After investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Household Department, the case has been solved.
Jia Gui, the chief steward of the Pengcheng Marquis's mansion, colluded with the enemy and his entire clan was executed.
According to Mantulu's confession, there are still a large number of Tatar spies in the capital. Most of them entered the country from Liaodong, and the best way to conceal their identities is to be fur traders or medicinal herb traders.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately went out in force, searching the entire city for merchants from Liaodong.
After investigation, it was found that Zhang Kejian, the Earl of Pengcheng, was not the main culprit, so he was spared the death penalty, but his title was stripped and he was demoted to a commoner.
One of the two stones in Zhu Qizhen's heart finally fell.
Ever since the Battle of Tumu, he had always suspected that there was a traitor in the capital. Now it seemed that the ones who were secretly colluding with the Mongols were not the officials in the court, but the businessmen.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty have been mortal enemies, and therefore, they have never opened up trade for a hundred years.
Mobei is a barren area with extremely scarce daily necessities, which cannot be obtained from the Central Plains through normal channels. Therefore, many smugglers have emerged.
The two most important routes for transporting goods from the Ming Dynasty to the grasslands were: one was to go through Datong and Xuanfu, and the other was to go through Shanhaiguan and Liaodong.
The former were mainly Shanxi merchants, and their trading partners were the Oirat people.
In fact, the Shanxi merchant group had been active throughout the Ming Dynasty and had long been engaged in smuggling activities. They even heavily funded the Jian Nu during the turmoil in the late Ming Dynasty. These were the eight famous imperial merchants in later generations.
This line was uprooted shortly after Zhu Qizhen returned to Beijing, completely cutting off the Wala tribe's supplies and intelligence.
The latter colluded with the Tatar tribe and has also suffered heavy losses to this day.
After these two lines were completely eradicated, it would be almost impossible for either the Oirat or the Tatar to obtain intelligence from the Ming Dynasty.
Now, there is only one last stone left in Zhu Qizhen's heart...
Two secret letters were placed on the desk.
The first one was a list with three names on it.
The second letter contained the results of an investigation.
After a secret investigation by the Juesheng Guard, it was found that Zhu Ji, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, Yu Qian's son-in-law, was a kind, respectful, filial, honest and trustworthy person.
What's more, his relationship with Yu Qian made Zhu Qizhen determined to give this task to him.
"Your Majesty, Jinyiwei Zhu Ji requests to see you."
"Xuan!"
Soon, Zhu Ji walked into the imperial study.
"Your humble servant Zhu Ji kowtows to the emperor, long live the emperor!"
"Stand up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After Zhu Ji stood up, he lowered his head quietly, waiting for instructions.
Zhu Qizhen took a closer look at the man, who was about thirty years old, with a sturdy build but a delicate appearance. If he hadn't been wearing a black fish-eye suit, he would have thought he was a scholar.
"Yuan Bin personally recommended you to me, saying that your family is capable of handling the important task. I have no doubts about your talents, so I will entrust you with an important task."
Zhu Ji hurriedly said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"
"Not that serious!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "I will personally lead . Yuan Bin will accompany me. The Jinyiwei in the capital will be handed over to you."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will do my best!"
"I am not worried about your family's ability."
Zhu Qizhen shook his head slightly and said, "I ask you to secretly investigate a few people!"
"Your Majesty, please give your orders!"
"Wang Wen, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate; Xu Bin, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department; Zhang Yu, the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army of the Five Military Commanders' Office."
Zhu Ji seemed a little puzzled and asked, "What does Your Majesty need me to investigate?"
"When I announced that I would personally lead the expedition to Mobei , I told all officials that if I met with an accident, the King of Qing would succeed me. Do you know what this means?"
Zhu Ji thought for a long time and said, "Your Majesty means that if someone is harboring rebellious intentions, they might take action during the time when Your Majesty is away from the capital?"
Zhu Qizhen was very satisfied. This man had a quick mind and understood things quickly. He was much better than those reckless men.
Over the past few days, after secret investigations by Jueshengwei, it was found that some officials were indeed dishonest and had some secret thoughts. However, they were just some thoughts. Before he left the capital, he was determined not to take any action.
"I will leave you an imperial decree. If we find anyone plotting something unlawful, the Imperial Guards have the right to execute him first and report to the emperor later!"
"I obey your command!"
Zhu Ji paused and asked, "Your Majesty, Prince Qing..."
When I said this, I made up my mind with great effort.
It is true that the Jinyiwei are loyal to the emperor, but it is hard to say when it comes to Prince Qing.
Because he may become the next emperor at any time!
What's more, since it involves the royal family, even the Jinyiwei cannot intervene.
If you are not careful, there will be countless heads and rivers of blood.
Zhu Qizhen suddenly asked: "What do you think of the Prince of Qing?"
With a thud, Zhu Ji fell to his knees.
"I am only loyal to the Emperor!"
"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking casually."
"I dare not speak nonsense!"
"Alright, alright, get up. I won't ask any more questions."
Zhu Ji then stood up tremblingly, his face pale and his forehead covered with cold sweat.
Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and then asked, "What do you think of... Prince Xiang?"
Plop!
Zhu Ji's knees weakened and he knelt down again.
These are all life-threatening questions!
"I've already told you, I'm just asking casually, don't be so nervous!"
Zhu Ji thought to himself, you don’t even look at what you are asking, how can I not be nervous?
Okay, wait until I stand up, then you can ask again, what do you think of King Zheng?
Can I just kneel down and not get up?
"Let me ask this in a different way..."
Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think of the current situation of the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Ji almost cried, and said: "I will follow the emperor's orders. Even if I am a vassal king, as long as the emperor says a word, I will..."
"That's not what I meant!"
Zhu Qizhen hurriedly interrupted him, then pondered for a long time before saying, "Since Emperor Taizu, the Zhu family has been enfeoffed to guard the border, but later on, the fiefs were gradually moved to the Central Plains, and the princes gradually became greedy for pleasure and made no achievements. If this continues, there will be more and more princes in the Ming Dynasty, and eventually there will be no more fiefs to be enfeoffed."
Zhu Ji looked confused. Who should you ask how the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty went from being a frontier king to an idle king?
But then again, there are more and more vassal kings, and they are all living off the land. Each vassal king occupies a large amount of land and resources. What will happen when all the land of the Ming Dynasty is divided up?
But why are you asking me this question?
I am a member of the Imperial Guards. I am good at arresting people and handling cases, but for matters of national importance, you should go to the Cabinet!
Zhu Ji regretted it very much at this time. Why was he so rude? Why did he mention King Qin for no reason?
Little did they know that Zhu Qizhen had long planned to change the current situation of the vassal kings. When he heard Zhu Ji mention it today, he suddenly became interested and asked a few questions.
He naturally knew in his heart that this kind of thing could not be accomplished overnight and required long-term planning.
"Stop kneeling and get busy!"
"yes!"
Zhu Ji then breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stood up and took his leave, escaping from the palace.