Chapter 194 I have caught the real murderer
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Ji.

Liu Ji asserted, "Your Majesty, I believe that Hu Weiyong has already set sail and fled to the depths of the ocean. The ocean is so vast that it is unimaginable. I am afraid that he will never be found again after his escape."

After these words were spoken, all the officials still had stern faces, but many of them had an indescribable sense of relief on their faces.

Hu Weiyong was indeed a good-for-nothing. On the one hand, he instigated others to rebel, and on the other hand, he himself escaped.

But his running away was just right. Otherwise, who knows how much more would have been revealed.

There may not be many people who actually colluded with Hu Weiyong to rebel, but how many people in the court pretended to be nice to Hu Weiyong in order to rise to prominence? On ordinary days, the door of Hu Weiyong's mansion was broken by countless people.

Now that the person has run away and the debt has been paid off, everyone feels relieved.

But Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have anticipated this situation long ago. He couldn't help but feel resentful when he thought of Hu Weiyong's complete disappearance.

Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly, "You all have old acquaintances with Hu Weiyong. With so many people, is it possible that no one noticed his signs of rebellion? Since he has planned a way out overseas, who among them is secretly helping him and providing him with convenience? In my opinion, I am afraid that... there are many people working for him in secret."

As soon as these words were spoken, all officials fell silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang swept his eyes over all the officials.

Only then did some people begin to react.

"Your Majesty, we are your subjects, not Hu Weiyong's subjects. Hu Weiyong has served in various central government positions. We have a history with him only because he is in the Secretariat. If we can say we are old friends, I'm afraid we can't say that, but if we can say we are friends, we do have some."

Someone else said, "Yes, I am like that too. I do have some relationship with Hu Weiyong, and we visit each other on weekdays, but it is all for official business. As for personal relationship, I am afraid it cannot be said."

Everyone said yes.

Anyway... Hu Weiyong himself has already run away, so what else can we do?
Does he move around a lot on weekdays? But he is the right prime minister. We often deal with him for official business. This dealing is also for the court, for the country, and for the people.

As for private dealings, that is impossible.

At this time, Li Shanchang coughed and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I... do have some old feelings for him..."

Li Shanchang's voice was not loud, but when he spoke, all the officials fell silent in unison.

Li Shanchang continued, "Although Hu Weiyong is a heinous criminal, I have to say that he is a man of swift and decisive action. He is always able to execute tasks neatly and efficiently. This is his strength. That is why I have repeatedly recommended him to Your Majesty. I did not expect that his intentions were so sinister. I am old and incompetent and have not seen his true face for so many years. Now that I think about it, I am really ashamed."

After a pause, Li Shanchang continued, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to immediately kill all the remaining followers of Hu Weiyong and arrest all the relatives of the Hu family! Only in this way can we serve as a warning to others and deter the evildoers. However, I, an old minister... have committed the crime of negligence, and I also beg Your Majesty... to punish me."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang.

But in fact, this sentence asking Your Majesty to punish made all the officials nervous.

They were waiting to see how His Majesty would deal with Li Shanchang.

Everyone here knows that Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong have a very close relationship. If Li Shanchang is not punished, then this matter will just be regarded as three cups of wine as a punishment, and it will be over.

But if Your Majesty insists on this, then...

Just when everyone was anxiously waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have thought of everyone's thoughts. He smiled coldly. Although he still felt a heavy stone in his heart, he had to say: "It was not Li Qing who plotted rebellion. How can I blame him? As the saying goes, ignorance is not a crime. Li Qing has made great contributions over the years. If I punish Li Qing for this, wouldn't it make people all over the world feel disappointed?"

Li Shanchang's face was filled with regret and gratitude. He stood up from the brocade cushion, then prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowed respectfully and said, "I am an old minister of humble virtue, but Your Majesty has not abandoned me, so I have made this small achievement. Now that Your Majesty has given me such an honor, I am even more humbled. Now that I have made a big mistake again, Your Majesty still does not abandon me. The grace of heaven is so great that I am speechless."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief silently, and a huge stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground.

It seems... this matter is over.

If Li Shanchang was not punished, then I'm afraid the others won't be punished either.

Having said that, if Hu Weiyong was not captured, there would be no evidence of close contacts between Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang. The emperor would never wrongly accuse a founding hero for this.

Li Shanchang also seemed quite satisfied with this outcome.

After Zhu Yuanzhang comforted him, he still bowed and then slowly sat back on the brocade cushion.

Only Zhu Yuanzhang knew this, and he became even angrier.

This feeling was like a bone stuck in the throat, unable to go up or down, but even as an emperor, he still had to keep a low profile at this time.

He said slowly: "Let's stop here today. In a few days..."

As he was speaking, he suddenly saw a eunuch from the Ministry of Public Security peeking outside.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sharp-eyed and saw it at once, so he looked at the person in the corner first.

He should have understood first and raised his voice to ask, "Who is making trouble outside?"

Then the eunuch from the Ministry of Public Administration hurried in, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Earl of Wuwei and the Thousand Household Officer of the Chunhe Palace, Deng Qianqiu, requests to see you."

Zhu Yuanzhang still had no expression on his face after hearing this. That night, there seemed to be no movement in the Chunhe Palace Qianhu Office, and Zhu Yuanzhang did not expect the Qianhu Office to do anything.

After all, although the Qianhu Suo was a military organization, in reality, it was more focused on supervision. A rebellion broke out at night, and they were already lucky enough to be able to keep the Qianhu Suo's one acre and three mu of land. Could they really expect them to suppress the rebellion with real weapons?

Zhu Yuanzhang's mind was focused on the troops commanded by Xu Da and Zhu Wenzhong, and he really couldn't take care of the Qianhu Suo. Now that he had news about Deng Qianqiu, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered something.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Come in."

"Here."

A moment later, Deng Qianqiu entered the hall in military uniform. With his handsome young face, he attracted a lot of attention.

But I have to say that Deng Qianqiu's outfit is indeed refreshing.

Some people couldn't help but laugh in their hearts. He was a thousand households, and on weekdays he would at most wear the clothes bestowed upon him. After all, wearing military uniforms was inconvenient. But today, when he went to the palace, he deliberately wore military uniforms, as if this guy had been busy for a few days and was also going to suppress bandits.

Some people also thought: This guy's mind is really unfathomable. He deliberately dressed like this, obviously wanting to share the credit and show that he has been loyal to his duties during this period. This bastard has learned nothing else, but he is a master at grabbing credit.

At this time, Deng Qianqiu had already saluted Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "I greet your majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking deeply. The officials thought so, and he probably also thought of Deng Qianqiu's thoughts. At this moment, he couldn't help but wonder how this guy could handle things so well, but he said calmly, "What's the matter?"

His response was concise and powerful, showing that he disliked Deng Qianqiu's pretentious attitude.

Deng Qianqiu said: "I have something important to report, so I rashly asked for an audience. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I have been suppressing the rebellion these days..."

Before Deng Qianqiu could finish, someone suddenly asked, "Oh? Qianhu Suo is also suppressing the rebellion? But why are there only General Zhu Wenzhong's troops in and outside the capital?"

Some people couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at the man coldly, with an unhappy look on his face.

The man immediately stopped teasing and became silent.

In fact, Deng Qianqiu had stirred up a hornet's nest this time. For no reason, Hu Weiyong was in a desperate situation. Now many people have suffered a false alarm. In addition, many ministers used to rely on Hu Weiyong's connections. Now that Hu Weiyong has fallen, they have no backing in the government. Even if they are spared from being implicated by Hu Weiyong, their future careers will be worrying.

Therefore, everyone couldn't help but feel resentful towards Deng Qianqiu.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care what others thought, and just went straight to the point: "Is Qianhu Suo also suppressing the rebellion?"

"That's right." Deng Qianqiu said, "I spared no effort to lead my men to set up an ambush in the Zhenjiang area. Fortunately, God blesses the Ming Dynasty. We have captured Hu Weiyong and his relatives and confidants in the waters of Zhenjiang. We have finally caught all of Hu Weiyong's gang."

"..."

Suddenly, the hall fell silent.

Many people looked at Deng Qianqiu in surprise.

Apparently, many people are having trouble wrapping their minds around this.

The first person to react was Li Shanchang, who was very old and looked indifferent to foreign affairs.

Li Shanchang shuddered subconsciously and lost his composure.

Fortunately, no one is paying attention to this Duke of Han Guo, who made great contributions and was once the left prime minister of the Secretariat.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Deng Qianqiu without saying a word.

In the hall, some faint whispers began to arise.

Many people looked at Deng Qianqiu in surprise.

"What did you say?" Even the current Chief Censor Liu Ji was a little confused.

Liu Ji made what he believed to be an accurate judgment based on his own situation. He believed that since Hu Weiyong had a backup plan, he would definitely be able to escape. Everyone was unable to catch up with him and could only sigh in despair in the end.

But now...

Deng Qianqiu said, "Your Majesty, I have captured Hu Weiyong, his relatives, and his confidants, a total of 764 people. Now Hu Weiyong has been personally escorted to the capital. I am afraid that the night will be long and there will be many troubles, so I have come to see you and beg your majesty to make a decision."

"..."

These words were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, and everyone fell silent again.

After a long while, someone finally responded.

At this time, many people began to feel uneasy.

(End of this chapter)