Chapter 190: Swear not to be a human being
Under the moonlight, shouts and screams rang out everywhere.

The sound of swords clanging could be heard on the streets.

But the sound came quickly and went away even faster.

In just a short period of time, the night sky returned to peace.

Countless people and horses began to appear in the streets everywhere.

Not long after, Tang Shengzong, covering the knife wound on his left arm, staggered into a land temple under the guidance of several confidants.

The pursuing soldiers behind, once Emperor Shengzong of Tang entered the land temple, did not continue to pursue him, but surrounded the land temple tightly.

A priest from the land temple came out in a hurry, and when he saw this scene, he was so frightened that he trembled and ran out of the door.

Tang Shengzong didn't care about these things, he was breathing heavily.

On the other side, Zhu Liangzu, who was instigating Tang Shengzong, looked pale.

Zhu Liangzu said: "Brother, let's think of a way to fight our way out."

Tang Shengzong smiled bitterly and said, "I can't kill him anymore... I can't kill him anymore... Zhu Wenzhong... Zhu Wenzhong is coming."

Upon hearing the name Zhu Wenzhong, Zhu Liangzu's already pale face became even uglier.

Zhu Wenzhong's original name was Li Wenzhong. He was Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son. In the past few years, he had been leading troops to fight against the Tatars in the border towns. He was a founding duke. Perhaps he was not as good as Xu Da in commanding the overall situation, but his bravery was the best among the three armies.

What's even more terrifying is why Li Wenzhong appeared in the capital without any prior knowledge of the incident.

The only possibility is that Your Majesty secretly transferred it to Beijing.

A group of elite soldiers, led by Li Wenzhong, suddenly appeared in the capital city so quietly that even the Five Military Commandery was completely unaware of it...

What does this mean?
This shows that all of this is actually under Your Majesty’s control.

It also shows how elite the troops this group brought were.

Only those who have led troops know how terrifying it is for a military horse to be able to march long distances silently.

"Brother, how did you know it was Zhu Wenzhong?"

Tang Shengzong's face was slightly sad, and he said, "Zhu Wenzhong's troops are known for their fierce offensive and discipline. They are fast as the wind, and are good at using cavalry to attack the flanks first and infantry to advance together. Except for Zhu Wenzhong, no one in the world would deploy troops like this. Zhu Wenzhong is here... It's ridiculous... We thought... everything was under control, but in fact... we have long been regarded as playthings."

After a pause, he sighed and said, "Since Zhu Wenzhong is here, Xu Da must be in charge of the capital and in control of the situation. The entire capital must be like an iron barrel, airtight. Where can we rush to, and where can we escape? There is no place for you and me in this world."

Zhu Liangzu couldn't help showing fear on his face, but he said as if to comfort himself: "But... don't we still have them? It wasn't just you and me who arranged it..."

Tang Shengzong covered the wound on his arm, blood gushed out from between his fingers. He smiled even more bitterly: "It's not you and me...hahaha..."

Zhu Liangzu gritted his teeth and said, "We are all famous generals of the time. Big brother, we may not be inferior to Xu Da and Zhu Wenzhong. Why are you laughing? Maybe... Mr. Hu... can command well and accomplish great things."

Tang Shengzong laughed again. At this moment, his face was as pale as paper, obviously because he had lost too much blood. "I finally understand why you are so impetuous. At the beginning... at the beginning, I hesitated again and again because the risk was too great, but you... kept instigating me. It turns out... you can't see yourselves clearly."

Zhu Liangzu said angrily: "Why do you say that, brother?"

Tang Shengzong said: "When Liu Bang conquered the world, he had many famous generals under his command, but 70% to 80% of them came from Pei County. Let me ask you, is it true that... this small place of Pei County is full of talents, and its civil officials and military generals are the best in the world, and thousands of counties and prefectures in the world are far inferior to them?"

"Now, in the Ming Dynasty... all the heroes in the world come from Huaixi. Let me ask you again, is it true that Huaixi is full of talented people and has some outstanding qualities? Haven't you figured out that it's not because we are famous generals of the time, but because... there was a Zhu Chongba in Huaixi?"

Zhu Liangzu's expression changed slightly: "Brother, what you mean is..."

"Those grass-roots people in Pei County followed Liu Bang and were able to become generals and ministers, and their names will be passed down through the ages. The same is true for us Huaixi people. We are qualified to become famous ministers and generals today only because we are close to the water and the moon. Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Zhu Wenzhong, Hu Weiyong, and you and me are all like this. Now... Zhu Yuanzhang has already planned and laid out the layout. You still think that you can break the current predicament with your own abilities. Let me ask you, when competing for the world, how many of these enemies can escape from Zhu Yuanzhang's hands? Not to mention facing the sharp edge, even if you want to escape, you can't escape. Now thinking about it afterwards, this is not you and I rebelling at all, nor is it Hu Gong's strategizing. From the beginning, it was Zhu Yuanzhang who was waiting for us to take the bait. He already has a perfect plan. Don't you think it's ridiculous that you still dream of the prestige of our so-called famous generals of the time?"

Zhu Liangzu's face also turned grim. He stumbled back a step, looking unwilling, but he seemed to find that the cruel reality was right before his eyes.

As if he had lost his soul, he said in a dark voice, "It's over, is it over? Brother, have we been plotted against? Were we plotted against by Zhu Yuanzhang? Where is Mr. Hu... Where is Mr. Hu?"

…………

Forbidden City.

Inside the Wuying Hall, the eternal lamp was on all night long, making the hall as bright as day.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting upright, reading a book leisurely.

At this moment, he seemed to be a little sleepy, so he propped up his cheek with his hand, so that when the eunuch beside him wanted to bring him a pillow, he waved his hand and signaled them to leave. Outside, there were small footsteps.

The one who came was a eunuch. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Cao has brought his troops into the city, and all the streets and alleys have been cleared."

Zhu Yuanzhang just nodded indifferently and lowered his head to continue reading.

After a long while, he suddenly looked up and asked, "Is there any trouble at Chunhe Palace?"

"Zhongshan Hou has already arranged and has surrounded and annihilated the thieves who wanted to cause trouble in one fell swoop."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "Tang He acted too quickly. In fact, we should have waited a while. There should be many people who have not made up their minds to rebel. Keeping such people who are indecisive is a hidden danger. It is better to root them out this time."

The eunuch hesitated and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang then continued, "Let's also close the net over Hu Weiyong. Have people take action and arrest all of his family members, young and old. Also, have people go to other villages and arrest all of his relatives. Don't leave any alive."

"Here."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his explanation, he became calm again.

Until the dawn, a ray of light suddenly appeared in the dark sky.

Dewdrops turned into frost on the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City.

But there were hurried footsteps.

"His Majesty……"

An eunuch bowed and said, "There is an urgent report from outside, saying that...it is said that..."

Zhu Yuanzhang just glanced at the eunuch and asked, "Why are you panicking?"

The eunuch said, "They said they broke into Hu's house, but there was no one in the house."

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was originally calm, finally looked gloomy at this moment. A cold light suddenly flashed across his eyes, and he frowned and asked, "What did you say?"

The eunuch was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body, but under Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze, he could only bite the bullet and stammered, "Hu Weiyong... ran away."

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes slightly, and then said: "If only one person ran away, it is not impossible, but so many people ran away... then... this is obviously a long-planned plan. In other words..."

He paused, then suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a light as sharp as an ice knife, and continued, "The rebellion was a lie. He used the rebellion as an excuse to send his followers to their deaths, while he himself escaped... Hu Weiyong... heh..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was filled with increasing anger, and he continued, "I understand. This Hu Weiyong... seems to be not brave enough, but as cunning as a fox. It turns out that his accomplices are all his scapegoats. Have you searched the whole capital for him?"

"We have searched everywhere." The eunuch said, "Duke Wei and Duke Cao realized that something was wrong, so they had to order their troops to search everywhere and tell people to follow the map, but there seemed to be no outsiders in the capital..."

Zhu Yuanzhang pursed his lips and suddenly asked, "Secret passage?"

The eunuch said: "The house is also being dug three feet deep, I guess..."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and began to become impatient.

Zhu Yuanzhang obviously hated Hu Weiyong, who had offended his authority.

This person caused such a commotion. If he could get away with it, wouldn't he have fooled him, the emperor, and the whole world?
For Zhu Yuanzhang, it was unacceptable for anyone to fool or offend him.

It seemed that his troubled heart made him unable to sit still any longer. He stood up suddenly and began to pace back and forth angrily.

His face gradually became murderous, and he said word by word: "Dig three feet deep in the ground... Now it seems that this person has already made plans to flee. He is the right prime minister, and he has so many followers. If he has arranged to escape, then nine out of ten times he has already thought of a retreat. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. This is a deliberate plan. If you want to find this person again, I'm afraid it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, and then continued: "Then dig three feet deep into the ground, dig three feet deep into the ground, and dig this traitor out for me. Pass on my order, all his accomplices, arrest them, and torture them thoroughly for me, no matter who they are, anyone who has any connection with Hu Weiyong, do not be polite."

"Here."

After the eunuch agreed, he hurriedly left as if he had escaped from death.

The anger on Zhu Yuanzhang's face became even stronger.

At this moment, he could not help but gnashing his teeth and saying to himself: "Escaped? Escaped? This is beyond my imagination. This bastard even hid it from me. He made so many arrangements and schemes just to escape? If I don't kill this thief, I will not be a human being!"

(End of this chapter)