Opposite the entrance hall

Emperor Chengde's illness came as a surprise, but it was expected by everyone. People in the court were fluctuating for a while, and the forces of all parties were ready to move. The battle between the crown prince and the king of Liang was not limited to the secret, but it was even more fierce on the surface. , King Rui has always sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, not taking the initiative to attack but making people unable to handle it. This kind of weird situation has already formed among the three, but this year is a little different from usual, there is an extra King Qin.

It has been three months since King Qin returned to Beijing, and he has not seen anyone getting closer to him during these three months, nor has he shown any intention of meddling in the fight for the crown. The intention of self-preservation couldn't be more obvious, this temperament is very similar to his mother who was eating fast and chanting Buddha in the palace every day, she really complied with that sentence, dragon begets dragon, phoenix begets phoenix, this servant is also full of servility.

Although he had no intention of it, others did. King Liang has frequently been in and out of Prince Qin's mansion these days, and his intentions couldn't be clearer. Even if King Qin is a little more incompetent, he still has the blood of the royal family. With a lot of support, this is a model of a benevolent monarch, who should inherit the great rule.

The reputation of brothers killing each other is not as good as the reputation of benevolence and mutual affection, and it is easier to be famous in the world's literati. Li Hongye knows that Li Hongyang is not stupid. Li Hongxuan remained calm, but the other two had the intention of making friends.

The situation in the court is treacherous, and the external court is also turbulent.

At the beginning of the month, there was a turmoil in Kashgar, and the local garrison fought with the people of Kashgar. The reason was that a patrolman in the garrison met a man who was in a hurry when he was patrolling, and he pushed him to death during the interrogation process. Stir up a thousand waves.

The garrison felt that the people in Kashgar did not abide by the law and system, sneaked around in the middle of the night and looked flustered, and feared that spies were enforcing the law impartially; Perhaps that person was beaten to death like this.

Both hands held their own words and argued endlessly. By the time Zhezi arrived in Lin'an, the situation had changed: the garrison did not dare to step into Kashgar City. If they entered, they would be thrown stones and feces. It is also really difficult.

This matter seems trivial, but it is actually extremely troublesome. The day after Emperor Chengde received the news, he even dragged his sick body to the court. He has not attended the court meeting three times in a row. Everyone knows what happened today It's no small matter, no one dared to speak out with their eyes downcast.

"Cough, cough, cough." Emperor Chengde covered his lips with his hands and coughed a few times.

"Your Majesty..." Sun Hai looked worried and wanted to help others behind him.

Emperor Chengde waved his hand, suppressed the taste of rust in his mouth, took a few breaths, and said in a hoarse voice: "You must know about Kashgar, cough cough cough... Kashgar is my uncle. There is no doubt that it is part of the territory of Jin Dynasty. All the emperors of the Jin Dynasty did not want to look forward to the day when Kashgar will return. Since I succeeded to the throne, I have been deeply concerned about Kashgar. God bless me, Da Jin, will last forever... Cough cough cough, the people of Kashgar are just like the people of Da Jin, they are my people, there is no difference. I hope you love Qing have any way to solve this matter."

There was a rustling sound from the crowd, everyone looked at each other but no one came out.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Emperor Chengde continued to cough, and looked up at the crowd, his somewhat cloudy but still piercing eyes fell on one place, "Cao Weiyuan, tell me."

Cao Weiyuan, whose name was suddenly called out, trembled, and hurriedly bowed to respond: "My minister thought that the cause of this matter was that the garrison in Kashgar caused innocent people to die regardless of the reason, which aroused the public resentment of the people of Kashgar. It is better to start from the cause and execute the soldier in public to express the anger of the people. Firstly, the people of Kashgar can see the sincerity of Dajin and demonstrate His Majesty’s majesty and kindness. Second, the matter can be handled properly without hurting any soldiers. , everyone is happy."

After he finished speaking, no one made a sound in the court, Cao Weiyuan felt uneasy, and the sweat from his forehead wet his temples, but he didn't even dare to raise his head.

"Finished?" Emperor Chengde's voice came from above his head.

There was no joy or anger in this tone, Cao Weiyuan didn't dare to answer the words easily, but lowered his head even lower.

"Do you think the people in Kashgar are more familiar with Dajin or Nandian?" Emperor Chengde didn't think much of what he said, but asked a question again.

"This..." Cao Weiyuan didn't know how to start his mouth, and the sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks.

It is reasonable to say that the people of Kashgar are the people of the Great Jin Dynasty, so they are naturally familiar with the Great Jin Dynasty, but these hundred years have passed, everything has changed, the law has changed, and the cycle of life and death. They have left the Great Jin Dynasty and accepted new cultures and customs. , For such a long time, I don't know how to answer this question, and it is clear that it is a question that must die.

"Go on, why don't you say it?" Emperor Chengde coughed twice, "I'll answer for you! It's Nandian. They have been speaking Nandian dialect for hundreds of years, learning Nandian language, cultural customs, historical habits All followed by Nandian! To them, the Great Jin Dynasty is an enemy country, an invader, and a few strokes in the history books, so what country and home are they talking about! Nandian is their homeland and homeland, and the garrisoned It would be great if the person who accidentally killed the person hadn't been carefully worked in Nandian, but if so, what if it had been! Isn't your method just to announce to the world, and tell Nandian openly that as long as the people of Kashgar are used as careful work, the Great Jin will definitely not succeed. Dare to do something to you, when the time comes, this Kashgar is the Kashgar of Dajin or his Kashgar of Nandian! Then even if you have ten heads, it is not enough to cut off, cough cough cough..."

"Your Majesty, don't get angry, take care of the dragon body!" Sun Hai hurriedly stepped forward to calm the breath.

Seeing this, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty also said in unison: "Your Majesty, calm down!"

Emperor Chengde took the handkerchief handed over by Sun Hai and wiped the corners of his mouth, raising his hand in a weary voice, "Dear dears, this matter makes me restless, like a choke in my throat, and I can't solve the restlessness in my heart every day. , what can you love, please tell me."

There were whispers in the crowd again, but still no one dared to answer.

Qi Ran raised his eyes and looked around, and saw that everyone looked helpless, and he could understand why in his heart. If this matter is done well, it will be a great achievement. If it is not done well, it will be like what Emperor Chengde said. His head is not enough to be cut off, he has already planned in his heart, although he also has the plan to implement the new law, but Kashgar can't take it, at least he can't take it, he only made a contribution to the Xiangzhou incident, and the Qi family's reputation has risen again Well, if Kashgar makes more contributions in this matter, the emperor should be afraid of the Qi family.

He sorted out his thoughts, and when he raised his eyes again, he met someone's gaze. Someone was smiling like a flower, and at such a serious moment in front of a court full of civil and military officials, it was true that he winked at himself. yes……

It's really shameless.

Qi Ran turned his head to look away, and the corners of his lips raised two points unconsciously.

Before the discussion stopped, Emperor Chengde rubbed his brows and shouted sharply: "Okay, this is above the court, not the market and the countryside, so there is no proper way to be noisy, there is a way to say it."

"Qizou Your Majesty," Wei Zhongting, Minister of Dali Temple, came out to respond, "I think it is not difficult to solve the Kashgar matter. It is not that there has been no return of the ceded city in the past. Take the Qingli period as an example, Fengmenguan is not the same. Was it returned from Beiyan? The people of Fengmenguan gathered to make trouble and were encouraged by others to protest against the abolition of taxes with the central government. The late emperor directly dispatched troops to guard, found out those troublemakers, and killed the chickens to make an example to the monkeys. The virtue of the mighty and benevolent emperor makes the common people terrified, so naturally they don’t have that kind of thought, suppressing it is not difficult, the difficulty is how to make the people feel what they want.”

After he finished speaking, he took a breath and continued: "The jade mines in Kashgar are under the jurisdiction of the land selected by the people. Most of them are local jade-savvy families, including personnel deployment, mining, stone selection, stone transportation, stone mining, cutting, and jade selection. Jade is the process and rules passed down from the ancestors. It has been like this for so many years. It cannot be changed overnight. If the Jin Dynasty wants to take over the jade mine, it may not be so easy. They have already rejected the garrison. The people are naturally dissatisfied. If they can surrender without a fight, why would they still have dead bodies floating hundreds of miles away? Therefore, the most urgent task is how to balance the rules of the central and local governments, so that Kashgar can truly recognize that they are the people of the Jin Dynasty, and we are friends with them. Nandian is the enemy."

What he said was well-founded, Emperor Chengde frowned and pondered, "In your opinion."

"Suppression is necessary, but how to govern Kashgar after the suppression is the problem."

"Qizou Your Majesty, I have a way to solve the Kashgar matter."

With the sound, the crowd suddenly became agitated and looked up towards the source of the sound.

Ji Si also looked up subconsciously, and was a little shocked when he saw who the speaker was.

This was said by Kong Lingqiu. Since he served as the Minister of Rites, he has been very low-key and has little existence. Most officials in the court only remember that he is a member of the Kong family, and they have no other impression of him. Everyone was a little surprised to see him making a sound today, but if he really didn't make a sound, he would have already become a blockbuster.

Emperor Chengde was equally surprised, raised his head and said, "Tell me and listen to me."

"Yes," Kong Lingqiu took a step, bowed and saluted, and then he said calmly, "The difficulty in Kashgar lies in the fact that Kashgar is governed by the head of the land elected by the local people. This is the rule left by the ancestors, so Dajin sent officials to take over, which would naturally cause friction with local forces. This is an inevitable trend. Dajin has a strict and perfect legal system. Although miners are not considered slaves, they need to be registered as artisans. They are under the unified management of the central government. Many people in Kashgar make a living by mining jade mines but have not been registered as craftsmen, so I thought hard for a long time and came up with a method."

He paused for a moment, raised his eyes slightly, "Checks and balances, decentralization, governing according to customs, and implementing the law of separation of powers."

The court hall is solemn, and the officials are silent.

From the time Kong Lingqiu spoke the third sentence, Qi Ran raised his head, until the last word was pronounced, the expression on his face was a bit complicated.

The same is true for Du Heng, who turned his head to look at Ji Si.

The latter didn't have much emotional ups and downs, just curled his lips and smiled, looking calm.

interesting.

This Kong Lingqiu is really interesting.

Not to be underestimated!

Kong Lingqiu's words stirred up thousands of waves, and everyone looked at him with more indescribable meanings in their eyes. Emperor Chengde understood the meaning of those words after a little thought, and asked quickly: "How to check and balance? How to decentralize power? And how to rule according to customs?"

"Promote two histories to jointly manage Kashgar. One history is the right history who is appointed by the head of Kashgar, who is not under the management of the central government but is a fourth-rank official who enjoys the same salary as the fourth-rank officials. The second history is the left history who is an official sent by the central government, and the right history governs the Kashgar mining area. For related matters, Zuo Shi manages the taxation and security inspections of the people in the city, governs the responsibilities of different areas in the Kashgar area, adopts the "governance according to the custom" method of governance, and establishes two sets of governance legal systems. The two sides check and balance each other without interfering with each other. It is decided jointly, and the decision-making is difficult to be discussed by the three divisions of the local district of Kashgar." Kong Lingqiu took out the booklet from his sleeve, took a step forward, and bowed: "I will write down the various power division laws overnight, and please Your Majesty." Take a look."

"Bring it up."

Sun Hai went down, took the booklet, returned to his original position, and handed it over carefully.

Emperor Chengde took the booklet and glanced at it quickly, Long Yan was very happy, and said hello three times, "Okay, good, good! It's the great Jin's fortune to have such a capable minister as Kong Aiqing, and I will leave this matter to Aiqing Take full responsibility, wait for my decree, Aiqing will go to Kashgar at a certain date, and when this matter is resolved, I will reward you heavily on the day Aiqing returns to Beijing!"

"I obey the order! I will live up to His Majesty's expectations!"

When Kong Lingqiu turned around and returned to his original position, his eyes met Ji Si's. He nodded and smiled lightly, and the latter smiled back with some doubts.

The court meeting had been going on for a long time, and when the next court was over, both civil and military officials seemed a little tired. Ji Si lowered his head in thought, and his steps were not big, and he gradually fell to the end.

When Du Heng turned around and saw him, he deliberately slowed down his pace. When someone caught up, he looked up at the scattered crowd from a short distance and asked, "What do you think about Kong Lingqiu?"

Ji Si didn't raise his head, and his steps were still not too big, and when he heard the question, he just said in a flat tone: "What he said is similar to what I thought, if I didn't guess wrong, the first step is to fight the barbarians. This person really hides his secrets. Like you said, he is a capable person. He didn't ask everyone to take credit for the grand ceremony. I'm wondering. This new official takes office and doesn't strive for merit, waiting to be demoted? He doesn’t like that small skill, he’s waiting for a big one, it’s a bit interesting, King Liang’s move is pretty good, the Minister of Rites didn’t give it to him for nothing.”

"Then what do you think he has a chance of winning when he goes to Kashgar to promote the separation of powers?"

"Five percent."

"Why is that less?" Du Heng asked with a frown.

Ji Si raised his head and smiled at others, "I'm missing."

Du Heng already has a deep understanding of how thick-skinned this person is, and he didn't bother to argue with him. Just as he was about to say something else, Sun Hai, the eunuch next to Emperor Chengde, hurried over and saw Du Heng salute first, and the latter also nodded After returning the gift, he looked at Ji Si and said with a light smile: "It's a good thing Master Ji hasn't gone far, otherwise the old slave would have made a trip in vain."

"Why is Eunuch Sun calling me to my residence in such a hurry?"

Sun Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and replied, "It's nothing serious, but His Majesty asked Ji Shilang to go to Kunyuan Hall."

Ji Si and Du Heng looked at each other.

"Just me?" Ji Si asked with a smile, "I don't know why His Majesty called me?"

"This old slave doesn't know. The old slave is just in charge of passing on a message. When Ji Shilang goes, he will know."

The old fox didn't show any signs of it, Ji Si cursed him a few words in his heart, but smiled generously on the surface, "It seems that Mr. Du invited me to drink for another day."

After finishing speaking, he raised his hand to Sun Hai, "Thank you, Eunuch Sun, for leading the way."

Du Heng stared at the figures of the two for a while, then sighed, turned and walked towards the palace gate, but when he turned around, he saw Qi Ran standing not far away, who had been watching for some time, he squinted his eyes, Walking over there, "Master Qi is waiting for Ji Shilang?"

"No." Qi Ran frowned, denying without thinking.

"The emperor summoned him." Du Heng didn't pursue that question either. He stayed with these two people in Xiangzhou for nearly two months. It was clear to others, they just talked about something else.

Qi Ran pursed her thin lips tightly, feeling uneasy and puzzled in her heart.

Ji Si was also puzzled. He didn't expect Emperor Chengde to find him for this matter. Standing aside, he couldn't believe it, "Let me go to Kashgar together?"

Emperor Chengde put the empty bowl after drinking the medicine back on the tray, picked up a handkerchief from it, wiped the medicine stains around his mouth, threw it back, and stared at the person below, "Why? You don't want to?"

The emotion in his words was hard to hear, Ji Si quickly shook his head, "I dare not, the duty of a minister is to obey His Majesty's arrangement, and he should do what His Majesty asks me to do, how could I not want to, then I dare not dare even ten people, I just have some doubts, this Minister Kong is not very familiar with the minister, how could he ask the minister to go with Kashgar?"

"I let you go."

Hearing this, Ji Si was even more puzzled.

"Come here with your ear." Emperor Chengde beckoned.

Ji Si was confused, but still approached cautiously.

"I want you to go to the border of Nandian." Emperor Chengde's face was pale and sick, his eyes were bloodshot, and he said word by word: "Go and find Jiujie Xuezhi."

This Jiujie Xuezhi is a blind medicinal herb in ancient medical books. It has the effect of curing all kinds of diseases, but because of living habits, it only appears in the green wood forest in Nandian. Jiujie Xuezhi is extremely rare. I have seen people in the world. There are not many, Chengde Emperor Xu is really at the end of the road, and put his mind on this legendary medicinal herb.

Apart from other things, Emperor Chengde treated him differently. The only paternal love he had was given to him, and the gifts and love were never lacking. He may not be a good father and good husband, but for himself , must be a good elder.

That young emperor is old after all.

People are going to die too, it would be a lie to say that it is not uncomfortable, Ji Si's nose was sore, like a pimple in his throat, he opened his mouth and could only say, "Your Majesty... take care of the dragon body."

"I know in my body, the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dry, and the court may have heard the wind." Emperor Chengde coughed twice, "Jisi, do you know why I know you are the prince, but I still use you?"

This question stumped Ji Si, and he had always been curious about it. He froze for a moment, not knowing how to react.

Emperor Chengde said to himself: "Because you are like Zhen, equally ruthless, equally cowardly, equally unwilling to be subordinated to others, and ambitious. A court needs Fang Taifu and Qi Xiang to make the people look up to them, stabilize the situation, and make the imperial power fearful." People like you also need people like you, who can show the imperial power and be the one who opens the mouth of the royal family. You are the best candidate for this trip to Nandian. Back then, you could bring back the withered god grass to settle a problem for me. Then you will I can bring back the Jiujie Xuezhi."

Dry God grass?

These three words fell into his ears, causing Ji Si's pupils to dilate suddenly.

It is recorded in "Medicine and Poison Miscellaneous" that Kushencao grows on the border of Nandian. It is cold in nature and should not be used for medicine. It will hurt the body and dissipate the mind, so it is called Kushen. This grass is poisonous.

A somewhat absurd thought appeared in his mind, once this thought came out, he could no longer suppress it, he would think about what year it was, whether the poison was used, and who would it be used on? Became an accomplice, did he also have the blood of a loyal minister on his hands, or...

Was that poison, was it, used on Li Si?

This thought made Ji Si's limbs a little cold, but the hot weather outside did not dispel the coldness of his limbs, his brain seemed to be frozen, so that Ji Si couldn't remember what Emperor Chengde said later, and he went back what.

When he stepped out of the Qianyuan Hall and was exposed to the sunlight outside, his limbs gradually began to feel a little bit, and he walked out of the palace door dully. The bustling sounds outside made him a little conscious. Dissipates completely.

Ji Si couldn't wait to run towards that person, and asked with crooked eyebrows, "Is Ziheng waiting for me?"

A certain person raised his eyes casually, with no abnormal expression on his face, and answered without embarrassment: "No."

"I understand everything, I understand everything." Ji Si smiled and waved his hand.

Qi Ran opened his mouth to explain a few words, but felt more intentional, so he simply changed the subject, "Why is the emperor looking for you?"

The two walked side by side without sitting in a sedan chair. Ji Si looked at the busy streets on the left and right, and replied in a low voice, "Let Kong Shilang and I go to Kashgar."

"Go to Kashgar?" Qi Ran frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Looking for Jiujie Xuezhi."

Five characters are enough, and Qi Ran can understand the meaning without using too many words.

"Why did you send me?" Qi Ran was still puzzled.

Ji Si stopped and glanced sideways at the people beside him. Some words he wanted to say were finally suppressed, and finally he just shrugged, "I don't know, maybe I'm the one who is outstanding."

After speaking, he smiled and continued to move forward.

"Don't lie to me." Qi Ran's voice came from behind.

With his back turned to him, the smile on Ji Si's face gradually dissipated.

He thought that he must go on this trip to Kashgar.

The situation is changing suddenly, and many parties are ready to wait.

Today is destined to be an extraordinary day.

The author has something to say:

small theater:

Ji Si: checks and balances, separation of powers, governance by custom

Qi Ran: checks and balances, separation of powers, rule by custom

Reader cutie: Wow, maybe this is the heart-to-heart connection between the husband and wife, the secret poking candy, love love love love.

Kong Lingqiu: checks and balances, separation of powers, and rule by custom.

Reader cutie: ... This plot is wrong!The halo of the protagonist that was promised, the heart that was agreed to has a tacit understanding!

Kong Lingqiu: [Smoke] I have recharged the money.

Handsome author: [Lying on the bed and counting money until hand cramps]

ps: In fact, the decentralized checks and balances are mainly for the convenience of central management, with reputation and popular support. Governance according to customs is a policy proposed by the Yuan Dynasty to manage the Han people and the people of the Yuan Dynasty.

In fact, Emperor Chengde had a lot of collusion with the original Master Ji,