"Hehe! So that's what your lord meant. Let's go and do it right away. All the expenses for your lord's banquet tonight will be borne by us!"
One person chuckled.
As officials, they still understood this. Lin Fan was also a general of the Ming Dynasty, so naturally they had to pay for the banquet for the city's gentry.
Lin Fan smiled and said: "Hehe! In this case, it has cost you money."
Those people repeatedly said that this was what they should do, and then left to invite the gentry in the city, because more than a dozen of them had been officials in the city for many years and knew most of the gentry and nobles in the city.
Let them invite the wealthy gentry, which will save a lot of trouble. After these people left, Zhang Liang walked to Lin Fan and asked: "Sir, do you really want to borrow food from them?"
"I will never bow to any gentry. Asking them to borrow food is just a reason to deceive them. If you dare not give it, I will kill you!"
Lin Fan said coldly.
He walked into the palace with his hands behind his back. In the haste of Li Zicheng's escape, he should have left a lot of things with him. He grabbed everything wherever he went. Was so much money gone?
He ordered people to search again, but still found nothing of value. It seemed that Li Zicheng was really ruthless. When he escaped, he took away all the valuable items.
In the palace, Chongzhen learned the news that Lin Fan had conquered Xi'an City.
"Okay! It's really good! Xi'an has finally been recaptured. If Li Zicheng escapes, he must be going to Sichuan, where there are many mountains and rivers and are easy to defend!"
"However, once he gets there, it will be difficult for him to get out. There are not many fertile fields in Sichuan, so there is not much food. This Li Zicheng is waiting to be cannibalized step by step!"
Chongzhen said with a smile.
Immediately afterwards, Chongzhen asked: "You are sending an order back now, asking Lin Fan to guard Xi'an for a period of time, and then return with the troops after the place is completely stabilized."
"Ask the prince to come back now and don't stay in Xi'an."
Chongzhen's original intention was to call the prince back from Xi'an, so as not to affect Lin Fan's arrangements there, but he didn't know that the prince was missing.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the prince is missing!"
The person who delivered the order said.
"What! The prince is missing?
How is this possible? Wasn't Xi'an captured by Lin Fan?
Is it because you are late or because of something else? Please come to me as expected!"
When Chongzhen heard that the prince was missing, he was immediately shocked.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Could it be that Lin Fan really took this opportunity to attack the prince?
But, Lin Fan doesn't look like this kind of person?
Even if he wanted to kill the prince, he would do it in an upright manner. Why would he do it in the midst of such a war?
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the prince did not listen to Master Luo's dissuasion that day and insisted on attacking the city before reinforcements arrived. After entering the city, he was surrounded by the bandits!"
"Jin Yiwei fought bloody battles and fought all the way towards the palace. However, there were more and more thieves, all of whom were elites. We were defeated and were completely surrounded!"
"If Master Lin hadn't arrived with his troops at this time, we would have been killed by the bandit army! Master Lin rushed all the way regardless of his own safety, but it was still a step too late. When he arrived, the prince disappeared for no reason!"
"At first, we thought we were taken away by Mr. Luo. Later, we found Mr. Luo. Mr. Luo was seriously injured, but the prince was still not found!"
The man reported it truthfully.
Ding!
Hearing what the man said, Chongzhen's heart skipped a beat. It was not Lin Fan's fault, but the prince was indeed missing, which meant that the prince was probably dead!
this!
Why is it happening like that!
Chongzhen was shocked, and the officials in the court were frightened when they heard this. The prince was just gone, but Lin Fan had made great achievements.
This person must be eliminated, otherwise, his power will grow stronger and stronger, and officials like them will always be stepped on!
"Your Majesty! There is something fishy about this matter. How could the prince disappear for no reason?"
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it must be Lin Fan who is causing trouble in secret, because he is worried that the prince will steal his official position as commander of the Royal Guards!"
"Your Majesty, this matter must be thoroughly investigated. In the opinion of the humble minister, it is better to withdraw Lin Fan from Xi'an and have the Dali Temple and the Three Laws Division examine it!"
"If he is really not wrong, he will naturally be rewarded and promoted to a noble rank. If the prince's affairs are related to him, Your Majesty will not let him off easily!"
The officials said one after another.
Chongzhen said in a deep voice: "My dear friends, if I withdraw Lin Fan now, who else can take on the important task of defending the city?"
"Our Ming Dynasty has just ushered in a great victory, and you want me to remove the commander-in-chief of the three armies. How much do you expect that our Ming Dynasty will fail again and be killed by the traitor army again?"
Chongzhen couldn't see that these officials had selfish motives and wanted to use this excuse to get rid of Lin Fan. Naturally, Chongzhen would not let them do so.
this……
After being scolded by Chongzhen, the officials were all at a loss for words. One of them bravely said: "Your Majesty! Even so, the missing one is the prince!"
"If this matter is not thoroughly investigated, how can we give an explanation to the officials? I'm afraid it will be difficult even for the Queen! Wei Chen suggested that it is better to send a supervisory army there. Once this happens, it can prevent Lin Fan from usurping power.
You can also secretly investigate the reason for the prince’s disappearance!”
After the official said this, the ministers all said: "That makes sense! Your Majesty, the prince's disappearance must be investigated!"
Chongzhen glanced at the ministers and said: "It is not difficult to send a supervisor over, but whichever one of you goes, please recommend yourself."
Forehead……
Now, all the officials were dumbfounded. With Lin Fan's temper, who would dare to go?
People who go to supervise the army either have their heads off their belts or on the edge of their swords.
"Ahem! Your Majesty, this matter of supervising the army is no small matter. I suggest that Wu Lin, the young minister of Taichang Temple, take charge of it. How about it?"
One person coughed twice and said.
Wu Linzheng was standing among the officials with his head lowered. He really wanted to say to the person who made this suggestion, "I am a fool."
You are going to slap me on the head for this shit, but even though others have pushed you away, you still have to say a few words.
"Ahem! Your Majesty, Lin Fan serves the country and the people, he is brave and good at fighting. We just took the city of Xi'an and we sent a supervisor there. This will inevitably make him unhappy!"
"Instead of doing this, Your Majesty might as well issue an imperial edict and give Lin Fan a million dollars in silver so that he can straighten things out in Xi'an City. In this way, Lin Fan will be able to appreciate His Majesty's kindness!"
Wu Linzheng said in a deep voice.
Pooh!
When all the officials heard what Wu Linzheng said, they all wanted to spit on Wu Linzheng's head. This old boy is really insidious. He really can't offend both parties. Moreover, you asked your Majesty to give him a million taels of silver.