About 4,000 miles away from the capital of Qing Dynasty, in the ancient city of Huanghuang Shangjing, the snow was extremely heavy, with snow like goose feathers falling, and the streets and lanes of Shangjing seemed to be paved with a layer of snow. The pure white woolen blankets are like a blanket, but the snow on the houses with heaters does not accumulate, and the black eaves are exposed, which is very beautiful.
From the city gate, you can see the imperial palace built on the mountain from a distance. The pure black of the palace eaves is deeper than the black eaves of the houses. Layers of winter trees are covered with frost and snow in the snowy rocks on the mountain, and the waterfall has gradually weakened. Chengbingxi, the stone path is slanted and lonely, Dongshan and Qing Palace are harmoniously integrated.
After the summer passed, many things happened in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the most shocking one was naturally the assassination of the Commander of the Zhenfu Division. Uesugi Tiger, the handsome Uesugi who galloped across the street with a spear and a fierce horse that night, is still under house arrest in the mansion, but the attitude of the court and the palace is very clear. He was charged with numerous crimes immediately after his death, and the Shen family was ruined. Only the Shangjing The familiar Miss Shen suddenly disappeared without a trace.
The heavy sudden death was an extremely heavy blow to Jin Yiwei. The Northern Qi spy agency, which was already a bit weak, became even weaker after being under the dark hand of the young emperor and lost a leading figure with considerable power, and even the Queen Mother's voice dropped a lot.
In the past few months, all Jinyiwei staff felt a little panicked. No one came to take over this yamen, and they didn't know how the court would deal with it. Fortunately, a few days ago, the imperial court finally issued a decree, the son of Changning Hou's family, Wei Hua, the young minister of Honghe Temple, officially took over the vacated position of Chong Chong.
In the past rumors in Beijing, the Empress Dowager preferred the Marquis of Changning to be the commander, but was resisted by the young emperor, but now the imperial decree states that the son of the Marquis of Changning will be the commander, which inevitably aroused some discussion. Did the quarreling mother and son finally reach some kind of tacit understanding and compromise
Today, Jin Yiwei regained his spirit, took out the viciousness and arrogance of the past, and started to carry out new tasks.
More than a hundred brocade guards in brown official uniforms surrounded Xiushui Street, letting the snowflakes float on their bodies.
Xiushui Street is not simple, the shops on it have a very deep background, especially the seven shops in the middle are all Nanqing imperial merchants, the two countries are currently in the honeymoon period, it stands to reason that Jinyiwei is in the process of self-organization, It shouldn't be troublesome.
However, the development of the situation was beyond everyone's expectations. The shopkeepers along the street stood up, rubbing their hands in the wind and snow, watching nervously as Jin Yiwei took away the wine owner surnamed Sheng. The boss' surname is Sheng Huairen, and he is one of the leaders of Nanqing Neiku in Shangjing.
Shopkeeper Yu of the glass shop supported the old door panel and said in a trembling voice, "Why do you dare to grab it?"
The clerk said softly: "It is said that Jingnan found a large stockpile of goods. There is no customs clearance document, and there is no customs clearance. Jin Yiwei followed that line to Shangjing and dug out this Boss Sheng."
The wind and snow hit his face, and he walked around him, and it seemed to be brighter than the glass bottle behind Shopkeeper Yu. He looked worriedly at the Jin Yiwei who was gradually retreating. He is very aware of the smuggling of the inner treasury to the north. This was originally a business done by the eldest princess, but the Northern Qi side has always acquiesced, enjoying the benefits brought by the low price, why did it suddenly start today
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In the beautiful palace of Shangjing, the young emperor was curled up in a warm mattress, feeding a piece of snack in one hand, and holding a book in the other, reading it carefully and attentively.
Wei Hua, the new commander of the Zhenfu Division, took a careful look at him, and after a while, he plucked up the courage to interrupt His Majesty's distraction, and said softly: "A few people have been arrested... But all along, the Cui family and Xinyang have helped the court. A lot of work, and I feel a little embarrassed, so according to the Queen Mother's order, those who have status are finally let go."
The young emperor didn't look at him, but frowned in disgust, and said, "Wo... Ren Zhiren, since you've turned your back on me, why do you care about your old friendship?"
He was talking about the Queen Mother here, so Wei Hua naturally didn't dare to answer. The emperor shook his head, his eyes still remained on the book, and continued: "But it doesn't matter whether you arrest people or not, the goods... how many were intercepted?"
"A lot." Wei Hua's eyes showed a trace of excitement, "The news is accurate, and Nan Manzi never thought that we would break the old rules, and we were caught off guard and suffered a lot."
He suddenly thought of something, and he still questioned: "This matter is a bit absurd, even if Fan Xian wants to rob the princess of Nanqing for the internal treasury, there is no reason to give us such a large gift, given his current strength in Nanqing , you can swallow these goods yourself, and prevent them from flowing to the north.”
The emperor still didn't look at him, and said coldly: "Send me a big gift, naturally I have something to ask for."
"The timing is fine. According to the news from the south, Fan Xian made a move before us. The people in the south shouldn't suspect that I'm teaming up with him to share the spoils. They'll just think that I'm just taking advantage of the fire. It's just..." He suddenly groaned Putting down the scroll in his hand, he squinted his eyes and looked at Wei Hua. The warning in his eyes was very clear, and he said: "Only five people in the court know about this matter. I don't want to leak the news because of you."
Wei Hua was terrified, bowed down to the ground, and said after swearing a poisonous oath: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty." Although he is the son of Marquis Changning, he is actually closer to the emperor. A government office with real power, he knows that the emperor gave him a chance, and it depends on whether he can grasp it.
"Are the envoys of the Qing Kingdom still protesting?" the emperor suddenly asked with interest.
Wei Hua nodded, and said with a wry smile: "Master Lin quarrels every day in Honglu Temple, complaining about Cui's family, saying that the court did not investigate and forcibly seized Cui's goods and money. friendship between two countries."
The emperor scolded: "What is the Cui family? They are the biggest smugglers in the Qing Kingdom! I helped the southern barbarians discipline my subjects, and instead of thanking me, they came to blame me. These southern barbarians really don't know how to behave."
Wei Hua smiled wryly, thinking that you helped foreign countries discipline the merchants, but you refused to spit out the goods and money that you had in your mouth, how could this make sense. The Cui family incident happened, and Lin Wen, as the full-fledged envoy of the Qing Kingdom in Shangjing, didn't know the inside story. Of course, he wanted to fight for the people of his own country.
"The most troublesome thing is that counselor Wang Qinian." Wei Hua suddenly had a headache and said: "Master Lin is only making trouble in Honglu Temple, but this Lord Wang goes to Taichang Temple every day, asking to enter the palace to see His Majesty, saying that Cui's family is a Famous merchants in the Qing Kingdom, as officials of the Qing Kingdom, they must protect Cui's interests."
The emperor was startled when he heard the words, and laughed back in anger. He laughed loudly and said, "Interesting, it's interesting. Not only is Fan Xian himself funny, but even his confidants are acting like this... Obviously his own master wanted to kill the Cui family and let him Such a fuss not only cleaned Fan Xian's butt, but also dirty me."
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However, Wei Hua was still a little wary of his colleague in the south, and couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, if... the whole story of this incident is secretly reported back to Nanqing, so that the emperor of Nanqing can know Fan Xiankang's country's generosity, and secretly communicate Ben Chao, I'm afraid he will be furious... Maybe he won't be able to get up again."
The negotiations between the two countries in the summer let him know how cold and ruthless Fan Xian, a gentle scholar, was in his bones, so that after he took over as the commander of Jin Yiwei, he immediately regarded Fan Xian as his worst enemy, and always wanted to Thinking of how to make Fan Xian unlucky, thinking of this poisonous plan to make it difficult for Fan Xian to turn over, he couldn't help feeling excited, and looked at the emperor expectantly.
To his disappointment... the emperor still just shook his head.
"Take a long-term view." The emperor said with a sneer: "The Cui family's goods are already in the border, what's the use of me taking these goods? Do I still think highly of the money of these merchants? … The imperial court has been dealing with that eldest princess in the past, and both sides have gained a lot of benefits... Don't you understand the reason why they want to cooperate with Fan Xian this time?"
The emperor picked up the book on the table, read it and said softly: "The Neiku of the Southern Dynasty will soon be surnamed Fan. If you are not sure enough to eliminate him, then it is best to be more polite to him. The people in the kingdom are still counting on that Fan Tesi... to send some cheap goods every year."
After Wei Hua resigned, the emperor's expression seemed to relax a lot in an instant, he stretched indecently, and yawned greatly. At this time, a beautiful woman in a luxurious palace dress came out, looked at the direction in which the new commander was leaving, blinked, and asked curiously: "What are you talking about? It sounds like the same Fan Xian is related."
"Lili, you're so nervous when you hear the word Fan Xian, aren't you afraid I'll be jealous?" The young emperor pulled her over, hugged her lightly, and whispered in her ear: "Fan Xian We have attacked Xinyang in the south, I... will cooperate with him a little bit."
It's not a small cooperation. The Cui family's line in the north has been completely destroyed, and all the stranded goods and silver have been seized by Jin Yiwei. A big clan famous for its business has had one hand chopped off, and the other The hand placed inside the Qing Kingdom has already been completely severed by the eerie Overwatch Council.
Si Lili responded with a chuckle, "Of course I'm nervous, Mr. Fan is our matchmaker."
The young emperor was right when he thought about it. If Fan Xian hadn't come up with such a "weird idea" to ask Uncle Ku He to take Li Li as his apprentice, it would have been a bit troublesome for Li Li to enter the palace with Li Li's background.
"What are you looking at?" Si Lili curiously snatched the scroll from the emperor's hand.
The emperor was anxious, and grabbed it with his backhand, saying: "The latest chapter of the Stone Story that Fan Xian specially sent to me... is unique in the whole world, so don't break it."
Si Lili smiled brightly, leaned against his side, and said softly, "How dare Fan Xian...do something to his mother-in-law?"
The emperor shook his head and said: "This guy seems to be much more courageous than me. The palace in the south is much more complicated than ours. Who knows?"
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The most precious river in the Northern Qi Kingdom is the Yuquan River that flows down from the mountain, circles the imperial palace half a circle, and then crosses out of the ancient city of Shangjing. The further upstream you go, the closer you are to the palace, the quieter it will be.
It was snowing heavily today, and there were ice chips between the banks of the river, and it was extremely bitter and cold. In the place where you can already see the black eaves of the imperial palace and the winter trees in the mountains, there is a small garden. I don't know what kind of person is able to live here.
A young man about thirteen or fourteen years old was working as a coolie in the garden at this time. The young man had a slightly chubby face. He was pulling the stone mill in the garden, gritting his teeth and turning it around. The stone mill made a creaking sound, but his legs and feet were trembling a little. In this cold winter weather, his clothes were wet on his back with sweat. It's really indescribably pitiful.
Turning around a few times, the young man finally couldn't stand it any longer. He pushed the handle in his hand, turned around and cursed angrily: "There are no beans! Why should I push this empty mill! Don't tell me you can't even afford a donkey!"
The person he scolded was sitting under the eaves at this moment, lying on a recliner with a thick mattress, with those bright and unobtrusive eyes, looking at the snowflakes whizzing by outside the eaves, as if in a trance. Hearing the boy's roar, she yawned, stood up, crossed her hips, and said lazily: "It's snowing today, where can I buy beans? As for the donkey... don't you have you now? A few days ago I I sold the donkey in the sky, and the chickens and ducks in the garden have to be kept warm for the winter, and they always need money.”
These two strange people are naturally Fan Sizhe, who was exiled to Northern Qi, and the most famous figure among the younger generation of Northern Qi: Miss Haitang.
Haitang was wearing a cotton-padded jacket with large floral cloth, with her hands in her pockets, a smile flashed across her plain face, she looked at Fan Sizhe and said, "Your brother just wrote to me a few days ago, asking me to discipline you."
It's okay if she doesn't say it, but when she said this, Fan Sizhe finally really went crazy. He has been in Shangjing for a few days, but he didn't do anything, but was caught by this village girl as a coolie. She was also sent away!
This village girl has a high status, is strong in martial arts, and has a strong mind. She has tried many times to escape, but it didn't work. Living in Beijing is really miserable. Thinking of this episode, he squatted down angrily, and scolded: "Who are you to me? Why should you discipline me?"
Haitang smiled, but didn't answer, just lay down again, with her eyes slightly closed, as if she was about to fall asleep to the accompaniment of the wind and snow.
Fan Sizhe looked at her and knew that if he was disobedient, he might not even have food, so he held the handle of the stone mill again, gritted his teeth and said, "You look like a village girl, and you want to marry my brother! Don't think that I will recognize you as a sister-in-law in the future!"