dognovel Chapter 153: Cases that popped up during ancestor worship
Chapter 153: Cases that popped up during ancestor worship
The Prime Minister made it clear that he came to surrender.
Qin Haifeng and Zeng Rou were very excited.
If they could get the support of the prime minister, they would be even more powerful, as he is the head of all officials.
However, Ning Yi remained unmoved and said calmly: "Prime Minister, the time is right for you to surrender now."
"But why should this prince trust you?"
The Prime Minister was already prepared. He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Qin Haifeng.
Qin Haifeng looked at it doubtfully and found nothing wrong, so he placed it in front of Ning Yi.
Ning Yi took a look and became even more confused. There were only two addresses on it. "What do you mean, Prime Minister?"
The Prime Minister stood up straight and said leisurely, "This is where the Fourth Prince's treasury and granary are located. Your Highness can go and take all the money and grain."
Ning Yi suddenly became interested and looked at Qin Haifeng.
Although Qin Haifeng looks rough, he knows a lot about many things.
"Your Highness, these two places are only about thirty miles away from the capital."
"Then what are you waiting for? Gather your troops and follow this prince."
Ning Yi is now seriously short of money and food. Although there is a lot of stock, the tens of thousands of troops are quite consuming. In addition, there are mines and workshops, which are all gold-devouring monsters.
This time, he personally led hundreds of the sixth-term servants and set off in a mighty procession.
We arrived at a small village in a remote mountain thirty miles away, where hundreds of soldiers were stationed.
When Ning Yi's army came and was ready to deal with them, who knew that they surrendered collectively, and it was the prime minister's order.
Ning Yi was quite shocked when he entered a huge warehouse in the center of the small village.
Hundreds of boxes of gold, hundreds of boxes of silver, and assets worth hundreds of millions of silver taels.
This fourth brother is really good at plundering.
Ning Yi gave orders on the spot to go to his base and bring carriages to move everything away.
Ning Yi was busy almost until dark, and then he saw Zeng Zhizhong, who had received orders to go to the granary and had just moved batches of grain.
He was also extremely excited: "Your Highness, the food we seized this time is enough to feed an army of over 100,000 for two years."
Ning Yi was very satisfied: "Keep a strict watch on him and do not let any information leak out."
"Don't worry, Your Highness." Zeng Zhizhong bowed seriously and said, "We have a full 20,000 elite soldiers here, including the cavalry, training every day."
"It's impossible to take us here without a hundred thousand troops."
"Moreover, the First Army is ready to provide support at any time, and the two capital camps in the south can also rush to join the battle."
Ning Yi was still very satisfied with this. The army he had currently reorganized only had 40,000 soldiers.
Although the cavalry corps had just been established and only had a few thousand cavalrymen, there were thousands of logistical and miscellaneous soldiers.
Zeng Zhizhong, the old scholar, approached Ning Yi and whispered, "Your Highness, since the Prime Minister has surrendered."
"Then, the Fourth Prince's army must also be incorporated."
"Especially the Fourth Prince's hidden weapons workshops, mines, and caravans. They should not be underestimated."
Ning Yi nodded: "Of course."
When I returned to the mansion the next day, I didn't expect that the prime minister was still there.
He ate his meal slowly and leisurely, treating this place as his own home.
Ning Yi's expression changed immediately, and he said with a smile, "This prince was worried that the Prime Minister had left, and was planning to visit him in person, but I didn't expect that the Prime Minister is still here. This is very good."
The Prime Minister also stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile: "Your Highness is still not reassured. I, an old minister, dare not leave rashly."
This is to get Ning Yi's definite information.
Ning Yi smiled and said, "No problem, no problem. This prince is hungry and wants to have dinner with the Prime Minister."
I muttered to myself, what an old fox.
As soon as the two of them sat down, they exchanged a few polite words, and Ning Yi was very grateful.
Ning Yi smiled leisurely and said, "Prime Minister, the fourth brother is gone. Does he have any other troops of tens of thousands?"
The Prime Minister's face turned serious, and he said seriously: "Of course, all of them belong to Your Highness."
"Except for the 30,000 elite troops and the three guards of the Beijing Camp, a letter from this old minister will suffice. The rest are just a mob."
Ning Yi laughed heartily: "That's great! In the future, our Great Wu Kingdom will need ministers like the Prime Minister to prosper."
With just one sentence, the Prime Minister was relieved, and the two of them became completely united.
But Ning Yi said again after the meal: "Prime Minister, what this prince means is that you should hide your strength first. The second brother still needs the Prime Minister to stabilize the situation."
The old fox prime minister immediately understood that they wanted him to be a spy.
It's okay, he's happy to do it. He can bet on both sides and go with whichever side wins.
He assured on the spot: "Your Highness, rest assured. The Second Prince will be handed over to this old minister."
That afternoon, the Prime Minister went to the East Palace.
The Second Prince laughed heartily: "With the Prime Minister's assistance, I have no reason to worry about not accomplishing great things."
"Don't worry, Prime Minister. When I ascend the throne, you will not only be Prime Minister, but also Duke Wen of the State and Imperial Tutor."
These are quite impressive titles for civil servants.
In just one generation, he was much more powerful than those dukes and marquises.
After accepting the fourth prince's inheritance, the second prince's career went very smoothly.
Not only did all the civil and military officials in the court respect him highly, but even Emperor Wu handed over most of the court affairs to him.
The second prince is now extremely confident.
He is also very concerned about his reputation. Due to the cold weather, there are many refugees outside the city.
The second prince actually forcibly drove them away and even ordered the killing of many people.
Ning Yi listened to Gao Qingshui, who had just returned from Jiangdong, still in tattered official uniform and shivering with cold, but with a sullen face, cursing and complaining to him about the Second Prince's crimes.
Ning Yi's eyes turned cold: "Is the second brother crazy?"
"The refugees outside the city are already facing immense hardship this winter, yet instead of offering them assistance, they are driven away and ordered to be massacred. Even the old emperor wouldn't dare do such a thing. Isn't he afraid of the wrath of the entire world?"
Tan Donglin and the others also said angrily: "Your Highness, the Second Prince is so cruel and insane to do this. We can't just ignore it."
Ning Yi thought about it and shook his head slightly: "It's not the right time yet. The second brother is currently in the limelight."
"However, this prince will deal with him sooner or later."
Now the second prince really regards himself as the emperor, and has long lost the compassion he had in the past.
When Emperor Wu was seriously ill, the two brothers led all the officials to offer sacrifices to their ancestors on his behalf.
Ning Yi was wearing a white mink cloak and had just finished burning incense and kowtowing.
Suddenly he asked the leading Second Prince, "Second brother, there is something I want to tell you."
The Second Prince glanced at him indifferently, not taking Ning Yi seriously at all: "Tell me, what's the matter."
Ning Yi smiled and said, "Second brother, it's like this. I've received reports from many people that the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture actually sent officials to kill refugees outside the city. As the crown prince, you can't just ignore this matter, right?"
The second prince's face darkened. He didn't expect that he would actually say this in public.
The officials below were buzzing with discussion.
The Second Prince said calmly, "I haven't heard anything yet. I'll ask about the situation later."
"No need to look back." Ning Yi looked at Yu Zhen in the crowd: "Yu Zhen, as the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, if you encounter an official who massacred civilians, you should be able to interrogate him to find out the truth, right?"
Yu Zhen was confused. He just came to make up the numbers, but he didn't expect that the ancestor worship would lead to a case.
He had no choice but to stand up and bow: "If the case is brought to the Dali Temple, Yu will naturally conduct a thorough investigation."
"Then the post of Yingtian Prefecture Governor will now be handed over to you, the Dali Temple."