In the Tumu Fort, in the side hall of the emperor's camp, Dong Chao, the commander of the Huailai Guard, knelt on the ground without daring to raise his head.
"Thousands of Jin Yiwei assassinated King Zhao. How could such a thing happen?" Ming Chengzu sat on the large dragon chair and looked at Dong Chao kneeling in front of him in disbelief.
"This incident was jointly witnessed by the soldiers of Prince Zhao's Mansion and Huailai Guard. The commander of the Jinyi Guards was holding a Xiuchun Dao and intended to attack Prince Zhao, but was killed by everyone." Dong Chao lowered his head and reported loudly.
Ming Chengzu turned his head and looked at Lin Shangli who was standing aside: "How many thousands of Jinyiwei came to Tumubao this time?"
"Back to the Emperor, there are two Jinyi Guards here." Lin Shangli bowed hurriedly and said.
"One was transferred to Dongchang and the other was killed in Huailai Guard. Doesn't it mean that the Jinyi Guards don't even have a leader now?" Ming Chengzu said.
"I am no longer in charge of thousands of households." Lin Shangli said.
"Xiao Chen listens." Ming Chengzu raised his voice.
Xiao Chen, who was standing on the side, hurriedly flicked his sleeves and knelt in the center of the side hall: "I'm here."
"I order you to immediately take over all the Jinyiwei forces outside Tumu Fort and go quickly." Ming Chengzu said with a majestic face.
"I accept the order." Xiao Chen hugged his fists, stood up and left in a hurry.
Dong Chao, the commander of the Huailai Guard who was kneeling next to him, couldn't help but feel a little thump in his heart.
There are rumors outside that the emperor has left the purple-clad captain aside, but it seems that is not the case at all. Not only has he not been left out, he is also wearing an ordinary captain's uniform and hiding in the earthen fort.
But at this moment, the emperor actually ordered him to immediately take over the surrounding Jinyi Guards. It seemed that the emperor's trust in the purple-clothed captain had never changed.
"Dong Chao, where is the body of Qianhu, the Jin Yiwei guard?" He then looked at Dong Chao who was kneeling on the ground, Ming Chengzu said.
"Back to the emperor, the body is still being placed in Huailaiwei, waiting for Dongchang to verify its identity."
"Now is the critical period when the "hunting" activity is ongoing. This kind of thing happened in your territory. Do you think I can still trust you?" Ming Chengzu's tone became a little colder.
"I did not ensure the safety of all the officials who stayed there. I am guilty." Lying on the ground, the sweat on Dong Chao's forehead had already wet the ground.
"After returning, I will hand over the military affairs with the deputy commander of Huailai Guard, and then go to Dongchang to wait for investigation." Ming Chengzu's face showed no expression, but his words were as cold as the March 9 weather, biting to the bone.
"I accept the order," he said. Dong Chao's body seemed to be no longer under his control, and his legs were so weak that he could not stand up.
Lin Shangli waved to Dong Chao, and two Dongchang captains walked over and lifted him up on the spot.
"Your Majesty, King Zhao is asking for an audience at the gate." Another captain came to the gate of the side hall and reported.
"Let him in." Ming Chengzu said coldly.
"Yes." The captain turned and left.
"Your Majesty, is this Dong Chao?" Lin Shangli looked at Ming Chengzu and asked.
Just now, the emperor asked Dong Chao to return to Huai Lai Guard to hand over the military affairs, and he went to Dongchang to accept the investigation. But now, Dong Chao was so frightened that his legs were weak and he was unsteady. It seemed that he could no longer return to Huai Lai Guard by himself.
"Arrange manpower and escort him back to Huai Lai Wei to hand over military affairs first. Tomorrow's 'hunting' activity cannot be delayed. We will launch an investigation into this matter overnight." Ming Chengzu said.
"Yes." Lin Shangli responded, waved his right hand, and led Dong Chao out of the side hall.
In the huge side hall, only Ming Chengzu and a few eunuchs were left, together with a dozen Dongchang captains.
Reclining on the dragon chair, Ming Chengzu looked gloomy.
The people around him stood quietly, not daring to express their anger, waiting for King Zhao to arrive.
There were rapid footsteps outside the door, followed by a wailing voice coming from outside the door: "Father, you have to make the decision for me."
Following the sound, Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui staggered into the door. With a bang, he knelt on the ground, put his hands on the ground, and climbed to the desk of Ming Chengzu.
"Are you injured?" Ming Chengzu raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly.
"If the guards hadn't tried their best to protect me, I might never have seen my father again." Zhu Gaosui did not answer directly, but expressed his panic in a crying tone.
"I ask you, are you injured?" Ming Chengzu raised his voice.
"No, when the assassin took action, the guards tried their best to stop him, but I was just frightened." Lying on the ground, Zhu Gaosui tried his best to look frightened.
"Stand up if you are not injured. Lie on the ground and cry. Is your surname Zhu still? Do you still have the spirit of a prince?" Ming Chengzu shouted loudly and slammed his palm on the table in front of him.
"Father..." Zhu Gaosui was about to continue crying.
"Get up." Ming Chengzu shouted angrily again.
Seeing that Ming Chengzu was completely angry, Zhu Gaosui had no choice but to stop crying and stood up slowly.
"In the early days, when I was conquering the south and fighting in the north, I experienced many life-and-death battles and faced desperate situations several times, but I never felt any fear. The King of Han led his army alone and rescued me from the enemy's encirclement. Even so.
The king of Han was not afraid of the dangerous situation, he charged all the way and sent me safely to the rear. Now, you are just facing an assassin, just lying on the ground crying, don't you feel ashamed of the surname Zhu?" Ming Chengzu looked at him.
Tieqing, scolded word for word.
Zhu Gaosui did not dare to say anything, lowered his head and bowed his body slightly.
"Back then, when Peiping was besieged, the prince used 10,000 troops to repel the enemy's attack of 100,000 troops. If it were you, wouldn't you have been so frightened that you opened the city gates and surrendered to the enemy?" Ming Ming
Chengzu's face became increasingly gloomy.
"Isn't it just an assassination? Did you come all this way to seek my protection, or do you want to complain to me? You don't care how old you are. Do you want to always be under my protection and just enjoy the cool weather?"
The more Ming Chengzu talked, the angrier he became, and he slapped the table with his palm a few more times.
Zhu Gaosui lowered his head and stretched out his hand several times, but did not dare to take out the "complaint" in his arms.
Originally, I was thinking of properly filing a lawsuit against Jin Yiwei and implicating Liu Rufeng. After being reprimanded by Ming Chengzu, I couldn't say the words I had originally planned.
The transfer of Liu Rufeng was like a fishbone stuck in his throat, which made Zhu Gaosui very uncomfortable. If he was not dragged into the water, Zhu Gaosui's trip would be in vain.
"Father, I don't know how my son offended the Jin Yiwei. They actually wanted to put my son to death. My father must investigate this matter thoroughly." Zhu Gaosui said slowly with his waist bent.
"I will definitely investigate the merits of the right and wrong. Now is the critical moment of the 'hunting'. Envoys from foreign countries are looking at the Ming Dynasty and me. I don't want any negative public opinion to appear against the Ming Dynasty again. You should return to your thoughts immediately.
Come to the guard and act as if this never happened. I will give you an explanation when the 'hunting' is over."
Leaning back, Ming Chengzu showed no expression on his face.
