Chapter 48 The Five Poison Sect Dali Duan Clan Gongyuan. A place where scholars take imperial examinations. February of this year was the once-in-three-years spring examination. Originally, the provincial examination and the palace examination had already passed, but on February 15th, a fire broke out in the Imperial Examination Hall for no reason, burning down dozens of examination halls and injuring scholars. As this was related to the imperial examination, the emperor ordered a comprehensive renovation. Crown Prince Zhu Biao has been paying attention. Now, nearly a month has passed, and today should have been the day for acceptance of the project, but such a major event as the assassination happened! Yun Qi immediately asked, "How is the prince?" The shadow guard hurriedly said, "The prince is fine! Eunuch Hu and Eunuch Lu have been protecting him in secret and acted just in time. There were three assassins in total, hiding under the Qinhuai River and using the Xuangu magic weapon to attack! Two of them died on the spot, but the other assassin escaped with the help of the magic weapon. The two lords are protecting the prince, so it is inconvenient to chase them, so I specially ordered this servant to come and ask for your permission." "What life are you asking for?" Zhu Yuanzhang put down his pen and said coldly: "Pass on my oral order: Order the Pacification Office to go out and search the whole city, and kill without mercy!" "Yes!"
The shadow guard retreated quickly. Yun Qi and Zhao Wumian looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's calm expression, and then thought about how he was able to defend against the enemy's sneak attack with the Xuan Bone Divine Weapon, so they knew what was going on. Zhu Biao is just 25 years old this year. No matter how talented he is, he has not reached the fourth level yet. There is indeed an opportunity for him to take advantage of. He didn't have to go to inspect the Imperial Examination Hall. Even if he had to go, Yunqi should have accompanied him. But Zhu Yuanzhang did not let Yunqi go with him, and did not even tell him in advance. He wanted to create the illusion that Zhu Biao was not well protected so as to lure out the people in the dark! Yun Qi asked, "Does the Emperor know who they are?" "Who else could it be?" Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "With a hundred thousand troops stationed in Puding, can't we think of a way to capture Zawalmi?" Bazawalmi was the King of Liang in the Yuan Dynasty and the ruler of Yunnan today. Yun Qi said: "Is he imitating Jing Ke's assassination of Qin? But assassinating the prince will not solve the problem." If something really happens to the prince, the emperor will be furious and will even destroy Yunnan! Zhao Wumian said: "What he wants is civil unrest." The crown prince is the foundation of the country. Once the crown prince dies, the kings on the border will surely be ready to take action. After Zhu Biao, the second prince, Prince of Qin, Zhu Chong, came. He was born during the years of conquest when Zhu Yuanzhang founded his empire. He had outstanding military talent and was no problem guarding the border, but he was a person of low character. Since he was enfeoffed in Xi'an in the 11th year of Hongwu, the Zhenfu Division had received many secret letters, saying that Zhu Chong had built a lot of buildings in the palace, forced the soldiers and civilians to build pavilions and ponds in the palace for pleasure, and was extremely licentious... Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded him several times, but Zhu Chong refused to change. Zhu Biao was the only one who could subdue all the kings. If he died, Zhu Chong would be the one with the best hope of ascending the throne. But Zhu Chong was such a person that the way of passing the throne to the kings was blocked with him. If Zhu Biao's legitimate son ascended the throne, it would be in line with the traditional etiquette that after the legitimate son dies, the legitimate grandson will be enthroned. But could this green boy suppress the kings who were growing stronger? In this case, civil unrest is bound to occur! The Ming Dynasty will collapse from within. Even if Yunnan is destroyed, the Ming Dynasty will be finished! Zawalmi was thinking of dying together with his enemies, and he wanted to exchange Yunnan for civil strife in the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Northern Yuan Dynasty! Of course, this is also a last resort. Killing Zhu Yuanzhang was too difficult. Not to mention how heavily guarded the imperial palace was, Zhu Yuanzhang himself was one of the most powerful people in the world. Killing him was extremely difficult, so this was the only way. If he could get through this difficult time, the Ming Dynasty would collapse on its own. By then, not only would Yunnan be saved, but he would also be an unrivaled contributor to the restoration of the Yuan Dynasty, and perhaps even go further. Yun Qi had a flash of thought in his mind, and he figured out the whole story, then looked at Zhao Wumian in surprise.
This kid reacts quickly! Zhu Yuanzhang was also a little surprised. He was able to guess it because he had received the intelligence early. When Zhao Wumian heard the answer, he immediately figured out the reason. It was purely based on his brain. This kid is definitely not an ordinary person. Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the document that had been prepared on the table and threw it to Zhao Wumian: "We have read Wei Liang's report. He broke through four camps and killed the bandit leader. He did a good job. From today on, he will be reinstated. You can go and help." "Yes!" Zhao Wumian put away the documents, quickly left the Wuying Hall, and rushed to the site of the incident in the Imperial Examination Hall. Yun Qi asked: "Your Majesty, may I also..." "No need." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "The fish that slipped through the net can be handed over to Jiang Huan and others. Although Zavalmi had evil intentions, the failure of the assassination can also boost our army's morale. If anyone dares to withdraw troops and stop fighting now, don't blame me for being rude! Continue with the previous decree and draft an edict. Inform all officials at the court meeting tomorrow. From now on, all political affairs will be handled by the crown prince and then reported to the emperor. When the assassination is settled and the army is on the march, I will close the country and order the crown prince to govern the country!" Yun Qi bowed and responded. "Other." Zhu Yuanzhang added: "Summon Yingchuan Marquis Fu Youde, Yongchang Marquis Lan Yu, and Xiping Marquis Mu Ying. They don't have to follow the army and must come to the capital immediately!" "Yes!" …… The prince was assassinated and the whole city was under martial law. Zhao Wumian rushed to the Imperial Examination Hall as soon as possible, and Zhu Biao was already protected by the Imperial Guards. A large number of Jinyiwei from the Zhenfu Division swarmed in, led by none other than the Zhenfu Envoy Jiang Huan. The talented men under his command had already begun examining the remaining bodies of the two assassins, ascertaining their identities and beginning their pursuit. Zhao Wumian also saw the centurion Yan Duo in the entourage. "Master Zhao." While Yan Duo was waiting for the result, he had nothing to do, so he waved to Zhao Wumian and said, "You're back." "Just got back yesterday." Zhao Wumian walked over quickly and pointed to the crowd: "What's the situation? Has the assassin's identity been confirmed?" "not yet." Yan Duo said: "Master Xuanwu is performing soul-searching magic. The person is dead and the soul is scattered. I guess I can't read anything important. I just hope to find their hiding place...but I have already determined their master." Zhao Wumian asked: "Which sect?" Yan Duo said: "One is from the Five Poison Sect. He possesses one of the Five Poison Sect's Seven Deadly Gu, the [Shadow Gu], which allows him to hide in the shadows and use it for assassination, making him hard to defend against. He also has the [Spirit Snake Sword], one of the Three Treasures of the Five Poison Sect, a Divine Earth-level Mysterious Bone Weapon. He is undoubtedly from the Five Poison Sect. The other is from the Dali Duan family. He practices the Tianlong Temple's unique skill, the 'Dead Wood Zen', which allows him to be like a dead tree and completely conceal his aura. He relied on this skill to deceive the prince. He also knows the Dali Duan family's unique skill, the 'Six Yao Invisible Sword', so he is probably a direct descendant..." Six Meridians Divine Sword? Zhao Wumian was stunned: "The Five Poisons of Miaojiang and the Duan Clan of Dali are both top sects in Yunnan." "Yes." Yan Duo nodded: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also said that the assassin came from Yunnan. It seems that Zavalmi is already scared and has started to resort to underhanded tactics. He is quite capable. He has been entrenched for decades and even made the Five Poison Sect and the Duan Clan of Dali obey his orders. They even joined forces to assassinate the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty!"
"not necessarily." Zhao Wumian pondered and said, "The Duan family of Dali has been a local tyrant for hundreds of years. Since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, they have never submitted to the Central Plains since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It is normal for them to collude with King Liang and resist the king's teacher. On the other hand, the Five Poison Sect has been secluded in the Ten Thousand Mountains for many years. It is not necessarily that the entire sect has surrendered. It may be that some people in the sect can't stand the loneliness and took the opportunity to cause trouble..." (End of this chapter)