My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 145 All Dead!

A few days later, Li Min's imperial envoy team arrived at Shaoxing Prefecture. The officials of Shaoxing Prefecture, who had already received the news, had been waiting outside the city gate for a long time.

Both sides of the city gate were filled with people who came to greet them. When Li Min saw this scene, his originally serious face instantly turned into a smile. When the convoy arrived in front of the city gate, he got off the car and strode forward to greet them.

The person standing in the front of the welcoming crowd was wearing the official robes of the prefect, about fifty years old, with a smile on his face. When he saw Li Min getting off the car, he quickly led everyone to greet him, bowing respectfully and saying:

"Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy has come from afar, and you must have worked hard."

Li Min bowed and said, "Mr. Zheng, you are very polite. I am here at the order of His Majesty to express my condolences to you all and the people of Shaoxing. Your Majesty is also very pleased that you have made great contributions in resisting the Japanese invaders."

At the back of the motorcade, Mao Xiang introduced to Zhu Di in a low voice: "The one who is talking to Minister Li is Zheng Zefu, the prefect of Shaoxing Prefecture. Behind Zheng Zefu is Sun Ying, the co-prefect. It is said that Zheng Zefu and Sun Ying do not get along well. It is only when the imperial envoy comes that the two can stand together."

"I didn't expect that you, Liu San, know the officialdom of Shaoxing Prefecture so well!"

Zhu Di looked at Zheng Zefu who was greeting Li Min, and then looked at Sun Ying. Sure enough, although Sun Ying had a smile on his face, when he glanced at Zheng Zefu, he inadvertently revealed a look of disdain.

"Of course not, Li Si, don't you see what I do? Keeping track of the situation of civil and military officials is my specialty, isn't it?"

Mao Xiang was somewhat proud and continued to introduce the officials of Shaoxing to Zhu Di.

"Your Majesty cares about the people of Shaoxing. This is a blessing for the people of Shaoxing." As he said this, Zheng Zefu squeezed out a few tears.

The people who came to greet him also had red eyes.

These people's tears came so suddenly that Zhu Di was amazed. He was indeed a veteran in the officialdom. His ability to act according to the situation was admirable!
Zheng Zefu was introducing the officials of Shaoxing Prefecture to Li Min. At the same time, Mao Xiang was also introducing them to Zhu Di. However, when Zheng Zefu brought Li Min to an old man who was dressed in expensive silk and looked very wealthy, Mao Xiang stopped talking.

"What's wrong, Liu San? Didn't you say that controlling the situation of civil and military officials is your specialty? Why are you silent? Who is that old man?"

There was no way Mao Xiang would be fooled by Zhu Di's provocation. He had been in officialdom for decades and had become very thick-skinned.

"That person is naturally not a member of the officialdom, but the one who can come to welcome the imperial envoy should be a representative of the local gentry... No!"

Mao Xiang pondered for a moment and said, "The most powerful local gentry in Shaoxing is the Zhou family, who have been engaged in the rice wine business for generations.

Logically speaking, the one who could represent the gentry to welcome the imperial envoy was Zhou Quande, the patriarch of the Zhou family. Who was that old man? Where did the Zhou family go?"

After hearing what Mao Xiang said, Zhu Di also felt something was wrong. "Could it be that the head of the Zhou family died in this Japanese invasion, and his family was holding a funeral so they didn't come to greet him?"

"That shouldn't be possible..." Mao Xiang shook his head. "The Zhou family is powerful and has many retainers. If someone is going to die, it shouldn't be the clan leader's turn to die!"

Zhu Di also thought it made sense, unless the patriarch of the Zhou family was like him, the war-loving prince, and liked to lead the charge into battle personally.

Mao Xiang said: "I will contact the local Jinyiwei and ask them to help find out."

"Liu San, don't forget your current identity."

"Of course I don't, but we Jinyiwei have our own way of communicating, which is very secretive and impossible for outsiders to know!"

"Sir Li, this is Mr. Zhao Jin, a local gentleman in Shaoxing. The weaving of Shaoxing is Mr. Zhao's business."

Following Zheng Zefu's introduction, Zhao Jin bowed respectfully to Li Min and said, "Your Excellency, I have been looking forward to seeing you for a long time. Your Excellency has been very tired from the journey. I have prepared a banquet at the best restaurant in Shaoxing. I hope Your Excellency and all the others will honor me with their presence!"

"Mr. Zhao is so polite. I will respectfully obey your orders!"

Li Min smiled more and more happily, and chatted and laughed with Zheng Zefu and others. Although it was the first time they met, they looked like old friends who had not seen each other for many years.

He knew very well in his heart that he had to attend this banquet. Firstly, it was the rule of officialdom. Secondly, it was still unknown who the traitor was, whether it was one person or a group of people. A rash refusal would only arouse their suspicion.

Moreover, this is the Hongmen Banquet, and it is also a time for both sides to test each other. The test has just begun!
Before setting off, His Majesty had a secret conversation with several of them, and Li Min was responsible for dealing with the Shaoxing Prefecture officials on the surface to buy time and create opportunities for Zhu Di and Mao Xiang.

At this moment, this is Li Min's battlefield!
Zheng Zefu welcomed Li Min and his party into the city gate and came to the best restaurant in Shaoxing. Li Min was the host, so he naturally went to the elegant seats on the third floor with Zheng Zefu and others. Zhu Di and Mao Xiang, as attendant guards, could only stay in the lobby with the Jinwu Guards who were responsible for protecting the imperial envoy.

Zhu Di didn't care. Although he was a prince, he was devoted to military affairs and was not a picky person. Moreover, during the Northern Expedition, he had long been accustomed to sleeping in the open air. Eating in the lobby at this time was a different experience.

To his surprise, Mao Xiang was even calmer than him.

In his opinion, Mao Xiang was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and a powerful figure in the Ming Dynasty court. When civil and military officials saw him, they were like mice seeing a cat and they all tried to curry favor with him. Unexpectedly, he sat in the lobby without a trace of displeasure and ate with more relish than himself.

"This Shaoxing cuisine is good. Compared with Yingtianfu, it has a different flavor. Hey, Li Si, why are you looking at me?"

"I was wondering, with your status and position, would you feel wronged to sit in the lobby?"

Mao Xiang chuckled, "Who do you think I am? Before Your Majesty invaded Yuan Dadu, I followed Your Majesty in battles all over the country. What hardships have I not endured?
Besides, when I was working for His Majesty, I also went through hardships. Sometimes, in order to gather intelligence, I even pretended to be a beggar and was beaten by the Beggars' Sect. This is nothing."

"I admire you."

Zhu Di said sincerely that he had only heard of Mao Xiang's bad reputation before, but now that he understood him better, he realized that apart from his identity as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mao Xiang was actually no different from an ordinary person.

"I don't know how Minister Li is doing up there. Can he handle all the officials of Shaoxing Prefecture alone?"

"Don't worry, Minister Li is extremely intelligent and has been in the officialdom for many years. What storms has he not seen?

Li Si, think about it. In the past, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites wanted to impeach him and Yang Siyi, but he ended up using an open conspiracy to bring them down. He was able to handle such a complicated place as the court with ease, let alone this small officialdom in Shaoxing Prefecture. "

"That's true." Zhu Di finally felt relieved.

The welcoming banquet lasted until the evening. Both the host and the guests were very happy. When I came out of the private room, I saw Li Min with a bright smile on her face.

After entering the mansion specially provided for Shangguan to stay during his visit, Li Min's face suddenly became extremely serious, even a little sad!
Even Zhu Di and Mao Xiang could sense his grief and anger. Could it be that something major had happened?

The mansion is guarded by the Jinwu Guards from the capital, so there is no need to worry about eavesdropping.

The three of them came to Li Min's room. After checking that no one was eavesdropping, Mao Xiang asked:
"Master Li, what's the situation?"

Li Min let out a long breath, as if to sweep away the boredom and sadness in his heart. After a while, he spoke:

"All personnel of the Ministry of Revenue's Radio Department at the Shaoxing Prefecture contact point are dead!"

(End of this chapter)