Jiang Qing

After returning from Zhenbeihou's place, Bai Bingchen looked out of his mind.

Mei Shao was afraid that he would lock herself in the house for a few more days and would not see anyone, so she guarded him closely.

It took more than an hour before Bai Bingchen came to his senses and was no longer immersed in his own thoughts.He moved his stiff limbs, sat on the soft bed by the window, and stared outside in a daze.

Mei Shao moved over, hugged him from behind, and followed his line of sight to look out.

Today, the sky is low and the clouds are scattered, gloomy, and under the gray background, no matter how stylish the scenery of the mansion is, it will fade by three points.

Feeling the warm breath coming from behind, Bai Bingchen softened his body, nestled in Mei Shao's arms relyingly, and played with his fingers with lowered eyes.

Mei Shao took advantage of the opportunity to rub his slightly cold cheek, pecked at him, and didn't ask anything.

It was Bai Bingchen who spoke first.

"Before the late emperor died, I was the one who saw him for the last time." Bai Bingchen said slowly, "I sealed off the palace gates, stopped all the officials, and entered his dormitory alone. He was so sick that he couldn't even open his eyes." Kai, calling King Jing’s baby name in a daze. I knelt in front of his bed for a long time, waiting for him to wake up. He opened his eyes calmly, and said “coming” to me. At that time, I was still very excited. I was a bit angry, so I provoked him, and I said..."

.......

The all-powerful emperor in the past was so thin that he was lying on the bed so sickly that he didn't even have the strength to get up.

Bai Bingchen felt a tinge of joy in his heart. After planning for many years, he finally pushed the emperor to a desperate situation with his own hands. Now that Prince Sheng is guarding the palace gate, it is impossible for King Jing to take half a step. This supreme position must belong to Zhao Zhen.

Thinking of this, Bai Bingchen said with a hint of sarcasm, "When your Majesty listened to the slander, did you ever think about such a day?"

Emperor Mu Zhao raised his eyelids weakly, and asked, "Where's Wei Tao?"

"Early before the minister sealed off the palace gate, the minister whom His Majesty cared about had already run away."

Emperor Mu Zhao rolled his eyes slowly, looked at Bai Bingchen who was kneeling, smiled softly, and said, "You want Zhao Zhen to be the master of the world?"

"Your Majesty has no choice now."

Emperor Mu Zhao turned his head, stared fixedly at the golden tassels hanging on the bed, his eyes were slightly empty, and murmured: "Jue'er went to the study at the age of four, and all history, theory and national policies were taught by contemporary Confucian masters. I was approving the papers for a day in the study, and he accompanied me to read the papers for a day. His riding and archery was taught by his uncle, Zhongsu General Yu Guangcheng. He is better than Zhao Zhen in both political affairs and martial arts, but …”

Emperor Mu Zhao paused for a moment, glanced at Bai Bingchen who was kneeling respectfully on the ground, and laughed at himself, "Why are you telling me this..."

He restrained his expression, and asked: "The imperial decree you want is under my pillow. But I still want to ask, did you assist Zhao Zhen all because of the Cangshan incident?"

"It's just that the courtier chooses the master. Your Majesty is too worried." Bai Bingchen avoided his question.

"I remember that you studied history in the Hanlin Academy. How should I put it in the history books in my life?"

"Your Majesty came to the throne when he was young. He compiled the history of Li, established the Li family in the Wu Dynasty, and built water conservancy. He can be called a wise emperor." Bai Bingchen said expressionlessly about the achievements of Emperor Mu Zhao in the first half of his life, but ignored the absurd things behind him.

In all honesty, Emperor Mu Zhaodi was good at cultivating virtue and governing when he was young, and he was always worried, so he could really be regarded as a wise emperor.It's just that as he got older, he became more and more obsessed with longevity, listened to Fudi Pavilion's words, favored Wei Tao, chaotic and harsh officials, and even killed meritorious officials. All these are also great faults of the emperor.

In the history books, there is only "mixed praise and praise" to speak of his life.

"Cough, cough——" Emperor Mu Zhao seemed to have heard some joke, and laughed in a low voice, and he didn't care if he choked, and said: "But you didn't see the appearance of this 'Mingjun' at all, yes ?"

"I guess, you were six years old when Jue'er became the king of the county. It was the 22nd year of Qinyuan. Jue'er's uncle went out of Hanjue Pass for the second time, went to Langpo for a great victory, and forced the Li clan back thirty years ago. Yuli, the northern border of the Tuoli Kingdom. The next year, Li Chengque became a minister, and that was the happiest time for me."

Bai Bingchen finally looked at him with a relaxed expression. He had heard about the great battle. Empress Yu's younger brother, Yu Guangcheng, was the Zhongsu General, and led his 16-year-old son Yu You to part ways, marching lightly at night. , crossed a line of valleys, went straight to the hinterland of the Li clan, and went to Langpo for a great victory.

It's really a good talk for a while that the Yu family has two generals, father and son in battle.After the Battle of Benlangpo, Emperor Mu Zhao granted Yu You the title of General Huaming, and the title shows that he has high hopes.It's just that heaven is jealous of talents, the son of the Yu family died of illness when he was under eighteen, and General Zhongsu was also devastated because of this, and died in battle.

"If the Yu family was still there, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to take half a step through the gate of this palace today. I wouldn't have come to this point either." Up to this point, Emperor Mu Zhao sighed with regret in his eyes.

"Your Majesty is grateful for those who died young. If the Yu family knows it, they will also be grateful for your majesty's kindness."

Emperor Mu Zhao's eyes flickered slightly, he moved his lips, and finally asked softly: "You won't let me see Jue'er for the last time, will you?"

"His Royal Highness King Jing is training troops in the outskirts, I'm afraid he won't be able to come back." Bai Bingchen didn't say anything and Zhao Jue was stopped outside the palace gate. Emperor Mu Zhao hadn't closed his eyes yet, and he hadn't received the imperial edict, so everything was still undecided.

"What about Zhao Zhen? You are not going to let me see him?" The last bit of hope in Emperor Mu Zhao's eyes faded with Bai Bingchen's words, "Are you afraid that he will know that you are behind my death?"

"If Your Majesty really wanted to see His Highness the Crown Prince, he would not have said so until now." Bai Bingchen said softly, "What's more, His Majesty has been ill for a long time."

"Okay, okay." Emperor Mu Zhao smiled sadly twice, and his tone suddenly became sharp, as if he had exhausted his last strength and said sharply: "Bai Bingchen, since you chose Zhao Zhen, you should firmly remember You chose him in the first place!"

He clung to the brocade quilt desperately, and tried hard to prop up half of his body to look at him, but because of exhaustion, he could barely turn half of his body, but the brilliance of the past burst out from a pair of cloudy eyes, and he was as firm as an eagle. Lock him firmly, as if using such eyes to force him to agree.

Bai Bingchen looked at Emperor Mu Zhao calmly, bowed deeply, and made a final obeisance to him, "I would like to follow your Majesty's instructions."

He lay down for a long time without getting up.

He could hear the dull sound of heavy objects falling on the brocade quilt, followed by heavy panting. Emperor Mu Zhao said a word very softly. His voice was so weak that Bai Bingchen almost thought he was hallucinating.

He murmured as if talking to himself, "One generation is born, one generation is born..."

Bai Bingchen leaned close to the head of the bed, held his breath to confirm whether the gossamer-like voice was his own illusion, but what was waiting was deathly silence.

He raised his head slowly, Mu Zhaodi had closed his eyes, and Bai Bingchen saw a trace of peace on his face that was thin due to illness.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Bingchen gently went to get the imperial decree under his pillow, halfway through, he froze.

It wasn't the two edicts he imagined, there was only one scroll under the pillow.

......

"I never knew if that sentence was my illusion..." Bai Bingchen frowned, pulling away from that memory.

After hearing this incident, Mei Shao couldn't say anything. The reminiscence words of Emperor Mu Zhao earlier can also be attributed to the habit of reviewing one's own life before dying, but the last sentence is more like a kind of Entrustment, a kind of motto of hard work from elders to younger generations.

But how could he say such things to a courtier who killed himself...

Bai Bingchen turned sideways, met Mei Shao's eyes, and said, "Perhaps, this is what the late Emperor really wanted to tell me."

There was a strong sadness in his eyes, and he asked, "Do you know that King Jing said a word before he died?"

Mei Shao was stunned for a moment, remembering what Ling Che said in Luofengzhai, her eyes suddenly filled with unbelievable emotion, and said slowly: "He said..."

"I lost to Destiny! It was Li's destiny! It was Li's destiny that needed a Zhao Zhen, not this king who is inferior to Zhao Zhen!"

Both of them obviously remembered Zhao Jue's wild words when he laughed wantonly before he killed himself. At that time, they only thought that King Jing's nonsense before his death was unwilling and indignant, but thinking about it now, it was utterly desolate.

There was a gloomy look in the eyes of both of them.

"I chose Zhao Zhen because he was neglected by the first emperor and had no chance of getting in touch with the Fudi Pavilion. Among the princes, he is the cleanest, and he is also the most ruthless to seize the throne and kill the king."

After being silent for a while, Mei Shao said: "Father has been a soldier all his life, and he abides by military orders like a mountain. Without the king's order, he would not have sent troops to Cangshan in a hurry."

What they said on the surface was not the same thing, but both of them understood what the other wanted to express.

The moment he saw the truth clearly, Bai Bingchen's heart trembled beyond description, and his palms were slightly sweaty.

"So, the change in Cangshan was indeed the late emperor's intention." Mei Shao gritted her teeth and said word by word, "It's just that at that time he had no way to issue a decree to deal with this matter, so he used some method in private , sent the letter to my father, and my father just..."

At this point, Mei Shao choked up slightly, and said after a while: "But he really knows what kind of person Wei Tao is, why did he delay until then, why did he only think of his father when everything was lost, and called him Leading troops to wipe out...what was the late emperor thinking in his heart!"

He clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling slightly with anger.

Bai Bingchen silently wrapped his hands into fists, patted them comfortingly, and his eyes fluctuated slightly, "Perhaps he really didn't realize the seriousness of the matter until that time."

Bai Bingchen sighed softly, and said slowly: "When he was dying, the people he talked to me the most were King Jing Zhao Jue and the empress's mother's Yu family. He said that the year when Yu Jiashuang was about to attack the Li family was the happiest year for him. In 22, I also remember that there was a book in "History of Li", "In the [-]nd year of Qinyuan, the Li army occupied the Li clan and expanded the twelve cities in the northern border. The emperor was overjoyed and granted Yu Guangcheng the title of Zhongzheng Hou, and his son Yu You was the general of Huaming. , praise the two as the double walls of the Li country.'”

"Except for the four major military marquises inherited from the founding emperor, the Li Kingdom has never conferred any other military marquises, and Yu Guangcheng is the only one. It's just that the Lord of Heaven caused chaos, and in less than five years, the Li Kingdom's Shuangbi fell one after another. What was the state of mind of the late emperor at that time?" ? After the misery, he believed in Wei Tao at a single thought and sought longevity, and all the absurdities after that were all true. But in the end, he reined in the precipice and turned his head, and it was also true. It’s just that it’s too late..."

Emperor Mu Zhao ascended the throne at the age of 12. When he was young and vigorous, he also admired the founding emperor and vowed to be a wise emperor praised by future generations.After he married the Yu family, he had Zhao Jue at the age of 20. His legitimate son was born intelligent, diligent and hardworking.Emperor Mu Zhao spent almost all his efforts in cultivating Zhao Jue, he was both a king and a strict father.

He didn't believe in the sad words that the Li country would decline in 300 years, or the natural visions and broken rocks occasionally reported by the localities. He only believed in the power in his hands and the soldiers under his command. It will go back to the time when Emperor Murray was in his prime.

He built water conservancy projects, opened up water transportation, mowed soldiers and marched horses, and wanted to open northern borders.

He has the highest enthusiasm, he has the most trustworthy generals, the most ostentatious age, and the person he loves the most is always by his side.

Until these disasters from heaven, which he never believed in, came to him one after another.

In the 22nd year of Qinyuan, the father and son of the Yu family defeated the Li clan and expanded twelve cities in northern Xinjiang.

In the 24th year of Qinyuan, Yu You, the general of Huaming, died of illness. Zhongzheng Hou was deeply saddened, and his hair turned white all night.

In the 27th year of Qinyuan, Yu Guangcheng, the Marquis of Zhongzheng, fell off his horse and died during the chaos in Qingsu Northland.

The following year, his beloved wife Yu died.

Fate forced him to believe with a decisive attitude that the changes in the fate of the Li country were never nonsense, but in just a few years, the prosperous scene he opened up only glimpsed a corner and quickly withered.

Twenty-seven years after his accession to the throne, Emperor Mu Zhao faced the Fudi Pavilion for the first time. He began to summon Wei Tao frequently. At first, he asked him where the dead would go. Later, he gradually became afraid of death and sought the magic of longevity.

People who have always disrespected ghosts and gods, once opened the door, they were out of control. Emperor Mu Zhao only felt that he had a long dream. The dream was light and weak, and there was nothing good in it, but at least there was no pain .

Until later, when Emperor Mu Zhao woke up from the dream, the general situation in the court was already in Wei Tao's hands, including his half-dead life, which was also in his hands - the golden pill that Emperor Mu Zhao had been taking for many years had already His whole body was hollowed out, leaving only an empty skin.

But he still had Zhao Jue. When he was half asleep and half awake, this child didn't slack off at all. He grew up as expected, and he was very much like himself back then when he was in high spirits.

Emperor Mu Zhao cheered up again. He secretly calculated the forces in the court and discerned who had not succumbed to Wei Tao's power, and finally chose the Mei family, hoping to return to power by means of the Cangshan Change, and put everything under control. All back on track.

But he failed. When he saw Zhao Jue rushing into the Cangshan Palace anxiously and asking if he was healthy, and Wei Tao followed behind him, Emperor Mu Zhao felt a deep sense of powerlessness mocked by fate.

He seemed to have seen Zhao Jue's future and Li Guo's future.He and the crown prince he cultivated with painstaking efforts will be shrouded in the shadow of Fudi Pavilion forever, and it is difficult to escape.

There is only one way to break this situation, and that is to raise a courtier who hates him deeply, and to choose a prince who has not been in the vortex.

It took almost one night for Emperor Mu Zhao to make up his mind. He decided to give up the son he had always loved, to give up the only thought around him, and personally sent Zhao Jue to embark on a road that was doomed to be fruitless.

This is the last thing he can do in his reign, to return the Li country to an emperor who is not bound by the Fudi Pavilion, in the hope that one day he can break free from his destiny, even if it is to use his legacy for thousands of years, and the life of his own son as the foundation. cost.

He has nowhere to go.

The returning bird in the sky suddenly chirped quickly and high-pitched, and Bai Bingchen looked out the window.

The silent snow has been falling for a long time, covering the withered branches and the gray sky.

Bai Bingchen sighed inaudibly, and the fine snowflakes reflected a vastness in his pupils. He softly sent the last farewell words to the emperor, "Cultivate benevolent government in young days, and cherish longevity in old age... ..."

But in the second half, I couldn't say anything.

This is the first snow in the north, just like the night when Yu's Shuangbi attacked at night in the 22nd year of Qinyuan.

The author says:

The first emperor's mistake caused the tragic ending of his favorite son, and he finally swallowed the bitter fruit of this round.