Reincarnation of the powerful minister

Su Yan suffered most of the physical torture for a long time, and fell asleep all night while combing with genuine energy. When he got up at four o'clock the next day to go to court, his complexion was better than when he was busy a few days ago. Not to mention his lips were full of blood, his whole body Like the willow smoke after the rain in this March day, it reveals a sense of freshness.

In scarlet clothes and black hats, when he walked slowly across the Jinshui Bridge and entered Fengtianmen Square, even the big Han generals standing on both sides couldn't help but look at him more.

It is customary for court meetings to quarrel, either between officials or between officials and the emperor.

Today's court meeting, first the officials had a quarrel with the emperor——

Zhu Helin was very dissatisfied because the Ministry of Rites drafted the temple name "Xuanzong" for the first emperor, and the officials at the court went into a rage, thinking that the word "Xuan" had insufficient merit and belittled his father's political achievements.

The officials of ceremonies argue with reason, saying that the temple name follows the ancestral system and ritual law, and corresponds to the situation of the emperors when they were in power, and cannot be determined by personal likes and dislikes.Although the first emperor was diligent in government, cared for the people, and made outstanding achievements, he did not reign for a long time, and because of the kneeling incident, he executed and relegated a large number of officials, including admonishers. However, it cannot be ignored.

Zhu Helin was so angry that he took the copper censer carried by the servant and smashed the officials, and wiped a big swollen bump on one of their foreheads.

Su Yan can fully understand the point of his anger——Emperor Jing Long set up this disgraceful trap to hunt and kill officials from the Yi Chu faction in order to pave the way for him to succeed to the throne. It can be said that he knew that this move would attract Despite the bad comments from civil officials, he still chooses to do so.Zhu Helin was moved by his father's love for his son, how could he tolerate anyone using this as a reason to belittle his father?

Therefore, he absolutely could not accept "Xuan", and proposed a higher posthumous posthumous title - "Holy", and at the same time used thunderous means to win a complete victory in the war of words with the ceremony officials.

"Anyone who has any objection is trying to trample on my filial piety to my father." The young emperor glanced at the ministers fiercely, "Then you will know right away that I don't care about the posthumous title behind me. 'It's still 'Li', when I'm gone, you can arrange it in the future. But as long as I sit on this dragon chair for a day, no one will disobey the holy will!"

This is not just a tyrant's rhetoric, but also a naked threat of violence-what does it mean to not care about the posthumous posthumous titles such as "li" and "ruthless"?It means "I'm going to kill people regardless of the consequences."

As soon as these words were released, the officials seemed to have a big fishbone stuck in their throats, and they couldn't even speak.

We must know that no matter how headstrong the emperor is, he will always have concerns about his reputation after death, at least face is still needed.It's not like this new king who has just succeeded to the throne, tearing his face at the slightest disagreement. If he doesn't agree with him, he would rather risk his reputation and the lives of his courtiers.

Compared with the first emperor who wanted to show his face no matter how unhappy he was, the new emperor's behavior was astonishingly brutal and could be called brutal.

But it worked unexpectedly—the courtiers flinched again.

"Holy" should be "Holy". After all, the first emperor was a rare wise emperor. Although there was a suspicion of lateness in the end, but... it's actually not that serious, right?The ceremonial officers are so self-consoling.

Ming Shengzong Zhu Jinwei.

Su Yan's eyes widened in surprise... In his previous life memory, Zhu Jinkai's temple name was indeed "Xuanzong", why is it completely different in this life?

He quickly figured out the key: in history, there had never been such an intense emotional collision between the emperor and his son.It is estimated that Zhu Helin escaped from death after being poisoned in history, and finally succeeded to the throne with difficulty. He died of residual poison after just a few years. He always had resentment towards his father in his heart. There is no objection to the temple name of his father "Xuanzong".

But Zhu Helin in this world is completely different. In order to repay his father's love for his son, he can use any kind of brutal means.

Zhu Helin escaped the catastrophe and ascended the throne early, Zhu Jinjun survived by feigning death, and even the temple name changed. Is this the change brought about by his little butterfly flapping its wings?Su Yan was filled with emotion.

While he was secretly sighing, there were a few more quarrels among the officials——

One reason is that the Liao Crazy and the Wang Brothers, the two "rebel armies", are currently going north and east respectively, and they are likely to join forces in the northern Zhili.Beizhili is the gateway to Gyeonggi, and if you go further north, you will be approaching the city.The disease of scabies and leprosy in the past has become a threat that cannot be ignored.

Therefore, Fang Qing, the right servant of the Ministry of War, who was in charge of military affairs, was impeached by other officials and asked to be replaced because of his ineffectiveness in hunting down the thieves.However, because he was recommended by Yu Chezhi, the left servant of the Ministry of War, who had just joined the cabinet, Mr. Yu firmly believed that he was right. capacity issues.

Now another official jumped up, impeaching Yu Chezhi on the spot for his arrogance and criticizing the court.The two sides were at war with each other.

The other is the matter of asking to attend the ceremony with the letter of Oala, and the officials debated about the diplomatic strategy of Da Ming and Bei Mo.Because of the rise of Altan, the past policy toward barbarians is no longer applicable. How should we position and deal with the relationship with Beimo in the future?

On these two important matters, Su Yan did not express his opinion in public.

Regarding the civil strife, he knew that Yu Chezhi was a famous general among the civil servants, and he was reliable in leading the army to put down the chaos, but his vision was not necessarily reliable. At least the person he recommended, Fang Qing, was unknown in history, and he didn't seem like someone who could accomplish great things.But if he agrees to remove Fang Qing at the court meeting, he will offend Chezhi.It's better to secretly investigate a more suitable new admiral first, and then talk to Yu Chezhi slowly.

He couldn't speak easily about diplomatic matters.Because it is too tough, if the warlike spirit of the hawks is aroused, Da Ming may fall into internal and external wars at the same time; Judgment was affected by old love.

Su Yan's style of doing things has always been - always leave a feasible alternative, and can't block the way out.And don't fight unprepared battles, see who has more cards in hand, and can have the last laugh.

In the eyes of the courtiers, this newly-appointed old man with a weak crown has a calmness and cunning that are extremely incompatible with his age, like a pool of green water that looks shallow but is actually deep, and can drown people without paying for their lives when making waves.

But it would be a lie to say that he is impeccable. Most of the Qingxian officials pay attention to self-cultivation, but Su Yan has had romantic affairs with his colleagues, princes and even the new emperor. His personal style is not very decent, but he has not capsized so far... In short, He is an indescribably powerful person.

Therefore, the silence of the "powerful person" at the court meeting also revealed a kind of unfathomable meaning.So much so that after the disintegration of the court, when many officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites inquired about the cabinet's decision-making direction, they put the question of Su Twelve at the forefront, even more than the chief assistant Yang Ting.

What Su Yan didn't expect was that when he was eloquent, he overwhelmed all the courtiers; when his silence was golden, he still overwhelmed all the cabinet ministers.

From this point of view, the private title of "Su Xiang", whether it is out of flattery or bad luck, is not unfair.

After the dynasty disbanded, Emperor Qinghe summoned Elder Su Ge alone in the imperial study.

"This is the response to Altan prepared by the inspector of ceremonies according to my intention. Take a look." Zhu Helin handed over a letter of credence written on yellow silk.

Su Yan took a closer look, and saw that he basically adopted his opinion: first, he expressed his dissatisfaction and condemnation for Altan's transgressive behavior of promoting "Holy Khan" to "Heavenly Holy Khan".Then he proceeded to appease him, officially conferring on his deceased father, Hu Kuoli, the "Pingning King" and "Wara Khan"; conferring Altan himself the "Shunyi King" and "Northern Desert Khan", which is tantamount to admitting His rationale for annexing Tartar.He also promised that as long as he was peaceful and did not raise his honorary title, Daming would send the most suitable officials to participate in his ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

"...What does it mean to be the most suitable official?" Su Yan wondered, "Do you really want to send me?"

Zhu Helin curled his lips: "You have a good idea! Thanks to your reminder, I asked Jin Yiwei to screen the officials who were in the Qingshui camp again, and I really found another one who met the requirements."

"Who?"

"A temple minister of Xingtaipu Temple in Shaanxi Province was Yan Chengxue's subordinate in the past. He was in charge of recruiting horses in Qingshui Camp. He was in his early twenties. Look, they are all matched. Altan should have no objections now! "

A mere Liupin Temple Chancellor, asking him to go to Beimo as a ceremonial officer on behalf of Daming, is blatantly contemptuous... Altan must have been furious.Su Yan rubbed his forehead and was speechless.

Zhu Helin seemed to see through what he was thinking, and sneered: "I can send a third-rank official as the envoy, and he as the deputy envoy—how about it, is it enough to give 'Holy Khan' face?"

In fact, Su Yan himself may not be willing to go. After thinking about it, he thinks that Zhu Helin's method is feasible, so let's do it for now.As for Altan's reaction after seeing the deputy envoy... who knows.

Seeing that he had no objection, Zhu Helin put the letter of credence into a box, ordered his servants to pass it on, and sent someone to leave immediately for Lingzhou.It is said that Beimo's envoy is still squatting in Qingshuiying, waiting for Emperor Ming's reply.

The door of the hall opened, and a servant who delivered the book came out, and another servant who reported the matter came in.

"Your Majesty, the Commander of Jin Yiwei asked Shen Qi to see him outside the hall, and he has been waiting for a while."

"Shen Qi? I didn't call him, so what is he doing here?" Zhu Helin heard this, glanced at Su Yan, and said, "He's really a bee, flying wherever there are flowers."

Su Yan didn't want to be compared to a flower, and at the same time suspected that Zhu Helin was using homophonic stalks to belittle Shen Qi, so he smiled helplessly: "Commander Shen is in a hurry to meet the saint, and he must have something important to report, so I will leave first."

"Wait!" Zhu Helin stopped him, "Don't leave yet, why not listen to what Shen Qi wants to say together."

The servant exited the hall, nodded to Shen Qi, and closed the hall door again after he entered.

Shen Qi walked into the imperial study room, and saw Zhu Helin and Su Yan sitting cross-legged on the Maitreya couch, talking by the table.

His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he calmly stepped forward to salute.

Su Yan turned his head to look at Shen Qi, revealing a bit of wry smile - in the short tens of seconds that the servant came out of the palace to deliver the message, Zhu Helin acted as quickly as if he had been spat out, dragged him onto the couch, and picked him up. He took off his boots, put on the chessboard, and made an appearance of being in harmony with the monarch and his subjects, not to stimulate Shen Qi, but what else.

Fortunately, Shen Qi was quite calm, most of the time when she was not going crazy, she was much calmer than ordinary people.

"What's the matter, do you want to bother me when I'm at ease?" Zhu Helin didn't even look at Shen Qi, and cast a black spot on the star position, "Tsk, Qinghe, are you letting the water go again? You said you don't need to let it go, don't deliberately ask for it I like it, when you won ten games in a row before, you were never polite to me."

Now I'm not letting you in, let alone trying to please you... You've grown up, Xiao Zhu, who are you going to tell this weird thing to?Su Yan rolled his eyes silently.

Shen Qi stood in front of the couch, didn't look at Zhu Helin and Su Yan, only stared at the black and white chessboard, and said in a usual stern tone: "This matter involves the royal family, I can't say it in front of people other than His Majesty, please Your Majesty Think about it, should Master Su avoid it for a while."

Zhu Helin seemed to have caught a loophole, turned his face, and gave Shen Qi a slightly mocking look: "Qing He is a person whom both my father and I trust very much, so he may not know more about the so-called matters involving the royal family than you, the Commander of the Jin Yiwei. Little. Is there anything you can't say in front of him?"

Shen Qi didn't look at Xin Jun, she lowered her eyes to hide the subtle expression, her tone was still cold: "The minister just said directly -

"Since last month, rumors have gradually arisen in the prefectures and counties of various divisions. At first they were cryptic, but then they became more rampant, and they pointed the finger at the Empress Dowager."

Gossip about the old woman?There is nothing to spread, anyway, people are just that virtue.Zhu Helin asked nonchalantly, "Oh, what did you say about her?"

"It's all ridiculous and rebellious words, even if I repeat them, I think it's insulting."

"Say, don't be tricky. Who are you, Shen Qi, do you still have to ask me for 'but it's okay, I'm sorry you're not guilty'?"

The arc of Shen Qi's lips raised subtly: "Rumors say that 40 years ago, when the Empress Dowager was still the Princess of Qin, she had an affair with a private man and gave birth to the late Emperor and His Royal Highness King Yu."

Zhu Helin's hands froze on the chessboard, and he raised his head suddenly, his shocked eyes met Su Yan's unexpected and expected expression.

Shen Qi continued: "At first, many people thought it was absurd and angry, and even gathered a crowd to beat the rumorer. Not long after, a booklet showing the correspondence between the Empress Dowager and that man appeared on the market, and it was also I don't know which underground bookstore it came from.

"The spies of the Jin Yiwei noticed this booklet and found that the letters inside contained many secrets of the Empress Dowager and the past events in the Qin Palace, including the specific time when Emperor Xianzu went to the army and returned to the mansion, which can be compared with those kept in the history museum. After matching the records one by one, they immediately felt that the situation was serious. So Jin Yiwei from all over the country destroyed the demon books, arrested the rumorers and printers, strictly prohibited the public from discussing the matter, and reported it to the capital. As soon as the minister received the news, he immediately reported it to the emperor .”

As Shen Qi said, she took out a rough-bound green leather booklet from her bosom, and placed it on the chessboard.

There are no words on the cover of the booklet.Zhu Helin gritted his teeth to suppress his anger, grabbed the booklet, and opened a page at random. He happened to find a private letter from his grandmother back then. He not only told him the news of his pregnancy, but also said "I'm pregnant." I have already written to the King of Qin, urging him to go back to the mansion under the guise of being sick, otherwise it will be difficult to cover up when the month is too old. After nine months, the fruit will fall, just report the premature birth to Mrs. Wen, so don’t worry too much.”

"—A lot of nonsense! Bewitching rumors!" Zhu Helin threw the book violently, overturned the chessboard, and the white and black sons fell to the ground, "How dare you slander the empress dowager for an affair, and spread rumors that the father is not the blood of a real dragon This matter must be thoroughly investigated and thoroughly investigated to the end, and all the accomplices behind the plot will be executed Ling Chi, the Yi tribe! Strictly order the people to stop spreading rumors, otherwise they will be guilty of the same crime as the rumormongers!"

Shen Qi said: "Observe the order. I will mobilize all Jin Yiwei and secret sentries in various places to investigate this matter strictly, and arrest the thieves who spread rumors and demon books as soon as possible."

Su Yan suddenly opened his mouth and asked Shen Qi: "When did last month start, the beginning of the month or the end of the month?"

Shen Qi said: "Check back, it should start at the beginning of the month."

"At the beginning of February... on the second day of February the year before last, there was a big explosion in Baizhifang in the capital, and explosions also occurred in various prefectures at the same time. Rumors of the red lotus spread all over the capital. No matter how you look at the rumors and demon books, I think it has something to do with Vacuum Teacher Crane and Yi Zhe."

Su Yan held Zhu Helin's hand that was trembling due to emotional turmoil, and said in a reassuring tone: "The anger hurts the body, the young master calm down first, the player's new game of chess is about to start again. He wants the sword Take the slant, we will accompany you, and see who will die in the end!"

Zhu Helin gritted his teeth and said: "I also know that I should calm down, but it has to do with the reputation of the Empress Dowager... No, it has to do with the orthodoxy of my father and me. We must not let the rumors continue to spread. We must quickly control the situation and eradicate the people behind the scenes. Black Hand!"

Su Yan nodded: "This trick is indeed extremely vicious. I know what is the scariest thing about rumors? The more you prohibit talking about it, the more it will arouse people's curiosity and voyeurism."

Zhu Helin held back his anger: "Don't those who believe it to be true think they are stupid, don't they think this so-called private letter is ridiculous?"

Su Yan sighed: "This is another terrible thing about rumors, or a kind of absurd but common herd mentality - no need to research the details, no need to distinguish and think on your own, as long as there are more people spreading it, It will naturally be trusted, this is the so-called three people become tigers.

"'There's a big tiger in the fair' is a simple lie that needs to be seen to dispel it. But what if there's a lynx in the fair?

"Someone sees a little fur pattern resembling a tiger, and thinks he has the whole truth; someone passes on a lynx to a leopard, and then passes on a leopard to a tiger. Mao as evidence, even if the listener does not know the inside story, he will believe it.

"Lynx can't eat people. But when people's emotions are aroused, people often fall into a novelty-seeking and chasing mentality. It's so fun to talk and scold. Who cares whether lynx can eat people?

"In this case, if the young master uses killing to stop the rumors, the people will certainly shut up because of fear of death, but if they shut up, they may not be convinced in their hearts, and they may not be able to stop it. The people will think it is a guilty conscience. , I will make up some insinuations for you later, or record them in unofficial history, distorted and spread for hundreds of thousands of years, and it will become a historical mystery that is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and it has become a "royal secret" that future generations will talk about."

Zhu Helin sat in a daze for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "I really hate this kind of vicious snake-like tricks, I would rather fight with the chess player with real swords and guns!"

"Then we'll find a way to force him to surface, and force him to do it with real swords and guns," Su Yan said.

Shen Qi suddenly said: "It doesn't really make any difference to me whether the Empress Dowager is a rumor or not."

Zhu Helin turned his head sharply and stared at him: "What do you mean? Do you think this is true?"

Shen Qi said expressionlessly: "Only the Empress Dowager knows whether it's true or not. Even if it's true, so what? The first emperor reigned for 18 years, and the country's prosperity and people's peace depended not on blood, but on his ability to govern the country and his skills. Your Majesty does the same."

Zhu Helin's eyes softened when he saw him, but his voice was still stern: "Not everyone thinks like you! Father must be a Zhengshuo dragon, and so is I. There is no other possibility! Who wants to shake this foundation? , I will never spare him!"

Su Yan hinted to Shen Qi with his eyes, don't try to persuade him on this point, and at the same time said to Zhu Helin: "Young master is right, let me go back and think about how to break through this rumor and let the truth come to light."