Fair Lady

The imperial palace, Xihe Hall.

The emperor had a friendly smile on his face: "My dear friends, please sit down, this is not in the main hall, so there is no need to be so restrained."

Dafuzi's father-in-law had already asked the eunuchs to bring chairs, and specially brought a comfortable, upholstered armchair to General Fan, the Northwest General.

Shu Jie, who sat beside him, smiled knowingly: The emperor is so considerate and careful, can his generals not give up their loyalty to him?Isn't his father Xia Linxuan the same?Does the next king know if he can do this?The biggest capital of the third prince, who is the concubine De, is the so-called "virtuous" reputation. Unfortunately, in Shujie's view, the traces are too heavy, and it is not so natural.

Old General Fan looked at Shujie and asked with a smile: "This must be the Marquis of Yongping. The Marquis is indeed young and promising, and his reputation is well deserved." And there is only one guard with a sword who can sit in front of the emperor in the whole Zhou Dynasty, that is, Yongping Hou Xia Shujie.

Shujie made a fist-cup salute: "The old general is too famous. The juniors have always admired the old general. If you don't mind, just call me Shujie." Picking the word for Shujie, I thought about it for a while, but with a swipe of the pen, I still found the word "Shujie", and said with a smile that it was because these two words were really good.

Old General Fan stroked his gray beard and smiled boldly: "Okay, okay, Shujie. This old man sells his elders and treats Shujie as his junior. To tell you the truth, this old man has long admired the name of Shujie at the border. Because of you, the number one scholar in both civil and military affairs, people are not good, let alone us martial arts are uneducated people. Hahaha."

The emperor was in high spirits today, and said jokingly: "Old General Fan is too modest, who dares to say that the old general is uneducated, I am the first to disobey. Shujie, do you know? The old general has a smooth handwriting, comparable to many great scholars Woolen cloth."

……

The monarch and his ministers chatted happily, but Shujie keenly felt a pair of eyes eagerly cast on him from time to time. In fact, not only now, but when he was so solemn in the hall just now, he felt that someone was eagerly watching him.But that person reacted very quickly.As soon as he raised his eyes, the sight disappeared, and he couldn't catch it all the time.Because he didn't feel malicious or murderous, Shujie didn't get entangled in it.As long as the emperor is around, Shujie, the first-rank guard with a knife, will definitely focus on the emperor, feeling the murderous aura that may come from any corner.

The emperor inquired about the situation of Old General Fan's family.Looking at the other officers and men, he smiled and said, "You four are all meritorious ministers brought to Beijing by the name of General Fan, uh... by the way... which one of you is General Yunde Qingyun? It's not easy Ah, the old general said in the brochure that you are a general of the seventh rank and have the meritorious service of being a lieutenant general. The hero does not ask the source, you report the information to the household department, and pardon the punishment of exile for the direct line."

"Cloud" total?exile?Shujie's heart skipped a beat, and he held his breath.Could it be...?Or is it just a coincidence?

A middle-aged soldier sitting next to Old General Fan suddenly got up and knelt down with a plop: "The sinful minister Yun Deqing kowtowed to the emperor. The guilty minister dared to ask the emperor to give him the opportunity to 'exchange merit for favor'. "

"Relying on merit in exchange for grace" is a new method of grace created by the current emperor.

According to the decree promulgated by the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, if the descendants of the exiled criminals can obtain military merits and are recommended by generals above the second rank, the punishment of exile in the direct line of the meritorious person can be lifted, and he can serve as an official below the fifth rank. official position.Otherwise, no matter how brave you are, you can only be promoted to the seventh rank general in the army.

And "relying on merit for grace" is like this.If the above-mentioned meritorious persons think that their convictions in the past were wronged, they can give up the above-mentioned grace and apply for a re-examination.But this is very risky. If the original verdict is maintained after the verification, the criminal will lose his "merit" and only "additional crime" will be left, and he will be executed in public.Also, during the review period, the person who applied for the review will be imprisoned until the review is over.

So so far, no one has applied for this kind of grace. Firstly, it is not easy to make great military achievements, and secondly, the descendants of the few exiled criminals who have made military achievements do not dare to take risks. Since the punishment can be lifted, why bother about whether there is sin?It is easy to apply for a re-examination, but it is not so simple to rehabilitate. It has been a long time, and even if there is evidence back then, it is gone long ago, isn't it?After many years of exile, his contacts are even worse than they were back then.Since ancient times, there are many people who add to the cake, but few people give charcoal in the snow.

The emperor stared straight at Yun Deqing's face: "Yun Deqing, have you thought about it? I checked your Yun family's information this morning, and it was already a case 34 years ago. Now that it's like this, the exile is lifted. After the punishment, your parents, siblings, wife and children can return to the Central Plains. There is no serious problem except that the third generation cannot participate in the scientific examination. As long as you have the ability, you can also reach the fifth rank. Yun Deqing, Have you really thought it through? If I make a re-examination, you will have no chance of regretting it."

Without the slightest hesitation on his face, Yun Deqing kowtowed to the emperor again, and said firmly: "The guilty minister will never regret it. The criminal minister desperately killed the enemy. But he was framed. The father of the guilty minister was over sixty years old, and he thought that one day he would be cleared of his crimes and let the emperor see his loyalty, saying that he would die in peace. As a son of man, how could the guilty minister let go of his father? Don’t complain about your grievances, and only care about your own safety as an official? The guilty minister once again asks His Majesty to give the guilty minister a chance to 'exchange merit for favor'. Even though... the guilty minister has tried his best, he will die without regret."

Old General Fan said with emotion: "Your Majesty, I would like to be the guarantor for President Yun, and I beg Your Majesty to grant him."

The other three colleagues who came with Yun Deqing also knelt down: "Your Majesty, the ministers and others are willing to protect the general manager for Yun."

What does it mean to pledge?It means that once the case review upholds the original judgment, the guarantor will also be implicated and punished.

"Okay, Yun Deqing, I will give you this opportunity, and I also promise you that I will personally review the case." The emperor visited countless people, and his instinct told him that he could raise a son with such courage and responsibility like Yun Deqing. , his father's own character must also be remarkable.Moreover, without certain confidence and trust in the court, or in other words, in him, the emperor, ordinary people really dare not make such a bet, the bet is too big!

Ask yourself?Yun Deqing was startled, and kowtowed three more times: "Thank you, Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live."

At this time, Shujie was also full of emotions, with mixed feelings. He was almost sure that Yun Bazong in front of him was his mother, Zhen Zirou's second brother, and a pair of siblings' uncles.According to the information received by foster father, Mo Niang's second brother joined the Northwest Army.

Moreover, Shujie was sure that the eager eyes that had been cast on him before must have come from Yun Deqing, he knew who he was.

The emperor was also unambiguous, and immediately issued an imperial edict.

Except for Yun Deqing, several others were promoted and rewarded with gold, silver and fertile land. Old General Fan was even named the second-rank Fuguo General.

And Prime Minister You, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Minister of the Ministry of War (Yun Deqing's father was originally a general and belonged to the Ministry of War), and Jin Xida, who were in charge of the law, were quickly summoned.

After repeating Yun Deqing's request, the emperor said sternly in front of Yun Deqing: "I will entrust the review of the Yun family's case to the four of you, and every ten days, I will see the report on the progress of the review. 'Exchanging merit for grace' is not a joke, it must be convincing. No matter what the result is, it must be absolutely credible."

Yun Deqing couldn't help but burst into tears. To be honest, in this gamble, his greatest confidence was that "the current emperor is a Mingjun".

After everyone went out, Yun Deqing was also taken to the prison cell of the Ministry of Punishment. The emperor closed his eyes and sighed: "I hope the Yun family was really wronged back then, otherwise... it would be a pity for a general." In the Northwest series of battles, he made the first contribution. General Fan even believed that if it weren't for his status as the child of an exile, he would be the person most capable of succeeding him.

Although Yun Deqing can only reach the fifth rank at most after the exile punishment is lifted, General Fan believes in his character. Yun Deqing, who has made achievements as a lieutenant general in general, will definitely do his best to assist and manage the Northwest Army.

The emperor attaches great importance to talents, and also believes in the loyalty and vision of General Fan.

However, neither the emperor nor old general Fan thought that Yun Deqing would choose to "exchange merit for favor".

The emperor secretly sighed, maybe God sent him a Northwest General?It's hard to find the general who sits at the border gate, otherwise the great emperor's brother, Prince Yong, wouldn't have to stay in the southwest and couldn't return to Beijing to enjoy family happiness.

Especially now that the Northeast Region is still in the hands of the King of Northern Qi, the other areas are especially important, and there cannot be any mistakes.The current General Zhenbei, Northwest General (Prince Yong), Southwest General, and Southeast General Haiyong are all his confidantes.

Shujie was wandering, and the emperor with his eyes closed suddenly asked: "Shujie, your senses have always been keen. From your point of view, does that Yun Deqing really have the confidence, or is he just gambling? He knows that we are short of generals, so Take a gamble with luck?"

Shu Jie quickly withdrew his thoughts. Although the emperor is a generous and wise monarch, he is also a suspicious monarch. Answering the emperor's questions should not be perfunctory.He calmly replied: "Your Majesty, I just might react faster. Sensitive senses need to be as comprehensive as the emperor, and you need to be wise and broad-minded. But this is what I think. In such a high-stakes game, even if he just Gambling requires at least [-]% to [-]% confidence. After all, it’s okay if you lose your future bet, but you’ll lose everything if you lose your life bet.”

The emperor didn't say anything, and still closed his eyes... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)

ps: It's late, post it first, and catch bugs later.