Autumn in Jiangnan came extremely early this year and was also extremely deep.
Xu Huai crossed the river from the south of Luzhou and arrived at the foot of Mount Ji. He saw that the turbid river water was ruffled by the autumn wind, and the poplar trees on the bank had scattered yellow leaves falling. It was only mid-September. In previous years, the tenants in the fields were still there.
Wearing short jackets and working barefoot, this year has already made me feel a little desolate.
Zhu Tong and a dozen of his servants had been waiting here for a long time. They came up to him and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is dying. The imperial doctor said it might be just two or three days. I'm afraid you won't be able to rest and will have to rush to Jianye overnight. Maybe
I can also see His Majesty for the last time..."
"You should return to Jianye City at this time. Before I enter the palace, I need to meet with your father and Wang Xuan's father - let's meet at the warehouse at the mouth of the Longzangpu River. We will rest there for a while before entering the palace!"
Now Emperor Jianji's condition was worrying and he might die at any time. After Xu Huai entered Jianye City, he had to rush to the palace to meet him as soon as possible. He could only meet Zhu Hang and Wang Fan urgently while dressing in the warehouse outside the city.
Jishan Mountain belongs to Jianye Prefecture, but it is still more than a hundred miles away from Jianye City.
Everyone was exhausted after traveling for days, so Xu Huai asked Zhu Tong to hurry back to Jianye City to contact Zhu Hang and Wang Fan.
Zhu Tong led his servants on a horse-drawn tour. Xu Huai and the others rested for a while at the foot of Jishan Mountain, filled their stomachs with some food, put on the horses prepared by Zhufengtang, and continued on the road. In the dead of night, they arrived at the northwest of Jianye City.
Yongjangpo River Estuary.
Longzangpu, later known as the Qin River, originates from Baohua Mountain, Donglu Mountain and other mountains in the south of Jianye Prefecture. It runs through Jianye City from east to west, exits the city from Xishui Pass, and turns northwest to merge into the Yangtze River.
Zhufengtang built a courtyard in the city of Ye, but purchased land at the mouth of the Longzangpu River and built a warehouse as a transfer station for Chushan merchants to be distributed to various places in the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. The warehouse was originally a farm with several houses.
After taking over, several large warehouses and piers for boats were built. Last year, Xu Huai came to Beijing for an audience, accompanied by more than 300 people and more than a thousand horses. A number of stables and other ancillary buildings were built in the warehouse.
This time, Xu Huai mobilized more than 1,200 brave knights from Chushan. They would probably be two or three days behind schedule before arriving at Jianye. However, the warehouse had been notified two days in advance and urgently hired laborers at this time.
Build a group of simple houses as a camp.
Xu Huai and others rushed to the Hekou Warehouse. Zhu Tong had already rushed back to Jianye City in advance and was waiting for him at the warehouse with Zhu Hang and Wang Fan.
Sitting behind the case in the monastery arranged by the steward of Zhufengtang, Wang Fan took the secret edict from Xu Huai and read it under the candlelight with Zhu Hang. After a long while, he couldn't help but asked with surprise and confusion in his heart.
: "That's it? Nothing else?"
"The sealed box that Zheng Tu brought to Chushan contained only this sealed edict, and nothing else," Xu Huai said. "What can your Majesty say if he wakes up for a moment these days?"
"..." Zhu Hang shook his head and said, "Several people are waiting at Funing Palace at all times, and His Majesty has not left even a single word."
"What do you mean by your majesty's secret edict? It's clear that it hasn't been written yet?" Wang Fan asked, frowning.
"Zheng Tu went to Funing Palace to obtain the secret edict. Both Wang Xianggong and Zhu Gong witnessed it with their own eyes. It should be clear that His Majesty insisted that it be handed over to Xu Hou." Han Gui straightened his back and whispered, "But the secret edict was not finished, which is actually due to His Majesty's illness.
It is not allowed, but Your Majesty still ordered Princess Yingyun to stamp the jade seal and send it to Xu Hou. It must be that he has unfulfilled wishes that Xu Hou must comply with. Mr. Wang and Zhu Gong should have no objections to this, right?"
Wang Fan was not in the inner hall at that time, but Zhu Hang could be sure of this.
He was even worried that Zhou He, King Huai and others would not admit their accounts afterwards, and he specifically asked Emperor Jianji, who was still somewhat sane at the time, to confirm this.
"What unfulfilled wishes does Your Majesty have? It's completely impossible to tell from this secret edict!" Zhu Hang asked with a frown.
Although Xu Huai said he had obtained the secret edict, and although he was certain that Emperor Jianji had some unfulfilled plans before leaving the secret edict, the issue was that the secret edict did not write down exactly what the unfulfilled wish was. If Xu Huai interpreted it randomly and acted at will, it would be inconsistent with
What is the difference between corrections and edicts?
Lu Xiong and Zhu Tong had never seen the secret edict before. After hearing this, they took the secret edict from the desk and read it. They looked at it in a fog and had no idea what it meant.
"Your Majesty's unfulfilled wishes are actually revealed in the last 'two words'..." Han Gui said.
"Mr. Zheng?" Wang Fan asked in confusion, "Do you think His Majesty wants to establish a prince?"
"Why does Wang Xianggong think so?"
"Your Majesty is well aware that serious illnesses are difficult to cure. The first priority after leaving the secret edict is of course the succession." Wang Fan could see that Xu Huai was a little tired. He didn't know how many complicated things he had to deal with after receiving the secret edict and how much time he spent on it.
No matter how much energy and effort he put into it, he didn't feel that it was disrespectful for Han Gui to speak for him now, so he immediately expressed his opinion, "Besides King Huai, the only person who can succeed Dabao is the young prince, and Concubine Zheng.
Doesn’t the child born and raised exactly match the name Zheng?”
"Han Gui doesn't think that His Majesty is acting for his own selfish reasons, regardless of the people of the country," Han Gui said.
Xu Huai took over the conversation at this time and said:
"When I passed through Xiangyang, Wen Shuai came out of the city to meet me and asked me if I could hope to regain the Central Plains. I just said that if King Huai succeeded to the throne, he might be able to save half of the country. Wen Shuai said goodbye to me and returned to Xiangyang City without saying much.
It is true that the succession of King Huai had many shortcomings, and few of his former ministers were real pillars of the country - Wang Boqian, Yang Maoyan and Wang Qiyong were friends, and Ge Boyi was timid when he commanded the Tianxiong Army.
It is difficult to call a good commander if he is afraid of the enemy, not to mention that King Huai is soft and suspicious in nature, which is clearly written down by His Majesty in the secret edict. But now the question is, will it be better for the prince to take the throne than King Huai to take the throne?"
Zhu Hang and Wang Fan both shook their heads.
Regardless of whether they wanted to see King Huai ascend the throne, they would not unconscionably say that the country was in disaster, and that it was a better choice to take care of the young country. At least there was no need to say this in front of Xu Huai without conscience.
In the current situation, how can we expect a young son who is just learning to talk and live to adulthood to do what he can do after he sits on the throne?
Summon Zheng Huaizhong into the court to assist the government?
Zhu Hang and Wang Fan could not imagine that Concubine Zheng was listening behind the curtain and Zheng Huaizhong came to assist the government. He could not engage in internal fighting with the officials and Prince Huai's palace, work together to stabilize the overall situation, and jointly resist the invasion of the Red Husbands.
If Emperor Jianji died of illness without leaving a secret edict, all the officials would decide together, and Zhu Hang and Wang Fan would have no choice but to vote for King Huai.
There are only two choices, and they can only choose the one that is not so bad.
This is a decision that is not difficult for any pragmatic person to make.
"King Huai has long been the crown prince of the emperor. In addition to being assisted by a group of former ministers, the ministers and ministers in the court are also basically leaning towards King Huai's succession." Zhu Hang asked doubtfully, "What if your majesty also prefers King Huai?"
When you succeed to the throne, why do you need to go out of your way to leave a secret edict?"
"Because King Huai ascends the throne, the Zheng family will rebel!" Han Gui said, "Can't the two prime ministers understand the meaning of the secret edict at this time?"
"...How is that possible?" Zhu Han almost jumped up and asked in shock as if someone stepped on his tail.
Lu Xiong and Zhu Tong sat beside them, their faces also full of shock. Only then did they suddenly understand why Xu Huai led his troops to Beijing.
Xu Huai led his troops to Beijing. Although no one came forward to stop him along the way, the news reached Jianye and set off an endless turbulent undercurrent - countless people were speculating on what the secret edict was and how Xu Huai led more than a thousand knights to Beijing with the edict.
What to do.
As Emperor Jianji's condition worsened and he fell into a daze and never woke up, the most common speculation is that Xu Huai followed the imperial edict and led his troops to Beijing to ensure his own safety while negotiating terms with Zheng and King Huai.
After all, 1,200 elite cavalry entered the important area of Gyeonggi Province, which is a lot less than a lot.
Even if Zhu Hang, Wang Fan and others did not think that Xu Huai wanted to take advantage of the imperial edict, they never thought that Xu Huai led his troops to Beijing to prepare to lure Zheng Huaizhong into captivity.
This sealed edict was incomplete and did not clearly reveal any unfavorable intentions for the Zheng family. Xu Huai had no way to use this sealed edict to mobilize any imperial army in Jianye or nearby.
When Emperor Jian's successor passed away, Zheng Huaizhong returned to Jianye to attend the funeral. Under the threat of Prince Huai's Palace, it was obviously impossible to come alone. There must be hundreds of elite guards around him - Zheng Huaizhong had to at least be on guard against Prince Huai's Palace stationed there.
Jianye's three thousand elites.
If Xu Huai wanted to ensure victory with one blow, he could only directly mobilize elite soldiers and horses from Chushan to attack.
But the question is, which part of the secret edict revealed His Majesty’s intention to attack the Zheng family?
Zhu Hang couldn't help but pick up the secret edict again, read it carefully from beginning to end, shook his head and said: "This secret edict cannot convince anyone that your majesty intends to harm the Zheng family, right?"
"Not to mention whether others believe it or not, the key now is Zhu Gong, whether Wang Xianggong believes it or not?" Han Gui asked.
"I……"
Wang Fan's face was gloomy, and Zhu Hang was speechless. For a long time, he couldn't say a word whether he believed it or not.
Han Gui continued: "If it hadn't been for Zheng Huaizhong, and Zheng Cong and his son had to rely on their own troops, would your Majesty have been willing to give up Heluo? Or maybe your Majesty had insisted on ordering the Zheng family and his son to stick to Heluo and not retreat, would the Zheng family and his son have surrendered?
Red Huren? When Huainan was in danger, under what circumstances did the Zheng family and his son finally lead the main force of the Shenwu Army to fight on the battlefield in Huainan? It is impossible for Duke Zhu not to remember it now, right? Yes, King Huai succeeded to the throne.
, the ministers can ask the King of Huai to establish the prince as the prince as a check and balance, but the question is, can this appease Zheng Huaizhong? Now that the King of Lu has been assassinated, and Xu’s enemy troops are shrinking to the north, Zheng Huaizhong will inevitably choose to endure it, but when the new
After King Hu came to the throne and led his army southwards, Zhu Gong and Wang Xianggong thought that Zheng Huaizhong might continue to be loyal to Vietnam instead of turning his head to the front of Hu Lu and attacking Jianghuai? With His Majesty's ambition and mind, he was deeply ill.
Difficult to cure, what else can we worry about in the end besides this? At present, the enemies in Xusu, Jingxi, and Heluo are all shrinking to the north, which is the best and last good opportunity to deal with Zheng Huaizhong, Zheng Zhi and his son!"
"..." Wang Fan was silent for a while, his voice became hoarse, and he said bitterly, "Even if we believe it, this sealed edict cannot convince others!"
"It shouldn't be difficult to convince Prince Huai's Mansion," Xu Huai said.
"Yes, King Huai is eager to kill the Zheng family directly to avoid future troubles, but the question is, should this secret edict be made public in the future?"
Zhu Hang asked with a wry smile,
"If the secret edict is not published to the world, if you join forces with King Huai to kill the Zheng family, the world will only think that Chushan faked the secret edict for personal gain, and in the end they will not even dare to publish the secret edict; and if after the Zheng family is executed,
After publishing this secret edict to the world, how many people in the world will think that Chushan is acting in compliance with the holy will? And why don't you prevent Prince Huai's Palace from attacking you and putting all the charges on you, and even slandering you as a false edict?
, deceived them? If you are determined to support King Huai, we have no objection, but you must not punish Zheng. This will make everyone in the world fear Chushan and stay away..."
