The expressions of the two confidants of King Wu in the hall changed drastically after reading the note.
"It's like this..."
"I really can't believe it. I thought Yin Zhaoxian was the last person to be drawn into the royal family struggle. I didn't expect that..."
"Haha, that's true under normal circumstances, but the King of Jin had already won over Yin Zhaoxian before he was still a commoner. This is the key."
King Wu looked at the gloomy sky outside the hall and felt indescribable. In addition to anger and uneasiness, he also felt an inexplicable sense of humiliation.
At the beginning, he had tried several times with full sincerity to win over and please Yin Zhaoxian. Now thinking about it, all this was probably seen as a joke by Yin Zhaoxian, and certainly by his third brother, and certainly by his father.
"Hehe... I guess I'm almost becoming a laughing stock."
The King of Wu could imagine how his third brother mocked him behind his back, and he could even imagine the cold look in his father's eyes behind the desk in the imperial study when he saw his ridiculous behavior.
King Wu Yang Qing knew very well what kind of person his father was and what kind of personality he had, because he had the same personality. Being ridiculed and looked down upon would definitely reduce his score on the Dragon Case.
'No wonder the third brother has been so quiet recently... I'm afraid he's just waiting for Yin Zhaoxian to come to Beijing!'
"Yin Zhaoxian is indeed hiding very deeply. This is something I did not expect..."
When he said this, King Wu had already clenched his fists and took a deep breath before continuing.
"But, it's still unknown who will win. I admit that the third brother is indeed capable, but relying on Yin Zhaoxian alone, he can't influence my father much. I know my father's character well..."
"Your Highness is right! Even if a small prefecture governor is favored by the emperor, can he still influence the emperor?" "That's right, we can't lose our composure at this moment!"
King Wu turned around, smiled and nodded.
"There are far more ministers in the court who support me than those who support the third prince. I believe that in the eyes of most people, supporting me is the one who has the greatest chance of winning. Several assistant ministers also support the eldest son to succeed the throne. No matter what, I still have a greater chance of winning."
At this point, the King of Wu's smile faded and he looked intently at his two confidants.
"However, although the support of many ministers in the court is an affirmation of me, it is also a risk. Given the insidiousness of the third brother, if he really uses some means to confuse my father's mind and really issues an imperial decree to pass the throne to him, my identity as a prince can protect me, but those ministers who support me will definitely be liquidated in the future."
King Wu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at a sword hanging in the hall.
"Just in case, we still need to make some preparations... What do you think?"
The King of Wu lowered his voice and glanced back at the Minister of War and the officials of the Secretariat. Hou Liang's backs felt hot and they looked at each other, but no one dared to speak.
. . .
Although Emperor Yuande's health was getting worse, he attended court three times in the following seven or eight days.
Although Yin Zhaoxian was the prefect of Wanzhou, he also went to court.
Many civil and military officials in the court and the country have clearly felt that the emperor is making arrangements for his final affairs. For example, some matters that he had never delegated power to in the past have begun to be handled by ministers of various departments, some of which are things that they should be responsible for.
For example, some serious criminals in the dungeons whose names the emperor could remember would either be executed or released to return to the court, to avoid the possibility of granting amnesty in the future and pardoning or exempting some people he was unhappy with.
For example, he intentionally reminded the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel to evaluate Yin Zhaoxian's achievements and prepared to transfer him to the capital and promote him.
However, during this period, he did not mention a single word about the details of the succession, and did not even ask for the name of a single prince. He even ignored each prince in the morning court session, and would only pay attention to someone who came forward and submitted a memorial or something like that.
This situation was a torment for both the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Wu.
Ji Yuan was not a voyeur. Although he came here to see this scene, he had naturally visited the Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Prince of Wu's Mansion during the period and only had a cursory look without seeing the details, nor had he ever entered the palace.
What's interesting is that since Yin Zhaoxian came to Beijing, the two princes have been pessimistic about the outcome of the old emperor's succession, and their pessimism has even become more serious to a certain extent. They have also each left some backup plans, but some were excessive and some were joint efforts. It has to be said that although they are not born of the same mother, they are truly brothers.
In order to avoid suspicion, Yin Zhaoxian basically stayed in the post house during this period except for attending court or handling official business in various departments of the court. Both the King of Wu and the King of Jin sent people to contact him, but he was rejected by all of them.
The ninth day of the ninth month is the night of Double Ninth Festival.
In the largest post station in Gyeonggi Prefecture, Yin Zhaoxian lives in a separate house and courtyard, guarded by soldiers and guards outside and served by servants inside. At this moment, he is writing in the room.
“Boom boom boom…”
"who is it."
A calm and neutral voice sounded outside the door.
"it's me."
Yin Zhaoxian in the room paused when he heard the voice, and quickly put down his pen, walked around the desk, went to the door and opened it himself. Sure enough, he saw Ji Yuan standing outside, bowing with a smile.
"Master Yin, how are you these days?"
"Mr. Ji? You are in Gyeonggi Prefecture? Please come in quickly!"
After returning the greeting, Yin Zhaoxian stepped aside, stepped sideways to invite him in, and looked outside. However, thinking that Ji Yuan was not an ordinary person, it was normal for the guards and servants to have no reaction, so he did not think about it any more.
After Ji Yuan entered the house, Yin Zhaoxian started talking to him with a hint of surprise.
"Mr. Ji, it has been almost three years since we last met in Wanzhou! Did you come to the capital to look for me? Or did you come to look for Qing'er? Although his imperial examination result was only second place, he must have been hiding his incompetence. It's good that way. After all, it's not a good thing for me to be too popular..."
Yin Zhaoxian, who was not considered to be a talkative person by both the government and the public, was now chattering non-stop, leaving Ji Yuan no chance to interrupt.
"Okay, whatever you say is what's going on."
Ji Yuan sighed helplessly in his heart. He actually understood his friend's excitement. While listening to Yin Zhaoxian, he walked to the desk and saw what Yin Zhaoxian had been writing.
It was not a memorial to the imperial court, nor an urgent official document, nor any romantic poetry or fu, but rather a teaching article.
"Oh, this is the 'Study Policy' that Yin has been drafting recently. If it can be implemented in the future, it will definitely be beneficial to students all over the world."
Ji Yuan looked at Yin Zhaoxian and said.
"Would it be convenient for me to look through it?"
"Mr. Ji, please!"
Ji Yuan nodded, walked to the end of the desk, picked up a few pages and started flipping through them.
Yin Zhaoxian possessed a righteous spirit, and his aura was revealed between the lines of his words. They looked just like the words written by immortal cultivators, and were extremely clear in Ji Yuan's eyes.
These contents have not yet been bound into a book. They are just rough drafts. The contents are clear to Ji Yuan. Although there are all kinds of contents in it, the fundamental hope is to improve the literacy rate and restart some contents such as "Six Arts of a Gentleman", which seem simple but are full of profound meaning.
To use the words of Ji Yuan in his previous life, Yin Zhaoxian wanted to slowly establish the "spirit" of a scholar and make the so-called "character" more approachable and clearer.
"Writing articles at a desk and wielding a sword to kill bandits, that's great!"
As soon as Ji Yuan opened his mouth, Yin Zhaoxian's eyes lit up and he bowed to him solemnly again.
"After all, it's Mr. Ji, with such good words and sentences, he expressed what Yin was thinking so appropriately!"
Ji Yuan flipped through a few more pages and put the papers back in their original places, feeling much better than when he came.
After all, my good friend values education more than being an official. Just like his original intention when he chose to embark on a career in officialdom, it has not changed over the years. So over the years, the way he addresses Yin Zhaoxian has remained the same.
"Master Yin, the way is long and arduous!"
"Haha, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Ji Yuan sat down naturally on one side, and Yin Zhaoxian also naturally poured tea for Ji Yuan and then sat on another chair.
"Master Yin, who do you think will win the battle for the Dazhen imperial power, the King of Jin or the King of Wu?"
Yin Zhaoxian was stunned and burst out laughing.
"Mr. Ji also asked the same question. Although you are not ordinary, I know more about this than you. As early as the day I entered the capital, I already knew who the crown prince was."
"Oh... I'm feeling a little itchy, why don't I make a bet with Master Yin?"
Ji Yuan smiled.
. . .
Inside the Imperial Palace, in the imperial study, Emperor Yuande was lying on his side on a couch.
The light from the lamp illuminated the imperial study. It was rare for the old emperor to be flipping through a book at this time. Although his complexion was not good, he was still in good spirits.
After a while, one of the oldest eunuchs who had served Emperor Yuande the longest walked into the imperial study, holding a roll of paper in his hand.
"Your Majesty, Commander Qian sent it."
The old emperor glanced at the old eunuch, who understood what he meant and took small steps forward, slowly pulling open the paper to display the contents in front of the old emperor.
The latter read it expressionlessly before rubbing his temple.
“Hehe… hehe… hehehe…”
Emperor Yuande laughed nervously a few times.
. . .
More than a quarter of an hour later, the old eunuch who delivered the secret letter was seen hurriedly walking in the palace with several young eunuchs and guards.
In a side room somewhere in the imperial palace, an old eunuch was sitting on a soft couch, eating candied fruit and drinking tea while watching "Spring Palace Floating Paintings".
At this time, there was a knock on the door outside.
"Who is it?"
"it's me."
The old eunuch outside responded and gave a wink to someone nearby, and a young eunuch opened the door for him.
"Hey, Eunuch Li! Why are you here..."
When the old eunuchs in the room inside saw the person coming, they hurriedly got off the couch to greet him. They were all old eunuchs who had followed Emperor Yuande for many years, but the other party was more favored than themselves.
"Eunuch Han, His Majesty is grateful for your years of service, so he ordered me to bring you some rewards. As you know, His Majesty came up with this idea at the last minute, so I dare not delay. I am just running an errand."
"Oh, Your Majesty still remembers the kindness of this old servant. Please come in, Eunuch Li. I wonder what the reward is?"
The old eunuch smiled brightly as he saw a young eunuch dragging a wooden tray next to Eunuch Li. The tray was covered with a red cloth and there was something bulging inside.
Eunuch Li smiled and moved aside.
"Your Majesty is so kind, Eunuch Han, just take a look for yourself."
The old eunuch surnamed Han looked at him, frowned slightly, and still took two steps forward with a smile.
The moment the red cloth was gently lifted, his right hand trembled, revealing the white silk and the wine jug under the red cloth...