Binh Duong Order

Ling'an City is still bustling and bustling as always. The Yuanming plague that broke out today has been raging in Ling'an City for a while. The literati, traffickers and pawns in the streets and alleys are full of regret, resentment and resentment. The worries of the people of the Ming Dynasty were that they had seen the imperial court open a storehouse for disaster relief, but something went wrong, and the safety of the entire mausoleum was the result of the people's scolding.

There was a vigorous riot, all of them were jealous, and they went to those corrupt officials and black hands behind the scenes, saying that they wanted to find out the truth and asked for a thorough investigation. It seemed that if the investigation was found, the plague of Yuanming would be gone.

Seeing that it was night and the excitement had subsided, Meng Xuande, the current emperor of Dajing, changed his clothes at night and was about to get up for the morning court, when the imperial eunuch sent a message, saying that the prime minister was asking for an audience, but he came early because Meng Xuande also guessed what happened, so don't embarrass him, Meng Xuande asked the eunuch to pass the message, told the morning time to be moved back, let the civil and military officials wait first, and went to see Shen Shuxing first.

When Meng Xuande arrived at the Imperial Study Room, Shen Shuxing was already waiting there in official uniform. Seeing Meng Xuande coming, he greeted him with a salute and said, "I have something important to report to Your Majesty." What does Shen Shuxing mean? When Meng Xuande heard it, he raised his hand and screened back to the left and right, and in an instant, only the two of them were left in the huge imperial study.

Meng Xuande sat in a high position: "When will Aiqing play Bing?"

Seeing that there were no outsiders, Shen Shuxing sighed, as if he was extremely tired, he took two steps forward and sat on the steps in front of the imperial court, he had long since lost the dignity and self-restraint he had when he came in, and sat there, with his back to Meng Xuande , asked: "Your Majesty, do you want to put the old minister to death?"

Meng Xuande did not punish him for disrespect in anger, instead he stood up, walked to his side, sat down with him, and answered unabashedly: "Yes."

Shen Shuxing glanced back, now he and the emperor had already had gray temples, living up to their youth, for some reason, Shen Shuxing remembered the time when he and Meng Xuande first met, at that time they were only in their early twenties, and some of them were very young. Zhang Yang's ambitions, his official career was not going well, and he almost died, but just after he abandoned his son and saved the day, he met Meng Xuande.

At that time, Meng Xuande was still the vassal king, and he was working in his territory at that time. Shen Shuxing was so dangerous that he could escape from death, which made Meng Xuande admire him very much. Later, when Meng Xuande met him, he said My own ideals and ambitions, unexpectedly coincided with Meng Xuande's, and the two met each other rather late, so they had a drink of their own accord.

Later, Meng Xuande ensured that Shen Shuxing's official luck was prosperous, and he was promoted to Ling'an smoothly. Xuande was able to recall Ling'an by grace, and Shen Shuxing also owed a lot of credit.

When the first emperor passed away, Meng Xuande was able to put aside all his brothers and react quickly. Thanks to Shen Shuxing's careful observation, he discovered the clue early, allowing Yuan Man to end the situation early and make a move.

Speaking of which, the two people can have the current situation, which can be regarded as mutual support and mutual achievement along the way, even though they did not trust each other very much along the way.

However, Meng Xuande's trust in Shen Shuxing was not as deep as Yuan Man's. Yuan Man's status was special, and Yuan Man needed Meng Xuande's protection. What's more, Meng Xuande also helped Yuan Man destroy the ghost building. Even if Yuan Man really wanted to betray her, others would not dare to use her sincerely. It is impossible for Yuan Man not to understand this truth.

But Shen Shuxing is different. When Shen Shuxing became an official in the court, he could turn against the water at any time. Meng Xuande used him while guarding against him along the way, and Shen Shuxing was the same. He was not stupid. Passing the message to him carefully, while at the same time always guarding against being abandoned as a chess piece at any time, never daring to take a wrong step, he clearly knows that as long as he misses once, it will be lost forever.

The two of them don't trust each other like this, but rely on each other to get over each other step by step. They can't remember how many times their trust has been completely based on gambling over the years. of.

It's ridiculous to say that even though so many bets were right, which proved the sincerity of the other party, they didn't get the trust between the two, but it's so strange, the suspicion between the two will always outweigh the trust.

Countless speculations, tests, and a delicate balance and tacit understanding between the two have been maintained from beginning to end, like an invisible thin line, although thin, but indestructible, unfortunately, Meng Xuande this time The undisguised targeting finally broke the thin thread, the balance was gone, and there was only life and death between the two of them.

Shen Shuxing suddenly remembered that he and Meng Xuande had known each other for decades, and the only time he was honest with each other was when they first met when they talked about their ideals and ambitions. Think about it, the two people are honest and honest, but I was sincere that time, but I don't know if our Majesty is sincere.

After listening to Meng Xuande's answer, Shen Shuxing was very tired: "Just because the old minister opposed sending troops?" After working hard for half a lifetime, avoiding external worries and preventing internal strife, how could he not be tired, Shen Shuxing explained: "Once a war starts, only the Common people, your majesty has plunged the people into dire straits for your own merits, how can you bear it?" This is the first time that Shen Shuxing has said this outright in front of Meng Xuande, and no matter how much he opposes it in the past, it will make him cry. The faces of both parties are good, so they won't say such bad things.

Shen Shuxing stopped pretending, and Meng Xuande naturally had no scruples: "Is the prime minister for the people or for himself?" Meng Xuande stood up and walked forward step by step: "18 years ago, the Changfeng flood destroyed 20 people. Displaced, the prime minister's Li Zhi went there with 30 disaster relief funds. Within half a month, hundreds of refugees went north to the mausoleum to file an imperial petition. In the end, only one person stopped the imperial driver. Flying with wings, the prime minister built a large-scale private school a year later to recruit disciples from poor families."

"16 years ago, there was turmoil and the border was in a hurry. Mu Deji led his troops to defend the border. The food and grass that should have arrived half a month ago had not arrived. Mu Deji had [-] soldiers and only less than [-] left. He almost fought After death, three months later, the prime minister helped the refugees, and since then Ling'an has had a God of Wealth residence."

"Fifteen years ago, Mu Deji and his wife died in battle, and all the soldiers under him belonged to Zheng Chouan, who was single-handedly promoted by the prime minister."

"13 years ago, when Jinzhou soldiers came to the city, Su Lin defended to the death. He even confessed to his own daughter in that battle. I just remember that Zhao Xi, the prime minister's student, was responsible for the distribution of food and grass in Jinzhou at that time."

"Ten years ago, I had a strange illness. The prime minister found Yuan Ming, and he received the medicine, which cured the disease. It is strange to say that the prime minister's proud disciples in recent years were all promoted from Yuan Ming. "

"In the past ten years, the prime minister has been really capable, with students everywhere. I'm afraid that the students who don't have the prime minister will not handle the big and small things in the court, right? Yongzhou's grain is almost entering the granary of outsiders. The prime minister doesn't know? "

"Come closer, how did the youngest son of Tai|An Bank kill someone last year and escaped the death penalty? Does the prime minister know? I heard that the prime minister bought a shadow for his student as a bodyguard. It's really a big deal."

"So, I was just thinking," Meng Xuande turned around and looked down at Shen Shuxing who was sitting on the steps: "Is the prime minister really not letting me send troops for the safety of the people, or is it for his own safety not to let me go?" I started the war." Sending troops is not a trivial matter, and it involves too much. Once the war starts, the court will definitely not be stable, and it will inevitably be held accountable. At that time, not only military generals will be mobilized, but civil servants will also be involved.

One after another, none of them were for his own self-interest, but he still said it so nicely, and he turned around with an awe-inspiring look. How many people have been deceived by this look, and how many people have been deceived for his sake? Selfish thoughts, innocent people die?From soldiers to common people, what face does he have to put on such a face of understanding righteousness?

"Hehehe." Shen Shuxing laughed suddenly, and asked, "What about Your Majesty? The old minister wants to ask His Majesty. Now that the treasury is insufficient and the troops are insufficient, once a war starts, soldiers will be recruited and taxes raised. Your Majesty is really invading like he said. The border disturbs the peace of the people, and it is bound to drive them away and restore the peace of the people, or is it for the sake of my eternal dominance, regardless of the life and death of the people?"

"Naturally for the common people."

"If it is for the sake of the people, we can strengthen the frontier defense as much as possible, so why go to war when we are so uncertain?"

"I don't have any?" Meng Xuande said: "Then you have to ask those good disciples of the prime minister, and ask them how they swallowed up my military salary little by little."

Instead of going to war, just watch the people on the frontier suffer and let others sing and dance on their pain?What's the difference between this and bone-knocking?Are the people in the frontier not the people?Do you want to abandon them for the comfort of others?He is the emperor, and those people are also his subjects, and it is only natural for him to protect his subjects!

Two people, each has its own reasoning, each has its own opinion, there is no conclusion on who is right and who is wrong, but neither can convince the other.

Shen Shuxing couldn't refute Meng Xuande's words. Over the years, he has killed countless students by himself. If the basket is too big, there will always be rotten peaches. Mistakes have already been made. He has already made up for what can be repaired, but most of them are powerless.

"Yuan Ming." Shen Shuxing asked, "What's the matter?"

"Aiqing came here tonight, probably because he received a letter from Gu Aiqing?" Meng Xuande replied, "It's another disaster caused by Aiqing's good student." Meng Xuande walked up the steps step by step, from the cabinet He took out the burned evidence sent by Yuan Man, walked down the steps and stood in front of Shen Shuxing: "I have something interesting here, Ai Qing, would you like to see it?"

Meng Xuande handed the things in his hand to Shen Shuxing, and Shen Shuxing took it with a suspicious expression on his face, flipping through it bit by bit, the more he looked at it, the sadder it became, and the more he looked at it, the colder his heart became, Meng Xuande looked at him coldly and said: "It was sent by Yu Yingsi, I don't know if it's true or not, fortunately, He Zhongchao has already been punished, if Aiqing says she was wronged, it's not impossible, I will definitely believe you, and as usual, the conclusion will be settled, and the two sides will be safe."

Shen Shuxing stood up and held up the evidence in his hand and asked: "Is this the purpose of His Majesty?" Shen Shuxing suddenly felt that he was a little ridiculous. The rumors could not spread to the streets, but they spread to him. He thought it was the emperor who framed him. He thought that he could take advantage of An's family, but he never thought that An's family had guarded against him from the very beginning. In order to get rid of the crime, he had already prepared a backhand. The content of this letter, unless Those who have personally experienced it, otherwise it is impossible for outsiders to know, the emperor has evidence in his hands.

"The An family has no conscience in doing things. This He Zhongchao is still the son-in-law of the An family. Aiqing, isn't Aiqing the teacher of the guilty minister He Zhongchao? I don't know if Aiqing knows about these things?"

"I know, how could I not know?" Shen Shuxing was here to plead guilty today, how could he deny his crime?Besides, he did know that the An family was protected by him, helping him to forge achievements one after another, and helping his students to rise to the top. How could a person like Shen Shuxing cooperate with others without checking in advance?

So, he knows, he knows the business of the An family, he knows the means of the An family, and he knows the filth of the An family, but in order to deceive himself and others, he didn't dare to go into details. In the place where even Yuyingsi's people can't intervene, he uses Yuanming as a springboard and shelter for his students.

Meng Xuande is suspicious, he must develop his own power, otherwise Meng Xuande will not let him go, so he single-handedly contributed to An's family, because he needs the help of An's family, only when An's family is strong can Yuanming be under his control forever, So he turned one eye, closed one eye, and indulged An Jia.

This time He Zhongchao attacked the An family with his acquiescence. His students hardly knew what he was doing with the An family. It was only because He Zhongchao had been in Yuanming for too long that he discovered the clues. Gu Xiujin missed and was caught by Meng Chengyu As a matter of fact, Shen Shuxing had to train newcomers. At this time, He Zhongchao wrote a letter, telling him about the An family's living people testing the medicine.

Shen Shuxing felt that this seemed to be an opportunity. He Zhongchao was the smartest student among his students. If he could come back this time, An's family would be considered worthy of death, so he pretended not to know, so why not be a witness for this outsider, let He Zhongchao Chao Ligong, although the appearance of Mu Xiaohou and the others disrupted the plan, everything went smoothly.

It's just a thousand calculations, I didn't expect that there would be a plague, let alone Meng Xuande would use it as a threat, hehehe, how ironic?

Shen Shuxing suddenly missed his son, and he didn't know where he went, how he was doing, it was cold, did he get frozen, Shen Shuxing remembered the last time he saw his son, he asked himself, saying : "When the prime minister broke off the secular relationship with me, he said that he was serving the country and the people. After so many years, has he ever had a clear conscience?"

For the country and the people?It's really nice to say - after so many years, I have indeed done something, but there are many detours.

The lives of innocent people under his hands are not small, it is really embarrassing.

Xie Meng'an and Shen Shuxing also asked why not to take her away long ago. I can't hurt anyone else. Now that I am alone, it is also retribution. That's all. Since what I said is so good, I have to do something so that I can go on the road with peace of mind. .

Shen Shuxing put the evidence on the ground, took out a brocade bag from his arms, knelt down on both knees, raised his hand to Meng Xuande, and said loudly: "The criminal, Shen Shuxing, colluded with Anjia, embezzled and accepted bribes, and tried it with a living person. It is an unforgivable crime to fill one's own pocket with medicine, to deceive the king, this is part of the evidence, and the rest is in the guilty minister's study, please let your majesty know."

Since you are here to plead guilty, then you have to show some sincerity, how ridiculous, all these evidences were used by Shen Shuxing to guard against An Jia, but now they are all his own incriminating evidence, or did he hand them over by himself?Three days back, if someone told Shen Shuxing that he would take these evidences and plead guilty, Shen Shuxing would definitely not believe it, but at this moment he did so, and Shen Shuxing suddenly felt extremely happy.

It's not that he hasn't struggled and hesitated. He has thought of countless ways to get out, denying death, destroying evidence, planting blame, no matter which one, he can save his life. Although it will damage his vitality, so what?There are infinite possibilities when a person is alive, and he will make a comeback sooner or later.

But then what?What about the hundreds of thousands of people in Yuanming?Do you abandon them just for your own selfish desires?In fact, it is good to pretend to be deaf and dumb, in fact, it is good to turn a blind eye and deceive oneself and others, but Shen Shuxing can't do it.

He also thought that after so many years of ups and downs, he should have been hard-hearted, but ah, is he underestimating himself or overestimating himself?He can't do it.

His son's words, "When the prime minister broke up with me for a long time, he said that he was for the people and the people. After so many years, have you ever had a clear conscience?" It echoed in his heart for a long time. He has already let his son down in his life. , both sides are sorry, right?

So yeah, he pleaded guilty.

Meng Xuande looked at Shen Shuxing with a relaxed face. He couldn't say how surprised he was, but he was still a little disappointed in his heart. Shen Shuxing really did what he said. He was already prepared for how to deal with Shen Shuxing in the future, but Shen Shuxing pleaded guilty. The subsequent preparations were suddenly useless, and I was still a little disappointed.

Meng Xuande took the brocade bag, said: "Go to court." Then he left.

The moment the little eunuch opened the door, he was blown into the room by the wind. The little eunuch immediately rushed over to block the wind. Meng Xuande turned his head to avoid it, and saw the cold wind blowing out the candles on the side of the hall. The evidence Shen Shuxing put on the ground Being blown up all over the sky, Shen Shuxing knelt on the ground and solemnly kowtowed, and said loudly: "God bless Dajing, Haiyan and Heqing, the country is peaceful and the people are safe."

Although it was coming towards him, Meng Xuande knew that this was not for him, but Shen Shuxing's confession to him for so many years. Maybe it was because people always love to remember the past when they are old. Meng Xuande thought that he was so innocent Talking to people, it seems that there are only two times in this life, looking at Shen Shuxing, Meng Xuande felt a little envious.

This man, before he died, fulfilled his ideal.