amaotonovel Chapter 609 Old Zhu Infiltrates the Heavenly Prison
Chapter 609 Old Zhu Infiltrates the Heavenly Prison
In most cases, it is extremely difficult to suddenly discover whether someone is hiding something.
After all, one side involves long-term preparation, while the other side is a sudden surge in popularity.
Unless, of course, this person who suddenly rose to power was Emperor Zhu Chongba.
After concluding that Zhao Zheng's past actions were not entirely innocent, Emperor Zhu Chongba had been pondering the matter.
The crown prince was presented with the stark reality that Zhao Zheng, whom he considered a loyal subject, was actually plotting a rebellion.
Let him know that his father has never been wrong.
Think about it.
Emperor Zhu Chongba finally came up with a solution.
Why not let the Zhao family members admit it themselves?
Firstly, the Crown Prince certainly wouldn't want to believe something like a signed and sealed document.
Even Emperor Zhu Chongba was certain that even if Zhao Zheng had personally written a confession, it would have been impossible for him to present it to the Crown Prince.
The crown prince would only assume that he had been tortured into confessing.
But if it comes from the mouth of a member of the Zhao family, from Zhao Zheng's own mouth, it's a different story.
Then, Crown Prince Zhu Biao heard it with his own ears and saw it with his own eyes.
Emperor Zhu Chongba did not believe that his crown prince would be so foolish as to plead for Zhao Zheng.
How can we get the Zhao family members, or Zhao Zheng, to speak up?
With some free time, Emperor Zhu Chongba, having already made arrangements for the worst-case scenario, suddenly came up with an idea.
Sky prison!
After the girl left, most of the prisoners in the dungeon, believing that no one would plead for them anymore, committed suicide.
But the eleven former officials of the Zhao family—the Southern River Inspector, the Suzhou-Hangzhou Inspector, the Guanghu Inspector, and the eight Pacification Commissioners—are still here!
Emperor Zhu Chongba thought he had grasped the key, believing that these eleven people were ultimately just ordinary people.
Having been imprisoned for so long without dying, he must be longing to see the light of day and breathe in the fresh air outside.
Or perhaps they thought that once the head of the Zhao family arrived, he would definitely rescue them.
Who would like to go to jail?
As long as they still have a sliver of desire to live and to be free.
Isn't this just my chance to expose their true colors?
Thus, under the cover of Song Zong and Wang Ban.
In the Imperial Garden, an extra acre of vegetable garden and an emperor were added.
A new old prisoner has arrived in the prison.
......
rustling, softly.
"Get in!"
New prison uniform, slightly disheveled hair, and an unconscious dissatisfaction with the guards' rough handling.
Emperor Zhu Chongba, no, prisoner Zhu Chongba, has made his grand entrance.
The cell he arranged for himself was right diagonally opposite where Zhao Zheng's eleven puppets were located.
This allowed him to observe and talk to Zhao Zheng with peace of mind, while also preventing Zhao Zheng from seeing his appearance clearly.
As for the original prisoners in this cell...
Emperor Zhu Chongba was naturally confined to a single cell, and in addition, everyone in the entire prison was replaced.
rustling, softly.
Zhao Zheng did not disappoint Emperor Zhu Chongba, and soon he discovered something was amiss.
"What are they writing or drawing?"
Emperor Zhu Chongba had barely sat down and hadn't yet figured out how to start a conversation.
Then a commotion came from Zhao Zheng's cell.
Emperor Zhu Chongba looked closely and saw that in this prison, Zhao Zheng's eleven puppets actually had paper and pen!
Who arranged this?!
Is this how prisoners are treated?
Emperor Zhu Chongba thought it over carefully, but he couldn't recall ever setting up such a combination for the imperial prison.
After all, in his eyes, prisoners in the Heavenly Prison were even more deserving of death than those in the Ministry of Justice's prison or even the Imperial Guard's prison.
Unfortunately, he was now a prisoner, and a newly arrived prisoner in front of Zhao Zheng.
Even if they wanted to get out, it wouldn't be possible to do so quickly.
Fortunately, he had a backup plan.
He could simply create an entrance and exit for his prison at night.
He could leave once all the prisoners were asleep.
"Perhaps we can gather evidence without even having to go outside."
Emperor Zhu Chongba had another expectation: he wanted to replace all the prison guards in the imperial prison.
However, he kept the people who were usually in charge of Zhao Zheng's cell or those who were familiar with him.
"Seizing the initiative from the enemy, infiltrating their ranks, and gaining access to all intelligence."
"The Zhao family, you probably never imagined that we would also engage in such corrupt practices."
Meanwhile, Emperor Zhu Chongba was watching Zhao Zheng's actions, and in his heart, it seemed as if he had seen a newly opened window.
He disliked corrupt officials.
But the methods of corrupt officials are really effective.
Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard was made public to the court officials, it was often unable to receive immediate information about the subtle actions taken by its subordinates.
This infuriated Emperor Zhu Chongba.
From Mao Xiang, to Er Hu, and then to Wu Feng and now Emperor Song Zong.
It's impossible to say that Emperor Zhu Chongba never had any ambitions. But while accounts are easy to check, people's hearts are not so easy to fathom.
Especially relying on a group of barbarians.
If in the future, we were to raise a bunch of ungrateful wretches...
The more Emperor Zhu Chongba thought about it, the more he felt this method was effective.
However, we must never let future rulers follow this example, otherwise, if one of them were to become a hands-off ruler, then the rulers of future generations would be doomed.
Thinking about it, a person who could be used right now came to mind for Emperor Zhu Chongba.
Acting Grand Secretary, Tu Jie.
He had a connection with the Zhao family at the time, but did not seek refuge with them.
At the time, a casual check on him would have revealed that he was unclean; it was he who showed mercy.
Emperor Zhu Chongba immediately had a plan for who would fill the vacancies in the cabinet.
The current cabinet has only four main members, in three positions: the Grand Secretary, the Second Grand Secretary, and two cabinet ministers.
The territory of the Sun and Moon Dynasty grew larger and larger, and so did the affairs of the dynasty.
The number of people is undoubtedly insufficient, and continuing this could risk the cabinet becoming disunited.
It's time to start planning to increase the number of people.
The four main categories are administration, military, judiciary, and supervision.
Among these, administrative matters, which are of great importance to people's livelihood, should be ranked first.
"Three new tutors have entered the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, and I remember the Crown Prince praising them highly."
"Moreover, these three people share the same surname, but they specialize in different things."
"A special project doesn't necessarily have to be handled by a specific person; it would be even better if we discussed it together! Let's add these three people!"
After sitting in the prison cell for only half a day, Emperor Zhu Chongba felt that he had gained a great deal.
This really makes it hard not to overthink things.
Could it be because we're so close?
Emperor Zhu Chongba had experienced Zhao Zheng's various behaviors from the beginning to the present.
From being unable to quell the anger in his heart to now being obedient.
It’s time to say it or not.
Emperor Zhu Chongba still preferred Zhao Zheng, who had initially criticized him for everything.
The inspector of Sichuan and the tutor of the Grandson, a physician with excessive benevolence.
The Vice Minister of Works and Minister of Reform was too obedient.
Those Zhao family members in the prison are much better. They keep writing and drawing, probably planning one last time to remonstrate with us before they die.
Or they might be plotting a rebellion.
Either way, it made Emperor Zhu Chongba feel inexplicably at ease.
only......
......
puff!puff!
As night approaches, the moon shines brightly outside the window.
Unbeknownst to Emperor Zhu Chongba, he was actually in the imperial prison, dressed in prison clothes, sitting on the wet, hard floor, his head resting against the bare prison wall.
She fell asleep!
It wasn't until outside the cell, when the eunuch Wang Ban had already built an exit and brought in prisoners for the shift change, that he was awakened by his quiet reminder.
"Ok?"
Emperor Zhu Chongba subconsciously ignored the eunuch Wang Ban's anxiety and immediately looked at Zhao Zheng's prison.
To everyone's surprise, Zhao Zheng's eleven puppets were still writing and drawing in their cell!
They continued their work by the light of the moon and the dim firelight inside the cell!