"Sisi, where is my snuff bottle?"
Ji Chengjue asked while tying his official belt.
In Dayan, the princes are all entitled to the title of prince without any accident, and they have their own customary python robes. However, throughout the ages, aspiring princes prefer to wear official uniforms rather than python robes. This means Because he has errands in the court, it means that he is not the kind of pure idle prince.
The Sixth Prince has always been responsible for the errand of Guanfeng Hubu. As a prince, adding the title of Shangshu would look too ugly and break the rules of the game. Therefore, as a prince and the actual controller of the Hubu, Ji What Cheng Jue usually wears when going to court and in the Yamen is actually a sixth-grade official uniform, but some specific styles have been deliberately removed. It is almost a blank slate.
But Ji Laoliu liked this dress very much. It was comfortable and comfortable.
This is just like Uncle Zheng doesn’t like wearing gold armor. The more bright and dazzling the clothes are, the comfort will inevitably be compromised. The same is true for python robes.
Ji Laoliu felt that the dragon robe would be uncomfortable to wear.
"Husband, do you still need to bring a snuff bottle today?"
Today is the day of mourning for the third prince.
Because the third prince died trying to save his life, His Majesty decreed that he should be punished in national mourning.
"Bring it, why not bring it?"
"Here."
He Sisi handed over her husband's favorite chalcedony and bergamot snuff bottle.
Ji Chengjue pulled out the stopper, took a breath into his nose, closed his eyes, then slowly opened them, and let out a long sigh of relief.
The focus of a snuff bottle has never been on the inside, but on the outside. It is not for use, but for playing and showing off.
Ji Laoliu got on Eunuch Zhang's carriage. In the carriage, today's breakfast and two pieces of white cloth were prepared.
With the white cloth tied to his arms and forehead, Ji Chengjue leaned back slightly against the car wall.
As the carriage crossed the street, a smell of meat wafted over, the smell of fried dumplings.
"Zhang Banban, buy two fried dumplings to try."
"Okay, Master."
Eunuch Zhang stopped the carriage and went I bought two fried dumplings and had them delivered.
Ji Laoliu ate with gusto. As soon as the carriage arrived at the palace gate, he finished his meal.
When getting off the car,
Eunuch Zhang reminded anxiously:
"Master, your mouth is oily."
Ji Laoliu He smiled, wiped his mouth with the sleeves of his official robe, and then swung the sleeves behind him, looking at the majestic palace gate in front of him, his eyes slowly narrowed.
The ministers who came to court today were all tied with white cloths. Logically speaking, the funeral of the prince would not be so grand, at least it would not affect the civil and military officials of Yanjing.
In the past, when a noble person in the palace or royal family passed away, everyone would just ban the banquet for two days at most.
"Third brother, third brotherBrother..."
The fourth prince, supported by two eunuchs beside him, howled as he walked towards the palace gate.
His carriage was parked further than usual. Some, so the walking distance is much longer than before.
Ji Chengjue turned around and looked over, then stood there, facing his fourth brother.
< p>"Third brother, third brother..."The fourth prince Ji Chengfeng staggered over,
Then,
He saw his own Sixth Brother,
Just look at him, look at him, look at him, look at him...
Ji Chengfeng suddenly felt a little embarrassed
He didn't know where this emotion came from, but it really appeared in his heart.
"Fourth brother. "
"Yes, sixth brother. "
"Passed. "
"......" Ji Chengfeng.
In fact, we have already eaten the dinner.
The feeling of parting was also all in the wine that night
After the incident, Ji Chengfeng didn’t think about whether there was something fishy about Lao San’s death. No, to be precise, how could there be nothing wrong with Lao San’s death?
He had long received some rumors from the Ministry of War that his father intended to start another national war;
Then,
Lao San was released,
Then,
The third child died
What a coincidence?
At the same time, he also recalled. That night, the night after the third son came out of the Huxin Pavilion, the brothers got together to drink and "wash away" the third son;
The prince did not come, but only gave him wine;< /p>
Logically speaking, according to the prince's daily habits, he would not give up this opportunity to show his kindness and brotherly respect.
As for Lao Liu,
< p>That night, he was unusually scolding the prince who didn’t come.Call him cold-blooded.
Call him cruel.
Call him heartless.< /p>
In hindsight,
Ji Chengfeng suddenly realized, the sixth child, was he really scolding the prince, or was he the fifth child, Ji Chengwen? He left Beijing with Uncle Hirano. Because he got up late, Uncle Hirano didn't wait for him, so he hurriedly chased him out of the city.
So,
Ji Chengfeng couldn't even do it now. There was no one to talk to. Originally, when Lao Wu was here, he wouldn't be so lonely.
Now that Lao Wu is not here, he suddenly feels so helpless and panicked.
< p>And this feeling reached its peak when I saw Ji Chengjue who looked calm.Co-author,
You have guessed it,
Is he being kept in the dark?
Recalling what Lao Wu said to him about "useful" and "useless" before leaving Beijing, Ji Chengfeng suddenly felt that Lao Wu couldI could have guessed something a long time ago.
This kind of feeling of being completely isolated is really bad. This kind of recognition that he is actually an IQ low point is really difficult for Ji Chengfeng, who has always been arrogant and arrogant, to accept.
But he had to press his head and force himself to accept it.
Actually,
Ji Chengfeng’s tears today were not completely fake. He really cried. He was not acting or applying ginger.
However, I am not crying for my third child, but for myself.
When I think about it,
Dad killed one of his own sons, who was the same kind as Ji Chengfeng;
And several other similar people could actually do it. He predicted this result in advance, but he realized it later;
They are all born from the same father,
Why!
Ji Chengjue's eyes drooped slightly,
he said calmly;
"A man from the Ji family can make a living if he bleeds but does not shed tears."
It was very rude for a younger brother to speak to his elder brother like this, but these words came out of Ji Chengjue's mouth normally, and Ji Chengfeng listened to them normally.
He wiped his eyes and
forced himself to calm down.
Ji Chengjue bypassed Ji Chengfeng and walked to the official road outside the palace gate.
Ji Chengfeng turned around curiously and looked behind him.
There,
a group of young officials came together. The difference from other ministers was that these young officials were not tied with white cloths symbolizing sadness and sorrow, but It is a festive red cloth.
They were neither silent nor mourning. There were actually smiles on their faces.
They laughed and walked over together.
Ji Chengfeng recognized many of them. Most of them were officials with Jinshi background in recent years.
"How dare you be so impudent and rude!"
When going to court,
There are responsible people both outside and inside the palace gate. Eunuchs of order existed. They held whips and waved them when the palace doors were opened to go to court. At the same time, they were also responsible for maintaining order.
The latter, in a normal sense, is rarely taken into consideration, because officials who can go to court will care about their status and dare not lose their etiquette.
However, today is the day of mourning for the third prince. The ministers who came first are all mourning, but this group of people came over wearing dazzling red and laughing constantly.
The leader of this group of people is none other than Hu Zhengfang, who has been promoted the fastest among the officials who came from Jinshi. He is already the Minister of Household Affairs at a young age. There is an element of diligence in this, naturally. There are also factors related to Ji Chengjue.
Hu Zhengfang faced the eunuchs who were scolding everyone in front of him,
laughed and said:
"May I ask my father-in-law, how can I say such a presumptuous thing?"
“Today, His Majesty decreed that the three palacesA national mourning was issued, and when the whole country was mourning together, you actually..."
"Get out of the way! ”
Hu Zhengfang suddenly took a step forward, his chest almost touching the father-in-law’s body.
The father-in-law subconsciously took two steps back, and immediately realized that he had lost his dignity, and immediately raised himself The whip in his hand
At this moment,
The father-in-law’s hand was grabbed by a hand from behind. He turned around angrily, and then looked stunned, because he was caught. The one who held his hand was His Highness Ji Chengjue.
"Your Highness, you, you, what are you..."
"Let's ask them clearly." , are all pillars of the country, and they will certainly not act unprovoked. If someone is wronged, nothing can be undone with this whip. ”
When the father-in-law heard this, he was immediately shocked.
Of course he knew how closely these officials with Jinshi background usually stick together, and he also understood that in the next few years, everyone would In the Yanchao Hall, the proportion of these officials with Jinshi background will inevitably increase.
If he had been whipped down before, the majesty of the palace would have been protected, but his little life would not be saved. It must be lost.
The father-in-law looked at Ji Chengjue with a hint of gratitude.
He actually did not expect that this group of people could really be mobilized. Isn’t it the Sixth Highness who is a Jinshi-born official?
This is not a secret in the Great Yan Court. During the previous political disputes in the court, many of these officials were Jinshi-born. Acting as a pawn for His Highness Sixth Prince.
Ji Chengjue looked at Hu Zhengfang and said loudly:
"Give me an explanation. ”
Immediately,
below Hu Zhengfang,
behind him, a group of officials wearing red belts raised their hands and saluted.
Hu Zhengfang spoke. Shouted:
"How did I, Dayan, preserve the country, my 800-year-old ancestor?
It is because of generations of descendants of Yan who have fought to the death with the barbarians and other countries that we have been able to protect the ancestral temple to this day;
I have a great Yan tradition,
But if a foreign enemy invades,
Those who died in battle will be happy and mourning;
The mourners will wear red ribbons;
Sing loudly: "You will go first, Please go slowly, please wait for me, please prepare the wine, please spread out the table, we will be here soon! ”
Hu Zhengfang looked around,
took up the red belt on his body,
raised his arms high,
shouted:
p>“Today, the Chu slaves are still determined to be traitors and have sent assassins to commit treacherous acts. Fortunately, Your Majesty has brought great blessings to the heavens. Fortunately, Your Highness, the Third Highness, is sincere and filial, and has kept me, the Great Yan Emperor, safe and sound!
Of course,
Now that Chu Nu has drawn his sword,
our bloody men from Yan land,
can we continue to sit back and remain indifferent?
Your Highness, please go first, Your Highness, please go slowly, Your Highness, please wait for me, Your Highness, please wait for me, Your Highness, please wait for the wine, Your Highness, please wait.The mats are spread..."
The next moment,
a group of young officials behind Hu Zhengfang shouted in unison:
"I'll be here soon! ”
Such momentum really made the palace gate seem to start to tremble slightly.
This is Dayan’s bloody nature.
Ji Chengjue’s eyes, Slowly sweeping over them,
for a long time,
Ji Chengjue took off the white cloth from his body,
reached forward,
< p> said:"Is there still red silk? "
Hu Zhengfang got out of the way, and the people behind him also got out of the way. There were more than a dozen men waiting there pushing carts full of red ribbons.
Ji Chengjue He took a step forward, took out a red ribbon, and wrapped it around himself.
Immediately,
Ji Chengjue pointed to the rows of palace gates in front of him. The foreign ministers
said:
"If you distribute it, I will bear all the consequences. Today is a national funeral!" ”
All the officials who were Jinshi laughed and began to distribute red ribbons.
Most of the ministers had already been infected by this generous atmosphere and did not hesitate to take off their white cloths. Go and put on the red belt.
Dayan,
No matter how the finances are, or how the treasury is,
What you cannot deny is,
Dayan is now truly the largest country in the East!
Over the past eight hundred years, Dayan’s cavalry has cultivated a sense of confidence in the East;
Since the Holy Emperor ascended the throne, the great victories in foreign wars have brought the sense of honor and pride of the people of Dayan to a peak.
The people are like this.
This is especially true for those who are officials!
In fact, the easiest way to become an official and leave a name for Bo Qing is... to fight.
There are also some ministers who obviously know that this matter is not that simple.
Some high-level adults have already gotten wind of the Qiguo war in advance, and then the third prince was assassinated and killed. The assassinated third prince was released from the Huxin Pavilion not long ago.
Is it such a coincidence?
When Zhao Jiulang After taking the red belt delivered from Ji Chengjue and putting it on, outside the palace gate, all the ministers put on red belts.
The prince was encouraged by the Jinshi officials.
Coupled with the final decision of the Prime Minister,
the ministers outside the palace did not have a second choice.
Some were willing or hesitant, but they all put on red silk, and the national funeral suddenly became "celebratory"
Everyone was laughing and talking, and some were even singing Yandi. Although the folk songs are a bit forced, they also create a hilarious atmosphere.
Ji Chengfengmo.Standing silently behind Ji Chengjue, he knew that everything in front of him was arranged by his sixth brother.
That Hu Zhengfang was originally the official confidant of Sixth Brother.
If it had been in the past, Ji Chengfeng felt that he would have been impassioned. Although he had not had a good relationship with Lao San since he was a child. To be precise, Lao San and his brothers had no relationship due to their temperament. close.
But even so, we are brothers after all;
And Ji Chengfeng, like the eldest prince, has a more military background, so he is naturally willing to take the initiative to fight in order to get the opportunity to lead troops.
But now,
But now,
Ji Chengfeng couldn't get excited.
He suddenly felt that the sixth brother in front of him was like a vulture. His brother's body was right in front of him. Instead of grieving, he went to eat the flesh of his brother.
Ji Chengfeng was scared.
In the past,
he didn’t think so.
He naively believed that he was actually not bad. If you have a chance, you can compete for that position.
Even after the fall of the Sanshi Deng family, Ji Chengfeng still has confidence. He can lie dormant and wait for his own opportunity.
But at this time,
He found that the gap between himself and the younger brother in front of him was really too big.
The ruthlessness of his father, using his son as an excuse to start a war, has made Ji Chengfeng feel extremely frightened;
But his younger brother seems to be the same person as his father Generally, even blood relatives, as long as they are valuable, will be squeezed out as much as possible.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three whips sounded,
the palace door opened.
A group of ministers wearing red silk entered the palace gate.
On the white bricks in the palace, a dazzling red stream flows.
Ji Chengfeng subconsciously followed Ji Chengjue's steps and walked in. Then, he saw the prince standing there.
The prince, still emaciated, stood there as if waiting for his two brothers.
No,
To be exact,
I am waiting for Lao Liu, it has nothing to do with me.
Ji Chengjue walked up to the prince and saluted.
The prince stood there and did not respond, but said calmly;
"A big deal."
"And." Ji Chengjue said, "Now, People should start gathering at Xizhimen."
The Chu people sent assassins to assassinate His Majesty, but the third prince sacrificed his life to save him and died under the assassin's sword.
The ruthlessness of the Chu people and the pure filial piety of the third prince. With these themes as the theme, students in teahouses, markets, and the Imperial College took the initiative to spread the word, making this incident famous in the city of Yanjing. , already known to everyone on the street.
And the anger belonging to the Yan people was also ignited in an instant.
Yan people are so proud.
Their iron cavalry suppressed the barbarians for hundreds of years, so that the young princes of the barbarian royal court now have to stay humble and call themselves juniors;
Their soldiers defeated the Ganren, Tens of thousands of cavalry, all the way south, drink horses by the Bian River, adding to the prosperity of Shangjing, there is also the sound of military iron;
The knights of the Three Jin Dynasties, who once thought they were also the strongest cavalry in the world, directly They were defeated by the Yan people's cavalry; the unscrupulous barbarians were also driven away!
Looking at the riverside from the foot of Yupan City, the blood of the Qingluan Army of 40,000 Chu people is watered by the happy spirit of the Yan people!
The State of Yan, the court of the State of Yan, and the people of the land of Yan,
have all become accustomed to moving from one victory to another.
The inertia of victory is like It is a wheel.
If the battle is invincible,
Who will hate war?
"You did a good job." The prince said.
The prince knew that the big boss behind many industries in the capital was his sixth brother.
"It was my father's arrangement. The funeral was suspended for ten days just to find out the murderer and then mourn."
Ten days,
was enough to bring down a gust of wind. , blowing back and forth several times.
In fact, it was not only people from Ji Chengjue's own industry who took action, but also people from the Secret Service.
At this time, another group of people walked out of the palace gate. They were dressed in ancestral armor. Under the leadership of Da Zongzheng, they entered the palace from another gate and gathered here.
They are the clan and nobles.
Some clans and nobles no longer have the power to carry out their duties, or they no longer serve in the military or court, or even do not even come to court meetings on weekdays.
But today, they all took out the armor and weapons that their ancestors had worn and had been enshrined in the ancestral hall for many years.
Of course,
the clan and the noble team are tragic in terms of momentum, but they also feel like they are in their twilight years.
This is normal.
In fact, Uncle Zheng is also a noble man, but what are he doing?
Even if there is no comparison with the nobles, in fact, among the clan and nobles, those who can make progress are basically serving in the army. Those who stay in Yanjing City are indeed the old, weak and sick. There are many disabled people.
"Is this your handiwork, second brother?"
Ji Chengjue knew that because he had taken advantage of the salary and food of the clan and nobles, his reputation among them was not good. Extremely bad, so they naturally took the initiative to get closer to the prince.
This is human instinct and the instinct of a group.
Of course, Ji Chengjue knew the consequences of doing so, but he still chose to do so.
Let’s not talk about the public spirit.
Serious officials will look down on this group of "worms of the country", and Ji Laoliu did not give him any money. Officials give out those kind of banknote coupons, so the worse Ji Laoliu is to the clan and nobles, his impression here among the officials is,On the contrary, you can get extra points.
The civil servants in the Qian Kingdom often took the initiative to touch porcelain nobles, just to find an opportunity to spit at them and call them "the worms of the country".
Although the atmosphere here in Dayan is not as exaggerated as that in Qianguo, after Ma stepped into the family, in the court, either new scholars or people from the head of Guizhou, everyone and the noble clan are the natural class. opposite.
It’s a good deal to hate this group of ungrateful people and push these pig teammates to the prince’s side.
"I'll make you laugh, Sixth Brother."
"Let's go to the state affairs together."
The prince nodded,
said quietly:
"The third child has left."
The third child has left, so let him go and be more valuable.
The third child has left, and he can leave. If we don’t cooperate well with the father, if we are disobedient, the father can let us go with the third child.
Killing chickens to scare monkeys, people kill chickens after all.
Where is the father?
At this time,
Emperor Yan walked out of the hall with the Emperor's Sword on his waist, followed by Wei Zhonghe.
For a moment,
the whole place was silent.
Even Ji Chengjue and the prince immediately walked to where they should stand.
The Emperor Yan stood on the imperial steps, his stern eyes scanning the whole place. Standing there alone, he looked like a mountain lying in front of him. This was the power of the emperor.
"My ministers, what are you doing?"
Hu Zhengfang did not speak, because at this moment, he was not qualified to speak.
At this time,
the one who came out of the queue was Zaifu.
Zhao Jiulang walked to the imperial steps,
took off his official hat and placed it beside him.
Then,
himself Slowly he knelt down and said:
"Your Majesty, Chu Nu has gone too far to deceive others;
How can the third prince be blamed?
What is wrong with Concubine Ming?
Why did your Majesty deserve it?
How did my Majesty deserve it?
What happened to our eight-hundred-year-old Sheji Ancestral Temple?
Today,
< p>I ask your Majesty to issue an order to send troops to attack Chu!"For a while,
Zhao Jiulang was behind him,
all the civil and military officials,
< p>Honored clan members,all knelt down,
shouted in unison:
"I beg your Majesty to issue an order to attack Chu!"
p>"I ask your Majesty to issue an order to attack Chu!"
The thunder was loud!
The Emperor of Yan spoke;
"Now that I, Yan, have an empty treasury."
Ji Chengjue knelt forward and said loudly:< /p>
"Father, how difficult it is for our ancestors to start a business, how difficult it is for our ancestors to keep their business, and there are countless sorrows at the moment!
My ancestors gave me bones and blood,
My ancestors gave me spirit,
Bones and blood cannot be insulted, and souls cannot be corrupted.
Although the national treasury is exhausted,
I, the Great Yanerlang, have warm blood and strong blood.
Since ancient times,< /p>
There is no shortage of generous people in Yan!
My son is willing to reduce his salary to support the front line, but he wants to attack Chu, destroy his Ying capital, and destroy his ancestral temple!
Men from Yanland,
Fight the national crisis together! ”
In the rear,
all the civil and military nobles of the Manchu Dynasty shouted:
“I am willing to reduce my salary to supplement the front, and the sons of Yan will fight against the national calamity together. ! ”
The Emperor Yan clenched his fists,
walked down the imperial steps,
kicked Ji Chengjue over,
Ji Chengjue was kicked down, and his forehead hit the steps. He was cut open and bleeding, but he immediately knelt down and came back.
"Treason, do you know that Chu is a great country, and I, Dayan, have been here for many years. The people have long been exhausted from the war. If the national war starts again, how can you let my people survive?
The people are my people. I just lost a son today, but I don’t want my people to be hungry and live in poverty! "
The prince knelt down and came forward,
kneeling down,
and said loudly:
"Father, I would like to invite you to my father. The emperor moved his car to Xizhimen to see the hearts of the Yan people! "
Zhao Jiulang raised his head,
and shouted:
"Stop, Xizhimen! ”
Wei Zhonghe’s face showed panic.
Why was his job robbed?
And Your Majesty, you haven’t issued an order yet. , How dare you correct the edict in front of the Holy Emperor!
But Eunuch Wei immediately showed a generous look,
loudly said:
"Stop, Xizhimen! "
"You are so presumptuous, so presumptuous! ”
Hundreds of officials, civil and military officials, clans, nobles, and imperial troops surrounded Emperor Yan and came to Xizhimen.
When Emperor Yan’s Jinwu dragon banner was erected on the wall of Xizhimen Palace At that time,
Outside Xizhimen, the crowd of people could not be seen beyond the sea.
At first, they just shouted loudly,
Some of them were shouting. Shouting long live His Majesty,
Some were shouting to kill Chu Nu,
Some were shouting to avenge the Third Highness,
In the end,< /p>
The shouts of countless people gradually converged into one voice:
“Fight Chu! "
"Fight Chu! "
"Fight Chu! "
"Fight Chu! ”
Under the city wall, there are piles of firewood.
There are a group of old men on crutches standing next to the firewood pile.
Scene,
Immediately calmed down
"The Chu slaves have gone too far. Your Majesty pities my people and cannot bear to waste the country's strength to attack Chu. However, I, the people of Yan, have always stood up to the outside world. This is what I said. , even if we go down below in the future,Dare to say this to your ancestors in front of them: Your reputation will not be ruined by future generations in the slightest!
The old man is already seventy. If he were thirty or forty younger, the old man would definitely wear armor and buy a horse, follow my Great Yan Black Dragon flag, and let the Chu slave taste the sharpness of my Great Yan saber!
If I had been 20 years younger, I would have joined the civilian camp to transport grain and fodder for our Yan soldiers, feed horses and set up camp!
But the old man,
has become too old,
what the old man can do now,
this body and bones can no longer do anything Son.
The only thing I can do now is to walk into the fire, saving me a mouthful of food so that the men in front of me can eat more. Have the strength to kill the enemy!
Your Majesty, I am going,
Your Majesty,
attack Chu! ”
The pyre was lit, and
the old man walked straight into the fire.
Soon,
one by one the old men knelt down. They shouted three times to the Jinwu dragon scroll on the wall of Xizhimen Palace to attack Chu.
Then,
they took the initiative to walk into the fire.
They, no. May I become a burden!
On the wall of Xizhimen Palace, the prince turned to look at Ji Chengjue standing beside him.
Ji Chengjue shook his head slightly.
This was not arranged by him.
So,
it was really the people of Yanjing City, these old people, spontaneously
Because now it is not only the officials who know that the treasury is empty, but also the people. The publicity is that because the treasury is empty, His Majesty cannot bear to continue to squeeze the people's power and send troops to attack Chu.
Looking at the old men step by step. Entering the fire, some screamed or laughed;
Under Jinwu's dragon robe,
Emperor Yan tightly grasped the palace wall stacks with his hands, and with his fingertips, Already bleeding, tears streaming down his face.
At this time,
all the officials who climbed onto the palace wall knelt down again:
"I ask your majesty to send troops to attack." Chu! "
"I invite your majesty to send troops to attack Chu! "
Under the palace wall, the imperial army knelt down:
"Your Majesty, please send troops to attack Chu! "
"Your Majesty, please send troops to attack Chu! "
Outside the palace wall,
the people all knelt down:
"Fight Chu! "
"Fight Chu! "
"Fight Chu! "
The Emperor Yan roared when he attacked Chu,
pulled out the Emperor's Sword,
raised it high,
shouted:
"Today, I am determined to attack Chu. I will not turn back until I break the capital of Ying!" ”