The bandits who had been recruited less than a month ago, Mu Ying, the former leader of the Taihu water bandits who was personally transferred to the Imperial Guards in Beijing by the Prince of Anguo, rebelled again and reentered Taihu Lake. The old troops responded one after another and gathered in Taihu Lake for another 800 miles.
This incident was tantamount to a slap in the face of the imperial court, especially the prestige of Prince Anguo, who was co-managing political affairs. His prestige fell to the bottom. After this incident, the hope of the third son to seize the throne became even slimmer.
In the early morning, outside Shuixi Gate, there was loud music and colorful flags. Dozens of civil and military officials stood waiting by the road. Hundreds of soldiers of the Royal Forest Army lined up in neat ranks holding golden melons, axes and axes. This was to welcome the King of Qin who had returned from Chang'an.
Your Highness.
King Qin arrived in Jiangbei last night and took a boat across the river this morning. Today is a fine and sunny day with no clouds. The river is heading east. With three cannon blasts, a magnificent dragon boat sets out from Pukou in Jiangbei. All fishing boats and passengers on the river have stopped sailing.
, fishermen and tourists stood on the deck and watched the dragon boat crossing the river. The royal majesty is not so easy to see.
The dragon boat made a zigzag and stopped at Shuiximen Pier. The side of the boat was connected to the trestle. The ground had been paved with loess. Three more cannons were fired. Two teams of tough sergeants disembarked first, holding swords on their sides.
Then there is His Highness the King of Qin.
After a year of training in Chang'an, the former heroic King of Qin became more calm and capable. He was dressed in an ocher yellow python robe and a purple gold crown. He stepped off the boat with a dragon and tiger step. He looked up and saw Huang Luo opposite him.
The person waiting for him under the umbrella cover was His Royal Highness, and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes involuntarily.
When the prince saw his younger brother disembarking from the boat, he immediately greeted him: "Third brother."
"Brother."
Everyone saw a harmonious and warm scene. The prince and King Qin looked at each other affectionately, and their longing was beyond words. The prince looked at his younger brother's face and said with emotion: "Third brother, you have lost weight. You have worked hard this year."
King Qin hurriedly said: "This is my brother's duty. There is no such thing as hard work."
The two exchanged some pleasantries, and then the other officials came over to greet King Qin one by one. After looking for a long time, the third prince was not seen in the crowd. King Qin couldn't help but feel a little strange, but he didn't feel comfortable asking, as Di's report was slow.
, he still didn’t know about the student in the capital. The third prince was thinking about his mistakes at home, so how could he come out and show his face.
The brothers boarded the carriage hand in hand, and after a while of mutual humility, the prince finally boarded the carriage first. The convoy drove straight to the palace under the escort of the imperial guards, and was received by the King of Qin's entourage.
When everyone was almost gone, a young man carrying simple luggage got off the dragon boat, looked around, got on an inconspicuous donkey cart on the side of the road, and said to the driver: "Go to the Gansu Guild Hall." It turned out that this was the place.
The person was Meng Yeluo, the censor of Shaanxi Province who returned to Beijing to report on his duties.
The Gansu Guild Hall is a newly purchased property of Yuan Feng. It is not an option to always live in Zhou Ziqing's small house. The office of the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu in Beijing always needs to be a bit grand. Now Yuan Feng is also in charge of Zhan Shifu.
The errand of the business, backed by the big tree of Prince, was in full swing, and the Gansu Guild Hall was also full of guests, with an endless stream of guests.
Meng Yeluo stood in front of the screen wall of the Gansu Guild Hall, looking at the vast courtyard with emotion. He, the ninth brother, is really a magic dragon with no end in sight. He can make a difference no matter where he is. The land in the capital city
Land costs a lot, and being able to buy such a property in a prosperous area is not something you can do just by having money.
Hearing that his old brother was visiting, Yuan Feng personally welcomed him out of the door. He held his hands tightly together, then separated to look at each other for a few times, and punched each other fiercely. It was comparable to the hypocritical feeling when the brothers of Prince Qin and Prince reunited just now.
, this is true brotherhood.
"Brother Ninth, I have been ordered to return to Beijing. I don't have a place to stay for the time being. Can I stay here first?" Meng Yeluo asked.
"What do you mean, of course you have to live here, call Ye Kai at night, and let us brothers have a good drink."
Yuan Feng personally helped Meng Yeluo carry his luggage, and the two of them entered the guild hall. The guild hall was originally the residence of a high-ranking official. There were many rooms in the courtyard of Wujin. He arranged for Meng Yeluo to stay in an upper room and settled down.
It was already noon. Yuan Feng wanted to stay with Meng Yeluo for dinner, but he declined: "I came with His Highness, and the Censor's Office knew about the trip. If I don't report to the Yamen when I return to the capital, I'm afraid someone will make irresponsible remarks.
.”
After saying this, Yuan Feng didn't have anything to say, so he wanted to give him a horse and two servants. Meng Yeluo accepted the horse, but the servant refused. Yuan Feng did not force him, and personally escorted him out of the guild hall.
Meng Yeluo went to fight the horse, Ye Tang showed his head at the side and said: "Master, do you want to send someone to follow?"
"No need, we are brothers after all, we will have a showdown sooner or later."
It wasn't until it was time to hold the lanterns that Meng Yeluo returned to the guild hall. He was a little relieved in his exhaustion. Yuan Feng had already prepared a banquet waiting for him. Seeing his happy face, he asked: "Promoted?"
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate has gone through the sixth grade of Sizheng. It can be regarded as a step forward."
"Then you should have a nice drink." Yuan Feng was sincerely happy for his brother.
The structure of the censorship in the Great Zhou Dynasty was rather strange. The upper-level censors of the capital and the capital were all part-time, that is, ministers of various ministries and governors of each province served concurrently. Only the supervisory censors of the thirteen provinces below were professional.
, although they are only seventh-rank officials, they have great power. This also creates a disadvantage, that is, many censors remain seventh-rank officials throughout their lives and have no possibility of promotion.
The experience of reaching the sixth rank of Yushitai is not a high official, but it is a qualitative leap. This shows that the imperial court is ready to reuse Meng Yeluo. This is just a transition period. It will not be long before he can leave the Yushitai system.
It is almost a certainty that he will serve as the chief official of a prefecture or county or a six-bu capital official with real power.
In the backyard of the pavilion, in a quiet garden pavilion, a northwest-style whole-sheep banquet was being held. There were not many people, only Yuan Feng, Meng Yeluo, and Ye Kai. A big fat sheep was worn on an iron skewer, and a fire was burning underneath.
The bonfire was lit, and mutton oil dripped into the fire from time to time, bursting out a string of bright sparks. The aroma of wine and meat overflowed, and the three brothers ate happily, as if they had returned to many years ago.
Yuan Feng held a small knife in his hand, carefully cut out the meat from the sheep's head, handed it to the two brothers to eat, and said with emotion: "Among our brothers from Shibali Fort, the most promising one is you, Thirteenth Lang."
, the number one scholar, the supervisory censor, and now he has been promoted to a higher level, it is not impossible to become a prime minister in a few years."
Meng Yeluo's hands were oily as he held the leg of lamb and gnawed it. Hearing Yuan Feng's words, he said humbly: "Wherever, the most promising person is you Jiulang. You can make a fortune no matter where you go. In your early years, you were a horse dealer."
Let’s not mention salt. Let’s just say that when you went to Chang’an, it was not my fault that you made His Highness favored and became a confidant. Now, Ninth Brother, you have come to the capital as the personal representative of the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Within a few months, I took the road to the East Palace and became the horse washer of Zhan Shifu. I am also a sixth-grade official. Your horse wash experience is much more valuable than my experience."
Yuan Feng smiled and said: "Thirteen, don't worry, I am in the Cao camp and my heart is in the Han Dynasty. I will always be a member of the Qin Palace."
Meng Yeluo shook his head: "You are not from the Prince of Qin's Palace. Everything you do is not for the Prince of Qin, nor for the Crown Prince, but for yourself."
The atmosphere was already tense, but Ye Kai still ate mutton and drank wine intently without interrupting to persuade.
Silence, only the sound of burning wood, beeping and peeling.
"Jiulang, who are you?" Meng Yeluo's voice was a little bitter.
"Thirteenth Lang, what is your identity?" Yuan Feng said tit for tat.
The fire was blazing, reflecting the two people's faces, their faces were flaming red, and their eyes were facing each other, as if they were back to the time when they had sworn sworn vows on the Shibalibao Archery Tower.
"I am the Shaanxi Censor Xingtai Supervisory Censor, and I am also the Sizheng of the Jinyiwei Shaanxi Branch." Meng Yeluo revealed his identity with bright eyes.
There are two types of Jin Yiwei, one is the armed forces, the emperor's personal bodyguards, and the other is the spies who secretly monitor hundreds of officials. Unlike the censor, the Jin Yiwei has no legal restrictions and can monitor and monitor at will when necessary.
They can be arrested and tortured. They are only responsible to the emperor and no official has the right to control them. Si Zhengke of Jinyiwei is much more powerful than the supervisory censor. No wonder Meng Yeluo has so much courage to arrest Wen Yan.
"I am the king of Xiliang." Yuan Feng said calmly.
In fact, the two of them already knew the answer, but they just didn't say it out loud. Now that they have finally spoken it out honestly, both of them feel relieved.
Meng Yeluo suddenly smiled: "What I said is true, right? You are already a prince, and I am just someone else's eagle dog. It is obvious who is higher and who is lower. By the way, when did you know my identity?
"
"There are no absolute secrets in this world. Liangzhou City and even Dunhuang City are full of spies of your Jinyiwei. Although they are not your subordinates, they have heard of your name. Eunuch Cao personally ordered Sizheng, Jinyiwei system
As the youngest official in the department, I can’t hide it even if I want to.”
After listening to Yuan Feng's words, Meng Yeluo smiled bitterly: "The Jin Yiwei are just show-stoppers. The officials who monitor the Great Zhou Dynasty are okay, but they become useless as soon as they leave the country. The teams that infiltrated Xiliang basically went to several places.
A few of them died, and the ones who survived were also exposed. We are not as good as you in this game."
"Is this why you didn't tell me your true identity?" Meng Yeluo changed the topic and suddenly asked Yuan Feng.
"I don't want to harm you. You have chosen a different path from us. I don't know which one has the farther road. I just hope that each of our thirteen brothers can have a good ending. In the same way, you
You know my identity, but you have kept it a secret, probably for this reason."
Yuan Feng looked Meng Yeluo in the eyes and revealed the secret in Meng Yeluo's heart.
It’s true, Meng Yeluo really thinks and does this. As long as he works hard to investigate Yuan Feng’s identity, it’s not difficult. In fact, Jin Yiwei has found out the clues and suspects that this person has a huge relationship with Xiliang.
relationship, but the secret was covered up by Meng Yeluo.
After being told the secret in his heart, Meng Yeluo suddenly became excited, stood up and said: "Then why do you still come to the capital? What on earth are you going to do? Do you know that as long as you reveal your identity, you may die at any time!
As he spoke, the young Jin Yiwei officer had tears in his eyes.