Deeper and drained, the dawn moon and stars faded, and the cool morning breeze seemed to blow away the heat of the night.
The towering city wall of Xiangyang City looks like black peaks surrounding it.
In the courtyard of the palace, in the lower courtyard of the guard gallery where the guards are still dedicated to their duties, dozens of tall candles in the wing hall have been burnt out. The morning breeze blows in through the open door, and the weak candle flame is on the bronze candlestick.
It shook unsteadily and made a slight beeping sound.
Yingyun walked to the side hall and heard a violent cough. When she walked into the side hall, she saw her father had coughed violently, his face was red, and he was handing back a snow-white sweat towel to Qiao Jien who was standing beside him.
She looked at it and complained in distress: "Father, why did you stay up all night again? The state affairs can be solved without you working hard all night. Mr. Qiao, why don't you persuade Father...
…”
"If I can persuade you, I don't have to work here with His Majesty; my old waist is almost broken." Qiao Jien was over sixty years old and was reading the memorial in the wing hall with him. His waist and legs were sore and numb.
It was even more difficult, and at this time, I was relying on my elders and selling them off, with many complaints.
Emperor Jianji raised his tired face, smiled carelessly, looked at the dim light of dawn outside the door, and said with emotion: "It's almost dawn, and I don't even feel anything!"
Yingyun was about to urge her father to take a rest as soon as possible, otherwise there would be so many things happening by the time it was bright. Just when she was about to open her mouth, she heard the palace attendant walking in to report that the money was still there and that Liu Shiwang had entered the palace and was waiting for the call.
Just when Yingyun was about to blame his father for staying up all night and depriving him of a good rest, he saw his father's face became solemn, but he didn't know what important matter it was. He hurriedly handed over the money at dawn, and Liu Shiwang summoned them.
Come into the palace.
"Father, you must pay attention to rest. My daughter will come back later to urge you." Yingyun said, and then she bowed and left.
Emperor Jianji hesitated for a moment and said, "Yingyun, you might as well stay and listen..."
Qiao Jien looked at Emperor Jianji in surprise, and urged the palace attendant to quickly bring the money to Shang, and summoned Liu Shiwang into the chamber.
"I have met your Majesty!" Qian Shangduan and Liu Shiwang walked into the chamber and saw Princess Yingyun also there. After hesitating for a while, they stepped forward to salute Emperor Jianji.
"I wonder if your Majesty is in a hurry. Are you summoning ministers to the palace at this time?" Qian Shangduan was summoned to the palace from under the covers. He didn't know what happened. At this time, he could only suppress the shock in his heart and ask why.
Liu Shiwang was just a martial arts official in Gongxian County in the early days. Emperor Jianji took over the mausoleum guarding army to guard Gongxian County, and only then did he, Ling Jian and others rise to prominence.
Emperor Jianji ascended the throne in Xiangyang, and appointed Zhang Xin, Ling Jian and others to command Zuo Xuanwu's army to guard Xiangyang and imprison the palace, and appointed Liu Shiwang, who had a better understanding of Fangxiang County governance, as the Xiangyang magistrate.
However, Liu Shiwang's status was still far behind Qian Shangduan's, and he was a little behind Qian Shangduan when saluting, so naturally he would talk to Qian Shangduan first if he had anything to say.
Emperor Jianji glanced at Qian Shangduan sternly. Liu Shi looked at the two of them and said in a deep voice: "You are my eyes and ears. What is going on in Xiangyang City now? If you are all worried about it, then I will
I have killed the deaf and the blind, what use do I need from you?"
Qian Shangduan did not directly look sideways at Liu Shiwang, but with his lowered eyes, he glanced at Liu Shiwang's robe with his peripheral vision and saw that his hands were huddled in the sleeves of his robe.
As the magistrate of Xiangyang, Liu Shiwang was certainly not a very prominent one among the officials in the court. However, in Xiangyang City, officials ranging from officials to traders and footmen, the Yamen of Xiangyang County had the power to intervene.
It must be said who is the eyes and ears of Emperor Jianji. Liu Shiwang is more qualified than anyone else.
This is also the key reason why Emperor Jianji placed Liu Shiwang, who was a county lieutenant and military official and was familiar with Fangxiang County governance, in the position of Xiangyang Ling.
Qian Shangduan thought that if His Majesty really wanted to hear any trouble, it would probably be Liu Shiwang who reported it secretly.
Thinking of this, Qian Shangduan felt a slight chill running down his spine, and he said with sincerity: "There are some discussions in Xiangyang this season, but most of them are absurd and unreasonable. His Majesty will definitely reprimand him after hearing this, and I don't dare to report it randomly!"
"I can tell whether it is absurd or not..." Emperor Jianji's expression softened slightly at this time, and he motioned to the palace attendant to give Qian Shangduan, and Liu Shiwang gave the two of them a seat.
Sitting on the embroidered pier, Qian Shangduan saw Liu Shiwang sitting under him and remained silent. He muttered: "There have been some turbulent discussions in Xiangyang recently, but the matter involving Marquis Jingsheng is very absurd, so I don't think so."
Your Majesty, please convict me!"
"How absurd it is, please tell me." Emperor Jianji did not suspect that Qian Shangduan, Zhou He, Gao Chunnian, Zheng Huaizhong and others formed a party for personal gain. However, Qian Shangduan clearly saw the undercurrent and protected Mingzhe.
And remaining silent was not what he wanted to see.
Over the years, there have been only a few people around him who may be called true direct descendants. If Qian Shangduan's words in front of him are not entirely true, who else can he really trust?
"Perhaps Xuanwei's army defeated Jiaopi, which made everyone in Xiangyang feel in danger. At the end of last year, there was a lot of discussion in the city about moving to the south. Officials in the Central Plains also discussed the matter, but they were severely reprimanded by the prime minister. However, on the day when Chushan was declared victorious
Your Majesty called us into the palace to discuss the matter of reward. After leaving the palace, Prime Minister Zhou was worried that Huainan would be difficult to resist powerful enemies and would put Jianghuai and Jinghu in danger. He consulted the princes outside the palace gate for their opinions on the matter of moving south.
Everyone was worried that failure to defend Huainan would endanger Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but Duke Hu was worried that his unreasonable suggestion of moving south would shake the morale of the army. Prime Minister Zhou then asked Princess Wuwei to consult Marquis Jingsheng by sending an edict to Chushan. However, Marquis Jingsheng spoke generously and fiercely opposed the south.
Zhou Yingying gave up on the matter of relocation and did not mention it to His Majesty."
Qian Shang sat upright and said,
"I thought this matter would be over, and I wanted to find an opportunity to talk to His Majesty, but I didn't expect that there were rumors secretly in recent days that Marquis Jingsheng was fiercely opposed to the southward movement because he wanted to be a minister of the Dayue Zhu Kingdom secretly.
He is also secretly lusting after the princess - these rumors are not only absurd, but they also have implications. Someone should be secretly fueling the flames. I originally wanted to find out everything secretly and then report it to Your Majesty. I had no intention of hiding it!"
"Liu Shiwang, do you also know these things?" Emperor Jianji asked Liu Shiwang with a gloomy face.
"Wei Chen knows that he is roughly the same as Qian Gong. He is also secretly sending people to track down who is spreading evil rumors, but he has not been found yet." Liu Shiwang reported.
"What do you think of the southward migration?" Emperor Jianji asked.
"The major affairs of this country cannot be discussed by humble ministers," Liu Shiwang said.
Emperor Jianji looked at Qian Shangduan and asked, "What do you think?"
Liu Shiwang was not among the ministers, so according to the rules he could not discuss state affairs arbitrarily. However, Qian Shangduan, as a Hanlin scholar and minister of the Ministry of Rites, knew how to make imperial edicts, so he could not avoid answering them.
Qian Shangduan pondered for a moment and said: "Although the Huai Prince's army has many soldiers and horses, their fighting spirit is not strong, and the captive soldiers are building warships and training naval forces in Yingzhou and Xuzhou. In my humble opinion, we should guard against unexpected dangers."
. However, I believe that Marquis Jingsheng is fiercely opposed to the southward migration. He has a strong temperament and is determined to fight against the barbarians. He is also loyal to the court and is not selfish as the absurd rumors say!"
"I received a secret report yesterday and learned that Xiangyang has been talking about this matter for a long time, and people are unsettled. You two are my eyes and ears, and you can't report it to me. I am very angry. Of course, you have the intention to investigate secretly first, and there are also
To show my understanding, I will not blame you this time. If there is any trouble in the future, you must report it in time." Emperor Jianji said in as gentle a tone as possible.
"Wei Chen knows his mistake." Qian Shangduan and Liu Shiwang said.
"You all should go back and have a rest." Emperor Jianji waved his hand to signal Qian Shangduan. Liu Shiwang and the others stepped back and said to Qiao Jien, "You should go and have a rest too. Yingyun is here to talk to me."
After everyone retreated, Emperor Jianji looked at the morning light in the courtyard getting brighter and brighter, and then he said a little exhausted: "My father has been on the throne in Xiangyang for less than a year, but he deeply understands what it means to be alone."
"Why does my father feel like this?" Yingyun asked.
"What do you think of what Qian Shangduan and Liu Shiwang just said?" Emperor Jianji asked.
"Liu Shiwang is a boring gourd. He didn't even say a few words. Qian Zugao's words are fair, right?" Yingyun said with some confusion.
"What he said can only be called smart, but it can never be called fair," Emperor Jianji said with deep disappointment in his eyes, "He clearly knew that the Zheng family was secretly fueling the situation, but did he even mention it at all just now?
"
"How did your father know these things?" Yingyun asked in surprise.
"This is the secret report Liu Shiwang sent yesterday!" Emperor Jianji took out a secret letter from his desk and handed it to Yingyun to read, "At first, my father didn't believe that Qian Shangduan wanted to hide it, but he didn't expect that I would tell him about it at this time.
Even though he was summoned to the palace, he still refused to tell the truth."
"My father specially called Liu Shiwang into the palace to ask him to act for Qian Shangduan to see Qian Shangjing's expression?" Yingyun asked in surprise, "How will my father deal with Qian Shangduan?"
"What can be done? If we really do it, wouldn't my father really be alone and have no available manpower at hand?" Emperor Jianji said with a bitter smile, "In the final analysis, Qian Shangduan is just trying his best not to get involved in right and wrong. He doesn't want to
He doesn't want to offend the princes in the court, he doesn't want to offend Marquis Jingsheng openly, and he doesn't want to secretly add fuel to the flames of the Zheng family to express his position. At this time, he has not thought about forming a party with anyone for personal gain."
"Why do the Zheng family secretly add fuel to the flames and throw dirty water on Marquis Jingsheng? What do they want to do?" Yingyun asked.
"They can no longer support themselves in Heluo and want to withdraw. My father needs to move south with all the civil and military officials and give Nanyang and Xiangyang to them!" Emperor Jianji said, "Qian Shangduan knows what the Zheng family is thinking.
I also guessed that my father might have nothing to do with the Zheng family, so I pretended to be deaf and dumb..."
"How should father handle this matter, or can he pretend not to know about it?" Yingyun asked,
"If my father also pretends to be deaf and dumb, the situation in Xiangyang that is finally stable will be turned upside down by these undercurrents and out of control." Emperor Jianji patted his forehead and said, "If I live a good life for my father, maybe
If you want to accept Zheng's daughter as your concubine, you have to be careful about many things in this palace..."
