Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 396: Net!

rainy night.

The 30,000-strong Yongxing Army camp was spread across the northern bank of the Wei River.

Inside the simple tent, tallow candles emitted a dim, flickering light.

The candlelight cast the two people's shadows on the canvas of the tent, making them dim and hazy.

Zhong Pu looked closely at his clan brother Zhong Quan.

A moment ago, Zhong Quan had been riding his horse at full speed, rushing here in the rain. Now he was breathing heavily, with beads of sweat the size of beans rolling down his forehead, mixing with the rain and flowing down his cheeks.

"Brother Park, something big has happened!" Chong Quan did not bother to wipe the sweat off his face. He looked panicked and said hurriedly, "The secret of the Battle of Yongle City has been exposed! The secret files of the Privy Council were leaked for some reason. My uncle..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhong Pu's face suddenly changed, his eyes instantly became fierce, he rushed forward, covered Zhong Quan's mouth with his hands, and shouted in a low voice: "Shut up! How can you yell about such things casually!"

Outside the tent, the wind and rain were still raging. The strong wind hit the tent, making a dull sound, as if cheering for this sudden crisis.

Jong Park carefully lifted the curtain and looked around vigilantly. After confirming that no one was eavesdropping, he slowly lowered the curtain and turned back to Jong Kwon.

"What's going on? Tell me in detail." Zhong Pu's voice was low and tense, and his brows were tightly furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

Zhong Quan swallowed his saliva, calmed down his emotions, and said, "I got the news that the file recording my uncle's inaction in Yongle City was leaked by someone.

Now the court is talking about it, and the people are also aware of this matter. They are all blaming Dad for not helping the dying, which led to the fall of Yongle City. "

Zhong Pu clenched his fists, his knuckles turned white, a trace of anger and fear flashed across his face, and he said, "Someone must have been behind this!
My father fought for the Song Dynasty all his life, and the late emperor had already ignored this incident.

Moreover, my father was promoted at that time, and the bygone days were forgiven. Why is it that someone is digging it up now? There must be something hidden!"

He paced back and forth in the tent, his footsteps heavy and hurried, splashing mud and water that dirtied the tent floor.

"Brother Pu, what should we do now?" Zhong Quan asked worriedly, "The reputation of the Zhong family is in jeopardy. If we don't handle it well, our Zhong family's position in the court..."

Zhong Pu stopped and thought for a moment, then his eyes became firm: “It’s useless to panic now.

You must return to Bianjing immediately, pay close attention to the court's movements, find a way to contact our Zhong family's connections, collect evidence that is favorable to us, and see if you can find the mastermind behind the file leak."

"What about you, Brother Park?" Zhongquan asked puzzledly.

Zhong Pu looked out at the rainy night outside the tent and said coldly, "I will keep my troops on hold for now. The war on the front line is tense now. If I leave rashly, it will definitely arouse suspicion from others.

Besides, maybe those people are just waiting for me to lose my composure."

Zhong Quan stood up and prepared to leave. Before leaving the tent, he looked back at Zhong Pu and said, "Brother Pu, who would want to frame our Zhong family?"

When asked this by Chong Quan, Chong Pu fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, Zhong Pu raised his head, his eyes were like torches, and he gritted his teeth and said, "After thinking about it, my Zhong family has not offended anyone in the court.

So if someone is using this matter to do something, it must not be out of hatred, but is targeting the influence of my Zhong family in the northwest!
If that’s the case, then it’s very likely that the Zhe family is behind this!

Over the years, the Zhe family has been quite dissatisfied with the Zhong family's control of the heavy troops in the northwest of the Song Dynasty.

They have been coveting the power of the Zhong family in the army for a long time, and this time they used the leak of the files to frame Dad, just to take away our military power in the northwest and suppress the Zhong family."

"The Zhe family?" Zhong Quan was surprised. "But how could they get the secret files of the Privy Council? This is too unbelievable."

Zhong Pu snorted coldly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes: "The Zhe family has been operating in the court for many years, and their connections are complicated. Maybe they have already planted spies in the Privy Council.

They are definitely involved in this file leak.”

Zhong Quan's face looked even worse, he just nodded quickly and rushed into the rain, followed by the sound of horse hooves fading away.

Jong Park sighed.

What an eventful time.

A strong enemy has emerged in the northwest again. The Yan'an Prefecture actually annihilated the brave Zhang Meng's army of Huanqing Road in one battle. Now the Zhe family of the Western Army wants to attack the Zhong family, and the Western Xia outside is eyeing them covetously. The internal and external troubles have reached a point where they cannot be worse!

Zhong Pu’s guess was correct, the situation was indeed getting worse!
A few days later, the fighting on the front line eased a little. Chong Pu was hoping that Chong Quan would bring favorable news, but he didn't expect to be hit by an even more severe blow.

One morning, there was a commotion outside the military tent. His trusted adviser Chai Juncai rushed into the tent. Chai Juncai was left behind by his father. He looked panicked and said, "My dear nephew, something bad has happened. News has come from the capital that many censors have jointly impeached the Zhong family!"

Zhong Pu's heart was shocked, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang", and fragments flew everywhere.

He snatched the official report from Cai Junchai's hand.

The black and white words on the paper were shocking.

The censors impeached the Zhong family for several crimes, including collusion with the Western Xia and smuggling contraband, including gunpowder and pig iron;

Secondly, he leaked secrets to Xixia during the Salt War, which led to the defeat of the Song Dynasty and the reversal of the offensive and defensive positions of both sides. This impeachment instantly pushed the Zhong family to the forefront of treason. Even more fatal was that someone impeached Zhong Pu for secretly colluding with Su Yun of Yan'an Prefecture and attempting to sell 30,000 troops of the Yongxing Army to Su Yun.

In addition, the censor brought up old matters again, accusing Jong Pu and Liu An of harboring enemies in their early years, which led to the growth of Su Yun's power.

After reading the court report, Zhong Pu was so angry that he was shaking all over. Veins popped out on his forehead. He threw the court report to the ground and shouted hoarsely, "Absurd! This is clearly a conspiracy of the Zhe family. They want to put the Zhong family to death completely!"

After calming down for a moment, Chong Pu realized that if he did not fight back quickly, the Chong family would be doomed.

Zhong Pu paced back and forth in the tent, his eyes as sharp as an eagle and his brain working rapidly.

He knew in his heart that simple excuses would only plunge the Zhong family into deeper trouble. Only by taking the initiative and muddying the waters could he win a glimmer of hope for the Zhong family!
Having decided on his idea, Zhong Pu immediately wrote several letters and sent them to Bian Jing by express horse, contacting the connections that the Zhong family had built up in the court over the years.

These connections are distributed in various key departments. Some are officials promoted by the Zhong family in the past, and some have close interest ties with the Zhong family.

Soon, a storm arose in the officialdom of the capital.

Memorials impeaching the Zhe family flew into the palace like snowflakes.

The memorial listed in detail the many crimes committed by the Zhe family, including smuggling salt and horses, and withholding military pay and sucking the blood of soldiers.

In addition, Chong Park also secretly spread rumors that the Zhe family was colluding with many civil servants in the court and intended to control the government.

For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the court, and voices impeaching the Zhe family rose one after another.

In order to make the situation more chaotic, Chong Park also involved other sects.

He ordered people to collect some unknown evidence of the generals of the Western Army and the Northern Army, or some clues of illegal behavior, and after a little exaggeration, make them public.

In an instant, the entire military was thrown into turmoil, and no general could stay out of it.

When Empress Dowager Gao learned about this, she was furious and immediately ordered the establishment of an investigation team to thoroughly investigate the matter. The investigation team was composed of several highly respected ministers, aiming to clarify the truth and stabilize the situation in the court.

……

Yan'an Prefecture.

In the military tent, Su Yun put down the secret letter, with a look of approval on his face, and said to Ping Zicheng with a smile: "This kind of Pu is actually a smart guy, not like a second-generation ancestor who only inherited his father's influence."

Ping Zicheng nodded, his face calm, "Sir, I don't think you can turn him against us like this. There must be other means, right?"

Su Yun smiled and said, "If you come, what method will you use?"

Ping Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "Based on my understanding of you, this is just a prelude. The next move will be the real deal. But I can't guess what the move is."

Su Yun glanced at Ping Zicheng and said, "When did you learn to flatter?"

Hearing this, Ping Zicheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sir, your wisdom is like the deep ocean. I really can't guess it."

Su Yun laughed when he heard this and said, "That's good. You used to be too aloof, so other people didn't dare to get close to you. Now you have a little bit of worldly touch, which is a good thing.

Forget it, since you don’t want to say anything, I’ll just watch.”

Ping Zicheng smiled embarrassedly.

……

The autumn rain only brings a few days of clear weather, and when the autumn wind blows again, the yellow sand in the northwest rises again.

Outside the tent, the autumn wind carried yellow sand and hit the tent wantonly.

Zhong Pu stood in the tent, his brows twisted into the shape of a "川" character, listening to the news from his confidant, a chill ran up his spine from the soles of his feet.

There was turmoil in the court, and undercurrents in the army.

He secretly monitored the army. When the news came, the generals talked about it privately, and some even tried to capture him and take credit for it to the court.

The people from the Imperial City's Ice Well Service frequently went in and out of the military camp, like a sharp blade hanging high in the air, ready to fall at any time.

"We must closely monitor the movements of those who have ill intentions," Zhong Pu said in a deep voice, his voice was cold and full of unquestionable majesty. "We must stop the people from the Imperial City Bureau if we can, and collect their every move in the military camp. I want to see what they want to do!"

The confidant took the order and left. Zhong Pu paced back and forth in the tent, his mind was in a mess and his whole body was cold.

He hesitated for a long time, and finally, in order to stabilize the military morale, Chong Park decided to hold a military meeting.

In the tent, the generals were whispering to each other or had different expressions on their faces, and the atmosphere was tense and depressing.

Zhong Pu glanced at everyone and laughed loudly, "Everyone, the situation in the court is changing, and someone is trying to frame the Zhong family and shake the morale of our army.

But I, Zhong Pu, am devoted to the Song Dynasty, and the heaven and earth can bear witness to that! Now that we are facing a powerful enemy and Yan'an Prefecture has not been pacified, how can we explain to the court if we lose our composure? How can we be worthy of the dead soldiers?"

(End of this chapter)