A stone can stir up a thousand waves, and the arrest of Li Zicheng, a big thief, was like a nuclear explosion in the sea. It was a huge wave that plunged the entire capital into excitement. People who had good things to say went to Dongchang Yamen to see the excitement.
Little did he know that he couldn't even reach the Yamen. The streets leading to the Dongchang Yamen were all under traffic control, and there were several troops patrolling back and forth. Such tight security was unprecedented and made people even more trustworthy.
The next morning at court, all the officials were discussing the matter endlessly. Emperor Chongzhen also acknowledged the fact that Li Chuang was captured in the court hall, but did not elaborate on the details and said that after he retired from the court, he would go to Dongchang Yamen to interrogate Li Chuang personally.
The news spread quickly. When the people learned that the emperor was leaving the palace, they came to see the excitement early in the morning. However, they could only watch a carriage leaving the palace from a distance outside Dong'an Gate. They didn't know whether it was the emperor or not.
It's clear, but it should be so when you see your subordinates like clouds.
No, Emperor Chongzhen really went there, and not alone. He went with several ministers in the cabinet. Since he was cooperating with the performance, he should get into the scene and show a professional attitude.
No one questioned why the emperor went to the Yamen to interrogate Li Chuang in person instead of bringing Li Chuang there. Everyone knew the reason: Li Chuang was nothing more than a thief, and how could the palace allow him to defile him.
Emperor Chongzhen had never seen Li Chuang before, and naturally neither had the cabinet ministers, but they really saw a "Li Chuang" with a big face and a fierce face in the imperial prison.
"You have caused misfortune to the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years. I can't wait to eat your flesh and blood." Emperor Chongzhen went up and spat at him. Li Chuang sneered and glanced at Emperor Chongzhen and his cabinet ministers without saying a single glance.
However, the cabinet ministers were frightened by his sharp and ferocious gaze, and did not even dare to look at him. He was really a tough gangster, and his murderous aura was too strong.
Seeing that he was silent, Emperor Chongzhen asked Chang Yu: "Has this beast ever spoken?"
Chang Yu smiled slightly: "Back to the emperor, this thief is not angry. Maybe he thinks that I can win without force, but it's okay. We just have to wait for him for a few days. We have plenty of time." He took a step forward and said lightly to Li Chuang: "
The later you open your mouth, the less qualified you are to bargain."
"You originally intended to surrender, but why did you insist on being arrested now?" Wu Sheng stepped forward and angrily shouted: "It is not an exaggeration to kill you a hundred times for your crime, but I can't bear it in the eyes of the people, so I just spared your life to serve.
It's useless for you to be stubborn at this time. It's better to talk about how to find peace."
Li Chuang still snorted coldly, and Wu Sheng wanted to say more. Chang Yu came over and cupped his hands and said, Sir Cifu, this guy is not an ordinary person. He is careless and has a lot of resentment in his heart when he is captured. Wait until he slows down, maybe he is also thinking about taking over.
Let’s talk about how to deal with it. We have been waiting for more than ten years, and it’s just a few days.
Wu Sheng has always been unkind to Chang Yu, mainly because he naturally hates eunuchs, but sometimes he particularly admires this eunuch. Taiyuan, Baoding, Ningyuan, and Baiwang are all due to him. Now he has captured the leader of the thief. This ability
You have to accept it, but he doesn't want to admit that he admires a eunuch, so he is very conflicted. Hearing what Chang Yu said, he agreed in his heart, but he still wanted to argue with him, but Emperor Chongzhen didn't give it to him.
He left a word about the opportunity and kept silent for three days. After being sentenced, he led everyone out of the cell, and then discussed in the Yamen how to make a big fuss about it. Should Li Chuang negotiate with Li Guo and Liu Zongmin, or should they take advantage of them first?
The fight is about sitting and reaping the benefits of being a fisherman.
A few big guys were making suggestions, but they didn't know that the two big guys around them had already had an idea in mind. They were just a bunch of extras who were kept in the dark, and their purpose was to make sure that Li Chuang was arrested.
The more genuine and realistic the reactions from all parties will be, the more prominent the reactions will be and the chance for him to make a fuss.
Sure enough, before noon, the whole capital exploded again. The emperor personally interrogated Li Chuang and even described all the details including Li Zicheng's appearance. Because there were several cabinet ministers going with him this time, so
The credibility is higher, and Song Xiance, who had just entered the city, became extremely solemn after hearing their description of Li Zicheng's appearance.
Of course, the person imprisoned in Dongchang Prison is not the real Li Chuang, but a gangster who has committed a capital crime. Last year's war disaster and the great famine caused an influx of countless people from all religions and nine streams in the capital, many of them desperadoes. This person was one of the people who was captured by the Jinyi Guards.
He was arrested, and was later picked by Chang Yu because he had some similarities with Li Zicheng and after a slight disguise, he had a 70% resemblance.
Chang Yu asked the death row prisoner to pretend to be Li Chuang in exchange for his chance to live. The man naturally agreed. To ensure that he would not suddenly talk nonsense, he also asked Wang Zhengnan to tap his numb holes. All this was just to confuse the cabinet ministers and Emperor Chongzhen.
I brought him here just to spread the news through their mouths.
The net has been cast, and we are waiting to see how big the harvest will be. In the Dongchang Yamen, Chang Yu was leisurely drinking tea with his legs crossed. Yesterday, he had sent an order to Zuo Liangyu of Wuchang to urge him to break the city within a time limit.
He guessed that Zuo Liangyu would hesitate when he received the imperial edict, but once he was sure that Li Zicheng had been arrested, he would not wait to send troops. A boss like him would naturally have eyes and ears or close officials in the capital, but it was easier than Song Xiance to confirm the news.
, there are also more sources of information, and the sources must be very reliable. This is why Chang Yu teamed up with Emperor Chongzhen to perform such a show for the cabinet bosses, just to facilitate Zuo Liangyu to confirm the information.
"Jiang Quan, is there any news from Puzhou?" Chang Yu shouted to the door. Chunxiang was still secretly chasing Li Zicheng outside the capital. The affairs in the yamen were temporarily watched by Jiang Quan, a ruthless man. Hearing Chang Yu's shouting, Jiang Quan
He came in quickly and said, "Back to the Governor, there is no news yet. Why don't you humble yourself and go to the Jin Yiwei to inquire about it?"
Chang Yu waved his hand: "If Li Yan has military information, he will send it to our Yamen immediately. How can he go to Wu Mengming's?" Jiang Quan responded with an embarrassed look on his face. Chang Yu asked again: "Do you know where Zheng Zhilong is?"
"I only know that I have entered the Hebei border. The specifics..." Before he could finish his words, Chang Yu interrupted him: "Come on, send someone to call Xiao Zheng here." Jiang Quan agreed. Just as he was about to go out, he saw a man rushing to the door.
: "Duke, Your Highness Kunxing is here."
Chang Yu was a little surprised. Princess Kunxing, who had been busy with official duties these days, knew at that time that she would not bother her if there was nothing wrong. Could it be that she had encountered some trouble again?
Kun Xing came to deliver snacks, saying that Queen Zhou made them with her, to reward him as a great hero. Then he quietly asked: "The big thief Li Chuang has really been captured, can I take a look?"
"
Chang Yu nodded: "I caught him, but he's so fierce. You better not look at him."
"Look at what he looks like, no matter how fierce he is, can he still eat me?" Kun Xing was really curious as to what kind of thief was this bandit who brought the Ming Dynasty into despair and almost destroyed the country.
"It's better not to see him with a fierce look on his face. He will have nightmares at night." Chang Yu refused and changed the topic: "Tell me, what are you doing here? I don't believe you are really here to deliver snacks to the Queen." of".
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Kun Xing sighed: "If I hadn't been very upset, I wouldn't have bothered you right now."
"It doesn't matter, I've been busy with official duties these days. You're here just in time to talk, and I feel happier and more relaxed."
"Is it true?" Kun Xing smiled, then frowned and said, "You have been busy with official duties these days, but you didn't know that something happened at my place." Chang Yu was startled after hearing this: "Could it be that something went wrong in the business?" ?”