The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 51 Even Local Tyrants Fight for the Throne

After receiving the imperial decree, Tu Chengyu had lunch at the imperial camp and then led a team of soldiers from the Imperial Horse Administration to raid the palace of Gao Chonghe, a bandit leader in the mountains.

As soon as Tu Chengyu stepped out of the camp gate, he saw Lao Yao and the others waiting by the roadside.

Although Lao Yao and his companions were also palace guards, they could not serve the emperor like the Imperial Guards.

Therefore, if they wanted to see Tu Chengyu in the Imperial Camp, they could only wait at the entrance.

Tu Chengyu waved for them to ride up to him. As they walked, he asked Old Yao, "Did you get any news from Lord Chen?"

Old Yao replied in a low voice, "Your Highness, Lord Chen said that he is innocent. He only had drinks with that man twice, and the two are not familiar with each other."

Did you ask, "Was he involved in framing Prince Qi?"

Old Yao replied, "Lord Chen said he was unaware of this matter, and only heard about it afterward."

After finding out, he realized his second uncle was still hanging out with that person; he was hopeless. Tu Chengyu thought to himself that once he returned to the capital, he would definitely persuade his eldest uncle to send his second uncle out of the capital, otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause if he stayed there.

After inquiring about his second uncle's situation, Tu Chengyu asked again, "Are there any memorials in the court impeaching me?"

Old Yao said, "Your Highness, according to the information I have gathered, there are indeed many censors who have submitted memorials impeaching you. However, the Crown Prince has blocked these memorials and they have not been delivered to the Emperor."

After hearing this, Tu Chengyu unconsciously smiled.

He was wondering this morning why his father hadn't mentioned the impeachment at all, only to find out that the Crown Prince had stopped him beforehand.

After saying these two things that Tu Chengyu had been worried about, he stopped talking and focused on riding his horse.

Because they had to travel along mountain paths, the horses moved slower than usual. In addition, Tu Chengyu was still small, so the whole group didn't walk very fast. It took them a full hour to reach their destination.

Upon arrival, Tu Chengyu looked at the bandit leader's palace from a distance and couldn't help but admire how exquisitely the location had been chosen.

The palace was built on a recessed platform halfway up the mountain.

Surrounded by mountains, the mountain ranges on both sides are like two arms embracing the platform in the middle. From a distance, if you didn't know the situation in advance, you wouldn't have noticed that there was such a large courtyard hidden here.

Besides its excellent seclusion, the area boasts towering trees, birdsong, fragrant flowers, and fresh air, making it a great place for relaxation.

The only downside is that the temperature here is a bit lower than down the mountain, so it's a little chilly when you come up here now, but it'll be absolutely cool in the summer.

As everyone moved closer and bypassed the arm-like mountain range, they saw the entire palace garden in its entirety.

According to the young officer from the Imperial Horse Administration who led the way, the palace garden covers an area of ​​more than ten acres and was converted from a courtyard in an abandoned former imperial palace.

What left Tu Chengyu speechless was that the young officer from the Imperial Horse Administration said that this place was originally part of the temporary palace that the retired emperor had planned to build.

Later, it was met with collective opposition from the entire court and the matter was dropped.

The place the retired emperor never got was unexpectedly taken over by rebels, who are now acting as local tyrants. I wonder what the court officials will think when they hear this news.

Tu Chengyu walked around the magnificent courtyard, sighing inwardly. What a beautiful and tranquil place for recuperation in the mountains had been turned into a temple by that guy.

After looking outside, Tu Chengyu, accompanied by Lao Yao and the others, entered through the gate.

Since Gao Chonghe was captured in the capital, this place was also learned from Gao Chonghe. The Imperial Horse Administration sent people to take control of it that morning.

Before the Imperial Horse Stables could even begin to loot the place, the Emperor sent Tu Chengyu, so the entire area was kept in perfect condition.

Passing through the gate and entering the courtyard, the style was exactly the same as what was seen outside—glittering gold, a typical nouveau riche style.

Following the guidance of the Imperial Horse Stable soldiers, they walked from the main gate to the main hall of the palace.

Upon entering the hall, Tu Chengyu saw bloodstains splattered on the steps and hacking marks on the door panels and pillars, and asked:
"Their resistance was fierce?"

The young officer from the Imperial Stables who was leading the way said, "Your Highness, there were a few brave ones outside the courtyard who fought a few rounds, but once they broke through the walls and our men came in, they surrendered."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Since you've surrendered, what's with all this bloodstains?"

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, this was caused by their internal strife."

They're almost dead, and they're still fighting amongst themselves? Are there really people that stupid? Tu Chengyu suddenly became interested.

He ordered the soldiers of the Imperial Horse Administration to search for and confiscate the valuables, leaving the young officer behind to explain what had happened.

Tu Chengyu had a chair brought over, sat under the eaves, and said to the young general, "Tell me what's going on with this internal strife."

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, yesterday we from the Imperial Horse Stables went to the South City to arrest Gao Chonghe. We interrogated him overnight and only then did we learn about this place."

"After the report was submitted to the palace steward, we were sent here to arrest people. When we arrived at dawn, it seemed that they knew Gao Chong had been arrested. His sons and wives started to have their own ideas, and it is said that they were fighting over the division of silver."

The young officer from the Imperial Stables spoke quickly, but Tu Chengyu gleaned a different information from his words. He asked, "Are you saying that you knew about Gao Chonghe's capture beforehand?" The young officer glanced up at Tu Chengyu, then lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, this is my speculation."

Tu Chengyu asked, "How did you make that deduction?"

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, when we arrived this morning, we caught a servant who had escaped from here at the foot of the mountain. According to him, before dawn, a man came down the mountain, and then the bandit leader's sons suddenly started fighting each other."

While pondering, Tu Chengyu asked, "It seems that news of your arrest has leaked. Your Imperial Horse Administration has become a sieve, able to let such news slip by."

Such a question was beyond the ability of a young soldier like him to answer. Seeing that Tu Chengyu did not ask any questions, he simply pretended not to hear and stood aside without making a sound.

Tu Chengyu wouldn't press him for these things, and instead asked, "Has the messenger been caught?"

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, this person started burning during the internal strife."

Tu Chengyu asked in confusion, "Burned to death?"

The young officer replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu said, "Send two people to bring over the body of the messenger."

Without any hesitation, the young officer went to make arrangements.

Tu Chengyu sat in the chair, but unconsciously began to analyze.

The capture of Yingmao Army was a sudden act initiated by himself, so there was no possibility that anyone else had foreseen it beforehand.

If they had known beforehand, the bandit leader Gao Chonghe would have escaped long ago, and he wouldn't have been caught so easily.

This indicates that the information was leaked after Gao Chong was arrested.

Moreover, they learned of the news immediately. Otherwise, with the capital under such tight security that day, if they had known the news later, the city gates would have been closed, and the messenger wouldn't have been able to arrive before dawn.

Moreover, the arrival of this messenger caused infighting among Gao Chonghe's sons. To say that the messenger did not sow discord would be to lie through one's teeth.

Most importantly, the messenger died after delivering the message.

It seems that Gao Chonghe's act of becoming a local tyrant involves not only the Beijing garrison, but also other people.

Before Tu Chengyu could figure things out, a junior officer from the Imperial Stables brought over the body of the messenger.

The body was burned so badly that its original appearance was unrecognizable.

Tu Chengyu was not a coroner and did not know how to perform autopsies. He had the body brought over simply to verify his idea.

Once the body was placed securely, Tu Chengyu instructed Lao Yao, saying, "Go and check if there are any other wounds on this body besides the burns."

Upon hearing this, Old Yao walked over and examined the corpse from head to toe, then stood up and said:

"Your Highness, this man has a deep knife wound on his neck. In my opinion, he was already dead when he was burned."

Tu Chengyu thought to himself, "Just as I thought. This messenger was very likely a suicide soldier who, after completing his mission, chose to end his own life to avoid implicating those behind him, and even set a fire before he died."

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu suddenly asked, "Was the fire in the study or another room where letters are stored?"

The young general replied, "Your Highness is right. This person was burned to death in the bandit leader's study. The fire was so intense that it not only burned the person beyond recognition, but also reduced the attic where the study was located to just a frame."

This further proves that this person is a suicide squad member.

Now that Tu Chengyu knew the information he needed to check, he ordered his junior officers to carry the body away.

After returning from delivering the body, Tu Chengyu asked, "Besides the messenger who died, did anyone else die?"

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, the bandit leader's two sons have also died."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Did they die in the internal strife?"

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, he did indeed die in an internal conflict, killed by the bandit leader's other sons."

Tu Chengyu asked again, "Has any of the bandit leader's surviving sons escaped?"

The young officer replied, "Your Highness, not a single one escaped. They joined forces to kill the bandit leader's eldest and youngest sons. Afterwards, it seems they got into a fight over something, and they were all caught up in it, so none of them escaped. As for what they were fighting over, I haven't had time to interrogate them yet."

After listening, Tu Chengyu cursed inwardly, "Like father, like son. The bandit leader Gao Chonghe is an ignorant fool, and his sons are not only incredibly stupid, but also ruthless. They show no mercy to their own brothers. This family is just a local tyrant in the mountains, and they've already turned on each other like this. If they were to have even a little bit of territory, wouldn't they wipe out the whole family?"

Thinking about these random thoughts, Tu Chengyu continued, "There's no need for interrogation for now; confiscating their property is the priority. But we can't just do nothing. Here's what we'll do: go and find out who the bandit leader's confidant is among those you've detained, and bring him here."

The young man responded and left to find someone.

(End of this chapter)