Chapter 157: The public complains
There was a loud explosion, and an explosion occurred in a restaurant in Chongwenmen, Beijing!
However, Xu Yanqing, the eldest son of Duke Dingguo, happened to be killed on the spot.
Also killed were four civilians who had just rushed into the restaurant. These four civilians were seen by many passers-by holding Ouchi-made thunderbolts in their hands.
The strong smell of gunpowder also made people more convinced that the person who made firearms and gunpowder in Dauchi killed the young man Xu Yanqing.
The Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division rushed over as soon as they learned about the situation, and the people from Shuntian Mansion also hurried over, and the people from Dongchang naturally did not fall behind.
I don’t know who was causing trouble, but soon someone directly said that the murderers who killed Xu Yanqing were the craftsmen who had just been freed, because this case, like the case in which three imperial officials were killed, involved firearms. With gunpowder, and someone instigating it behind the scenes, the officials and people in the capital had to believe that it was the craftsmen who did it.
At this time, Xu Guangzuo, Duke of Dingguo, also knelt directly in front of Zhu Houzhao and cried heartbrokenly: "Your Majesty! I have been honored for many years, and I have always dedicated myself to serving you. I am loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and I have never relied on my power to bully the people." , but now, I don’t want my son to be harmed like this by these craftsmen! Your Majesty, you have to make the decision for me!”
At this time, Zhu Houzhao also knew that Xu Yanqing, the eldest son of Ding Guogong Xu Guangzuo, was killed in a bombing. He also felt very headache and angry about this. Not to mention that after Xu Da, Ding Guo Gong was ranked higher among the Ming Dynasty nobles. Xu Yanqing himself, the eldest son of the Duke's family, had a very special status.
But now, Xu Yanqing was killed in a bombing. If it is not handled well, the entire Xungui Group will be involved in the matter of whether the craftsmanship system should be cancelled.
"I have arranged for people from the East Factory to conduct a strict investigation and will give you an explanation! Get up first, go home and wait for the news!"
At this time, Zhu Houzhao saw that the Duke of Ding, Xu Guangzuo, had tears on his face and could only offer kind words to persuade him.
"Your Majesty! I would like to ask when the people from Dongchang can investigate. The last time those unscrupulous people killed a court official, they also asked the people from Dongchang to investigate, but the result has not been found yet. The people from Dongchang even gave the person to Killed!
Now, these murderers have died on the spot, how can we investigate! I came to beg Your Majesty today not to ask Your Majesty to redress my grievances. I don’t care what grudges my son has against them! I just want to ask Your Majesty, for the sake of the Xu family’s numerous contributions to the Ming Dynasty, to allow me to avenge my son’s murder! Woohoo! ”
Xu Guangzuo started to cry as he spoke, clenching his iron fist tightly.
Zhu Houzhao lost his temper and asked coldly: "What do you want?"
"I want all those craftsmen and common people to be buried with my son! It was them who killed my son!"
Xu Guangzuo said through gritted teeth.
"Absurd! No! They are not the murderers of Xu Yanqing. They are all common people. How can they kill them indiscriminately!"
Zhu Houzhao scolded.
"Your Majesty! My son can't die in vain! He is our eldest son, Xu!"
Xu Yanqing kowtowed directly as he spoke: "No matter what, your Majesty, please severely punish these unruly people! Don't let them be the people!"
"You keep saying that it was these craftsmen and common people who killed Xu Yanqing. Now the people in Dongchang have taken control of the scene, and according to the people in Dongchang, the faces of the people who killed Xu Yanqing are very clear;
In this case, I will now ask all the craftsmen to identify them. If these craftsmen can recognize them, we can naturally check their basic names and confirm who are the people who killed Xu Yanqing, so as to punish his family. If not, It means that there is another conspiracy in this matter. Someone deliberately framed these craftsmen, otherwise they would have no reason to kill the imperial official first and then the eldest son of Dingguo! ”
Zhu Houzhao said this, and Xu Guangzuo, Duke of Dingguo, also knew that he would only make His Majesty the Emperor unhappy if he continued to entangle him. Now that Zhu Houzhao had said that he must first identify whether the murderer was really one of these craftsmen, he could no longer entangle himself.
At this time, the Chongwen Gate area had been sealed off, and craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry and the Bureau of War were also gathered here.
These craftsmen thought that the imperial court really wanted to give them their freedom, but they did not expect that they would be summoned by the imperial court again. Therefore, each of them was worried that the imperial court would regret it and want to go back on its word and continue to do so without banning their craftsman status. They must be exploited by officials in the Ministry of Industry and the War Bureau.
Zhu Houzhao also came here in person, and also asked people from Dongchang to bring the bodies of several other craftsmen suspected of murdering imperial officials, and asked these craftsmen to identify them. Until now, Zhu Houzhao still does not believe in the bottom of his heart that these craftsmen would It's a violent murderer! I don't believe that these craftsmen really dared to kill the imperial official first and then the eldest son of the Duke. If these craftsmen really dared to do this, then the officials of the Ministry of Industry and the War Bureau would not be able to control them.
Cabinet ministers, officials from the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Industry, Shuntian Prefecture, the Fifth Army Governor's Office, and the 50% Army and Horse Division also arrived here. At this time, Zhu Houzhao also directly asked the craftsmen who were still registered in a loud voice:
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"I released you as people and let you make a living on your own, so that you can become good people. But now the government has reported two cases to me. Both cases were said to be done by you craftsmen. First he killed three officials of the imperial court, and now he blew up the young prince of Dingguo Palace!
And for this reason, many ministers advised me not to ban your craftsmanship, and even to strictly control you! I call you unruly people! Dissatisfied with the imperial court! Duke Dingguo even asked you to be buried with his son! You tell me! Do you really have the courage to murder court officials and kill noble children? Are you really so lawless? ”
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he asked his people to pass on his words loudly again. At this time, these craftsmen who had just been released as civilians realized that they had been so misunderstood by the court, and even realized that they would be regarded as unruly people who dared to kill imperial officials. After knowing that their status as free citizens might be After being deprived and even risking their lives, these craftsmen also became anxious. They knelt down one by one and started denying everything.
"What an injustice! Your Majesty, how dare we kill the official!"
"It's really unjust! We are lower than the people, how dare we have such courage! The emperor is aware of this!"
"Your Majesty, the younger one is their chief. Ever since he brought them Lumi back to the village, he has been keeping to himself. No one has been lost. Even if he goes out, he has made a report. And they are all here now, and they have definitely not killed anyone. Ah!”
"Yes! Your Majesty! The younger one is also the leader, and he can also testify. There are many people in our village!"
……
Zhu Houzhao knew that his ban on the craftsmanship system had now completely angered the interest groups behind him, forcing these interest groups to create incidents to provoke him and the Ming Dynasty.
Nowadays, even the nobles of the imperial court are being used by them. If they want to win this reform war, they can no longer just rely on a few reformist officials around them, but also have to rely on these craftsmen who have really benefited. Also mobilize, let them fight for their own rights, and let them know that if they do not support themselves as the emperor now, their interests will be harmed.
In this way, Zhu Houzhao will have more supporters, and he will no longer have to worry about the interest groups behind it!
Now, as soon as these craftsmen heard Zhu Houzhao explain the situation, they became anxious.
Moreover, although each of them spoke in a very confusing way and gave various excuses, some said that people like them could not have the courage, some said that they had never seen anyone around them kill anyone, and some said that they These are unlikely to conflict with court officials and nobles. Even if there is a conflict, they can only be tolerated, but this also gave Zhu Houzhao a new solution.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao ordered at this time:
"In this case, now the leaders of your workshops should identify the murderers who killed the imperial officials and the eldest son of the Duke's mansion to see if they are the craftsmen of your workshop. In addition, the Ministry of Industry and the Military War Bureau will The people are called, according to the currently registered craftsmen! If you call one, stand this way.”
Zhu Houzhao pointed to the street on the right as he spoke.
Therefore, the village chiefs of each village were led by people from Dongchang to identify them. In ancient times, people lived in one clan in one village, so as long as the murderers were craftsmen, these village chiefs could identify them. Of course, It is also impossible to deny because the Ministry of Industry will also name names. Once denied, it will be wrong if the number of people is different from the number on the roster.
"Your Majesty! After all the identifications, the chiefs of each district said that he is not from their village!"
After a long time, the chiefs of each district had identified Ben, and people from Dongchang also came to Zhu Houzhao to report the situation.
"Roll roll!" Zhu Houzhao said.
As a result, people from the Ministry of Industry and the Military War Bureau began to call names according to the roster. Chi Zong, the young eunuch on the side, couldn't help wiping the cold sweat on his head.
"Your Majesty! The number of people called is the same as the craftsmen present!"
When it was getting dark, Ye Heng, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Chi Zong, the young eunuch, reported back the situation. Ma Yongcheng, the admiral of the East Factory who was supervising from the side, also nodded.
After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but shouted: "If it is consistent, then why did your Ministry of Industry and War Bureau say before that the murderers who killed the imperial officials were all registered craftsmen, and their names even matched those recorded on the roster!"
"Your Majesty, spare your life! I don't know why this happened. The name of the murderer was reported by Shuntian Mansion. There must be something wrong with Shuntian Mansion."
Ye Heng, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Chi Zong, the young eunuch, hurriedly passed the blame to Shuntian Mansion. Chi Zong, the young eunuch, was even more heart-beating. He did not expect that His Majesty would ask these craftsmen to identify him, let alone that His Majesty would still He kept protecting these craftsmen and even now wanted to find out the mastermind behind them. He refused to give up. Therefore, he began to fear that the conspiracy between himself and Zeng Jian, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, would be completely exposed by Zhu Houzhao.
"Go and send word to Dang Haiwu, the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture!" Zhu Houzhao ordered in a cold voice.
But at this time, Qin Yu, the censor of the city who was standing next to Shuntian Prefecture Dang Haiwu, saw Shuntian Prefecture Cheng Dang Haiwu suddenly widened his eyes and his whole body twitched sadly. Qin Yu hurriedly supported Shuntian Prefecture Cheng Danghai: "Your Majesty ! The party chief seems to have committed suicide! ”
As soon as Qin Yu finished speaking, Ma Yongcheng, the admiral of the East Factory, first bowed his hand to Zhu Houzhao, then immediately ran over, wiped the breath of Hai Wu, the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture, and then came back and replied to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty! He is dead! He took poison. Suicide!”
(End of chapter)