Reincarnation of the powerful minister

Taimiao.

Fu Bao firmly stopped the dagger in the crown prince's hand, and begged, "Master's five fingers don't have a piece of good flesh, let the servants prick the blood instead!"

The crown prince frowned, and took back the dagger, "This is a scripture enshrined in honor of the queen mother, and the blood is full of sincerity for the son of man, how can I let others do it for me."

He turned his left hand over and over, and there was really no place for the five fingers to stab, so he stabbed at the heel of the palm, squeezed out some blood, and put it in the inkstone.Fu Bao choked up and bandaged his wound.

The palace door was pushed open, and Su Yan walked in.

Zhu Helin turned his head, eyes lit up, and said with a smile, "You're here!"

Su Yan walked up to him and motioned for Fu Bao to let him come, and he came to bandage him.Fu Bao quickly wiped away his tears, and went to the side to adjust the cinnabar blood ink.

Zhu Helin happily handed his injured hand to Su Yan's palm, and asked, "How's the situation outside?"

Su Yan said: "It's all within our expectations. Now the people in the capital are praising the prince's filial piety, and the officials in Shangshu see that the public opinion is so hot that they don't want to appear to be against the people's will, so they stopped their flags and drums."

Zhu Helin snorted coldly: "These people go to Shangshu for their own reputation, and if they don't, it's for their own reputation. Are they really loyal to the country?"

Su Yan said: "These few court meetings, I just watched without saying a word, carefully pondered everyone's words and demeanor, and felt that the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the six departments had a complicated composition."

"How to say?"

"There are those who are sincere for the country and the people, some who seem to be slanderous, some who are hot-blooded and easy to be instigated by others, and some who sit firmly on the platform and have an ambiguous attitude. There are also some who I suspect were bought by the Wei family and mixed in. provocative.

"It's not just the officials, there are also some nobles who have secretly hooked up with the Wei family. After all, behind the Wei family is the big Buddha statue of the Queen Mother. Here we come. Because of their identities, those relatives are more likely to form a natural alliance with the Wei family and hug the Queen Mother's thigh together."

Zhu Helin still felt sad when he thought of the emperor's grandmother's indifferent attitude towards him for more than ten years, but because he was used to it, he didn't show this.He spoke for the emperor's grandmother: "The queen mother is in the harem and does not involve in government affairs. She only worships Buddhism and believes in Buddhism on weekdays. She occasionally invites monks and Taoist priests to the palace to preach. She is tolerant of the Wei family. On the face of my sister, Mrs. Qin."

Su Yan nodded: "At present, it seems that the queen mother does not interfere in politics. At most, she is partial and protects her shortcomings. It is true that the emperor is filial to the queen mother, but he also has a strong sense of control over government affairs, and will not let people make decisions easily. However, the queen mother I don't want to see you, but I'm happy to see you—even actively paving the way for the second prince's future is a fact."

Zhu Helin knew that what he said was right, the flames of sadness in his heart gradually extinguished, and condensed into a hard and cold seed, deeply rooted in his heart.

"The second child is still young, only ten months old, and he just knows how to walk a few steps while supporting things."

"But the emperor is still young. The second prince has just been born, and the Wei family can't help it. In another ten or 20 years, when the second prince grows up and has the power to compete, the Wei family's ambition will be even greater. Unstoppable. And what attitude the queen mother will have at that time, no one can say." Su Yan bandaged the prince's wound and wanted to withdraw.

But Zhu Helin held his hand tightly, and said, "I know, you are reminding me to plan ahead. It is easy to hide a hidden arrow, but don't worry, I won't be so impulsive again."

Su Yan smiled and said, "It's good that the young master understands."

Zhu Helin was a little frustrated, but also a little dissatisfied: "Young Master has always understood it very well, but he couldn't control his temper."

very good already.He is only fourteen or fifteen years old, and he will still be a junior high school student in future generations. It is the period of adolescence when hormone secretion is strong, and the most rebellious time in the second year of middle school.Thinking about how honest I was when I was in junior high school, not to mention smoking and pretending to be aggressive, and I also fought in group fights, and I didn't mature until high school.

Su Yan smiled empathetically, and said, "In the future, I will gradually control it. It depends on practice. Young master, look at the emperor."

Zhu Helin muttered: "Father is an old fox who has cultivated to become a master, and I can't compare it now."

Fu Bao was taken aback, and reminded in a soft voice: "Master, don't say anything that offends His Majesty!"

"In front of Qinghe, it doesn't matter what you say."

Zhu Helin turned to Su Yan again, "The scriptures are almost finished, when will I return to the palace?"

"Don't worry, you can stay in Taimiao first, and wait for the emperor to call you back to the palace."

"But I found out from the servants in the Hall of Mental Cultivation that the emperor had no such intentions, and also said that I should stay in the Taimiao to meditate."

"...You've got a lot of skills, my young master, you dare to spy on the Holy Will." Su Yan teased with a smile, "I haven't seen you in half a year, I'm good at being tall, and I have more eyes."

"'Your' young master doesn't have a little more thoughtfulness, sooner or later he will be bitten by a snake again."

Fu Bao shouted again: "Oh, my lord, don't say anything unlucky!"

Zhu Helin waved his hand indifferently, "Go aside, don't interrupt." Fu Bao covered his mouth and retreated to the farthest corner of the hall.

Su Yan pulled his hand a few times, but he didn't pull it out. He was worried about hurting the Prince's wound, so he had to let him hold it all the time, and said, "The Emperor may not want you to be a vegetarian in the Taimiao and suffer from the cold. You are punished to kneel in the Taimiao to stop the pain." Staying in the crowd is also to temper your xinxing. If he wants to call you back to the palace, he has to find a suitable opportunity, and someone has to pass him the ladder."

Zhu Helin looked at him expectantly.

Su Yan shook his head: "Don't look at me. I can't pass this ladder."

Zhu Helin thought about it, and thought it was right, asking Su Yan to sell face and ask for favor for himself, wouldn't it be sending sheep to the tiger's mouth?The emperor already had a heart of disobedience towards him, so if he took the opportunity to threaten: If I agree to Aiqing's request, how will Aiqing plan to repay Jun's kindness... No, no, absolutely no!

Su Yan could tell from his eyes that he was thinking wrongly, and laughed angrily: "What kind of train is running in your mind?! I mean, this ladder has to be handed over by the six important ministers, the princes and the princes."

After leaving the Taimiao, just as Su Yan was about to board the carriage, a ten-year-old servant turned out from the rear of the carriage and saluted, "Lord Su, the Holy Majesty has called you to enter the palace immediately."

Su Yan felt that this person looked familiar, so he took a second look, and suddenly remembered that it was Lan Xi's side, named "Duoguier".So he returned the gift and said, "Your father-in-law Lao Duo will send you an order."

Duo Gui'er was adopted by Lan Xi as soon as he entered the palace, and he followed him day and night, becoming his servant, apprentice, and grandson, and he would also be his filial keeper in the future. Naturally, he heard and saw a lot about Su Yan on weekdays. Knowing that this young official is extremely favored by the Holy One and must not be offended, he hurriedly humbled himself: "Don't dare to be the one, Lord Su just call me Duo Guier. Otherwise, just let me be a grandfather and call me Mao!" Cubs are fine too."

Su Yan smiled and said, "Eunuch Duo was joking... okay, okay, I'll call you Duo Guier, stop bowing."

Duo Guier straightened up.

Su Yan asked: "It's inconvenient for Fang to reveal, what is the emperor calling me for?"

Duo Guier shook his head: "I don't know."

Su Yan thought for a while, and then asked: "How is the emperor feeling?"

"My Majesty's mood, I don't dare to speculate, but judging by the expression on my face, I'm still quite calm."

Su Yan thought, the emperor's face was calm nine out of ten times, and what he said was like nothing.He didn't ask any more questions and boarded the car directly.

The Taimiao is located on the right side of the Duanmen of the Outer Imperial City, not too far from the Inner Palace.It didn't take long for the carriage to drive outside the Meridian Gate.Su Yan changed to the prepared sedan chair and followed Duo Guier to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The Kunning Palace was cleaning up the ruins of the fire scene, and the emperor thought the adjacent Qianqing Palace was noisy, so he moved back to the Yangxin Palace to live.

Su Yan entered the inner hall, and saw Emperor Jinglong sitting on the couch of Arhats, meditating with his chess pieces on his hands, and a game of Go leftovers was placed on the kang table.

Just as he was about to kneel down, the emperor said, "Excuse me, come here."

Seeing the emperor's focus on the chess game, Su Yan's expression was really calm, as if the almost out-of-control scene on the Lantern Festival night tower had never happened, and he was not sure what the other party meant, so he hesitated.

The emperor tapped the chessboard with a chess piece, "Sit opposite."

Su Yan looked at the familiar dragon pattern carvings on the armrest of the Arhat couch, and remembered the scene of being pressed on the emperor's chest not long ago, playing on his stomach. He couldn't help feeling hot in his ears, and walked over slowly, with half of his butt touching the kang table On the couch on the other side.

The emperor motioned him to help pick up the son.

The two picked the black and white pieces into the dowry respectively.The emperor asked: "Can you play chess?"

Su Yan shook his head honestly: "I don't know how to play Go."

"For a game of chess, you can talk with me for a few games." The emperor turned his head and called towards the gate of the palace, "Lanxi."

"Don't bother Eunuch Lan, I'll just play like this... let's play backgammon!"

"Gobang?"

"Yes, a small game, the rules are very simple." Su Yan explained the rules of chess in a few words.

The emperor nodded and said, "Let's begin."

Su Yan asked Heizi to play first for the emperor.The emperor was not familiar with double threes, live fours, and long consecutive bans against Heizi, so Su Yan easily won the first round.

He usually wins the prince in chess like eating beans, so when he played chess with the emperor, he ignored the unspoken rules such as "not only can't win, but also lose skillfully", he jumped down and announced directly: "The minister has won!" .”

Lan Xi stood at the entrance of the hall with hands down, the corners of her eyes twitched.

The emperor picked up the sunspots, "One more game, I will go first."

This time, the entire chessboard was almost full, and Su Yan saw a loophole, "I won again."

The corners of Lan Xi's eyes twitched again, wishing to bring Su Yan over to remind him - the emperor is very good at chess, and has never had a defeat, you are not afraid to offend the emperor and punish him by taking advantage of such a wild way that is not on the table .Our family has been in the palace for so many years, and we have never seen anything like you, Su Qinghe, who is as shameless as you are, and even puts on face when you turn around!

The emperor smiled: "Okay, let's play another round, and I will go first."

In the third game, the emperor knew all kinds of rules and moves well. Su Yan fought for dozens of eyes and lost.

In the fourth round, Su Yan changed the first black stone and let the emperor hold white, and lost again.

He was not convinced, and the black and white pieces took turns, and he lost seven or eight games in a row.The emperor became more and more comfortable, and in the end he almost didn't need to think about every move, and he could do it at his fingertips.

Su Yan grabbed a few chess pieces, sprinkled them on the chessboard, and surrendered: "I can't beat the emperor, I admit defeat." After thinking about it, I felt depressed: "The two sides are not in the same weight class, they are completely crushed, and I won't play anymore .”

The emperor smiled and said: "It's because the chess moves of this backgammon are simple. No matter how you arrange and dismantle the moves, it is nothing more than the eight characters of 'precautions' and 'secret positions'."

Su Yan felt that there was something in the other party's words, so he didn't dare to speak up.

The emperor threw a sunspot into the chess dowry, and the sound was light and crisp, "Why don't you wear the big cloak given by the emperor when you go to the Taimiao today?"

Su Yan choked while swallowing, covered his face with his sleeve, and coughed a few times, "Today...it won't snow."

"It snowed heavily a few days ago. Didn't you wear it when you went to Beizhen Fusi?"

Lan Xi lowered her head, smiled until the corners of her eyes and mouth were wrinkled, waved her whisk at the other servants who were standing there, and walked out of the hall first.The servants hurriedly followed him out and closed the palace door tightly.

Whoever dares to steal incense, I will break his hand.

I don't move you, only the person who moves you.

Su Yan thought of the emperor's warning, his back almost broke out in cold sweat, put down his sleeves, and pretended to be calm: "The minister is going to discuss business."

The emperor knowingly asked: "What does business affairs have to do with whether you wear a cloak or not?"

Su Yan was so forced that he had no choice but to say: "The emperor's gift is so precious, I don't want to wear it during official duties or when meeting with irrelevant people."

"Little slicker, you can only talk nicely." The emperor sneered, "I don't bother to expose you for the little tricks you play for public benefit. If you find it interesting, keep playing. But I will remind you one more thing——"

He waved to Su Yan.

Su Yan had no choice but to listen to him, only to hear the emperor whisper: "Remember to close the door to thank the guests. If you dare to open the canopy door and sweep the flower path again, I will give Ling Chi the intruder who is not afraid of death."

A gust of cold wind blew by, Su Yan couldn't help clamping his buttocks and shrank back, wanting to cry without tears: "I didn't, I really didn't—"

The emperor reached out and rubbed his earlobe, "Yes, yes."

"My lord, isn't my subject—"

"I know the people who serve the emperor with color. So I won't force you. I have plenty of time, and I will wait for you to let go of your guard."

The emperor withdrew his hand and tapped the chessboard: "Take it away. Take the secret letters and maps on the table."

Su Yan got up quickly, took the chessboard and chess dowry to another table, and took the things the emperor asked for along the way.

Emperor Jing Long motioned him to sit back on the couch, opened one of the secret letters, and handed it to him: "Look."

Su Yan glanced through it in a hurry, and saw that it was information from the border, saying that all the envoys from Oara had died in Daming. The news had spread to the territory of Oara, and Hu Kuoli was furious. In the near future, the army may march south.

"Really want to go to war?" Su Yan frowned, opened the map and gestured, "If Wala invades southward, the Hetao area will be in chaos. Not to mention the pressure from the military suppression in Ningxia and Yansui, I am afraid that the Tatars will take advantage of the fire and loot and attack again. Datong and Xuanfu."

"The secret letter I sent before did not reach Hu Kuoli, and even the emissary who delivered the letter was nowhere to be found. I ordered Ye Bushou from Qingshui Camp to investigate secretly, and found the body of the suspected emissary in the headquarters of Wala. He was killed as a spy and hanged for public display."

"Hu Kuoli ordered the killing?"

"No, we found out, it was Heiduo shaman's order. And according to the sentry report, Heiduo is now Hu Kuoli's most trusted subordinate, and he was named the Grand Master of Wala. He also tried his best to promote the dispatch of troops. "

Su Yan exhaled, and drew a line with his fingertips on the map from Wala to the capital: "Everything that happened in the past six months——

"I once speculated that the people behind the scenes were playing a game of chess.

"Young master also said that with the country as the chessboard and power as the chess pieces, this chess player is very courageous and terrifying.

"Now, this person—I will give him a code name for now, let's call him 'Yi Zhe'—I can connect all the chess moves played by this person."

Emperor Jinglong nodded: "Speak, I will listen."

"One is the reserve position. Raise assassins, assassinate the prince, and then use the factional struggle between officials in the DPRK and China to fan the flames, intending to shake the foundation of the country.

"One is the prince. Ambush the spies in Prince Yu's mansion, use the grievance and resentment of his ten-year confinement to disturb his mind, and try to induce Prince Yu to take action against the emperor. plan to plan.

"One is Oala. Colluded with the Heiduo shaman, he assassinated the Oirat prince Kunle in Qingshuiying, and framed Daming. He also sent Oara dead soldiers to disguise themselves as Tatar cavalry. They were deliberately captured by our army during the plunder in the territory, revealing Fake wolf head tattoos, so that we can think that Hu Kuoli broke his promise and invaded secretly. Such two-sided provocations forced Wala to go to war with Daming.

"This is only the most obvious. It's hard to say whether there are hidden chess moves.

"Let's just talk about the Tatars. Over the years, the relationship with our court has become more and more hostile. The court's appeasement has not been effective. Is there an element of this 'player' contributing to the flames?

"There are also horse thieves. When I went to Shaanxi, I saw that the horse households suffered from the people's herding and turned into bandits. Because of the flood in the Yellow River and other reasons in Henan, Shanxi, and Shandong, horse thieves were also infested. Before I left Shaanxi, I had no intention of listening to Governor Wei at the banquet. Speaking of which, the magistrate of Xi'an reported that the thieves led by Wang Wu Wang Liu had entered Henan eastward and were suspected of joining forces with Liao Crazy.

"I didn't pay attention to it at the time, but now that I think about it, it's a bad sign. Could there be a 'player' behind it?"

"Look, my lord," Su Yan said with his fingertips cruising between Beimo, the capital city, and various state capitals, "each of these chess moves intersects. Yin, belongs to both Yinjianmen and Seven Killing Battalion. Yinjianmen has been passed down for more than a hundred years, and now it has declined and has been taken under his command, while Seven Killing Battalion has been established for more than ten years, that is to say——

"This 'player', at least ten years ago, started to lay out the layout, slowly accumulating strength in the dark, and now his wings are full, spreading out the whole chess game."

"More than ten years ago?" Emperor Jing Long's face was serious, and he fell into deep thought. "Such painstaking efforts are beyond the reach of anyone. Who is it, and what plans do they have for me and Da Ming?"

Su Yan thought for a while, and said: "It takes more than ten years to support a person, and I think there are only two motivations, one is revenge and the other is ambition."

Revenge...ambition...Jing Longdi slowly chewed these two words.

He suddenly asked: "Su Yan, how do you know when the Seven Killing Battalion was founded?"

Su Yan's heart shuddered.This piece of information was provided by Jing Hongzhui.Ah Zhui said that when he entered the Seven Killing Camp seven years ago, the oldest assassin in the camp entered the camp five years earlier than him.In other words, it has been at least 12 years since the establishment of the Seven Killing Battalion.

He subconsciously did not state the data too accurately, but unexpectedly the emperor was so keen and still captured the suspiciousness in his words.

But he couldn't expose Jing Hongzhui's background.After all, the crown prince was assassinated, and the emperor, in a rage, issued an order to wipe out Yinjianmen, leaving no one behind, regardless of their identities.

Even if he wants to pursue an amnesty for Jing Hong in the future, it is not suitable at this time, he has to wait for Jing Hong to pursue meritorious service, follow the line of Fuyin, and catch the instigator behind it.

Su Yan made up his mind, stayed on the bed again, and bowed to Emperor Jinglong: "Is the emperor a trustworthy minister?"

Emperor Jinglong was slightly stunned, looking at his lowered hat, and showed a wry smile: "You still ask this question! If I don't believe you, I will discuss important government affairs with you? Let you read the secret report of the border? You can interrogate heavy prisoners with you ? The prince..." You plan the prince's side?The emperor swallowed the last few words silently.

Su Yan's heart was hot, his eyes were hazy, and he still maintained his saluting posture, "Then please also trust me in this matter. When it's time to speak, I will definitely show my guts and never hide a single word."

In other words, the time has not come yet, so there is something to hide.This is also a crime of deceiving the emperor, Su Yan knew it, but for Ah Zhui's life, he had to do it.

As for whether the emperor can accept it, whether he should be punished for his crime, or whether he should use both soft and hard methods to force him to confide the truth.Su Yan seemed to have some confidence in his heart, and he seemed to be stepping on thin ice, but the ice layer was not as hard as he thought, and it might shatter completely in the next moment, causing him to fall into the abyss.

He closed his eyes, held his breath, and waited for the verdict.

The next moment, he fell into a warm embrace.

It's as if a bitter traveler holds the moon in his arms, turning a hundred to a thousand poems chanting the moonlight into this close embrace.

The imperial incense on the dragon robe, together with the emperor's deep whisper, permeated him like a mist, and wrapped him up: "I believe in you, do you also believe in me?"

Su Yan nodded vigorously, choked with sobs and said, "I will never die."

The emperor said: "I don't want you to die forever, I only hope that while you can help the country with your talents, you can also inform me with information."

"...The emperor is the king, and I am the minister."

"Since ancient times, it has been said that the monarch and his ministers are like husband and wife. Ministers serve the emperor just like wives serve their husbands."

"But monarchs and ministers are not husband and wife after all. Ministers respect and fear the king, but they dare not have the intimacy and ease of husband and wife; while the king treats his ministers, favor and happiness are things that can be easily bestowed and taken back."

"Does Qinghe feel that there is pressure when getting along with me? Or is he worried that in the future, if his love will fade away, I will empathize with you?"

Su Yan was silent for a long time, then shook his head: "You can't put all the responsibility on the emperor. It is true that there is pressure when getting along with the emperor, but the more important reason is that the minister himself——

"Chen..." He gritted his teeth with difficulty.

I have ambitions in my official career, and I want to realize my ambitions and do my best to make this country a better place.

The minister does not want to leave the stigma of the king's luck in the history.

I... want to be a powerful minister, not a courtier.

"minister--"

"Okay, don't say any more." The emperor interrupted him with a long sigh, "I understand."

Does Su Yan have feelings for him?The emperor thought, there should be some.But this love is still no match for a certain belief.

He can easily destroy this belief, and with just one imperial decree, he can crush everything the other party insists on—this is the power of the Son of Heaven.But at the same time, it was Su Yan's scruples, fear and repeated resistance.

——Su Yan couldn't completely open himself to accept a lover who could turn his world upside down in a single thought and make him irreversible.

In the final analysis, I still don't trust me enough!The emperor sighed, let go of his hand, walked to the window, turned his back to him and said nothing.

Su Yan stared at the emperor's back in a daze, with mixed feelings, knowing that the emperor let him go again, but he felt uncomfortable.

"Go back." The emperor said, "I want to send an envoy with great fanfare, send the letter of credence to Oala, explain the whole story of the envoy's murder to Hu Kuoli, and hand over the murderer captured by Fusi of Beizhen to him. Take a human head with you."

"... Yan Chengxue's head?"

"Yes. This head, you go and get it."

Su Yan thought for a while, and replied, "I know."

The emperor had previously agreed that he would recruit Yan Huo and the two to stay overnight, and now he asked him to take Yan Chengxue's head. Naturally, he only needed one head to deal with Oala, and he would handle the specific situation.

"The battle with Wala may be inevitable, but at least delay it for a while, so that we can prepare food, grass and soldiers, so as not to rush into the battle. King Yu, I will find him, so you don't have to worry about him being rebellious."

After Su Yan hesitated again and again, he still asked: "Has the emperor thought about letting him go out of Beijing and return to his fiefdom?"

The emperor was silent for a moment, and said: "Last time you told me that Buzi in the official uniform of the seventh-rank censor was a mandarin duck playing in the water, and his tone was very disgusting, and you said gay purple, and you refused to tell me that the 'gay' was what for."

Su Yan was stunned for a moment, remembering that it was true, he just said it as a joke, not wanting the emperor to remember it.

"I plan to replace the official uniforms of the officials, regardless of rank, with Xiezhi to distinguish them from civil servants. The divine beast Xiezhi can distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, loyal and evil, and is just right for speech. Officials wear them as self-encouragement. The new official uniforms are made by the Shangyi Supervisor in the palace, and the expenses are paid from my internal funds, so as to avoid delays in the household department, and they will be made and distributed before March. The lower clothes are blue, and the fourth and higher clothes are scarlet. What do you think?"

Su Yan lowered his head to hide his emotion, "I have no objection."

The emperor said: "Go ahead, take the time to visit Li Shoufu."

Su Yan bowed his hand and resigned.Walking to the door of the palace, and looking back, the emperor was still standing by the window with his hands behind his back, motionless.

He opened the door of the palace and walked to the wide corridor, thinking about his last question, but the emperor did not give an answer.

Perhaps the emperor himself had no answer to this question.