Chapter 119: A series of poisonous plots
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, many heroes emerged, and in the end only Zhu Yuanzhang was left.
Among them, Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen were two more troublesome separatist forces, both of whom had once dominated the southeastern half of the country.
Zhang Shicheng proclaimed himself King of Wu and was ready to fight to the death with Zhu Yuanzhang; the pirate leader Fang Guozhen was smarter. When he saw that something was wrong, he transported treasures and built ships day and night, trying to escape to the sea.
In the end, no one left.
Zhang Shicheng committed suicide after his defeat, and Fang Guozhen was forced to surrender.
The remnants of the two were severely suppressed, and the rest fled to overseas countries such as Japan and Goryeo.
Mr. Zhang, whose real name is Zhang Chenbao, is the adopted son of Zhang Shicheng.
On September 8th of the first year of the Wu Dynasty, Zhang Shicheng saw that his army was defeated, and said to his wife Liu, "I have been defeated and am not far from death. What should you do?" Liu said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will not let you down." So she piled up firewood at the foot of the Qiyun Tower. After the city was broken, she drove her concubines and maids to the tower and set themselves on fire.
Before this, Liu entrusted her two young sons to Zhang Chenbao, her adopted son who had always followed Zhang Shicheng.
Zhang Chenbao and his two sons fled to the countryside, and the Ming army failed to find them.
In fact, it was Zhang Chenbao who took his two sons out to sea and called on the remnants of Zhang Shicheng to become pirates.
At that time, the Ming army surrounded him on all sides. In a hurry, he only took away four Qiankun bags filled with a lot of gold, silver, rare treasures, and three mechanical beasts, [Three-meter Winged Bat], [Mechanical White Tiger], and [Mechanical Tiger Dragon].
It can't hold any more.
But he did not understand mechanical engineering. Even if he had a tiger dragon, he did not know how to charge it, how to repair it, or how to replace parts. The East China Sea was full of sea beasts. Zhang Chenbao and his remnants struggled to survive, and soon the tiger dragon was scrapped. Fortunately, during this period, they landed on Kou Island and used their strength to establish their own territory.
Originally, if the tiger dragon is gone, it is gone. No one has it, so just pretend it never existed.
But the imperial court suddenly found the "Weapon Catalogue" and created the Tiger Dragon...
Now one party has it, but the others still don’t, so the result that awaits them is death!
Zhang Chenbao knew very well the power of the mechanical beasts - the white tiger charging into the battle formation, the winged bat flying into the sky, the tiger dragon lurking in the waves of the river, killing enemies, throwing explosives, and drilling ships... With Chu Huanan around, as long as the mechanical beast fell into the hands of the enemy, he would make it self-destruct and would never give Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang and others the opportunity to study it. This allowed Zhang Shicheng to survive for many years.
Now that the imperial court has the "Weapons List", with the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, mass production will be the nightmare of all pirates!
So, I had to come this time.
He even did not hesitate to cooperate with the Japanese shogunate and the Eight Ghost Gates!
Zhang Chenbao's evil plan continued: "The first step is to reveal the news to the Twelve Linked Docks of Zhongyuan Water Village. The second step is to bribe the Bat Gang and secretly spread explosives. The third step is to spread the news that Zhao Yong's death is related to Zhao Wumian."
Fujiwara no Genma and others looked at each other in bewilderment; they had never heard of any of these three names.
"Mr. Zhang, these people are..."
"..."
Zhang Chenbao was speechless for a while. Why did they come to the Central Plains to plot the design of the Tiger Dragon? After thinking for a while, he said directly: "The Twelve Linked Docks are the largest water stronghold in the Central Plains. The headquarters is located in Baidi City. The chief leader, 'Sea-covering Dragon' Song Aoxian, is the leader of the Yangtze River pirates. They also don't want the court to create a Tiger Dragon. At least they want to have one themselves. So, as long as we pay attention, he may be more anxious than us. Second, the Bat Gang and the Rat Sect are low-level sects, but one is good at Qinggong and the other is good at stealing holes. They can be used now to create chaos on the Mid-Autumn Festival night. There must be brave men under a heavy reward. Third, Zhao Yong was the Marquis of Nanxiong. He died in Miaojiang..."
"Miao territory?"
Fujiwara Genma was not completely unaware of this: "Zhao Wumian has not been in Miaojiang for the past two months. He is in Beiping Prefecture..."
"It doesn't matter. Zhao Wumian has a grudge against the Huaixi nobles, so if we push it onto him, it will work!"
Zhang Chenbao asked, "Does Master Fujiwara still remember the former Mingzhou Guard Commander Lin Xian?"
Fujiwara no Genma felt like he had some impression of the young man and looked at him.
The young man said without hesitation: "My lord, you forgot. He was the one who cooperated with us to smuggle the Ming army's equipment. But he is dead now. I don't know why, but the Ming court changed the charge after closing the case to collusion with Ruyao Zangzhu and conspiracy with Hu Weiyong. The notice spread throughout the Ming Dynasty... At that time, you said that the Ming court could not distinguish between right and wrong, and the sky was dark and the earth was dark."
Fujiwara no Genma remembered.
It turned out to be that guy.
Fujiwara Genma was puzzled: "What happened to him?"
Zhang Chenbao said in a cold voice: "There are three people in charge of the coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty. Zhongshan Hou Tang He is in charge of the defense in Linqing; Jinghai Hou Wu Zhen is in Dengzhou, Shandong, training troops at sea and supervising the Shandong coast; the last one is Nan'an Hou Yu Tongyuan, who is in charge of the southeastern coastal defense. This Yu Tongyuan happens to be Lin Xian's boss! You and I know best that Lin Xian's collusion with Hu Weiyong in "rebellion" is simply a fabrication. The person who fabricated this case is Zhao Wumian who produced the "evidence". This matter has become an open secret among the Huaixi nobles!
Yu Tongyuan cursed many times in the mansion. With Lin Xian as a precedent, he was always terrified, fearing that Zhao Wumian would take out another letter and kill him! Now Zhao Yong, who had sworn brotherhood with Zhao Wumian, is also dead. If he died at the hands of Zhao Wumian, with new hatred and old grudges, do you think he would let it go? "
"..."
The handsome boy's eyes lit up.
The blind swordsman, Mr. Juro, also looked delighted.
Obviously he heard the key point.
Yu Tongyuan has every reason to cause trouble for Zhao Wumian. This can help them lure away the powerful enemy, and he may even catch Zhao Wumian while he is in danger! He is not only the living "Weapon List", but also the living Chu Huanan!
With him around, there’s no need to worry about the Ming navy.
It would be best if Yu Tongyuan could overthrow the entire Jinghu Villa, so that it would be easier to arrest him. Fujiwara Genma thought it was not that simple: "Isn't he in Mingzhou?"
Zhang Chenbao said: "The latest intelligence is that he secretly went to Miaojiang a few days ago to carry his brother's coffin. He should have returned with the body now. However, it is still difficult to break through the southeast. The person in charge of the overall situation in Mingzhou Garrison is Tang He's deputy general, Gongchang Hou Guo Xing, who is also an expert in naval warfare. I have to say that the Ming Dynasty is really full of talents!"
Fujiwara Genma pondered and said, "If we go up the river, we should be able to make it before the Mid-Autumn Festival... In this way, it is really a godsend! With so many people against Zhao Wumian, maybe we can really take him away. I happen to have a [Ghost Control Pill] given by General Kikuchi. As long as he eats it, he will be able to control people like driving away ghosts, and he will follow us obediently!"
"Such a talent is perfect for General Kikuchi!"
"If we can create a mechanical beast, the general will be able to succeed in his northern expedition!"
"For His Majesty the Emperor!"
The crowd's blood was boiling, they gnashed their teeth, and their faces were ferocious.
Zhang Chenbao felt extremely strange.
These Japanese people are really crazy!
Finally, Fujiwara Genma excitedly decided: "Let's do as you say, sir. Action!"
……
southwest.
On the Yuan River.
A large ship was sailing up the river in the dark night. A coffin was placed in the cabin, and next to the coffin stood a middle-aged man wearing a mourning hat.
He was dressed in mourning clothes, with two maces, one gold and one silver, placed across his waist. He placed his hands on the coffin, his eyes filled with sorrow and grief.
"Big brother..."
The third of the Four Generals of Chaohu is Yu Tongyuan, Marquis of Nan’an.
Suddenly, a carrier pigeon flew over from the sky.
Ren Fu, a personal soldier standing on the deck and also wearing a mourning hat, caught the pigeon, took the letter off the pigeon's leg, quickly walked into the cabin, and handed it to Yu Tongyuan.
Yu Tongyuan took a look at it, his eyes were almost burning with anger, he tightly grasped the letter and said angrily: "This is too much!"
Ren Fu said cautiously: "My Lord, this is..."
Yu Tongyuan threw it to him casually and strode out of the cabin, with murderous aura emanating from his body.
Ren Fu picked up the paper with fear and used his pupil technique to take a closer look. He was shocked: "Lord Zhao's body is still warm and the real murderer has not been arrested yet, but the three judicial officials have convicted him? How could this be possible?"
“When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked; when the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden!”
Yu Tongyuan's voice was extremely cold: "Fei Ju and the others are like this, and so is my elder brother. It seems that my fate will be the same in the future! Just based on the one-sided words of those bitches and the pile of rubbish left by the assassin, my elder brother's life reputation was ruined and he was dismissed from office and stripped of his title after his death. This is simply unreasonable!"
Ren Fushen agreed with this.
He also felt it was too much.
Apparently, neither of them took the abuse of the highly toxic [God's Heart-Stirring Pills], the abduction of women, the secret killing of the foreign envoy Jing Bao, and the assassination and elimination of dissidents seriously.
In their view, Zhao Yong has made great contributions, and these flaws do not outweigh his merits.
Ren Fu took a closer look and murmured, "It's actually the prince's order..."
"It's not unexpectedly, but as expected."
Yu Tongyuan looked at the river indifferently: "Do you still remember what Zheng Yuchun said?"
Ren Fu's face changed slightly: "Marquis Zheng said that the one who killed Lord Zhao was most likely an assassin he secretly raised. They were close and probably knew that there was such a person around him... Zhao Wumian once killed one of Marquis Zhao's concubines, and Marquis Zhao would definitely not let it go, but for some reason, the assassin did not kill Zhao Wumian, but returned to Yunnan to devour his master..."
"Zhao Wumian must have done something to him!"
Yu Tongyuan gnashed his teeth and said, "A new emperor chooses new ministers. The prince always responds to Zhao Wumian's requests. It's probably because of him that he is so disrespectful! He even turned a blind eye to his assassination... He is forcing me to do it myself!"
He completely forgot that Zhao Yong was the one who provoked him first.
Ren Fu was startled and reminded him in a low voice: "My Lord, he is a member of the Imperial Guard, the emperor's personal army... and the crown prince's confidant..."
Yu Tongyuan glanced at Ren Fu and held down Zhao Yong's [Five Mountains Mace] behind him: "He made my elder brother die in an unclear way. I have my own way to make him suffer the same fate!"
(End of this chapter)
