The Great General and His Little Scholars

In Fucheng Palace, Liao Mingsi looked at Sima Jingxuan in shock, eyes filled with disbelief.He really didn't expect that the secret edict in Jiang Tong's hand would involve so much, and the story could be traced back to Emperor Chengzu three generations ago.

"That secret edict was actually given by Emperor Chengzu to the King of Chu?" Liao Mingsi murmured.

Liao Mingsi finally knew why Sima Jingxuan didn't let Jiang Tong tell him about the secret edict.Everyone involved in this secret edict is very important in this dynasty and cannot be mentioned lightly.

The King of Chu has always been an unspeakable existence in this dynasty. Both the former emperor and the King of Chu are the sons of the Empress Chengzu, but they are not the same mother.

King Chu is the only son of Emperor Chengzu's first empress, Empress Xiaoxian. Emperor Chengzu and Empress Xiaoxian are childhood sweethearts and have a very good relationship.King Chu was his first son, so Emperor Chengzu valued King Chu very much, and taught King Chu as a prince since he was a child.Therefore, in the court that year, it was almost a consensus that the King of Chu would inherit the Datong.

It's a pity that Empress Xiaoxian has always been in poor health. When she gave birth to the king of Chu, she suffered from a blood collapse. Although the imperial physicians tried their best to rescue her and saved her life, she became weaker every day.Finally, when King Chu was three years old, he died of a mild cold.

Emperor Chengzu was very sad. He didn't go to court for a month, and he didn't plan to make a new queen.However, the academicians at that time tried their best to persuade Emperor Chengzu to put the world first, and the country should not live without its mother.

Emperor Chengzu was persuaded by his courtiers for a year before he established the original imperial concubine as the second empress-Empress Duanxian.

The first emperor was the eldest son of Empress Duanxian, who was only two years younger than King Chu.The first emperor was different from the loyal and gentle king of Chu. He was tough and violent since he was a child. Although he was not good at reading, he was very diligent in the art of war and liked to lead troops into battle. When he was 17 years old, he went to battle in person, quelling the rebellion in the south with the title of heroic general, and he was in the limelight for a while.

At this time, because Empress Xiaoxian had passed away for many years, the foreign ministers of her natal family did not want to let go of the power that was so difficult to obtain, so they confronted Empress Duanxian openly and secretly.

Emperor Chengzu was determined to establish the King of Chu as the heir apparent, but Empress Duanxian and her party kept saying in Emperor Chengzu's ears that the King of Chu was too pedantic.

On the other hand, the former emperor was decisive in doing things, he had great military exploits, was brave and resourceful, and was more suitable for the position of emperor than the king of Chu.

No matter how much Emperor Chengzu liked the King of Chu, he would be somewhat hesitant if someone said that in his ear all day long.However, Emperor Chengzu couldn't rest assured of the former emperor's viciousness and rage, so the matter of setting up the crown prince was postponed.

When the king of Chu was weak, Emperor Chengzu suddenly fell ill with a strange disease. All the doctors in the imperial hospital tried their best, but they couldn't get better.After a few days, he died.

The situation in the court suddenly changed. Empress Duanxian took an imperial edict, saying that it was the edict of Emperor Chengzu, and passed on the throne to the late emperor.

The authenticity of this edict caused great chaos in the court. After several confrontations, Empress Xiaoxian's party was defeated.In the end, he had to compromise and admit the will to ensure the life of King Chu.

When the first emperor came to the throne, the first thing he did was to drive his half-brother, the king of Chu, back to his fiefdom, and he would never be allowed to enter Beijing.

Empress Xiaoxian's party was also killed and exiled under various pretexts.

Originally, this matter came to an end, and the first emperor won the throne with high spirits.After sorting out the rest of Empress Xiaoxian's party, they began to discuss the major issues of establishing a reserve.

The first emperor knew how he messed up the government back then, so it was imperative to establish a crown prince while he was still alive.

The eldest son, Song Yuanxi, is also gentle and magnanimous, and he is a talented prince with a heart for the world. Everything seems to be foolproof.

"However, just 13 years ago, the late emperor's hussars secret guard suddenly brought a piece of news that made the late emperor terrified." Sima Jingxuan said: "The secret guard said that the king of Chu has a handwritten secret edict from Emperor Chengzu. The content is that Chengzu passed on to be the king of Chu, and he planned to imprison the former emperor and kill the empress Duanxian."

Liao Mingsi's eyes showed surprise: "This... Could it be that Emperor Chengzu expected things to turn out like this before his death? Or... Emperor Chengzu's death..."

"It's scary to think about it carefully, isn't it?" Sima Jingxuan said: "This kind of thing can't be hidden. Soon the people of Empress Xiaoxian also found out about it, so they sent someone to question the King of Chu. The King of Chu is a loyal man. Fearing that the dispute over the throne would affect the state system, he has kept his mouth shut."

"The former emperor was different. Ever since he heard the news, he was so worried that he couldn't sleep peacefully. In the end, he sent hussars and secret guards to assassinate the king of Chu."

"Although the king of Chu knew that the former emperor had come to kill him, he didn't intend to escape. Instead, he handed over the secret edict to King Fucheng, who had a good personal relationship with him, that is, my father."

"Father brought the secret edict to find the current queen mother. Before the queen mother married the first emperor, she had a good personal relationship with my family. Moreover, the queen mother had always complained about the first emperor's attitude towards the king of Chu, so she secretly took the father king The matter of the secret edict is concealed."

"Although the late emperor was very suspicious of my father, it was inconvenient to pursue it because there was no evidence. With the empress dowager's support, he only found a reason to demote my father to Tanzhou."

"Before my father left, I handed over the secret edict to Lord Tong Lianqi, Shangshu of the Ministry of War." Sima Jingxuan said: "You also know what happened later. Lord Tong Lianqi was framed, and his friends, colleagues and even the whole family were implicated. That secret edict was finally It fell into Jiang Tong's hands."

Liao Mingsi pondered for a long while in doubt and said, "But... what is the use of Master Tong Lianqi holding that secret edict? The King of Chu is gone, and Empress Xiaoxian's people are scattered everywhere, and their power is not as good as before."

Sima Jingxuan shook his head: "There must be a deeper reason for this matter, but my father has kept his mouth shut for so many years. Whenever Jiang Tong and I asked about it, he would only say one thing: You just need to be loyal to this emperor. , don’t ask any more questions.”

"Allegiance to the present?" Liao Mingsi pondered over this sentence over and over again, the words seemed to contain all the answers, but they seemed to be covered with a layer of veil, so they were vague and unclear.

At this time, a servant of the palace came in to report: "His Royal Highness, Major General, the emperor has arrived."

Liao Mingsi and Sima Jingxuan hurried out to greet him.

Song Yuanxi brought the imperial physician to Jiang Tong's bedside, and saw that his complexion had improved, so he asked the imperial physician to make a careful diagnosis and treatment, and sat in the outer hall with Liao Mingsi and Sima Jingxuan.

Song Yuanxi's eyes turned around the faces of Sima Jingxuan and Liao Mingsi, a sneer appeared on his lips, and he said in a deep voice: "The secret edict is still so important. Emperor Chengzu, the first emperor, and the king of Chu have all passed away." In the past, for this secret edict, some people did not hesitate to frame the court officials and poison them to silence them."

After finishing speaking, he sighed and said: "I have always believed that if you are kind to people, even animals can be influenced over time. But I don't know, some people are not as good as animals."

Liao Mingsi naturally understood the meaning of Song Yuanxi's words, and said: "Your Majesty, you must not have the heart to harm others, and you must not have the heart to guard against others. This is the foundation of dealing with things. The lessons learned from the past must not be forgotten."

Song Yuanxi nodded, stretched out his hand to pat Liao Mingsi and said, "It's just that Sima Aiqing is suffering, and the criminal investigation department doesn't need to go, just be grounded in the palace. After this incident, I believe he must be innocent."

Liao Mingsi breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly thanked Song Yuanxi for Jiang Tong's kindness.

In the general's mansion, Liao Mingli went out to greet the guests, only Song Yuanhao and Song Yuanzhen were left in the outer hall.

Song Yuanhao lowered his voice and asked, "Have you brought anything in?"

Song Yuanzhen nodded with a pale complexion, and asked with some fear: "Second brother is sure that this matter is safe? If it is discovered, it will be a crime of rebellion. I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? It's not your own rebellion. The general's mansion is so powerful that rumors of rebellion don't just happen today." Song Yuanhao said coldly: "Have you forgotten how Liao Mingsi treated you? If you don't want to just sit there and watch Seeing him and Sima Jiangtong staying and flying together, he is so angry that he vomits blood, just do as the king said!"

Song Yuanzhen hesitated, with a look of fear in his eyes: "If Brother Huang doesn't believe it... I will be found out by then, can Second Brother help me?"

"That's natural, we are all in the same boat."

Song Yuanzhen looked at Song Yuanhao, and asked with hesitation in his eyes: "Did the second brother do this just to bring down the general's mansion?"

There was a icy coldness in Song Yuanhao's eyes, but a smile appeared on his face: "What else could it be? The general's mansion is too arrogant in our court. Liao Mingsi only won a few battles, and he is already in the palace. You don't need to dismount. If the emperor indulges them like this again, won't the people of the country only know the general, not the emperor?"

Song Yuanzhen nodded with a half-understanding, and said nothing more.

At this time, Liao Mingli broke in suddenly, and said in panic, "Your Highness, it's too bad, Sima Jiangtong is not dead, he was brought to Fucheng Palace by Liao Mingsi from the Department of Criminal Investigation."

"What?" Song Yuanhao's complexion suddenly turned livid, and he gritted his teeth and said, "How do you do things?"

"I didn't know that my elder brother would go to see him in prison today." Liao Mingsi wiped the cold sweat from his brow, not daring to meet Song Yuanhao's eyes.

Song Yuanzhen next to him turned even uglier. He stared at Liao Mingli and said, "Is it true? Liao Mingsi actually went to prison on the day of the general's wedding today, the day this princess got married? To visit that Sima Jiangtong ?!"

Liao Mingli nodded in embarrassment, and Song Yuanhao took the opportunity to say: "Yuanzhen, this kind of thing will happen every day in the future, or is it under your nose, can you really bear it?"

Song Yuanzhen's expression was cold, and the words seemed to be squeezed out between his teeth: "Second brother, don't worry, I will take care of the things you entrusted to me."

Liao Mingli didn't know what the two of them were talking about, and it was difficult to ask.He only said: "What should we do now? Those who do things..."

Song Yuanhao seemed to be very satisfied with Song Yuanzhen's words, and his complexion became better.Standing up, he patted Liao Mingli on the shoulder and said: "Today is your wedding with the eldest princess, you must not be stained with blood. Don't worry, this king will handle it properly, you two, get married properly."