Zhu Ci waved his hand. "He did this specifically to attack the reputation of the imperial family; we have implicated you in this matter."
Fu Lue was somewhat surprised: "Does Your Majesty already know who did it?"
“I know, Alna.” Zhu Ci's emotions were complicated when speaking of this person: “He really is a cockroach that just won't die.”
How can he survive for this long?
Although he hadn't seen Alna's corpse before, Zhu Ci also felt that he wouldn't live much longer.
Wounds caused by concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated hydrochloric acid are difficult to heal, let alone the fact that this man had no antibiotics on hand.
According to the results of the interrogation at the time, Alna was also seriously injured.
Later, Zhu Ci had Song Xiance perform a divination. After failing to find any trace of him at first, he assumed the man must have already succumbed to his injuries and died.
As it turned out, he was actually still alive!
He is not only alive, but he must have also sought refuge with Zhu Yujian; otherwise, the rumors this time would not have spread so widely. Zhu Yujian might not have such great capability, but Zheng Zhilong does.
Fu pondered for a moment before asking, "Why does Your Majesty pay so much attention to this person?"
Zhu Ci looked at Fu, thinking for a moment that his Grand Secretary didn't seem like such a fragile person, then said, "Because he is the protagonist of a story."
Fu did not show a particularly surprised expression, as he had already had some suspicions about it.
Fu Qingsheng said, "Your Majesty cares too much about him. He can no longer stir up any trouble; all he can do now is spread some rumors."
Zhu Ci asked in return, "Do you know why I haven't allowed the Prince of Ning to come these past few times?"
Fu's expression suddenly darkened. "That person.."
Zhu Ci closed his eyes lightly. "I don't know what he has in his hands, but he certainly has a backup plan. I could certainly ignore this, as it wouldn't affect me after all, but what about the Prince of Ning?"
Fu fell silent for a long while before saying, "Then we must find an opportunity to make Zhu Yujian hand the person over."
No need. Tell Liu Zongmin and the others not to hold back; his life or death is of no consequence to the Prince of Tang.
In truth, he didn't really want to kill Zhu Yujian; his hatred for Zhu Yujian wasn't that deep, he could somewhat understand Zhu Yujian's thoughts.
After all, he was someone who had been imprisoned for many years, he likely no longer wanted to place his fate in someone else's hands.
But Zhu Yujian was indeed a very qualified ruler; at least he knew what the Great Ming needed most at the moment. If Zheng Zhilong hadn't been constantly switching sides, he might not have ended up in such a miserable state.
Zhu Ci is currently short on manpower and capable people; especially regarding civil livelihoods, Zhu Yujian would actually be a very suitable fit.
It was just a pity that if Alna were with him right now, no matter how much Zhu Ci lacked people, he would have to deal with the man first.
After hearing this, Fu Zhi did not try to persuade him further, but simply felt that he could arrange for his subordinates to go and take that Tartar's head.
He had always maintained a team responsible for intelligence and assassination, the information previously obtained from the Qing Army had come from this very team.
Previously, he hadn't known much about Alna; after all, Zhu Ci had held the upper hand in several encounters with him, he had never felt the need to pay much attention to him. He hadn't expected the influence to be this significant.
At the very least, it has a huge impact on the Little Emperor; since that's the case, he might as well be eliminated.
As for finding the opponent's whereabouts, since that Tartar has started causing trouble, he will inevitably reveal his tail; as long as I press him a little more, he will naturally jump out himself.
However, this matter must not be allowed to reach the Little Emperor, because in the process, Prince of Ning's reputation will inevitably be sacrificed. Even if the final outcome is positive, it will certainly have some impact on the Prince of Ning, Zhu Ci.
The Little Emperor appeared decisive and resolute in his actions, but in reality, he was incredibly soft-hearted. He took care of his own people at every opportunity; if he were to find out about this, he certainly would not agree.
And between the Little Emperor's heart's knot and the Prince of Ning's reputation, Fu had already chosen the former.
Anyway, the rumors outside have already become quite disgraceful; how much worse could they possibly get?
Zhu Ci did not know that his Grand Secretary was going to cause trouble again. After Fu left, he thought it over and decided to call Zhu Ci over.
Before meeting Zhu Ci, he had specifically made inquiries regarding the daily routine of His Highness, the Prince of Ning.
His official duties were all handled perfectly; he arrived at work and finished for the day right on schedule, maintaining a very regular routine that appeared no different from before.
Zhu Ci had an idea in his heart as to why the Emperor was looking for him.
After all, there had been nothing for the Ministry of Rites to do lately, so there was no need for the Emperor to summon him specifically to ask.
Zhu Ci had originally prepared a mouthful of words, but he swallowed them all back upon seeing Zhu Ci's calm face.
Whether Zhu Ci was feigning indifference or truly didn't care, since he had taken this stance, others shouldn't bother worrying for him.
There is no need to worry too much about it; he is not a psychiatrist, so even if he spoke, he might not hit the mark. Why bother?
So, upon meeting Zhu Ci, his first words were: "I already know the whereabouts of Alna."
Zhu Ci's gaze suddenly turned sharp: "Where is he now?"
“He should be under Zhu Yujian's command.”
Zhu Ci gritted his teeth, feeling a slight hesitation in his heart.
Zhu Ci said in a low voice, "I have already ordered Liu Zongmin and the others to occupy the Fujian area at all costs. Rest assured, unless he jumps into the sea, he absolutely won't escape."
Zhu Ci was slightly taken aback. "Then the Prince of Tang.."
Zhu Ci shook his head. "I can't worry about all that anymore."
"I only fear that this might damage Your Majesty's reputation," Zhu Ci said, looking very worried.
Zhu Ci found himself somewhat at a loss for words, caught between laughter and tears. "Why are you all so worried about my reputation? Don't bother; it was Zhu Yujian who made the first move anyway."
Zhu Ci felt that the people around him cared too much about his reputation.
In reality, where in the historical records can one find a perfect person? Throughout history, even the most wise emperors have always been picked apart, with people finding flaws in them.
Being constrained every day just to maintain the reputation of a wise ruler was not his style.
Liu Zongmin had indeed been somewhat hesitant before; although the Emperor did not explicitly demand that he spend less time, his words clearly implied that he wished to spare the Prince of Tang's life.
Liu Zongmin was, after all, somewhat educated, he couldn't help but wonder to himself if His Majesty would repeat the mistakes of Emperor Jianwen.
However, he couldn't say those words aloud, so he could only try to probe him.
After receiving the latest orders, Liu Zongmin breathed a sigh of relief.
No matter why His Majesty changed his mind, it was a good thing for him; he could finally stretch his legs!
Consequently, once Liu Zongmin was unhindered, the Prince of Tang's forces collapsed almost immediately.
In just less than half a month, they were left with almost nothing but a single prefecture.
And before that, Prince of Lu Zhu Yihai had already surrendered.
Regarding the surrendered Zhu Yihai, Zhu Ci did not grant him much preferential treatment; he did not even allow him to retain his throne, but instead gave him the title of Marquis of Anguo.
There was no other way; if you were to call Zhu Yihai a bad person, he wasn't exactly one.
After all, he had been resisting the Qing, belonging to that group that would rather die than surrender, but he indeed lacked political talent, he was indecisive, making him easily manipulated by powerful officials.
However, such a person makes for a decent subordinate, mainly because he is obedient enough.
Zhu Ci thought about it and decided to cast him into the Clan宗人府, as he was a member of the imperial clan and was well-suited for such matters.
As for his subordinates Qian Sule, Zhang Huangyan, Zheng Cai.. Zhu Ci was not very familiar with these people.
After all, the book didn't cover everyone; it only analyzed people based on their actions, so Zhu Ci decided to keep Qian Sule and Zhang Huangyan.
Zheng Cai stopped caring about him; he could do whatever he pleased.
After all, Zheng Cai was actually the primary person responsible for accelerating the surrender of the Prince of Lu's forces.
Zheng Cai's position within the Prince of Lu's faction was actually quite similar to Zheng Zhilong's; both were powerful officials.
If Zheng Cai hadn't killed Xiong Rulin, the Prince of Lu's subordinates wouldn't have split apart so quickly.
Zhang Huangyan surrendered immediately after learning that Xiong Rulin had died.
Zhu Ci even went out of his way to meet Zhang Huangyan; among all of the Prince of Lu's subordinates, only Zhang Huangyan was summoned by him.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Forget it, the Prince of Lu didn't do anything, I'll spare his life. *Cat pats the Prince of Lu on the head. jpg*
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 168
When Zhu Ci met Zhang Huangyan, it was difficult for him to believe that this extremely elegant man was actually a battle-hardened Navy commander.
Zhang Huangyan was also somewhat surprised by the Emperor's youth—no, or perhaps it should be said, his youthfulness.
Although as former enemies, Zhang Huangyan and the others also knew quite a lot about Zhu Ci.
Knowing that he was only sixteen years old after this year's New Year, it was still difficult to truly sense just how young the Little Emperor before them was without having seen him in person.
The younger he was, the more his extraordinary nature was revealed.
After Zhu Ci finished waiting for him to bow, he asked, "I have heard that you are skilled in commanding the Navy. Do you dare to lead an army alone to launch a surprise attack on Zheng Zhilong's forces?"
Zhang Huangyan suddenly looked up, not expecting the Little Emperor to be so blunt, nor expecting that the Little Emperor would actually use him.
When he heard about the summons from the North, he actually already had an idea of what was coming.
Regarding the current situation of Great Ming, they, as former rivals, understood it better than anyone.
There are two points that cannot be ignored regarding how the Guanglie Era was able to struggle once again in this precarious, chaotic age to carve out its own territory.
First, they have a decisive and resolute leader.
Looking at the Little Emperor's experiences from his accession to the throne until now, it is easy to reach this conclusion: not every one of his decisions is necessarily correct, but he never hesitates or second-guesses himself.
If it's right, he continues; if it's wrong, he changes it immediately.
Second, it was that they had obtained advanced weapons from somewhere.
However, the flaws of the Guanglie Era were also very obvious; that is, the people were simply not up to the task.
One only needs to look closely to see that the people around the Little Emperor are quite mediocre; those who have actually served in the imperial court can be counted on one hand.
Generals were even more scarce, which caused the Little Emperor to lead troops in battle outside the capital for a time; it was only after the Chuangwang Li Zicheng surrendered that he returned to Nanjing.
Zhang Huangyan knew he might be called upon; since the start of the Guanglie era, there had yet to be a commander of the Navy in Xiangyang.
The last time they fought Zuo Liangyu, the Little Emperor personally led the troops.
However, given his status as a surrendered general, it might be difficult to have him command the Navy directly; it might be more appropriate for him to lead the troops in the capacity of a Vice Commander.