Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of June. Qingping walked all the way, and saw that the rice seedlings planted in many fields had grown to the height of human legs. She knew that the imperial court was determined to rectify this time. Regarding the situation in the county, he wrote a booklet of what he saw and his experience and reported it to the cabinet.

She had a premonition somewhere, she knew this was the last thing she could do.

When she returned to the hotel where she stayed in Chenzhou, the people who were blocking the outside had already dispersed. Presumably the matter had passed two months, and the aristocratic family could only grit their teeth and accept it.At the same time, she also heard the news that King Xinyang had entered the capital. The vassal kings lost their backbone and their actions were restrained for a while. Qiannan and Changwu in Chenzhou have become a battleground between the vassal king and the imperial court.

As soon as Qing Ping returned to the hotel, Hu Zhuo brought people to meet her in a hurry, and said: "Fortunately, my lord came back from Fujian Province safely. Only half a month ago, the vassal king surrounded the fief. I am afraid something big will happen to Chenzhou .”

Qingping asked, "What's the big deal?"

Hu Zhuo retreated and waited on humanity: "This matter has not yet come and reported to the imperial court, since your lord is back, please take a look at it first."

She took out a memorial, Qingping unfolded it to read a few lines, and said with a solemn expression: "The officials sent by the imperial court to Zhenwei Division have been imprisoned by the vassal king, are they crazy?"

Hu Zhuo said: "It's not a big deal. Looking back, Ying Chuan, Fan Rao, Wei Hui and other vassal kings actually killed the officials sent by the imperial court privately, and even hung their bodies in the city. On the door!"

After reading it, Qingping said: "What is the imperial court sending them there for?"

Hu Zhuo saw that she had asked the important point, and said in a low voice: "On the surface, it is said to be patrolling, but in fact it is to check the number of private soldiers of the vassal king."

"No wonder..." Qingping returned the memorial to her, "The imperial court is going to make a big move against the vassal king, so it should be reported as soon as possible."

Although Hu Zhuo looked urgent, he still hesitated and said: "It's just that this time, we have to wait for the court to discuss it. After this time has passed, those officials imprisoned by the vassal may not survive!"

These words touched Qingping, and reminded her of the time when she turned back to save the mission when she was in the grassland.After pondering for a moment, she said, "What does Lord Hu want me to do?"

Hu Zhuo lifted her robe and just knelt down like this. Qingping wanted to help her up, but she insisted on kneeling and said: "For the present plan, only the adults invite the garrison with Jun Order. Those officials who are detained may have a chance. vitality."

Qing Ping said in a deep voice: "Get up and talk, otherwise I won't agree to anything."

Hu Zhuo was also excited for a while, so he slowly got up while leaning on the edge of the table.Seeing that her inner clothes under the official robe were extremely dirty, Qingping knew that she had worked very hard this month, so he invited her to sit on the chair beside him, and said: "The garrison Mr. Hu said should be stationed in Duanyan County, Yunzhong County. Guan Yunce Fifth Army, this matter should be dispatched by the Ministry of War, I am just a minister of the Ministry of Rites, I have no real power in Chenzhou affairs, it would be faster to ask the Ministry of War to come."

Hu Zhuo smiled wryly and said, "I've been to Mrs. Xu, she said that she would not do it without the court's express letter and His Majesty's imperial decree."

How could Qingping not know that this is a prevarication, and said with a sneer: "Human life is at stake, even if the imperial court does not order, she still has the right to dispatch troops, I'm afraid she won't do it!"

Hu Zhuo sighed: "Since the rumors in the court that I am going to join the cabinet, most of them stopped dealing with me in the same year, and there are many cares about in official affairs, that's all."

Qing Ping said: "I'm afraid it may not be as calm and breezy as what your lord said. Looking at your appearance, it seems that you have been squeezed out by your peers, right?"

"Your Majesty appointed me as the head of the imperial envoys. I know how many of them are dissatisfied." Hu Zhuo was a little angry in his words, and said angrily: "If you don't accept it, you don't accept it. Do you have to care about these things? Don’t you care about watching people die?”

She realized that she had lost her composure, and covered it up: "It's not that I'm angry with you, it's that I've been holding it back for so many days, and it's really uncomfortable. That day in the Chenzhou government office, I told Master Xu that if I just watched them die Why don't I get caught by the feudal lord too!"

Qingping vaguely recalled her choice back then, which seemed to overlap with Hu Zhuo today, she smiled and said: "This is an angry word, Master Hu should stop saying it, no matter whether he enters the cabinet or not, he has this protection heart is enough."

She took out the memorial from Hu Zhuo's hand and said: "Since your lord wants to cut it first and then play it, then I will send this note later. I will set off for Yunzhou County right now, and I hope that your lord will put the overall situation first. Since you are the head of the imperial envoy, what should you do?" What, I don’t even need to say it if I think about it.”

Hu Zhuo didn't expect her to agree so easily, and he had mixed feelings for a while: "Actually, it's not only for the officials who were imprisoned, but also for the people near the fief. Because the vassal king built a high wall to surround the city, they will inevitably suffer disaster..."

Qing Ping went to the door and called the official, and said: "Go and prepare water, let Mr. Hu take a bath first."

Hu Zhuo asked: "My lord is leaving now?"

Qingping turned to look at her: "Don't leak the news that I've come and gone, just say that I'm sick and bedridden, and invite some doctors to come. You are the only one who has seen me today, and they will probably come to see me tomorrow. You Make it more similar, just pretend that I am still in the hotel, and don’t let anyone find out.”

Hu Zhuo didn't know what to say, as if everything was superfluous, she thought for a while and said, "My lord will go, when the court asks for responsibility... what should I do?"

"If I'm dismissed from office, I'll go home and farm. What do Master Hu think?" Qingping replied, "I won't starve to death after all. I ask Xu Shizhong to do her best to join me. If there are too many charges, I won't be able to overwhelm anyone. I'm afraid she will a copy?"

After she finished speaking, she walked away quickly. When she left, she still remembered the scene when she was in the grassland. At that time, she also turned back like this. It seemed that there was no difference between then and now.She walked through the long corridor of the hotel, the wisteria flowers had already bloomed, and the green leaves were faint, as if the old grass passed by her feet. Although she walked hard at that time, she also walked resolutely.The way of coming is the way of going. In fact, there is no need to think about turning back in life. The past is good, but the road ahead may not be bad.Just go through pain and struggle like this, go through love entanglement, walk in mountains and lakes, pass through cliffs and stormy waves, and eventually you will see the sun behind the clouds and walk on the path you chose, never to return.

Hu Zhuo watched her back disappear, and then walked around the back door.When the official came to invite him, he saw that the two adults in the hall had disappeared, only the vines in the corridor were swaying in the wind, leisurely.

In mid-July, the vassal king privately built a city wall, and the court officials were detained and tortured. And rescued dozens of officials detained in the fief.At the same time, the daughters of the king of Xinyang raised the banner of the king and sent troops to besiege, threatening the court with the safety of the people of the two counties of Changwu and Qiannan counties, and ordered the court to send the king of Xinyang back to the fiefdom.

As soon as this move came out, the world was in an uproar.Not to mention that King Xinyang and other vassals had a lot of changes when the new emperor first came to the throne, and the heart of disobedience was obvious, but now they support their own self-respect and use the two counties to threaten the court.Those well-equipped troops were not inferior to Yun Ce's army in the slightest, and they really appeared in front of the world. If the vassal king had the intention of treason, he would be crucified, and he had been scolded by countless people.

This time the imperial court did not send Zhou Gan to lead the army, probably because it was not easy for this veteran general, so he also assigned several generals who had military merits in the Yunzhou Battle to go forward.A wise person would know that the party struggle in the previous dynasty had harmed the army, and many generals had stood in the ranks in private. The emperor wanted to take this opportunity to eliminate dissidents by the way.

Only when Qingping received the report from the mansion did he realize that this was really a plan to kill three birds with one stone. After this incident, the Chenzhou family might find it difficult to have any contact with the vassal king. Instead, they would be grateful to the court for saving them; The imperial court had no choice but to respond to sending out troops. It was reasonable to show weakness before using troops. In the future, it would be famous for cutting down the vassals, and the clan would not dare to use filial piety to oppress others.Chenzhou lacks these two major resistances, is it still afraid that the new law will not be implemented?

Four or five of the generals sent were withdrawn, and they were all punished for delaying the military aircraft.Zhou Qian finally went out in person, led the troops out from Yunzhong County again, and divided the troops into three groups, breaking the support between the vassal kings.The battle didn't last long, and the curtain came to an end in early October. The army rescued the aristocratic family and the local people, captured several feudal lords alive, and returned triumphantly.Most of the dilapidated god statues in the distance are buried in the soil, and moss is gradually growing.The wind lifted the seal on the door of the temple, and the sound of gongs and drums made dust fall from the door, and all the glory of the past was wiped out.

All the vassal kings who participated in the rebellion were escorted to the capital. Unfortunately, the daughter of King Xinyang was killed by an arrow during the battle. The news spread to the capital, and none of the family members dared to intercede for King Xinyang.However, on the fourth day, the emperor issued an edict, demoting King Xinyang and his family members to ordinary people, removing their names from the genealogy, destroying the jade certificate and removing the gold seal, taking back the fiefdom of the royal mansion, and ordering the descendants to move to Qiongzhou and never return.The vassal princes who participated in the rebellion were all demoted to one level, and they were punished in the fiefdom, and they were not allowed to leave without permission.In addition, the chosen daughter of Chenghui Mansion succeeded to the throne and was canonized in Beijing.This can be regarded as the emperor giving the clan a face, and did not suppress the vassal king ruthlessly.But on the second day of October, three days before the vassal princes and daughters entered Beijing for canonization, the emperor colluded with King Xinyang, who had been deposed as a commoner, and executed the once mighty prince in Lingchi outside the Meridian Gate, and the ministers wrote letters one after another The emperor asked the emperor to take back the order, saying that this action would harm the holiness, but the emperor made a list of ten crimes, including the old affairs of the previous dynasty, the palace change and the death of the hidden king and the king of mourning. At that time, the officials were silent, and there was no one who talked about this matter again.

On the imperial platform, the palace servants brought chairs, and Chu Jun sat down, looking at the execution place.She hadn't changed into her regular clothes today, and the red emperor's robe had a bright red color under the midday sun.The criminal officer shouted loudly: "At noon, the execution—"

She turned sideways slightly, and asked the maid serving beside her, "How many knives are there for the punishment of Ling Chi?"

The maid replied: "Your Majesty, there are a thousand knives in total."

Chu Jun nodded thoughtfully, took a few sips of tea before saying, "Got it."