Jun You Ji Fou

The old incident 13 years ago was disgraceful to the imperial court and to the Su family. It disappeared from the records of the Ministry of War and was also sealed in his memory.Today, as I brushed away the dust and picked it up again, I couldn't help but think of many things.

Su Shiyu leaned on the back of the chair, lightly pressed his fingers on his temples, and there was a trace of tiredness in his brows and eyes.An autumn rain gradually began to fall outside the house, pattering and cooling.

Before the battle was over, his father put him in confinement until he returned to Chang'an, had Su Shiyu's clothes changed into white shirts, and he was strictly forbidden to fight anyone again.

But young people are more or less rebellious, not to mention that he has a stubbornness in his bones, but it is not obvious because of his gentle temperament.

At that time, his uncle Su Xing hadn't been banished from the capital, and he was sitting in the hall discussing matters with Su Jue. The young Su Shiyu passed by under the corridor, and was about to leave after saluting and saying hello, but was stopped by Su Jue:

"Yu'er, come here."

Su Shiyu walked into the hall and stood in front of them.

"Raise your arms," ​​Su Jue said.

Su Shiyu glanced at his father, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly raised his hand. There was a small touch of reddish wash on the inside of Rubai's sleeve, and there was still a faint smell of blood.

Su Jue's face darkened, "What did I tell you?"

Su Shiyu lowered his eyes and did not answer.

"Hey brother, forget it." Su Xing couldn't help but say, "It's not that you don't know that the capital is not peaceful recently, the Xiongnu's territory is rampant, and other people want to get involved, Yu'er is like this When he is old enough to protect himself, you can't let him be chased and killed without doing anything, right?"

"He's more prone to accidents if he fights. If he can protect himself well, how can I give him a ban?" Su Jue turned to look at Su Shiyu, "You are bold now, can you listen to what you say as a father? "

Su Shiyu said in a low voice, "Don't dare."

"I haven't noticed it before, is this the first time?"

Su Shiyu paused for a moment before saying, "No."

"Kneel down."

He knelt down in response, and the servant next to him received a signal from Su Jue, and came up with a soft whip.Su Xing immediately changed his face, and stood up, "I'm frank, what are you going to do with family law? Brother, Yu'er is still young after all..."

Su Jue said: "Didn't you say you were too old just now?"

Su Xing: "..."

"He's fifteen or sixteen years old. He has fought wars and killed people. He knows everything in his heart. What's so young?" Su Jue shook his whip. .”

"But..." In the middle of speaking, Su Xing saw that Su Shiyu had raised his hand to untie his clothes in silence, and hurriedly said: "Did you say you want to take off your shirt and beat it? It's cold, you take off your clothes." What are you doing untiing it? I’m afraid it won’t hurt enough? Put it on quickly!”

Su Jue glared at Su Xing sideways, but didn't speak, which was acquiesced.

Su Shiyu straightened his clothes and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Uncle."

Su Xing responded vaguely, and sat back in his original position embarrassingly facing Su Jue's gaze.

"Yu'er," Su Jue stood behind him, not in a hurry, "Do you know why I made you ban martial arts?"

Su Shiyu said: "I know."

Su Jue nodded, "I talked to your uncle just now, and when I mentioned it to your mother, she also agreed that I will not take you to the battlefield again, and you only need to learn to be a civil servant in the future."

Su Shiyu froze suddenly, and raised his eyes in disbelief.

"Is there a problem?" Su Jue said in a deep voice.

Without hesitation, he said, "I don't want to."

The soft whip fell with a 'pop', and a bloodstain appeared on the boy's back. He couldn't help trembling, but he repeated through gritted teeth: "I don't want it."

"Yu'er!" Su Xing was startled.

"The child is at fault, even though the punishment is right, why did the father make such a decision?" Su Jue showed no mercy, the welts were criss-crossed and branded on the white shirt, and his back was in a burning pain, but he raised his voice: "I The four generations of the Su family led the army, how many famous generals have produced, almost no one chooses to be a civil servant, and my father and uncle are also people who live on the battlefield, why should I be a civil servant?"

"I've decided, you don't need to say more."

"Why did father make such a decision?" Su Shiyu asked.

Su Jue pressed his whip against his back, unable to bear it any longer: "The four generations of the Su family do not lack you as a general!"

Su Shiyu suddenly looked at Su Jue, extremely astonished: "Father..."

"Kneel down!" Su Jue interrupted him with a stern shout.

"Go and invite sister-in-law here." Su Xing lowered his voice and ordered, while looking at his nephew who was covered in cold sweat.All the servants held their breath in fright, and the only sound of whips in the hall was frightening.

Su Jue stopped, gasping for breath. He didn't know whether he was tired or angry. He stared at Su Shiyu, "I'll give you a chance to admit your mistake."

The skinny young man's face was pale, and the line of his lips was tight, "I don't know what's wrong, my child."

Su Xing's heart was shaken, he didn't dare to look at his elder brother's face, and urged in a low voice: "Yu'er!"

Su Shiyu ignored him completely, and said to himself: "My child has listened to his father's teachings since he was a child, and he yearns for war on the battlefield. He is willing to die for the country, and he doesn't want to stay in the court all day long to intrigue. What's wrong? You taught me the art of marching and war. You told me over and over again, what is the meaning of repaying the king on the golden platform, and supporting the jade dragon to die for the king."

"But can you still lead the army to fight?" Su Jue scolded angrily, his hand tightly gripping the long whip trembled, and blood dripped from the whip, "With those [-] lives alone, you should have been pushed out and beheaded long ago! Take a good look at your current appearance. When you kill people, you don’t hesitate to die. No one will believe you. Even if you are sent to the battlefield, you can fight all the battles alone? Why do you let those soldiers listen to you and believe you? ? What qualifications do you have to be a general?"

The hands by his side were clenched into fists, Su Shiyu didn't say a word, his back was covered with bruises, his white clothes were almost stained with blood, but he still refused to bow his head.

Su Jue looked at him, suddenly threw away the soft whip, and pulled out the sword hanging on the wall, "It seems that you won't listen to what I say, well, since you will die in the hands of others sooner or later, why don't you let me do it for you?" Father first cut off you rebellious son!"

The sword light was like snow, reflecting on Su Shiyu's face.

Su Xing didn't think much about it, and rushed forward to stop Su Jue, "Brother!"

"Husband!" Mrs. Su rushed in, and quickly hugged Su Shiyu into her arms. Tears filled her eyes before she could take a closer look at the injuries, "Yu'er..."

Su Shiyu held Mrs. Su's hand, his palm was cold, but he smiled slightly at her with the corners of his lips curled up.

Su Jue pushed Su Xing away, watched in silence for a while, and then threw the long sword in front of Su Shiyu, "Go to the ancestral hall to reflect, no one is allowed to give him food and medicine, and come out when he has figured it out. "

The patriarch gave the order, and the guards of the ancestral hall naturally didn't dare to perfunctory, although they felt sorry for the young master kneeling inside with injuries, but he couldn't disobey the order in front of his wife, he was very embarrassed: "Forgive me, my subordinate really can't let you in! "

"My son is kneeling inside, so I just want to see him?" Mrs. Su said softly and firmly.

"You also know that the master doesn't allow others to enter, let alone you..." The guard glanced at the food box carried by the maid behind his wife, and shook his head.

Mrs. Su sighed, and took out a jade pendant from her sleeve. The high-quality suet white jade was radiant, and she asked softly, "Are my words worthless?"

The guard suddenly panicked, "Ma'am, what are you doing? If you don't bring out the jade pendant, your status in the mansion is needless to say, and my subordinates dare not disrespect you!"

"Then let me meet Yu'er, don't worry, I won't stay for long."

"But ma'am..."

"If your husband blames you, I will naturally speak for you, please."

The guard closed his mouth, looked at Yupei hesitantly, then at the lady's earnest expression, finally turned his eyes away, and moved away.

Su Shiyu was kneeling in front of the ancestral tablet, when he heard the voice, he turned his head to look.Mrs. Su sat down in front of him, and opened the food box handed by the maid, "This is all made by my mother, Yu'er, you eat a little first, and I will give you medicine later. It's okay, your uncle is trying to persuade you What about your father, he won't be able to make it for a while."

Su Shiyu looked at her, shook his head, and said in a low voice, "Mother."

The young man's clear voice was a little hoarse, and Madam Su's heart ached when she heard it, and she couldn't help but wet her eyes again, "Why do you think you want to make your father angry?" She raised her hand to caress Su Shiyu's face, "His temper you Still not clear? Apologize, bow your head and admit your mistake, or don't hold back, cry out, his heart softens, why is he willing to punish you?"

Su Shiyu lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Madam Su sighed, "Did you blame your father?"

"No." He said: "My child knows that my father really couldn't bear it. His hand holding the whip was shaking. He drew his sword and said he wanted to kill me because he couldn't do it anymore and wanted his uncle to stop him. If I cry again , father will be even more sad."

Mrs. Su was startled, then hugged Su Shiyu, tears fell silently, "My silly son, you are the one who suffers because of your temper."

There was a creaking door behind her, and Su Shiyu patted her on the back, "Mother."

Mrs. Su let go of him, and turned her head to look, a skylight slanted through the door and fell into the hall. Su Jue stood in front of the door with the light behind her back, unable to see her expression clearly.

Mrs. Su quickly wiped her tears, "Husband, just let Yu'er go..."

"I heard it just now." Su Jue raised his hand to interrupt her, walked in slowly, paused for a moment, then sat down on his knees, looked at Su Shiyu at the same level, "I don't think you still feel that you are wrong?"

Su Shiyu remained silent.

"I only have your son." Su Jue said suddenly, "Do you know what I want from you?"

"Make meritorious deeds and do not disgrace the lintel of the Su family."

Su Jue stared fixedly at Su Shiyu for a long time, and suddenly smiled without warning. His face was stern, and he rarely had a pleasant face. At this time, there was a trace of tenderness between his brows when he smiled, "Wrong."

Su Shiyu looked at him unexpectedly.

"I hope you live a good life." I don't know if it's an illusion, Su Jue's voice is much gentler, "I would rather you be mediocre, or even incompetent, as long as you can stay away from danger, it doesn't matter even if you are stuck in the middle of the capital and can't get ahead all your life, as long as you are safe and happy It’s good to be alive.”

"I have always been strict with you, but now, I suddenly wondered if I was wrong? When you came back to me that day, I thought you were dead, but you were still alive, but there were things in my eyes that I couldn't understand. Those days What happened, I didn't ask you, and you definitely didn't intend to tell me.... I was negligent, and I didn't find out until later that my son had changed. "

"Yu'er," he sighed, "Father has never regretted it in his life, even if he lost a battle and was framed by others. But taking you to the battlefield back then was the only thing I regretted the most."

"Father……"

"I know you don't want to, but the battlefield is no longer suitable for you." Su Jue looked at him, "Repaying the emperor's intentions on the golden platform, and supporting the jade dragon to die for the emperor, this sentence is the same in the court, the key to it is , My Su family, no matter civil servants or military generals, will be loyal until death."

The young man was silent for a long time, until Mrs. Su held his hand, Su Shiyu seemed to wake up from a start, and replied in a low voice: "Yes."

When the Taiwei and the imperial censor returned to the imperial court, the subordinate officials of the various prefectures immediately handed over the affairs back, because there was a post-transmission communication in Huainan before, and there was not much official business backlog.Above the early dynasty, Huainan affairs were still the main focus.

The king of Xiling sent envoys to present a heavy gift and a list of officials, saying that the candidate to take over Huainan has been drawn up, and His Majesty has worked hard for him these days, euphemistically expressing his intention to let the southern border army withdraw from Huainan.

When Han Zhongwen and others were in office, the imperial court still had jurisdiction over Huainan, so that place was truly under the control of King Xiling.It's just that the land of Huainan has been designated as the Xiling feudal state, and the officials should naturally be appointed by Li Chenghua. It is enough to give the court face by coming here to report, not to mention the officials sent by the court before. Li Chenghua never took the opportunity to ask for an explanation, no matter how he thought about it, he had no reason to refuse him.

Afterwards, the officials involved in the case were punished, and Luo Xin was granted a generous burial.Many courtiers recalled how the crowd angrily accused Luo Xin of treason, and they couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Seeing the calm atmosphere, Li Yanzhen suddenly mentioned the Qianqiu Festival a few days later, saying that it happened that Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu returned to the court, so it's better to be here There is a banquet in Li Palace outside the city, and Da Xing organizes it.The civil and military officials looked at him speechlessly, and their expressions did not look good.

After the court was over, Lu Shi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, walked out together with Su Shiyu, "Master Su, the prison van from Huainan has arrived. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you about the specific disposal."

"Master Lu, you're welcome. If you need anything, just call me." Su Shiyu smiled.

"Yes, then I'll thank you first." Lu Shihu sighed again, "Speaking of which, I have dealt with quite a few of these prisoners. When I was working in the Communist Party of China, I saw that they were all well-behaved. Why? Will it be like this in Huainan?"

Su Shiyu frowned slightly when he heard the words, and before he could speak, another voice came from beside him: "Because those people have evil intentions, but because Chang'an City is under the foot of the emperor, they dare not act recklessly."

Yue Yuxuan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, came over and smiled at them, "Master Su, Lord Lu." He looked around, as if he had discovered something, and asked Su Shiyu, "It's strange, why don't you see Master Chu?"

Su Shiyu paused slightly, and Lu Shixian couldn't help but said: "Master Yue's words are strange, why did you ask us to ask Taiwei Chu?"

"Didn't Master Su always be with Master Chu before the next court? I'm not afraid of Master Lu's jokes. I wanted to go up and talk to him several times, but Master Chu's cold eyes scared me back!" Yue Yuxuan laughed, and was a little puzzled : "What? Mr. Su went to Huainan with him to investigate the case for so long this time, and we met each other day and night along the way. The relationship should get better and better. I thought that after you came back, the Chu Party and the Su Party should shake hands and make peace. Why does it look worse now?"

Su Shiyu smiled faintly, "It's the same as before, Mr. Yue is overhearted."

Yue Yuxuan gave him a meaningful look and didn't ask any further questions.

In the study, Chu Mingyun patiently read all the papers and reports after leaving Beijing.When Qin Zhao came in with a stack of secret orders, he was propping his forehead to see Zhou Yi's call back from the western border. When he heard the movement, he raised his eyes, stared at Qin Zhao with an unpredictable expression for a while, and asked, "What are you doing?" mean?"

Qin Zhao put the secret order in his hand with his frozen face that had never changed for thousands of years, "Understand the situation."

"To make me unhappy?" Chu Mingyun leaned back and pushed away a thick pile of letters, "I don't want to read them."

Qin Zhao asked, "Why?"

"Why should I read it? You can guess what orders were issued in my name. What else is there to do except to stimulate me?" Chu Mingyun laughed, put his fingers on his chin, and looked at Qin Zhao with great interest, " Junior brother, I really don’t understand, my family Shiyu provoked you, I didn’t have such a big opinion on him, I was urging me to kill him before, and now I’m using his forged letter to force me to give up?”

His mind was directly broken, Qin Zhao was embarrassed for a moment, and then turned into shock, "Are you still determined?"

"No?" Chu Mingyun gently closed his eyes, "How can I put it, I'm still a little angry, but even if I'm angry, I'm still thinking about him."

Qin Zhao couldn't understand it. An impulse to wake him up came up in his throat, but when he came out, there was only a dry sentence: "Stupid!"

Chu Mingyun smiled indifferently, "You might as well say that I'm hopeless."

Qin Zhao closed his mouth and ignored him.

"Junior brother," Chu Mingyun slowly opened his eyes, and his expression became serious, "I don't want to waste any more, so I will do it."

"Do it?" Qin Zhao couldn't react in time.

"Yes, I have completely seen that Daxia has not changed at all in the past ten years. 13 years ago, the Xiongnu sent troops to the south, and the county guards abandoned the city and fled. Not to mention the people below, how many guards defected to the enemy; Years later, with a little provocation by those with a heart, hundreds of officials massacred the city. Leaving aside their own concerns, it was a problem with the court officials. The foundation was rotten, but they still insisted on the immutable law of the ancestors." Chu Mingyun Smiling contemptuously, "If you have been living on your last breath for so many years, you should die."

Qin Zhao looked at him, "Do you want to force the palace?"

Chu Mingyun shook his head, "Since Shiyu already knows what I want to do, it is impossible for him to be unguarded, not to mention that my power has just been compromised, forcing the palace is the most unwise way right now. Li Yanzhen will leave the city to leave the palace in a few days. For the Qianqiu Festival banquet, you bring someone to ambush, as long as he dies, I will have a way to make all the officials beg me to become the throne."

"Yes."

"The Forbidden Army is already mine, and I will arrange the specifics. It will not be too late for you to wait until the return trip, so let this little emperor have a good time." Chu Mingyun said slowly with a cold smile on his lips : "When to live and when to die, sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?"