Although the old minister had long felt that some of the things that had happened recently were very strange and had even guessed some terrible possibilities, Qining guessed that Xiao Shaozong used the recommendation of the Ministry of War to let Lu Xiaochao take control of the Tiger God Camp and then control the entire capital. This still made the old minister Cold sweat broke out on Shangshu's back.
If this is really the case, the situation has reached an extremely serious point.
"What does Xiao Shaozong want to do by controlling the capital?" Although the old minister had already guessed Xiao Shaozong's purpose, he still couldn't help but ask this question.
Qi Ning's eyes were deep and his expression was cold: "Of course it's to usurp the throne."
"Is he really planning to usurp the throne?" Old Shangshu's expression turned cold and he sneered: "I'm afraid he may not be able to achieve his wish. Just by controlling the capital, does he really think he can turn things upside down? The emperor was ordered by the late emperor. The successor to the throne is our orthodox emperor of Chu. If Xiao Shaozong usurps the throne, the hearts of the people will be hard to recover, and someone will inevitably come to the capital to serve as king."
Qi Ning said: "Since Xiao Shaozong has spent many years planning, he will not let himself be in trouble." After thinking for a moment, he said: "Old Minister, when Emperor Taizu died that year, the King of Huainan was still in his infancy. At that time, the south was not at peace. Emperor Taizu passed the throne to Emperor Taizong for the great cause of Chu State. However, it was rumored that Emperor Taizong had made a promise to Emperor Taizu, saying that he would pass the throne to Xiao Zhang, King of Huainan, but Don’t you know if this is true or not?”
Lao Shangshu said: "Such rumors never appeared in the first place. In fact, they only began to circulate in the year when Emperor Taizong died. At first, they were only among the market, and later even the officials in the court also talked about it. But I have always been there. , but never believed such unfounded rumors. If Emperor Taizong really made such a promise back then, there must be witnesses to testify, and there must be records in the secret files in the palace, but there is no such record, and Emperor Taizong I have never told anyone that I will pass the throne to the King of Huainan." He sneered and said: "After Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne, he naturally wanted to reuse his direct subordinates, including your Jin Yi Qi family, but because of this, Tai Zong Many of Emperor Zu's subordinates were dissatisfied, and they naturally hoped that King Huainan would one day inherit the throne, which would be of great benefit to them. Of course, they were the ones who added fuel to the fire and spread the rumors in the market."
"Although they are made out of nothing, many people still believe these rumors to be true." Qining said: "Some people even think that King Huainan is the real legitimate heir."
The old minister said: "What you said is true. After the late emperor succeeded to the throne, Sima Lan secretly reported to the late emperor that he wanted to kill a group of people who spread rumors. Fortunately, the late emperor was generous and did not go on a killing spree because of this. On the contrary, He has always been kind to King Huainan."
"If it is really a mass killing, I am afraid that those who have doubts will actually believe these rumors." Qining sighed.
The old minister nodded and said: "Exactly. The late emperor was kind and did not get angry because of this, and those rumors gradually disappeared. As for if there are rumors that the old marquis of Tantai once made a note to the late emperor, mentioning Emperor Taizong's promise , that is also nonsense. Jindao Tantai is the most powerful among the direct subordinates of Emperor Taizu, so people with ulterior motives lifted the Tantai family out. In fact, this is simply impossible to happen. Things. There are rumors that Emperor Taizu made a promise, but there is no evidence, and there is no such record in the palace. The old Marquis of Tantai is so wise, how can he advise the late emperor because of these rumors? It’s not asking for death.”
Qi Ning knew that what the old minister said was true.
The survival of the old Marquis of Tantai, who belongs to the Jindao lineage, without evidence, is absolutely impossible to sacrifice to the late emperor for the Huainan King. Even if there is evidence, the old Marquis may not act rashly. After all, the Jindaohou is under Emperor Taizu. Among the old ministers, there are ministers who really hold military power. It is fine if he does not move. If these ministers with military power have the heart to support the Huainan King, no matter how kind the late emperor is, he will not be able to let the Jindao Tantai family survive. .
When he first heard this rumor, he felt that the possibility was very slim. Today, when the old minister said this, he was sure that it was just a rumor.
"It is precisely because of this matter that I came to see Lao Shangshu today." Qi Ning said: "Old Shangshu is in charge of the Ministry of Rites. Naturally, Lao Shangshu understands the hearts of scholars in the world best." After thinking for a while, he said: "I dare to ask a question. , have these rumors and rumors ever had any impact on the world's literati?"
The old minister's expression suddenly became serious, he raised his hand to stroke his beard, pondered for a moment, and finally said: "Eleven years ago, there was an incident, but... not many people knew about it."
"Please give me some advice from the old minister!"
"I received a letter that year, which was submitted by a scholar in Xunyang." The old minister said: "This man is quite famous, so he asked someone to send a letter. In the letter, it actually said that the King of Huainan was the Taizu. The emperor's eldest son, according to the etiquette, Emperor Taizong should make King Huainan the prince, otherwise it will be usurping the throne. He wants me to lead the world's scholars to kowtow to the emperor to change the prince...!" The voice lowered: "Although I ignored it, since This person dared to send such a letter, which shows that there are indeed many scholars who think that King Huainan is qualified to inherit the throne."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "There may not be too many people like this, but if scholars have such thoughts, Xiao Shaozong can take advantage of them." He frowned and said, "I am only worried about one thing now!"
The old minister immediately understood and whispered: "Do you think Xiao Shaozong will let... the emperor issue an abdication edict?"
"Exactly." Qi Ning said: "The emperor is under his control. If he forces the emperor to issue an edict of abdication, or even allows the emperor to pass the throne to him, then it will be in compliance with the law and no one will question his improper origin of the throne. "
"The emperor is in his youth, so even if he issues an edict to abdicate, he still needs a reason." Lao Shangshu said: "If you issue an edict to abdicate at such a young age, everyone in the world will think there is something fishy in it."
Qi Ning immediately said: "Have you forgotten that the old minister has been saying that the emperor is unwell recently? The old minister also said just now that the emperor who appeared at the court had a wrong voice. Many people thought it was because of the illness of the dragon... !" His eyes were sharp and his expression was solemn: "I'm afraid this is Xiao Shaozong's deliberate arrangement, so that the civil and military officials of the court can confirm that the emperor is in poor health...!"
The old minister said in shock: "At that time, it can be said that the emperor is ill and unable to govern, so...!"
"There will even be news that the emperor died suddenly." Qi Ning sighed: "Since everyone knows that the emperor is ill, but they don't know what disease he suffered from, if the emperor suddenly dies suddenly, then Xiao Shaozong has already done enough in advance With Kung Fu, you only need to control a few imperial doctors and you can explain it to the world."
Summer has entered, and the temperature at night is not low, but Lao Shangshu can't help but tighten his clothes.
There was a deathly silence in the study. After a while, the old minister finally said: "We can only speculate on all this without any evidence."
"This is the most difficult problem at the moment." Qi Ning frowned and said: "If there is conclusive evidence for what I said, we can naturally unite the ministers in the court and King Qin, but without evidence, it is impossible to unite the ministers in the court. Even if they had doubts in their hearts, they did not dare to take any action. Yulin Camp, Tiger God Camp and Shenhou Mansion were all under Xiao Shaozong's control. He could also use the emperor's name to issue decrees at will, not to mention this kind of At that time, no one dared to stand up. Even if there were such people, how could they expose Xiao Shaozong?"
The old minister frowned and said: "If he really forces the emperor to issue an edict of abdication, or even usurps the throne, then even the Qinhuai Army will have no choice but to obey his will." Qining seemed to be worried, coughing, and hurriedly got up and went over Patting the old Shangshu's back gently, the old Shangshu calmed down and said with a wry smile: "Duke Protector, even if I believe everything you said, so what? I don't have military power in my hands, and there is no evidence that Xiao Shaozong usurped the throne. I can't do anything at all. Nothing can happen." He turned to look at Qi Ning beside him and said softly: "Since Xiao Shaozong has accused you of treason, you are now in great danger in the capital. There are probably informants everywhere in this capital. If anyone finds you, You can't escape at all."
"Now that I'm back, I haven't thought about escaping." Qining looked coldly: "There are three things that must be done now."
"Three things?"
"First we must find out the emperor's situation." Qi Ning said: "As long as the emperor is still alive and he comes forward to expose Xiao Shaozong's conspiracy, then the conspiracy that Xiao Shaozong has painstakingly planned will be exposed."
"Could it be that... the emperor has been killed?" Old Shangshu's body trembled and his pupils shrank.
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "The emperor's safety cannot be determined at the moment...!" After thinking for a moment, he continued: "Secondly, we need to find out Xiao Shaozong's current situation. In addition to the powers he currently has in his hands, is there any other hidden power? .”
The old minister said: "The power he has in his hands now is no longer something you can handle. With the power that the Jinyi Qi family relies on, the Qinhuai Army is now on the front line, and the Black Scale Battalion has been dismantled, even like Xue Lingfeng's Tiger God Camp , have now become Lu Xiaochao's troops." Looking into Qi Ning's eyes: "These three troops are all related to the Qi family and may be of use to you, but now you can't mobilize any of them. Take a step back. Say, even if you can mobilize these troops, how can you easily mobilize them before you are sure that the emperor is indeed controlled by Xiao Shaozong? As for the Black Knife Camp, Xuanwu Camp and even local officers and soldiers outside the city, it is even less possible for them to do so. What you use.”
Qi Ning smiled bitterly and said: "What the old minister said is absolutely true. I don't have any trump cards to compete with Xiao Shaozong now. To put it bluntly, the current situation between me and Xiao Shaozong is like an egg and a stone. If we fight hard, we can only win. It will end up being shattered to pieces!”