I was living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and I dealt a brutal blow to the Eight Banners!

Tian Mansion.

Tian Hongyu sat in the courtyard, holding a cup of freshly brewed tea.

I would glance at the walkway in the courtyard every now and then.

After waiting for a long time, the person he was looking for finally arrived.

Wang Dehua and Chen Xinjia arrived together, and seeing that Tian Hongyu had been waiting for a long time, they quickened their pace.

"My lords, you both know about what happened at the Wu residence this morning, right?"

Tian Hongyu put down his teacup and went to greet him.

When Wang Dehua took charge of the Eastern Depot, he had spies and informants for all the officials in the capital.

Last night, Wu Sangui hosted a banquet at his residence. The list of Wu family relatives invited had already been placed on Wang Dehua's table.

As for the massacre that took place at night, it was Wu Sangui's soldiers who carried it out, and the agents of the Eastern Depot also knew about it.

Therefore,

Wang Dehua was not as surprised as Tian Hongyu and Chen Xinjia, after all, he had already been shocked last night.

The three of them sat down.

After serving the tea, the attendant bowed and took his leave.

“I heard about it,” Chen Xinjia nodded, frowning. “I heard that all 131 people in the mansion were killed, not a single one survived, not even the big yellow dog guarding the gate was spared.”

Wang Dehua nodded.

Tian Hongyu's expression was cold and solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Wu Sangui's actions defy the world's opinion; he must have some ulterior motive!"

"Having committed such an outrageous act, isn't Wu Sangui afraid of divine retribution?!" Chen Xinjia said disdainfully.

Tian Hongyu and Wang Dehua exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of conspiracy in each other's eyes. Wu Sangui would never do something so extreme just because His Majesty ordered a thorough investigation of all officials.

There must be some unspeakable secret hidden behind it.

After all, Wu Sangui is now a very important figure in the capital, and was recently granted the title of Earl of Pingxi.

Of course, His Majesty elevated Wu Sangui to such a high position in order to counterbalance Zhang Jingchuan, the Duke of Yan.

It was quite a sight to behold.

Would someone so successful and influential suddenly do something so heinous, incomprehensible, and unimaginable?

If there's nothing fishy going on, who would believe it?

After a pause, Tian Hongyu slowly put down his teacup, looked at Wang Dehua, took a deep breath and asked, "Was it His Majesty's decree or was it someone else who did it?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dehua shook his head and said, "The palace informants say that His Majesty did not summon Wu Sangui in private, nor did he send anyone to deliver any secret edict to him."

In fact, Wang Dehua knew that His Majesty had secretly left the palace late last night.

Given that the Wu family was massacred by Wu Sangui late at night, it's hard not to connect the two events.

However, given the gravity of the matter, Wang Dehua could not reveal that His Majesty might secretly meet with Wu Sangui outside the palace.

Although Tian Hongyu and Chen Xinjia both served under the Duke of Yan, such matters were too secretive, and it was hard to guarantee that the two of them wouldn't leak them out.

An emperor ordering his subjects to exterminate their own entire clan is such a shocking and unspeakable act that if it were to become known to outsiders, it would be far more serious than a few words of reprimand.

If things go wrong, all those involved could have their entire families wiped out.

Wang Dehua, as the Grand Eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, would inevitably be the first to be targeted.

Although Wang Dehua chose to side with the Duke of Yan, it did not mean that he would put his life and the lives of his entire clan on the Duke of Yan's shoulders.

He's just speculating, not a gambler.

"Your Majesty...wouldn't do that?" Chen Xinjia looked at Tian Hongyu in surprise and asked hesitantly, "Could it be that Wu Sangui is trying to curry favor with His Majesty by putting righteousness before family, since it was His Majesty who ordered a thorough investigation of all officials?"

Chen Xinjia and Tian Hongyu both turned their gazes toward Wang Dehua, after all, the Eastern Depot was a secret service agency, and such things were done in secret.

Wang Dehua knew the most about it.

Wang Dehua nodded in agreement.

"In previous records, the Wu family did indeed have some problems, and they did accept bribes, although the amount was not small, probably only tens of thousands of taels of silver..."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Xinjia said, "You mean this point is not enough to make Wu Sangui take the drastic step of killing him?"

Wang Dehua glanced at Tian Hongyu, then nodded meaningfully.

He wouldn't inform the two that His Majesty was leaving the palace late at night, but that didn't mean he wouldn't guide them.

It's like, I didn't say anything, it's all your own speculation~

……

the other side.

In a secluded manor.

At this moment, Zhou Yanru showed none of the demeanor of a Grand Secretary.

He paced back and forth like an ant on a hot pan.

At this moment, he was filled with fear and trepidation. Previously, Emperor Chongzhen had issued an edict to thoroughly investigate all officials, and the task was to be carried out by the Duke of Yan.

He was terrified. As the Grand Secretary, there was no doubt that only he knew what his party's officials had done and whether they had cleaned up the mess.

Over the years, they have provided conveniences to some wealthy and powerful individuals, and they have done countless shady things.

otherwise,

Where does the annual revenue of millions of taels of silver come from?

Without money, how can one win over other officials and ensure mutual protection among them?

So many years, so many things done,

Zhou Yanru doesn't even remember many things anymore.

It's impossible to clean up every mess.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot are not what they used to be, with Luo Yangxing's abilities, it's impossible that he couldn't find some clues.

As for Wang Dehua, the head of the Eastern Depot, he was even more terrifying.

After all, Wang Dehua was close to Tian Hongyu, the lackey of the Duke of Yan, and might have already submitted to the Duke of Yan's command.

Moreover, the Eastern Depot's surveillance of court officials was no less than that of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Don't say anything else,

Take Zhou Yanru's own private treasury, for example. It contained hundreds of kilograms of gold and at least 100,000 taels of silver, not to mention the antiques, calligraphy and paintings treasured in his mansion and the rare treasures sent by officials from various places.

If he is found out, his fate is self-evident!

at the moment,

With Shaanxi fallen, the bandits' next move should be northward.

His Majesty will inevitably have to make compromises in order to get the Duke of Yan to send troops south to quell the bandits.

Zhang Jingchuan demanded military funds from the court for the army's deployment. When the national treasury could not provide the funds, Zhang Jingchuan urged the emperor to ask the officials for them.

That's really bad.

His Majesty is in dire need of money, and Zhang Jingchuan is eager to establish his authority in the court.

This made the two of them work together to deal with these civil officials.

Although the partisan conflict has reached a point of irreconcilable differences,

However, if a third party wants to intervene, they could temporarily put aside their grudges and work together to deal with the external enemy.

Didn't you, Emperor Chongzhen, want to use the Duke of Yan's influence to suppress the officials?

it is good,

Then let Emperor Chongzhen see who the ultimate winner is, and who truly calls the shots in this world!

After the meeting yesterday,

Wang Dehua then ordered the agents of the Eastern Depot to begin investigating some officials.

Several officials from Zhou's faction were taken to the government office and have not yet come out, which makes Zhou Yanru very nervous.

"Why isn't Wu Sheng here yet? Quickly send someone to urge him on," he said impatiently to his servant.

……