Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 562 Killing three birds with one stone

In the Yangxin Hall,

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong had already changed into his clothes, walked slowly to the window, and opened the window. Although it was cold, there was already green in the garden.

But for some reason,

In the winter of these years, there have been more and more cold days, and it has been extremely difficult for the people, especially in the north. After the beginning of spring, there is still a line of snow. Qitihou hastily retreated northward. It is not like him. Liu in Shanbei Pass Fang can't withdraw yet.

While thinking, he took another look at the sky and saw that it was almost time, and asked,

"Dai Quan, are all the officials from the ministries here?"

"Your Majesty, we haven't all arrived yet. We have to wait for a while. After all, it is rare to have a court meeting at this hour. Many officials have to go back to the palace to change clothes, so they will come later."

Dai Quan stood aside and replied carefully.

Emperor Wu nodded and said what he said was good. He did not expect that the civil servants would move very quickly during tonight's court meeting. He didn't know how Duke Zhen Guo and Wang Shuirong of Beijing should respond.

then,

Emperor Wu still had some protection for Prince Zhongshun in his heart. Among the kings, he was the only one who was considerate. As for the other kings, none of them were ambitious and worried about the position of Yuji.

Then without answering, he kowtowed directly. This action made Emperor Wu confused. Instead, his heart moved. Could it be that there were other important matters? He said slowly,

"Get out of the way and don't block the road. I have something important to report."

Zhou Shihong was not in a hurry and sat calmly at the table. Dai Quan immediately came over and poured a bowl of hot tea for His Majesty. Emperor Wu picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea. He finally felt calm for a while.

Thinking about what she did today, it was an unintentional act. She left the palace to see the emperor. Marquis Luo Yun was also recruited by him. He didn't eat anything and took a normal route. I don't know if Jia Zhen really did it on purpose. It's still a mystery. The so-called spell casting by the demon should also be a coincidence. The key is that it is too coincidental.

Wu Emperor Zhou Shihong, who was noisy and drinking tea in the inner hall, heard the noise outside, and his face was full of helplessness. When he heard the voice of the emperor's brother Zhou Jianan, it was already this hour. What else do you want to do here? I want to go to Changle Palace to pay my respects to the Supreme Emperor.

"My brother Zhou Jian'an has met the emperor, and he has come to apologize."

No matter who stopped him, he just broke in. Eunuch Yun stopped him in the inner hall.

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by King Zhongshun.

"I know that if I don't have something important to do, why would I disturb my brother's rest?"

"Your Majesty, please stay a moment, Your Majesty is changing."

Entering the inner hall at this time,

"It's unbecoming to let him in in such a panic."

His tone was quite impatient,

Although Zhou Jianan was noisy outside, he immediately stopped talking when he arrived at the inner hall. Xiao Yunzi did not stop him too much and entered the inner hall first.

"Your Majesty, Prince Zhongshun has something urgent to ask for, and my servant was unable to stop him just now."

Thinking that the Supreme Emperor was ill, it would definitely cause shock to all the kings in the world. There were not many people who wanted to come to the capital to fulfill their filial piety. Prince Consort Yongcheng had already asked someone to tell him that he wanted to come back with Princess Yongcheng to see his father, but he was afraid of being exposed. Kai, the other kings can't sit still. In troubled times, King Zhongshun still needs to come forward and lead the clan's mansion to be careful with them. Don't be too harsh.

Subsequently,

"The king has something urgent to report, so we must not wait."

Xiao Yunzi didn't dare to stop him and couldn't help but persuade him,

"Your Majesty, please take it easy, take your time. Your Majesty has just woken up and is feeling ill, so you can't."

How can Zhou Jian'an, the loyal and shun king, wait any longer? If he waits until he goes to court, those civil servants will really want to expose this matter. No, the matter of the imperial mausoleum cannot spread so fast. Oh, it is before going to court anyway. I have to tell my brother the emperor about this.

King Zhongshun Zhou Jian'an had already walked in. When he saw His Majesty sitting there waiting, he immediately knelt down and bowed to the ground.

After a while,

Outside the palace,

Prince Zhongshun had already spared the road and rushed over from outside. When he saw so many courtiers coming in front of the Qianqing Palace, he did not dare to stop and rushed towards the Yangxin Palace.

And how could the Supreme Emperor faint there? Was it because the people in the palace were careless in serving him, or was he doing it on purpose? There were many things on his mind.

Pushing Eunuch Yun aside who was blocking the way, he strode into the inner hall.

"What can you do to plead guilty? What went wrong?"

Zhou Jianan's face turned pale, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he was terrified. What should he say? After thinking about it for a while, he really couldn't deceive the emperor's eyes, so he said bravely,

"Brother Imperial, I failed to supervise the emperor well. When the Earth Dragon turned over, the imperial mausoleum they built collapsed, half of the underground palace was destroyed, and the craftsmen and master craftsmen were trapped underneath and are being rescued!"

Then he knelt on the ground, not daring to move.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong's expression changed, and his eyes flashed with heat. He was able to collapse the imperial mausoleum. It really collapsed.

still is,

There is another reason,

The Xuan Palace, the mausoleum, was built in the beautiful Chaoyang Peak of Nanshan Mountain. The materials used in the hollow building on the mountain peak must have met the standard and it could withstand a full earthquake. Now that it collapsed suddenly, Emperor Wu didn't believe it in his heart.

The construction of imperial mausoleums in the past dynasties has always been a top priority. The more the mausoleum is built, the more consideration must be given to earthquake prevention. Timber, stone and other materials are supplied by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. It is useless to lie down after an earthquake. I'm afraid There was also a lot of silver in it.

If the imperial mausoleum collapsed, if the court officials knew about it, it would definitely cause another big disturbance. The strange phenomenon coming from the sky would definitely be bad for the royal family.

"Dai Quan, who was sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to supervise the imperial mausoleum?"

"Your Majesty, this is the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The slave Song Zhen of the Craftsman Section is in charge. He has always been responsible for supervising the work, and the Craftsman Envoy is responsible for the inspection."

Dai Quan immediately reported the matter at his side, still thinking about how Song Zhen supervised the work. There must be something evil in his heart when such a big thing happened and no Zajia reported it. He took a sneak peek at Prince Zhongshun who was kneeling in the hall. It must be related to the prince. , what should we do.

When Emperor Wu heard Dai Quan's answer, he also knew that Dai Quan didn't know about it. This made it clear that the wall could not be held up by the mud. He looked at King Zhongshun with helpless eyes. If nothing happens sooner, something will happen later. Something happened, but it happened at this critical moment.

"You, you can't do anything well, it's okay if you can't lead an army, but you can still make trouble when building a mausoleum for my father. Where is the craftsman?"

"Brother, he, he committed suicide out of fear of crime!"

King Zhongshun Zhou Jianan trembled and replied, causing Emperor Wu to glare at him angrily and curse,

"Trash!" The court meeting is coming soon. If those officials know about it, they will definitely not give up. The foreshadowing of Ning Guo Mansion will be wasted. Now the matter still needs to be concealed.

"There is an earthquake in the middle of the capital. It is expected that there will be many casualties. Please remind the imperial guards to check the casualties of the craftsmen in the imperial mausoleum. We will ask Xunlang for consultation and treatment later. We must rescue the people.

The underground palace needs to be rebuilt, and those that cannot be used should be thrown away as soon as possible. King Zhongshun thinks there is a way to make up for the shortfall of silver. At least half of the silver must be used to make up for it. The rest of the money must be spent by the internal affairs office so that outsiders do not know about it. If the news leaks out, I'm going to ask you about it. I'll take care of it after it's over. "

Emperor Wu looked stern and ordered sternly that no mistakes should be made at this juncture, otherwise the civil servants' spearhead might be misdirected if they try to cause trouble.

Prince Zhongshun Zhou Jianan, who was kneeling in the inner hall, quickly wiped his sweat.

"Thank you, Brother Emperor. I obeyed the order and the news will definitely not leak out. I have already sent the mausoleum officer Xu Cai and his troops to start rescuing people. At least dig a hole and send some food and drink in. If you can't kill people, they will be dead." , I just need to pay the money, my brother."

After saying that, he still grinned a little distressedly. When Emperor Wu saw it, he felt particularly anxious and cursed,

"roll,"

Then, still not satisfied, he stood up and kicked King Zhongshun directly. After receiving the kick, he rolled on the ground with an "ouch" and then crawled outside.

"Brother Imperial, I know I made a mistake, so I will correct it now."

Then he rolled and crawled out of the inner hall.

It's just that there are still dark clouds hanging over Emperor Wu's heart.

Is it because the emperor has lost his virtue and God is giving him a warning?

Or is it a punishment from God to His Majesty the Emperor? Warning!

The strange thing about the collapse of the imperial mausoleum and the couch was that only the old palace in the palace collapsed, and the other palaces were not seriously damaged. It was the Supreme Emperor in Changle Palace who did it.

There is another intention,

After all, the eldest brother Zhou Yongxiao had no fault, so he was executed like this. Many veterans and officials in the court were opposed to it. Whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, it was inevitable. It could only be delayed for a while. The court meeting was the key, step by step.

"Dai Quan, come to court."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In front of the North Prince's Mansion,

Wang Shuirong of Beijing sat in the carriage and looked at the letters in his hands. One was a letter from Mrs. Shi of Rongguo Mansion, and the other was a letter from the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion. Both of them stated the reasons. Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion raised Taoist priests. The alchemist was strictly followed by the students of Lu Wenshan, the leader of the Civil Service Southern Party, and beat the drum of Dengwen.

That was the Dengwen drum, and when it was sounded, the truth would be revealed. Now at this critical juncture, how could the Ningguo Mansion be caught by the civil servants for doing such ridiculous things? He looked at Old Leng and asked,

"Sir, tonight's court meeting will definitely be a fight between dragons and tigers. The Ningguo Mansion is getting more and more ridiculous. The dignified Jia Mansion was so brave and domineering in the early years. Who knew that the descendants would be so lonely? In addition to stating the reasons, the old lady's letters contain many pleas. I really don’t want to take care of it.”

King Shuirong of Beijing has been busy with smuggling in the north these days. The shortfall of money has now been made up, and there is still a large amount of surplus. The Jiedushi of Ping'an Prefecture also sent a message from his confidants, including Ping'an Prefecture's food, salary, silver, and weapons and equipment. The warehouse is full, and the way out is decided, but if you want to return to the north, you still need another opportunity.

Regarding matters in the capital, Prince Dongping seems to have changed his mind. He has been contacting his old relatives everywhere and has gained a lot of influence. However, the Duke's Palace has always been in its own way and cannot be shaken, and the Ningrong Palace and Ning Rong Palace are even more impartial. Bu Yi, that old lady is really shrewd.

The old man Leng beside him was still dressed in gray, with an expressionless face, holding a cane in his hand and stroking it carefully.

"Your Majesty, there is no reason for everything. No matter how glorious the ancestors of Ningguo Mansion were, it was just a passing thing. Now only Nuo Da's Duke's Mansion is left. There are only relatives and friends. It's a pity that there is no leader. Only Jia Lian of Rongguo Mansion is still useful, but the old Duke The favor left behind has been almost used by the in-laws and the Wang family. As for the civil servants' attack, Your Majesty, if the Ningguo Mansion fails, no one will save Dongwang and others, but you must save it."

Seeing the seriousness on Mr. Leng's face, Beijing Wang Shuirong asked,

"Sir, what do you mean? Why must I save you?"

"Haha, the prince still wants to pass the school entrance examination. The two old princes of Ning Rong and the Second Palace are life-saving benefactors to the North Palace. For this reason, you must save, and you must save with all your strength.

Let all nobles and the world see that the prince has not forgotten the kindness of the Jia family. If I guess correctly, Prince Mu of Dongping County will definitely protect the Jia family like you. As for other princes, they will all be prosperous long ago. If one loses, both will suffer, and it is impossible to sit idly by and ignore it. "

Leng Lao's hand touched the cane, tightening it again and again. The nobles and nobles will definitely work together. It will not be easy for the civil servants to make trouble to achieve what they want. If it doesn't work, there needs to be another way to get the best of both worlds.

King Beijing's eyes flickered. What Leng Lao said was true. When he entered the Central Plains, if the two princes of the Jia family had not vowed to refuse to retreat, the Northern Expedition would have become a laughing stock. How many favors were left in that battle? It's time to pay it back.

I made up my mind that I must have a good talk with the civil officials. The vision coming from heaven is a sign of the misconduct of the civil officials and cabinet. There is no way to blame others.

"I must come to the rescue. Today's vision is caused by the misconduct of civil servants. What does it have to do with the nobles? Besides, this matter is a rumor spread by the people in the capital. When the demon is caught, everything will naturally be revealed."

"It's good that the prince understands. You can confront the civil officials slowly about this matter. But there is one thing. The prince should be more careful. The shadow guard came to report. The mausoleum officer and the imperial mausoleum supervisor Song Eunuch went to the residence of King Zhongshun, and then King Zhongshun went there again. In the palace, faces are hurried,

There is also a secret matter. My spies came to report that at Zuixian Tower in Dongcheng, a group of people came from the south. No, I made a mistake. Two groups of people came from the south. One of them was very familiar to the prince. "

King Beijing's heart moved. The people from the imperial mausoleum went to Zhou Jian'an's house. Could it be that something happened and there were old friends from the south?

Who is the one,

"What Mr. Leng means is, who is here? I haven't thought of it yet. As for the imperial mausoleum, something must have happened, right?"

"Haha, the prince is still powerful. The imperial mausoleum has sent spies there. There will be news tonight. As for the people coming from the south, wow, the kings can't sit still. The person the spies saw turned out to be Xu Liangcai, the confidant of the King of Han. Then After watching for a few days, I actually found a person, Zhou Zhengbai, the crown prince of Prince Zheng, wandering around Dongcheng City Square!"

"What, they actually dared to return to the capital without telling His Majesty. How brave they are. King Zheng, King of Han, King of Song, King of Wu and others can bear it,"

King Beijing lost his voice. They had heard some rumors. The Supreme Emperor was ill today. They must not know it yet. It is getting more and more interesting. But Enke is about to come, how can they enter the capital.

"Old Leng, what do you think?"

"My lord, please be patient. I think the kings can't sit still anymore. The Emperor's health is no longer the same as before. This time, his vitality has been even more damaged. I think the princes still have the last glimmer of hope and want to go to the capital to wait for the crown prince's death." Whose family?"

Leng Lao squinted his eyes, sat there, and explained in a low voice,

King Beijing took a breath and sighed,

"What hope is there? The three princes of the Holy Emperor have left the palace to establish princes and build palaces. The road to seizing the throne has begun. They are still thinking about good things. Also, Luo Yunhou has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the three princes' palaces. This matter is all over the place. I know that although Marquis Luo Yun is still young, anyone who ignores him will suffer a big loss.

Nowadays, the trade routes are open outside the pass, and various noble houses, as well as chambers of commerce from all over the Yangtze River, are traveling here. Pingyao City is actually heavily stationed with more than 30,000 cavalrymen, all of whom are elites. This business tax is inexhaustible. Inexhaustible, not to mention so many farms outside the customs, almost all have been bought by the Luoyun Hou Mansion. Outsiders want to buy, but they can't buy them. Do you know what this means? "

Seeing the rare solemn expression of Wang Shuirong of Beijing, Leng Lao touched the hand of the crutch, relaxed it, and then held it tightly. He felt even more unbelievable in his heart. How did Marquis Luo Yun come from such a poor place? Financial resources, who is behind it, it is more centralized than the feudal town,

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Luoyun is called the Jiedushi, and is actually a vassal town. The imperial court has figured it out. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is transporting refugees from counties in the Central Plains, as well as refugees from counties along the canal, to the north. Although they are sent to outside the customs Increasing the foundation is also a clever move."

"Why?"

"Delay the forces outside the Pass of Luo Yunhou, and wait until Luo Yunhou develops and strengthens, and the Jurchens' strength is restored. This is a plan that kills three birds with one stone. Your Majesty is so powerful!"

(End of this chapter)