Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 248: Death of Chen Hong, a comeback!
The express letter from 800 miles away placed on the imperial desk was indeed the confession of Sun Yat-sen during Hai Rui's interrogation.

The emperor had obviously read the victory report, but had also apparently not made any comment on the confession.

Chen Hong was led by Lu Fang to the outside of the gauze curtain leading to the passage from the main hall of Yuxi Palace to the Jingshe.

Lu Fang stopped and said, "You kneel here and wait for a while."

"Yes." Chen Hong replied softly, which was exactly in line with his thought of not wanting to face the emperor directly, and he knelt down immediately.

Lu Fang walked towards the door of the temple.

When serving the emperor, Lu Fang usually wore casual clothes when entering and leaving the monastery, just like a servant busying around inside and outside the house. He did not need to bow to the emperor when entering and leaving.

But today was a court event, so he was wearing the bright red court robe of the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and was about to kneel down as soon as he walked in.

But when he saw Zhu Houcong, he was shocked: "Oh, my emperor, how can you let him do this job!"

Having said that, he ran over in a panic.

At this time, Zhu Houcong was squatting beside the futon, wiping the bronze chime with a snow-white Songjiang face towel.

Lü Fang ran over, only to see Zhu Houcong still squatting there wiping the bronze chime. He lifted his robe and knelt, saying, "Your Highness, let me wipe it for you."

Zhu Houcong continued to wipe along the rim of the chime and asked, "Did Chen Hong return to Beijing?"

Seeing this, Lv Fang took two steps on her knees, stretched out her hand to ask for the face towel, and replied: "Your Highness, Chen Hong entered the capital in an hour. I asked him to wash and rinse, and then brought him here. He is kneeling outside the temple. Your Highness, let me wipe it."

Zhu Houcong did not stop his movements, but just asked: "Is the eunuch in charge of the Zhejiang Mining Bureau dead?"

When Lu Fang couldn't get the face towel, he knew that the emperor was unhappy. Sweat gradually seeped out of his forehead. Facing the question, after more than 40 years of service, he realized how to respond at this moment. He said, "Your Majesty, Long Live the Emperor. He is dead."

There is no mention of how he died.

Just answering with the word "death" is enough.

After Zhu Houcong wiped the bronze chime, he slowly stood up, but did not give him the handkerchief. Instead, he threw the handkerchief into the basin, which immediately caused a huge stir.

"A junior eunuch of the fourth rank was summoned back to the capital, and he died just like that. That's good."

People call eunuchs "eunuchs", but the bricks and tiles of the Forbidden City are divided into different grades, not to mention the 100,000 eunuchs in the inner court.

People like Lu Fang and Chen Hong are real eunuchs, with the official rank of fourth grade.

For example, Yang Jinshui, the eunuch in charge of Zhejiang Maritime Customs who died last year, and Liu Wei, the eunuch in charge of Zhejiang Mining Bureau who died this year, were called Shaojian.

Further down, there are the fifth-rank supervisors, the sixth-rank bookkeepers, the sixth-rank attendants and imperial attendants, the seventh-rank clerks and hearers, and the unranked ones who are responsible for handkerchiefs, ebony plaques, and small firemen.

Only the highest level of eunuchs are called eunuchs, and the highest level means scarcity. Generally speaking, only twelve of the twenty-four eunuchs in the palace are headed by middle-aged or elderly eunuchs. Therefore, the real eunuchs in the palace can be counted in two hands, just like the three dukes and nine ministers in the outer court.

Of course, the same rank does not mean equal power. Lu Fang, Chen Hong, and Huang Jin are all of the same rank, but Lu Fang is in charge of Chen Hong, Huang Jin, and all the eunuchs.

In terms of power, the deceased Liu Wei was certainly not as good as Yang Jinshui in the past, but after all, they were in the same class as the prefect of a prefecture and represented part of the imperial power.

He died just like that, especially after making a big mistake and dying on the way back to Beijing in response to the emperor's order. How he died is no longer important.

Zhu Houcong did not wipe his hands. He walked to the futon, picked up the pestle lying on the futon, and sat down cross-legged: "Let Chen Hong come in."

The place where Lu Fang knelt was blocked by the bronze chime. He could only see the emperor's profile through his peripheral vision. He swallowed hard and said, "Your Majesty, Chen Hong knows he is wrong and dares not come in. He kneels outside and waits..."

Zhu Houcong interrupted Lu Fang's words of comforting his godson, and said with a look that seemed to penetrate the bronze bell, "If you don't want to see me, then let me go see him?"

"The slaves dare not!"

Lü Fang knew she couldn't speak anymore, so she bowed her head and said, "I'll go right away."

Lu Fang climbed up and walked out of the temple.

Chen Hong was still lying outside the veil. Lu Fang came over and said, "Get up. The emperor wants you to come in."

Until now.

Lu Fang began to have some self-doubts. For example, Chen Hong, Feng Bao, and Yang Jinshui... These were all his adopted sons and godsons who had been with him for several years, more than ten years, or even decades.

Everything is taught step by step, over and over again. Even a cow can learn to do it after three times, but look at the arrogance of these people.

In the inner court, God is the boss, the emperor is the second, and I am the third. But once they are away, it is even more terrible, because God and the emperor are no longer around, and I become the boss.

In the name of not involving the palace and the emperor, a "suicide" was arranged for Liu Wei on the road.

In fact, he didn't want Liu Wei to explain his annual tributes to him in front of the emperor, so he killed him.

Using the name of His Majesty to pursue personal interests is too crude a move.

Chen Hong quickly got up and followed Lu Fang into the temple, asking as he walked, "Godfather, how does His Majesty feel..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard a sudden "ding" sound in the temple. Lu Fang's feet stopped instantly, and Chen Hong also stood there instantly.

Then there was a burst of disorderly sound of "dong dong dong", and anyone could hear the emperor's irritability.

Chen Hong suddenly felt fear rising in his heart.

Lu Fang sighed softly, slowly pushed open the door of the monastery, and seeing that Chen Hong was unable to move, he helped him go in.

At this moment, Chen Hong realized how strong Lu Fang was. Looking at his godfather's hair, beard, and face, he suddenly felt that they did not look like they were dyed black, and the makeup seemed to have disappeared.

Godfather, are you young now?

But Chen Hong no longer had time to think about it. He lay prone in the room with his head pressed against the brick floor and his butt raised high.

Lu Fang left the monastery and ordered someone to call the eunuch from the Ministry of Justice. The eunuch was kind-hearted and could not bear to see the appearance of his adopted son and godson before his death.

Zhu Houcong stared at Chen Hong, his eyes flashing with two sharp lights. His voice seemed to come from far away in the sky and reached Chen Hong's ears, "Did you kill the eunuch who was in charge of the Zhejiang Mining Bureau?"

This was clearly a question, but Shengyin sounded like a statement, and Chen Hong trembled when he heard it.

"No..." Chen Hong barely squeezed out a word from between his teeth.

Zhu Houcong asked again: "How much benefit did the eunuch in charge of the Zhejiang Mining Bureau give you?"

"There's no benefit..." It didn't seem like Chen Hong was speaking himself. It seemed like another voice in his body said these four words, just a denial.

"Does the injustice of those miners have anything to do with you?"

“It’s nothing to do with it…”

"If that's the case, then you're not afraid of me investigating. Then I'll go investigate."

If you want to investigate the Holy Word, you have to search the house.

Chen Hongxian looked extremely frightened. He moved suddenly and kowtowed to the ground: "Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me! I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong..."

The head knocked against the ground countless times, making a thumping sound, and blood began to appear on the ground. The sound in the temple was so urgent that Lu Fang was shocked: "Quick! Go in and rescue the emperor!"

The two eunuchs from the Ministry of Justice who were summoned rushed to the gate of the monastery, and leaped into the monastery like two big birds with a gust of wind to grab Chen Hong. Their ten claws stretched out in the air were like eagle claws, and they grabbed Chen Hong's shoulder blades.

At this time, Chen Hong's head had drooped limply beside his shoulders, and he had obviously fainted. His head and face were covered in blood, and there was a large pool of blood on the ground.

"Long live the Lord! Long live the Lord!"

Lu Fang ran in right after, worried that Chen Hong might be disrespectful and disturb the emperor.

Zhu Houcong looked dignified and calm. He looked at Lu Fang's worried expression, waved his hand, and turned to look at Chen Hong. A hint of murderous intent gradually emerged in his eyes: "Search the house."

"The slaves obey the orders!"

……

overnight.

The four ministers who had recently stepped down gathered in the cabinet again.

Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang knew that something major had happened. In the Government Affairs Hall, the three of them did not even sit down. Instead, they stood in front of their chairs, all looking at Zhang Juzheng who was sitting in the middle.

Zhang Juzheng's face was solemn, but his bright eyes were almost flying out of his eyes. He tried to speak calmly, "Please sit down first."

No one expected that such a huge deadlock would be resolved by Hai Rui from Jiangnan.

The causes and consequences of everything that has happened in recent days have surfaced.

At the end of last year, mining accidents occurred in Kaihua and Dexing counties under Quzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang Province.

Coal mine explosions and copper mine collapses.

The reason was that the mine owners of the two counties bribed Yang Junmin, the prefect of Quzhou Prefecture, and Liu Wei, the eunuch in charge of the Zhejiang Mining Bureau, by using their mining interests as a hedge.

Relying on the support of others, the mine owners in the two counties drove the miners to dig coal and minerals in the mines even though they knew the mines were dangerous, resulting in hundreds of miners dying in the mines.

After the mine disaster, the mine owners in the two counties did not provide relief, and were only interested in currying favor with their superiors, so they transferred the silver that should have been given to the miners' families to Yang Junmin and Liu Wei.

These two idiots were bold in giving and receiving. After getting the silver, they ordered the county government under their jurisdiction to arrest the families of the miners who had filed a complaint and put them in jail.

The miners' families were still dissatisfied and continued to appeal to the government office, but this also proved the old saying, "Who dares to sue me?"

The families of the miners, who had no idea that the governor was the biggest beneficiary of the mine disaster, came to Yang Junmin with hope.

In order to prevent the miners' families from going to the provincial government to cause trouble, Yang Junmin simply arrested all the miners' families and put them in jail on the charge of "overstepping the authority to appeal", threatening and intimidating them.

Originally the effect was good. The families of the miners thought that the officials and businessmen were in collusion and that the people could not defeat the officials, so they gradually became desperate. However, there is never a shortage of fighters in this Han country.

Among the miners' families, there were several elderly people who resolutely crashed into the ground and died at the steps of the government office, splattering Yang Junmin's blood.

This is the anger of a common man.

The bastard Yang Junmin had his men grind the dead old man's bones and scatter his ashes, while at the same time he had people boil water to wash off the blood on his body.

While Yang Junmin was trying his best to wash away the blood of the people on his body, the bailiffs and jailers with conscience informed the families of the imprisoned miners of the death, and then opened the prison doors for these innocent and wronged people.

It was impossible for hundreds of unarmed civilians to storm a government office, but that was the first spark that would start a prairie fire.

The people of Quzhou Prefecture, who had long been fed up with Yang Junmin's dark rule, immediately broke out in rebellion. When the rebellion spread to Kaihua and Dexing counties, a riot was inevitable.

This is the entire process of the mining disaster and civil unrest in Kaihua and Dexing counties.

Having caused a great disaster, Yang Junmin was powerless to remedy the situation. He could only report to the province, Nanjing, and the capital for help, asking for troops to suppress the miners' rebellion.

At the same time, Yang Junmin, who had finally come to his senses, knew that he was to blame for the mine disaster and civil unrest, so he asked for help from his father, the Minister of Personnel, and mentioned some of his actions while in office in Quzhou Prefecture.

But unlike what Yang Junmin expected, the imperial court did not directly suppress the mob, nor did it even characterize the rioting people. It only asked Nanzhili to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and find out the details.

The Zhejiang Governor Wang Yongji was really brave. He risked his life and rode alone into Kaihua and Dexing counties, which were basically not under the control of the court, without any escort. He persuaded the angry people to lay down their arms, and the two counties returned to the control of the court.

Meanwhile, Yang Bo in the imperial court, upon learning of his eldest son's evil deeds, was worried that he would be implicated and executed, and was actively thinking of a solution.

Of course, the Zhejiang Mining Bureau had committed such a serious crime that Liu Wei's godfather, Chen Hong, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, was also trying to find a solution.

Yu Kai, the magistrate of Kaihua, and Sun Wen, the magistrate of Dexing, were both disciples of Confucianism, and this matter was known to Confucianism.

Thus, under the planning of the great Confucian master Qian Dehong, the second prime minister Gao Gong, the celestial official Yang Bo, and the factory manager Chen Hong successfully completed the "blending".

This was the real reason why the sudden changes in the cabinet and court situation caught him, the cabinet chief, off guard and almost forced him to step down in disgrace.

With the help of other godsons in the inner court, Chen Hong conveyed information about the emperor to Gao Gong and Yang Bo.

Gao Gong and Yang Bo, two important ministers of the country who held great power over finance and personnel, joined forces to almost reach the point of overwhelming power in the court and the country, and monopolized all news from Jiangnan.

Yang Bo put in countless efforts in keeping the secret for his eldest son.

Confucianism also got what it wanted. In the three-way debate between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism on the Lantern Festival, Buddhism, as the attacking party, could only be defeated even though the abbot of Baoguo Temple, Master Huizhen, who was called the reincarnated Buddha by Buddhism, appeared in person.

Buddhism was a complete failure, and all the temples, Taoist scriptures, and golden Buddha statues in the Ming Dynasty were declared destroyed.

Moreover, Confucianism and Taoism have almost confirmed the "Laozi's transformation into nonsense", that is, the Buddha was the incarnation of Laozi, the founder of Taoism. From then on, even if there are Buddhists, they are inferior to Taoists.

Of course, this outcome was caused by the imperial court, that is, Gao Gong, the chief referee, deliberately taking sides.

From the Confucian point of view, if Buddhism is completely eliminated, only the half-crippled Taoism will be left. In the third debate, it will definitely be a matter of surety.

Master Huizhen, who could not accept failure, and even more so the destruction of his orthodoxy, passed away while sitting on the spot.

but.

Although Gao Gong, Yang Bo, Chen Hong, and the Confucianists all achieved what they expected, they probably did not expect that things would take a turn in Jiangnan.

That’s right, everything started in Jiangnan and should end in Jiangnan.

Hai Rui.

It is truly a sharp sword of our Ming Dynasty.

Uncovering the truth behind the mining disaster and civil unrest gave him a chance to turn the tables.

Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang took their seats one after another.

Zhang Juzheng slowly looked at the three people, especially Gao Gong, and said, "I have news for you. Chen Hong, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department and the commander of the Eastern Depot, has been executed by the emperor, and his family has been confiscated..."

Gao Gong felt as if his buttocks were on fire and almost jumped up.

(End of this chapter)