Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

"Xiangyang King Zhao Jue?" Gongsun Ce was surprised: "So it was him! This is really..."

This is really a big trouble!

Zhao Jue, King of Xiangyang, was the youngest son of Emperor Taizong and the youngest brother of the late Emperor.

The first emperor's heirs were difficult, and he had succeeded to the throne for many years without a prince. At that time, the king of Xiangyang was still in the capital.So there was a kind of argument that it was better to follow Tai. The story of the ancestor Taizong's final brother and the story, taking the King of Xiangyang as the heir and inheriting the Datong.

The first emperor didn't say anything at that time, but changed it to Yingtianfu on the grounds that Songzhou was the land of Longxing, and built the ancestral temple and palace in Yingtianfu.

After the palace was completed, a large number of clan children were immediately moved to live in Yingtianfu.

The euphemistic name is that the population of the clan is increasing day by day, and the palace in Bianliang City is unlivable. It is better to move to Yingtian Mansion, where the house is bigger and more comfortable to live in.

The descendants of the clan who moved to Yingtian Mansion were mostly after Emperor Tai Zu and Wei Wang Yanmei, separated from the first emperor by a layer, not biological brothers, and had a strange relationship.

The only clan in Taizong's lineage is King Zhao Jue of Xiangyang.

The first emperor sent his own younger brother far away to Yingtian Mansion, and never allowed him to return to Beijing all these years, the meaning is already obvious.

What kind of brothers end up with younger brothers, I want the father to die and the son to succeed.If you are a minister for the rest of your life, don't think about taking the throne of me.

After sending King Xiangyang to Yingtian, Liu E and Concubine Li became pregnant one after another, and Emperor Zhenzong finally had a queen, and he was delighted to pardon the world.King Xiangyang wanted to return to Beijing to celebrate, but Song Zhenzong sternly refused.

Brother, please stay in Yingtian well, don't always think about going back to the court to make friends with ministers to gain fame.

As a result, within a few years, the prince died.Zhenzong suffered a serious illness and was about to die.Another minister in the court suggested that it is better to recall King Xiangyang to the capital for future affairs.

Song Zhenzong never expected that he would move to Yingtian Mansion, and his younger brother still had such a great influence in the court, people would miss him for everything.So he didn't even care about his illness, and immediately struggled to adopt the son of the eight sage kings into the palace, who is the current emperor.

Compared with King Xiangyang, Song Zhenzong's favorability for the Eight Sage Kings is much higher.

At least this younger brother didn't think about becoming emperor all day long.

After the son of the Eight Sage Kings entered the palace, Empress Liu E used iron and blood methods to cleanse the Xiangyang King's henchmen from the ruling and opposition parties.Since then, King Xiangyang has been silent, and he has kept his own place in Yingtian Mansion as his own idle king until now.

Gongsun Ce was stunned: "The King of Xiangyang has a high status, if this matter is really related to him, it will be extremely difficult."

He and Bao Zheng looked at each other, and they both saw the unspeakable deep meaning in each other's eyes.

The King of Xiangyang has been coveting the throne for a long time, if the disaster relief fund is really embezzled by him, the consequences will be disastrous.

The king of Xiangyang during the reign of Zhenzong still cherished feathers very much.After all, there has been a precedent in this dynasty where brothers end up with brothers, and Zhenzong has no sons, so the throne may still fall on his head.

Even this illusory possibility is worthwhile for Zhao Jue to pretend to be a gentleman.

If you want to be the crown prince, you have to pass the ideological and moral standards.

In this dynasty, the situation is quite different.

I have only heard of younger brothers succeeding elder brothers to the throne, but never heard of uncles inheriting the throne of nephews.

Even if the current emperor suddenly collapsed and left no descendants, he would still have the family of the Eight Sage Kings as heirs. Among other things, the emperor still had a twin brother.

What's more, just this summer, a prince was born in the middle palace, and the dream of King Xiangyang's legal succession was completely shattered.

People are in a hurry to go to the room, dogs are in a hurry to jump over the wall, if the King of Xiangyang is really in a hurry...

If you can't legally succeed to the throne, I'm afraid you will rebel.

At this time, if he gets a large sum of money and food...

Gongsun Ce said: "No matter what, the students should do their best to help Mr. Bao find out the case of Yingtian's disaster relief."

Bao Zheng said: "Thank you, Mr. Gongsun."

This matter should not be delayed, the next day, Bao Zheng took Zhan Zhaogong Sun Ce and others to Yingtian Mansion.

Before leaving, the emperor sent them an imperial decree, urging King Xiangyang to cooperate with them in checking the accounts.

Bao Zheng put the imperial decree in his briefcase and ordered Zhan Zhao to keep it close to him.

Among them, only Zhan Zhao has the highest martial arts, and he is the most secure to keep the imperial decree.

Without this decree, they would not be able to fight against King Xiangyang, and they would not be able to find out the truth of the Yingtianfu case.

Yingtianfu is not far from Bianliang, Tokyo, and within a short time, Bao Zheng has arrived at the city of Yingtianfu.

Looking around, it really is a sign of the people's livelihood in decline.

The flood destroyed most of the farmland outside the city, and the crops and seedlings were washed away, and the border markers of the farmland were gone. Now there are only endless empty fields left.

Gongsun Ce didn't know how to ride a horse, so he sat in the same car with Bao Zheng, and Zhan Zhao and others rode beside the car to protect them.

Bao Zheng opened the curtain of the car and sighed: "Look at these farmlands, the hard work of the farmers for a year has been washed away by the flood."

Gongsun Ce followed his gaze and sneered slightly: "It's not just a year's hard work that was washed away by the flood."

Bao Zheng was puzzled: "How do you say that?"

Gongsun Ce stretched out his finger and pointed to the bare land: "The land is owned by the owner. If your land and mine are adjacent to each other, there must be a landmark to distinguish them from each other. The east of the landmark is yours, and the west of the land is yours. It belongs to me, and I can prove it with the land deed. Now that the floods come and all the landmarks are washed away, how can we distinguish between you and me?"

Bao Zheng said: "The sale and purchase of farmland must be filed in the government. Ask the government to take out the file and check it."

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "My lord's family is not an ordinary farmer, is it?"

Bao Zheng said: "My father is somewhat Susukita..."

Gongsun Ce said: "Everyone calls him Bao Yuanwai?"

Bao Zheng smiled.

Gongsun Ce said: "I guess adults don't know how to farm. Farmers are poor. Once there is a wedding or funeral, they spend all their money and sell their fields to make a living. Today I will sell your two acres of land, and tomorrow I will buy them. Do you expect the government to file one by one for you with such a plethora of small accounts? The so-called archives of the government only store records of large-scale transactions or rewards. Reward Wang Xianggong with fifty hectares of fertile land—this kind of account, the government will definitely keep it. But—”

He lowered the curtain of the car: "The people who can buy and sell such a large amount of land are all local rich and famous families, or they are directly from the government. Why do they need landmarks to mark the property? Everyone knows that this piece of land belongs to him The real need for the government to mark the property is the small farmer's family with only one or two acres of land, and a family of five depends on it for basic necessities. Now that the boundary markers have been washed away, a large piece of land has returned to a state of no owner, powerful Those who fight will naturally earn more fertile land, but those whose clans are weakened and unable to fight, who should protect their property?"

Bao Zheng was stunned: "This..."

Gongsun Ce said again: "Not only is this year's hard work in vain, but the savings of generations will also be in vain."

He looked at Bao Zheng's face and sighed: "My lord, let's go into the city."

Bao Zheng was silent, and the carriage drove to the gate of Yingtian Mansion.

Outside the city gate, the magistrate Pei Yuan led a group of state and county officials standing behind a man in purple.

The man was in his thirties, wearing a purple python robe and a jade crown, with a tall and straight figure, and there was a sense of nobility between his brows. He was the King of Xiangyang, Zhao Jue.

He turned his head slightly and asked Pei Yuan behind him: "Is that Bao Zheng's car?"

Pei Yuan looked at the carriage approaching from a distance, and said, "Then Bao Zheng is always simple, so I guess it's him."

Zhao Jue laughed: "I'm not in Bianliang for a long time, is it that this kind of pettiness is popular in Tokyo now?"

Pei Yuandao: "The emperor was raised by the empress dowager, like the empress dowager, he loves simplicity."

"Sure enough," Zhao Jue squinted his eyes: "That son of a bitch who was raised in broken shoes just likes this kind of poverty."

Pei Yuan lowered his head deeply, pretending that he didn't hear what the King of Xiangyang insulted the Queen Mother.

The current Empress Dowager did marry a husband before she entered the palace of the first emperor, but in the whole world, apart from this thousand-year-old prince, there is probably no one else who would dare to call the Empress Dowager a broken shoe.

Apart from this master, I am afraid that there is no other man who hates the Queen Mother so much.

After all, this master almost succeeded to the throne twice, and both times he was messed up by the Queen Mother.

The first time was when Liu E gave birth to a son, which disillusioned Brother Zhao Jue and his younger brother.

Zhao Jue waited in Yingtian Mansion for seven years, and finally hoped for the prince born by Liu E to death. As a result, Liu E adopted the son of the Eight Sage Kings and made him the prince. Zhao Jue was completely out of action now.

Bao Zheng's carriage stopped in front of the city gate.Bao Xing, who was driving the car, shouted into the car: "My lord, there are many people in official uniforms outside!"

Bao Zheng hurriedly said, "Is it an official from the prefecture or county?"

He was an imperial envoy to investigate the case, so it was reasonable for state and county officials to greet him at the gate of the city.

Zhan Zhao rode his horse and approached the carriage: "There is another man in a python robe in front."

Python robe?

Bao Zheng said: "Could it be that some prince also came to welcome me?"

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "The King of Xiangyang intends to strike first."

At this time, a sharp shout came: "The prince of Xiangyang, please get out of the car and see Bao Zheng!"

Zhan Zhao covered his ears: "This sound is so ear-piercing!"

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "The eunuch's voice is naturally harsher."

Zhan Zhao said: "Eunuch Liu is not like this before the officials."

Bao Zheng said: "Okay. Since the prince invited me to see him, I don't want to disrespect the king's order."

Bao Xing opened the car door and helped Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce get out of the car.Zhan Zhao also got off his horse and followed behind Bao Zheng.

Bao Zheng stepped forward on foot, but before reaching the King of Xiangyang, he was stopped by a group of palace guards: "You are not allowed to bring weapons in front of the prince!"

The guard pointed directly at the giant gate in Zhan Zhao's hand: "First get rid of the armored soldiers before you can meet the prince!"

Zhan Zhao gritted his teeth, thinking that they would never dare to assassinate Mr. Bao at the gate of the city in broad daylight, so he handed the Juque to the guard, weighed it lightly and skillfully: "My lord, this sword is calm, be careful You can't hold it!"

The guard saw that he weighed lightly, and guessed that the sword was not heavy, so he took it with one hand.

Juque is the second most powerful weapon among the swords made by Ou Yezi. The blade is very wide and heavy.Zhan Zhao's martial arts is strong, and he holds it effortlessly, but the guard is an ordinary man with rough fists and feet, and he almost fell over by the weight of Ju Que.

He glared at Zhan Zhao bitterly, but saw that Zhan Zhao had already left with Bao Zheng.

Good boy, call you crazy!

The guard looked at a big man with an ordinary face next to him, and the big man nodded slightly.

It became.

Zhao Jue looked at Bao Zheng who was approaching in a small step out of the corner of his eye, feeling very disdainful in his heart.

It's just a poor man who came from a small family. With his luck, he accomplished a few things, and he was praised to the sky just like that.His nephew was also ignorant, so he actually sent such a person to Ying Tianfu.

Still investigating the case, let's see what flowers you can find out!

He waited for Bao Zheng to bow down, and then slowly said: "Bao Qing, quickly save yourself from courtesy."

Bao Zheng straightened up, and said: "Thanks to the great kindness of the prince, Bao is very grateful to wait here for Bao."

Zhao Jue smiled: "What is there to be grateful for? Is it such a pleasure to have friends come from afar? Come, Bao Qing, and follow me into the city, and let me do my best as a landlord."

Bao Zheng said: "Being respectful is worse than obeying orders."

The King of Xiangyang looked at Bao Zheng's carriage and said with a smile, "My nephew is too stingy, and Bao Qing can be regarded as loyal, but he only asks you to ride in this kind of carriage. How can you sit in this kind of carriage?"

He clapped his hands, and the palace attendant drove a carriage with two horses: "This king's carriage, sit with Bao Qing."

The wall of the chariot was made of fragrant wood, decorated with pearl tassels, the roof was covered with satin, embellished with gold and silver, the two horses also had long necks and pointed ears, and were covered in snow white, as if they were carved out of the same mold.

Zhao Jue said with a smile: "Bao Qing, don't shirk it, this is my king's wish."

Bao Zheng's eyes were calm: "I don't want to evade the prince's kindness."

Zhao Jue raised his eyebrows: "Then come up."

Bao Zheng said coldly: "I don't want to be with the prince!"

Zhao Jue's face also turned cold: "What did you say?"

Bao Zheng said: "Yingtian Mansion was hit by floods this year. Countless victims were displaced, their families were destroyed, and mourners were everywhere. People couldn't bear to see them. The emperor was far away in Bianliang, and he still reduced his regular meals. Five hundred people went out of the palace to save money and help the victims. The prince said In Yingtian Mansion, can’t you see the tragic situation of the victims? Can’t you hear the wailing of the victims? As a clan, the prince doesn’t care about production. Those who look up to him are the fat and anointing of the people. Now the people’s livelihood is already difficult, and the prince still wears fine clothes, fragrant cars and BMWs when he goes in and out , even more than the Son of Heaven. To usurp the Son of Heaven is to be disloyal, and to ignore the livelihood of the people is to be inhumane. Bao Mou does not want to be with such disloyal and unkind people, so there is no need to shirk! The prince wants to trap Bao Mou in such a In a state of infidelity and inhumanity, can it be considered good intentions!"

Zhao Jue looked at Bao Zheng, and suddenly smiled: "Are you from the royal family?"

Bao Zheng said: "I am the censor and know the miscellaneous things."

Zhao Jue said: "You censors have this problem. You are picky and picky. You can call the good ones bad, and the loyal ones can be called traitors. Once you get involved with a high-ranking official, They popped their crowns to celebrate each other, thinking of it as glory, and the world knew it. Offenders were demoted, and they said, I was punished for my loyalty. The king of the country is also the censor."

He turned around and got into the carriage: "I was sorry for your cramped carriage, so I kindly took you for a ride. If you don't appreciate it, then forget it. I'm tired, so I'll go back to the palace first."

The coachman raised his whip, and the two white horses ran towards the city with four hooves.

Zhan Zhao shouted: "Hey, give me back my sword!"

The palace guard held the sword in both hands, gritted his teeth and handed it to Zhan Zhao.Zhan Zhao took the sword with one hand, stroked the blade and said, "I've wronged you, and I'm being angry in this villain's hands."

The guard glared at him again, then turned and followed the carriage.Zhan Zhao snorted and walked towards Bao Zheng: "My lord, you are too powerful! That old man was speechless by what you said!"

Gongsun Ce folded his arms and said with a smile: "Your family is also speechless by what he said."

Bao Zheng looked at him helplessly: "Sir, don't laugh at me anymore."

Gongsun Ce laughed again: "Before entering the city, I offended the local snake. What should I do?"

Bao Zheng said: "I have the sacred decree in hand, are you afraid of him?"

Gongsun Ce glanced around: "Okay, don't stand here anymore. Go ahead and find a place to stay in the city."

When imperial envoys enter the city, they should live in the post station.

Looking at the board of the station, Zhan Zhao said with a smile: "When I see the station now, I feel something is wrong."

Gongsun Ce asked, "What kind of allusion is this?"

Bao Zheng then told Gongsun Ce that he and Zhan Zhao were almost burned at the Yangzhou station.

Gongsun Ce said with a smile: "Don't worry, this station can't be burned down."

Zhan Zhao asked, "Why?"

Gongsun Ce said: "Although Yangzhou is prosperous, it is just an ordinary city. Yingtian is Nanjing, and there are palaces here. The post station in Yangzhou was burned, so just build a new one. If the post station in Nanjing is burned, it will definitely go up. God listen."

Zhan Zhao nodded: "What Mr. said makes sense."

Everyone settled down at the post station. They were exhausted and it was getting late, so they planned to go back to their rooms to rest for the night.

When he was about to return to his room, Gongsun Ce said to Zhan Zhao: "Master Zhan, the imperial decree is very important, even when washing and changing clothes, you must not leave your body."

Zhan Zhao said: "Don't worry, the imperial decree is with me..."

He stretched out his hand into his arms, and suddenly his face turned pale.

Gongsun Ce saw that his face was not right, so he stood up abruptly: "What's wrong?"

Zhan Zhao raised his head, his lips trembling slightly: "The imperial decree is gone."

"What?" Bao Zheng said in surprise, "Is the imperial decree missing?"

Gongsun Ce said, "Don't be too busy."

Turning to Zhan Zhao: "Master Zhan, please recall first. When was the last time you saw the imperial decree?"

Zhan Zhao said: "When I set off this morning, I made sure that the imperial decree was in my arms."

Gongsun Ce said, "And then?"

Zhan Zhao said, "Then I rode the horse all the way."

Gongsun Ce said: "You are skilled in riding, and there was no bump in the middle. But you dismounted once."

Zhan Zhao nodded fiercely: "Yes, I remember. When I got on the horse again, I took out the imperial decree and looked at it to make sure. The imperial decree was still there at that time."

Gongsun Ce shook his head: "At that time, you shouldn't have taken out the imperial decree."

Zhan Zhao said, "Why?"

Gongsun Ce sighed, "Scholar Zhan, let me just say it straight. I'm afraid the imperial decree is already in the hands of King Xiangyang."

Zhan Zhao was startled, "How could this be?"

Gongsun Ce said slowly: "When I was working as a accountant in my hometown, I also heard some rumors about Jianghu. The martial arts of Nanxia is so powerful that it is unmatched in the world. There should be only a handful of people who can steal from Nanxia, ​​right? "

Zhan Zhao nodded: "I really don't lose things often."

Gongsun Ce said: "There is a man called the Great Sage Deng Che, has Nan Xia ever heard of him?"

"Sir, do you think he stole our imperial decree?"

Gongsun Ce nodded: "If I were the king of Xiangyang, I should have thought that Mr. Bao is just a courtier, how could he possibly compete with the prince. Besides, Yingtian Mansion is the territory of King Xiangyang, and what Mr. Bao can honor is the emperor's will. There must be a certificate for the emperor's will, or the imperial decree, or Shang Fang's sword, or some other imperial gift. As long as this certificate is stolen, Master Bao will no longer have the power to fight against the prince."

He looked at Zhan Zhao: "The reason why Zhan Yishi was allowed to keep the imperial decree before was because Zhan Yishi was a high-powered martial artist, and he was not an official. Ordinary people would not have imagined that the Lord would hand over such an important imperial decree to a ranger. If there are thieves who really want Without us, it would be impossible to focus on Zhanyi Zhan."

Zhan Zhao gritted his teeth: "But I was careless for a while, and I actually pointed the way to that thief!"

He fisted Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce in shame: "My lord, Mr. Gongsun, this matter is Zhan Zhao's fault, please let me..."

Gongsun Ce said coldly: "No matter what you want to say, just swallow it back for me."

Zhan Zhao was stunned, "This..."

Bao Zheng patted him on the shoulder and sighed: "Mr. Gongsun is right. The matter has come to this point, no matter what you do, it will not help the matter, and you may hurt yourself. Mr. Gongsun is worried that you will act impulsively. What a fool."

Zhan Zhao's face flushed red: "I...I'll go to Xiangyang Palace to get back the imperial decree!"

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "The imperial decree is just a piece of paper, and I'm afraid it has been burned to ashes by now. How could it be snatched back?"

"The matter has come to this, if you want to remedy it, you can only send someone back to the capital and ask for an imperial edict to come back."

Zhan Zhao said, "I'll go!"

Gongsun Ce sighed again: "You are gone, what will happen to Master Bao's safety? How about letting Bao Xing..."

"No, it's better to let the guard Zhan go back to Beijing to ask for an order."

Bao Zheng stood up and said, "If you send someone else out of the city, I'm afraid you will be murdered by the King of Xiangyang as soon as you leave the city gate. Only by calling Zhan Yishi can you bring the imperial decree back safely."

"But your safety, my lord..."

Bao Zheng smiled: "forgive me that the king of Xiangyang didn't dare to attack me in Yingtian Mansion. The imperial envoy died in Yingtian Mansion, what good will he do?"

He patted Zhan Zhao on the shoulder: "Martyr Zhan, you must go and come back quickly."

Zhan Zhao nodded, bid farewell to Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, and left the city on a fast horse while the city gate was still open.

Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce went back to their rooms to rest and recharge their batteries for tomorrow.

On the next morning, Bao Zheng put on his official uniform, and Gongsun Ce changed into his master's attire, and went to Yingtianfu Yamen to check the accounts.

Although there is no imperial decree for the time being, the account can be checked first.

Pei Yuan, the prefect of Yingtian Mansion, is a gentle and gentle middle-aged man. Seeing them come to check the accounts, he immediately adjusted the income and expenditure account books of Ying Tian Mansion for the past ten years, and detailed accounts of the loss of property in this year's flood and how the relief funds and food allocated by the court were withdrawn. Hills are generally piled up in the house.

Gongsun Ce randomly picked up a book and flipped through two pages, only to see that the account books were made extremely detailed, the meter was accurate to one hundredth of a centimetre, and the silver was accurate to one thousandth of a centimetre.

He pointed to this account and said with a smile: "Master Pei, this account is really meticulous."

Pei Yuan twirled his beard and said, "Only by being meticulous can you make no mistakes."

Gongsun Ce said: "I would like to ask Ying Tianfu's scale to have a look. What kind of scale is it? It can weigh one-thousandth of a centimetre."

Pei Yuan shook his head and said, "Well, it's always better to be more detailed."

Gongsun Ce put down the account book: "This account is tiring to check, so I won't check it anymore."

Bao Zheng was shocked: "Why didn't you investigate?"

Gongsun Ce said: "The account is just a number, we still have to look at the real thing. Mr. Pei," he asked Pei Yuan, "How much food is left in the official warehouse of Yingtian Mansion?"

Pei Yuan said: "Not much."

Gongsun Ce said: "One tael is not too much, and 100 taels is not too much. I would like to ask Mr. Pei to tell you what the amount is. Or Mr. Pei can take us to the official warehouse to see how much is left. It is clear at a glance. "

Pei Yuandao: "The account book has been brought, and everything you want to know is in it. If you want to know the money and food in the official warehouse, please do the calculation yourself."

Bao Zheng frowned: "Lord Pei, we are following orders, so are you going to resist orders?"

Pei Yuan's eyes widened: "You want to check the account books, and I've already brought you the account books. Do you know that I'm just a magistrate, and if you want to open an official storehouse, you have to find the transfer envoy who is in charge of money and food."

Bao Zheng said: "Then let's go find the transshipment envoy!"

Pei Yuan sneered: "Unfortunately, the transfer envoy is having a banquet at the Prince's Mansion in Xiangyang. I'm afraid I won't have time to see you for a while."

Bao Zheng was furious: "You still have the heart to feast at this time?"

Pei Yuandao: "The prince is the king, and we are the ministers. The prince wants to have a banquet, so what can we do, we can only follow orders."

He said to Gongsun Ce: "Sir, do you want to read the account or not? If you don't, I will take it back."

Gongsun Ce picked up the corner of an account book, shook it at Pei Yuan, and shook off a handful of fly ash. Pei Yuan coughed twice and ran away: "Bold!"

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "Lord Pei, do you think that after you have given me ten years of running accounts, and then made the numbers extremely complicated, I can't count?"

Pei Yuandao: "If you want to do it, you can do it."

Gongsun Ce said, "Okay."

"Then let's do the calculations day by day, year by year. Isn't Mrs. Pei's scale weighed by a thousandth of a centimetre? Then let's do the calculations. How many thousandths of a centimetre is the difference between Ying Tianfu's accounts?" .”