In the late autumn of this year, the two brothers from Lixiangyuan both embarked on a journey. They just read a book at midnight and returned the Ge Qiao. Panlong Mountain was very close, but Wu You was thousands of miles away from here. Everyone was a little reluctant to leave, but also a little excited.
I always say that a journey of thousands of miles begins with a single step. In the past, those were just preparations. Now someone finally takes the first step.
Seeing that it was November, good news came from the palace. Xie Guiren had given birth to the emperor's seventh son early. The Marquis of Dingcheng gave a very generous gift to the Rongguo Mansion in a grand manner. Jia She was confused and called Jia Cong to come over and ask:
"Did you do something else?"
Jia Cong was stunned for a long time, trying hard to recall what he had said to Xie Jing that day. He really couldn't remember anything related to the seventh son of the emperor. He frowned and said, "When I first returned to Beijing, Xie Jing came to ask me to help him think about his third brother."
Where did he go? It's just that I didn't help with that matter. I heard from brother Xian Wang that I did a favor for him and the saint. I probably helped the saint by accidentally knocking Master Zhou over. With the Xie family
There is really no rest.”
Jia She looked at the gift list and said angrily: "They sent such a generous gift, so don't you have to work hard to pay them back?"
Jia Cong said: "What else is there? Just give it away if you like. Dad, take them all, no matter what."
Jia She glared at him and said, "What do you know? Accepting such a heavy gift for no reason means that they are trying to please us on behalf of the seventh prince. Since our family accepts it, doesn't it mean that we agree to help the seventh prince?"
Jia Cong snorted: "The gift was from him, how could we have promised anything? If we say we promised something, show us the evidence! I don't recognize the unspoken rules!"
Jia She said: "Who cares whether you recognize it or not? Others may mistakenly think that we do."
Jia Cong smiled and said: "Don't worry, dad, it won't happen. It won't happen soon."
Jia She was also someone who liked things cheaply. Hearing what he said was so generous, he really didn't give the Duke of Dingcheng Mansion a gift in return.
Because Jia She had no contact with any of the other princes, Jia Cong, the Great Sage Qitian, got to know the nobles of the dynasty at that time. Within two days, someone came to find out what they had done to the Xie family and how they had attracted such a large gift.
, the gift-giving carriages and horses drove by in a long and mighty manner. Jia Cong said: "I asked my father, and he said that our two families have normal contact. It may be that the Xie family got some wrong message and thanked the wrong person. Anyway,
We didn't ask them to give it to us, they gave it to them themselves. You got a big deal for free, hahaha..." There are rules in all interactions between Beijing and China. Who has ever seen a scoundrel like Jia She? Others laughed after hearing this.
The worried people asked about Huizi, and it turned out that the two families didn't have much friendship, so they were relieved.
On this day, Jia Cong was idly mumbling, "I didn't know that Brother Feng might come back years ago." Suddenly someone sent a letter. Just then, someone flew into the city and went straight to the palace. He pulled the guard guarding the door and said only, "Wise King."
"Falled into the hands of thieves" and passed out, it was Feng Ziying! Jia Cong trembled with fright and stood up: "Quickly go! Go to Lin's house."
The three brothers hurried to the Lin Mansion, and did not return until the moon rose above the treetops and the forest sea. Their faces were full of exhaustion. They were not surprised when they saw a few disciples. They just sat down to rest for a while, drank a cup of tea, and said with a wry smile: "
Don't look at me, how can I let you brats know about the important affairs of the imperial court at will?"
Jia Cong said: "You only want to say whether Xu Hong is dead or not." Lin Hai glanced at him and then said, "Since Brother Yang said that he had been ordered to assassinate you, we have guessed that he has a counter-intention."
Lin Hai paused for a moment and said: "Dead."
Jia Cong frowned and said: "The tree fell and the hozens scattered. Xu Hong is dead. Who will lead the others? His son?"
Lin Hai nodded and said: "Xu Hong's second son Xu Su."
Jia Huan said "Huh": "Does his eldest son agree? Or has there been a fight at home?"
Lin Hai shook his head and said: "We still don't know. Feng Ziying and the wise king are not together..." He suddenly stopped talking, waved his hands and said, "Don't ask around."
Jia Cong said: "Here we go again. We are all your students. Master said, do disciples accept their labor?"
Lin Haidao: "There are too many secrets in it, so I can't tell you."
Seeing the old man's stubbornness, Jia Cong had to say: "We don't want to know the secret. Brother Xian Wang is alive, right? Are they going to take it out on him and kill the priest, or are they going to take him as a hostage and negotiate with the court? Or is he going to find out?
Is there any real evidence from others? Will the Xu family silence them just to get rid of the witnesses?"
Seeing that they were asking more and more questions, Lin Hai simply waved them away: "Stop prying around, it's none of your business." Then he refused to say anything anymore.
The next day, Jia Cong went to Feng's house to inquire about it again. Feng Ziying had rested all night and had recovered a little. Her face was still ugly, but she refused to tell him even a word. It was only when she went to Wang Ziting's place that she learned a little more.
It turned out that Xu Hong, the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi Province, had fallen in love with a widow who went to Jiangxi from Beijing to sell tea. In the evening of the same day, he ditched his entourage and had a private meeting with the widow on the lake alone, and then parked the boat on a small island in the middle of the lake. The entourage was far away.
Looking at it from a distance, everyone thought that their good deeds had come true, so they just found a fisherman's house to stay overnight by the lake. They thought that they would see them and their new aunt docking in a boat the next day, but they didn't want to wait until noon to see anyone.
At first they laughed and talked about "the *short life", but when it got late and no one came back, they became suspicious and hurriedly called the fishermen to get a boat to sail them over - only to find that there was not even half a person in the boat. So they searched everywhere and
Xu Hong and the widow were never seen. It was not until three days later that Xu Hong's body floated out of the lake and he was killed with a stab in the chest. Needless to say, it must have been the widow.
The Xu family then locked up Yuzhang City and searched the city. By chance, Situ Pan personally went to Jiangxi to investigate Xu Hong's rebellion. No one knew about it, but he went to Beijing, which made him more eye-catching. Although the Xu family did not find that
The widow selling tea found him.
Feng Ziying was originally in another inn, and he also fooled the search. Someone on the street shouted "Caught the spy". He stretched his head and saw that it was Situ Pan. He was shocked and wanted to inquire. Someone reported this.
There was someone from the capital somewhere who was very suspicious. He was afraid that he might have fallen into someone else's hands, so he ran away quickly.
Jia Cong told his military advisers about this, and they all looked puzzled. Gong Kun glanced at Liu Feng.
Liu Fengnai said: "This matter is extremely strange. The first thing is that the wise king's body is so noble, why should he go to Jiangxi to investigate in person? It's not like he has no capable people. The second thing is that the widow is obviously the shopkeeper Qin, the third aunt of Qin in the west of the city.
. She and the Xian Wang were originally together. Are they going to collect evidence on Xu Hong so that they can openly investigate him, or are they going to stab him to death as a traitor and then slowly deal with his soldiers and generals? Qin San
Since I have taken action, it is obvious that no evidence is needed. Then Xian Wang, Feng Ziying, and Qin Sangu should escape together. Also, since Qin Sangu has escaped, where are they? Jiangxi is so far away from the capital, Xian
The king fell into the hands of the rebels. Feng Ziying should have asked officials from neighboring provinces for help. Why did she come all the way back to Beijing?"
Jia Huan said: "About Qin Sangu stayed in the south to seek help from neighboring provinces."
Liu Feng said: "Qin Sangu is a woman after all, and her external identity is still a widow in the market. Although Feng Ziying does not hold an important official position, at least he is Feng Tang. Qin Sangu returned to Beijing to report a message, and Feng Ziying asked for help.
This is only appropriate."
Wu Xiaoxi said: "Many of the local officials in the south are in the hands of the kings, and they may not be willing to rescue the wise king. In the early years, Qin Sangu used the name of bodyguard to escort Lord Lin Hai back to Yangzhou, and accompanied Tan Ying, the current salt inspector of Yangzhou, along the way.
Ying is also a confidant of the Holy Emperor. Maybe they went to Tan Ying for help."
Yao'er frowned and said, "It's very awkward. What Xiaoxi said sounds to me like an excuse, too forced."
Liu Feng couldn't help but hit the case: "Yes, it's an excuse!" He hurriedly said to everyone, "I thought about it for a long time, but I really can't find a reason for leaving Qin Sangu in Jiangnan and sending Feng Ziying to Beijing. What Xiaoxi just said
It's an excuse, and it took a lot of effort to find it. I'm afraid it won't be that simple if the wise king is caught."
Gong Kun stood up, walked around the room for a few times, and suddenly asked: "Third Master, last time you said that you went to the Sixth Prince's house to set up a story, and there was a gap between the saint and the wise king?"
Jia Cong nodded: "I don't know which prince wrote it. Anyway, I look at the appearance of the sixth prince."
Gong Kun said happily: "There is really a gap. The Ninth Prince is very careful, so he must have noticed it and started to protect himself. It's just that he has never had his own power, and he only achieved his current status by assisting the saints wholeheartedly. If he wants to protect himself, he has to start from scratch.
.It takes time to start from scratch. How many years can the old saint live? He is just starting now, and he can't keep up with the princes next to him. The only way is to be quick. When he goes back to Jiangxi, he is going to seek Xu Xu.
Those things in Hong’s hands are gone.”
Everyone took a breath.
"Xu Hong has a lot of money and private soldiers. I just don't know how he can steal it." Gong Kun was so happy that the whole room was filled with excitement, "Situ Pan, I have seen that he is ambitious!"
Jia Cong glanced sideways at him: "Do you two know each other?"
Gong Kun was startled: "I don't know him!"
Jia Huan also glanced at him sideways: "It's obvious that we know each other."
Gong Kun said: "I really don't know you." He waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about anything irrelevant. Judging from this matter, Feng Ziying aside, Qin Sangu has probably been pried away from the saint by him!"
Jia Cong couldn't help but said "Ouch": "If I had known he could pry, why not do it for me?"
Gong Kun said: "You have nothing in your hands, and you want to pry someone from the saint's hands for no reason? She and Liu Xianglian are not the same thing. Situ Pan has been in charge of the spies in the saint's hands for many years, and he is her old boss after all."
Jia Cong rested his cheeks and said, "That's all. Anyway, we can cooperate with Situ Pan and win over all the people we can win over."
A few days passed. There were many discussions in the court about who should be sent to rescue the wise king and how to rescue him, but they could never come up with a useful method.
Lin Hai and Situ Pan had a close personal relationship, and he couldn't wait any longer, so he said to the sage: "At least we have to ask someone to find out what the Xu family's intentions are."
The saint sighed: "I am also waiting for the letter."
A few more days passed, and as the New Year was approaching, news finally came. The Xu family, headed by Xu Su, the second son of Xu Hong, had rebelled and demanded a ransom of one million taels from the court for the life of the wise king Situ Pan.
Naturally, the sage could not agree and discussed with the old sage how to respond.
The old sage thought that Xu Hong just died in a romantic affair and had no intention of turning back; Situ Pan must have done something inappropriate to frighten the Xu family, so they turned against him. So he ordered to find a suitable person to recruit him.
The Xu family and Jiangxi generals. The sage argued for a long time with the account book given by Lin Hai, but the old sage could not hear a word. Lin Hai repeatedly asked the sage to try to save the wise king, and the sage sighed: "I have cited many people, old man
None of them agreed. Anyway, they didn't dare to do anything to Lao Jiu, and we'll wait until after the New Year." Lin Hai stepped out of the Daming Palace, his whole heart feeling cold.
The wise king is in the hands of the rebels, and the court is safe and sound. Someone secretly said in the tea house and restaurant: "Who said that the wise king is the pillar of the country? Without him, it will be no different."
The palaces of the princes and princes in Beijing are all busy with celebrations, and there is a lot of entertainment and entertainment. This year, the items given to Rongguo Mansion by the palace are as exquisite as in previous years. Among them is an ornament from Jingdezhen, which is said to be imitated according to the pattern of the Ming Dynasty.
The blue and white dinosaur has a round belly and a raised tail. It is cute and naive. It is very popular among the nobles in the palace. It is said to have the effect of attracting children. Jia Cong was dumbfounded when he saw it. He actually turned the fake into a tribute. He didn't know how he would see it again hundreds of years later.
Grandma Jiangning.
Since the wise king is not here, their mansion is also deserted. However, Lin Hai and Jia Cong, masters and apprentices, often go for a walk and say a few words of comfort to Situ Pan's son. Jia Cong saw that the eldest son Situ Yue was taciturn, but his eyebrows were frowning.
, then we knew that Situ Pan was the kind of master who kept the secret even from himself. Because when Lin Hai went to pay his respects, he whispered in the prince's ear: "Your Majesty must turn disaster into good luck and disaster into good fortune. What I say is not a consolation.
You, I'm telling you." The prince had also heard the rumors about Jia Cong's "good fortune boy" for a long time. When he heard his words so decisively, he couldn't help but raise his eyes in surprise. Jia Cong put his finger on his lips and "shushed" the prince. The prince nodded repeatedly.
It was not until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that it was agreed upon in the middle of the court that Shi Laofu, the left censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, should be appointed as the imperial envoy to go to Jiangxi to recruit Xu Su to rescue the wise king. General Feng Tang, the general of Shenwu, would lead the imperial army to escort him all the way.
Jia Cong's eyes suddenly thought of Lao Fu and that old face, and he simply didn't know what to say. He asked Jia She, "Does the saint want to trap the wise king to death?"
Jia She said: "Lao Fuhe is just a cover, the important thing is Feng Tang."
Jia Cong sighed: "There is no hope for a saint at all. If Brother Xian Wang wants to escape, he has no choice but to save himself."
When he thought that this matter was probably Situ Pan's own trap, Jia Cong couldn't restrain his joy in watching the excitement. He really didn't know how he planned to get Xu Hong's men.
He returned to Lixiangyuan lightly and asked people to get more snacks, waiting for Lao Fu and Feng Tang to come back to listen to the comments. An imperial edict came down.
The imperial envoy, Lao Fuhe, was afraid that he would not be able to take on this responsibility because he was old, inarticulate, and a bit pedantic, so he asked the saint for help. This person was loyal to the saint and could speak well.
Bamian Linglong was a subordinate whom he admired very much when he was the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Now he was transferred to the Deputy Envoy of the Department of General Affairs. The saint did not recognize Jia Lian, but the eight hundred thousand taels of silver that Jia She received back then was really pleasing to people.
Then he responded.
Poor Jia Lian had just left the Yamen. When he returned to his courtyard, he only hugged Jia Xiaomeng for a moment before being called out to receive the order. He didn't know how long he would have to wait before he could come back.