The Ming Dynasty: Reshaping the Land

Chapter 24 King Qin

The next morning, a group of guards sent by Zhu Di waited at the entrance of the post station. Fifty men and fifty horses blocked the road in front of the post station.

Leading them were a captain and a burly, muscular young man with a fierce face. Judging from the captain's attitude, the young man was clearly their superior.

"Sir, who are we escorting? Why did you come in person?" The captain asked cautiously, glancing in the direction of the post station.

The burly young man glanced at the captain and said, "Duke Cao!"

"The Duke?" The captain's eyes widened in shock.

How many dukes were there in the entire Ming Dynasty? Fewer than princes!

"Have everyone stand in line, the Duke of Cao is coming out!" The young man ordered as soon as he saw movement inside the post station.

As soon as Li Jinglong stepped out of the post station, he was shocked by the scene before him. There were only fifty men and horses, yet they had already blocked a road. If there were ten thousand cavalry, what a huge force that would be.

"Zhu Neng, under the command of Biao, greets Duke Cao!"

Li Jinglong was taken aback. Zhu Neng? Duke of Cheng? What a coincidence.

"No need for formalities!" Suppressing his doubts, Li Jinglong glanced at the crowd blocking the entire street and asked, "Is everything ready?"

"Your Excellency, everything is ready, and we can depart at any time!" Zhu Neng bowed and said.

Li Jinglong took the reins from Li Er and immediately mounted his horse. The remaining fifty men followed suit, their movements swift and orderly, clearly indicating they were well-trained cavalry.

Li Jinglong led the way out of the road in front of the post station, with Zheng Zheng and Zhu Neng on either side of him, their horses trailing behind Li Jinglong by half a body length.

It wasn't until he left the city that Li Jinglong suddenly remembered that after the Jingnan Rebellion, Zhu Neng ranked second among the meritorious officials, only after Li Jinglong. This had sown the seeds of disaster for the original owner of the body.

In the second year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Neng took the lead in launching an attack, gathering many civil and military officials to impeach Li Jinglong. However, with Zhu Di's protection, Li Jinglong escaped unharmed.

However, this period of good fortune did not last long. Li Zhigang, the Minister of Rites, and Zhu Neng joined forces again. This time, all the civil and military officials were impeaching the original ruler. Considering the relative importance of the matter, Zhu Di had no choice but to abandon the original ruler, merely confining him to his residence without stripping him of his title.

Later, Li Zhigang and others launched another attack, impeaching Li Jinglong for overstepping his authority and plotting rebellion, ultimately resulting in the original owner being stripped of his title and imprisoned.

Thinking of this, Li Jinglong couldn't help but turn to the side and give Zhu Neng a meaningful look.

Seeing Li Jinglong turn to the side, the latter pulled on the reins, squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, and stepped forward, saying, "What are your orders, Your Excellency?"

"Are you working at the Prince's residence?" Li Jinglong asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Biaoxia's father is the deputy commander of the Yanshan Guard, so last year, Biaoxia was promoted by His Highness Prince Yan to serve as a guard in the Prince's Palace!" Zhu Neng replied.

Li Jinglong nodded, turned around, and spurred his horse forward.

After leaving the city and getting onto the official road, Li Jinglong and his group quickened their pace, and after six days, they finally saw the city walls of Xi'an.

Li Jinglong breathed a sigh of relief and then ordered, "Zhu Neng! Tell the brothers to speed things up. Once we're in the city, there'll be plenty of good wine and meat for us to eat!"

"Submit your orders!"

Li Jinglong finally breathed a sigh of relief upon arriving at the post station. After several days of travel, he was in considerable discomfort, with two chafed linings on his inner thighs.

Li Jinglong and his entourage were still resting at the post station when news of their entry into the city was quickly sent to the Prince of Qin's residence.

Inside the Prince's Palace, Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin was enjoying a dance performed by a Hu woman in the courtyard. Two maids served him, one gently tapping his legs and the other feeding him fruit from a fruit platter. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Li Jiujiang has entered the city?" Zhu Shuang asked the servant in front of him, his eyes half-closed.

"Your Highness, we have just entered the city and are resting at the inn!" The servant bowed respectfully.

"Did you bring back the steward from Biancang?" Zhu Shuang swallowed the fruit in his mouth, still looking lazy.

"Your Highness, they've been called back!"

Zhu Shuang grinned sinisterly, "Since Li Jiujiang was ordered to inspect the area and caused trouble in Beiping, I must give him an explanation, mustn't I?"

The servant didn't dare to reply, and a pang of sorrow immediately welled up in his heart.

At this moment, Zhu Shuang, who had been looking relaxed, suddenly sat up, a cold smile spreading across his face: "Hmph! Let's see if Li Jiujiang dares to accept this explanation!"

The next morning, Li Jinglong, who had gone to bed early, felt relaxed when he woke up, and the fatigue from traveling for days was swept away.

However, the news brought back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the morning made Li Jinglong's heart sink. Both the border granary and the salt transport office had their stewards from the Prince's mansion withdrawn.

Zheng Zheng's investigation revealed that the people from the Prince of Qin's residence had only left yesterday, meaning that Zhu Shuang had been watching their movements.

Zhu Shuang had obviously heard about what happened in Beiping, which is why he ordered his men to withdraw after Li Jinglong arrived in Xi'an.

For a moment, Li Jinglong was also a little irritated. In Zhu Shuang's territory, no merchant would come to report him. After all, everyone who had ever stayed in Xi'an knew all too well how ruthless Zhu Shuang was.

Just when Li Jinglong was at his wit's end, Zhu Shuang sent someone to the post station, asking Li Jinglong to come to his residence for a chat that afternoon.

After lunch, Li Jinglong took Zheng Zheng to the Prince of Qin's residence.

Upon entering, even Li Jinglong was astonished by the interior decoration of the Prince's Mansion. The pavilions, towers, carved beams, and painted pillars all exuded luxury.

Li Jinglong shook his head inwardly. Having seen the Qin Prince's residence, the Yan Prince's residence was just like an ordinary family's courtyard.

Led by a servant to the main hall, Zhu Shuang, dressed in bright yellow robes, was already seated at the head of the table. Li Jinglong carefully examined this infamous Prince of Qin.

Tall but somewhat thin, Zhu Shuang's face was pale, unlike Zhu Di's dark complexion, as if he were sickly. His high nose bridge always gave people a gloomy feeling.

"Your subject Li Jinglong greets Your Highness, the Prince of Qin!" Li Jinglong looked him over and bowed in greeting.

"Nephew, no need for formalities!" Zhu Shuang waved his hand with a smile. "Please sit down!"

Li Jinglong's heart sank. He could tell from the way Zhu Shuang addressed him that Zhu Shuang had a problem with him!

However, Li Jinglong, who had lived two lives, was no fool. He calmly replied, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

"I heard about what happened to you in Beiping. Now that you're in Shaanxi, what are you planning to do?" Zhu Shuang glanced at Li Jinglong and asked.

Li Jinglong replied, "Your Highness, I have been ordered by His Majesty to inspect the implementation of the border-area development project! I will do my utmost to not only ascertain the specific effects of its implementation, but also to punish any illegal acts that may occur!"

"Oh! Did you find anything illegal?" Zhu Shuang squinted at Li Jinglong, his face expressionless.

Li Jinglong nodded and said, "Your Highness, I have received reports that the steward of the Prince's Palace is oppressing merchants, taking a 30% cut from all salt permits!"

Li Jinglong retorted, "Anyway, you know what your steward has done!"

"Oh? Is that so? Do you have any evidence?" Zhu Shuang curled his lip.

"Your Highness, there is none at the moment. I need to investigate further. If there is, punish according to the law. If not, whoever made the report should also be punished for false accusation!" Li Jinglong said solemnly.

"Heh! Since there's been a report, I can't ignore it!" Zhu Shuang said, then shouted, "Guards, summon all the stewards of the manor!"

Li Jinglong frowned, a bad feeling rising in his heart.

Before long, a dozen or so stewards arrived at the main hall and stood bowing at the foot of the steps outside the hall.

Zhu Shuang stood up, walked to the edge of the main hall, and said sternly, "Who among you is in charge of the household's financial affairs?"

"Your Highness, I, Wang Fu, am in charge!" a servant stepped forward.

Li Jinglong and Zheng Zheng exchanged a glance, and Zheng Zheng nodded slightly, confirming that it was indeed this person.

"I ask you, have you ever oppressed merchants? Or disrupted the opening ceremony?" Zhu Shuang said coldly, glancing at Li Jinglong as he finished speaking.

Wang Fu knelt on the ground with a thud, crying and pleading, "Your Highness, I have strictly followed Your Highness's instructions and dared not overstep them in the slightest!"

"Jiujiang, what do you think?" Zhu Shuang turned around and asked Li Jinglong.

"Your Highness!" Li Jinglong stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting. "Now that I have received the report, I must take this person back for investigation!"

"An investigation?" Zhu Shuang suddenly sneered. "To tarnish the reputation of my Prince's Mansion is not something to be taken lightly!"

Zhu Shuang spoke with a double meaning, looking at Li Jinglong with a gloomy expression.

"Your Highness, once the investigation is complete, the innocent will naturally be proven innocent!" Although Li Jinglong was prepared, he did not expect Zhu Shuang to suddenly launch an attack.

"No need!" Zhu Shuang waved his hand. "Since it has been reported, it means it has damaged the reputation of my Prince's Mansion."

He immediately summoned his guards, pointed at Wang Fu, and angrily ordered, "Drag this man away and behead him!"

Li Jinglong was stunned and looked at Zhu Shuang in disbelief.