Since last year, Warat with the 'first emperor', has done several attempts near Xuanfu and Datong, of course, no one responds to the door, these two strong cities in the world, I don't know how many people have worked hard to build, how can it be so easy to knock down. Even with a small trick, he couldn't get the upper hand in the siege battle at all.

Unconsciously, the matter of Warat leading people to pretend to be the emperor has also lost the value of being sung in the government and the opposition, and people have more and fresher things to pay attention to, in addition to the Hebei defense line that is close to Warat, the production of the New Year, the price of grain and rice on the market...... What is better than an imposter in the wilderness? There are only the guards on the front line of Xuanda, and from time to time they have to deal with the 'traitor' who was sent to call someone.

"It's also a sigh, it's so cold, that one is still wearing a single coat, and his shoulders are full of whip marks, and I don't know if he can survive this winter."

It's already late autumn, Datong town guards the eunuch's house, boiling hot water scalding rice wine, the newly slaughtered fat sheep has no smell, stewed the high-grade mushrooms sent by Xuanfu, made a big pot on the table, put a small fire on the bottom, burned the soup to a small boil, at any time to continue some green cabbage planted in the greenhouse, around a few plates of quick frying, put a few pots of fresh fruit on the table of the month, although compared with the capital that is not tired of eating, this table of dishes is thicker, but it is affordable, and the cave goods, seasonal fruits, are not ordinary people can afford to enjoy. The bitter cold in the north, the style of the frontier town is even more simple, plus since last year, the northern line has withered, and it has not recovered at all, and the eunuch Liao Gong of Datong town does not have this specification when he eats fairly-beef and mutton are eaten casually, but the whole pot of fresh vegetables, and it is all silver when it is scalded in the soup, not to mention that Datong is also a greenhouse, and the vegetables grown are extremely limited.

Even so, Father-in-law Liao didn't feel distressed at all, and he personally diligently refilled the wine into the guest's cup, "No matter how I said it, I grew up in the palace, although I have come so many times, but every time I come back, we just go to the city to take a look and come down - don't bear it." ”

"That's not it, after all, I've seen it grow so big with my own eyes." His guest also sighed, and said a little desolately, "This is fate, who would have thought that it would be fine, but after a few years of hard work, I didn't even have a big coat?" ”

He immediately looked straight, "Nineteen, this is what our senior brother said in private, in front of outsiders, don't say such nonsense, you will be stabbed to the top, even I can't protect you." ”

Liao Shiyi grinned and smiled nonchalantly, "Isn't there still Brother Liu?" No matter how proud that kid in Xing'an is, it won't be his turn to take care of Xuanda's affairs. - I don't think he has the guts! With Brother Liu here, who dares to touch a cold hair of our senior brother? Come on, Senior Brother Ma, Brother Ten, drink! ”

Ma Shi glanced at Liao Shijiu helplessly, but did not deny his statement: Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, although he respects the empress dowager of the two palaces, anyone with a discerning eye can see that he respects his adoptive mother the Empress Dowager of the West Palace more, and outsiders don't know the origin, but none of them, the old people who came out of the Taisun Palace back then, don't know who the real backer of Liu Zhien, the eunuch of Dongchang, is. Over the years, the inner servants in the Taisun Palace, except for those who have committed crimes and are sick and old, most of them are gradually coming out, either holding important positions in the 24 Yamen, or serving as eunuchs in various places.

"Xing'an doesn't care about the military," he said, "but you have violated the emperor's taboo by saying this, if someone stares at your position and directly hands the words to the emperor, I am afraid that even the factory will not be able to save you." ”

"How." Liao Shijiu's expression moved, "Didn't you say that the words of the Empress Dowager of the East Palace were forced out by our aunt and old lady, and the emperor himself still wanted to take his brother back......"

The nondescript title of the old lady did not surprise Ma Shi, Liao Shijiu was Wang Jin's eldest apprentice, and the relationship with Qingning Palace was already close, otherwise, even if he had the talent to be better than the world, he would not be able to achieve the position of the eunuch in Datong at the end of his thirties, let alone be so open-mouthed.

"At first, I probably wanted to." Ma Shi didn't hide what Liao Shijiu meant, he was invited to eat and drink as soon as he arrived in Datong, and he talked about this somewhat taboo topic so aggressively at the banquet, of course, it was not that Liao Shijiu himself lacked heart, he was thick and fine, and he explored the purpose of his coming to Datong. "But this time, when I went back to Beijing to receive an errand, I felt that the emperor didn't think so much......"

The reason why he came to Datong was to observe and collect wind -- to inspect the military situation in various border areas and report it to the emperor when he returned to Beijing. What is the identity of Ke Ma Shi? At that time, the chief butler of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhang's close attendant, and also the confidant of the Empress Dowager of the Qingning Palace, sat in the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau for fifteen years, and such a heavyweight chamberlain was suddenly sent to do the work of the newcomer - only the right to inspect, not the right to rectify, either to make mistakes and be degraded, or, or to bring a special mission. Liao Shijiu naturally knew this, and what he wanted to know, that is, what Ma Shi was doing in Datong, whether he wanted to bring 'that person' back, or to come and reject Wara's proposal and continue to let 'that person' go out.

Whether it is persecution or what, the attitude of the Queen Mother of the Two Palaces is extremely firm, Queen Zhuang Su was suppressed so that she didn't make a sound at all, and it was probably that she didn't know that her husband was actually dead, if anyone else could take that person back, that is, she was still thinking about her brother's younger brother. Liao Shijiu originally had high hopes for the emperor, after all, many of the messages he received from Beijing pointed out that he would not recognize the person as hard as a horse, and he was called an impostor, but in fact it was the Empress Dowager of the West Palace. The emperor himself can't bear to let his brother be left behind, and the true dragon son of heaven lives in rags. Now that the limelight has passed, it has been more than a year since the emperor ascended the throne, and the Empress Dowager of the West Palace has rarely gone to the Wenhua Palace...... In addition, the price on the side of Warat is getting lower and lower, from the astronomical amount at the beginning, to the current only tens of thousands of taels of silver, no matter how you look at it, the time to welcome that person back to the dynasty has come. Even if you can't correct your name, you always have to go back and settle down, and you can't let Emperor Zhang's blood flow outside, right?

But when he heard Ma Shi's breath, he suddenly felt like he had drunk a sip of cold air, and it was cold from his throat to his heart: no way, even if Ma Shi was still a little loyal to that person in his heart, he couldn't compete with the upper and lower hearts over there......

Liao Shijiu was promoted to this position, relying on his connections over the years, and he didn't have much direct relationship with that person, but even so, he grew up reading the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child, even when that person came to call the door, he also patrolled the city with his sword, and no one was allowed to go over to open the door, but this did not mean that he was happy to see that person living a hungry and full life outside the plug. Back then, in the Qianqing Palace, the scene of Emperor Zhang holding the joke was still vivid, but now his hope has been disappointed, and Liao Shijiu even feels that the mutton in his mouth is tasteless.

"Do you really want to let him live in exile for the rest of his life?" He couldn't help muttering to himself, "It's bitter cold in winter, so I'm going to send some clothes and quilts......"

Ma Shi glanced at Liao Shijiu, and then grasped his emotions clearly, and he sighed in his heart: It seems that in this matter, Liao Shijiu and him will not be of the same mind.

"People still have to be brought back." He opened his mouth to make the attitude of the inner court clear, "It always falls into the hands of the enemy, and it is not like words...... It's just that on the side of the country, not even a copper plate will come out, if you want to send it back, don't think about the money. If they don't send it, then it's up to them. ”

At the end of the day, it's just not wanting to take it back. Is it because he wished that Warat would kill him for the sake of the country...... Liao Jiuqiang said with a smile, "This, Warat is mercenary, but I am afraid that this may not be successful." Besides, don't you have to give you a face...... Do you want to repeat the old Song Zhezong's skull being made into a wine vessel? ”

"Warat must have a plan to keep him until now." Ma Shi didn't say anything stupid about this person being a counterfeit, he and Liao Shijiu both watched the emperor grow up, and it was impossible to misidentify him. "If you want to kill him, you will do it in the summer, you didn't freeze to death last winter, and you will definitely not freeze to death this winter. It is better to send him back to bring more trouble to the inner court than to kill him...... Haven't you heard? At the beginning, when he said that the gold, silver and jewelry were exchanged for him, his younger brother Boyan Timur repeatedly asked that he should be guaranteed to return to China and ascend the throne, otherwise he would not return it. ”

It's been a year since the new emperor ascended the throne, and he still says these dream words, which is ridiculous to hear, but Liao Shijiu can't laugh - Boyan Timur is dozens of years older, and he leads the army to fight the grass valley every year, so how can he be so naïve? It's clear that he is causing chaos to the court, and it's no wonder that the new emperor is not enthusiastic about taking that person back.

"So, can a big son be replaced without a child?" Liao Shijiu was skeptical.

Ma Shi also had mixed feelings when he thought of Xigong Niangniang's instructions, as well as some of his private speculations, and couldn't help but sigh - it's just that he and Liao Nineteen are different, and they are connected with the Xigong family by flesh and blood, and the relationship is extremely close, even if they can't bear it in their hearts, they still don't show the slightest tone, just said lightly, "Maybe, it's going to be the New Year with you this year, Nineteen." ”

Bearing the secret decree of Beijing, Ma Shi said that he was observing the border affairs in the north, but he couldn't stay in Datong, and he frequently went out of the customs to contact Wara, which naturally attracted the vigilance of many people. It's just that there are few civil officials in the north, and in addition, the transportation in the winter and the capital is inconvenient, the news spreads a little slowly, and Ma Shi has been away from Beijing for a long time, and his reputation is not obvious.

But that's only the majority of that.

"Liuchang Gong has already left Beijing?" Master Yu walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and looked at the white snow outside through the slightly open window.

"Yes." The family members who spoke back and forth looked solemn, "I personally took a few people a moment ago and went out from Desheng Gate." ”

"Got it." Lord Yu's expression darkened, "Let's go down." ”

As the sound of gentle footsteps gradually faded away, Mr. Zhou, a staff member who accompanied him in the house to deal with official business, also let out a long breath. "It seems that Mane-chan has already brought back that one...... I don't know how much money it spent. ”

"Not a penny has been paid." Lord Yu didn't move, he was still looking at the gloomy sky outside the window stupidly, and the winter wind blew his face from the crack in the window, but he didn't realize it. "Xigong Niangniang personally instructed that she couldn't even give out a penny, so she had to send it back for nothing......"

“…… Mother is so careful. Mr. Zhou can only say this, "It's already taken to this point." ”

If the court pays a penny for that person, it is equivalent to acknowledging his identity, and he won't say much about slapping his face or something, and most of them know whether that person is dead or not. The key is that the issue of inheritance and the legitimacy of the throne brought about by the recognition of his identity are not things that can be solved in three days or two days. Master Yu nodded, and said, "In this matter, from the proposal to pick him up, to not a penny...... It was all the mother's voice that came to the Wenhua Hall to give orders, Your Majesty...... Not a word. ”

"This ...... What does that mean? "Mr. Zhou is a little puzzled, he has just returned from his hometown, and he still doesn't know many things in Beijing." Dong Weng means, is it really unwilling in His Majesty's heart? --I heard that there is a Wu Niangniang living in Nannei, who is actually His Majesty's own mother-"

"Don't say it again." Lord Yu interrupted Mr. Zhou's words, "It's ridiculous that Li Yuande still wants to write a book to ask for Wu Niangniang...... Wu Niangniang is because of heart disease, can not raise His Majesty, His Majesty will be sent to Yong'an Palace in swaddling clothes, now although it is released, but after many years of idleness, people have been stupid, even the son of the emperor does not know, let alone others. When Wu Niangniang was idle in Nannei that day, she still had to take care of the Queen Mother regardless of her previous suspicions, where did the estrangement between mother and son come from? ”

"But—this—" said Mr. Zhou, "it was Liu Zhien who went to greet him......

The relationship between Liu Zhien and Xigong Niangniang, as time went by, most of the important ministers also inquired about it successively, as Lord Yu said, this matter was arranged by Xigong from the inside out, and the emperor almost didn't even have room to speak. is so arbitrary in such a sensitive matter, no matter how good his temper is, I am afraid that there will be some mustard in his heart, after all, this person is not his own......

"This is the embodiment of the deep love between mother and child." Lord Yu let out a long sigh, as if he was about to sigh the entanglement in his heart. "Fu Yu, do you think that one can still step into the capital alive and meet His Majesty's brother?"

Mr. Zhou took a loud breath, but he didn't know what to answer, and the room suddenly fell into a tense silence, and after a long time, he stammered, "That, that proprietor now, again...... And what to do? ”

When he was admitted to the Jinshi on the same day, Lord Yu thought that he was covered in vermilion, thought about himself as a general, and thought that he was a very good minister...... But he never thought that one day he would watch the orthodox emperor being murdered like this, but he would not do anything.

Thousands of hammers were carved out of the deep mountains, and the fire burned as if it were idle. Don't be afraid of broken bones, you have to leave your innocence in the world. After a hundred years, today's events, I am afraid that it will become the biggest stain in his life, and Lord Yu can almost imagine how the historian's knife and pen will use the Spring and Autumn Period penmanship to evaluate his life's merits and demerits. But Lord Yu didn't have the intention of burning jade and shattering bones to keep this innocence.

This road was no longer possible to turn back as early as a year ago, and he had already made a choice in front of Desheng Gate that day, and it would be too hypocritical to protest now. Even if there are all kinds of notoriety, they are all bitter fruits of their own brewing, so what is there not to face?

"Just wait and see." Master Yu said in a low voice, "Even if it's Li Yuande, can you still stand up and say that it's the real thing?" Even if he already knew it today, what could he do? ”

He stretched out his hand and slowly pulled the two window sashes in, and the long windows made a 'bump' sound, and closed tightly together, and the north wind that was still howling in just now was suddenly stopped outside.

Mr. Zhou turned on the fire, but after a while, the room warmed up.

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