Huan Rong

In the seventh year of Taiyuan, April

The Qin brothers led troops into Chang'an, Xia Houpeng was captured at the top of the city, and Xia Houshuo died in battle.Wang Pi, Zhou Yang and others were all captured.

After the war, there was an inventory, and none of the officials and tyrants who followed the thieves died or surrendered, and none slipped through the net.

The Xiahou clan's rebellion came to an end.

Qin Ce died in front of the city, and his body was restrained.Because the emperor's mausoleum has not yet been built, it can only be suspended in the Chang'an Palace.During the lingering period, Qin Jing ordered the sorcerer to make a bow and tell the ancestors to send him to be buried in the ancestral land of Xihe on an auspicious day.

Everyone in Chang'an was puzzled by this decision.

When an emperor dies, it is time to choose an auspicious place to build the emperor's mausoleum and bury him properly.As the founding king of Qin Ce, the construction of the mausoleum is more important, and it must not be taken lightly.

Now it is justifiable to put aside these things and send the late emperor to the ancestral land directly, but it is weird after all.

When the incident spread, there were different opinions in the city, and there was no consensus.Even the generals and counselors under Qin Jing's command, Monk Zhang Er was puzzled, full of doubts, and kept guessing the reason.

After knowing everyone's reaction, Empress Liu and Concubine Liu Shu were silent for a long time. The two sisters looked at each other and finally shook their heads and sighed.

"The late emperor's will should be announced to the world."

When Qin Ce was under house arrest in the Guangming Palace, he secretly wrote an edict to make Qin Jing the crown prince, who would inherit the throne a hundred years later.And it is clearly stated in the imperial decree that after his death, he should not waste money and people, and should not build a large-scale imperial mausoleum, but just bury him in the ancestral land of Xihe.

"I have been in power for seven years, and I have done too many wrong things. It caused father and son to separate, monarchs and ministers became suspicious, meritorious ministers went away, and treacherous people took power, which eventually led to this catastrophe and affected the common people.

One wrong step, one wrong step.

Only return to the ancestral land and accuse the ancestors.

If you don't repent and sleep in the emperor's mausoleum, you will also be ashamed of the name of the Qin family after death, and you will have no face to see your ancestors underground. "

The imperial decree is not long, written on a piece of silk cloth, stamped with the emperor's golden seal.

When escaping from the secret passage, it was carried by Empress Liu.Now that the rebellion subsided, the rebels were about to be executed, and the bodies of Qin Ce, Feng Shi, and Zhao Shi were about to be buried. Empress Liu took out her will and handed it over to Qin Jing and the others.

"After this military disaster, most of the Chinese and military forces in the court have gone, and there is not one high gate in the city. When Azi ascends the throne and establishes a system, the court will be empty."

Empress Liu frowned as she spoke. Names flashed through her mind one after another, and were finally erased one by one.

"Who will enter the three provinces, can I care about it?"

"My son has ordered people to fly all over the place, and the assassin will make the prefect raise talents."

Hearing this, Empress Liu still frowned.Several thoughts flashed through his mind, and finally he sighed.

"That's fine too."

After the mother and son talked, Qin Jing said goodbye and left.

Empress Liu said coldly: "Damn Xia Houpeng!"

If it wasn't for him, how could Ah Zheng be in such a difficult situation!

There is no one available in the court, and the old and new ministers have to be appeased. The Hu thieves in the north are ready to move again. If you are not careful, it will be a catastrophe!

Concubine Liu Shu pushed away the lacquer cup and held Empress Liu's hand harder than ever.

Although the fire in Chang'an was extinguished, the losses in the city were still considerable.

The west side of the Gui Palace was affected, and artisans had to be called to rebuild it.

In addition, during Qin Ce's death, Xia Houpeng, Xia Houduan, Wang Pi, Zhou Yang, etc. were successively pushed to the execution ground, read out the crimes, and beheaded for public display.

The corpse was exposed for three days after death, as a warning to others.

According to Qin Cechengtou's oral order, there are three clans of Yi Xiahou, Wang and Zhou.

During the execution, the people in the city gathered in the court, and every time a crime was read out, they were accompanied by angrily shouting and cursing.

Some people lost their relatives in the war. When they saw Xia Houpeng, Wang Pi and others, they couldn't control their anger, and they almost rushed away from the soldiers and entered the execution ground.

During the whole process, Xia Houpeng kept his expression blank, as if he couldn't hear or see, and everything around him had nothing to do with him.Numbly looking at the ground in front of his knees, he only wants to die quickly.

Xia Houduan was tied up for many days, his knees were dug out, his finger bones were broken, and his hands and feet were all disabled.If he hadn't been grabbed by the neck by the executioner, he would have been limp on the ground at this moment, unable to even kneel.

Wang Pi was covered in blood and lost one ear and three fingers.There are bite wounds on the waist of the arm, some of which are deep enough to show bone.Kneeling on the execution ground, with no regrets in his heart, he even thought viciously, if he had known this before, he should arrange more people and bring more people to be buried with him!

Wang Xiu knelt beside Wang Pi, twisted his expression from beginning to end, and let out a "hehe" sound, obviously crazy.

Zhou Yang was the only one who behaved "normal".

Kneeling on the ground by the executioner, he couldn't help shivering.Looking at the two sons kneeling next to him, seeing each other's delirious appearance, and thinking that the blood of the family was cut off in his own hands, he felt even more regretful, his face turned pale.

If he had known this earlier, he would never have encouraged Xia Houpeng to rebel with Wang Pi!

If he had known about today, he would have reported to the emperor before Xia Houpeng rebelled!

If he knew that there was today, he would not hesitate to kill Wang Pi in order to keep the Zhou family and avoid this catastrophe!

It's a pity that there is no medicine for regret in the world. The big mistake has been made, the law of heaven is clear, and everything is retribution.

"Retribution..."

Zhou Yang read in a low voice, then suddenly raised his head and laughed, tears streaming down his face.

"It's time, behead!"

Zhang Lian was in charge of the prison sentence, and Xia Houyan was not present, so he avoided all this by a long way.

The executioner was shirtless and suddenly raised his long knife.

The blade fell, and several human heads fell to the ground at the same time, rolling down the slope, covered with black dust.The headless body fell forward, and blood spurted from the broken neck, staining the entire execution field red.

"it is good!"

"Damn the traitor!"

"Good kill!"

Xia Houpeng, Wang Pi, Zhou Yang and others subdued the law, and the common people applauded when they witnessed the execution.

The head of the bandit was put to death, followed by the clan members of the three surnames.

Xia Houpeng raised his troops to steal Chang'an, and the number of powerful people who died in his hands could not be counted in two slaps.For a whole month, rivers of blood flowed on the execution ground, and human heads piled up like hills.

Now, things are turning.

The blood of the three families stained the dharma field red, paying homage to the dead, and the innocent souls who died tragically under the hands of the rebels were finally able to rest in peace.

After killing the traitors, Qin Jing ordered Pei Yuan and others who were unwilling to follow the traitors and died in battle at the top of the city to be buried richly.Some of them couldn't find their bodies, so they set up a tomb to commemorate the loyal and righteous people.

After all this was done, it was early May.

After a rebellion, the court of Chang'an was extremely short of personnel, and most of the official positions were vacant due to the recruitment of talents from all over the country.

Not to mention anything else, there is a big gap in the three provinces alone, and many counselors have been driven out to the shelves, temporarily acting as officials to handle the government.Through this most difficult period, the imperial court can always be supplemented and escaped from the embarrassing situation where no one is available.

Why not summon the assassins and prefects of all states to return to Beijing?

If this is done, the court can barely get on the right track, but it will lead to even greater chaos.

Without him, the boss who guarded the place leaves, who will fill the position left behind?

Furthermore, the war in Chang'an had just ended, and at this time when assassins from all over the country were summoned to Beijing, some people must have doubts, thinking that the Qin brothers did not trust the old Xihe tribe, and planned to rise up and down secretly, taking the opportunity to weaken the power in everyone's hands.

It can't be blamed for people's suspicion, it's really Xiahou who made a bad start.

The Xiahou family has followed the Qin family for several years, and the impression given to the world is always that they are loyal.Such a family can rebel and kill the old master who has followed for many years. Who else can the Qin family trust?

If monarchs and ministers don't trust each other, there will be rumors among the people.If things go on like this, the foundation of the dynasty may be shaken.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, it is not uncommon for regimes to die in one generation.Especially in the north where wars are raging, countries are frequently destroyed, corpses are strewn all over the capital, and rivers of blood flow.

In this regard, Qin Jing has no good way.

Although the Xiahou clan's rebellion was peaceful, the hidden dangers left behind were not small, and it would be difficult to eliminate it in the short term.With the example of Tang Gongluo before, everyone was in a state of uncertainty, within a short period of one month, the prefects of five counties had their seals, and some even fled south with their whole family.

These people are either old with Xia Houshi and others, or they just watched from the sidelines when Xia Houpeng raised his troops.Although he did not actually participate in the rebellion, he did not take a clear stand on the side of the court.Some even secretly subsidized the Xiahou family, sending food and money to them.

To put it bluntly, there are not enough accomplices and more than accomplices.

Qin Jing's soldiers entered Chang'an, and all the rebels were killed.Worried that the Qin brothers will turn over old accounts, and the whole family will suffer. If they don't flee south as soon as possible, when will they wait?

The problem is that they intend to seek refuge with Huan Han, but Huan Han may not accept it.

"I am indeed thirsty for talent, but I will accept any 'talent'."

When Huan Rong said this, it was tantamount to closing the door and cutting off the road to Nantou for these people.

Like Tang Gongluo, Huan Rong naturally opened the door, came to accept one by one, and reused them one after another.For these double-faced, three-handed, like to ride the wall, without the slightest loyalty, they must stretch their feet and kick back, with full strength.

"The government has a decree that all officials from the north who fled south will not be allowed to enter if they find out the truth and are related to the Chang'an rebellion."

Fleeing south at this time is not because there are ghosts in my heart.

If you are really loyal to the Qin family, you should congratulate Qin Jing when you learn that Qin Jing has entered Chang'an.Let it go without celebrating, but left with a seal, dragged his family and ran to the south, obviously not in the same way as the Qin family.

Regarding Huan Rong's decision, the Jiankang court had different voices.

Most people support the emperor, and a few people think that things should not be done.

These people fled south with their families, and they must break with the Qin family completely.Through their mouths, we can learn more about Chang'an, which may be of greater use in the future.

"That's a bad word."

Huan Rong didn't need to speak, Jia Bing said slowly, "Such untrustworthy people can betray Chang'an today, how can they not betray Jiankang in the future?"

If you admire Huan Han's name and sincerely seek refuge, it's fine to stay.

The original intention of these people is to save their lives.

Instead of keeping them at the risk of going to war with the Qin family, it is better to drive them away and sell Chang'an a favor.

In order to unify the north and the south, Chang'an Jiankang will go to war sooner or later.

When the two countries go to war, it should be gongs against gongs, drums against drums, and they should put on a serious posture.If there is a dispute because of these ghosts and villains, the loss outweighs the gain.

If they are instigated by someone with a heart, Jiankang and Xiahou's rebellion will be linked, so that the emperor will be stigmatized, will he be wronged?

Jia Bing clarified the matter in a few words, and all the civil and military opponents before were dumbfounded.

Huan Rong sat on the dragon chair with a serious expression on his face, as if he was listening to the opinions of the officials, but in fact he was doing two things, and his mind started to wander in the middle.

A few days ago, news came back from the north that in May, there is still little rain in the north, and there are signs of severe drought and locust plagues in Youzhou and Bingzhou.Moreover, Qin Jing led his troops back to Chang'an, Qin Yu temporarily left Sanhan, the border appeared empty, and Wusun, Gaoche and the remaining Goguryeo forces were a little bit ready to move.

This year's north is destined to be uneven.

What should he do?

Take the opportunity to go north, or...

The more Huan Rong thought about it, the more he frowned.The bead hanging down from the crown swayed slightly, and his expression became more and more serious.

Even if it wasn't intentional, seeing such an emperor, all civil and military officials could not help but feel pressure.Especially Shaoqing, the few ministers who spoke before, all of them changed their expressions slightly at this moment, and they were quite a bit uneasy.

After retiring from the court, Huan Rong returned to the inner hall, changed his uniform and took off his crown.Putting on a long robe and jade belt, after using a cup of tea soup, he strolled out of the palace door, intending to go to the porch to blow some air and clear his mind.

Walking, I ran into Sima Daofu and Wang Fahui who had just visited the Queen Mother and were about to leave.

Seeing Huan Rong, the two saluted with blessings.

"Your Majesty, are you going to Changle Palace?"

Sima Daofu often entered the palace, and he met Huan Rong not once or twice.

The thin young man in the early years has grown up now, with the bones of a phoenix and the posture of a dragon, standing upright like a luan.Every time he saw Huan Rong, Sima Daofu couldn't hide the astonishment in his eyes, so he had to take a few more glances.

Fortunately, she knew how to measure and didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

To be honest, Sima Daofu had absolutely no other thoughts, but just like the girls in Jiankang City, he stopped to "watch" when he saw Mr. Mei Lang.

Huan Rong smiled, exchanged some simple greetings, and went straight to Changle Palace.

Watching his back, Sima Daofu sighed, was gently pushed by Wang Fahui, stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed.

"Why, isn't the official family beautiful?" Sima Daofu raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Every time the official family leaves the palace, Jiankang City is very lively. It's rare to have a chance, so naturally you have to pay more attention to it, so as not to regret it later."

Wang Fahui didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything at all.

But she had to admit that Sima Daofu was right about one thing. Every time Huan Rong showed up, it would cause a "sensation" in Jiankang City.

This year's Shangsi Festival, Huan Rong got excited, went out of the palace in disguise, and ran to Qingxili to participate in the Qushui Liucup, which is still talked about by people today.

It happened that Xie Xuan came back from the Western Regions, and Wang Xianzhi, Huan Yi and others were there. There was a new flute, some new characters, and several new poems.

In the gurgling stream, the lotus leaves swayed gently holding the wine glasses. The dancers stepped on the ancient tunes, with their waists swaying and their sleeves fluttering lightly.

Yushu of the Xie family, Mr. Lang of the Wang family.

Handsome and unrestrained, unrestrained and wild.

Huan Rong was in the middle of it, unable to write new poems, drank several glasses of wine, and finally wrote a line of words with a brush, attracting everyone to watch, there was a little silence, and hearty laughter went straight to the sky.

It turns out that Huan Rong's poems are still Wing Chun's poems, which are also from the Book of Songs, and they are the same as when he was invited by Xie Xuan a few years ago when he first participated in Qushui Liushang.

"Your Majesty's handwriting has improved a lot, but poetry needs to be honed."

Facing Wang Xianzhi's ridicule, Huan Rong smiled slightly, raised his wine glass and drank it down in one gulp.

"What Zijing said is very true, I accept the punishment."

As the evening approached, the lotus leaf holding the wine glass flowed away along the water and disappeared.The lords of each family returned home happily, and left Qingxili together.

Pass through the fence gate, pass by the bank of the Qinhuai River, weeping willows on the bank, boats passing by in the river, colorful lights on several large boats, and faint music.

When the car driver appeared, the long-awaited ladies held hands and sang, and the silk flowers and colorful handkerchiefs were like rain.

There are silk flowers falling in the water, swaying gently in the evening wind, flowing with the water waves, floating and sinking, forming hazy colorful shadows.

On that day, Huan Rong sang with wine, and the lords of all families responded one after another.

In the cool evening wind, her temples are lightly fluttering, and her long sleeves are puffed up.

The singing is melodious, and the gentleman is handsome and free and easy, floating like a fairy.

As a result, Che Jia was stuck by the river for more than an hour. If Huan Yi hadn't "rescued him" in time, he probably wouldn't be able to get out in another hour.

After returning to the palace, Huan Rong began to reflect.

It's good to be unrestrained, but it also takes time.The result of being too willful is to be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the little ladies.

From now on, one must proceed with caution.

After the Shangsi Festival, intelligence from the North continued to be sent back. The situation in Chang'an became more and more tense day by day, and the border between the two countries was not peaceful.Huan Rong no longer cared about banquets, and devoted all his attention to government affairs.

What he didn't expect was that the Chang'an rebellion would end in this way.Although the Xiahou clan was flat, the shadow of war has not completely disappeared.If you are not careful, the flames of war will ignite again.

Even if it will not return to the ground where the heroes are divided, the border will not be as peaceful as before.

What should he do?

In terms of emotion and reason, as the king of a country, he should seize the opportunity and send his troops northward to complete the unification of the Central Plains.

but……

Huan Rong suddenly stopped, looked at the blue sky, and remained motionless for a long time.Suddenly there was a cold wind blowing from the ground, blowing up the black sleeves and rustling.