There are no corpses scattered everywhere in Taijing City, and there are no broken walls.
Although there were soldiers everywhere, and the atmosphere was extremely tense, the people were still able to move around in the workshop, and they could also enter and leave the market through the interrogation. Many shops on the street were closed, and long queues formed in front of rice shops and oil shops.
In front of the shop, the small officials of the Taijing government office loudly read out the order just issued by the Zaifu of the Wenyuan Pavilion, claiming that the rebellion has been settled, that the conspirators have been captured, and that Taijing will return to normal soon, and the people do not need to rush to buy rice. grain.
Those rice merchants who were sitting on the ground and raising their prices had already been locked up by officials and were ready to be taken away.
Although the people were terrified, they kept applauding when they saw this scene.
The sixth prince lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, with a faint disdain in his expression.
"It's time for these merchants to clean up." General Liu's personal guard said relieved.
"It's arresting people, and then misrepresenting the money." The sixth prince sneered and stretched out his fingers, "Look at these yamen soldiers, are they guarding the merchants, or the people around them who are applauding."
Liu Dan coughed lightly, and before He Shilang heard the movement here, he whispered to persuade: "His Royal Highness should be cautious in his words and deeds."
Since the sixth prince entered the city, his thorny posture became more and more obvious. Liu Dan wondered why this was happening. Shouldn't he pretend to be filial at this time and show a humble and submissive side to the emperor
The sixth prince was a little weird when he first heard that the second prince was conspiring against him, and now it's even worse.
In Liu Dan's view, after a coup d'état forced the palace, it is very good that Taijing can quickly restore such order. This shows that no matter what happened to the chief ministers of Saisuke, and they didn't plan to make some nasty things to come out and disgusting people.
—As a military general who has been suppressed and suppressed by the civil service group all the year round, Liu Dan still has a lot of opinions on some people in the court.
Not participating in conspiracy does not mean that you can rest easy.
Historically, in the name of clearing the rebellion against the party, there will be an earth-shaking change in the court. Those who are demoted and resigned are considered lucky. The factions worked together, and when the court went to the official hat and the official uniform, he entered the prison.
For Liu Dan, the most dangerous thing is that he has no support in the court.
His backer is the emperor himself. In order to win the emperor's trust, military generals can only be solitary ministers, and his military power and power are not so great that civilians are willing to treat him differently, so there is no one to help.
Liu Dan frowned.
Worse than him was the Jinyiwei in the convoy who went to the imperial mausoleum with the sixth prince. The streets of Taijing were full of imperial guards, even the yamen, but none of the Jinyiwei could be seen.
Liu Dan gradually realized that something was wrong. Although the city's investigation was strict, but when they encountered those Jianghu people who were stubbornly resisting, the patrolling guards and the yamen just pretended to chase and shout, and did not use bows and arrows. It seems that if they can catch up, they will be locked up, and if they can't catch up, it's not a problem. This is obviously because they did not receive a death order, and the convoy was only embarrassed when they entered the city, and then everything went smoothly without anyone. Come to find fault, and no servant came to pass the order.
So they entered the inner city with trepidation.
At this time, someone finally came, the secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion.
Shishulang is a sixth-grade minor official, usually from the Hanlin, and his teacher is a high-ranking minister of Zaifu or a powerful faction who has joined the imperial court, and is trained as a minister. However, even if they have a successful career, they will have to wait at least 20 years before they can actually take the position of prime minister. During this period, there may be countless accidents that prevent them from reaching the end.
They seem to have a promising future, but they are actually the people who run errands in Wenyuan Pavilion and fight for the Saisukes.
At this moment, seeing such a person with the Janissaries blocking the way, the faces of the people in the convoy were not very good.
He Shilang prided himself on his identity and looked down on the other party.
Except for him, everyone else was wondering in their hearts, no matter what, the sixth prince is also a prince, how could a sixth-grade clerk come to greet him? If it is a minister of the emperor Xinzhong, it is nothing to be a junior, but the book servant in front of him is not at all.
What does it mean? The sixth prince no longer has any possibility of ascending the throne? The sixth prince is about to be unlucky? Or is the emperor deliberately suppressing the sixth prince? Or... Does the emperor really still have the power to govern? It stands to reason that for the sake of balance of power, even if the emperor killed the second prince and established the third prince as the heir, he would not really throw the sixth prince aside.
They are all people who have been involved in the officialdom, and have grown a lot of hearts. When everyone thinks about it carefully, they shudder.
The Shi Shulang quietly announced the decree, saying nothing more than the second prince's rebellion, and His Majesty was furious and ordered a strict investigation. During the period, it was mentioned that the second prince colluded with the commander of Jinyiwei, and bribed the assassins to enter the palace to assassinate. The assassins have not yet been caught, so they ordered the Guards to escort the sixth prince into the palace for strict protection.
He Shilang's mind was different, and Liu Dan didn't dare to act rashly, so he watched helplessly as they took the sixth prince away.
Later, the decree mentioned He Shilang again and told him to go home and rest until the court meeting a few days later.
Seeing that the clerk turned around and was about to leave, Liu Dan couldn't help but ask, "Has your majesty mentioned this general?"
Shi Shulang glanced at him, because Liu Dan's injury was not good, so he didn't wear armor, only a fourth-rank military officer uniform. There is no difference between the military attache's fourth-grade official robes, but there are differences in the style of the armor. The clerk obviously did not remember who Liu Dan was. He thought it was the military attache who escorted the sixth prince from Yongzhou, so he casually said: "No, first captain. Go back to the state house and wait for the news."
Liu Dan: "..."
Officials from other places went to Beijing to renew their posts, or came to Beijing for official business. Because they had no place to live, they would live in the post house with the sign of the state capital. This was set up by the imperial court, and the officials themselves did not need to spend money.
If he is the fourth-rank superintendent of the place, he really can only go to the post house, even if he has bought the house in Taijing, it is in the outer city. Officials on standby naturally have to be in the North City and Inner City, which are close to the imperial city. The houses here are simply unaffordable and the prices are terrifyingly high.
But he once had the power to save the pirate general! The emperor has rewarded the mansion! Even if no one lives all year round and the house is not big, he still has a house!
This clerk was not sent by the emperor at all!
Liu Dan did not believe that the emperor could forget himself. It was not that Liu Dan had a high self-esteem, but that the emperor was eager to summon him to Beijing to inquire about the Shilang Mountain Gold Mine.
He would walk with the Sixth Prince and this group of people because the Sixth Prince disappeared because he was having fun running around in the Emperor's Mausoleum in Yongzhou. Later, the chaos of the collision of the imperial mausoleum occurred. He Shilang and Liu Dan wrote a secret note and reported it to the emperor.
Therefore, in the official document, Liu Dan did not go with the sixth prince.
But here at Lu Zhang, he is very aware of this matter, and whether it is for the gold mine, the emperor's tomb, or to understand what the sixth prince has done along the way, it is impossible for Lu Zhang to completely ignore Liu Dan. Not to mention, the person who conveyed the verbal message didn't even know who Liu Dan was.
General Liu's brain buzzed loudly.
He stopped the guards with his eyes, and then threateningly glared at the Jinyi guards and soldiers who were walking along the way.
"Yes, we'll go to Yongzhou Post House now." Liu Dan turned his head and smiled and said to Shi Shulang.
Shi Shulang noticed something was wrong, looked at Liu Dan suspiciously, wrote it down in his heart, bowed his hands in vain, and then left with someone.
The guard looked at his back and cursed in a low voice.
Some of the nimble Jin Yiwei also reacted. Liu Dan was in Pingzhou to suppress the bandits, so he should live in the Pingzhou post house.
"It's not right."
"Your Majesty... Could it be that the Second Prince is in power?"
"Idiot, if the second prince is in power, it shouldn't be the second prince who was beaten against the party, it should be the third prince!"
Everyone suddenly realized, and yes, the second prince's reckless temperament does not look like someone who can conspire to rebel! Even if the second prince is stupid, the commander of Jin Yiwei is not stupid.
"... The Jin Yiwei of His Majesty's letter can't see a single one, and there is even our commander in the anti-Party party!"
"The third prince is really hiding."
Everyone, your words and my words have mistakenly twisted the truth in another direction.
Smart people are often defeated by absurd reality.
Because no matter what they thought, the civil service group secretly planned, inciting the second prince to rebel, bombarded the palace with artillery, and then took advantage of the chaos to control the capital, united with the third prince to put the emperor under house arrest, and executed the second prince. This process is very convincing.
The next opponent of the third prince is the weak prince.
The sixth prince is young and has no power, so it is difficult to turn over.
Liu Dan hurriedly returned to his mansion and sent his own soldiers out to inquire about the news. He walked around the flower hall with his hands behind his back.
Because he has been away from Beijing for a long time, the servant is very slack on weekdays. At this moment, he is trembling with his head down, reporting to Liu Dan what happened in the capital these days.
Mainly the Xingbo on the first day, and the double dragon vision that appeared in the sky a few days ago.
Liu Dan didn't hear what he wanted to know, and while he was restless, the guards came back one after another.
"General, it's not good! The prince is critically ill. It is said that it is this month. It was very carefully concealed. When Taijing was under martial law, those who arranged related matters were afraid and leaked the news."
"really?"
"General, it's not good! The Beizhen Fusi was surrounded by the Imperial Guard... and the Nanzhen Fusi, those Jinyi Guards were trapped inside. It is said that it has been like this for four days."
"what?!"
Liu Tan stood up. Although he was very tired of Jin Yiwei, it was bad news for Liu Tan that the emperor would not become the emperor. The third prince came to power through the civil service group, and the life of military generals would be even more difficult.
"If you are so bold, are you not afraid of being known to the public and notorious?"
"...General, there is even worse news. A few days ago, Gong Jun, the confidant of Jinyiwei, was dispatched to Shangyun Mountain to arrest the Jianghu people who came to Beijing to make trouble. As a result, he never came back, and after martial law in the capital. Gyeonggi left. The battalion General Tan took his troops and horses to encircle the rebels and headed towards Shangyun Mountain. General, do you think they are catching Jianghu people or dealing with Gong Tongzhi?"
Liu Dan was stunned, and when he regained his senses, he hurriedly urged, "How did you know about this?"
"There's chaos in Nanzhen Fusi. It is said that there is no food in the yamen. They are arguing with the Guards, and their voices have spread far and wide!" It's also ridiculous, thinking that this time Jin Yiwei can be completely suppressed, and scolding Zhongyang proudly saying that Gong Tongzhi may have died at the hands of Jianghu bandits."
Liu Dan shook his head: "Gong Tongzhi's reputation in Nanzhen Fusi is higher than that of the commander of Jinyiwei. These Guards are so rude, they're just poking a hornet's nest."
"So that's how it is? No wonder!" The soldier quickly added, "The Jinyi guards got angry when they heard it, and they rushed out and injured several janissaries. Without seeing any blood, they unloaded several arms, and said Why did they all know martial arts, Shangyun Mountain is so big, how could something happen, etc. Then the Guards leaked their mouths, it turned out that General Tan of the Zuoying of Gyeonggi went with artillery, artillery! Directly Boom!"
Rao was Liu Dan, and was too shocked to speak.
How could Taijing be so messed up
"Now, what about the Imperial Guard and Nanzhen Fusi?"
"I don't know yet. There is a brother squatting over there watching. I will come back and report to the general first."
Liu Dan frowned when he heard the words, and regretted: "We shouldn't have entered Beijing. After a while outside, we can see the direction of the wind. Now that we are caught in the whirlpool, I really don't know how to get out."
"It's easy to handle, why don't we sneak into the Guards' team and act according to chance?" The personal soldier suggested.
"No, although that Shishulang doesn't know me, but when he went back and said, he couldn't hide his identity. When the time comes, he can't find anyone. I'm afraid he will be directly beaten as a traitor." Liu Dan sighed and stretched out his hand. Rubbing his eyebrows.
This is really a troubled city.
Just when Liu Dan was worried, another personal soldier hurried in.
"General, something strange happened!"
Liu Dan was not as surprised as the previous two times. He just raised his eyelids and ordered in a deep voice, "Speak!"
This personal soldier was relatively young, so he leaned over and said mysteriously, "Something happened to He Shilang's house!"
"Um?"
"The subordinates only followed He Shilang's house. Guess what the general, He Shilang is furious at home at the moment! His servant wanted to hide it, but he couldn't hide it. He Shilang went home to change clothes, but his house... poof."
Liu Dan glared at his personal soldiers, who quickly suppressed his smile and said solemnly: "He Shilang's clothes were all stolen, except for the purse and Luo socks, there is nothing left! Even the shoes are gone!"
"...What did the thieves steal these clothes for? The official robes were also stolen?"
"No, all five or six official robes are gone, and the jade belt official hat and official boots are also gone."
Liu Dan pondered: "Could it be that someone is going to pretend to be He Shilang?"
"More than that, I heard from the servants of the He House that all the rice grains in the house were gone, and there was only a pile of cabbage left in the kitchen." The personal soldier suppressed a smile and whispered, "My subordinates guess, maybe these things will Appearing in the homes of those poor people in Xicheng, robbing the rich to help the poor, it sounds like a book."
Liu Dan said angrily: "Come on, why do heroes who rob the rich and help the poor steal official robes? When is this? There are still people doing this kind of thing..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw that the guard who came back at the end had a wrong expression.
And beside the personal guard, there was a short man wearing gray fluffy armor, and at first glance, he thought he was also his personal soldier.
"you-"
The uninvited guest raised his head, his expression gloomy.
"General Liu doesn't seem to welcome this king anymore."
"Sixth prince... How did you come out?" As soon as Liu Dan said that, he remembered that the sixth prince was able to sneak out before, and He Shilang led someone to turn over the imperial mausoleum without finding anyone.
Liu Dan's face was ugly, and it was clearly a huge trouble standing in front of him where the prince was.
The trouble with the brain!
"His Royal Highness has a distinguished status, and now there is chaos in the city, and His Highness should not run around willfully."
"General Liu, you are my father's confidant, and my father will definitely summon you first." The sixth prince stared at him and pursed his lips, "When the time comes, ask the general to bring me into the palace as a personal guard. Even if the general does not agree, I can find Liu’s house, and there is a way for others to find the general here, the general doesn’t want to become a chaotic party!”
Liu Dan's face was cold, and he mercilessly ordered his own soldiers to drive people out.
"The sixth prince has been brought into the palace. The identity of this person is unknown. You actually put him in! Let him go!"
The sixth prince was not annoyed either, he looked at Liu Dan and said, "Will the general meet at the emperor's mausoleum not introduce a thing or two to the king?"
Liu Dan's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm.
The personal soldiers were not as calm as Liu Dan, and their movements couldn't help but slow down.
Seeing this, the sixth prince said more confidently: "General Liu may not know, this king has learned martial arts, and his eyes and ears are much more agile than others. That day in the woods near the imperial mausoleum, I heard your personal soldiers mention a name."
"… "
"Meng Guoshi, a very interesting name, who is this person?"
Liu Dan felt a headache when he looked at the sixth prince who was confident.
The sixth prince hummed and said, "Later, the imperial mausoleum was attacked by a group of people from the rivers and lakes. After investigation, this prince even heard that there was a former court man named Aunt Yu. He once saw a person whose figure, temperament, and eyes were all different. She looks like Meng Qi, the former national teacher, but she looks much younger. Aunt Yu insisted that it was Meng Guoshi, and said that there is no second person in the world with such power. What's more, her description reminded me of One of the two strangers I met near the imperial mausoleum Lujiazhuang before, as she said, is unique and unforgettable."
"I don't know what His Highness is talking about. I will fight in the northern border for many years, and then I will go to Pingzhou to suppress bandits in the mountains. My days in Taijing are numbered, and I can't even recognize the officials of this dynasty, let alone say anything. Former State Teacher!"
Seeing Liu Dan's appearance, the sixth prince nodded and said calmly: "Then let's not mention this, let's talk about the current crisis of the generals. Orders can let you disarm and return to the field, or you can be accused of crimes. You are a trusted minister of your father and emperor. When the new king ascends the throne, your position will be replaced by the new king's henchmen. Are you willing? The general's soldiers and horses are Those who follow the generals in the northern border are born and die, and hand them over to others, are they willing? Will it end well?"
The sixth prince stretched out his hand for a guide and sneered: "If I were the new emperor, I only need to send these people to the Yangtze River defense line and force the attack on the old land of Yichu, and these people will naturally become a member of the army's list of dead soldiers."
Liu Dan is not a fuel-efficient lamp, he does not move.
To deal with people like the sixth prince, ignoring them with a cold face is the best policy.
Seeing that the sixth prince could not be provoked, he changed his words and said, "Or the general wants to defect with his troops and horses."
He clapped his palms twice, and smiled sarcastically: "It's a good idea, but unfortunately the general's former department is in Pingzhou, what will happen after the general flees back with his personal soldiers? To go to the territory of the three kings of the Chu Dynasty, you have to pass through Yongzhou and defect to Is the Heavenly Granted King in the southwest? The general has cleared the rudder of the holy lotus altar, can the Heavenly Granted King really stay there?"
Liu Dan was surprised, how did the sixth prince know that he was in Qinghu Town, Pingzhou
The sixth prince just smiled and said nothing. He naturally wouldn't be stupid enough to say it when he got the secret report from Pingzhou from the prince and the commander of Jin Yiwei.
"... From this point of view, the general can only take his subordinates far outside the customs, or escape into the deep mountains, and take over the mountains as kings where the emperor's order cannot be conveyed. Now there is an opportunity to change the fate in front of us, it depends on the general's ability Can't hold it!"
"Just to bring you into the palace?" Liu Dan sneered.
"No, I want to see that Meng Guoshi!"
The sixth prince's eyes lit up. He wanted to meet the legendary figure who the prince had mentioned before, who was like a no-man's land in Fusi in Beizhen, and caused the sudden death of the deputy commander of Jinyiwei.
I missed it in the imperial mausoleum before, which really made the sixth prince feel extremely regretful.
Thinking that he had overheard Meng Guoshi and the doctor talking about Lujiazhuang, the sixth prince was even more excited. It is really rare that a talented person who does not put imperial power in his heart is still a worthy minister of the emperor's brother's mouth!
"You, what did you say?" Liu Dan was dumbfounded.
"This king..."
The sixth prince thought silently, he was looking for a reliable assassin, and the Qingwu ancestor like the idiot the second emperor was looking for would not work at all! Meng Guoshi is different!
"This king can promise Meng Guo's teacher Zaifu, not only this king, but also the eldest brother!" The sixth prince gritted his teeth and said that he believed that the crown prince would definitely approve of him.
Liu Dan and the soldiers: "..."
Meng Guoshi didn't want to be photographed, he only wanted the money bag.
The author has something to say:
Liu Dan: The national teacher has always come to robbery, and I have never gone to the national teacher. How can I get there? Hanging a purse around your neck and walking down the street with a gong
You are embarrassing me, Liu Qianbao!