bullyxtreme Chapter 51 Qian Qianyi, this water is too cold, it's not suitable to jump into the river!
Chapter 51 Qian Qianyi, this water is too cold, it's not suitable to jump into the river!
As evening fell, the banks of the Qinhuai River were brightly lit.
Zhu Jian, dressed as a scholar, led Wang Chengen, Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Yuji, and others who had just arrived from the capital to a painted boat, where they quietly watched the beautiful women on board.
"Shall we go up for a look around?" Prosecutor Zhu suggested.
Wang Chengen stammered, "Your Majesty... it's somewhat inappropriate for a young master like yourself..."
"I haven't been there yet. Since I'm in Nanjing, I can't miss experiencing the local culture, right, Cheng'en?"
After a pause, Prosecutor Zhu added, "You can choose one yourself in a bit!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a beautifully dressed young woman on the boat called out to Zhu Jian, "Oh, young master, come aboard! I'll sing you a song!"
Before he finished speaking, the rest of the people on the pleasure boat burst into laughter.
"Walk!"
Just as Zhu Jian was about to board the ship, a group of people appeared before him: "Our young master has chartered this ship... You'll have to go somewhere else!"
"Big..." Wang Chengen was about to reprimand him when Zhu Jian glared at him and stopped him.
Zhu Jian gestured for them to proceed, and then prepared to change to another boat.
After the group boarded the ship, Zhu Jian slipped a silver ingot to one of the onlookers and asked, "Which family's young masters are these?"
The servant took the silver and said respectfully with a smile, "The second son of the Minister of Personnel is also a famous young master on the Qinhuai River!"
Just as Zhu Jian was about to leave, the servant said again, "My esteemed sir, you don't seem to be from around here. It's best not to get into arguments with anyone on the Qinhuai River; there are quite a few important people here!"
"Thank you so much, sir!"
After saying that, Prosecutor Zhu slowly stepped forward.
"Young master, let's go back!" Wang Chengen said to Zhu Jian as they walked.
He really didn't want to linger in front of the painted boats on the Qinhuai River anymore; he felt they were unfriendly to him.
"According to the Great Ming Code, any official who patronizes a prostitute shall be punished with sixty strokes of the cane, and the matchmaker shall be punished one degree less. If the son or grandson of an official patronizes a prostitute, the punishment shall be the same." After saying this, Zhu Jian glanced at the people behind him.
Zhu Jian was preparing to deal with some officials from the Six Ministries in Nanjing, and this pleasure boat was a good breakthrough point, which could both open up a path and leave people speechless.
"Your Majesty...Young Master...but not all of these pleasure boats are brothels!" Wang Chengen reminded him from the side.
Zhu Jian nodded slightly: "Where officials are, it must be a brothel!"
Whether it's true or false is no longer important; what matters is a pretext—a pretext that can link the reputations of these upright officials in Nanjing with brothels.
Zhu Jian glanced at the sunset, then turned and said, "Go tell Liu Guoneng that in one hour, he should lead ten thousand troops into the city and seal off the Qinhuai River, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. I want to arrest them one by one and see which high-ranking officials are involved!"
The soldiers following behind clasped their hands in a fist salute: "Yes, sir!"
"Let's go listen to some music on that biggest pleasure boat!" Zhu Jian said, and strode towards the pleasure boat, with the rest of the group following closely behind.
Upon arriving at the pleasure boat, Zhu Jian tossed a silver ingot to himself and sat down directly in front of the stage.
"Is there any music you'd like to hear?" Prosecutor Zhu asked curiously.
The group looked at each other and shook their heads.
Then Zhu Jian took out another silver ingot, beckoned to the maid on the pleasure boat, and placed the silver on the tray: "Backyard Flower!"
The maidservant bowed and said, "Yes!"
After the maid left, Zhu Jian said slowly, "Please sit down too!"
"Come listen to the lament of the fall of the Southern Dynasty's Chen emperor!"
Before long, a beautiful and sorrowful melody began to play on the stage.
at the same time.
Liu Guoneng led 10,000 troops through the city gate and headed towards the Qinhuai River. Since it was late at night and there were few pedestrians on the streets, he quickly took control of the upper and lower reaches of the Qinhuai River.
Each soldier held a torch and surrounded the pleasure boats completely.
Many owners of the pleasure boats were stunned on the deck when they saw this scene. They had never encountered a situation where troops surrounded the Qinhuai River in all these years.
Many people inside the pleasure boat looked out, wondering, "Who is that?"
"Yes! What are these soldiers doing here in this tranquil place?"
"Young Master Li, your father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Why don't you go and ask him?" The owner of a pleasure boat said cautiously, standing beside Young Master Li.
Young Master Li nodded and shouted towards the riverbank, "Which general's men are you?"
......
No one responded, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward!
Just then, Liu Guoneng brought six censors from the Nanjing Metropolitan Censorate to the front of the pleasure boat, where he recorded and identified them.
"Issue my order! In accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty, inspect the pleasure boat! Divide into six groups, and have everyone disembark in turn!" Liu Guoneng shouted loudly.
The pleasure boat where Inspector Zhu was located was also among them. The boat's owner hurriedly returned to the cabin: "There are many soldiers outside, and they need to check the pleasure boat. I'm sorry everyone..."
The owner of this pleasure boat wasn't stupid. With so many soldiers, he simply seized all the pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River. This was no ordinary inspection. He didn't know what was going on, but there were many important people on these boats. Even if the sky fell, they wouldn't be affected!
Zhu Jian showed no intention of getting up: "You don't need to worry about it, just keep playing!"
Seeing the situation was not good, the owner of the pleasure boat stepped forward with a forced smile and took out the two silver ingots that Zhu Jian had given him: "Young master, I am truly sorry, but we are a small family and need to cooperate with the government's investigation!"
Seeing this, Cao Bianjiao stepped forward and said, "If you don't need it, you don't need it. Stop with the nonsense!"
Seeing this, the owner of the pleasure boat muttered to himself that these people were not to be trifled with. He then nodded slightly to the musician playing the music, signaling him to continue playing.
Against the backdrop of the firelight, only the music continued to emanate from Zhu Jian's pleasure boat, and no one went out. The people on the other pleasure boats were all pulled ashore. After being identified, the wealthy merchants and musicians were driven back onto their boats, while the officials and their sons were all detained on the shore.
After a sleepless night, as the sky began to lighten, it was time for the painted boat where Zhu Jian was.
After docking, Liu Guoneng personally led his troops onto the painted boat and into the cabin.
Upon seeing this, everyone in the cabin lowered their heads and leaned back, and Yue Ling also hurriedly stood up and stood aside.
Liu Guoneng glanced at the crowd, approached Zhu Jian from behind, and knelt on one knee: "This humble general, Liu Guoneng, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
"Rise! Is the inspection finished?"
"Your Majesty, the investigation is complete. There are twenty-seven current officials, sixty-two sons of officials, and many more officials who have already retired!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jian nodded slightly, slowly stood up, stretched his back, took out a piece of silver from his pocket, and waved to the owner of the pleasure boat.
The owner of the pleasure boat stepped forward and knelt down abruptly, trembling as she said, "This...this humble woman kowtows to...Your Majesty!"
Zhu Jian bent down and placed the silver in front of the pleasure boat owner, then stood up and said, "The music was played well!"
After saying this, Zhu Jian slowly stepped out of the painted boat and came ashore.
As soon as we reached the shore, we saw hundreds of people kneeling on the left side of the painted boat!
His gaze swept across the crowd, and he recognized a familiar figure kneeling before him. He stepped forward and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh! Isn't this Qian Qianyi, Lord Qian? How's your health now that you're over fifty?"
"This humble subject, Qian Qianyi, kowtows to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!" Qian Qianyi never expected that a trip on a pleasure boat would result in him being dragged away by the Emperor!
Zhu Jian narrowed his eyes, staring at the leader of the Donglin Party. Then his gaze swept over the group of officials. Although most of them were unfamiliar faces, they were basically Donglin Party members who considered themselves to be upright, with a few others.
Because the Donglin Party was not a political group and did not have a strict structure, most of them were just labeled. For example, Fan Jingwen was said to be a member of the Donglin Party, but he himself said that he did not belong to any party and was only devoted to the court. But who can say for sure?
"Lord Qian is over fifty, yet he still has the energy to stroll on pleasure boats! I wonder what kind of medicinal wine he usually uses? Tell me, I also wish to have a few more sons!"
Before Zhu Jian finished speaking, the surrounding soldiers burst into laughter.
"What are you laughing at? Maybe you won't be as good as Master Qian after you turn thirty!"
Upon hearing Zhu Jian's words, the others laughed even harder, except for Qian Qianyi, whose face turned red.
Just then, Qian Qianyi turned his head and glanced at the water. Liu Guoneng behind him also noticed Qian Qianyi's movement and called two soldiers to surround him to prevent him from suddenly jumping into the river.
After noticing this, Prosecutor Zhu laughed and said, "Guoneng, you're overthinking it. It's early morning, the water is too cold, it's not suitable for jumping into the river!"
Another burst of laughter erupted around them.
Then Prosecutor Zhu raised his voice a few decibels: "Qian Qianyi, Lord Qian is a role model for scholars across the land, renowned for his talent. A talented man and a beautiful woman, right? There's nothing wrong with him going to a brothel!"
Then, changing the subject, he said, "It's a good thing that Mr. Qian is still vigorous in his old age; he might even have a child later in life! But he should take care of his health!!"
Qian Qianyi's reputation was severely damaged by Prosecutor Zhu's outburst; now everyone, whether they knew him before or not, knew...
He then waved his hand: "Imprison all these people in the Ministry of Justice! Convict them according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Yes!" the soldiers replied in unison.