchen pretended to be calm and nodded on the surface, but he was full of doubts in his heart. Why did the palace need firecrackers to upgrade its armaments? The defensive force in Nanjing is very strong now. Logically speaking, there is no need to use more firecrackers. Could it be that the emperor
A new city defense force has been added?
This is also unlikely. Now that the situation is stable, there is no need to add more city defense troops. Moreover, if the emperor wants firecrackers, he will definitely inform himself in advance. How can he come directly to the factory to take them away?
Thinking of this, he whispered to Aji and then continued to visit the gun factory.
In the end, it took Zhu Muchen half a day to visit the entire gun factory. After explaining some things, he returned directly to the Prince of Chu's palace.
Within a few days, Zhu Muchen received the emperor's order, saying that he should accompany him to visit the gun factory. Although Zhu Muchen was very surprised, he could only act according to the order.
"King Chu, how is the arrangement of your gun factory going?"
Zhu Di was walking on the street in casual clothes. Around him were only Chu King Zhu Muchen, Han King Zhu Gaoxu and a few personal guards.
Zhu Muchen replied: "Let me tell you, Your Majesty, the fire gun factory is now operating very normally, and the production speed of fire gun is also very fast."
Hearing this, the King of Han nodded in agreement and said, "With King Chu's arrangements, this fire gun factory must be foolproof."
Zhu Muchen looked at the King of Han Zhu Gaoxu. This was the first time that he and the King of Han were at such a close distance after the Wenhui incident.
Seeing Zhu Muchen looking at him, Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu turned around and smiled at him and said: "King Chu, I haven't seen you for a few days, but you have become more and more heroic. You are worthy of being the pillar of our Ming Dynasty!"
"The King of Han is so ridiculous. The pillars of the Ming Dynasty are still the emperor, the prince, the King of Han, etc. I am just a little decoration on these pillars."
Zhu Muchen responded with the same smile.
Zhu Di was obviously a little impatient as he listened to the two people complimenting each other.
"Okay, okay, you can talk about this kind of thing privately in the future. I finally got out for a walk, so now let my ears be clearer."
Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Muchen immediately stopped talking and followed Zhu Di silently all the way to the gun factory.
The officials in charge of the Fire Gun Factory only learned not long ago that a big shot was coming here to inspect. In a hurry, they could only make various preparations, including the emperor's visit process and related security issues.
Under the guidance of the responsible official, Zhu Di and the other three visited the gun factory. After the visit, Zhu Di stroked his beard and looked at everything in front of him with a smile and satisfaction.
"The King of Chu has indeed done a good job in this matter. We can build more fire gun factories in the future in our Ming Dynasty. If they operate according to the model of this factory, the national power will soon grow."
Zhu Muchen just wanted to thank Zhu Di for the compliment, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a little smoke rising from a gunpowder box not far away.
His pupils shrank, and he hurriedly protected Zhu Di, shouting loudly: "Here comes someone to protect you! There are assassins!"
Zhu Di was looking confused. When there was an assassin in the gun factory, he was directly led by Zhu Muchen to escape from the area. Then there was a huge explosion! A flame came directly from the area where they were just now.
Burning inside.
"Here comes someone! The water has escaped! The water has escaped! Come and put out the fire!"
Immediately, the officials of the Fire Gun Factory immediately began to organize firefighting. Fortunately, the King of Chu had previously told them to prevent this kind of thing, and they had made preparations early. In a short period of time, the fire had gradually reduced.
Zhu Di's guards first shot a firework into the sky, and then drew out their blades to protect the three of Zhu Di firmly.
Zhu Muchen recognized the firework. It was a signal to mobilize the city defense troops. He believed that in less than a quarter of an hour, the city defense troops would arrive here and surround the gun factory.
The panic on Zhu Di's face had not yet dissipated at this time. He leaned on Zhu Muchen's body and gasped for air.
Before the crisis was over, Han King Zhu Gaoxu had already drawn his sword and put it on the neck of Chu King Zhu Muchen. He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked: "King Chu, what are your intentions? You actually laid such a trap in the gun factory.
!Do you want to kill the king?"
Facing the blade already placed on his neck, Zhu Muchen quickly calmed down and ignored Zhu Gaoxi, but turned to look at Zhu Di.
"Your Majesty, please take a closer look, there is something fishy about this matter! If I really have a treasonous intention, why did I take you to escape just now? Moreover, looking at the power of the explosion just now, I myself was also within the scope of the explosion. If I was not up to something, what would happen?
Will they kill themselves together?"
Zhu Di also stabilized his mentality at this time. He glanced at Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu and motioned for him to put down his sword.
"Of course I trust the King of Chu. I will naturally investigate the matter after the Jin Yiwei arrives."
Soon, the city defense army surrounded the firecrackers factory, and the Jin Yiwei also sneaked into the firecrackers factory to investigate. Not long after, they came over with a package and walked through it.
He took out a note and handed it to Zhu Di.
After Zhu Di read the content clearly, he asked with unclear meaning: "King Chu, do you know what is written on it? The content inside turned out to be that you ordered the officials of the Fire Gun Factory to secretly transport part of the Fire Gun to
Give them to Wala, and then collude with them to carry out rebellion. Is this possible?"
Zhu Muchen's expression did not change, as if he had anticipated this.
"Your Majesty, someone must have framed this matter on me. Otherwise, why would an explosion be deliberately caused in the gun factory today? It must be to use this reason to frame the blame on me."
Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, sneered: "The explosion of the gun factory may be just a coincidence, but there is solid evidence for your rebellion. Zhu Muchen, what else do you have to explain this letter? I just sent someone to read it.
There are indeed some fire blunderbuss missing here, they must have been sent to Wala by you!"
At this time, Aji's voice came from outside, requesting to see the emperor. After Zhu Di nodded, he saw Aji walking over with a tied man, followed closely by Zhu Zhanji.
.
Aji knelt on the ground and immediately said: "I pay homage to the emperor. When the King of Chu and I came to inspect the gun factory a few days ago, the King of Chu had already noticed something abnormal in the gun factory, so he sent his ministers to find the emperor and his grandson to investigate together.
After several days of investigation and tracking, we caught this person and found evidence of his connection with Wala."
Zhu Zhanji also hurriedly echoed and said: "Grandpa Huang, I can prove that the King of Chu came to me to investigate this matter a few days ago. It's just that the thief ran too far. We just arrested him today. He
In the carriage were the missing muskets."
After Zhu Di heard this, he glanced at Zhu Gaoxi and said: "Take this person to the prison of Jin Yiwei for interrogation to see who wants to frame the King of Chu. Let the others disperse."
