Reincarnation of the powerful minister

Capital.

The outer court of the imperial city, located in the Wenyuan Pavilion to the south of the Wenhua Hall where the Prince teaches, is where the ministers of the cabinet work.

Second assistant Jiao Yang walked out of his hut, and came to the classics room in the East Pavilion next to him. Not long after, the cabinet minister Wang Qianhe also stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Is there anything that can't be said in class, so as to avoid people's eyes and ears." Wang Qianhe said.

Jiao Yang handed over the playbook in his hand: "You can read the playbook from the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing."

Wang Qianhe read the ten lines at a glance, and broke out in a cold sweat: "Really? This is a big matter, and I have to report it to the Holy Majesty immediately!"

Jiao Yang took back the memorabilia from him, and asked, "Mr. Wang Ge really thinks so?"

Wang Qianhe was slightly stunned: "What does Mr. Jiao Ge mean by this..."

Jiao Yang looked at it and smiled: "I heard that the Empress Dowager is paying homage to the Buddha in the Baiyi Nunnery today, will Elder Wang Ge come with me to have an audience?"

Wang Qianhe hesitated for a moment.

In the nunnery of the royal temple, the Empress Dowager sat on the arhat couch, opened the memorial book presented by Jiao Yang, glanced at it, and stopped suddenly with her fingers twisting the Buddhist beads.

"What is said...is it true?" The queen mother tightly held the agate beads, the veins on the back of her hands were exposed, and she let out a frightened and angry light, "The prince has such courage, even the Emperor Taizu's mausoleum Dare to blaspheme?!"

Jiao Yang bowed and said, "This is the memorandum submitted by Lu Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing. I also feel that this is a serious matter, so please send someone to Nanjing to check it in detail."

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, gradually regained her senses in her anger, put the memorial book on the table, and sneered: "Since this is a big matter, why didn't Lord Jiao go directly to the emperor's court, but instead came to find me, a woman who has lived in the palace for a long time? You Do you want to confirm the infamy of the harem meddling in politics?"

Jiao Yang squeezed the sweat in his palms, and replied respectfully: "The emperor has always spoiled the prince, so that the prince's studies are sloppy and stubborn, and everyone inside and outside the court knows. The minister is worried that if he reports to the imperial court first, the emperor may try to find ways to replace him." The prince covered up his bad deeds. In this way, it will damage the emperor's sageness and the court's law, and also condone the prince's evil deeds. After thinking about it, I can only come to the queen mother to uphold justice in this matter, so that we can clarify right from wrong."

After hearing this, the Queen Mother didn't respond immediately, but the stern look in her eyes eased a lot.

Jiao Yang peeked at her and knew that he had made the right bet—the empress dowager hated the crown prince to such an extent that he could no longer tolerate him as the master of the East Palace, and only needed a suitable and important enough excuse.

This time, the Zhongshan White Deer case was like giving away a pillow from sleepiness, and it brought a great opportunity to the Queen Mother.

If the Empress Dowager can fulfill her wish, those who personally delivered the pillows will naturally gain her trust and reliance.

More importantly, just a few days ago, the chief assistant Li Chengfeng was ill and finally submitted his resignation.Of course, the resignation letter was rejected without any surprise.Emperor Jinglong personally wrote a line on Li Chengfeng's resignation: "The court cannot live without Li Shoufu, and I cannot live without Qing."

It is routine for high-ranking courtiers to resign, resign several times, and refute several times. This is to save face for the veterans and to reflect the emperor's generosity.Jiao Yang was not worried about this. After all, Li Chengfeng was already a half-dead man, and he might die in office before he even finished this routine of deep affection between monarchs and ministers.

Jiao Yang is bound to win the vacated first and assistant position.

But the Sacred Heart is unpredictable, and the emperor has a restrained temperament, and his attitudes towards the other four cabinet ministers are all the same, so it can't be said who he values ​​particularly.Jiao Yang felt that he was not favored by the emperor, and suspected that Yang Ting, another assistant, was more favored.

Thinking about it again, Li and Yang in the cabinet have always been united. Before leaving office, wouldn't Li Chengfeng strongly recommend Yang Ting to the emperor?Although the emperor has his own holy order, does the recommendation of the former Chief Assistant have no influence at all?

If Yang Ting, who is younger than him, is promoted to the chief assistant, not only will he lose face, but he may be hopeless for life.

The more Jiao Yang thought about it, the more he felt that time was running out, he had to act quickly, and find himself a capable ally or backer.

At this time, the Bailu case fell from the sky, and he was determined to seize this god-given opportunity.

The Queen Mother snorted: "Why do I need to 'justice'? Hunting and killing the auspicious animals in the cemetery without authorization caused natural disasters and almost flooded the imperial mausoleum. Even if it did not flood the outer wall of the cemetery, it would also damage the dragon's veins and Feng Shui. Such a big crime, take it to the court Once it is spread out, will the emperor openly protect the crown prince?"

Jiao Yang was in a hurry, but he was a clever man. If he was not clever, he would not be able to enter the cabinet. He immediately understood what the Empress Dowager meant, and immediately cupped his hands and said, "It is the duty of a courtier to rectify the rules and regulations, and order chaos. Do your part with a group of straight ministers."

This is to recommend herself to be her court mouthpiece and lead the crowd to impeach the prince.The Empress Dowager looked at him with a half-smile: "Master Jiao, isn't he afraid that the emperor will secretly hate you?"

Jiao Yang said awe-inspiringly: "Where the law lies, the minister has no hesitation."

The Empress Dowager nodded slightly, and picked up the teacup: "Then what does Mr. Jiao Ge want?"

Jiao Yang said: "I do things with my heart, and I don't ask for anything."

The Queen Mother sneered: "Those who have nothing to ask for are Bodhisattvas. Are you a Bodhisattva? No, let's talk about it."

Just as Jiao Yang was about to speak, the Second Prince Zhao suddenly stumbled in and called out, "Grandma, where is Grandma?"

The Empress Dowager immediately put the teacup aside, got up anxiously, and spilled a few drops of tea.She stepped forward and hugged Zhu Hezhao, frowned and shouted: "Who cares about Zhao'er? Let him run around by himself, what if he falls!"

Several nuns who chased in kowtowed to plead guilty.

The queen mother waved her hand and asked them to take the second prince away.The second prince refused to leave, he put his arms around the Queen Mother's neck and said, "I don't want a nanny, I want a grandma. I miss my grandma." The queen mother turned her anger into joy, and coaxed: "Okay, grandma has a few more words with this man, and I will come to accompany Zhao Son."

"Who is this person?" Zhu Hezhao tilted his head to look at Jiao Yang.

Jiao Yang suddenly lit up the mausoleum, and knelt down straight to the Empress Dowager: "My humble minister dares to be the teacher of the second prince!"

"... Oh?" ​​The queen mother hugged the second prince and looked down at Jiao Yang, "You know that his biological mother, Wei, violated the palace rules and is still imprisoned in the cold palace of Yongning. He is only a two-year-old child, how can he be worthy of it?" A well-learned Confucian as a teacher?"

Jiao Yang resolutely said: "The second prince is talented and bright, and his future is limitless. When I see you, I am heartbroken. I think there must be a relationship between master and apprentice somewhere. I hope the Queen Mother will make it happen."

The queen mother turned to look at Zhu Hezhao, and teased him: "Does Zhaoer like him to be your teacher? Ah? Do you like it?"

Toddlers probably like to repeat the last word an adult said, Zhu Hezhao said in a childlike voice, "I like it."

"Since Zhao'er likes it, then Mr. Jiao Ge will be the prince's teacher." The queen mother pointed out, "The prince has three teachers, and the second prince only has one teacher. It seems a little less."

Jiao Yang said: "How does the Empress Dowager think of Wang Qianhe?"

"I can trust Mr. Wang's character and knowledge, but he is a little timid."

Jiao Yang smiled: "Being timid also has its benefits."

The Empress Dowager handed Zhu Hezhao to the nanny to hold, and helped Jiao Yang up with her own hands: "Then it depends on the two elders."

Jiao Yang left Baiyi Nunnery, got into his carriage, and saw Wang Qianhe appearing out of nowhere, sitting in the carriage.Jiao Yang taunted him: "I don't even dare to fight, but I want to eat ready-made."

Wang Qianhe's face was ashamed: "I'm not good at talking, I'm afraid I will miss the old man's affairs. Besides, the old man Jiao Ge is the only one offering advice. Doesn't the queen mother have a deeper gratitude for you?"

Jiao Yang sneered: "Come on, you are superficial, but you are clear in your heart, knowing that I will not leave you alone."

Wang Qianhe immediately grabbed his elbow and knelt down: "I am honored by the public, and I will not betray the public."

"Ah, we are both cabinet ministers and old friends, why should we do such a big gift!" Jiao Yang hastily helped him up, "From now on, the two of us should join hands in times of storm, and there must be no disagreement."

Wang Qianhe raised his hand and swore: "The spirit of the ancestors of the ancestors of the ghosts and gods of the heavens and the earth is above, and from now on this head will be sent to the Lord!"

At the court meeting the next day, the "Zhongshan White Deer Case", which was called one of Jinglong's three major cases by later generations, kicked off the prelude to the struggle through the mouth of a civil official from the Ministry of Rites in the capital.

Together with the playbook from the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, it was presented to Emperor Jinglong in public, and the public opinion in the court was in an uproar, like a stone stirring up a thousand waves.

Many civil officials have accused the prince who is far away in Nanjing, saying that he is the chief priest of the emperor, but greedy and killing auspicious beasts, desecrating the imperial tomb, causing natural disasters and endangering the dragon's veins. The emperor punished according to the law.

However, the civil servants of Prince Taifu Yang Ting's faction came out to refute, saying that the facts were not clear, and the memorabilia of Nanjing's Ministry of Officials alone was not enough to prove the authenticity of the matter, nor was it enough to convict the prince.

In the next two or three days, more news came from Nanjing one after another:

The Nanjing Ministry of Industry said that many mausoleums were destroyed by landslides and streams and waterfalls on the northern peak of Zhongshan Mountain, which required manual cleaning and replanting of mausoleum trees.Due to lack of civil service, please call the sergeant of the guard to assist.

The Ministry of War in Nanjing said that the mountain would be unstable after the mudslide, and the Ministry of Industry requested to send troops to repair it, but the crown prince agreed, so they had no choice but to kill it first and then play.But they had no money, so they asked the Ministry of Accounts to transfer money.

The Nanjing household department said, I don’t have any money, the summer tax has been handed over to the national treasury, and the autumn tax has not been confiscated, why don’t the Beijing household department allocate a sum of money for emergency?

The most amazing thing is Yan Yiyi, the Nanjing garrison eunuch.Said that on the day of the mausoleum sacrifice ceremony, six people were missing from the Xiaoling Temple under his command, and it was suspected that the auspicious beast white deer discovered by the prince had gone to the sky.

——God damn it!

This memorandum was like pouring a big pot of dog blood on the heads of the turbulent courtiers. Everyone was astonished, and there was a common doubt in their hearts: What did the prince do in Nanjing?

"This matter involves the dragon veins of the imperial mausoleum, and we must investigate it to the end." Emperor Jing Long said in a deep voice, "I will send the imperial censor, Jin Yiwei and internal officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to Nanjing to thoroughly investigate this matter."

"A thorough investigation of what?" In the Baiyi Nunnery, the Queen Mother clapped the table and said, "Isn't this obvious? The prince did go hunting deer in Zhongshan Mountain, the North Peak was indeed washed into a mess by mudslides, and the imperial mausoleum was indeed almost destroyed. The facts are so clear. , what else is there to check!"

Jiao Yang said: "I'm afraid that this time and again, plus the investigation in the middle, it will take a year and a half. No matter how big the matter is, the dust will settle with time. If you work hard at that time, there will be no follow-up. gone."

The queen mother said: "I also mean the same thing, we must strike while the iron is hot."

Jiao Yang thought for a while and said: "The admonitions above the court cannot stop! Although the emperor intends to protect the prince, as long as the courtiers impeach and plead for punishment day after day, and remonstrate directly, extremely and even deadly to the emperor, Even the Ninth Five-Year Honor cannot ignore morality and righteousness!"

"Death remonstrance? Would it be too much?" The queen mother frowned, "After the incident of the late emperor raising the temple name, the emperor hated the courtiers' death. Will it be counterproductive?"

Jiao Yang said: "Of course not right now. The situation is always going to escalate step by step. First, go to Shu to impeach the prince and beg the emperor to punish him. After two or three months of trouble, the emperor can't bear to be bothered, so he should express his position."

Wang Qianhe added in a timely manner: "Back then, I wanted to give the late emperor the temple name, and I finally got what the emperor wanted because the queen mother was behind me to help me. Now if the emperor fights against the ministers alone, can he still win as he did back then?"

The Empress Dowager's expression was startled, and she smiled slowly: "You are right. I want to show the emperor what the situation would have been without me."

"The prince violated the virtues of the ancestors and did not follow the sacred teachings. His majesty tolerated it for 15 years. He chose the name of virtue as a teacher to protect him, and chose a gentleman as a palace official. He didn't know how to repent, and his evil became more and more..."

"Kunning caught fire and angered the palace people. He was cruel and murdered. Now he was injured and defeated by the ceremony and desecrated the imperial tomb. He is so vicious and violent that it is difficult to speak out..."

"This... this scolding is too harsh, why don't the servants stop reading it?"

Lan Xi held the memorial in his hand, looking at Emperor Jing Long with distress and embarrassment.

"Continue to read." Emperor Jinglong said without changing his face.

"Yes...Jie Zhi is not enough to compare his evil deeds, and the bamboo silk can't carry his crimes... No, I still have to say something, this is too much! It is clearly a deliberate shocking statement, an exaggeration, and a show of integrity to gain reputation as an admonisher. , the emperor doesn't need to pay attention to such wild words..."

The impeachment memorials on the imperial case were piled up two feet high, and there were more than a dozen volumes thick. There were speech officials, six civil officials, and a few from Nanjing.

It took Lan Xi more than an hour to barely finish reading, her mouth was dry.

The emperor gave him a pot of tea and asked, "Is there any more?"

Lan Xi thanked En for drinking tea, and smiled wryly: "No more. If you think about it, the servant's throat will start to smoke. I beg the emperor to forgive me and change my voice."

The emperor said: "Today's is gone, tomorrow's will be there."

Lan Xi hesitated again and again, but still said: "The minister is aggressive, with an attitude of persecution and suspicion of disrespect."

Emperor Jing Long leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.Seeing this, Lan Xi hurriedly put down her teacup and walked over to massage the acupuncture points on his head.

"Don't look at the aggressiveness of the ministers, but there are only a dozen or twenty of them. Let them make trouble, and keep all the memorials."

"These courtiers have no heart of obedience. Will the emperor punish them?"

The emperor turned his face and glanced at the eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies beside him: "An emperor, if he can't even tolerate admonishing ministers, then he is not far from the faint king!"

Lan Xi was startled, and hurriedly confessed: "The servant did not intend to provoke—"

"I know. Keep pressing." The emperor interrupted him and closed his eyes again, "They say theirs, and I do what I do. No punishment, no praise, no statement, let them interpret it however they want."

"But... over there in Nanjing, half a month has passed since the mausoleum sacrifice ceremony. Seeing that the end of the year is approaching, will the emperor call the prince back to Beijing for the New Year?" Lan Xi asked.

The emperor was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No call. Let him stay."

Not calling the prince back to the capital, nor punishing the impeached courtiers, what is the meaning of the emperor... The more Lan Xi pondered, the more he felt as if he was falling into the clouds. He used to be proud of being good at understanding the holy will, but now he was at a loss.

The emperor asked abruptly: "Where's Shen Qi?"

Lan Xi was taken aback, and replied: "I'm still investigating secretly in Henan. A few days ago, I sent a secret letter back, saying that there is a scholar named Shi Sui in Liao Crazy's army of thieves. , regard him as a military adviser. The banner of "walking the way for heaven and reopening chaos" was also played at his instigation. Shen Tongzhi suspects that he is a person from the vacuum sect."

The emperor ordered: "Let him continue to investigate and see if he can follow the clues and catch the leader of the vacuum, Mr. He."

Lan Xi responded, and the strength in her hands increased slightly.

The muscles in the frown between the emperor's brows relaxed a bit, he closed his eyes and rested his mind, and suddenly asked again during his sleep: "Where's Yuan Bin?"

Lan Xi blinked several times before realizing it, and replied, "The emperor forgot, Dudu Yuan is over seventy years old, he has already resigned from his real job and is living in Nanjing for the elderly."

The emperor pondered and said: "Give him a secret copy of my handwriting."

Henan, Kaifeng Mansion, Yancheng.

In a private house, Shen Qi dressed in plain clothes was under the fire of an oil lamp, throwing the read secret reports one by one into the charcoal basin and burning them.

Gao Shuo saw that his brows were stern, and there seemed to be a murderous chill in his eyes, so he couldn't help asking, "What happened in the capital?"

Shen Qi said: "It's Nanjing. Something happened to the prince."

Gao Shuo breathed a sigh of relief for no reason: "Prince...that's okay, anyway, he has caused troubles since he was a child, and the emperor has always protected him."

"It's different today." Shen Qi walked out of the house and came to the courtyard, her eyes glanced over the top of the frost-covered wall, and looked towards the night sky in the east, "Qinghe is also in Nanjing. The East Palace has always been the center of the power vortex , and now the vortex is starting to surge back, I'm afraid he will be dragged into it involuntarily."

He said so, Gao Shuo also began to worry about Su Yan. "Then what should we do? Do we need to send someone to Nanjing to warn Mr. Su, or send someone to protect him?"

Shen Qi gritted her teeth unwillingly: "I'm even more afraid that he did his part and jumped in by himself."

Gao Shuo scratched the back of his head and said, "Then I don't worry so much. For some reason, I always feel that Mr. Su will plan everything well, and the ones who end up in the pit will be his opponents. It's like this in Shaanxi, and it's like this in Beijing." , it must be the same in Nanjing..."

Shen Qi said: "Why don't I believe him! It's just -"

"Concerned about chaos." Gao Shuo interjected, winking at Shangguan, "Since you can't let go, why don't you complete the mission here earlier and return to Beijing?"

Shen Qi squinted at him: "Are you thinking of that foreign house raised in the capital?"

"What kind of outhouse, don't spoil the family's reputation, that's the tenant, the tenant." Gao Shuo emphasized the last word, and couldn't help laughing, "I want to eat the fish she cooked, right now, scratching my lungs think."

Shen Qi also missed his wife, thinking heartily.

But in the secret order he just received, the words in black and white are vivid in his memory, ordering him to continue to investigate Shi Sui, the military adviser of the Vacuum Cult who was placed in the army of Madman Liao, and follow the clues to catch the leader, Mr. He.

At this moment, evil thoughts and karma surged in Shen Qi's heart, wanting to get rid of all the people and things that hindered him from staying with Su Yan—

Be it bandit army, cult, or imperial power.

Whether it's duty, morality, or this world full of meaningless people.

— all torn to shreds and burned to ashes.

He stared at the dark sky to the east. The morning star of dawn was so far away that it seemed that it would never rise at all.

After standing still for a long time, he exhaled a long breath and said to Gao Shuo, "I'm leaving for a while. Keep it a secret for me, and don't let anyone know about it."

"How long is the trip?" Gao Shuo asked.

"One night, or two or three days, it's hard to say."

"Anyone including our own?"

"include."

Gao Shuo nodded: "Okay, you go."

"You don't ask anything else?"

"Do not ask."

Shen Qi turned her head to look at Gao Shuo, everything was kept silent.He reached out and patted Gao Shuo's shoulder, and walked back to the house.

Taking out half of the mechanism sleeve from the hidden compartment under the bed board, Shen Qi hid it in her bosom, and used lightness kung fu to leave from the window.

In the market in Yancheng, there is also a wonton stall that is rarely visited by customers.When Shen Qi came, the young boss was lying on the table and sound asleep.

He tapped the table with his knuckles: "Have a bowl of pork wontons without stuffing, add a spoonful of chopped green onion, and three drops of vinegar."

The boss woke up, rubbed his eyes, and smirked at him: "Guest officer, please take a seat at the back."

There are no private seats in the back, only a dilapidated shack.

Shen Qi followed him into the shack, and the boss dug out half of the metal sleeve from under the firewood pile.Shen Qi took out the other half, the two ends fit together, and the lines fit perfectly.

There was a slight rattling sound from the mechanism inside the sleeve, and after a while, it seemed as if a ball was rolling, from the half held by Shen Qi to the half held by the boss.

Satisfied, the boss put the sleeve and the newly obtained information into his arms. He lowered his head and found a sharp blade against his neck. The coldness from the blade made his skin tingle and his hands and feet were cold.

Shen Qi said: "I'm already impatient to deal with you bastards."

The boss forced a smile and said, "I'm not a minion, but a gatekeeper."

"Then invite the people behind the door to come out. Feng Qu'e was the confidant of King Xin back then, and Mr. He was the leader of the Vacuum Sect. I don't believe that the two of them came into contact with you at this level. I want to ask the door Does the person in the back look down on me? If he looks down on me, then we'll break up."

The boss corrected again: "I'm not a minion, but a gatekeeper."

Shen Qi twitched the corners of her mouth: "You're not a gatekeeper, you're a dead person."

The boss backed away in horror, but it was still a step too late. The blade slashed across the neck, cut the throat, and blood spattered.

Shen Qi wiped the blade clean on his coat, put it back into the sheath, put the two halves of the sleeve into her arms, left the shack, and walked on the dark street.

The moonlight stretched his solitary shadow very long.

The cold wind blows through the bare branches on a winter night, like weeping and complaining.A voice in the wind sighed behind him: "Master Shen, you are so murderous."

Shen Qi didn't turn her head back, she pressed her finger on the handle of the knife: "Your Excellency also want to play this game of 'you are dark and I am bright' with me?"

The man paused for a short time, and said: "The person behind the door wants to see you, but you have to come with a door-to-door gift."

"What is the door-to-door gift?"

"...The waste prince."