The Blood Crown

Under Yan Zilian's arrangement, Yan Sikong finally met Zhao Fuyi secretly, and without saying a word, he knelt down with a plop.

"Sikong, hey... what are you doing?" Zhao Fuyi quickly pulled Yan Sikong up from the ground.

Since the end of the First World War against the Rebellion, Zhao Fuyi was stationed in Jingshan. He was in Beijing. Although he only traveled for two or three hours, he hadn't seen him many times, but the friendship he fought side by side in those years is still there.

Yan Sikong had tears in his eyes: "General Zhao, the Feng family was wronged."

Zhao Fuyi sighed heavily: "I don't believe that the Feng family will rebel. It's just that I saw the Feng family's army breaking into the hunting ground with my own eyes and stopped them with my own hands. I also caught them. Call me... What should I do?"

"If the Feng family wanted to rebel, how could they break into the hunting ground without any rules, and how could they be easily discovered by the general, all of this was premeditated, Xie Zhongren bribed Feng Ye's coachman and stole the soldier talisman. "

"What!" Zhao Fuyi turned pale with shock, "Do you have evidence?"

Yan Sikong frowned deeply: "I have found the brothel woman Xie Zhongren sent to seduce the coachman, but now the coachman is dead, no matter what we say, there is no proof of death."

"Ah!" Zhao Fuyi paced back and forth, paused, and looked at Yan Sikong, "Feng Ye humiliated you, but you want to clear up the wrongs for the Feng family regardless of past suspicions, you are really ignorant."

Yan Sikong coughed softly: "Fengye and I have fought in the battlefield and shared life and death together. Even if there were rifts later due to various reasons, I would not allow a meritorious and loyal minister like King Jingyuan to be wronged because of personal grievances. Besides, if Feng Ye If the family is punished, the crown prince's position as the crown prince may be on the verge of collapse!"

Zhao Fuyi nodded: "I used to serve under the command of King Jingyuan, and I don't want to see him being framed by a traitor. I heard that eunuch urged His Majesty to transfer troops from Datong to Liaobei. I can't keep it."

"Yes!" Yan Sikong took a step forward and said earnestly: "General Zhao, the Feng family has been wronged, and the world is trembling. Difficult, I am afraid it is a national calamity."

Zhao Fuyi's face became paler and paler: "But now... But now the evidence is solid, even if I want to refute them, the situation that day was witnessed by all the soldiers, I can't open my eyes and give false testimony."

"The general is the commander-in-chief of the [-] garrison army. The general's words are very important in the court. If the general disagrees with this matter, His Majesty will also have to weigh it. It can also deter the eunuchs."

Zhao Fuyi looked rather hesitant.

Yan Sikong said sadly: "I'm afraid only the general can save the Feng family now!"

Zhao Fuyi let out a long sigh: "I'm a warrior, and I didn't intend to get involved in court disputes, but how can I just watch the eunuchs frame Zhongliang, and watch the defense line of Datong, which was finally consolidated, crumble inside. In fact, I have already united with several adults. , to remonstrate the case together.”

Yan Sikong said happily: "Thank you General, thank you General!"

Zhao Fuyi waved his hand: "I'm not sure, especially after His Majesty treated Mr. Yan Ge coldly because of Liu An, Xie Zhongren has gradually grasped the general trend."

"No, His Majesty is also very dissatisfied with Xie Zhongren regarding Liu An's case."

"Oh? How did you know?" After Zhao Fuyi finished asking, he suddenly said, "You already knew about the list of questions."

Yan Sikong nodded: "I came up with the previous topic, and it has been submitted to the cabinet for approval. Liu An temporarily changed the topic. If it wasn't for Xie Zhongren's instigation, he would not dare to give him the courage. Your Majesty If you want to use Jingcha to weaken the Feng family army, and don't want the teacher to disregard His Majesty's face and impeach Liu An, this matter will not be a waste of money, so His Majesty is naturally dissatisfied with Xie Zhongren."

Zhao Fuyi pondered and said: "From this point of view, Xie Zhongren designed the Talisman of Stealing Soldiers, risking the world's disgrace to frame loyal officials and famous generals, for fear of angering His Majesty, he wants to win back the city."

"That's right. This plan is full of loopholes, and it is extremely dangerous. If there is a slight mistake, I am afraid that everyone in the world will change their surnames. Xie Zhongren must be forced to jump the wall. Therefore, the general's words are expected to shake His Majesty's determination."

Zhao Fuyi's eyes showed determination: "Don't worry, I will do my best!"

"Thank you General!"

-

Zhao Fuyi did what he said, and a few days later, he and several important military generals jointly signed a letter, raising various doubts about Feng Jianping's conspiracy, and advising Emperor Zhaowu not to be used by traitors and repeat Gaozong's mistakes.

This memorial was not discussed with Yan Zilian in advance, it was submitted directly in the early court, when Yan Zilian and Yan Sikong learned the content of the memorial, they were all blinded.

Sure enough, this memorial stabbed the hornet's nest, implying that Emperor Zhaowu was Song Gaozong who wrongly killed Yue Fei, and made Emperor Zhaowu so angry that he scolded Zhao Fuyi in court. Emperor Wu ordered Zhao Fuyi to roll back to Jingshan and not to participate in the case again.

Of course, Zhao Fuyi's goal was temporarily achieved. Emperor Zhaowu could not turn a blind eye to the admonitions of many generals, especially the commander of the garrison. Although he wanted to quickly convict the father and son of the Feng family, he had to look at the direction of the court. .

After this incident, the interrogation of the Feng family slowed down. First, the father and son pleaded not guilty; second, there was no new evidence;

Yan Sikong and others were able to breathe, and he asked Ali to urge She Zhun to do two things, one is to investigate the man in black that day, and the other is to continue to prepare for the possible prison robbery.

But just when Yan Sikong thought he had seen a glimmer of hope for turning around, God seemed not to push them into the abyss, and vowed not to give up.

In an early court meeting, the officials under Xie Zhongren's command brought up the Jiangnan sea tax again, accusing Yan Zilian of covering up the wealthy businessmen and nobles in his hometown, so that the court could not collect the Shanghai tax, which would damage the national treasury.

Jiangnan sea tax is one of the most taboo topics in the DPRK.As Xie Zhongren said, after Yan Zilian became the chief assistant, he reduced and exempted a large amount of Jiangnan sea tax, and the national treasury lost at least one million taels of income every year. Taxes have been criticized.

But Yan Zilian had no other choice. As a Jiangnan student, most of the gentry officials of his faction came from Jiangnan provinces. The gentry officials were inseparable from the local aristocratic families.

The sea tax touches the lifeblood of the gentry faction, and if it is mentioned, it will inevitably be darkened, and both sides will suffer. As time goes by, no one dares to mention it lightly.

Xie Zhongren chose to raise the sea tax again at this time, and his heart can be punished.

Sure enough, this time Emperor Zhaowu was uncharacteristically, and no longer messed up the water, but severely accused Yan Zilian of unfair tax collection.

It was heard that when he came to the court that morning, the senior scholar of the first minister of the cabinet, the veteran of the three dynasties, and the elder Yan Ge, who was under one person and above ten thousand, was reprimanded so red in the face.

When I got home that night, I fell ill.