If the atmosphere in the court was quite relaxed when the young emperor granted Han Xiang his marriage, then at this time, the court was solemn, with a thick layer of dust floating in the air, making the ministers breathless.
"Rescued?" Xue Poye sneered and said calmly: "It's such a coincidence that he was rescued during the interrogation today? Could it be that someone has been waiting for this opportunity?"
Kong Bufan gritted his teeth and prostrated himself on the ground, his body cold.
All the ministers were standing in the main hall. The little emperor closed his eyes and leaned on the dragon throne, as if he was asleep.
It only took a few days for me to understand how to deal with things. Hehe, genes are better."
I don't know how long it took, but just when the atmosphere in the hall overwhelmed the ministers, Moi finally came back to resume his life.
"Your Majesty, Sima Jinglun was kidnapped by more than a dozen masked men on his way back to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment." Mo Yi reported: "The escorting officers and soldiers fought hard and killed two masked men."
Xue Poye was startled. He knew that the group of masked people must be the Qinglianzhao congregation led by Green Lady. The two people who were killed were beyond his expectation. He couldn't help but glance at Moi and thought: "This
Guy, don’t you understand what I mean?”
Moi continued: "After identification, the identities of the two masked men have been determined."
"Who is it?" the little emperor asked urgently.
Mo Yi said: "One is named Kong Chou and the other is named Kong Dao. They are both servants of Kong Shangshu."
Kong Bufan couldn't bear it any longer and shouted: "Moy, you are slanderous, you... you are talking nonsense!"
Mo Yi was calm and composed, without even looking at Kong Bufan, and said: "The body is in the Ministry of Punishment. If Mr. Kong doesn't believe it, please go and see it yourself. But before going to see it, please ask Mr. Kong to take a look at these!" After that, from
He took out several letters from his body and sent them to the young emperor through the eunuch.
The little emperor looked at it carefully and snorted coldly: "Sure enough, there are green characters!" He stood up from the dragon throne and threw the letters in front of Kong Bufan from a distance: "See for yourself."
Kong Bufan only glanced at it, his expression changed drastically, and he hissed: "Conspiracy, this is a conspiracy. Your Majesty, there is a traitor to harm me... There is a traitor!"
Xue Poye and Lan Wuqing looked evil. Damn it, there is an adulterer, isn't that talking about us?
The little emperor also looks very ugly. He is also one of the planners!
"Prime Minister, how should we deal with this situation?" the young emperor asked Lan Wuqing.
Lan Wuqing said: "Strip off your official position and take you to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. The Ministry of Punishment and the Dali Temple will jointly interrogate you. After signing and signing, you will be punished according to the law." He said in a deep voice: "The warrior in front of the palace, take him down!"
Two armored warriors in front of the palace entered the palace and stood behind Kong Bufan.
Kong Bufan slowly stood up and closed his eyes. Now that the matter was over, he knew that it would be useless to shout until his throat was broken. The evidence provided by Moi was conclusive. Even if there were officials in the court who wanted to speak for themselves, they would not be able to speak for themselves in the face of the ironclad evidence.
, what can I say?
Being a victim of political struggle never depends on whether your character is upright or despicable, but only on whether your position in this game is an obstacle to certain interests.
…
…
"Your Majesty, Kong Bufan is a minister of the Ministry of Rites who cannot do anything to treat a sinner. But the Ministry of Rites is related to the etiquette of the world, and few people can preside over it. In the opinion of an old minister, Pan Yue, the minister of the Ministry of Rites... Pan Yue is also a talented minister, so he can be the minister of the Ministry of Rites!
"After Lan Wuqing saw that Kong Bufan was taken into custody, he immediately reported it.
This candidate has been considered long ago.
In addition to Kong Bufan, the Minister of Rites, there are also Han Nanfeng, the left minister, and Pan Yue, the right minister. In terms of qualifications, Han Nanfeng is the best candidate to succeed the minister, but it is impossible for the little emperor to hand over the newly vacated position of minister of the Ministry of Rites to someone from the Queen Mother's party. However, Pan Yue was a staunch royalist, so from any point of view, it was logical for him to become the new Minister of Rites.
The court dealt with Kong Bufan with lightning speed. The courtiers vaguely saw the shadow of Emperor Deqing in the young emperor. They understood that the person sitting on the chair was not a young man, but an emperor, who had the power of life and death. .
The Qianlin Hall was silent for a moment, with the breathing sounds of civil and military officials from all over the court mixed together, a mixture of humor and solemnity.
Xue Poye finally came out and said: "I have heard that your Majesty has begun to report. I can't sleep at night. I hope that King Mingyue will stay. I can't share your worries for Your Majesty. I am sincerely frightened. I suggest that the six ministries and three divisions jointly submit a petition to ask King Mingyue to stay in the capital." ."
He Ruhui, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said: "I second the proposal!"
Xi Muquan, Minister of the Ministry of War, said: "I second the proposal!"
Mo Yi, the Minister of Punishment, said: "I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
…
Suddenly, many ministers suddenly woke up. They were vaguely aware that the drama about Kong Bufan colluding with the party and rebelling against the party was played out in the court today, and there seemed to be something behind it.
Six ministries jointly submitted a letter to force King Mingyue to stay. Obviously, many ministers knew that Kong Bufan had a close relationship with King Mingyue and would most likely not participate in the joint petition. In this way, the Queen Mother could bring the power of the harem to the throne. The identity of the emperor's mother changes His Majesty's will.
Of course this was unacceptable to the little emperor.
Therefore, in this incident, it is very likely that Kong Bufan was not convicted for colluding with Qinglian Zhao, but for getting closer to King Mingyue.
The King of Mingyue was a sensitive topic in Da Chu. He was the emperor of a country within a country. As the saying goes, "There are no two rulers in the sky, the sun and the people". Of course, the court was quite dissatisfied with the existence of this pattern.
During the reign of Emperor Deqing, no matter what the reason was, he did not take action against King Mingyue, but now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, it seems that he will clean up the situation.
Keeping Mingyue King behind must be a way to deal with Yongzhou affairs.
Although many ministers in the court had a feeling of admiration for King Mingyue, they also deeply understood that the Great Chu Kingdom belonged to the emperor. King Mingyue who left Yongzhou and arrived in Kyoto was like a dragon trapped in the quagmire.
Many people are wondering, did King Mingyue not think of this kind of consequences when he came to Beijing?
Perhaps King Mingyue is too confident, so confident that he does not believe that the young emperor will attack him as soon as he ascends the throne, or perhaps King Mingyue has other purposes for coming to Beijing...!
It's just that all this can only be thought about quickly under the calm faces of the ministers. No one will reveal what they are thinking, let alone raise questions.
The six ministers, the Patrol Department, the Duzhi Department, and the Ticha Department all came out to second the proposal.
Everyone understands that Kong Bufan has learned from his mistakes. If anyone is not active at this time, he is likely to become the next Kong Bufan. Everyone also firmly believes that with Lan Wuqing and Xue Poye as the backstage little emperors, they really have to take action. He was definitely not as gentle as Emperor Deqing.
…
…
Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother sat alone in the cool pavilion. The chessboard on the stone table was filled with black and white chess pieces. With a faint smile on her lips, she played chess with great interest.
"Report to the Queen Mother...!" A eunuch rushed over and knelt on the ground: "Above the court, six ministries and three divisions jointly signed a plea to King Mingyue to stay in the capital."
The Queen Mother pressed a white letter on the chessboard and said calmly: "Where's Kong Bufan? He also co-signed?"
The eunuch replied: "Master Kong intended to collude with Qinglianzhao to assassinate the Holy Emperor. He has been stripped of his official position and sent to the Ministry of Punishment Prison."
The Queen Mother's face darkened, her eyebrows furrowed, she was startled for a moment, then she quickly sneered: "Xue Poye, Lan Wuqing, I'm afraid only you can think of this kind of trick, it's full of loopholes."
This crime is very simple, but extremely practical.
In a short period of time, this method of creating accusations has become the most effective weapon. Even though many people are suspicious, the emperor does not care about this. He only needs an excuse and an accusation that can bring down Kong Bufan.
"Queen Mother, in addition to this, the Holy Father also granted a marriage agreement and betrothed Princess Minglan to the son of Mr. Han, the Minister of Rites."
The Queen Mother suddenly changed her color this time, and the cold light in her eyes stood out: "What a powerful method." She stood up, walked to the pavilion, and looked at the rippling lake next to her, as if she was thinking about something.
The surface of the lake is uneven, and people's hearts are not at peace.
She waved, and the eunuch hurried over. The queen mother leaned in and whispered a few words. The eunuch nodded and said, "I understand."
The Queen Mother took off the ring in her hand, handed it to the eunuch, and said, "When King Mingyue sees this, he will know that you are mine, and you must take my words with you word for word."
The eunuch took the ring and walked away quickly.
The Queen Mother walked back to the pavilion, with a graceful posture, sat down gently, and murmured: "General, you were promoted by Emperor Yangwu, and King Mingyue personally stepped in... Don't you miss the old relationship?"
…
On the path, a palace maid walked in front, leading a strange man towards the pavilion.
He was called a weirdo because on this hot day, his whole body was tightly wrapped, with a black cloak covering his body and a black-brimmed hat blocking his face. He walked very slowly, but
But he is very elegant. Even though his figure is covered, it is undeniable that his body is very slender.
The palace maid brought the weirdo to the pavilion and whispered: "Queen Mother, he is here."
The Queen Mother waved her hand: "You go down first and ask them to be careful and don't let anyone come in at will."
The palace maid agreed and retreated.
The weirdo walked into the pavilion consciously, sat down on the stone chair opposite the Queen Mother, and said calmly: "You shouldn't have asked me to come."
"But I miss you." The Queen Mother's eyes flashed, she smiled sweetly, and said, "You...don't you miss me?"
The weirdo pondered, and after a long time, he uttered one word: "Think!"
"I miss you, you miss me, why can't I ask you to come?" The Queen Mother stood up, walked behind the weird man, pressed her plump breasts on the weird man's shoulders, and twisted slightly, and the plump breasts were squeezed on the weird man's shoulders.
Press.
The strange man stretched out his hand as if to push the Queen Mother away, but when he touched the Queen Mother's arm, he paused and gently held it.
His hands are very white and beautiful, with slender fingers.
The Queen Mother said softly: "What are you afraid of? That damn old guy is already dead."
"I feel guilty." The weirdo quickly replied: "Don't you think we are doing a huge mistake?"
"Wrong thing?" The Queen Mother sighed quietly: "What is right and what is wrong in the world? If it was really wrong, we should not have met that time, and you should not have entered the palace... The feeling of guilt... Hehehe...
…Don’t you think it would be more exciting and fun to do something with a sense of guilt?”
The weirdo gently stroked the Queen Mother's smooth and tender hands, sighed and said nothing.
The Queen Mother finally arrived: "Six ministries and three divisions jointly signed a petition to keep Mingyue King."
The weirdo snorted coldly and said, "That's his business, what does it have to do with me?"
The Queen Mother put her small hands into the weirdo's mask, gently touched his face, and said softly: "Silly boy, if we want to be together for eternity, we can be together openly, but we need him in these sneaky days.
"
The weirdo was silent.
"Only if he raises an army and fights Liu Zichan to defeat both sides, will you have a chance." The Queen Mother's voice was soft and charming. No one could have imagined that the usually dignified Queen Mother was now as tender as water, coquettish and coquettish to the bone.
"Today, Liu Zichan played tricks and forced King Mingyue to stay... This is a good thing. Only in this way can he anger his subordinates. Even King Mingyue himself began to loosen his mind." The Queen Mother said softly.
The weirdo said calmly: "He's doing it for you!"
The Queen Mother giggled and said, "Are you jealous?"
The weirdo sighed, with unspeakable emotion in his voice, and asked: "Since he is kept in Beijing, Liu Zichan will definitely transfer Yongzhou's capable ministers and generals to Kyoto one by one in his name, and then attack them one by one.
If we send people to take over Yongzhou again, I'm afraid this war won't be fought." After a pause, he sighed softly: "War kills people, wouldn't it be better for you and me to just leave and fly far away?"
The Queen Mother's face immediately darkened: "No, the old guy has delayed my youth, I will... destroy his empire!"
The weirdo said coldly: "Just because of your selfish desires, thousands of people will die?"
The Queen Mother shed tears and said aggrievedly: "You...you said that about me? Do you think...you think I am a bad woman...!"
The weirdo sighed and said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
The Queen Mother whispered in her ear, and the weirdo was startled for a moment before saying, "Do you think I have that ability?"
"You have." The Queen Mother leaned close to the weirdo's ear and exhaled like a orchid: "You are my man, and my man is the wisest man in the world. You must have a way!"
The weirdo smiled bitterly and asked: "Why do you want to win over the general? With his temper, it is impossible for him to go together with you."
The Queen Mother said calmly: "Nothing is impossible. Besides, we don't necessarily need him to stand with us. What we need is that he does not stand with Liu Zichan."
"It turns out that you have already thought about all this."
The Queen Mother giggled: "For your sake, can I not think about it?"
…
…
In the Qianlin Palace, the little emperor held the fold in his hand, and a stone finally fell from his heart. This was the fold that Liubu and Sansi had fingerprinted. The content of the fold was very simple. It just asked King Mingyue to stay in Beijing to assist the country, but it was very important.
, because from a certain perspective, this is the beginning of solving the problem of Yongzhou, a country within a country.
In addition to being able to retain Mingyue King, the young emperor was even more happy that with the help of Lan Wuqing and Xue Poye, the officials in the court had surrendered at his feet, at least on the surface.
After the dispersion of the dynasty, the young emperor had to leave Xue Poye and Lan Wuqing alone to discuss matters alone.
"Master, how should we deal with Kong Bufan?" The first thing the little emperor asked was how to deal with Kong Bufan.
The three of them knew that Kong Bufan was innocent and had become victims for political purposes. According to normal procedures, once the evidence of Kong Bufan's guilt was confirmed, they would be executed.
"Put it on!" Xue Poye said calmly: "If you drag it on, Kong Bufan's case will not be tried for now. Let him stay in the prison. After the limelight, we can find a reason to prove that he is innocent and a youth.
Lian Zhao wants to frame him, and then let him out."
Lan Wuqing agreed: "Yes, Mr. Xue's method is feasible."
"After keeping King Mingyue, should our next step be to transfer those ministers from Yongzhou?" the little emperor asked again.
Xue Poye thought for a while and said: "This still needs to be done step by step, but there is one thing we must do now."
Lan Wuqing stroked his beard and said: "Master Xue is talking about preparing an army?"
Xue Poye gave a thumbs up and said with a smile: "Ginger is still old and hot. Yes, no matter whether Yongzhou can be resolved peacefully or not, we must prepare the army from now on. I got the news that one hundred thousand soldiers in Yongzhou will be here all day long."
Drill, they are in the northwest, their folk customs are strong, and their individual combat capabilities have always been very strong. Once there is a real change, we will have to send at least 300,000 troops to restrain them in terms of combat effectiveness."
The little emperor stuck out his tongue and said: "Three hundred thousand?"
Lan Wuqing thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Master Xue, if we really want to fight, 300,000 people are not enough. It is said that the soldiers of Yongzhou in the northwest have learned the tactics of the Hu people and have 20,000 cavalry. They fight with light armor.
Jian Cong, it is not unusual to rob food along the way. Therefore, their logistics personnel will not be too many. Including the army, it will not exceed 200,000. However, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court cannot rob people's property along the way.
?What kind of soldiers are they? In this way, the number of logistics personnel responsible for 300,000 troops and horses will be a huge number. Let me give a rough estimate, and the total number of people will be more than 500,000."
The little emperor smiled bitterly and said: "Five million...a lot of people!"
"What the Prime Minister said is that I only count soldiers and horses. He forgot that this war also requires logistical personnel, including food, sleep, horse feeding, blacksmiths to repair armor, and grain transport teams... at least two hundred thousand. In this way, five
One hundred thousand horses and horses will only be more or less." Xue Poye's face began to look serious: "These five hundred thousand people will have to eat, drink, and defecate. If Yongzhou does not surrender for a day, we will spend a lot of money on supplies... But currently
There are only two million taels of silver in the treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Let alone 500,000 people, it is estimated that the provision of 100,000 people will be a problem."
"Master, if we really want to fight, how much money will we spend?" The little emperor was a little anxious.
Xue Poye shook his head and said: "You can't say for sure. It depends on how long the fight lasts. Five hundred thousand people, plus horse feed, will cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver for just one day. Weapons, horses and equipment are not included.
."
"What should I do?"
Xue Poye thought for a while and said: "No matter what the situation in Yongzhou is, we must be prepared. What we fight in wars is money, so we need money, a lot of money." After a pause: "The Ministry of Household Affairs will start from today.
From the beginning, we need to prepare money in various state capitals and order taxes to be paid in advance...!"
Lan Wuqing sighed: "It's midsummer now, and there are still a few months before the autumn harvest. I'm afraid it will be difficult to harvest. We can't push it too hard. Don't force the people to switch to that side."
Xue Poye knew that what Lan Wuqing said was true, and he really wanted to put it away, but something bigger went wrong. He frowned, thought for a long time, and then said with a bitter smile: "There is really no other way, we have to search for the missing items from the household department with all our strength."