What happened in Danzhi that year was repeated in Daliang almost without changing the ingredients. Now the most likely candidates in the court to become the crown prince - or the next emperor - are Su Wang Han Mingli and Ji Wang Han Mingcheng. Because the deposed crown prince and his rebellion have become the emperor's heartache, the emperor has been delaying the establishment of the throne these years. Storage matter.
Now that the emperor has fainted, most of the officials don't know whether the emperor is alive or dead. King Su took the lead in taking control of the palace, and King Ji simply surrounded the southern capital. A bloody storm was about to break out. Brothers fighting and father and son killing each other was nothing new in the royal family.
Duan Xu folded his hands under his lips and asked, "How is Xianye doing?"
"The news from Nandu has been blocked and can no longer be spread." Shen Ying looked at the note and replied.
He raised his eyes and looked at Duan Xu and said, "Sister Luo Xian also said that before King Ji surrounded Nandu, the emperor issued an edict to lead your troops back to Nandu immediately to remove the rebels and protect the capital. The envoy is already on the way, so hurry up. Hurry, I think we’ll be here in ten days.”
Duan Xu chuckled lightly and said calmly: "Get rid of the rebellious ministers? I don't want to get involved in the struggle for the throne. He can come to my camp if his envoy kills seven or eight horses. I will rectify the army and go back at least half the time." Months, can you catch up? What? "
He spread out a piece of paper and picked up a pen to draw on the paper: "This is Nandu. The armies of Daizhou, Shunzhou and Yizhou have all been deployed to surround Nandu. These three states have no available troops. However, in Qian There is also Li Ze's Chang Ming army stationed in Xizhou, and there is also a Fengnan army in Xizhou. There is no war between these two armies and they are about the same distance from the southern capital as me. Who gave me the idea to transfer me back? Adjust them?"
Shen Ying walked over and looked at it. These two armies had not fought for many years, and they had no idea how many people were living on empty pay. He then said: "The fighting strength of these two armies is probably..."
"How much better can the armies of King Ji and King Su be? These two armies are enough if they are well organized." Duan Xu put down his pen and said: "Now the granaries of Qizhou are in our hands, and the war horses have Yunzhou weapons and Luo In the state, I have troops outside, and neither King Ji nor King Su dares to touch the Duan Mansion. So what does Nandu have to do with me? If I withdraw my troops now, I will give up all the results of the past six months. not going back."
“…”
Shen Ying had never seen anyone who could say such treacherous and unjust words as confidently as his third brother. Isn't the implication of Duan Xu's words - I don't care whether the emperor is dead or alive? I would still fight my battle if it were replaced by someone else.
Maybe Duan Xu can really say this.
"But the emperor has issued an edict, and the envoy is also on the way. Third brother, do you want to resist the edict?"
Duan Xu crossed his arms and looked at the map he had drawn casually for a while, and then said: "It is a long road from Nandu to Youzhou. It is inevitable for the envoy to have an accident along the bumpy journey. Unfortunately, he was robbed and lost the imperial edict and military symbols. It’s possible.”
Shen Ying couldn't help but tremble when she looked at Duan Xu's smiling and full eyes, and then heard Duan Xu say, "Tell Luo Xian this again and let her make arrangements."
Shen Ying was sweating and agreed. He often felt that if one day his third brother waved his flag and said he was going to rebel, he would not be surprised and would follow suit. His third brother doesn't respect any king, probably only His Highness the Ghost King.
After Shen Ying left the camp, Duan Xu looked down at the map and smiled softly.
"Everything in the world is for profit, and all the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. This kind of struggle for power has been staged twice in ten years. She is afraid that she will be tired of seeing it after seeing it too much."
Tired of it.
Such a possibility rolled through his mind, and he quickly put away his feelings that were about to sink, folded the sketch, and then picked up the new battle report to read.
These are all good things that can make him forget many things temporarily.
The sky over Nandu was shrouded in dark clouds, and the people in the city were in panic. There were not many people visible on the usually busy streets. People chatted in low voices, looking at the palace from time to time, speculating on the impending disaster.
Fang Xianye walked out of the main hall of Jin'an Temple and walked westward to a remote wing at the back of the temple, which was usually used for spiritual practice and enlightenment by believers who lived here. The emperor had not gone to court since he fainted, and the palace was heavily guarded. He had only received a casual position in the Ministry of Rites, so he simply took leave and went to Jin'an Temple to avoid the limelight.
This seems very normal, and no one thinks it is inappropriate. Everyone is thinking about protecting themselves under the cloud.
Not long after the first lunar month, the weather was still cold. Fang Xianye passed under the eaves, and the water vapor turned into white mist when he breathed. But there is already a hint of green on the ground and treetops, and spring is approaching.
He walked to a quiet and deserted house and gently knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" A high-pitched voice came from inside.
"Fang Xianye."
Someone came over and opened the door, and Fang Xianye stepped in. The person who opened the door was an old man who was nearly fifty years old. He was short and slightly stout. He walked slowly and had a high-pitched voice. He was a eunuch who had lived in the palace for a long time.
Fang Xianye glanced at the person lying on the collapse and said in a low voice: "Eunuch Zhao, is the emperor asleep again?"
Eunuch Zhao also lowered his voice and said with a frown: "The emperor can only wake up for two or three hours a day. Our family is worried that we will not be able to eat."
The house in this Buddhist temple is very simple, with only a bed and two tables. The man lying on the couch is about forty years old. He is tall and has a pale and tired face but exudes a bit of majesty. He is the current Holy Emperor.
Chao Wenwu, King Su and King Ji did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor, whose life or death was uncertain, was in Jin'an Temple.
Fang Xianye's involvement in this matter was purely accidental. He was at the Yunluo border before, but after he came back, he was convicted and demoted due to the Shihui incident, so he did not participate in the battle for the reserve position. After the emperor fainted in the court, King Su sealed off the palace. Like everyone else, he did not know the true situation of the emperor. But a few days ago, when he went to Jin'an Temple to offer incense as usual, he was stopped by Master Songyun, the host. Master Songyun looked as usual and said he wanted to ask him a favor.
Unexpectedly, this job was to sneak the emperor into Jin'an Temple after he fainted and then woke up.
Master Songyun stayed in the palace for a while when he was young, and he became good friends with the emperor at that time. This time there was a change in the palace, and the emperor could not trust either King Su or King Ji, so he secretly contacted Master Songyun, secretly escaped from the palace and came to Jin'an Temple.
However, the emperor did not expect Master Songyun to call Fang Xianye for help.
At that time, Master Songyun was spinning his rosary beads and said to Amitabha Buddha, saying that Fang Xianye was very humble, intelligent and astute. It was rare for young people to have such a mind and it was worthy of belief. As expected, he is a person who is able to talk about big things calmly.
At that time, the emperor looked at Fang Xianye who was kneeling on the ground. He didn't know what to say for a moment, so he had to leave Songyun.
At this time, the emperor on the couch slowly opened his eyes. Eunuch Zhao said happily: "The emperor is awake!"
The emperor's chaotic eyes turned and fell on Fang Xianye, and then he gradually woke up. He said calmly: "Fang Aiqing is here."
Fang Xianye saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I will bring you some medicinal materials and supplements."
The emperor stretched out his hand, and Eunuch Zhao immediately went to support the emperor, helped him sit up and lean on the back of the bed, and stuffed the hand stove into the emperor's hand, taking good care of him.
The emperor squinted his eyes and looked Fang Xianye up and down, and said, "I remember, you are Yao Jianhe's student."
Yao Jianhe, the right prime minister of the second rank of Shangshu and the counselor of political affairs, was the respectful title of Duke Pei among the officials.
"I lost my father when I was young. I went to Nandu to take the exam and had a bumpy journey. Fortunately, Mr. Yao appreciated me and took him in for a few days. Mr. Yao has never acquired knowledge. Twenty-three out of ten, I am worthy of being called a student." Fang Xianye said, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Fang Aiqing won the championship at the age of seventeen, making him the youngest number one scholar since the founding of the Liang Dynasty. He should have been high-spirited and full of ambition, but he never showed any arrogance or complacency. He was always worried and fearful, and he cared about the people. He had a sense of recovery. Sheng Yan Hui’s virtue. I had to put you through hard work before demoting you. Did Fang Aiqing know that?”
Fang Xianye immediately saluted and said, "Together, it is truly a blessing for Xianye to receive the Holy Master's green eyes. He will die without regrets."
Then the emperor said quietly: "I am now weak and weak, and I am afraid that my time is short. Which prince does Fang Aiqing think is the most suitable to hand over the beam?"
This issue was too sensitive. Fang Xianye was stunned for a moment and realized something was wrong. He immediately knelt down and said, "The Holy Lord will live for a hundred years when he is in his prime. How dare I say this?"
The emperor chuckled lightly, but did not spare him, but said: "Yao Jianhe and Prince Ji have a close relationship. What does Fang Aiqing think? How about Prince Ji? Is he worthy of a big job?"
Fang Xianye broke out in sweat and clenched his fists. He knew that the emperor wanted to get a result from him, so after hesitating again and again, he gritted his teeth and said: "Your Excellency, you are just acquainted with Prince Ji because of your in-laws, and you should have no other intentions. In my humble opinion... Prince Ji and Prince Ji Although King Su is a talented man with great talents and great strategies, in terms of his literary skills and martial arts, King Jin is not inferior."
There was a moment of silence in front of him. In this confusing situation, Fang Xianye didn't have much confidence in his guess.
The emperor was not very happy when he saw him. He was apparently a student of Yao Jianhe. Although he had not done anything substantial, he seemed to belong to King Ji's faction. The emperor hid in Jin'an Temple for many days and made no attempt to contact King Ji outside the city. Presumably he was not satisfied with King Ji. The emperor was unwilling to stay in the palace and plotted to escape. Apparently he was also afraid of Prince Su who controlled the palace.
If his guess is correct, the Emperor is dissatisfied with these two fledgling sons, and the most suitable candidate left is His Royal Highness, Prince Jin. The King of Jin was the younger among the princes, and he was good at calligraphy. He was obsessed with painting, poetry, and prose all the year round, and seemed to have no interest in government affairs, and he avoided the disputes over the heir apparent. However, Fang Xianye had accidentally read the poems and essays of the King of Jin, and his strong writing power and heart must be more than that, but he was just hiding his clumsiness.
"Prince Jin..." The emperor smiled softly and said slowly: "Fang Aiqing, don't be so nervous, just get up."
Fang Xianye breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he had made the right bet.
He stood up from the ground, the emperor waved his hand, and Eunuch Zhao next to him moved a chair for Fang Xianye to sit down. The emperor said calmly: "King Su and King Ji wanted to usurp the throne while I was sick. If I hadn't been prepared, I would have died in the palace. How can such an unkind and unjust person inherit our country? I also deeply believe what Fang Aiqing said. However, although the King of Jin is young, he is kind and courteous and can inherit the throne. In the future, he will need capable people to assist him. I am interested in you, and you will have a place by his side in the future."
Fang Xianye thanked him, but he knew in his heart that this was the emperor's way of stabilizing him. Before Master Songyun found him, the emperor should have selected a group of capable ministers for King Jin. He had a close relationship with Yao Jianhe, so he was probably excluded from this group of candidates.
Judging from the emperor's attitude, he may have planned to let the snipe and clam fight between King Su and Ji, while allowing King Jin to benefit. After both King Su and King Ji were defeated, the new emperor ascended the throne. No one could benefit from the two parties that originally supported the two kings. They were afraid that they would decline and the power in the court would be reshuffled.
So was this incident arranged by the emperor? No, it was probably not the emperor's intention to have things happen in a hurry. It is probably because the emperor's condition worsened and this incident was triggered in advance.
Fang Xianye's mind was running rapidly, analyzing the situation in front of him. But I heard the emperor whispering from the side: "Is Duan Shuai not back yet?"
Fang Xianye was stunned and secretly clenched his fists.
"Your Majesty, Commander Duan has not arrived in Nandu yet."
"The time is almost here, Fang Aiqing thinks? Why hasn't he returned yet?"
"I don't understand the affairs of the battlefield, so I dare not speak nonsense. Perhaps the situation is chaotic on the road, and the envoy has not arrived yet."
The emperor chuckled softly, and said slowly: "As soon as his life changed, I issued an edict to let him come back. Duan Shuai is such a well-informed person, how come he hasn't returned yet?"
Fang Xianye felt that his palms were getting sweaty.
Fortunately, the emperor did not continue this topic and simply changed it to talk about something else.