Linque

It was rainy in early summer in the imperial capital, and it was rainy for several days after that.

I received Chu Heng's letter again, and it was on such a rainy and foggy evening, accompanied by the Changzhou Shadow Guard's secret performance.

According to the above, the Nanyang spice ships of Dingkang Zhou's have entered the port from Huaize port these years, and then diverted to Lanjiang.Yuan Zeliang, the general soldier of Huai Ze, had been colluding with the Zhou family and others under King Jing's command. There were indeed many tricks on the spice ship, and things were more serious and troublesome than they imagined.

Fang Hongzhen, the so-called Cangwu Wuzun, did not come from a righteous path. He used the sorcery of "bone refining" to enter the Mahayana and dominate one side.This kind of sorcery, which is harmful to nature and reason, needs to use the blood and bones of living people to refine medicine and exercise every once in a while, and these living people must have good bones and bones, suitable for practicing martial arts.And that day Dingkang Zhou's batch of so-called Nanyang spice ships were warriors who robbed smugglers from other places, and among them were even young disciples from Lishan who were studying abroad.

Simply insane.

Su Lang contacted Lian Songcheng, governor of Changzhou, and asked him to bring the Donghai navy to stop these batches of spice ships at the port of Huaize City on the grounds of coastal defense inspections.

Their original intention was to rescue the Lishan disciples on the boat and other folk warriors who were robbed by Fang Hongzhen and used as bone refining tools.Because of the top leaders of the Changzhou military defense, Su Lang used the Floating Clouds Diji that Chu Heng lent him to hold down Yuan Zeliang, the commander in chief who was covering the Zhou's spice ship at the port of Huaize City. In the name of the customs' routine inspection of the ship, the navy took the people on board, and the rescue went smoothly.

In addition to the trafficked warriors and the so-called Nanyang spices on board, they were all stopped, and they had to be inspected, and the accident happened here.

Before the East China Sea Navy boarded the ship again to open the box to check the goods, several ships moored at the mouth of the channel suddenly caught fire and exploded, sinking on the spot.If you can't see that there is a big ghost, you will be blind.

Yuan Zeliang and the helm of Zhou's cargo ship unanimously claimed that among the cargo in the ship were fireworks and firecrackers that were controlled by the government, and they exploded for no reason, probably because of the dry weather in summer.

Lian Songcheng turned his face immediately and ordered someone to take him down for interrogation.

The answer finally came out in a manor in Huai Ze City.

If the cargo ships of the Zhou family were not stopped by Su Lang and the others, then the warriors who were kidnapped on board would end up here.This manor belonged to Fang Hongzhen, or it was for his bone refinement.Chu Heng received Xinghui's request for help and set off for Changzhou, which is the destination.

Lishan Dongjun has been in a vase for a long time, and he is invincible in confusing people. With that peerless mountain flower face and a body that knows nothing, when Fang Hongzhen's son sees him, he is fascinated and says he wants to take him away." Play", the result can be imagined.

Fang Hongzhen, a crooked Mahayana realm, was already jealous when he met Ji Wuyue, but now that his son has run into someone else's hands, the old thief had no choice but to abandon the garden and retreat in a hurry.

Chu Heng wrote in the letter that he listened to Ling Ye's instructions and did not pursue him deeply. When he returned to the imperial capital, he had to praise him.

Ling Ye stretched his eyebrows, stroked the handwriting on the letter paper, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Lian Songcheng led the East China Sea Navy to seal the manor. After a busy day, he dug three feet into the ground and searched every corner of the garden, and dug out tens of thousands of catties of gunpowder from inside.

It is self-evident what was transported on the Zhou family's ship in Dingkang.

Changzhou is even more chaotic than imagined.

Dayin does not very much restrain the people from doing business, and the imperial court does not easily compete with the people for profit, but there are three things, no matter whether they are aristocrats or ordinary people, they are not allowed to operate and traffic without permission-salt, iron and gunpowder armaments, especially the last one , the imperial court is extremely strict.

At present, such a large amount of gunpowder is privately stored in this manor in Huai Ze City, and the origin is unknown.It would be fine if it came from Dayin, it was nothing more than private transfer and casting by the family of officials on the same boat as King Jing.

But Ling Ye did not forget that Dingkang Zhou's cargo ship was in the name of "Nanyang Spices".

Nanyang Zeguo, foreign enemies.

If most of those gunpowder armaments come from outside Southeast Asia, things will be more complicated and serious.

Dayin has twelve military regions, among which the Shuozhou Iron Cavalry in the north is the strongest, and the Donghai Navy in the south of the Yangtze River is the weakest.The coastal defense along the southeast line was weak during the reign of the first emperor, but relying on Dayin's national strength and the garrisons of the three states of Zhongning and Changzhou, Nanyang Zeguo did not dare to invade Dayin's sea area at will.But it is a fact that the East China Sea Navy is not good enough. It was not until Lian Songcheng, who was born in the northern border, was transferred to the governor of Changzhou that the coastal defense along the line gradually improved, and the East China Sea Navy really looked like a military.

But still messy.

Treating the symptoms does not cure the symptoms.

The weakness of the East China Sea Navy is not due to the shortage of military expenditures or lack of generals. On the contrary, the East China Sea area is extremely rich, Dayin has always attached great importance to martial arts, and the south of the Yangtze River has outstanding people. From the perspective of military equipment itself, the East China Sea Navy is not bad.

The biggest weakness of this army is that the army is not uniform.

The Donghai Navy is stationed in Changzhou, and the aristocratic and powerful families are intricate. Many of the generals are from the Changzhou clan. After a long time, it is hard to say what the surnames of some troops are.

Discord in the army is a big taboo, and the East China Sea navy is a hidden danger that is always difficult to control for the emperor, and it may not be a good thing for coastal defense along the route, but even so, many aristocratic families in Changzhou are still happy to see it succeed-no one will I am willing to have a sword that belongs entirely to the emperor, and it is wantonly horizontally at the gate of my house.

Even as long as there are no foreign enemies invading, the more chaotic the East China Sea navy is, the better.

The land of Dayin is vast, and the things are prosperous and the people are healthy. Compared with the neighbors of the four borders, Kyushu can be said to be fertile and wild, and it is uniquely endowed.In the grasslands of Beidi, there is frozen soil in winter; in the desert of Yujiang, there is not much land;

Over the years, Bei Di has been a feud, and has had the most conflicts with Dayin, followed by Yu Jiang.Nanxi often travels, but it is not bad.The rest is Nanyang Zeguo, and the relationship with Dayin is neither good nor bad.

The boundary line between the two countries lies in Baishazhu, with Dayin southeast waters to the north and Nanyang to the south.Nanyang Zeguo relies on the sea to eat the sea, so it goes without saying that the navy is strong. They have always been greedy for the large southeast sea area north of Baishazhu, and they want to cross the border from time to time.In recent years, there has never been a fight, but the intention is obvious.

Today, Dayin has not enforced a strict sea ban, and Nanyang people still have to trade, relying on selling pearls for silk, so they still maintain a general peace and dare not easily cause chaos.

If the large quantities of gunpowder and armaments on the "Nanyang Spice Ships" of Dingkang Zhou's are really from Nanyang Zeguo, King Jing must have done what he likes and promised them enough benefits in the future.

Ling Ye's face darkened, and he continued to look down. His conjecture was quickly confirmed.

In Huaize City, Chu Heng and the others ushered in two unexpected guests—Xiao Gaomin, the son of Marquis of Yong'an, and Ye Shuli, Chu Heng's younger brother.These two people came from Yichong and brought a serious business——

At the junction of the two prefectures of Yunchang, Xiao Gaomin intercepted a caravan from Cangwu City that was in conflict with Yishan Academy, and found a large number of Nanyang military weapons from the goods they trafficked.

Ling Ye put the secret paper on the table.

The Cangwu Fang family and the Dingkang Zhou family are King Jing's right and left hands. There are two lines, one of which is connected with Nanyang Zeguo, so there is no need to think about where the other comes from.

An ancient book says: "If internal strength is insufficient, external strength must be borrowed." But he really underestimated himself as the younger brother of the Three Emperors, neighbors and enemies from all over the world have colluded with each other over and over again!He is not afraid of being burned by fire, and the whole Dayin will be burned along with him!

Ling Ye followed the map laid out on the imperial case, and pressed his fingertips until they started to turn white.Beidi, when the princes of the aristocratic family came to Beijing to report on their duties in March, he asked the Gu family in the north to lead the Shuozhou cavalry to be ready at all times; Yujiang, because of the death of Helantuo, had been in civil strife for more than two years, and his foundation was exhausted. Quite a lot, and the Northwest Jingzhou Army is watching, and it is difficult to threaten Dayin for the time being; , but compared to the civil strife between Emperor Dayin and King Jing, she wants to intervene in Yu Jiang now.

These three parties, Ling Ye, have calculations in their hearts. They have already laid out the chess three years ago, and with the strength of each state, they can also deal with it.

But Nanyang Zeguo!

Ling Ye gritted his teeth, he could think of the benefits of respecting the king with his toes!The East China Sea is the barrier of Kyushu. Once the sea area north of Baishazhu is given away, Dayin's southeast gate will be opened in the future!The East China Sea navy is something that the emperor cannot fully control so far, that is, it is the easiest to instigate rebellion. If you listen to the king's order during the civil strife, you will not set up defenses against Nanyang...

Ling Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart.The matter has come to this point, and the solution to all hidden dangers must first start with the long-standing internal worries.

The gunpowder armaments of the Huaize City Manor and the Cangwu City Caravan can cross the border gate of Changzhou and enter the inland of Dayin without anyone noticing. Officials must be big fish.

The secret report said that Yuan Zeliang, the chief soldier of Huai Ze, had been severely interrogated, but he killed him. He only said that he knew that the Dingkang Zhou family was going to do some fireworks and firecrackers business that could not be brought up on the table, and because it was illegal, he was asked to help mediate it. .During the interrogation, some people were bitten out, but they were all petty officials, and the family behind them was not identified.

Ling Ye knew what they were thinking. Although the gunpowder in the Huai Ze manor was made of gunpowder, if they were killed, they were said to be making fireworks.Yuan Zeliang's personal evidence is not recruited, and it is not enough to convict Dingkang Zhou family, one of the sixteen aristocratic families, of treason based on specious physical evidence.As for Cangwu City, so what if Fang Hongzhen is crooked?He is already in Mahayana realm.The sky is high in Yunzhou, and the emperor is far away. If he wants to solve him, he can only go to war directly.

The most important thing is that no matter which one is above, there is no shadow of King Jing.

——I can’t even use my strength.

The rain outside the hall was getting heavier and heavier. Ling Ye opened the letter. At the end of the letter, Chu Heng said that his master Ye Jianwei and his wife Mu Xiyun came to Huaize City, so he will stop here for a few days and return soon. imperial capital.

After reading the letter, Ling Ye gradually calmed down. He pondered for a moment, picked up his pen, and was about to reply to Changzhou's secret letter, when suddenly a huge lightning flashed outside, and the dark sky instantly brightened like day, behind the clouds, It was as if a giant beast was showing its fangs.

The candlelight in the palace lantern jumped twice, Ling Ye's heart tightened, and he heard the sound of footsteps coming outside in the rain!

The door of the Hall of Respect and Sincerity was pushed open, "Your Majesty!"

The shadow guard in front of the hall was holding an urgent secret document eight hundred miles away—"The Empress Dowager Zhong was assassinated in Nanshan and died!"

The thunder that resounded through the sky exploded in the sky above the imperial capital, and Ling Ye was stunned for a few moments before realizing the meaning of these words.

He took the secret booklet and scanned it quickly, and the bad premonition a few days ago came true.The Empress Dowager Zhong was assassinated in the Buddhist monastery in Nanshan, and none of the maids who served her and the imperial guards on duty in the courtyard were spared, and all of them were killed.That night a fire broke out in the monastery, which alarmed the abbot of the Buddhist temple. He immediately put out the fire and blocked all news.

The Empress Dowager's trip was a temporary idea, and she went there in low clothes, except for the emperor, no one knew about it, and the guards beside her were also the imperial guards sent by the emperor.Something happened to her in Lifo's Buddhist monastery, not only Nanshan could not escape the responsibility, but also the imperial capital could not escape the blame.

For a long time, the Empress Dowager Zhong's position in the game between the emperor and King Jing was very delicate, like a balance point of confrontation.

Because she is the successor of the first emperor and the mother of today, all good filial piety is the first, although Dayin does not talk about governing the country with filial piety, but he also respects filial piety. With her alive, King Jing is the first emperor's son and super-grade prince. There is no direct and conclusive evidence It is very difficult for Ling Ye to act on the irrefutable evidence of treason.

But in the same way, King Jing has been planning for such a long time to provoke this one to instigate that one, hoarding gunpowder privately and trafficking in armaments, so it is not impossible to raise troops.But he was always looking forward and backward, cautious and cautious, never leaving his shadow behind in everything, and never made the decision to rebel and raise troops. The reason was actually very simple - the Queen Mother was in Ling Ye's hands.King Jing has been very filial to her since he was a child, and he cared very much about her. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she is a weakness.

Ling Ye is also aware of this.As the emperor of Dayin, if it is not necessary, he does not want to raise troops directly and plunge the people of Jiangshan into civil strife.Therefore, relying on King Jing not daring to act rashly, he cast a long line to catch big fish, catch those aristocratic families who boarded the thief boat, and investigate the ironclad evidence of rebellion.

But now, the queen mother was assassinated, and the balance was broken.

This time, we must go to war.

The assassin has not been found yet, but Ling Ye knows very well that the Queen Mother's death will be the fuse of the war in Kyushu.And in name, it's not good for him.

Once King Jing gets the news, after the grief is over, he will only manipulate public opinion as quickly as possible, accusing him of being negligent in taking care of his aunt's safety as a son, and pulling out the "filial piety" flag to attack him.Even, due to the sensitive relationship between the two palaces, he will be accused of "killing his aunt, unworthy of virtue".The rebellious ministers and thieves had a legitimate reason to rebel, and they became "teachers of justice" in an instant.

At the level of him and King Jing, words and deeds set an example for the world, no matter what the inner motivation is, what is put on the surface must be fair, otherwise it will not be possible to make the people of the world happy and surrender.Therefore, it is necessary to have an upright banner to respect the king and seek the emperor's brother, and Ling Ye's taking the emperor's life must have a righteous start.

He must not allow the Queen Mother's death to be used by King Jing, and he must clean it up before King Jing gets the news and rushes to Nanshan Buddhist Temple under an excuse.

Ling Ye made a plan in no time, and summoned the chief and deputy leaders of the shadow guards, "Find a female shadow guard who is good at disguise, and let her sit in the Empress Dowager's Palace of Mercy."

"Pass the secret decree to the Nanshan Buddhist Temple," Ling Ye said in a cold tone, "The Empress Dowager Zhong has never left the palace to visit Nanshan. This matter has nothing to do with the Buddhist Temple, and the monks are not responsible."

"Tell the shadow guards going to Nanshan and Su Lang, if the coffin of Empress Dowager Zhong cannot be brought out from Nanshan, her body will be burned on the spot without leaving any traces."

Hearing this, Ling Qi couldn't help raising his head.

The young emperor of the empire stood behind the imperial case with his hands behind his back. The tall candles in the Hall of Jingcheng illuminated the vast geographical map of mountains and rivers in front of him, and also illuminated his calm and stern face, "I am not afraid of being punished by heaven, I am Dayin Kyushu God. I want to see how many waves the rebellious officials and thieves can make."

"It is planned to send the decree to Huai Ze, and the emperor will send someone to take over the post of chief soldier. It would be best if Yuan Zeliang can pry out the confession implicating King Jing."

"Then send a secret decree to the governor of Ningzhou, order the Ningzhou garrison to increase troops near Nanshan, and make preparations to support Changzhou in the future at any time-when the war starts, whether it is the internal troubles of respecting the king or the foreign troubles in Nanyang linked to by him, Changzhou will be ready It's an inevitable battlefield."

……

The rain outside was getting denser and the clouds were thicker, as if a bigger rainstorm was brewing.Ling Ye stood in front of the window, looking at the dark sky, Dayin's "rainy season" was finally coming.

……

Early summer is a rainy season. A few days later, when Ling Ye received the news of Chu Heng's return to the imperial capital in the Jingcheng Hall, it was also a stormy and thunderous day outside.

Chu Heng came two days earlier than what was originally written in the letter. He entered the city and went to Zhong Pinghou's mansion first.

A few days ago, when Chu Heng was teaching a group of younger brothers and sisters how to practice sword in Huai Ze City, he received a family order from his father, Zhong Pinghou, asking him to go home immediately.

Ever since the reunion night on New Year's Eve in the ninth year of Xuanxi, because of Zhong Pinghou's words "keep your duty", he came out of the Hou's mansion disheartened without even eating a bowl of dumplings. In the past two years, he has been very sad. Never live in this home again.

It's just that when he was out of the palace, he went back to see Chu Xin and Chu Yan, and other people, except for the eldest son Chu Chen who occasionally met and could exchange a few words of greeting, the rest were just like passing by.

When knocking on the door, Chu Heng glanced at the "Chu" lantern hanging beside the side door from the corner of his eye, and suddenly thought, when was the last time he saw his father Zhong Pinghou?

It seemed that they were still in the Hall of Jingcheng, where the Secretary of the Household Department and the ministers were discussing the state affairs in front of the emperor. As the imperial servant Mo, he listened together beside Ling Ye.

As for privately...

Chu Heng lowered his eyelashes, stopped thinking about it, and waited for the porter to open the door.

He arrived late last night, and the gate of the imperial capital had already been locked.Since he was going to come to the Hou's Mansion, he was not in a hurry to knock on the city gate with the Nine-Dragon-patterned Pie, so he stayed in an inn in the suburbs of Beijing for one night. Now that he came here, it happened to be time for the Hou's Mansion to have breakfast.

Zhong Pinghou, mistress Ye Shi, and all the princes and girls in the mansion were present, gathered in the flower hall of the main courtyard.

As soon as Chu Hengfu came in, his figure came into everyone's eyes, and the small clashing sound of cups, saucers and spoons in the hall stopped abruptly, and everyone stopped eating, and Qi Qi looked over at him, and there was a moment of silence in the flower hall. Needle drop can be heard.

The first thing to break the silence was the sound of chopsticks falling into the plate in the hands of Chu Kun, the fifth son of the Hou Mansion. He looked at Chu Heng, his face paled visibly, and the fear on his face could not be concealed, reflected in Chu Heng, or Dong Dong. Your eyes.