Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 75 Let's add fuel to the fire later.
"I accept the decree."

After receiving the order, the Imperial Guards bowed and withdrew, having roughly understood His Majesty's intentions, and couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

Is this the King of Qin? Disobeying the imperial decree? Presumably unable to meet the emperor due to illness?
I'll wait and see how many more days you can keep jumping around.

This Imperial Guard had absolutely no respect for the Prince of Qin or the imperial family; he simply wished for the man who dared to disobey the imperial authority to die as soon as possible.

Forget about this king or that king, we only recognize His Majesty!
Even the direct descendants of Empress Dowager Li during the Wanli era were wiped out with just a word from His Majesty. How could you, a mere Prince of Qin, possibly cause such a commotion?

King! King! King! Dog-foot King!
The people in the imperial carriage were so angry at the thought that a mere Prince Qin dared to use an excuse to avoid meeting the emperor that they wished they could rush into the palace and chop him into mincemeat.

However, since His Majesty had not yet issued a clear decree, everyone had no choice but to suppress their resentment.

Not long after the incident of appealing to the emperor occurred.

Zhu Cunshu had also heard about what happened at the entrance of the government office, but he didn't take it too seriously.

He only thought that this was a means for the emperor to weaken his power.

After all, how could a lowly commoner have the audacity to do such a thing?

Huang Si.

Even if someone were to publicly file a complaint against him, he would not hand it over to appease public anger.

Whether Huang Si did those things or not is not important.

The important thing is.

If he really hands over Huang Si, the morale of the people in the Prince's Mansion will likely suffer a severe blow.

Zhu Cunshu showed no intention of retaliating.

He was able to control half of Xi'an Prefecture, so he was certainly not an incompetent person.

Zhu Cunshu knew that if he were to retaliate, he would truly be at a disadvantage.

The emperor holds the legal right, so whatever he does is right.

The best thing he could do was to stay hidden in the palace and not move, so that the emperor would truly have no way to deal with him.

however.

What Zhu Cunshu didn't expect was...

The next morning.

His trusted subordinate suddenly reported some unexpected news to him.

"Your Highness, the person who filed a complaint with the Emperor yesterday was found dead in an inn this morning. Rumors are circulating that it was our Prince's Mansion that did it!"

Upon hearing this news, Zhu Cunshu's eyebrows twitched sharply, and he immediately summoned Huang Si, the person involved.

"Did you do it?"

Huang Si hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Highness, how could I possibly have such ability, let alone the audacity to act recklessly without your permission?"

After a moment of contemplation, Zhu Cunshu slowly nodded.

Honestly.

He could tell that someone must be behind this, but he didn't really pay much attention to the public opinion.

His long-standing local tyrant mentality meant he never really cared about those commoners.

Besides, public opinion usually disappears on its own in three to five days.

What he really cares about is which force was behind this.

Did the emperor do it himself?

But why?
If it's just about throwing mud, then that's going a bit too far.

After all, the emperor couldn't really rely on those lowly people to deal with him.

Otherwise, it would also be a blow to his own rule.

Although the emperor did do many things that benefited the people after he came to Shaanxi.

But in Zhu Cunshu's view, those things were merely necessary measures to maintain his rule.

Just like he would casually give gifts to the servants in the palace.

But what does this prove?
Feeding cattle and horses more hay is simply to make them work better.

So now, after hearing that the person who cried out for justice has died.

Zhu Cunshu even began to suspect that Qiao Yingjia and his group of officials were behind the whole thing.

They want to use this incident to keep the emperor's attention on me.
The more Zhu Cunshu thought about it, the more likely this guess seemed.

After all, those people were so frightened by the news that the Emperor was coming to Shaanxi that they rushed to Yan'an Prefecture overnight to provide disaster relief.

So it's not surprising that they actually did such a thing.

These lackeys dare to use me as a target?! A surge of anger welled up in Zhu Cunshu's heart.

After pondering for a moment, he personally wrote a letter and had a servant from the Prince's Palace deliver it to the government office.

The letter essentially stated that I was unable to meet with the Emperor yesterday because I was unwell and ill, and I was afraid of infecting him, which is why I didn't go.

I apologize to you, Your Majesty, please don't take offense.

And that guy who complained to the emperor yesterday was just talking nonsense.

It's impossible for such a wicked servant to exist in the Prince's mansion, and that man's death has absolutely nothing to do with me.

My guess is that all of this was orchestrated by civil officials in Shaanxi.

They used you as a pawn!
They're trying to sow discord among our royal family members so they can reap the benefits. Don't be fooled!
From Zhu Cunshu's perspective, this letter was necessary.

Although it could not directly send the emperor out of the city.

However, once this letter is sent out, the emperor will inevitably become suspicious.

For a young emperor with such shrewdness and skill, the most unacceptable thing is being used as a pawn by others.

In addition, the emperor really couldn't do anything about himself for the time being.

Therefore, it is estimated that in three to five days, the imperial procession will set off directly to other places.

Although Zhu Cunshu was so fat that he needed help to walk, he was not stupid.

In Zhu Cunshu's view, his plan was brilliant.

Not long after.

Zhu Youjian, who was reviewing books in the government office, received the letter from the Prince of Qin.

In addition, there was a secret report and an account book presented by his subordinates.

Zhu Youjian glanced at the booklets and then paid no further attention to them.

Regarding the former.

In an instant, he understood Zhu Cunshu's purpose in writing the letter and grasped Zhu Cunshu's fearless attitude.

In this era, concepts like kinship and legal principles did indeed possess a certain sanctity.

But what he is about to do is bound to be groundbreaking.

Therefore, this applies to both people and ideas.

Anything that blocks the empire's advance will be wiped out.

As for the second letter and the account books...

This was even more useless to Zhu Youjian.

He came to Shaanxi to rebuild and transform the entire province.

For him, a list of corrupt officials was a cheap commodity.

Why are lists used in the large-scale purge?

What is the use?

So after just a quick glance, the two items were discarded.

then.

Zhu Youjian then continued to study the border defense maps and the battles fought on the Shaanxi border in recent years.

Ordos tribe, Xifan tribe, Chahar tribe.
Invasions by foreign tribes were commonplace in Shaanxi, and Shaanxi could not be stable without dealing with these tribes.

Just as Zhu Youjian was looking at the documents and pondering.

A guard bowed and came in to report, "Your Majesty, the matter as you instructed has been completed."

"However, after observing for half a day, we found that public opinion towards the Prince of Qin's mansion was still in a state of being angry but not daring to speak out."

Zhu Youjian nodded as he listened to the report.

This is not the kind of public opinion he wants; he plans to add fuel to the fire later.

　Some readers have left comments about the affairs of the lower-ranking members of the royal family, so I'll explain it here.

　　The Ming Dynasty imperial family members ranged from princes to dukes, then to generals who protected the country and generals who assisted the country. They went down the ranks to lieutenant generals, and even to members of the imperial family without titles.

　　The author has consistently written about princes of the highest rank.
　　Take the King of Qin as an example. The people to be dealt with are the entire royal family of the King of Qin's palace, not just some low-ranking members of the royal family on the street.

　　As for asking whether anyone in the Qin Prince's mansion had been wronged,

　　The author could only reply: The rise of Han was not a dinner invitation.
　　If the restoration of the Han dynasty is not thorough, then the restoration of the Han dynasty will be completely impossible.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)