Seeing that Fang Xie's face turned pale, Zhuo Buyi couldn't help asking what happened. Fang Xie was silent for a while, then handed the letter in his hand to Zhuo Buyi. Zhuo Buyi couldn't wait to take it over and take a look, his face also turned pale in an instant.
"This news... reliable?"
He raised his head and looked at Fang Jie, with disbelief in his eyes.
"The news from Mu San should be reliable."
Fang Jie sighed, and sat down by the river: "Before I left Chang'an, Luo Weiran and the others told me that the emperor intends to let me enter the East Palace as a prince's attendant, and the emperor said so in front of several important officials in the East Nuan Pavilion." Yes, nine out of ten it is true... So it should be Mu San who contacted Luo Weiran immediately after hearing the news. And Luo Weiran knew that the guards in the inner guard were being stared to death by Su Buwei's inner guards. Send someone out to deliver the news, that's why I found San Jin Hou... "
"If the news is true, you must hurry back as soon as possible."
Zhuo Buyi said: "The letter said that the emperor vomited blood many times a day, and his body was getting worse day by day... It seems that the rumors at the beginning were true, I didn't care about it at all."
"What rumor?"
Fang asked.
Zhuo Buyi said: "It is said that when His Majesty ascended the throne, he was already seriously ill. There were rumors that the Emperor told Prince Zhong that if he could not persist for a few years, he would pass the throne to Prince Zhong, but Prince Zhong refused in person. He took out a few small golden elixirs to prolong the life of the emperor, but the small golden elixirs were too powerful, and the emperor's illness was unbearable... Back then, when the loyal prince traveled westward, he actually had another purpose. The prince insisted on leaving Chang'an City."
"Later, because the emperor had never suffered from any illness, the rumors were self-defeating. It is expected that the emperor did not know how to suppress the illness. Someone once speculated that Wu Yiyi, the Marquis of Sanjin, went overseas in person. Please come here The doctor who was a foreigner treated the emperor... Now it seems that even the doctor who is a foreigner failed to heal the emperor."
"No wonder..."
He was silent for a while and said: "The emperor's decisions over the years are sometimes wise and sometimes confused... He can't wait to launch an army against Meng Yuan, just to fulfill his long-cherished wish before he gets seriously ill. He...Although he is physically ill, his mind is stronger than that of the emperors of all dynasties. He wants to be big. He aspires to be a sage monarch of a generation and expand the territory to Langru Mountain for the Sui Dynasty. Now I also know why the emperor wanted to slaughter the Qiu family... "
"At that time, there were so many families who supported other princes to inherit the throne, not only the Qiu family? Moreover, although the Qiu family had a prominent family background, they still had no ability to influence the court situation. Back then, the emperor summoned the head of the Qiu family alone, and this old head, The most famous thing is not the official voice, but the medical skills. The Qiu family is a well-known medical family in the south of the Yangtze River, and there have been people who have worked as imperial doctors in the palace... Presumably, the old head of the Qiu family saw the incurable disease of the emperor, which attracted the attention of the emperor. The coming catastrophe."
When talking about this, Zhuo Buyi couldn't stop heaving.
"If it is true that the emperor is seriously ill, then it can explain why he has repeatedly failed in the past two years."
Fang Jie shook his head and said: "When the Northwest Army was defeated, he should have planned to do it slowly. First replenish the soldiers, fill the national treasury, and then recruit troops from various places. But this matter has not been completed in time, he I found that my body could no longer support me. That's why I came up with a way to recruit Xiaoyong... The prince is young, and he doesn't want to leave the prince with a mess after his death."
"In the beginning, he just wanted to fulfill his wish, which was to do something that the emperors of the Sui Dynasty dared not to try easily... to launch troops against Meng Yuan. He was like a naughty child. In order to avoid the courtiers' obstruction, he He chose to use goods to transport troops and food. At that time, he already had a premonition that his time was running out... But he didn't expect that he had carefully prepared for the war for so many years, but because of Li Yuanshan, all his previous efforts were wasted."
"The Northwest has become a mess, and he must clean up the mess before his body collapses. The prince is only ten years old, and the new emperor ascends the throne, so the court will inevitably be unstable."
Speaking of this, Fang Jie's mind suddenly lit up: "I also understand now...why the emperor has only one heir, the prince."
"Why?"
Zhuo Buyi asked.
Fang Jie took a deep breath and let it out slowly, using it to suppress his inner unrest: "For the sake of the Sui Dynasty, the emperor has thought of everything he can think of. It is precisely because he knew that his body would not be able to support him." How many years, that's why there is only one prince. If he has several sons, they are all young, and they will inevitably not be manipulated and used by courtiers with ulterior motives. Once the emperor dies and leaves behind a few young princes, then The situation will be so chaotic that there is no way to clean it up!"
"For the stability of the Sui Dynasty and the stability of the court, the emperor wanted this son... He didn't want his heirs to kill each other because of fighting for the throne. The most important thing, he didn't want the country of the Sui Dynasty to be stolen by those aristocratic families! From the moment he ascended the throne , the emperor has already thought about what will happen after his death... "
After listening to Fang's explanation, Zhuo Buyi's complexion also became ugly: "I understand... If the emperor leaves early, not only the court will be in chaos, but the harem will also be in chaos. If there are several princes, I'm afraid those concubines All the ladies want their sons to inherit the throne. The concubines and concubines in the harem all come from aristocratic families, and each has a lot of power behind them to support them... If the harem links up with the aristocratic family, the battle for the succession will be the real bloodshed Chenghe. And nine times out of ten... the Yang family's country will be stolen by others, even if the person sitting on the dragon chair is still a member of the Yang family, the power will definitely fall to the side!"
Zhuo Buyi said: "Looking at it now, the emperor took a lot of thought when he became the empress. Although the empress also came from a family, the empress's family has long since declined..."
Fang Jie sighed: "A man, thinking so far, an emperor, thinking about his back... He has done everything he can think of, but he is unlucky, too bad... If he didn't want to fulfill his wish, it would be wrong for Meng Yuan." With the mobilization of troops, I am afraid that the country of the Sui Dynasty will not be as precarious as it is now. Although the crown prince is young, but he has the empress to teach him, and if he chooses a few important ministers to assist the government, nothing will happen to the Sui Dynasty."
"Maybe..."
Zhuo Buyi shook his head: "This is all predestined."
"Are you going back?"
Zhuo Buyi asked.
"No return!"
Fang Jie shook his head resolutely: "I now understand why the emperor sent me out... and why, before I left Beijing, he mentioned to the courtiers that he intends to let me enter the Eastern Palace to assist the prince. The emperor's considerations are too far away. It is not easy to see what will happen tomorrow and what will happen the day after tomorrow, but what the emperor sees is a few years or even ten years later... If I hadn't received this secret letter today, I still haven't figured out why the emperor made such an arrangement. "
…
…
"Understand what?"
Zhuo Buyi asked.
Fang Jie reached out to ask him for the wine bag, raised his neck and took a sip, the spicy wine poured down his throat into his stomach, his chest was cold at first, and then a burst of heat began to burn. And only this fiery feeling can make Fang Xie get out of the icy cold.
"Because the emperor wanted to use me, he let me go."
Zhuo Buyi didn't understand what Fang Jie meant, so he couldn't help frowning slightly.
Fang Jie was silent for a while, and said with some emotion: "The emperor wants to use me, but not him. He intends to wait for the crown prince to ascend the throne, and then use me to assist the prince. But my qualifications are too young, and my foundation in the court is even weaker. Shallow. In the eyes of those aristocratic people, in the eyes of those important court officials, I am simply an insignificant person, it is too easy to crush me to death... If the emperor wants to use me, he must let me live."
"If he promotes me too early, once he dies suddenly, what will happen to those important officials of the family who want to control the government? In order to hold the prince hostage, I will bear the brunt of it. That courtier with a dirty mind wants to be the one who can influence the court situation I want to control the crown prince first, so I must die. The emperor knows that if I stay in Chang'an City, once he passes away, those courtiers will kill me immediately."
"That's why he found an excuse to let me leave Chang'an. The reason why he asked me to come to Yongzhou is that the emperor wanted to train me and let me know more about the Sui Dynasty. The emperor knew that Luo Yao would be the culprit of the Sui Dynasty sooner or later. So he sent me here to let me understand Luo Yao, and he will be able to deal with it in the future... He knew that after his death, the court situation would be difficult to control, so he sent all the people who could assist the prince in the future to leave Chang'an City... including you."
"If nothing else happens, Marquis Sanjin should be leaving the capital soon. The emperor made arrangements for the crown prince... and the reason why he mentioned his intention to let me enter the East Palace before I left Beijing is to pave the way for me to go back in the future. It is estimated that the emperor will definitely A secret decree has been left, not only for me, but also for many people.”
"But… "
Zhuo Buyi wondered, "Send all those who are loyal to me away from Chang'an. When the emperor dies, Chang'an will be full of young people. Who will protect the prince?"
"I have no idea… "
Fang Jie sighed: "Perhaps the emperor has already thought about how to arrange it."
"Then when will you go back?"
Zhuo Buyi asked.
Fang Jie frowned and thought for a while: "If the emperor didn't give me a decree, it means that he will give me a signal. When I see this signal, I know it's time for me to return to Beijing. But what is this signal, I will ask now. No idea."
It was still difficult for Zhuo Buyi to understand the emperor's thinking, because Fang Xie's mind was also in a mess now, so he couldn't sort out the clues from Fang Xie's words. But he can guess how much pain and helplessness the emperor feels in his heart now, and he also understands that the emperor is still trying his best to stabilize the Yang family.
"What shall we do now?"
"Wait!"
Fang Jie drank the wine in the wine bag in one breath, wiped the corners of his mouth, and his tone was a little sad and his voice trembled slightly: "Wait for me to see the signal released by the emperor, and then find a way to return to Chang'an City. Damn it." ...Isn't this forcing me to work for the Yang family? This old guy, he has figured out what is the softest part of my heart. Don't you think it's shameless to use others like this when you're dying?"
He was swearing, but Zhuo Buyi knew he wasn't swearing.
Everything the emperor did was for the prince's future, but why not to save Fang Jie's life
For a person like Fang Jie, the softest part of his heart... is that he can't see someone who treats him well being wronged...
Fang Jie handed the wine bag to Zhuo Buyi, stood up and stretched his body vigorously: "Although I don't know what the emperor's arrangement is, I can be sure that this signal will be very obvious. He arranged for people who left Chang'an City to see this signal." After that, you don’t need to be reminded that it’s time to go back.”
"Therefore, Luo Yao and the rebels must be urged to go to war."
Fang Jie gritted his teeth: "If Luo Yao is allowed to occupy Huangyang Road, then even if the rebellion in the northwest is suppressed, the southwest may not be at ease. As long as Luo Yao fights with the rebels, the resistance of the imperial army will be reduced. It will be smaller."
"Cross the river?"
Zhuo Buyi asked.
"Cross the river!"
Fang Jie nodded vigorously: "We must cross the river."
At the same time, Chang'an City Changchun Garden.
The emperor asked Su Buwei to go out and deliver an order to call three assistant ministers to Qionglu, but Su Buwei took the order and left. After Su Buwei's figure was gone, the emperor called the little eunuch Mu San who was waiting outside the door to come in.
He took out a wooden box from the cabinet behind him, and handed it to Mu San: "Take this out of the palace, out of the city, find a place to hide, or find someone you think you can trust. But even if you die, this thing It cannot fall into the hands of others. As for when you open this thing, you don’t need others to tell you, you will know when the time comes.”
"Your Majesty? This is..."
Mu San turned pale with fright, and knelt down to take the wooden box. Although he didn't know what was inside, he felt that the box was as heavy as a mountain.
"I will send you out of the city, you go to proclaim the decree... Luo Weiran, the commander of the Ouchi Guards Department, has an affair with the imperial court, despises the imperial court, is unfaithful, and deserves to be beheaded! But I can't bear to execute him because he has served the country for many years. Removal of all titles and titles, relegation to common people, expulsion from Chang'an... You personally watch him leave the city, and then don't come back..."
After saying this, the emperor's body shook a few times, as if all his strength had been drained. Mu San looked at the emperor's already white hair, and suddenly felt a knife stabbed in his heart, and it hurt...