The old cripple waited for Fang Jie's answer with squinted eyes, and there was more or less expectation in his eyes. He became more and more interested in this messy young man who looked like a waste, because if he looked carefully at this young man, he could always find a lot of things that people like.
Fang Jie is an interesting person. He understands better than anyone else when he should understand, and is confused by everyone when he should be confused. He will not deliberately pretend to be an idiot to show weakness. Even idiots pretend not to be. Or maybe, he felt that he was not qualified yet.
Maybe some people like to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger, but this young man deeply understands that he is not a pig, so he can't even pretend to be a tiger. In this world, pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger is a game played by those who are so vigorous that they have almost no taboos. Fang Xie is not considered a strong player, and he does not have the capital to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger.
Fang Jie pinched a piece of cooked meat and put it in his mouth, pondered for a while and sorted out his words in his mind.
"If you analyze it according to common sense, this matter is not difficult to guess."
He washed down the meat in his mouth with a mouthful of Northwest Roast, savoring the hotness of Northwest Roast.
"That man was the only prince who had always stood by His Majesty's side in the seven sons who took over the throne. Perhaps he was also the only prince who never coveted that chair. This is something that all the people of the Sui Dynasty knew. Just ask any old man on the side of the road and he will be able to tell that period of the past clearly."
"When His Majesty was still the fourth prince, he was actually not favored by the late emperor. At that time, the third prince was the most likely to take over the jade seal in terms of prestige. The third prince Yang Ji was good at making friends, and he was able to argue, not to mention in the court, but in the world There are also many heroes who are willing to die for him. They generously donate money and never hesitate to use their privileges to help others. Therefore, Yang Ji's reputation has always been very good and very high among the court and the people."
"Another hot prince who can compete with Yang Ji for the throne is the eldest son Yang Xiong. He is the eldest son of the empress of Zhenggong, and the empress liked him very much at that time. With the support of the descendants, the subordinates naturally also need the assistance of the courtiers. The army has great prestige, so Yang Xiong, the eldest son of the emperor, is more confident of inheriting the throne than Yang Ji, who has a wide network."
"But Yang Xiong is very proud, relying on the support of his descendants, he didn't know how to restrain himself. So that the emperor gradually became more and more disgusted with the eldest son who bullied men and women behind his back. Let Yang Xiong fall down completely."
"Because the emperor dislikes Yang Xiong, the third prince Yang Ji is more and more outstanding."
Fang Jie took a sip of his wine, smiled and said, "Everyone in the border city of Fangu knows this story, but no one can tell how much of it is true and how much is false. What is denied is that the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty never concealed the matter of choosing the crown prince. He prefers his children to fight with their real skills. Therefore, there are many stories that have been circulated. Unlike the previous dynasty, everything It was all done in the dark."
The old cripple smiled and said: "Most of these things are true, as you just said. The biggest difference between the royal family of the Great Sui Dynasty and the previous dynasty is that they don't talk about benevolence and morality, but they do something dark behind their backs." It's a cruel thing. The successive emperors of the Sui Dynasty chose the crown princes, and they all chose the best heirs. The emperor even encouraged the princes to compete, but only on the surface.
Fang Jie nodded and said: "There is no doubt that at that time, no one was optimistic that the current emperor would be able to sit in that chair. The late emperor was seriously ill, and he had not yet chosen who the crown prince was before he died. He was leading the army to guard the eastern border and the eastern Yang Xiong, the eldest prince of the Chu State who negotiated and planned the national border, learned that the late emperor was critically ill, so he brought five thousand soldiers and rushed back from the eastern border during the starry night."
"At that time, the third prince had already secured the victory, and even the most favored senior ministers before the late emperor's sick bed stood by his side. Knowing that the first prince led the troops back, the third prince sent His Majesty, who was also on his side at that time, to lead someone to intercept him. His Majesty went straight into the Tai Chi Hall of the Forbidden Palace, and took away the Tiger Talisman of Dispatch of Soldiers. The elite soldiers of Zuo Wuwei from the Sixth Army of Diao Tianzi went out of the city to intercept the First Prince. On the way, they were caught up by the Seventh Prince Yang Qi. No one knew what Yang Qi said to His Majesty at the time. What, but His Majesty may have made up his mind at that time."
"Your Majesty led the elite soldiers of Zuo Wuwei to stop the Eldest Prince halfway, and detained the Eldest Prince on the grounds that he had disobeyed the emperor's order and brought his troops back to the capital without authorization. Then he immediately led the troops back to the imperial capital, and the third prince ordered all the gates of the imperial capital to be closed. The prince led two hundred and sixty house slaves to guard a city gate until His Majesty returned with his troops. In that battle, only nineteen of the two hundred and sixty house slaves survived. The seventh prince was seriously injured in thirteen places, Three of them are transparent from front to back."
"Your Majesty led the troops straight into the Tai Chi Hall and trapped all the courtiers. Old Nayan Suwei asked the late emperor who would inherit the throne when he was sick. At that time, it happened that His Majesty came in with his armor. The late Emperor glanced at the third prince and then at His Majesty. Then point your finger at His Majesty."
"Although those old ministers prefer to let the third prince succeed, the last emperor's will must not be violated. So His Majesty ascended the throne, the third prince was demoted to the common people, and sent to Ning'an Pagoda to guard the border. The eldest prince was demoted to be a disobedient officer, permanently stationed in southern Xinjiang Xinshui City is not allowed to go out of the city. Luo Yao has been guarding the southern border, so he may not have the mission to monitor the First Prince."
"The seventh prince, Yang Qi... is the owner of Hongxiu Zhao, right?"
After saying this, Fang Jie took a look at the old cripple.
The old cripple sighed and said, "These things are definitely not something that any old man on the side of the road can say... Fang Jie, how did you know?"
…
…
What Fang Jie knew was what Li Xiaozong had mentioned to him. In the border town of Fangu, Fang Xie was the only one who could sit down, drink and chat with Li Xiaozong freely. Although Li Xiaozong is only a child of the Li family concubine, it is not too difficult to know these inside stories. At that time, there was such a lively scene of the seven sons seizing the heir, which family could stay out of it
In fact, to put it bluntly, the prince seized the heir, and it was the strength behind him that he fought for.
The reason why Li Xiaozong knew such details was because Li Luan, the general of Zuozhenwei, was one of the few people who stood beside the fourth prince Yang Yi.
If not, it would be as difficult for Li Luan to bring the Li family into the ranks of first-class families with his military exploits.
Your Majesty has always been a character who repays kindness with kindness and repays revenge with revenge.
When Li Xiaozong talked about this with Fang Jie, he never thought that one day he would become a deadly enemy with Fang Jie. At that time, he still wanted to train Fang Jie to be his confidant. Li Xiaozong is a man with big ambitions, and although Fang Jie is young, he definitely has the ability to make him fall in love.
So this kind of secret, which is no longer a secret, can still show that he trusts Fang Xie when he tells it.
Fang Jie explained it to the old cripple, and then said with a smile: "Speaking of which, at the last moment, His Majesty was able to become the person chosen by the late emperor. It is undisputed that the greatest credit goes to the Seventh Prince Yang Qi. If it wasn't for Yang Qi Running thousands of miles alone, two war horses died and caught up with His Majesty, if he hadn't led his servants to guard the city gate, Your Majesty...not Your Majesty."
He said this in a low voice, not daring to let others hear.
This kind of thing, if people listen to the nonsense, who knows if it will cause some trouble
The old cripple hummed and said: "After your majesty ascended the throne, the first thing you did was to confer the seventh prince as a loyal prince, ranking first among all princes and ministers. His salary was three times that of other princes, and his fiefdom was ten times that of other princes. You can have 3,000 soldiers who completely obey the orders of the loyal prince. This kind of grand grace is the only one in the century since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. Even the 19 house slaves who survived the battle of the city gate were all sealed as county magistrates. Noble title! His descendants will never perform military service or pay taxes forever!"
He paused and continued: "But no one thought that on the third day after His Majesty ascended the throne, Prince Zhong resigned from all military posts, did not enter the court to participate in politics, and did not return to his fief. A song and dance shop called Hongxiu Zhao. The emperor made seven decrees to let him enter the court, but he refused to respect it. The queen even put wine in person to persuade him. The queen toasted a glass and he drank one cup. The queen toasted sixteen cups, and he even drank Sixteen cups, half drunk and half awake, just refused to go to the palace again."
Fang Jie said with emotion: "There is no one with more wisdom in the world than this."
"But his influence is too great. During the period of the first emperor, Prince Zhong led troops to go out several times. We can only pin our hopes on him. So... it is inevitable that people will be suspicious, even if the decision he made has already expressed his attitude."
Fang Jiedao: "So I said, on the surface, it seems that Prince Zhong left Chang'an ten years ago and disappeared without a trace, and Hongxiu Zhao was expelled by another prince. This matter has nothing to do with His Majesty. How could you not ask a word about Hongxiu Zhao?"
Hearing this sentence, the old cripple couldn't help frowning slightly and asked, "You mean, this is just what it seems on the surface?"
"From what I've heard over the years, although His Majesty is the most gentle-tempered person among the emperors of the Sui Dynasty, he is definitely not without courage. If he wants to attack Prince Zhong, he will not use such a naive trick as making people disappear. Then immediately rushed to drive Prince Zhong's property out of the imperial capital, don't you think it's too obvious?"
Fang Jie thought of the scene in the town outside the imperial capital where the red-robed priest of the Taoist sect sank into the ground with one finger, and was even more sure that his thoughts were right. How could an emperor who was considered exhaustive made such a low-level mistake at the beginning
"If he wants to get rid of Prince Zhong, he will definitely get rid of the root... Moreover, he will not use such a substandard method."
The old cripple was stunned, thought for a while and said: "Prince Zhong's family has been living well, and the fief has not been moved. Every year, His Majesty will give you a lot of rewards, although there are only a group of old house slaves left in Prince Zhong's fief. I always thought , this is the emperor's guilt..."
"Guilty?"
Fang Jie said with a smile: "How can a person who can really do such a thing feel guilty?"
The old cripple hummed, his face a little ugly.
Fang Jie pondered for a while and said: "At the time Hongxiu Zhao was forced to leave the imperial capital, it was another prince who did it. The emperor didn't stop it, maybe the emperor didn't have time to stop it at all. That prince was suppressed by Prince Zhong, even if Prince Zhong didn't go to court or participate in politics, and it wasn't his turn to stand out, so after Prince Zhong disappeared, he thought he had seized the opportunity. It was too late for the emperor to take care of it, and in order to protect the face of his other younger brother, the emperor You can't bring back Hongxiu Zhao who was expelled from the imperial capital."
After thinking about it carefully in his mind, he said: "Maybe this is the truth. The fact that Hongxiu Zhao was dismissed was just an idiot thing done by some idiot prince to show his loyalty and win the position. He thought that the loyal prince was gone. He would take the opportunity to get rid of Prince Zhong's strength, but I didn't expect... the flattery was not good."
The old cripple's face changed, he hesitated and said: "It seems... the prince who expelled Hongxiu Zhao from the imperial capital, His Majesty has not used him these years. Although he is still a prince, he is really an idle person with no power."
"Everything, as long as you look at it with your heart, you should be able to see clearly."
Fang Jie summed it up stinkingly.
When the words come to this point, the wine is drunk, the meat is eaten, and the words are exhausted, which is just right.
"Come to Hongxiu Zhao's backyard early in the morning, and I will pass on a style of knife to you."
The old cripple got up, slightly drunk, so he walked a little shaky.
Fang Jie got up, not drunk, walking still in a steady state.
But those who are slightly drunk are not really drunk, and those who look not drunk are really drunk.
For that type of knife, Fang Jie didn't just spend a lot of brainpower, he was never a person who could drink, so the big wine gourd was empty.
Xi Huamei glanced at Fang Jie who was walking away, and then at the old cripple belching from alcohol.
"Want to help him?"
she asked.
The old cripple smiled: "Fate, temper... He is a waste of no cultivation, and he can't be beaten into a pig's head if he enters the martial arts competition? At least he came out of Fan Gu. If I lose a game and get beaten into a cripple, I'll be ashamed too... I don't use a knife for a long time, so it's time to see the light."
"This is a heavy gift."
Xi Thrush said seriously.
The old cripple waved his hand indifferently, leaned against the door frame and fell asleep very quickly. Muttered a few underestimated words, the voice was very soft. I don't know if it's a drunken talk or a dream talk, but after all, it's a bit intriguing.
"It's no wonder the seedlings are crooked because the ground is dry and the soil is cracked. Water more and then sprinkle manure...you can still be saved."