In just three months, the state funeral is just a few days for ordinary people, but the officials in the court are like years.

In June, the once-prominent Xue family was convicted, and the prince looked at Xue Guifei's love and opened his face, and did not punish his nine clans. After raiding the house, Xue Lingnan was imprisoned in the prison, the rest of the men of the Xue family were sent to the army, the female dependents were sent to the Emeishan Water Purification Nunnery to cut their hair as nuns, and a housekeeper slave was sent to the house for sale.

In early July, Emperor Zhaoqing was buried in the imperial mausoleum, the crown prince Liu Tan was called the emperor, the first emperor was dismissed, the first queen Rui was the queen mother, moved into Cining Palace, and the biological mother Xue was the queen mother of the west, and the enthronement ceremony was planned to be held in September.

The new emperor was pro-government, on the first day of the dynasty, Yin Taifu took the initiative to hand over the military talisman in his hand, asking for the old man, the new emperor thanked him for his hard work, although he received his military power, but did not allow him to leave Beijing and return to his hometown, but gave him a Rong Enhou, and allowed him to retire in the capital. did not blame the Yin family for King Ning's earlier struggle for power, which won the name of benevolence for the new emperor.

Emperor Zhaoqing left many children, such as Liu Si, Liu Yu and others, who were awarded the title of county king and fiefdom official. Young people such as Liu Zhen and Liu Qi were given to live in the palace in Anling City and moved out of the palace.

In the Mid-Autumn Festival of August, seeing that he was about to go abroad for a funeral, the new emperor went out of the palace to pay a private visit, but encountered an assassin in the market. The next day, he confessed that he had been instructed by the king of Xiang. Immediately afterwards, it was revealed that the King of Xiang was raising assassins in the courtyard, and the Yulin Army led troops to raid it, and found a large number of weapons and gunpowder. This time stabbed the hornet's nest. Many officials have been implicated in the fall of the horse.

King Xiang was directly taken away by the Yulin Army in the Dingbo Pavilion and sent to Zongzheng Division for detention.

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Si Tianjian has a Zongzheng Division, which is in charge of the royal family's genealogy, juelu, rewards and punishments, sacrifices and other affairs. This has always been a place where the emperor's relatives are frightened, and there are countless days and nobles who have gone and never returned.

From the time King Xiang was arrested to the time he was imprisoned in Zongzhengsi, he only said one sentence from beginning to end: "The lonely king wants to see the big mention." ”

The next afternoon, Zhu Muzhao took Yu Shu to the prison of Zongzheng Division and met the desperate King of Xiang. The cells that once housed many big people were very spacious, with beds and chairs, a set of tea sets on the table, and the gong bucket in the corner was washed by the jailer every day. Nevertheless. For people like King Xiang who are accustomed to brocade clothes and jade food, it is still too simple.

In just one night, his whole body was haggard, but his demeanor was undamaged. When they come in. He was sitting at the table making tea. The water is the well water boiled by the jailer, and the tea leaves are ordinary Biluochun, and his hand in making tea is very steady. Hearing their footsteps, I looked up and saw Zhu Muzhao standing outside the prison door, without showing the slightest bitterness and hatred.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Zhu Muzhao took the initiative to greet him, although the evidence of King Xiang's rebellion was conclusive, he did not slack off in the slightest.

King Xiang smiled faintly, and told him the truth: "It's a little stuffy, and I can't sleep well." ”

Yu Shu stood aside silently, she knew the game between these two people, there was no room for her to intervene, she came today just to be a witness, to witness how this man, who was once only one step away from the throne, endured until today.

Zhu Muzhao asked the jailer to open the cell, walked in alone, sat down opposite King Xiang, picked up the tea he had just brewed, lowered his head and sniffed lightly, his eyes were squinted by the smell of tea, and he exclaimed: "The prince is still the same, no matter what he does, he is meticulous." ”

King Xiang laughed at himself: "It's a pity that no matter how hard I work hard, what I should not get will not be obtained after all." ”

Twenty years ago, he thought that the throne should be his, although Emperor Zhaoqing was older than him, but he was mediocre by nature, neither his talent nor his reputation, but in the end, his father passed the throne to his brother who did nothing, and gave the woman he liked to someone else.

"Why bother with this, Lord Wang," Zhu Muzhao persuaded with good words: "Isn't it good to be an idle king in peace, the saint feels ashamed of you, he has never wronged you over the years, you use the courtyard to raise and work carefully, and manipulate the chamber of commerce to make a lot of money, do you think the saint doesn't know, he just doesn't want to have a wall with your brother, just turn a blind eye." ”

Who said that Emperor Zhaoqing was faint, no matter how deficient he was, he was not as famous as several generations of emperors, but he was far superior to King Xiang, that is, he had a generous heart.

King Xiang fell silent, clenched the teacup in his hand, remembered the past in his mind, and was speechless to refute his words, because the imperial brother was indeed generous to him. He didn't want to be a vassal domain, so he gave him a palace to keep the capital, he opened a court, and he allowed him to buy and sell slaves, and he liked to have fun, so he built him a Dingbo Pavilion for him to sing songs every night.

He didn't feel this qiē Rong'en, but he just couldn't swallow it in one breath, and he couldn't be willing to be a carefree idle king.

"I have nothing to regret." King Xiang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I am not defeated by the imperial brother, nor by Liu Tan, I am defeated by Si Tianjian and defeated by the volume of "Xuannu Liuren Book". ”

As he spoke, he suddenly asked, "What is my imperial nephew going to do with me?" ”

Zhu Muzhao's eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice: "Today is not as merciful as the previous emperor. ”

King Xiang suddenly understood that the new emperor would not let him live. However, his face was calm and did not panic, he turned his head to look at Yu Shu who was standing outside the door, the corners of his mouth leaked a sly smile, his upper body leaned slightly, and whispered to Zhu Muzhao: "There is only the Book of Xuannu Liuren, and there is no Heavenly Mandate Taigu, can Si Tianjian really stand tall?" ”

Zhu Muzhao furrowed his eyebrows violently.

"There's no need to be so surprised, all the secrets that Xue Lingnan knows were leaked to him by me," King Xiang blinked his eyes and said in a pleasant voice: "You say, how can I not leave a way back for myself?" ”

Zhu Muzhao looked at him incredulously, only then did he realize that he had always underestimated the man in front of him.

"You have been in charge of Si Tianjian for so many years, and you know so many secrets, have you ever thought about it carefully, the Mandate of Heaven Bone was conceived by both the Great Security Misfortune and the Destiny Breaker, so at the beginning of the founding of the country, Empress Ning Zhen held the "Xuannu Liuren Book", where did she come from?"

Zhu Muzhao's expression couldn't help but become solemn. He had thought about this question for a long time, but he had never been able to dig out the truth.

"Hehe, let me tell you, the Heavenly Mandate Bone in Empress Ning Zhen's hand is the confluence of her blood with Emperor Anwu. Haven't you noticed that the two great safety troubles are men with royal blood on their bodies, and the lifebreaker is the strange woman of Empress Xiao Xiangningzhen. Do you believe it or not? It doesn't have to be a great peace and a lifebreaker to give birth to the Heavenly Destiny Bone, if you can find the bloodline of the previous generation of lifebreakers. and then make peace with the children of the royal family. Maybe it can't give birth to a perfect Heavenly Destiny Bone, or maybe it will have a similar effect but it is not known. ”

After listening to the words of King Xiang, Zhu Muzhao's heart was like a stone thrown from Pinghu, and he couldn't move. Waiting for the King of Xiang to uncover the mystery himself.

"The life-breaker a hundred years ago was Gongsun Jing, a female general on the battlefield. She has a son with Prince Yuan Zheng. fell into the hands of Si Tianjian. Later, Gongsun Jing died, and Prince Yuan Zheng was nowhere to be found. Gongsun's family was beheaded, but only the younger brother of Gongsun Jing's mother escaped. He was sent out of the capital by his loyal servants, and has been incognito ever since. I have spent a lot of manpower over the years, and finally found the descendants of the Gongsun family. ”

King Xiang got up slowly, walked behind Zhu Muzhao, leaned over and leaned close to his ear: "I picked a woman with the blood of a lifebreaker on her body, and let her give birth to the flesh and blood of the imperial brother, that child, do you want it?" ”

Zhu Muzhao opened his eyes, turned his head, and stabbed his fierce gaze at the person behind him.

King Xiang raised his hand and pressed his shoulder, and said in a brisk tone: "You should know that what I said is true, I can hand over that woman to you along with the child, but you have to promise me one condition first." ”

"What do you want?" Zhu Muzhao asked without thinking, and did not laugh at his whimsy.

"What if I want the throne?"

"Impossible."

"Haha, the lonely king is joking with you. All I want is a way to live, and I believe you have a way to hide from my imperial nephew and send my family of three away from the capital. ”

Zhu Muzhao closed his eyes and thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and agreed to his request. King Xiang sat back relaxedly, carrying a pot to refill his cup, but Zhu Muzhao had no intention of leaving any more tea to taste, and looked at him deeply before leaving.

Yu Shu stood outside the cell door, and when he came out, she raised her heels and returned to Taixi Building without a word.

"Taishu really wants to let the king of Xiang leave Beijing?" She heard it clearly outside the cell door just now, King Xiang can be said to be a real person who is not good-looking, he actually knows the secrets buried behind the Da'an Dynasty better than the emperor, he can see the sky with his hands and eyes, but he did not succeed in rebellion, it can only be said that he is a little unlucky.

"If what he said is true, why not let him go," Zhu Muzhao's mood was not as calm as he expressed, even if the Heavenly Destiny Bone created by King Xiang's whimsy was not necessarily useful, he had to get his hands on it.

"The King of Xiang is not enough trouble," Zhu Muzhao rubbed his eyebrows, and his face was tired: "What I'm worried about is King Dongjing, according to my calculations, the war in the north is coming, after the national mourning, presumably Jiang Huaiying will make a move, his army of 200,000 tigers and wolves, if he goes out with the help of Yunhua and Zuo Fuxing, the rebels will one day attack the capital." The emperor is still too young, even if he is assisted by Si Tianjian, he may not be able to suppress King Dongjing. ”

He looked up at Yu Shu and said to her solemnly: "I don't force you to find Jingchen, but if you have a chance, you must win the "Xuannu Liuren Book", you need to always remember that Si Tianjian and Da'an live and die together." ”

Yu Shu knelt at his feet, "I won't let you down." ”

Zhu Muzhao nodded with satisfaction, and his tired body leaned closer to the back of the chair, "You go, I'll rest for a while." ”

Yu Shu took the lead and walked out of the Taixi Tower, she stood alone on the smoky Jiuqu Bridge, squinting her eyes, looking at the red sun sinking in the west, the sunset reflected on her face, rendering the cinnabar in the center of her eyebrows bright red and enchanting.

***

At the beginning of September, the new emperor ascended the throne, and in the same year changed his name to Chongzhen, the queen Xia Jiang. After the enthronement ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen granted amnesty to the world, revised 32 laws, reduced forced labor and taxes, and implemented benevolent government.

The following month, Si Tianjian mentioned Zhu Muzhao's resignation, and Yu Shu, the right commander of Baoju, took over, and Emperor Chongzhen was favored. Yu Shu, a female operator in the thirteenth year of Zhaoqing, became the youngest major mention in the history of Da'an, and it was recorded in history.

Almost at the same time, there was an urgent report from the north, the king of Beijing supported his troops in Ningdong City to stand on his own, and divided the five counties in the northeast. Since the founding of the Holy Ancestor, the peaceful and prosperous era has been maintained for three hundred years, and the An Dynasty has been divided since then.

After that, the smoke of gunfire broke out, Da'an and Dayan fought separately, and the war lasted for three years.

In the fourth year of Chongzhen, the Da'an soldiers retreated on the battlefield and were defeated again and again, and 100,000 Yan troops knocked on the door of Baoding Mansion, all the way to Kyoto

Inside the Si Tian Prison

In the afterglow of the sunset, several Yi officials ran up the Jiuqu Bridge in a hurry, and came to the gate of Taixi Tower, but were stopped by the guards, they were so anxious that they were sweating profusely, so they had to shout outside the door - "Taishu, something is wrong!" The rebels have been killed outside the city of Anling, and the saint refuses to leave Beijing for refuge, taking three thousand forbidden troops and personally going into battle, and now he is going in the direction of Chengtianmen! ”

The bamboo curtain on the door rolled, two beautiful white-clothed maids hung their heads and walked out, waiting outside the door for a few people to give way, their eyes unconsciously revealed a look of awe, after a while, I saw a touch of smoke purple leaping into the eye, the light hem of the clothes layered on the ground, the waist ring was crisp, and a slender and straight figure slowly stepped out of the Taixi Building.

"Have you heard who the commander of the Yan army outside the city is?"

Someone immediately stepped forward to answer: "It is said that it is Liu Shining, the king of Changping, the righteous brother of Emperor Yan, this son is known as the first military division of Dayan, and it is rumored that he uses soldiers like a god, and Liu Yannai, the national teacher of Dayan, is two fathers and sons." Taishu, I'm afraid that the saint is going here, there is a lot of luck and less luck, there is a shortage of soldiers outside, and many officials in Beijing have packed up their belongings and are ready to flee for their lives, how are we doing now? ”

The slanting sun was dazzling, Yu Shu closed her eyes, and when she heard her powerful heartbeat, she took a long breath and said in a deep voice: "Where is the black-clothed guard?" ”

As soon as the words fell, several sturdy black-clothed guards rushed out from both sides of the Taixi Tower, holding their knives and kneeling: "Subordinates listen to orders." ”

"Quickly summon the people of Si Tianjian and go to Chengtianmen with this seat to rescue the driver."

An hour later, Yu Shu rushed to Chengtianmen with five hundred elites in Si Tianjian, but it was a step too late, Emperor Chongzhen had been captured by the Yan army, the city gate was broken by artillery, and the pungent smell of fire was everywhere, the Yan army occupied the city gate tower, and a large number of people poured into the city, and there were still many remnants of the defeated soldiers in the streets and alleys to make senseless resistance.

Two hundred black-clothed guards led the charge, the closer to the city gate, the faster Yu Shu's heart beats, just when she thought that this road could no longer go to the end, the galloping carriage suddenly stopped, the sound of fighting outside stopped abruptly, and a loud shout came-

"Whoever comes, report your name!"

If she lifted the curtain at this moment, she could see two black cannons facing the direction of her carriage under the opposite gate, and if they took any further step, they would be blown to pieces.

Yu Shu sat in the car and didn't move, and replied loudly: "Da'an Chaosi Tianjian is also a big reminder!" ”

The surroundings suddenly fell silent, Yu Shu waited quietly, her heart suddenly became a little anxious, not long after, there was a commotion on the city gate, she straightened her back consciously, and heard a low and powerful male voice fall in the air and penetrate her eardrums-

"Is the following a big mention from Si Tianjian? I am Liu Shining, the king of Changping. ”

Yu Shu pushed open the two car doors with some trembling hands, looked up, in the twilight, the city gate tower was crowded, but there was a man wearing bright armor, taking off his crown and looking down, a pair of black eyes through the sea of people, staring straight at her.

His lips were closed and he didn't make a sound, but she could read what he was talking about.

- Shu, I'm here. (To be continued......)

PS: (as indicated)