Daming prepares the emperor

"Prime Minister, Zhang Laishi has been killed by the Holy Majesty."

A very soft and low voice sounded in the silent room. Li Shanchang opened his eyes and slowly got up from the rocking chair.

Hu Weiyong hurried to help him, with a respectful and humble expression, he deliberately behaved very special today, beyond the usual etiquette.

The charcoal in the small red clay stove was almost exhausted, and the room was not as hot as before. After the warmth subsided, there was a kind of silent and lonely coolness.

Li Shanchang said: "How is the situation there, Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty was very angry and severely punished Yang Gaomeng and Jin Yiwei who went to investigate. Many ministers saw it and it spread throughout the capital."

"What about Zhang Laishi, how did he die?"

"He was hacked to death on the inner bridge."

After Hu Weiyong finished this sentence, he added another sentence: "He drank the medicine and it won't hurt too much."

"... Zhang Laishi is not easy." Li Shanchang was silent for a while, and spit out these few words, "There are old and young in his family, you should help him more in the future."

Hu Weiyong said: "I am glad that Zhang Dushi can help the prime minister. The prime minister must not break his body because of being sad."

"Happy, how can you be happy. If you can live, who wants to die." Li Shanchang sighed, "If you do something dirty, you have done something dirty. Don't justify it."

"Yes." Hu Weiyong said.

"Help me prepare the clothes I will wear when entering the palace. I should go and plead for Xiong Yi."

Hu Weiyong responded, and turned around to get the official uniform that Mrs. Chen had prepared long ago, which was hanging on the rack.

With his help to get dressed, Li Shanchang picked up a copper mirror from the table and looked at it carefully. The hair of the figure in the mirror was already half white, and there was a hazy circle of silver light, and his face was more pale than last year. There are many wrinkles and some spots, showing the fatigue of the old man.

The medicine in the sachet can hide so many doctors from Tai Hospital, after all, it is not without side effects.

Suddenly, he thought of Liu Bowen who had already returned home.This old opponent has unloaded the burden that he was determined to resist when he was young, farming and raising silkworms at home, drinking and composing poems, leaving behind power and wealth, no need to care about anything, no need to calculate, isn't he really happy?

Fortunately, he will know the answer soon, and he has to feel it himself.

When he came back to his senses, Li Shanchang took a few more glances at "myself", then moved his eyes slightly to the back, and murmured: "One Xiong's family, one is everything, Weiyong, this is the last thing I can do for you Now, after I retire, you have to fight for it."

Hu Weiyong bowed deeply, without saying a word.

---

"Get out, get out!"

Yang Xisheng bumped into the cabinet and fled out the door, not understanding how his brother who was always kind to him could be so irritable, as if he wanted to cut himself with a sword.

"Big brother..."

"Don't call me big brother, I don't have a brother like you! Get out of here, I don't want to see you again!"

Yang Xian also came out of troubled times, he knew how to fight, had practiced some martial arts, rolled up his sleeves, swung his stool and hit Yang Xisheng.As soon as Yang Xisheng hid, the stool hit the ground and split into several pieces. The fragments cut his face, leaving a few blood lines, dripping a lot of blood.

Seeing the blood, Yang Xian didn't calm down, but because he still dared to hide, he got even more angry, changed the vase, held it in his hand, and threw it out again.

This time Yang Xisheng didn't dare to hide any more, he endured it firmly and let the porcelain explode at his feet.

It was not the first time that Yang Xisheng made Yang Xian angry, but he saw that this time seemed to be different from usual, so he flattered him and said, "Brother, calm down, what's the matter, let's talk slowly, let me know that I am Where is wrong."

"I know, I know what a fart, what's the use of letting you know now? You've learned all the knowledge of the world that you are taught on weekdays, and you're just waiting to die!"

Yang Xian sat down on the chair out of breath. Although anger still dominated his mind, he looked at Yang Xisheng gradually with more complicated emotions.

There is love, pity, pain and regret in it.

The first two are often seen by Yang Xisheng, but he has never seen the latter two, so he can't tell them apart. This made him who is very familiar with Yang Xian panic, and couldn't help asking: "What's the matter? Brother, what is it?" Things made you so angry, you said it."

Yang Xian was as quiet as if he had suddenly become dumb, with a little tear in his eyes.

"Brother!" Yang Xisheng begged.He was about to die of fright, and kept recalling the wrong things he had done, even when he was a child.

"Okay, brother, why did you come to the capital to find me?"

Yang Xisheng said, "Father asked me to come and see you and bring you some special products from my hometown."

"To be honest, I already know everything." Seeing that his younger brother still wanted to hide it from him, Yang Xian was very tired. He leaned back in the chair, sighed wearily, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Ah?" Yang Xisheng said in surprise, "You already know?"

no respond.

Yang Xisheng had no choice but to say: "It was my father who asked me to withdraw the marriage. He always said that he had booked me a marriage more than ten years ago, and it was with people from Huaixi. Now, brother, you have a different status, and you are in the way of the court. , even if it offends someone, it should be returned."

"Why don't you go back?"

"I, I heard that the girl was beautiful. I was thinking that after you finish your work, I would ask to see if I can..."

"Can you marry her? Do you know that this beautiful woman is going to be the Holy Majesty's concubine?"

Yang Xisheng's face turned pale all of a sudden, his mouth gaped, and he trembled like a rabbit drowning in water: "How could it be? His family promised their daughter to me a long time ago, how dare they give it to the Holy One again?"

"They just dare. They risked their entire family's lives!" Yang Xian bent down suddenly, approached his younger brother who was slumped on the ground, pulled up his collar, and said word by word, "What do you think your brother is doing now? Looking at the scenery on the surface, how much dirty water is surging underneath to make me die without a place to die, what do you know! You are a dandy, what do you know!"

Speaking of the last sentence, Yang Xian was already roaring.

Yang Xisheng didn't care about apologizing, and tremblingly grabbed his brother's sleeve: "Then now, does Your Majesty know?"

"It's more than that." Yang Xian looked at him, "I can't protect you anymore, clean up and go to the palace with me to apologize."

"Apologizing in the palace? Why! That's just a woman!" Yang Xisheng said, "The Holy Majesty wants it, just give it to him, how can I be reluctant! Brother, let's tell the Holy Majesty, tell him. The Xiong Family will not refuse, either. They can become relatives of the emperor, how could they refuse!"

At this time, I still can't figure it out!Did you just say nothing!

"The Holy Majesty is the Son of Heaven! Will the Son of Heaven want a courtier's wife? You deserve it too!" Yang Xian said bitterly, "It's too late, it's too late, it's too late to do anything now, this matter is not as easy as you think. Tell me You, Xisheng, I'm so angry, it's not because you didn't go to divorce for a long time after you came to Beijing, they wanted to plot against me, and they started as early as the moment you left home."

Yang Xisheng didn't understand what he was talking about, he tugged on Yang Xian's sleeve and refused to let go.

"Zhang Laishi had a drink with His Majesty a month ago, and you hadn't come to Yingtian at that time."

Yang Xisheng's face was full of confusion and fear.

"Forget it, it's normal if you don't understand." Yang Xiandao, "I'm angry because you have no sense of proportion. Why did you drive away Eunuch Yang? Why did you disrespect him? Do you know that he came to tell me that something was wrong? You will He left in anger, leaving the last anger that can save you!"

"How could this happen..." Yang Xisheng was completely dumbfounded, he couldn't believe that things in the world could happen by such a coincidence.

"Get up. You have to make this trip sooner or later. Whether your life can be saved or not depends on God's will. Poor parents in my hometown, I want white-haired people to send black-haired people..."

Yang Xisheng couldn't listen to what Yang Xian said.

---

"Give a seat."

Huang Xi moved the embroidered pier that had been prepared in front of Li Shanchang, helped him get up slowly, and then sat down.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon chair, looked at him carefully with excellent eyesight, and teased: "Bai Shi, it's been a long time since I saw you, why have you become so old? You need someone to help you even sit down."

Li Shanchang was shocked in his heart, but his face was still sad and melancholy: "Go back to Your Majesty, I haven't seen you with Your Majesty for half a year, and it's inevitable that I get sick and look old."

"Well." Zhu Yuanzhang didn't really want to know what happened to Li Shanchang. Anyway, he already understood the old minister's thoughts, so he might as well be afraid of Liu Ji, and said directly, "What do you want to see us for?"

"The minister came to plead for Xiong Yi's crimes. He is a traitor and committed an incurable crime." Li Shanchang left Xiudun and knelt on the ground of the Wuying Hall again, "Xiong Yi is an old subordinate of the minister, and the minister also made mistakes fault."

When it came to the tricked marriage, the relaxed atmosphere in the hall disappeared.Both the courtiers and the emperor stopped talking, only the silver charcoal in the brazier cracked slightly, making a light cracking sound from time to time.

Li Shanchang's head was lowered, he couldn't see Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, and Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't see his.

Finally, it was Zhu Yuanzhang who spoke first. He leaned back on the chair and put his arms on the armrest: "Get up, you are well informed... Do you think we are too cruel?"

Li Shanchang stood up and shook his head: "This is the fault of the Xiong family. The Ninth Five-Year Lord, how can they be provoked and deceived. The Xiong family is too greedy for money and too vain. They can do such a sensational thing. I just come to plead guilty. Don't ask Your Majesty to forgive them."

"Oh, you mean, this incident is only the Xiong family's fault, and has nothing to do with Yang Xian's younger brother?"

Li Shanchang was used to Zhu Yuanzhang's ways, so he didn't panic at all, and replied: "I don't know what Yang Xisheng did, but I only know that the Xiong family is wrong. All the ministers in the world are the emperor's ministers, and the emperor is the father of all people. What are you doing?" The decision was right."

"Huh." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, "Since you came to plead guilty in person, then we will give you face, we will not marry Xiong, let her marry whom, Xiong Yi...don't do it again official."

This kind of treatment is regarded as preferential treatment for the Xiong family, but Li Shanchang's face changed because of this. He planned to sacrifice Xiong Yi, but Zhu Yuanzhang picked it up high and put it down low. What will the officials think when they go out?

"What's the matter, are you not satisfied?"

Li Shanchang said with difficulty: "I have no objection."

"Is there anything else? If not, go back and rest." Zhu Yuanzhang was about to see off the guests. "Looking at your face, I'm afraid you'll faint after talking to us."

At this moment, Li Shanchang really wanted to ask Zhu Yuanzhang how he would deal with Yang Xisheng, how he would treat Yang Xisheng, and whether his plan to put aside his old face had achieved the desired effect.

But he didn't dare, and knew that he must never ask, so he bowed down again: "I still have something to ask, please allow me."

"speak."

"I've been ill since last year, and I've hired many doctors one after another. I've taken a few baskets of medicine, but nothing has improved. I'm getting old, and it's often said that the sickness has been cured for so long. , I’m afraid there will be no chance in the future.”

After speaking this sentence, Li Shanchang paused, giving Zhu Yuanzhang time to react and also giving him time to reply.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not live up to his expectations, and gave him enough dignity: "What are you talking about, Aiqing is in poor health, because the people who treat you are all quack doctors! Don't mention this matter again, we will send you some doctors In the past, I promise to cure you, if you leave, who else can take the position of prime minister? Who else can give us advice?"

"The doctor of the Imperial Hospital came to show me a few months ago in response to the grace of the sage. I was fortunate to follow the emperor to make contributions. I accumulated merits in my previous life. Now I can't do what I want and can't assist the sage. There are many, I just hope that I will not stay in Yingtian to get in the way and block the way of future generations, and I don't hope to make any other contributions."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Nonsense, whose way are you blocking? Who told you that?"

"No one said that to me. This is my own sincere words." Li Shanchang said, "I have also reached the age where I should enjoy the family happiness. I just want to entertain my grandchildren and spend my old age in my hometown. I beg Your Majesty's permission." .”

After a few pushes, Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he really wanted to resign. After thinking for a while, he felt that this step should be reached, and replied: "Then you go back and write a note and hand it over, but don't be so fast. After the New Year in Yingtian Let's go again, let us treat you to the last New Year's Eve dinner."

"The minister leads the decree to thank you."

"Stop kneeling. Huang Xi, send the prime minister out." Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Li Shanchang and explained, "We have other guests coming."

"Yes."

Huang Xi helped Li Shanchang step out of the palace gate, and Yang Xian who came with his younger brother came to meet him.

Yang Xian walked in front, holding Yang Xisheng's wrist tightly. Yang Xisheng lowered his head and couldn't see his face clearly. He could only see his messy hair and staggering steps.He seemed to be weak all over, Yang Xian took a step, and he only took a step.

When the two parties met under the steps, Yang Xianqiang forced a smile, cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister, Eunuch Huang."

Li Shanchang nodded: "Master Yang."

Yang Xisheng didn't speak, and the people present didn't expect him to be polite.

"Prime Minister is going to plead against Xiong Yi?" Yang Xian clenched his hands in his sleeves, "I don't know how His Majesty dealt with such a serious crime as the Xiong family's?"

Li Shanchang smashed the pot, his eyes half-opened and half-closed: "By the grace of the sage, Xiong Yi is just dismissed from office, and Xiong's family is still allowed to give to Master Yang's younger brother."

Hearing this, Yang Xian was really about to die of anger, and sneered a few times and said: "It turns out that the prime minister has a good plan, and he can get away with doing such dirty things, not to mention ruining his daughter, but also It’s okay to destroy another one. I thought the prime minister was so capable, but in the end he still played tricks based on the love of these sons and daughters.”

Li Shanchang didn't expect him to open up and say it, his eyelids twitched, his face was neither red nor out of breath: "I don't understand what Master Yang is talking about."

"Bah, shameless." Yang Xian didn't care much, and cursed in front of Huang Xi, "Think about it with your conscience, Prime Minister, how can you compare with Master Liu? After fighting for so many years, Have you ever seen Mr. Liu use insidious means? That is, you, relying on the old to sell the old, occupying the latrine and not shit! In terms of knowledge and resourcefulness, if you hadn’t met the Holy One earlier, you are worthy of being the Duke of this country! You are also worthy of being me Prime Minister of Ming Dynasty! Anybody is stronger than you!"

Heartbreaking words.

It's not just words of hatred.

Yang Xian almost dug out Li Shanchang's heart, dried it and put it under the sun for everyone to see.

Li Shanchang is indeed not as famous as Liu Ji, and he has also been criticized in terms of reputation. As for the reputation of the people, it is a complete failure, but no one has said that "Li Baishi dominates the world". The reason why he can have his current status is really It was due to the fact that he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang at the first time, and then worked hard. Besides, the main reason is that the family has a big business, the roots are flourishing, and Huaixi is surrounded by a noble.

After years of self-cultivation, Li Shanchang was completely overwhelmed by this sentence, and he didn't care about it, and angrily said: "Liu Ji has many tricks, Li Zi, you just don't know it!"

"You should show me one!"

"Old man..."

It was a tradition for civil servants to fight in the Ming Dynasty, and everyone was full of martial virtues. It was like this when the country was founded.

Huang Xi couldn't watch the show anymore, so he hurriedly said: "Master Yang, the Holy Majesty is still waiting inside, go in quickly."

At this time, Yang Xian finally broke through his respect for the position of prime minister. After letting himself scold Li Shanchang, he felt more comfortable than ever. His mind, which has been troubled by government affairs for many days, became much clearer. What Liu Ji said to him in the past, he understood more clearly. Now, I understood it the moment I didn't understand it, knowing that this catastrophe would be difficult to pass, I looked back at my younger brother who was waiting to die, and didn't think about the future and power.

He cupped his hands at Huang Xi again, only listening but not acting, staring at Li Shan and said: "Prime Minister, I thought you made this move for yourself, but I didn't expect it to pave the way for that idiot Hu Weiyong, who is anxious Frivolous, Huaixi will fall into his hands sooner or later, I think your old life will be given to him to live for the rest of your life? It's almost the same in the dream!"

"You!" Li Shanchang clutched his chest, his fake illness almost became real, "Shut up, stop talking nonsense."

What is the most annoying thing to quarrel with?Greeting the ancestors is still secondary, and leaving directly after scolding is the best way.This makes the other party unable to vent their anger, so they can only hold back their anger and don't know where to send it.

Yang Xianli ignored Li Shanchang and dragged Yang Xisheng straight away.

Seeing this, Huang Xi hugged Li Shanchang tightly, and stopped him with a half-pull and a half-struggle, with a deep meaning in his words: "Calm down, calm down, Prime Minister, you are in poor health and can't talk too much, don't argue with him anymore, let's go , I will send you out of the palace."

Li Shanchang came back to his senses, lowered his eyebrows and said: "...Huang Gonggong is right, the old man is not in good health, so don't quarrel with him."

"Hey, that's right."

A minister and a slave stuck together and walked out of the palace.

Yang Xian entered the hall, and before seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's face clearly, he knelt down with Yang Xisheng, kowtowed twice, and lay there motionless.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't see or hear what was going on outside, he knew that Yang Xian must have bumped into Li Shanchang because he hadn't come in for so long.

"Come here for our concubine's marriage?"

"Back to Your Majesty, yes."

"Why, you also come to plead guilty?"

"Return to Your Majesty, I'm guilty, and my younger brother is also guilty." Yang Xian said earnestly, "The marriage contract between my younger brother and Mrs. Xiong was made many years ago. The parents just said it casually and exchanged the contract. After so many years, no one has been married. It was mentioned that no one knew that the father of the minister asked his brother to go to Beijing to withdraw the marriage on the grounds that it was a joke. Unexpectedly, this son was stubborn. Seeing the prosperity of the capital, he forgot everything. have no idea."

The meaning in the words is that although he scolded his younger brother, he mainly shifted the responsibility to the Xiong family.

"According to you, this is a misunderstanding. In our opinion, we should not call off the engagement. We have already asked for our dowry back, and their dowry is also returned. Mrs. Xiong is still marrying your brother."

Yang Xian was in a hurry: "How can this be done? My brother has absolutely no intention of murdering the Holy One, he is..."

Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him: "Did you just say that he was naughty?"

What happened today was too fast. Yang Xisheng was not a clever person at all, he was just a little clever. Suddenly, such a big change was involved, and he was dragged by Yang Xian to the Hall of Martial Arts. How could he dare to say anything at that time, not even begging for mercy to show his loyalty.

Who is Zhu Yuanzhang? One can tell at a glance that he is a coward kneeling on the ground, and he has no courage to calculate himself.

As early as the night when Yang Gaomeng met Zhu Biao, the father and son had vaguely guessed, but they were supposed to check and balance the two factions, so they acquiesced to these. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was angry because they plotted against him, he I didn't really want to marry the Xiong family at first, but I had to do it because of the face, so I used my plan, and cooperated with Li Shanchang to get to today's move, which means everyone is a bit happy.

"Since you say he is naughty, let's discipline him for you so that he won't do evil in the future and harm you again. What do you think, Lord Yang?"

Yang Xian closed his eyes tightly, kowtowed his head, and his forehead immediately turned purple. He was not only punishing himself, but also mourning for his younger brother with the pain: "I would like to obey the holy will."

Yang Xisheng panicked, took a few steps on his knees, and climbed to Yang Xian's side: "Brother, brother..."

Yang Xian didn't turn his head back: "Shut up, this is in front of the emperor, in front of His Majesty! There is no big brother, only the courtiers of Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang was satisfied with his sense of wit: "Okay, we are not some tyrants, your brother, let's do it with tattoos, after this incident, let him learn a lesson."

"...The minister leads the order."

Yang Xian trembled.