Early February had just passed. Outside Bianliang, the wilderness, which had just experienced the disaster of war, woke up from its deep sleep. Grass sprouted and trees bloomed.
In the distance, a group of young people from the city was camping on the grassland. There were guards around them, and they seemed to be able to hear the poetic atmosphere from afar.
Ning Yi and Hongti walked up the grassy slope by the forest.
"… Taiyuan has been besieged for nearly ten days. However, when I saw His Majesty this morning, he didn't mention anything about sending troops. Han Jing said, "Don't be impatient … I heard people say that you are in trouble in the city. I'm a little worried."
"His Majesty wants to move against Old Qin."
"Hmm?"
"Qin Shaoqian is in charge of Wurui Camp, Qin Shaohe is in charge of Taiyuan, and Qin Siyuan is the powerful Right Minister … I've been asking around these days. There's news from the palace that His Majesty wants to reduce his power. However, the current situation is very awkward. The war has just ended, and Old Qin is a meritorious minister. He wants to retreat, but His Majesty won't let him. "
"… He doesn't want Taiyuan?"
"He wants it, but … he hopes that Lady Zhenren can't take it."
"…"
The wind blew across the grassy slope. On the opposite side of the river, someone was laughing, and someone was reading a poem. The voice floated over with the spring breeze, "… The strong man slashes his horse, the loyal soul bathes in blood and wields his spear … Thousands of swords and knives come, trampling on wolves and laughing …" It seemed to be a very hot-blooded thing, and everyone cheered in unison.
Ning Yi watched from afar. Not long after, he sat down and plucked some grass in his hand. Hongti also sat down beside him, "Then … Liheng, what about you? Your foundation in the capital is the Right Minister's faction … "
"I don't know to what extent."
"His Majesty … mentioned you today."
"Hmm?"
"He has some guesses about our relationship. This time, the deployment of the brothers in the village is mainly done by Han Jing. He won over Han Jing, made a wish, and helped him settle down in the capital. He also advised me to choose a husband in the capital. "
"The Majesty has his own intelligence system … You are a woman, but he can still win you over like this. It seems that he has invested a lot in giving you the position of Commander. However, he secretly wants to sow discord. "
Ning Yi said this expressionlessly. The inspection of the Wu Rui Camp was this morning. Two days earlier, Qin Shaoqian had been summoned back to the capital to present a memorial in an attempt to seize the command of the Wu Rui Camp. During today's inspection, Zhou Zhe rewarded the Wu Rui Battalion with all kinds of official titles. Lu Liangshan's volunteer army was the most important one.
This time, Han Jing was the actual commander of Lü Liang Mountain's expedition to the south. Although Hongti was called the leader, she didn't really care. She was highly skilled in martial arts, but she was still lacking in commanding troops. Ning Yi knew that there were people in the capital who guessed that Han Jing was the actual leader of the Green Wood Stockade. But Zhou Zhe was not a mediocre person. After the parade, he received everyone. As soon as he sat down, he could roughly see Hongti's temperament and everyone's status. At that time, the rewards given to the Green Wood Stronghold were given to Hong Ti and the others to choose their own names. At the very least, they would be able to form an army of their own. From the perspective of the Confucian school of thought, it was enough to allow over a thousand people to bring glory to their ancestors.
In addition, a large number of properties and rewards in the capital were the core. He wanted these people to live near the capital and guard the Yellow River defense line. This intention had not yet been decided, but it had already been indirectly revealed.
Ning Yi did not participate in the inspection, but he had a general idea of what was going on.
"If I lived in the capital and chose you as my husband, he would probably have to make decisions for me." Hongti, who was sitting next to him, laughed but then immediately suppressed her joking intent. "Liheng, I don't really like this news. What do you want to do? "
"Taiyuan is still holding up. I don't know what it's like now." Ning Yi said this with a dark expression. He punched the ground and then shook his head. "People's hearts can be changed, but it is also the hardest to change. It's not that there is no way to deal with the Emperor. Old Qin is still sending messages to him through various channels. If the Emperor can crawl out of this dead end, perhaps there is a chance for things to turn around. But time waits for no one. Chen Yanshu's troops have not even reached Taiyuan. We haven't even moved. The news that Taiyuan has been breached has not come. But honestly, starting now, whenever I receive this news, I will not find it strange. "
"Liheng …"
In the past, he was always calm and composed, never showing his emotions. At this moment, in front of a familiar woman like Hong Ti, his gloomy expression continued. It showed that he had accumulated a lot of emotions in his heart. It was different from when he was in Xia Village. Hongti didn't know how to comfort him. Ning Yi glanced at her and then smiled. The darkness on his face dissipated.
"Don't worry, I don't have any sense of belonging to this country. I just feel that it is not worth it for some people. When the Female Zhenren went south, people like Zhou Dong sacrificed their lives to assassinate Zong Han. In the Battle of Bianliang, how many people died, and outside the city, in Xia Village, in front of me. In the end, they defended Taiyuan and schemed against each other. In fact, I've experienced all these schemes … "He paused and smiled." If it's for the sake of the country, it's fine to scheme against each other. It's normal. It's just that when I think of those dead people, I feel … uncomfortable. "
Hongti bent her legs and sat there hugging herself. She didn't speak. In the poetry meeting, someone said something. Everyone shouted, "Good!" Someone else said, "Of course, we have to go back to petition!"
Someone shouted, "Who is willing to go back with us!"
These days, there was a lot of clamoring for war in the capital. Today, the Emperor was inspecting the meritorious troops outside the city. Some people thought it was a prelude to sending troops. These young masters must have held a poetry meeting to talk about this. After a round of summons, everyone began to sit in the carriages and return to the capital to participate in the petition. Ning Yi and Hongti watched this scene with complicated feelings.
"If things can be done, we will do as we planned. If things can't be done … "Ning Yi paused." After all, it is the Emperor who wants to act. If things can't be done, I have to plan for Takeshi's next step … "
"Hmm?" Hongti turned to look at him.
"Separate Takeshi and the Bureau of Secret Investigations. Try to get rid of the previous official connections and then use Old Qin's official connections to reopen. Next, the focus will shift from the capital. I have to go too … "
"… Where are you going?" Hongti looked at him for a moment before asking.
Ning Yi smiled slightly bitterly. "Maybe back to Jiangning. Or maybe … I have to find a place to avoid the disaster of war. I haven't thought about it yet. "
"Then Luliang …"
"I won't leave you behind. I will think of a way."
Ning Yi smiled as if he had made up his mind. He stood up. "I can't hold on to the sand, so I just casually throw it away. I couldn't make up my mind before. If the situation is really chaotic, I should have made up my mind. There is no other way. Although Luliang Mountain is on the border, the terrain is not suitable for using troops. As long as we strengthen ourselves, if the Female Zhenren goes south and swallows the north of the Yellow River, then we can pretend to be courteous and join the Female Zhenren in name. We can take the benefits and throw the bombs back. If they want more, then we can fight again or move again. "
Hongti furrowed his brows. "Then if you are in the capital, if the Right Minister really loses power, will nothing happen?"
Ning Yi also furrowed his brows and then shook his head. "I don't think there is a need to kill everything in the official circles. As long as Old Qin is alive, no one knows if he can make a comeback. Of course, it hasn't reached that step yet. If Old Qin shows weakness and the Emperor doesn't accept it, then he can also claim illness and old age. He can't be unreasonable. I know what to do, don't worry. "
"Then … what about us? How about we say the siege of the capital has been resolved, and we directly return to the army and head north to Taiyuan? "
"This is difficult." Ning Yi smiled bitterly. "You have more than a thousand people. Are you going to Taiyuan to die? It is better to stay in the capital and collect some benefits. "
Hongti also nodded. "At least we can look after each other."
There were many things to do in the capital. Recently, it was not just the city that was tense. In the Wu Rui Camp, the various factions were also tense. Although the people from Lü Liang Mountain had gone through the strictest disciplinary training, under such a situation, the daily political education and Hongti's supervision could not be relaxed. Fortunately, after Ning Yi took over Lü Liang, the material conditions of Green Wood Village were not too bad, and the future was gratifying. Ning Yi not only gave people good treatment, but his ability to paint a picture was absolutely first-class. Otherwise, once they came to the colorful world of the south, who knew how many people were not willing to leave.
The two chatted for a while, lingering for a while, before separating.
Back in the city, the rain started to fall again. The atmosphere in Takeshi was also gloomy. For the lower-level people in charge of propaganda, and even for the residents of the capital, the situation in the city was incomparably gratifying. The will of the people was united, and everyone was of one mind. In everyone's view, under such a warm atmosphere, sending troops to Taiyuan was already a matter of certainty. But for these people who more or less came into contact with the core news, at this critical point, they received the news of the upper levels of the court scheming against each other. It was tantamount to a blow to the head and chilled their hearts.
To reach this step, in the past, it was not that the Right Minister's residence had not experienced storms. But this time, the nature was obviously different. The tallest tree in the forest would be destroyed by the wind. This was common sense. Only after passing through difficulties could one obtain higher power. This was also common sense. But this time, Taiyuan was still besieged, and the news that the Right Minister's authority was to be weakened came from the palace. Other than being powerless, everyone could only feel a chill in their hearts.
Next, it was no longer a game. They could only hope that the Emperor at the top would be softhearted and give them a way out. In political struggles, there were many situations where one needed the sympathy of others. Whether one was a loyal minister or a loyal dog, they were both ways to gain the trust of the Emperor. Many times, it was common for one sentence to gain the upper hand and another sentence to lose the upper hand. Since Qin Siyuan could reach this step, he must have a good grasp of the Emperor's temperament. But whether he could reverse the situation this time, as a person next to him, he could only wait.
After all, in this court, Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and other people were extremely powerful, and there were also powerful ministers such as Wang Ci, Liang Shicheng, and Li Bangyan. There were also flattering ministers such as Gao Qiu, who depended on the Emperor to survive. No matter how powerful Qin Siyuan was, it was impossible for him to confront this interest group, face difficulties, and think of using the Emperor to order the feudal vassals.
At least on Ning Yi's side, he knew that Old Qin had tried many ways. In the old man's letter of resignation, he vividly recalled his friendship with the Emperor in the past, the great ambitions he had before the Emperor succeeded the throne, the plan to destroy the Liao Empire later, the Emperor's hard work in governing the country later, the painstaking efforts on this side, and so on and so forth. All these things were useless. Qin Siyuan also visited Zhou Zhe in private many times and actually made concessions and asked for his resignation … but it was all useless.
In the beginning, everyone thought that the Emperor refused to resign because he was determined to put Qin Siyuan in an important position. Now, it seemed that he was determined to suppress Qin Siyuan.
If things really came to this point, Ning Yi could only leave.
He had already begun to make plans in this regard. At the same time, after returning to Takeshi, he began to mobilize the elite experts around him. He gathered the strength of about a dozen people and ordered them to immediately leave for Taiyuan.
If Taiyuan was breached, he would do his best to bring Qin Shaohe back south. As long as Qin Shaohe was alive, the Qin family would have an additional foundation.
In the gloomy spring rain, many matters were as vexing as flies flying around randomly, disturbing one's nerves from two completely different directions. If these matters could pass, they would take a step toward heaven. If they could not, all of their efforts would fall apart. Ning Yi had never interacted with Zhou Zhe, but based on his previous analysis of this Emperor, it was truly too difficult for one to be optimistic about the matter this time.
At the beginning, he had only planned to assist Qin Siyuan and not enter the court. Only now did he truly realize the trouble of tens of thousands of efforts being destroyed by a single thought. Furthermore, even if he hadn't personally seen it, he could imagine what Taiyuan was currently enduring. Tens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of lives were perishing. In the peace on this side, a group of people were running for power.
Things could not be done, so it was better to leave.
That night, he sat in front of the window and sighed gently. Back when he had gone north, it was no longer for his cause. It was only for the sake of those dead people he had seen in the chaos of war and a sliver of compassion in his heart. After all, he was of a later generation. No matter how much darkness he had experienced, he could not bear to see such naked misery and death. Now, it seemed that his efforts would ultimately be meaningless.
As he thought this, he faced the large pile of documents from the Office of Secret Investigations and continued to organize and organize them. These were all secrets about the various high-ranking officials during the Southern and Northern Expeditions, including Cai Jing's corruption, buying and selling of officials, as well as Tong Guan and Cai Jing's cooperation to send money to the north and buy a city, and a series of other things. The filing and evidence of each case were all sorted out and connected by him. If all of these things were taken out, the attack would cover half of the Imperial Court.
The Emperor might know some things, but there was no way he would know in such detail.
Although his heart was cold, he still had a final trick up his sleeve.
It was impossible to estimate how big or small this sort of thing would be if he took it out. He was only organizing. As for how to use it, that would be up to Qin Siyuan. As he bent over the table and organized, the rooster gradually crowed and the east gradually brightened. The 12th of February passed forever. The 13th of February in the 14th year of Jinghan arrived, followed by the 14th and 15th of February. The situation in the capital changed day by day.
In the North, it was not until the 17th of February that Chen Yanshu's troops finally arrived near Taiyuan. They spread out in formation and attempted to rescue Taiyuan. On the other side, Shu Liesu bided his time while Chen Yanshu continuously sent out requests for help. The two sides were once again in a standoff.
After a few days, a reply to the requests for help was sent back to Chen Yanshu.
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