The Prosperous Era of Longwan

“There are assassins in the palace.

The chamberlain hesitantly told what happened in the palace, causing everyone present to widen their eyes in shock.

This is the forbidden area of ​​the Ming Dynasty Palace. How could an assassin sneak into the palace?

"Where is the assassin? Who is his target? Have you caught him?"

Wei Guangde was the first to react and asked immediately.

"The assassin was discovered by the guards. During the interrogation, he hesitated for a long time and couldn't answer, so he was captured immediately."

Faced with the stern looks of several important ministers, the chamberlain immediately told the situation.

"The person was caught outside the gate of Qianqing Palace, because the emperor was about to go out to court. After discovering the assassin, Eunuch Feng escorted the emperor back to Qianqing Palace and asked the Chief Assistant to announce that today's immunity will be exempted. towards."

The chamberlain continued.

Everyone was relieved to hear that Emperor Wanli was fine. As for being exempted from court, it was a trivial matter.

Immediately, Zhang Juzheng turned around and said to the civil and military officials who were queuing up not far behind him to wait for the emperor to enter the emperor's gate: "Your Majesty is ill today and will be exempted from the court."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Juzheng took Wei Guangde, Lu Tiaoyang and the chamberlains into the imperial city from Zuoye Gate to meet Emperor Wanli. Yang Bo and Tan Lun returned to the imperial court and slowly walked toward the court with others. Go outside.

"Yang Shangshu, Tan Shangshu, how is your Majesty's health? We didn't hear clearly what was said over there just now."

After Yang Bo and Tan Lun returned to the crowd, they were immediately surrounded by people asking about Emperor Wanli's situation.

Although Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun was still young, he was still an emperor. In this era, he not only had a high status, but also was the decision-maker of the imperial court.

No matter how many people look at it, it is said that the Ming Dynasty was controlled by internal civil servants, and the chief minister of the cabinet was the talker. But in fact, the civil servants were the executors, and the chief minister was actually more of a decision-maker. But the actual execution must be confirmed by the palace. Only then can it be promulgated.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty really cannot lack one person to be the emperor.

After all, when formulating the cabinet system, the chief minister did not have the actual status of a prime minister, and his vote had no legal effect. It must be approved by the palace chief of etiquette before it can take effect.

"Your Majesty, nothing happened there. He was just frightened."

Yang Bo said.

Such a big thing as the discovery of an assassin in the palace will soon spread throughout the government and the public. Naturally, it is impossible to keep it a secret, so Yang Bo has no intention of keeping it a secret.

"How could His Majesty be frightened?"

"Is there another traitor in the palace who wants to harm your majesty? We must speak up and ask your majesty to stay away from the villain."

"Your Majesty is young, how could he be frightened? We must strictly investigate."

Everyone immediately talked about this matter, and everyone kept saying that the culprit would be punished severely.

"Don't make any noise. The assassin was discovered in the palace, so His Majesty was frightened.

Jinyiwei and Dongchang will definitely investigate such a big matter thoroughly, so we don’t need to worry. "

Tan Lun spoke at this time.

After the shocking revelations made by Yang Bo and Tan Lun, the courtiers who had originally left the house stopped leaving. They turned around and gathered under the Huangji Gate again, waiting for the courtiers to come out and let them know the news about the emperor in the palace.

Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and others who entered the palace hurriedly hurried to Qianqing Palace and trotted all the way. When they arrived outside the palace gate, they happened to see several Dongchang fans suppressing a middle-aged man wearing a chamberlain uniform and kneeling down. room.

Needless to say, this man is the so-called assassin.

On the way here, Wei Guangde had already asked the chamberlain what happened.

It turned out that Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun was going to Jianji Hall to change into his uniform after leaving the Qianqing Palace. However, as soon as he left the Qianqing Palace, the eunuchs and maids outside the palace all stepped aside to salute. The assassin obviously didn't understand the rules in the palace, so he was stunned. Standing there, it suddenly stood out.

Although he reacted very quickly and immediately followed the example of those around him, he was a little slow after all and was discovered by the sharp-eyed emperor and Feng Bao.

As the admiral eunuch in the palace, Feng Bao would certainly not allow his subordinates to be so unsighted. He immediately sent someone to ask him which palace he was from, and prepared to send them out of the imperial city to the imperial village outside.

The palace cannot keep such a weak-sighted person. It will bring shame on Feng Daban and make the emperor and the empress think that he does not have the ability to control the servants.

As a result, when several eunuchs asked, the man hesitated for a long time and couldn't answer.

The people who could be sent to the emperor by Feng Baoxuan were naturally all exquisite. They immediately realized something was wrong and immediately joined forces to control the people.

You know, when Feng Bao first returned to the palace with Emperor Longqing, he was sent to the Royal Horse Prison to do handprints.

The imperial eunuch not only managed the emperor's imperial army, but also had an army of strong eunuchs selected from the palace to be responsible for the security of the palace.

This army, which is composed entirely of eunuchs and has never been compromised, is naturally the pure army of the inner court, and most of the people around Feng Bao were selected by him from the pure army.

Some of these people stayed with Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun to serve as errands and guards. There was no shortage of such people around his Eunuch Feng, so even though that man looked powerful, he was quickly subdued.

However, because the fight was taking place right in front of Emperor Wanli's eyes, the little emperor was still more or less frightened.

After all, it had been so many years. This was the first time in Emperor Wanli's memory that he had experienced such an encounter. It was normal to be frightened.

The three of them hurried past the assassin. Wei Guangde just stopped for a moment and looked at it. He had no memory of this, and he didn't know if this happened in history.

However, it is an indisputable fact that not far in front of Minister Wang, a sword was searched from his body. This is also the source of the rumor that he wanted to assassinate the emperor.

The man was taken over by Dongchang Banzi, and it was not convenient for Wei Guangde to stay for interrogation. There should be a way in the palace to make the assassin speak, so he only stayed for a moment, pretending to sort out his official robes and hats that looked different because of running, and then went back. Qianqing Palace ran away.

After being notified and entering the Qianqing Palace, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief and saw the emperor sitting on the throne without any hindrance.

After all, Zhu Yijun was too young and his father had just died, so he was worried that the child would be frightened and get sick.

"Eunuch Feng, have you ever asked a eunuch to diagnose and treat His Majesty and prescribe a calming decoction?"

Zhang Juzheng, the chief assistant, asked Feng Bao after he stood up after the ceremony.

"Zhang Shoufu, the Za family has sent someone to call him. I think he will be here soon."

Feng Bao replied.

"I have nothing to do, but why would an assassin come to assassinate me? Could it be that I, the emperor, did something bad?"

Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun, who had been the same as before, changed his expression slightly after seeing Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde. After Zhang and Feng finished speaking, he asked in a crying tone.

"This matter is completely weird. Your Majesty, there is no need to be like this. We will wait until the factory guard finds out the cause of the matter."

Zhang Juzheng immediately spoke.

On the way here, Zhang Juzheng became very suspicious after asking what happened.

If there is an assassin who assassinates the little emperor, there must be a beneficiary, that is, who will benefit from it once the little emperor is assassinated.

The feudal prince's palace outside?

Impossible, Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun was not an only son, he had a brother.

If there is a rebellion planned by the feudal prince's palace, even if it comes to pass, the throne will not be able to find close relatives from the clan as in the previous dynasty, and directly let Zhu Yili, the fourth son of Emperor Mu Zongzhuang, succeed to the throne.

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng was still thinking hard about the man behind the assassin because of what the chamberlain said, and he had no time to think about anything else.

You must know that Emperor Wanli took the throne for only half a year. He was still so young and had no personal administration at all. Even if there was an angry and resentful administration, the spearhead of resentment should be directed at these auxiliary ministers.

At this moment, the queen mothers of the two palaces already knew the news and hurried to Qianqing Palace.

Because he was supposed to watch the court today, Feng Bao immediately sent people to Huangjimen to inform several cabinet ministers after the incident. It was only after he returned to Qianqing Palace that he thought of passing the news to Ciqing Palace.

In addition, Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and others came at a trot, a moment ahead of the two queen mothers.

Empress Dowager Chen went in to comfort the frightened Emperor Wanli. Empress Dowager Zhang took Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao, Wei Guangde and others to the side hall to discuss the matter.

"People are imprisoned by factory guards and interrogated strictly. Those behind the scenes must be investigated and punished."

When Queen Mother Zhang arrived at the side hall, she immediately gave orders to Feng Bao, obviously not wanting to go through the Ministry of Punishment to hear the case.

As the matter involved the emperor, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde did not ask the Ministry of Justice to fight for it.

It would be easier to convince the empress dowagers of the two palaces if the case was investigated and handled by the palace, and it would be really inconvenient for the outer court to intervene.

"On the other side of the court, we rely on the three pavilion elders. The court cannot be in chaos."

Queen Mother Zhang turned around and said to Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang.

When the three of them heard this, they all bowed.

The emperor in the palace was comforted by the queen mothers of the two palaces. When the three of them came out of Qianqing Palace, they happened to meet the imperial doctor from the imperial hospital who came in a hurry.

Zhang Juzheng just stopped him and asked him to diagnose and treat Emperor Wanli carefully, and then the three of them prepared to go to the cabinet.

After leaving Huangji Gate, I saw the courtiers who were supposed to return to the Yamen to work gathered under Huangji Gate. When they saw them coming out, they cheered and surrounded them.

"How is your Majesty?"

"Has Your Majesty been harmed by thieves?"

"Mr. Zhang, what's going on in the palace now?"

Wei Guangde felt very irritated by everyone talking, but it was not his place to talk at this time, so he stood quietly beside Zhang Juzheng and let the chief assistant deal with such a scene.

"Colleagues, we have already seen your Majesty. Your Majesty is fine."

As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, the surrounding ministers cheered.

Whether it was sincere or fake, the atmosphere was just right.

"Your Majesty was only slightly frightened, and it's no longer a problem. The palace has asked the imperial physician to give you a prescription to calm your nerves. Your Majesty will be fine soon."

Zhang Juzheng continued.

"What's going on with His Majesty now? Is he recuperating or..."

someone asked again.

"Your Majesty is resting in Qianqing Palace. The Queen Mothers of the two palaces have arrived. They will comfort Your Majesty. Colleagues, don't worry.

Just now when I was waiting in Qianqing Palace, the empress told me to be loyal to the king and do my best.

Therefore, I ask you all to return to your respective yamen to handle official business first, and do not delay political affairs. "

Zhang Juzheng then replied.

"As long as your Majesty is fine, the thief should be quartered by five horses. What happens now?"

"The thief has tied his hands."

After the people around him stopped caring about the emperor, they began to care about the assassin's news, and Zhang Juzheng immediately gave the answer.

Wei Guangde stood quietly on one side, observing the expressions of the courtiers around him.

However, after careful observation, I found that the people around me didn't seem to be unusual, and it didn't look like anyone was working with the assassin.

"Should the thief be handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for strict interrogation, and the mastermind behind it should be investigated and punished?"

Suddenly, an official from Liu Ke spoke.

"It should be submitted to the three departments for review."

Knowing that the emperor was fine, the courtiers' attention was quickly drawn to how to deal with the assassin.

The emperor was young, so he shouldn't have enemies. Everyone in the assassins paid attention to the "not simple" aspect behind this incident, and unanimously believed that there was someone behind the scenes who wanted to do something rebellious.

The investigation of the case should naturally be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The three departments will conduct a joint trial and must find out the mastermind behind the scenes. The punishment will be severe and severe.

"Mr. Wei Ge, please say something."

Hearing that the court officials wanted to hand over the assassin to the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Juzheng didn't know how to answer the question, so someone urged Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang on the side.

"Your Majesty has asked the factory guards to investigate this matter strictly. Please be patient and wait for the results of the factory guards' interrogation."

Wei Guangde had no choice but to tell the situation in the palace. The matter was decided by Queen Mother Zhang. She cared about her son, so it was understandable that she ordered the factory guards to investigate closely.

Hearing that the Empress Dowager ordered the factory guards to investigate the case, the people in Section 6 fell silent.

The two empress dowagers cannot be offended at this time. If you don't see Gao Gong, you will be directly ousted from power by Yi Zhi, Ling Zhi and Imperial Edict.

Well, Gao Gong was able to receive three of the most effective decrees in the palace at once, and was dismissed from office. It seems to be the only one in history.

"My lords, please go back to your office and wait for news from the palace."

Wei Guangde took a step forward and said to his colleagues around him.

"Yes, the queen wants everyone to work hard. We must not make any mistakes at this time. Everyone should be more attentive."

Lu Tiaoyang also stood up and said at this time.

After being comforted by the three cabinet ministers, the officials walked out of the palace and went back to the Yamen to do their errands.

However, the news of the assassination in the palace spread like the wind through all the major yamen in the capital. By noon, the news had spread in the streets and alleys of Sijiu City.

However, because all the government offices in the capital were operating normally, there were no rumors that the emperor was seriously injured or died due to an assassination. Everyone knew that the emperor was fine and was just frightened.

In fact, ordinary people are still simple. They all know that today, if a child is no more than ten years old, seeing someone stabbing someone will frighten him to death, let alone a child.

Even though he is a nine-five-year-old, he is still a child after all.

Among the people, they would inevitably curse the assassin for being able to kill such a young child.

At this time, in the Fusi dungeon of Jinyiwei North Town, the assassin had been escorted here and went directly to the execution room to begin the torture interrogation.

Jin Yiwei's methods of extorting confessions have a long history. They are all skills passed down from generation to generation. The assassin had already confessed a lot of things without even having a cup of tea.

There is no prison in Dongchang, so the Jinyiwei venue is used to handle the case. Therefore, Feng Bao did nothing today and just waited to find out the results of the interrogation so that he could return to the palace for business.

"Are you sure that this guy named Minister Wang just wants to enter the palace and steal things?"

Feng Bao looked at the confession in his hand and asked Liu Shouyou, the commander of the Jin Yiwei, in disbelief.