The servants and maids in the Fan Mansion heard this decree clearly, and felt a thunderbolt strike mercilessly and cruelly, and the whole Fan Mansion began to tremble and shake. Shocked, very uneasy and frightened for the young master.
Not only them, but also the officials and people in the entire capital, are very clear about the foundation of the power in Lord Fan's hands, but His Majesty's intention to seize the official is to cut off Lord Fan's roots. However, when Fan Xian, who was kneeling on the ground, heard the decree, his expression remained calm, and he did not show any sense of shock and sadness, because all this was what he expected, just like thinking about it in bed for the past two days. As judged, His Majesty will try to gradually remove those layers of power defenses covering Fan Xian's body during this period of time.
Calculating carefully, starting from the time he met Wang Qinian on the way back to Beijing in Dongyi City, in this short ten days, Fan Xian did countless treasonable things. It was a big taboo to have black riders roaring across the states and counties, and five hundred black riders rushed through more than ten passes in a row. At that time, he killed the leader of Zhengyangmen, and stabbed to death several strong men on the execution ground in front of the eyes of all people...
Every twig is a sin, and it is an unforgivable sin in the Qing Law. Even if he is Fan Xian, he must pay the price for this matter. His Majesty did not let him go to prison, which is considered lenient enough. However, this kind of generosity could not quell the discussion and pressure in the civil society. Apart from Fan Xian's position as dean, today's decree can be regarded as a preliminary explanation for the world and a channel for His Majesty to vent his anger.
As for what will come out from the palace in the future, and what kind of blows and losses Fan Xian will suffer, it will depend on Fan Xian's response, as well as the rumors in the officialdom and the people.
Fan Xian stood up stiffly, took the imperial decree from Eunuch Dai, and casually handed it over to his servants behind him, without carefully reading it, because the crimes contained in the imperial decree were very solid. , he is not going to have any lawsuits with the palace in these aspects.
"Have a cup of tea before leaving." Fan Xian looked at Eunuch Dai gently. Eunuch Dai's face showed uncontrollable embarrassment and uneasiness. His ups and downs in the palace in the past few years were all due to the young dignitary in front of him. Eunuch Dai felt a little uncomfortable.
"Your servant has to go back to the palace." Eunuch Dai glanced at Fan Xian with uneasy eyes, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty is only in a fit of anger for a while, and it will be fine in a few days."
Fan Xian knew why this guy showed such an expression, smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much, since His Majesty let you take up the important mission of the decree, he must also trust you .”
Eunuch Dai saluted respectfully, and was about to leave, but he heard Fan Xian's deep voice rang in his ears: "How about Ruoruo being in the palace?"
It is a big taboo for eunuchs to send messages to ministers in private, but after thinking about it for a while, Eunuch Dai did not hesitate, and said in a low voice: "Miss Fan is doing very well, and she often listens to discussions in the imperial study. Your Majesty treats her Great, don't worry, my lord."
In fact, the whole family of the Fan Manor is considered to be a real member of the Li family. In addition to Fan Xian's kindness and power to Eunuch Dai, the eunuch didn't care about those taboos, so he lowered his voice and reported Fan Ruoruo's situation in the palace these two days. I talked a lot.
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows slightly, a little startled, he couldn't guess what His Majesty was thinking, and he didn't understand why his sister could appear so detached in the palace, not like a hostage at all.
After finishing the business of meeting the order, Fan Xian turned to the main hall, looked at his wife who had been listening quietly at the back, and said softly, "Today is the first wave, and I have a lot of errands on me. If Your Majesty wants to It will take some time to peel off layer by layer.”
Lin Wan'er glanced at him, bit her lower lip lightly, and said: "If the name is not right, the words will not go well. Although the position of dean is currently vacant, His Majesty must wait for you to enter the palace to plead guilty. In a few days, it will be better." I will give this position to you, but... After all, the imperial power is boundless, and you have lost the position of dean, so if you want to gather the power of the courtyard these days, there may be some obstacles."
"Your Majesty is also aware of this, so he cut off the position in my courtyard at the first time." Fan Xian sat down and said in a low voice: "At least for now, he doesn't want chaos in the court, so he is slowly It’s just that, the Overwatch Council has been under the control of the old cripple for so many years, and His Majesty still doesn’t understand the way of it. Even though many people in the Overwatch Council fear imperial power, After all, there are still more people who don't recognize the will, but only recognize the inheritance in the courtyard."
"House arrest is as difficult to solve as suicide." Fan Xian said, "Your Majesty wants the whole world, including myself, to gradually get used to the days when I lost power. It's easier for me, so I have to hurry up."
Lin Wan'er frowned. She never understood that even if Fan Xian could tear open the big net outside the mansion and get in touch with the members of the Qi Nian team, what problems could be solved just by meeting them once
"My subordinates are a group of very remarkable people." Fan Xian saw the doubt in her heart, and said calmly, "And they can help me, who is under house arrest, to contact a group of even more remarkable people."
If Fan Xian forcibly broke through the surveillance network outside the mansion, it would not be such a difficult task with his current cultivation base. Just like what he said last night, unless His Majesty came personally, it would be really difficult for the world of Qing Kingdom. Find a few people who can follow him.
However, he had to consider the safety of his subordinates and those collaborators who were not in the capital, so he could not give the palace any chance to follow him to find out who he was and to clean up his true foundation.
The removal of the position of Overwatch Council Director did not affect Fan Xian's ability to regain control of the Overwatch Council through those officials who were loyal to him and Chen Pingping. And if the imperial court really used Fan Xian's line to wipe out all his team members who had been hiding behind the scenes, it would be much more difficult for Fan Xian to connect with those forces that were far away from the temple.
So Fan Xian's actions were very careful, and what he showed to the world was an unreasonable and extraordinarily bloody decision to kill. Not long after the capital, news came that Mr. Fan had once again attacked the eyeliner outside Fan's mansion.
On this day, more than 20 people died outside Fan's residence.
On the second day, the palace issued an order to remove Fan Xian from his position as the envoy of the internal treasury transshipment department, formally stripping the treasures of the internal treasury that Qing Guo relied on as the foundation of its national power from under Fan Xian's control.
That night, Fan Xian made another move, sweeping away all the people in the well-shaped streets and alleys around Fan Mansion.
On the third day, the palace issued an order, Fan Xian was reprimanded by the strict order, and the title of first-class Duke was directly taken away, and he was held captive to the end.
Seven days later, all the official positions of the most glorious young official in Nanqing were taken away by the ruthless decree. Recalling Jiangnan, when the dragon raised his head, the long string of prefixes in front of the young imperial envoy who stepped off the boat, until now Not one remained.
From today onwards, Fan Xian has returned to his white body, even worse than the Jinshi scholar who went to Beijing to rush for the exam. He has no official position, no nominal authority, and no salary. The extremely prestigious position of Zhengqing in Taichang Temple was also taken away.
The only thing left on Fan Xian was the teaching position in Taixue, which was also demoted to the third class, but for some reason, His Majesty the Emperor didn't take this position away as well.
During these seven days, the Imperial Palace and Fan's Mansion were like a transmission belt, conveying His Majesty's calm and indifferent will, conveying chilling wills one after another, and with each decree, the brilliance of Fan Xian's body faded. layer.
All the eyes of the officials and people in the capital were fixed on the road in front of the Fan Mansion. From the day of the autumn rain on the Dharma Field, they all knew that this road would be very busy, but they did not expect that this road would be as busy as it is today.
No one thought that His Majesty's punishment of the young prince would be so thorough and severe, and no one thought that Fan Xian would be so blunt. He resisted for seven days, but still did not enter the palace to plead guilty.
Everyone was looking at the Fan Mansion, waiting for the direction of the cold war between His Majesty and his illegitimate son. Was it because His Majesty was so angry that he simply arrested Fan Xian and imprisoned him, or was Fan Xian unable to resist this will? , and finally subdued.
However, even though Fan Xian is just himself now, the people in Kyoto are still used to calling him Mr. Fan in the after-dinner chats, and the officials who are hiding in their respective mansions and nervously watching the progress of this matter are still used to calling him Mr. Xiao Gong. Lord.
Because they all knew that even though His Majesty had degraded Fan Xian to a common man, as long as he didn't die or go to jail, he could still become that great man who was under one person and above ten thousand at any time.
No one dared to underestimate the existence of Fan Xian, even to the surprise of many officials, Fan Xian had clearly violated countless laws, ignored the court, and killed so many people, but in the public discussion, there was still not much opposition. Fan Xian's unfavorable remarks.
During the battle between His Majesty and Fan Xian, for the first time in Qing Kingdom, there was a strange state where the public opinion was not completely in the palace. Maybe it's because although Fan Xian killed people outside Fan's mansion, he did not exaggerate. Except for the first and second days, his murderous aura has been restrained a lot, and the people he killed were all sent from the palace. What does eyeliner have to do with the general public? Perhaps it was because many people in Kyoto had seen Fan Xian crying and haggard while hugging Chen Pingping's corpse in that autumn rain, and subconsciously felt a little sympathy.
Human emotions are inherently weird. One moment they may still be applauding, but the next moment they may begin to reminisce silently. Since the ages, there have been such developments in countless law fields and in front of countless deaths.
But the foundation for Fan Xian, who was really able to make him white, still has a lot of support from folk discussions, lies in his actions over the years. Those glorious past events do not need to be brought up one by one to calculate the energy, and there is no need to worry about how much Chen Pingping used the Eight Offices of the Overwatch Council to do for Fan Xian. After His Majesty the Emperor who rode through the old dynasty and opened up countless territories, Fan Xian was probably the only one in Nanqing who could be called an idol.
If it was in the south of the Yangtze River, perhaps Fan Xian could get more support from the people, because after all, he has been operating there for the longest time, and the Hangzhou that Lin Waner manages has spared no effort to support the local people over the years. It has already replaced the Ming family and became the It became the most glorious name in the minds of poor people and scholars in the south of the Yangtze River.
After all, in the capital, the people at the root of the imperial city would not do anything even if they favored Fan Xian. So in the final analysis, this war was ultimately a war between Fan Xian and His Majesty. It was the same as the war in the royal study.
…
…
Seven days later, everything is still uncertain, and the world is not peaceful. Outside Fan's residence, there are still gusty autumn winds and occasional drizzles. However, under Fan Xian's murderous sweep, the eyeliners sent by the inner court had no choice but to pull the big net outward.
The majesty of imperial power is undoubtedly supreme, and so is the fear of death. In this kind of attack, the inner court's surveillance will undoubtedly reveal its flaws. Fan Xian stood coldly at the door of the mansion, quietly watching the movement around him, but he remembered Wan'er's words that day, and a strange emotion flashed in his eyes.
If the Emperor Laozi wanted to deal with Fan Xian's face-to-face resistance, there were actually many ways, why didn't he use it? Is the move of the inner court's eyeliner forced by his own tricks, or is there some secret order from His Majesty the Emperor? Those eyeliners are inexhaustible...
Fan Xian couldn't figure it out, and he didn't want to think it through. Perhaps the man in the palace still had some warmth and hope for him, but he didn't want this kind of warmth and hope to shake his heart again. The heart that had already cooled down in the middle of the night.
He turned around and entered Fan's residence. Not long after, a carriage delivering vegetables also turned into the side alley next to Fan's mansion and entered the corner gate. Of course, outside the corner gate, this carriage underwent the most stringent inspection, even the inside of each cabbage Layers, the roots of every radish are not spared.
The people in charge of these inspections were all officials with clear identities. Unlike the inner court eyeliners scattered around Fan's mansion, Fan Xian did not make things difficult for these people, because if he wanted to get rid of the shackles of house arrest, it was only those eyeliners that he needed to be careful of. not these officials.
There was nothing unusual about the carriage delivering food. The official waved his hand and let the carriage enter Fan's residence. Not far from the corner gate is the big kitchen of Fan's mansion. There are servants who come to carry the vegetables and fruits on the cart.
The palace's decree is very clear. It is impossible for anyone in Fan's mansion to go out, and it is extremely difficult for outsiders to come in. Even though this carriage was actually sent directly by the Dengshikou Vegetable Inspection Department, it was the only one from the source. Under the surveillance of the imperial court, one should not be afraid of what the Fan family or those restless officials of the Overwatch Council might do.
The coachman in the carriage quietly wiped the kitchen and walked to the back garden when no one was paying attention, and then went directly into a quiet study room under the support of an old servant of Fan's residence.
As soon as the coachman entered the study, he saw another woman besides Fan Xian. He immediately guessed that it was the dean's wife. After a slight start, he took off his straw hat, knelt down and saluted, "I've seen Mrs. Dean."
After the driver took off the straw hat, Lin Wan'er covered her mouth in surprise and said, "It really does."
The coachman was a little embarrassed, but he didn't dare to say anything. He stood up and said directly: "The guards outside the Tianfu are strict these days, so everyone didn't dare to make any changes."
"This is the general in my Qi Nian team, and he helped me a lot in Northern Qi." Fan Xian explained gently to his wife. This Overwatch Council official, who looks very similar to himself, has been hidden in the Qi Nian team, but even he did not expect that after being blocked for seven days, the Qi Nian team ventured into the mansion to connect with him, and he would is this person.
"It's best not to change anything, nothing is as important as your own life." Fan Xian looked at the subordinate and said seriously. This is the creed he has always instilled in the people around him, even the most loyal subordinates, that nothing is as important as his own life. Wang Qinian did this, and Gundam also did the same.
"The net outside has loosened a bit. I'm going out today." Fan Xian lowered his head slightly and said softly.
"My lord, this is too risky." The official said seriously, he thought that since he had ventured into the mansion, he would just pass on what he had to say.
"No." Fan Xian shook his head. Those words are too important, and they must be personally confessed to everyone's ears. If there is a slight mistake, it will cause great trouble. It suddenly occurred to him that if Wang Qinian was by his side at this time, everything would be much easier to solve. With the old Wangtou's ability, sneaking into Fan's mansion under the watchful eyes of the eyeliners must not be too difficult.
"The carriage that delivered the vegetables belonged to the Vegetable Inspection Department. How did you get in?" Fan Xian suddenly thought of this question, his eyes narrowed slightly, a little worried.
"Dai Zhen has returned to the Vegetable Inspection Department." The official replied with a smile.
Fan Xian also laughed, and Eunuch Dai became the chief eunuch of Xuanzhi again. Afterwards, his nephew also returned to the position of the Vegetable Inspection Department. Tail, it is naturally easy to use it at this time.
…
…
The sky of Kyoto in autumn is clear and distant, and the rain falls from the lead-like clouds, making the surrounding scenery blurred but moving. The seven-day confrontation between the Fan Mansion and the Imperial Palace, especially the merciless raids by the little Lord Fan on the outside of the mansion for seven consecutive days, after all, chilled the hearts of most of the inner court officials, because they felt that their colleagues were He died in vain. From the looks of it, it seems that His Majesty in the palace will never really take his illegitimate son to prison to avenge these colleagues.
Therefore, the network outside the Fan Mansion was unknowingly loosened, leaving some loopholes that could be exploited. And the vegetable inspector's carriage, which seemed to have no problems, got out of this loophole.
In a secluded place in Kyoto, the alleys are simple and simple. There are no deep gardens and mansions for big families. A small courtyard is quietly at the end of a certain alley. The sound of selling vegetables in the streets outside can be clearly heard here. However, it has been several years, but no one has ever known what this small courtyard represents.
As the slight autumn rain wiped off the mask of flour and rouge on his face, Fan Xian floated into the small courtyard and saw many familiar faces. Seeing the surprise and the sadness after the surprise on these faces, Fan Xian was slightly moved in his heart, but nothing showed on his face.
This is the most secret place of the Qi Nian team, and the Overwatch Council officials here are Fan Xian's most loyal subordinates. When the news in the capital was different, especially when there were some very subtle signs in the Overwatch Council, the members of the Qinian team left their posts silently and quietly, and returned to this small courtyard through different channels. Waiting for Fan Xian's call.
Many years ago, when there were only Fan Xian and Wang Qinian in Qinian's group, one old and one young, Wang Qinian bought this yard with a very small sum of money. The members of the New Year Group were Fan Xian's eyes and arms. Now that Fan Xian wanted to wield the power that was close to him scattered in the world, he had to convey his will through these loyal eyes and arms.
This was the reason why he had spent so much time and energy to come here in person.