(Please don't criticize Liu Xiang, at least in the book review section of Qing Yu Nian. No one is easy, let alone conspiracy theories. The reality may be more bizarre than others sometimes, but at least it must be bizarre and logical. I and I are depressed for a day Brother-in-law still supports him as always...)
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Looking at the carriage in the distance and listening to the faint noises coming from all around, Fan Xian was a little relieved - arranging Fujikokyo to go to Erbalipo Qingyutang was to take advantage of the chaos in the capital at this time, Try every means to take those old shopkeepers of Qingyutang out of Kyoto and disperse them among the people.
This wasn't an idea that came to Fan Xian suddenly, but a part of the plan he had drawn up from the very beginning. These old shopkeepers are very important to Fan Xian, and their mastery of the internal treasury technology and their familiarity with the secrets are even more important to the Qing Kingdom. Although His Majesty the Emperor missed their old feelings and spared them their lives, But they will never be allowed to leave the capital and fall into the hands of other forces. It has been twenty years since the fall of the Ye family. If you want to take so many old treasurers out of the capital, it is basically impossible task.
However, the rebellion of the eldest princess and the prince, and the chaos in the capital left Fan Xian, who had been painstakingly managing this matter, a big opportunity. Everyone in the capital thought His Majesty was dead, the palace was in chaos, the capital was in chaos, and a ray of light appeared before Fan Xian's eyes.
It's just that he really doesn't have any manpower to use now, and later, he vaguely guessed that His Majesty might be alive, so he temporarily stopped this plan. However, in the Taiping other courtyard, the last few words that the eldest princess whispered in his ear prompted him to make a final decision. Of course, even without the words of the eldest princess, Fan Xian would still find ways to take advantage of the current situation.
The battle between His Majesty the Emperor and the Eldest Princess has been going on at another level from the very beginning, and although Fan Xian is blindly silent, it seems that he is just a chess piece being swung, but he actually has his own thoughts.
He predicted that the capital would be in chaos, so he chose to fish out of troubled waters and make money out of the fire, with really sharp eyes and methods.
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Before he could appease the sad Wan'er, Fan Xian turned around and left the mansion. The eldest princess' body was placed in a private room in the back garden. He wanted to return to the palace to deal with some more urgent issues. Now that he knew the emperor The news that His Majesty is safe and sound, he must make some strong adjustments in the arrangement of the whole matter.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the mansion, a group of cavalry came over. Fan Xian squinted his eyes to see whose subordinates it was. The situation in the capital had already been settled. The Dingzhou army controlled the outside of the palace. The defense of the city was handed over to the First Prince again, and there were no longer any organized rebels in the city.
The person who came was indeed the Dingzhou Army. A blood-stained school officer pulled the reins of the horse, crawled up to Fan Xian, and said anxiously, "My lord, the commander has something urgent to report."
There are countless strong generals in the Qing Dynasty, and all the major armies habitually call their chief general the commander-in-chief, just like the old troops of Zhengxi Army called the eldest prince. Since this school official is from the Dingzhou Army, the commander-in-chief in his mouth naturally refers to him. It was Ye Zhong. Fan Xian was taken aback, wondering if something had changed in Beijing? He was already anxious to see Ye Zhong at this moment, so he pulled the reins and followed the small cavalry to drive towards Donghuamen, listening silently along the road, only then did he know what happened. .
Listening to the school official's narration, Fan Xian realized that Ye Zhong had been looking for him for a long time when he was in Taiping Bieyuan. While negotiating, for some reason, Li Chengqian asked himself to see him.
Although the Ye family suddenly rebelled, the rebel army is still powerful, and the fighting power of the remnants cannot be underestimated. Fan Xian never thought that the prince would be trapped in the capital. Under a certain city gate, there is still such a dangerous confrontation hidden.
His pupils shrank slightly, and he took a breath. If the rebels were expelled from the capital, once the field battle started, it would have nothing to do with him. Naturally, the Ye family and other military forces loyal to His Majesty would take over, but they were blocked in Donghua Door? Why didn't the prince rush out
While thinking about it, the horseshoes didn't stop. It didn't take long to forcefully disperse the people from Kyoto who were crowding out of the city in the direction of Zhengyang Gate. Fan Xian and his party came to Donghua Gate.
It was quiet in front of Donghua Gate, deathly quiet. The Qin family rebels surrounded by the Chengmen Division and the Dingzhou Army on the entire long street, tightly held the weapons in their hands, and looked around nervously and desperately. army.
In the center of the rebel army, the faces of several generals of the Qin family have become very ugly. The two sides have been confronting each other for an entire hour under Donghua Gate. Under the strong restraint of the prince, the rebel army did not launch a general attack on Donghua Gate, nor did they Launched a counter-breakout to the Dingzhou Army. And Ye Zhong, who led the Dingzhou Army to encircle the place, also showed exceptional patience, killing time like this, waiting for the arrival of Fan Xian, who was required by the crown prince to be there.
Ye Zhong was very patient, but the generals of the rebel army lived like years, with sweat streaming down their faces, but they did not dare to move lightly, because the defeat was like a mountain, and if they really wanted to fight, they might not survive a few people, but they also I don't know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is thinking, it involves rebellion, where is there any way out
Prince Li Chengqian, who was surrounded by the crowd, looked extraordinarily quiet, but a little haggard, not too flustered, until he saw Fan Xian approaching from afar, he sighed, as if he had calmed down a bit.
The cavalry of the Dingzhou Army separated like waves. Fan Xian galloped through the street alone, and came to Ye Zhong's side. He glanced at His Highness the Crown Prince opposite, frowned, not knowing what to say, and turned his head. He whispered something in Ye Zhong's ear.
Ye Chong's face lit up with joy, and his eyes lit up. He felt palpitations immediately, knowing that he had been conservative before, and the time he had given the prince was right. Since His Majesty the Emperor survived a catastrophe, how should the rebellious prince deal with it? It should be handed over to His Majesty the Emperor.
Although he was a rebellious and abandoned prince, he was still the emperor's son. As the second prince's father-in-law, Ye Zhong naturally didn't want the prince to die in his hands like this.
Fan Xian raised his eyes to look at the prince, and the prince looked back at him, his white lips trembling slightly, as if he had finally made an extremely important decision, he hissed slowly, "Are you here?"
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The rebels surrendered and became prisoners of the Dingzhou army. Several generals of the Qin family were also captured and fell to the ground in despair. The battle in Kyoto came to an end for the time being. Ye Zhong led the army and escorted a black carriage to the palace.
The black carriage was dispatched by the Overwatch Council as soon as possible. At this time, there were two people sitting in the carriage, one was Fan Xian, and the other was Prince Li Chengqian. The two brothers sat in the dark carriage, and no one spoke for a long time. first sentence.
"There may be something wrong with the third condition I promised you." Fan Xian lowered his eyes slightly and said in an apologetic tone, "If I can't do it, don't blame me for lying to you."
Prince Li Chengqian was unwilling to surrender countless innocent soldiers of the rebel army because of himself, so he surrendered with great courage. However, he asked Fan Xian to come in person and agree to three conditions before he was willing to arrest him without a fight, because Li Chengqian knew that at this moment in the capital , Fan Xian, who held his father's imperial edict in his hand and was supported by the vast majority of people, had more power to speak than Ye Zhong, who had a large army but was cautious in his heart.
As long as Fan Xian agreed to himself, no one in the court would make things difficult for these ordinary soldiers. Hearing Fan Xian's words at this time, Crown Prince Chengqian thought that Fan Xian had repented, stared into his eyes, and said angrily, "Why?"
"I can fight for the lives of ordinary soldiers, but I can't guarantee that they will survive. Although they are just cannon fodder, but... this is treason. Although the Qing Law is not strict, it has not left them a way to survive."
The prince couldn't understand the word cannon fodder, but he could guess what it meant.
Looking at the prince's pale face, Fan Xian sighed and said, "As for the officials and generals who participated in the rebellion, I have nothing to do."
"I know they won't survive, but at least I hope you won't be implicated... They are all big families. Once the generals are killed, I'm afraid tens of thousands of people will die."
Li Chengqian's face was a little gloomy, and he hoped that Fan Xian would promise again, after all, before the two armies, Fan Xian had personally agreed.
"Confiscating the family and exterminating the family, or implicating the whole family, this is something beyond my control." Fan Xian frowned very tightly, and said after a while: "As I said before, I will try my best to do what I promised you. But how many people can be saved, I... can't guarantee."
A picture appeared in front of Fan Xian's eyes. Countless heads were beheaded, countless young children were thrown to death, and countless ladies and wives of high-ranking officials were sent to official workshops and barracks. He is a cold-blooded person, and once he thinks about the tragedy that is about to come to the capital, he still feels a little chilly.
The men rebelled for their own rights and titles, and it was not only them who had to bear the tragic consequences, but also their wives, children who knew nothing, and even distant relatives from their hometown, or friends from many years ago...
Li Chengqian was trembling all over, and grabbed Fan Xian's collar with one hand. His pale and frightened face showed rare courage, and he growled in a low voice: "If you hadn't promised me, how could I surrender? How could I be willing to be yours?" Prisoner!"
Fan Xian didn't try to break free from the prince's weak hands, and shouted back in a low voice: "No surrender? Do you really want to be killed in the chaos?"
Li Chengqian was startled, and heard something else from Fan Xian's words, subconsciously let go of his hands clutching his collar, and said in a trembling voice: "I, the crown prince, is already abolished and will die soon, and you It’s Jian Guo, and the great scholars all support you... Even if Ping’er succeeds to the throne, you are still the emperor’s master, if you say a word, who would dare not listen to you?”
The expression on Fan Xian's face was a little indifferent, and he said, "Your Majesty... is still alive."
When Li Chengqian heard the news, his arms fell limply on his knees. Although he had already guessed the possibility of Ye Zhong's betrayal, once he actually heard the news, he would still be shocked.
"She's dead too."
Fan Xian said these words quietly, and then looked sideways at the prince, only to see Li Chengqian's face became paler and his eyes were blankly looking at the wall of the carriage, unable to speak for a long time, he gradually lowered his head , hunched over, buried his head down, his shoulders kept trembling, and made a suppressed sound.
Perhaps aroused by His Royal Highness's crying, Fan Xian felt a sense of distress in his chest, and subconsciously channeled Tianyi's True Qi method to clear the meridians, but unexpectedly, when he reached the middle of the mutton, he felt a sharp pain for no reason. His eyes became black and then bright, and he couldn't control it anymore, a mouthful of fresh blood spattered on the wall of the carriage with a thumping sound.
From Dadongshan to Kyoto, he was seriously injured and traveled thousands of miles. Before he recovered, he was forcibly suppressed with drugs, and experienced countless dangerous fights. Finally, he couldn't hold on anymore and his injuries exploded.
The prince's mood at this time was completely surrounded by the news of his father's life and his aunt's death. He didn't notice Fan Xian's situation at all, and fell into endless sadness with his head buried.
Fan Xian wiped the blood from his lips, took a few breaths, glanced at the guy beside him, and couldn't help shaking his head. Li Chengqian is about the same age as him, and it doesn't look like he has two lives, so he is just a young man.
In this way, one of the two brothers in the carriage vomited blood and the other cried, and the black carriage entered the palace.
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After bandaging his wounds, the First Prince silently led the carriage directly to the rear palace, the gate of the East Palace. Fan Xian and the crown prince got out of the car and walked in. This East Palace has always been the residence of the successor to the throne of the Qing Kingdom, but now, it has truly become the crown prince's cage, or a tomb in the future.
The eldest prince and the crown prince whispered a few words, glanced at Fan Xian, then turned and left. At this time, there was no one in the East Palace, only the guards outside were patrolling.
Fan Xian didn't have much time to talk to the prince, so he clutched his chest and said directly to him, "You only have one day."
Li Chengqian looked up in astonishment, as if he had woken up from a nightmare, he stared blankly at Fan Xian, not understanding what he was talking about.
"Your Majesty will return to Beijing the day after tomorrow." Fan Xian looked at him calmly. "You set fire to the East Palace once before. I don't think it will be too surprising that the East Palace will be burned again."
Li Chengqian's expression changed suddenly, he stared into Fan Xian's eyes, as if he wanted to confirm what he was talking about, his lips moved twice, but no sound came out.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Fan Xian lowered his head and said darkly, "It's not difficult for you to die by self-immolation..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Chengqian shook his head indifferently, and said, "Then you take advantage of the fire to rescue me from the palace and send me to a place that no one knows?" He looked at Fan Xian with a very serious look in his eyes. Complicated, "I don't know why you suddenly become such a gentle person, but I want to thank you."
"You don't need to thank me." Fan Xian said, "It's just that the elders are used to arranging everything, but I'm not used to it."
Li Chengqian laughed with difficulty, and said, "I really can't see through you..."
"You know I'm a ruthless person, and it's rare for me to be kind. The queen is also dead, so you should hate me. If you want to live, set it on fire tonight."
"It's not your style to take such a risk."
"My life has been gloomy for a long time, and I almost forgot that I said that I wanted to live a full life. After going through so many things, I realized that if I want to live a wonderful life, I must first live with courage."
Fan Xian no longer looked at him, turned and left the quiet palace.
Li Chengqian stared at his back in a daze, not understanding why he was so kind-hearted all of a sudden, his brows gradually frowned, and he became sad, he sighed, and lay down on the floor of this vast palace, his face floating. With a detached smile and stretched limbs, it seems that he has never been so relaxed and free.
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That night, there was no fire in the Eastern Palace. Fan Xian had been in the direction of the Hanguang Hall, watching the direction with cold eyes, and confirmed the tranquility of the Eastern Palace. He shook his head, feeling a little desolate in his heart. Arriving in Beijing, everything will return to the hands of that mighty emperor—Saving the prince's life was not due to Fan Xian's impromptu intention, nor was it because he had the kindness of a woman, but a sense of sadness that hurt others— He and the prince, including the second child, are actually just pawns on the emperor's chessboard, puppets controlled by fate or the elders.
The prince no longer has any power, his life or death has nothing to do with Fan Xian. The crown prince is a good man. This is what Fan Xian said to Chen Pingping a long time ago. From the first meeting on the road outside the other palace, the impression that His Royal Highness the crown prince left on Fan Xian was extremely gentle. In the past year, although the struggle continued, what was it? Fan Xian was able to send Thirteenth Lang to protect the prince during his trip to Nanzhao, so he dared to spare the prince's life at this time.
If Fan Xian wants to get rid of those silk threads behind him and save Li Chengqian's life, it will be the first time he has torn up his position. Now that the palace is in his hands, he will use the Overwatch Council's method of pretending to be on the spot, and with His Majesty's understanding of the prince's temperament, use self-immolation. And it is not difficult to hide the cause of death from His Majesty's eyes and ears without anyone noticing it.
It's just that the crown prince is like the eldest princess, and his heart has long since died. Fan Xian will naturally not foolishly take risks to do anything for a person with a dead heart. The thought of this is enough to prove that after Meadow's shot, he My heart...has changed too much.
At night, the palace lanterns were all extinguished, and the outside of the city was still not completely peaceful, but inside the imperial city, there was no sound. The dark sky shrouded the flat garden inside the palace. It's like a statue.
"Who?" An extremely vigilant voice sounded in Hanguang Hall, a maid lit up the palace lantern, saw the person in front of her clearly, and quickly knelt down.
Fan Xian waved her to get up, and ordered her to lead all the maids and eunuchs out of Hanguang Palace. At this time, not many people knew that the emperor was already on his way back to Beijing. Sir, if you are the real emperor, the entire palace will be unimpeded, and no one will dare to express doubts about his arrival.
A dim light came on, and all the maids and nuns left the palace in disheveled clothes. Fan Xian wandered alone in the vast palace, walked slowly to the phoenix bed, and looked at the old woman lying on the bed. Man, before the woman's venomous eyes focused on him, Fan Xian swiped lightly with his right hand, and spontaneously took out a thin needle that was not poisoned, and stuck it into the old woman's neck.
Looking at the queen mother who had passed out, Fan Xian squatted down, got under the phoenix bed, touched the secret compartment, and opened it with a little force with his fingers.
Three years ago, he had entered the Hanguang Palace at night and used drugs to stun everyone in the hall. He took out the key of the box from this secret compartment and made a copy. At that time, there was a white cloth and a letter in the secret compartment, but Due to time constraints, I couldn't take a closer look.
Today, there is a key and a white cloth in this secret compartment, but the letter...is missing.
Fan Xian was holding a white cloth in his hand, rubbing it carefully, lost in thought, but still had no clue. After a long while, he put the white cloth back into the dark compartment, carefully arranged it in the original shape, then stood up, sat next to the Queen Mother on the bed, and took off the thin needle under her neck.
As soon as the queen mother woke up, she stared at Fan Xian resentfully, as if she wanted to eat him. It's been a day and a night, she can't say a word, she can't move, she feels that her already limited life seems to be flowing out of her body, that kind of fear and anger, but she can't vent it, really Going crazy.
"Your Majesty will return to Beijing the day after tomorrow, and I will come to visit the imperial grandmother."
Fan Xian looked at her, and said after a while, "Are you surprised? Only now do you realize how big a mistake I made a few days ago?"
The Empress Dowager's eyes were full of shock. If she had known that His Majesty was still alive, the situation in the capital would not have been like this. However, after the shock, her eyes were filled with joy.
"Don't be too happy." Fan Xian patted her wrinkled hands, and said in a harmonious voice, "I will let His Majesty see you, and you will die. Believe me, even if Your Majesty is the most powerful person in the world." , but in terms of medical skills, he is not as good as me... If you don't believe me, you can try it, you can already speak at this time."
"If you want to have a more dignified way of death than what you are doing now, please answer a few questions for me." Fan Xian said, "Who wrote that letter? What was it about? And... Lao Qin What is the relationship between the family and the incident twenty years ago?"
Before the eldest princess died, she asked Fan Xian to ask Chen Pingping, but he chose to interrogate the empress dowager simply and directly.
"Don't think I'm cold-blooded and shameless, think about what you people did twenty years ago." Fan Xian lowered his head and said, "When you come out to mess around, you always have to pay it back. You are the empress dowager, I'm afraid you can't escape the cycle of heaven .”