The Blood Crown

Yan Sikong returned to Maoren first, he wanted to use the surrender conditions he negotiated with Feng Ye to test Shen Hexuan first, Qianzhou officials are easy to fool, but Shen Hexuan is special.

Before he left Beijing, he imagined all kinds of problems he might encounter, but when he actually got here, he realized that the real problems were beyond his imagination, such as Feng Ye's attitude towards him, such as the widow in Qianzhou In the poor and small land, there is Shen Hexuan.

After he returned to Maoren, although the city gate guards still respected him, he looked at him in a strange way. Rumors are like the invisible and intangible wind, which is carried by every panting mouth. All-pervasive.

As soon as he returned to the city, he immediately went to see Shen Hexuan. Shen Hexuan's face was pale, and he had lost a lot of weight in just a dozen days. He remembered that when he entered the city, the dilapidated city wall had already been repaired, and he must have put in a lot of hard work. .

Shen Hexuan looked at Yan Sikong wearily and gloomyly: "The wolf king has retreated, Master Yan has done a good job."

"Since that's the case, why doesn't Brother Shen see joy at all?"

"What trick did Master Yan use to persuade the Wolf King to retreat?"

"Move with reason, understand with righteousness."

Shen Hexuan pursed his lips: "What kind of 'love' is moving? Is it the feeling of breaking your sleeve?"

Yan Sikong couldn't help laughing: "I have a sacred mandate, and I have traveled thousands of miles to persuade the wolf king to submit to the court. In order to repay the favor of heaven, I will do my best. What kind of emotion is it, is it important?"

"It turns out that the rumors in Beijing were true back then, and I thought it was fabricated by those idle dandies." Shen Hexuan narrowed his eyes, "Now you have a wife and son."

"Having a wife and children doesn't prevent a man from having fun." Yan Sikong had no shame on his face, "Furthermore, Brother Shen probably heard that Princess Wanyang is spoiled and arrogant, and she looks down on me in every possible way. Even taking concubines is not allowed, brother Shen's wife is not around all year round, you should understand me."

Shen Hexuan blushed with anger: "You...you are shameless."

Yan Sikong smiled coldly: "In my Yan's eyes, shame is the most useless thing in this world. If I cared about shame, I should have committed suicide thousands of times. Brother Shen values ​​reputation more than fate. A piece of paper The useless impeachment demoted myself to this remote village. When I endured humiliation in Beijing and struggled with eunuchs, you were here to try Zhang San for stealing a handful of rice from Li Si. Wasted in this small county, the teacher knows it underground, do you want to praise you as the most shameless person in the world?!"

Shen Hexuan was stunned. When Yan Sikong faced him, he was always respectful and respectful. He had never been so aggressive. He was silent for a moment and said: "It is the great regret of my life that I failed to destroy the eunuchs with my own hands, but a gentleman Do something, don't do something, if everyone can easily violate morality, how is it different from livestock?"

Yan Sikong smiled lightly: "Humans are no different from livestock."

"You..." Shen Hexuan rolled his eyes suddenly, thinking of something, "Feng Ye objected to your marriage with Wan Yang, not because he disliked your humble background, but because..."

Yan Sikong looked at him, but didn't answer.

Shen Hexuan seemed to connect many seemingly weird things together at once: "The teacher had formed an alliance with King Jingyuan at that time, and you and Feng Ye shouldn't have been so tit for tat. Could it be that you...are acting?"

"The two of us have some entanglements, and we still hold grudges against each other and are full of suspicion. But at that time, we both put the overall situation first and really wanted to save King Jingyuan." Yan Sikong didn't dare to reveal the truth, Shen Hexuan was too smart However, if this person were to think about it further, he might suspect that he and Feng Ye were in cahoots and had other plans.

Shen Hexuan was pacing back and forth in the room. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around abruptly, and stared at Yan Sikong: "Who rescued Feng Ye from prison back then?"

Yan Sikong paused: "It's the housekeeper of Prince Jingyuan who led a group of dead soldiers to rob the prisoners."

Shen Hexuan said loudly: "You are lying, are you involved in this matter?"

"I..." Yan Sikong made a guilty look, "I know."

"Know?"

Yan Sikong took a deep breath: "This matter was planned by the teacher and the butler together."

"Teacher?" Shen Hexuan obviously didn't believe it, "Teacher was seriously ill at the time, how did he plan such a big event? Besides, as the chief minister of the cabinet, even if the family was wronged, how could he use such an extreme method as robbery?"

"Otherwise, what other means are there?" Yan Sikong looked directly at him, "Teacher knows that his life is not long, and also knows that if he dies, the gentry will undoubtedly be defeated. In order to preserve a little bit of strength, I don't want the eunuchs to eat away at my Dasheng Jiangshan, but If I can get rid of this, he told me that on the day of the wedding, all the prison officials must be invited, and the more drunk the better, then I will know what he wants to do."

"Didn't you participate?" Shen Hexuan stared at Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong showed no signs of change, and said firmly: "No, the teacher also knows that this matter is extremely dangerous, and he doesn't want to involve me."

Shen Hexuan took a deep breath: "The one you let go that day was a real wolf, but now he leads the rebellion, and he is threatening, disturbing the Central Plains. He is threatening the eunuchs, it is clearly Dasheng Guozuo!"

"The matter has come to this, what's the use of talking about it? I am also ashamed in my heart. I want to make amends, so I asked Your Majesty to let me lobby Fengye." Yan Sikong sighed, "Fengye and I are both enemies and enemies. Friend, if it wasn't for the sake of the princess, he would really kill me if he went to the enemy camp, but he has been shaken when he heard that His Majesty intends to rehabilitate the Feng family."

Shen Hexuan thought about it quietly, he felt that the matter was not that simple, but he couldn't think of a reason for it.

Yan Sikong took a soft breath: "Brother Shen, at this juncture, are you going to accuse me of failing to report and let Feng Ye go? The most important thing now is to quell the wolf king's rebellion."

Shen Hexuan said in a deep voice: "I'm soft-spoken, what's the use of reporting on you, and the matter has come to this... Can Feng Ye offer a condition for surrender?"

Seeing that Yan Sikong had finally fooled the matter away for the time being, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He nodded and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty won't agree to the lion's open mouth."

"As expected, what did he want?"

"He wants His Majesty to rectify the name of the Feng family, announce it to the world, and restore the title. He wants to hand over all the officials and generals who participated in the framing of the Feng family, including Xie Zhongren, to him. He wants millions of silver, a large amount of silk, food, jewelry, Armors, horses, and even..." Yan Sikong shook his head and said, "You even want His Majesty to give him a fief."

Shen Hexuan slapped the table and said angrily: "He is simply crazy!"

Every one of Feng Ye's proposals was extremely unreasonable.If Emperor Zhaowu wanted to announce to the world to rectify the name of the Feng family, even if he blamed Xie Zhongren for the crime, it would be detrimental to the royal family's face, and Dasheng has the laws of Dasheng, even if it is a death penalty, it cannot be punished by others. Lynching, especially for a well-known death row prisoner like Xie Zhongren, must be punished in public, how could it be handed over to Feng Ye for disposal.As for money, it would be even more outrageous and daring to ask for such extravagant prices unless the national treasury was emptied and land was entrusted.

Since the Qin Dynasty destroyed the six kingdoms, the world was unified, and the system of princes was changed to a monarchy. All these thousands of miles of rivers and mountains belonged to the emperor alone. For thousands of years, all dynasties and dynasties have been like this. The vassal kings only enjoy taxes and do not own an inch of territory. The term "vassal princes" actually exists in name only.

Now that Fengye dares to ask the emperor for a fiefdom, wouldn't it be clear that he wants to carve up the world and establish himself as king!

"I was shocked when I heard his condition, so I came back to discuss with Brother Shen. I haven't reported it to His Majesty, I'm afraid His Majesty will be angry..."

Shen Hexuan rubbed the center of his brows wearily: "While he retreated, he proposed such conditions that the court would never agree to. Does he want to vote, or does he not want to vote?"

"In my opinion, he wants to be ordered to safety. No matter how mighty his Feng family army is, it is only [-] soldiers. Why did he come to Hetao? It is because of insufficient troops, he dare not go to the south of the Yangtze River, and he dare not enter Central Plains is actually in a dilemma now. But because of the death of King Jingyuan, he has hatred in his heart. If he can’t let him take revenge and make him happy, he will fight us desperately. Feng Ye is very smart, he knows that this condition is unreasonable, I Seeing that he is just testing the imperial court, how much can he be tolerated?"

Shen Hexuan pondered: "It makes sense, but what I'm more worried about is that this is just his plan to slow down the army. He came to Hetao, a barren and turbulent place, not just for war horses. What if his goal is the Datong Army?"

"I have thought about it too, but the Datong Army has changed commanders several times. The current commander is sent by the imperial court. He has never received any favor from the Feng family. It is not easy to win over. Besides, there is Qianzhou in the middle. I am not very worried."

"Although this matter is difficult, it must be guarded against. Although Feng Ye is a general, he has read military books since he was a child, and led troops to fight when he was a teenager. Looking around the world, the only general who can compete with him is probably only General Zhao. Now he is still trapped in Liaodong...so we must not take this person lightly." Shen Hexuan squinted at Yan Sikong, "And you, the matter between you and him has already caused a lot of gossip, so you are not afraid of being suspected. "

Yan Sikong sneered: "I, Yan Sikong, have become notorious. It would be strange if no one doubted me, but this will not change what I want to do, just like I have been cast aside all these years, and I will not be afraid of you." I have endured until the day when I can bring down the eunuchs, and I will definitely quell the wolf king's rebellion, no matter what others think of me, no matter what price I pay."

Shen Hexuan was moved by the firmness in Yan Sikong's eyes, he said: "What are your plans now? Such Zhao'an conditions must never be reported."

"This is exactly what I want to discuss with Brother Shen. We have to come up with a way. While worrying about His Majesty's face, we must also explain the innocence of the Feng family. For Xie Zhongren's disposal, we must let Feng Ye personally repay it. This is the revenge of killing the father and exterminating the family. As long as these two points are achieved, Feng Ye will not be unreasonable if he refuses to let go, and we will discuss other conditions of Zhao'an later."

Shen Hexuan said worriedly: "Your Majesty is the best at saving face. Even if he is deceived by the eunuchs, he made the imperial decree after all. You are not joking. Now I have to admit that I have wronged my loyal ministers. I am afraid..."

"Although His Majesty has a good face, but now there are internal and external troubles, and the situation is so critical, His Majesty may put the overall situation first."

"Why don't you write a letter first, so as to find out what His Majesty has to say."

Yan Sikong nodded: "Okay."

"But if His Majesty really rehabilitated the Feng family and handed over Xie Zhongren to Feng Ye, Feng Ye still has wolfish ambitions, what should we do?"

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes: "Although we are the lord and peace, as Brother Shen said, we have to guard against this person. Feng Ye is close to me, naturally not for the sake of flirting, he wants to find out the attitude of the court from me I have been fooled by half-truths and half-truths to find out the defense situation of Qianzhou, and we have to prepare with both hands. If we really can't make up, Qianzhou is the last barrier to prevent Fengye from marching into the Central Plains, and we must not lose it."

Shen Hexuan's eyes were firm: "Eat the king's salary, share the worries for the king, if we can't make up, I will risk my life, and I will also defend Qianzhou."

Yan Sikong stared at Shen Hexuan silently, and for the first time made a killing intent on him.Shen Hexuan was the person he admired the most, and he was also the best virtuous minister in his mind. However, this person had a straight and upright nature, rigid and upright, but also extremely smart and difficult to fool. On the contrary, he might become the biggest obstacle for Chen Kui to ascend the throne.

It's a pity, but if Shen Hexuan really threatened his plan...

-

After returning to Maoren, Yan Sikong was not in a hurry to go to Qianzhou. He stayed up all night and wrote two letters. But the person he always remembers - the deposed prince Chen Kui - the current king of Chu.

There are many eyeliners in Beijing. He is worried that he and Chen Wei will be discovered by others, so the two have not been in touch for many years, but now he is far away from the emperor and has a lot of freedom. Although Chen Wei is far away in Yunnan, he must have known him. If this son's ambition is not lost, he will definitely wait for his news.

At this time, the world was in turmoil, and the vassal kings of all walks of life were ready to move in order to protect themselves. Emperor Zhaowu was too busy to take care of himself. It was a good time for Chen Kui to recruit troops.

After writing the letter, the sky turned white, and he returned to Maoren after a day of raiding from the rebel camp. He has not been able to rest until now. In fact, his body is very tired, but he still has no sleepiness.He looked at the pale full moon hanging in the sky, and wondered whether Feng Ye was sleeping soundly at this time, or was tossing and turning like him. In the three years since they were separated, he had seen Yuesiren countless times, and fantasized about Feng Ye and him looking at each other. The same moon, and he missed each other in his heart. At that moment, the two people may have the same heart-no matter how far apart.

Looking at this month now, he hopes that he and Feng Ye will never meet again. In this way, in his heart, Feng Ye has always had feelings for him, and what he can remember is only the kindness Feng Ye treated him...

Yan Sikong smiled wryly, his heart was already numb from the pain, but why would he still be unwilling?