Hello Chang’an

When Ma Xingzhou arrived outside the forbidden palace gate, it was not yet time to open the palace gate.

Each palace gate has a fixed time for the key. Unless there are major changes or emergencies, it cannot be advanced or delayed.

When the imperial guards on duty saw Ma Xingzhou entering the palace at this time, they did not dare to step forward to salute and ask the reason.

At this turbulent moment, everyone seems to have a sharp sword hanging in their hearts, and they will be facing a powerful enemy at the slightest sign of trouble.

Facing the imperial guards' uneasy inquiry, Ma Xingzhou shook his head: "It's nothing important. I'll just wait here."

Under such circumstances, depending on his status, he could certainly order the imperial army to open the palace gate with the right-hand order, but doing so would only intensify the turmoil in people's hearts, and the matter he reported was secret, so it was not suitable to make too much noise. .

Ma Xingzhou came in a hurry, and his heart was anxious, but he still never lost his composure.

In the rainy night of late October, Ma Xingzhou, who was nearly sixty years old, waited outside the Forbidden Palace for half an hour.

It wasn't until the palace doors opened one after another that Ma Xingzhou quickly went to the Ganlu Palace holding an umbrella.

As the winter solstice approaches, it rains again, and the sky lights up later. Although it is almost the time of morning, the lights in the Manna Palace are still lit at this time.

I don't know whether the Holy Emperor got up for the first time or stayed up all night. She was dressed in the emperor's regular clothes. Under the lamp, it can be seen that her gray hair is still neatly combed. Her whole body is as majestic as usual, but her figure has become two points thinner due to illness. .

Emperor Shengce obviously expected that Ma Xingzhou would have something urgent to do when he entered the palace at such an hour. When Ma Xingzhou entered the palace and saluted, he saw that all the maids serving in the palace had left in an orderly manner.

There was only one confidant and **** left by Emperor Shengsi's side to serve on the case.

Soon, the **** took the family letter written by Ma Wan from Ma Xingzhou and presented it to the imperial case.

The Holy Emperor calmly read the contents of the letter, raised his hand slightly, and pushed back the remaining chamberlain.

"Xiang Ma went to the palace all night for this matter. He worked really hard." Emperor Shengzhi was not in a hurry to mention the content of the letter, but calmly asked Ma Xingzhou: "From what I see, how did Ma Wan find out?" Did you know these secrets?”

In the letter, Ma Wan did not explicitly state the method of investigation, but only said: "My granddaughter Ma Wan has taken her own life as evidence, and every word she wrote is true. I hope my grandfather will take it seriously." 】

"As far as I know, since the last time Ma Wan acted on my orders, I have lost news..." When the Holy Emperor said this, there was a moment of pity on his face, and then he continued: "Since then, I think her life may not be easy... So, how could she have access to such secrets?"

There was pity for Ma Wan in the emperor's tone, but it was not difficult to hear that there was more doubt in it. He wondered why Ma Wan could survive in the first place, continue to be the crown prince of Rong, and even now have the opportunity to access secrets. Things.

Ma Xingzhou has not thought about these issues.

At this moment, he said: "I think the reason why Prince Rong's Mansion kept Wan'er behind is because he has some agenda."

"Then what does Mr. Ma think the Prince Rong's mansion wants?"

Ma Xingzhou lowered his eyes and said, "Maybe I am with the Ma family."

Ma Xingzhou couldn't see the emperor's expression at this moment, but from the silence, he knew that the emperor was signaling him to continue.

"Prince Rong's Mansion has been secretly trying to win over people's hearts..." Ma Xingzhou said almost heartily: "If something happens to Wan'er in Yizhou, Prince Rong's Mansion and the Ma family will inevitably become enemies. On the contrary, if they stay and treat Wan'er well, they will have the opportunity to express their gratitude to Wan'er. The Ma family shows their affection and can use Wan'er to get closer to the Ma family in the future, or use Wan'er's hand to do things."

Behind Ma Xingzhou are not only members of the Ma family, but as the first prime minister of Dasheng who came from a poor family, there are countless children from poor families standing behind him.

This is the answer Ma Xingzhou came up with after repeated thoughts.

If there is something strange in this world, it must be profitable. As for the speculation that his wife once had that "the Crown Prince Rong may have fallen in love with Wan'er", it has never been considered in political calculations.

After saying this, Ma Xingzhou knelt down with a salute: "I am honored by the emperor's favor, and I have sworn to dedicate myself to the country and to be loyal to your majesty to the death. This ambition has never wavered for a day -"

After a moment, the Holy Emperor stood up from the dragon chair, came to Ma Xingzhou, and personally helped him up.

"Ma Xiang came to the palace late at night to deliver a message, and I was waiting for me to reveal my heart. I have been thinking about it with all my heart. If I continue to doubt Ma Xiang, how can I be worthy of being the king?"

The corners of Ma Xingzhou's eyes were slightly red, and he bowed deeply.

He entered the official position as a commoner with no foundation, but was promoted and promoted by the Empress as an exception, allowing him to pave the way for poor students in the world. This unique experience made Ma Xingzhou, who cared about poor students, destined to have an extraordinary loyalty and loyalty to the Empress. Be grateful.

After straightening up, Ma Xingzhou continued: "I believe that on the premise that Prince Rong's Mansion is willing to treat Wan'er well, and the situation is becoming clearer now, Prince Rong's Mansion must have frequent contacts with all parties... If Wan'er is interested, it is indeed possible. Found some secrets.”

The Holy Emperor nodded slightly.

"But I don't think that what is said in this letter must be trustworthy." Ma Xingzhou said: "If I can trust Wan'er, I will never betray the court or the family. But I am only afraid that King Rong has a deep scheming mind and may have some intentions." The possibility of using Wan'er's hand to deliver false news..."

These words are undoubtedly sensible enough.

Ma Xingzhou trusted his granddaughter's virtue and position, but he also had to consider the trap that Prince Rong's palace might have set.

"Ma Xiang is thoughtful and considerate." The Holy Book Emperor walked slowly to the side of the dragon case. Before sitting down in a hurry, she picked up the letter again and re-examined the contents.

There are roughly three secrets of Prince Rong's palace revealed by Ma Wan in the letter.

This letter was written thirteen days ago. The letter stated that King Rong had no intention of coming to the capital and wanted to use the excuse of illness as a pretext...

This point has naturally been confirmed.

Secondly, Ma Wan mentioned many names in the letter, claiming that these were all people who had secretly betrayed King Rong, including the governors of Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road, and even some people who were officials in the court. ...And among those people, there are many people whom the Holy Book Emperor is suspicious of.

Thirdly, it was also the most unexpected secret for Ma Xingzhou and the Holy Emperor, and the one they couldn’t ignore the most...

Ma Wan said that the real mastermind behind Fan Yangjun's uprising was none other than Rong Wang Li Yin.

And Ma Wan gave a very clear clue - Duan Shiang, the leader of Fan Yang's army, had close private correspondence with King Rong, and the relationship was unusual.

If the content of the letter is truly credible, then there is no doubt that this is the most valuable piece of information.

According to Ma Wan's letter, King Rong conspired to let Duan Shiang help Fan Yang's army invade the capital. Afterwards, Prince Rong's palace sent troops in the name of helping the overall situation, and cooperated with Duan Shiangli to remove King Fan Yang, so that Li Yin could take over the throne in a logical and honorable manner. .

The Holy Emperor stood at the side of the case, looked at the three characters "Duan Shiang" on the letter in his hand, and asked, "How credible does Ma Xiang think the Duan Shiang incident mentioned in the letter is?" "Looking at it from the surface, I have no idea. Judgment." Ma Xingzhou said: "But we might as well speculate on the worst outcome first... If Wan'er was really used by Prince Rong's Palace and passed on false news, and if the saint believed this, what benefit would it have to Prince Rong's Palace? "

"I think this news is true." The Holy Book Emperor said slowly: "Only if it is true can we better win the trust of Ma Xiang and me."

The most clever trap in the world often uses truth as bait to lure people deeper into the trap.

"I once asked people to check Duan Shiang." Emperor Shengce said to Ma Xingzhou: "This man comes from a military family. His father was a captain in Fan Yang's army and died in battle in his early years. And not long after, his His mother also passed away due to illness, and there was only one sister left in the family to depend on him..."

"Afterwards, when Duan Shiang reached the age of joining the army, he inherited his father's old ambition and joined Fan Yang's army. This was about seventeen or eight years ago, and it was in that year that his elder sister was said to have married. I stayed with a foreigner and never returned to Fan Yang."

"I have sent people to investigate Duan Shiang's husband's family, but found nothing." The Holy Book Emperor said: "I thought that maybe the husband's family is poor and unknown, and the relevant people are no longer in the world, but now it seems Come…"

"Duan Shiang, a sister who lost contact with her after marrying far away, may be the connection between Duan Shiang and Li Yin." The Holy Book Emperor deduced: "From the fact that Li Yin is good at hiding behind others and stirring up troubles. Look, I have reason to believe that Duan Shiang is from Prince Rong’s palace.”

Ma Xingzhou's thoughts turned around: "If this is true, King Rong would reveal his relationship with Duan Shiang at this juncture..."

"It is intended to allow me to respond." The Emperor of the Holy Book said: "If I knew that Duan Shiang was his man, I would be more vigilant. In order to prevent Duan Shiang from attacking the capital and helping King Rong succeed... I will do my best to kill Fan Yang. military."

"Fan Yang's army is in the east. If this happens, the defense on the west side of the capital will be relaxed..." Ma Xingzhou's eyes changed slightly: "At that time, Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road will have the opportunity to raise troops to the capital!"

Regardless of whether it was Duan Shiang who attacked the capital or Shannan West Road and Qianzhong Road, as long as the capital was defeated, King Rong could drive into the capital and perform the so-called presiding over the overall situation.

Therefore, this may be a plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain...Rong Wang wanted to use Fan Yang's army to mobilize the capital's defenders, especially the tens of thousands of Xuance troops among them. King Rong saw that the empress had not shown any signs of dispatching Xuance's troops from the capital. , that’s why you have this plan?

But after Ma Xingzhou finished speaking, he realized something was wrong: "...But Your Majesty, did Li Yin really not think that this plan would be discovered?"

The end of the plot is never whether the opponent will enter the game, but whether there is a possibility that the game will be discovered—

"Of course he wants it." The Holy Book Emperor sneered: "So this is probably not just a plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain..."

By the time Ma Xingzhou finished speaking, he had already thought of the key to this plan, which was the "dilemma."

If the Holy One decides to send troops to Luoyang in the east, it will give Shannan West Road and Middle Guizhou Road an opportunity to take advantage of.

On the other hand, if the Holy One "sees through" this plan and determines that King Rong's real purpose is to mobilize troops from the west, and then gathers troops to defend in the west, then the east direction of Luoyang will fall into emptiness again...

After dissecting it layer by layer, this even seems like a conspiracy. No matter what the choice is, the potential for a pincer attack is already there. If you pay attention to one thing, you will lose the other.

In this case, one may ask, since King Rong has formed a flanking attack on the capital, what is the significance of using Ma Wan's letter to set up a trap this time?

The Holy Book Emperor already had the answer in his mind: "He just wants me to know that I am a trapped beast and let me mess up my position..."

The Holy Emperor looked at the letter in his hand again, and even saw the provocative aura that King Rong, as the party manipulating the situation, casually exuded.

And in this situation, the faster she gets into trouble, the faster she will be defeated.

No matter which side the capital uses its remaining forces, including the Xuance Army stationed in the capital, to resist, they will lose sight of the other... Luoyang or Shannan West Road are all close at hand. Once the capital's defense is mobilized, King Rong can use it to defend itself. Either force from the east or the west can attack the capital at the minimum cost.

This is certainly not his only option to win, but it is a shortcut that can be achieved by just borrowing a letter, so why not?

At this time, there was thin skylight outside the hall.

Ma Xingzhou's spine was covered with cold sweat at some point.

By now, he had clearly understood King Rong's intentions.

The insidious part of this plan is that the information in the letter is even true, but even so, the information cannot bring any help to the emperor. It is just to force her to respond, and no matter how she responds, it is almost impossible. No one can escape the plot of Prince Rong's Mansion.

Lingnan and Shuofang Jiedushi Chucai died tragically in the capital, and the situation was in turmoil - if we say this blow, it was an attack on the overall situation.

So this "just-timed" letter at this time came to attack the emperor's heart.

Under this situation, no matter what choice you make, it seems that you will fall into a trap. So, can you only stick to the capital? But isn’t this another form of sitting back and waiting for death?

"But, Li Yin missed one thing." The Emperor of the Holy Book said: "When this letter left Yizhou, Fan Yang's army had not yet been defeated, and Duan Shi'ang had not been seriously injured. It is understandable that Li Yin could be so sure that I would be in a dilemma. Can be original.”

"I don't need to send troops to Luoyang at all." The emperor's eyes did not show any sign of confusion. Instead, he calmed down little by little: "Luoyang already has the Changjie envoy."

Looking at the emperor's expression, Ma Xingzhou almost blurted out and asked, "Does Your Majesty still trust the Changjiang Envoy so much?"

He was also an insider to the fact that Jiangdu’s secret edict had been tampered with...

The saint has not exposed this matter for the time being. He can understand that it is an expedient measure to stabilize the situation, but what he cannot understand is that the saint can still feel at ease after the other party has already made such a move that is tantamount to rebellion. Completely hand over Luoyang...

This is not in line with the saint's consistent temperament and style.

"I have to believe it."

This answer made Ma Xingzhou fall into deeper confusion.

Vaguely, he even captured a hint of some kind of secret accompanying relationship from the saint's unusually "trustful" and "laissez-faire" attitude toward Chang Suining.

This kind of bond may backfire and turn into an enemy, but in the eyes of the saint, it seems to be naturally placed behind other enemies.

While Ma Xingzhou was confused and guessing, he heard the Holy Book Emperor say: "Li Yin will soon know that the situation may not be completely under his control."

The real "accident" had already occurred somewhere where Li Yin couldn't see it.

"Ma Xiang might as well be on an equal footing with me." The Holy Book Emperor pressed the letter on top of the dragon case.

When Ma Xingzhou raised her head slightly, she saw that the emperor's eyes had made a decision. She put one hand on the desk, her long dragon robe trailing on the floor, and looked steadily at the sky outside the palace: "Wait for the news from Luoyang."

When the sky is bright, the rain stops.

Luoyang City, which had been rainy for several days, finally showed a hint of sunshine today.

Just like the previous days, Cui Lang dragged his clan members out early, listened to music, ate wine, recited poems and composed poems in Luoyang City, and even invited a group of Luoyang children to join in the fun.

But on this day, something abnormal happened. (End of chapter)