Chapter 318: The Seedlings in the Spring of the Third Year of Hongzhi

The sun was still absent the next day, and the capital welcomed another cloudy day.

Due to the epidemic, this year's Lantern Festival seemed particularly quiet, and the streets of Qipan Street seemed very desolate.

Although there were continuous disturbances, the six ministries were in charge, and the officials were on duty for 12 hours, so the epidemic prevention work in each district was still carried out smoothly.

In fact, the real restless people were still those powerful people, especially some powerful children who wanted to spend every day in wine and women, and naturally did not want to be locked up and not allowed to go out.

That's why there are many stubborn powerful children in each district of the capital, and some people fanned the flames behind the scenes, which caused some troubles.

"I advise you to go back and think carefully. This door is not so easy to break through!"

"Yesterday, there was a young man who claimed that his father was Nanjing Pei Shilang. Today, Pei Shilang has been directly dismissed by the Ministry of Personnel!"

"Who is your father? Minister Li has already explained that all Beijing officials and local officials below the third rank will be dismissed!"

...

Facing the powerful or official children who want to make trouble, the officials in charge of guarding here are very tough, and have dismissed several local officials in succession.

Seeing such a tough epidemic prevention official, even the prince of the marquis's mansion has to tuck his tail between his legs. In the past, they could run rampant, but in the current Hongzhi Dynasty, the powerful and officials were killed in batches. If they dared to go against the court, they would die.

Although some people were crazy behind the scenes, these powerful children were not fools after all. In the end, they quietly chose to take the initiative to admit defeat to the strong epidemic prevention officials.

"It's hard to say how long the lockdown will last, but the court will solve the epidemic as soon as possible!"

"If anyone around you has a fever, report it for quarantine. I believe the epidemic will be eradicated soon!"

"As long as you cooperate with the court's epidemic prevention work, the court will definitely give you a satisfactory result!"

...

Facing ordinary people, epidemic prevention officials patiently calmed the people's emotions, so that no major conflicts occurred in the districts.

The court naturally could not rely solely on power and slogans. The most important thing for epidemic prevention is to solve the food problem of residents, so the court carried out the corresponding rice delivery work.

"The court really sends rice every day!"

"If it is like this every day, it would be great!"

"What are you thinking? People have already said that as long as there are no new patients in our district, the lockdown will be lifted!"

...

The Chinese people are actually very simple. After seeing the fresh rice delivered every day recently, many people began to look forward to it.

In the past, once there was a natural disaster or man-made disaster in the court, they were often the ones who carried the burden forward. How could it be like the current court actively sending rice.

Of course, many people are actually very clear that although their current emperor is called a tyrant, he does put the interests of their people first.

In this seemingly peaceful capital, the epidemic prevention officials have actually done a lot of things silently, resulting in no chaos in the capital.

"The epidemic is under the control of the court, and the most important thing for us is to rush to make orders from the East China Sea!"

"Yes, although we are trapped here, cotton silk can always be supplied to us!"

"Now that the court treats us ordinary people like this, we have no reason not to work hard!"

...

Although Liu Ying and other female weavers were also trapped in the workshop, their production was not affected. They were always able to apply for enough cotton silk to ensure that the production of cotton cloth in the capital was not affected.

After the special luxury tax was confirmed, they had a stronger sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty, so they worked harder during the epidemic prevention period.

The current court can strike hard against foreign enemies, can choose to take back Jianzhou to resettle millions of disaster victims, and is more people-oriented in response to this epidemic. These measures have made them feel deeply safe.

As the demand for cotton cloth in various places has increased, they also know that production cannot be interrupted, so they are willing to repay the court with their sweat.

Although the city of Beijing still looks dead, it seems to be waiting for spring. The spring of the third year of Hongzhi is destined to bloom with colorful flowers.

In a mansion on the outskirts of the city.

Unlike the city of Beijing, which is under lockdown, the outside of the city is simply a paradise of freedom. Since the epidemic is limited to the palace and the various districts in the capital, there is no epidemic in the suburbs of the capital, which makes people in it complacent.

Not to mention that the population of one million in the capital is in danger, even the emperor cannot be lucky, so they are very happy to be in such a safe environment.

After receiving the latest news, Ma Wensheng held an emergency meeting.

He sat in the first seat with his legs crossed, and was slowly sipping the tea in his hand, as if everything was under his control.

This epidemic can be said to be directed by them. Through the smallpox epidemic, it brought a "natural disaster" to the Ming Dynasty, which made the emperor who was high above anxious.

If the emperor knew how to share the blessings of the world with the literati, they could actually get along well, but the current Emperor Hongzhi was simply seeking his own death.

Because the court banned the entire capital, they got less and less intelligence about the capital, but important intelligence could still be smoothly transmitted.

Just now, a great piece of good news came as expected and was passed on through secret channels.

"Haha... God has eyes, the tyrant finally got smallpox!" Wu Shanchang's mouth corners slightly raised, looking very happy.

In their planning this time, preventing the introduction of the extravagant tax was one aspect, but their most hoped-for outcome was for the emperor to contract smallpox and die.

Now that the emperor has contracted smallpox, it can be said that they have achieved the first stage of victory. After the emperor dies, their highest pursuit will be achieved.

"Chief Wu Shan, are you serious about this?"

"Is there still a holiday? The emperor has a fever and is being cared for by Dr. Cui!"

"Haha... The rain has finally passed and the sky has cleared up. Next, our Ming Dynasty will finally change its Yuan Dynasty!"

…

When they learned that the emperor was infected with smallpox and that he was under the care of Dr. Cui, the people present suddenly felt that the rain had cleared up and they even saw the dawn of victory.

As for Dr. Cui, he was actually an important member they trained. Even sending the emperor away was just a matter of a bowl of medicine.

Ma Wensheng took a sip of tea, but seriously reminded: "Everyone, although the emperor is infected with smallpox, he may not die, he may just get a pockmarked face!"

Although smallpox is an incurable disease, this infectious disease does not cause 100% death, so he remained awake about the whole thing, but he knew that the emperor might not die.

"Emperor Mazi? Haha..."

"Even if it's just a pockmarked face, he will have to restrain himself from now on!"

"With the dignity of the court and the dignity of the royal family, he should be able to be the emperor with his tail between his legs from now on!"

…

Even after hearing Ma Wensheng's reminder, the people present still seemed very optimistic, but they knew that once Zhu Youtang got pockmarked, his prestige would be affected.

Earlier, they had nothing to do with the upright and prosperous Emperor Hongzhi, but an emperor with no heirs and a "disabled" body would have greater maneuverability if he was overthrown and replaced.

The smiles on the faces of Wu Shanshang and others were even thicker, but they knew that even if the emperor was lucky enough to survive, he would still be an imperfect emperor with physical defects.

"Why does this tea smell like fish?" Ma Wensheng was proudly tasting the tea in his hand, but suddenly turned his head and looked at the servant and asked.

At this time, there was a sudden sound of fighting outside, and then a group of people broke into the door.

"What's going on?" Ma Wensheng and others were in excitement. After hearing the sudden movement, they immediately turned to look at the door in confusion.

But a group of Jin Yiwei wearing fighting fish uniforms broke in, but each of them was wearing a mask, and the leader was a strong young man.

Affected by the Zhu Ji incident, the Jinyiwei system underwent a major purge, and the second generation of nobles, second generations of royal relatives, second generations of civil servants and military generals were purged one after another.

If the Jin Yiwei in the past were a hodgepodge, the current Jin Yiwei are mainly elites. They are not only suitable personal guards of the emperor, but also have strong reconnaissance capabilities.

Wu Shanchang's heart thumped, and he immediately pretended to be calm and yelled angrily: "Dare, who are you? Why do you want to break into people's houses? Do you know where this place is? Do you still have the law in your eyes?"

"Let me introduce myself. I am Mou Bin, a Qianhu in Fusi, Beizhen. I naturally have a royal eye!" Mou Bin saw the reactions of the people present and immediately reported his family background.

Although he did not take a step forward during the last Jinyiwei purge, Qianhu's gold content is higher now. What's more, he has fallen into the emperor's eyes, and as long as he works hard, he will eventually be promoted.

Ma Wensheng's hair suddenly stood up, but he knew that the Jinyi Guard Qianhu in front of him was a vicious dog beside the emperor, but he still held a trace of luck and said: "You... what do you want?"

"Stop pretending! You are really brave. You dared to murder His Majesty. It's a pity that you all miscalculated!" Mou Bin's face darkened, and he seemed to know everything.

Wu Shanchang knew that there were some things that he could not admit, so he immediately made a sophistry and said: "Mou Qianhu, don't spray blood on others, we are just lying here to avoid acne, what's wrong?"

"Yes, we avoid acne here!"

"I am the former left minister of the Nanjing Criminal Department. What rank are you in?"

"Mou Qianhu, you are Mr. Zhang's student, we are actually not outsiders!"

…

The members present seemed to be grasping at straws, but they insisted that they were here to avoid acne. Some put pressure on Mou Bin, while others played the emotional card.

But they all miscalculated. A person disguised as a slave came forward and said: "Mou Qianhu, these are all the conversations they just had. Please check them!"

"Haha...Are you too happy too early? Your Majesty is wise and powerful, do you really think that Dr. Cui's little trick can deceive His Majesty?" Mou Bin asked with a smile after reading the content of their conversation.

ah?

Wu Shanchang and others' eyes widened, and their mouths opened wide in surprise.

Ma Wensheng's mind was racing and he asked in disbelief: "You mean the emperor is not infected with smallpox?"

"That's it. Doctor Cui has been secretly controlled by us! If he hadn't passed on the information this time, how could we have followed the clues and found out here?" Mou Bin's mouth corners slightly raised, looking very proud.

In fact, Dr. Cui didn't know about Ma Wensheng, but he was an important participant after all, and he had an important way to convey the situation. And it was by passing on false information that they successfully reached their base camp.

When things have reached this point, the clouds have finally cleared up, and this force hidden under the capital will be uprooted today.

"Mr. Cui?"

When Ma Wensheng learned that he had lost everything, he immediately fell down on the seat again, but he knew that this time he was really finished.

He was a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai. Although his ranking was not ideal, due to his humble background, he was appreciated by his teacher and was eventually appointed as a censor by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The imperial censor was humble and powerful, so he was at home in Shanxi and Huguang. Later, after passing through the Fujian governorship, he became the governor of one side.

However, when he was in the court, he inevitably fell into party disputes. Because of his disagreement with the militant Wang Zhi in Liaodong, he was eventually caught and exiled to Chongqing Guards for four years.

Fortunately, Wang Zhi was overthrown by their civilian clique four years later, and he was finally reinstated, and later served as the most lucrative water transport governor and river governor.

Originally he was promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of War, but as a result he was not favored by Emperor Xianzong and was quickly "transferred" to Nanjing for retirement and served as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing.

Fortunately, Xianzong passed away soon and was recommended by Xu Pu and Huaien to serve as the Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to eliminate the officials appointed by Xianzong in his early years.

Unexpectedly, after Zhu Youtang, who had been manipulated at will, seemed to be a different person after he ascended the throne, he was dismissed from office shortly after returning to the court for defending the former Minister of Household Affairs Li Min.

Decades of ups and downs were like a passing cloud. He could have become a well-known virtuous minister, but he was disliked by Xianzong. As a result, even Hongzhi, who had just ascended the throne, did not reuse him.

He hates it!

He is not willing to give in!

So he chose to embark on a path that allowed him to truly control his own destiny.

But today, he was defeated after all.

All the plans turned out to be a joke in the end.

The emperor who was once looked down upon by him not only saw through Dr. Cui, but also followed the clues to find out the headquarters of their organization.

"Take them all away!"

Mou Bin looked around at the important participants present, and waved his hand with an expressionless expression.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have been able to believe that in this seemingly peaceful capital, these people with virtuous reputations were actually doing evil things.

In particular, Ma Wensheng, who was originally an important minister who served as the imperial censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, actually wanted to murder the emperor through imperial doctor Cui, thus achieving an ulterior secret.

At this moment, he understood more and more why the emperor abandoned him back then. These officials who claimed to be patriotic and caring for the people really knew people but not their hearts.

The dark clouds over Beijing slowly dispersed, and rays of sunshine fell on the snowy streets. A small green seedling emerged from the land next to the street.