Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 172

Chapter 172 Xu Chengzong (1)
The Old Xu Clan was indeed a high and mighty existence in the Great Ming Imperial Court, and its glorious pet was enough to make countless officials and nobles jealous.

Ever since Xu Da helped Great Ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Great Ming Dynasty, he had been made Duke of Wei. This was one of the most noble existences in the founding of the country at that time. One had to know that Da Ming did not confer the title of Outsider King, so the Duke of the Kingdom was already the apex of the title of Human Minister.

Although there were rumors that Zhu Yuanzhang had killed many meritorious heroes, and even Xu Da had been killed by him using steamed geese in the end, no one with a slight understanding of the history of that time would believe such a rumor. Because at that time, Xu Da had already handed over all of his military power, and he was usually extremely modest, so how could he provoke Zhu Yuanzhang’s killing intent?

Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed easy to kill, but there were some reasons for that. A minister like Xu Da who had made great contributions but was not proud of his pet, instead, he was even more obedient and low-key. As the son of heaven, how could Emperor Hong Wu not even have such a graceful bearing? Therefore, Xu Da’s death did not seem to be anything fishy. It was only because of the constant battles that he died of sudden illness in the end.

And history supports it on another level. After Xu Da’s death, the Xu Clan’s honorable pet didn’t decline at all. Even Zhu Yuanzhang’s fourth son, Zhu Di, married Xu Da’s daughter. If it was really Zhu Yuanzhang who killed Xu Da, how could he still take such care of his family, and even make Duke Wei a hereditary heir?

Zhu Yuanzhang had always acted without any scruples. Often, thousands of heads would land on the ground as soon as he started his slaughter. The many meritorious heroes who helped him lay down the great future had all ended up in ruin. Therefore, as long as he was really suspicious of a certain person and raised his butcher’s knife, he would only be able to kill them to the end. He would definitely not allow the Duke of Wei’s Mansion to continue with only Xu Da like he did with the Xu Clan.

Of course, just like this, the Xu Clan did not pay special attention to it. It was only after Emperor Yongle’s calamity that the Xu Clan truly became the sole existence amongst the nobles of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Because Xu Da’s son, Xu Zengshou, had helped his brother-in-law Zhu Di secretly many times, and thus had made a great contribution to his eventual seizure of the world. In addition, before Nanjing City was destroyed, Xu Zengshou had been killed by Zhu Yunwen because of his previous actions. Therefore, after Zhu Di obtained the world, he had given this branch of the Xu Clan a huge reward.

As a result, Xu Zengshou’s son, Xu Jingchang, was given the title of Duke of the Kingdom. As a result, the old Xu Clan became a rare existence in history, and it was the only existence in the Great Ming Dynasty-two dukes from one sect, and they were also hereditary dukes. This was enough to make everyone jealous.

Right now, the Duke of Wei’s Mansion was in Nanjing, helping Emperor command the Nanjing garrison, while the Duke of Ding’s Mansion was in Beijing. With the Duke of Wei’s Mansion echoing from afar, it naturally became an existence that military officials and nobles under the heavens needed to look up to. If Lu Zhen could really borrow the power of the Duke of Wei’s Manor, it would be much easier to investigate Guang Ning Bo Manor’s involvement.

However, Lu Zhen still had a big question: “Boss, this matter is not easy to handle. How could his Xu Clan’s Young Master help me out because of his relationship with Xiaguan?”

Indeed, even if this matter was nothing to the Xu Clan, who would be willing to help an outsider offend Zhongxungui for free? Therefore, this arrangement sounded a bit too fantastic.

Hu Ying chuckled, “County Magistrate Lu feels that this matter is difficult. That’s because you don’t know much about this young master of the Xu Clan. He is a lively and righteous person. As long as his luck is right, he will be able to use him for me!” However … “After saying that, the old man looked at Lu Zhen seriously again.” He can only be used as a stepping stone to enter Guang Ning Bo Manor, but the matters that follow will still be handled by a county magistrate like you. Do you dare to give it a shot? ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhen was stunned. He then looked up at the old man in front of him and said, “As long as we can enter Guang Ning Bo Manor and find any clues, I will definitely be impartial! Not to mention that he is an Earl, even the Duke of Marquis will not retreat! The Prince has broken the law and committed the same crime as the people!”

“Alright!” Hu laughed, “Then come with your ears. I’ll tell you what to do next.”

Lu Zhen hurriedly leaned closer and listened carefully to the arrangement of the old man in front of him. Very quickly, a surprised and incredulous expression appeared on his face. They all said that he was a reckless master, but compared to the grand Minister of the Ministry of Officials in front of him, what he had done in the past was nothing more than a small fight. If he hadn’t been sitting in front of the other party and listening to him, Lu Zhen would never have believed that such an idea would have come from such a high-ranking official as Hu Ying.

After he finished speaking, Lu Zhen was stunned for a while before he bitterly smiled and said, “Boss, if this doesn’t work out, I’m afraid Xiaoguan will have to blame him for resigning.”

“Before you die, you won’t lie unless you’re lying.” Hu Ying blinked his eyes and said, “Have you forgotten what I said just now? If you want to fight against these people, you have to learn to use even more vicious tricks.”

Lu Zhen let out a sigh of relief before nodding solemnly, “Xiaoguan, take note of it. I will arrange everything the day after tomorrow!”

“Oh, go. Later generations, it will be a great change. Don’t disappoint this old man.” Hu picked up his teacup again and took a sip. This time, it was the usual way of delivering tea to the guests in the official circles.

Lu Zhen stood up, cupped his fists and bowed, “I will not humiliate my life.” After saying that, he raised his head and left.

@ @ @ @

Xu Chengzong came to the capital a few months ago on the orders of his brother, the Duke of Wei, Xu Xianzong, to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s birthday. However, more than a month ago, this impressive birthday celebration had already passed, but his guest had been staying in the capital without leaving.

Because as the representative of the Duke of Wei’s Manor, Xu Chengzong had too many social interactions. Regardless of whether it was Emperor or the officials, they had hosted several banquets in his honor. As for those nobles of similar status, there were people who rushed to the courtyard where he was staying every day to invite him over.

Xu Chengzong was just a young man who jumped off his feet and was good at making friends, so he naturally wouldn’t reject these people’s good intentions. Therefore, after more than a month, he had been out drinking and dining almost every day, so he could only push back the return date again and again, and he was still in the capital today.

Of course, apart from the banquet, as a member of the Duke’s Mansion of the Wei Kingdom, he had a good understanding of the major and minor matters in the Imperial Court and the capital. After hearing about Lu Zhen’s actions in the capital, the Xu Clan’s young master sighed several times, saying that he was very envious of this small official who had once met him.

To be able to rely on one’s own abilities and perseverance to establish a foothold in the capital, and to even make those who had eyes above the top start to behave themselves, this alone was enough to make this young master, who seemed to be respected only by relying on his family reputation, feel hot-eyed.

As Hu Ying hosted a banquet for him at the Changbai Pavilion today, Xu Chengzong unconsciously mentioned Lu Zhen-Hu Ying was also a Jinshi in Nanjing and had been an official there for many years. Because he was trusted by Emperor Yongle, he had some friendship with the Duke of Wei, so it was not unexpected for him to treat him to a banquet-

“Hu bu tang, the name that little nephew heard the most recently in the capital is not the cabinet, nor is it your six high officials, it is actually such a small Daxing county magistrate, this is really hard to believe little nephew. Thinking back to when he came to the capital, he didn’t even dare to compete with me in the courtyard of a relay station, but now he can give the capital a hundred official rules. It’s really amazing. “As he said that, he sighed in admiration again.

Hearing this, Hu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that this dandy had seen something? He actually mentioned Lu Zhen in front of him? Or was he really envious of Lu Zhen’s recent reputation? Although he felt a little strange in his heart, the old man could not see anything strange on his face. He only smiled and said, “Even if he were to meet you at the relay station with Young Master Xu, he would still have to retreat.”

“Heh” Xu Chengzong smiled helplessly, because he knew that this was not because he was powerful, but because the Duke of Wei’s Mansion’s status was high enough, but this was clearly not what he wanted to hear.

After being stunned for a moment, he said, “I heard that you sent someone to save him when the East Factory wanted to take down Lu Zhen?”

“That’s right. You should have known what happened that day. Since he is willing to help us take the risk, I naturally cannot sit idly by and watch him get hurt.” Hu Ying stroked his beard without the slightest intention of hiding anything.

“Lord Butang is really good eyesight. If it weren’t for your move, Beijing wouldn’t be so lively today. Recently, there was an assassination attempt in Daxing County, where he was. To be honest, I’ve been to the capital several times, but none of them were as exciting as this one.”

“Young Master Xu, be careful. You really can’t use such a brilliant explanation. Those assassins are too bold. Even the Son of Heaven is furious now. The decree must find out the truth.” Hu hastily advised.

Xu Chengzong curled his lips slightly and said, “If this matter is so easy to investigate, those fellows probably won’t dare to commit assassination.”

This time, Hu Ying was having a hard time answering. He could only vaguely reply, then picked up his glass and toasted, changing the topic. Xu Chengzong seemed to have noticed that he had said too much, so he took the opportunity to drink and let go of the previous topic.

Just as they were pushing their cups and changing their glasses, a black smoke suddenly rose not far from the restaurant, and then the sound of gongs and drums rang out, “Let’s go, let’s go! Quickly put out the fire!”

This change caused Xu Chengzong to be stunned. He couldn’t help but look towards the place where the smoke was rising. He saw that there was still a flame bursting out from the black smoke. This fire was actually not small.

“Over there” After a few glances, Xu Chengzong felt that the burning mansion was somewhat familiar. After a while, he shouted, “Is it Uncle Guang Ning’s mansion?”

The nearby Hu Ye narrowed his eyes and looked at it for a long time before saying, “That’s right! This autumn-dried thing is too dry. His mansion was too careless.”

As they were speaking, they saw a group of people quickly rushing towards Guang Ning Bo Manor, apparently to put out the fire. However, Xu Chengzong looked down and was stunned, “How did he put out the fire?” However, he recognized that the person in the lead was the Great Xing County Magistrate Lu Zhen, whom he had just mentioned!