On March 22, the 61st year of Kangxi, there was a sudden fog in the capital, and everyone thought that it was a vision coming, and there was a bad omen.

Earlier there were rumors in Beijing that Emperor Kangxi died on the battlefield of Anqing, some said that Kangxi was killed by artillery on the battlefield, some said that his head was cut off, and some said that Kangxi died on the way back to Beijing, and now the body is stopped in Baoding Mansion.

I don't know where these rumors came from, and I don't know who is spreading rumors, but they are spreading in the capital, and they are talking with noses and eyes, but they cause confusion in people's hearts.

For the entire Qing Dynasty, the time for the imperial court to get the news was much earlier, which also made the current general government envoy Si Yamen into a vegetable market, everywhere was a noisy shouting, in the capital of the bachelors, the scholars of the various ministries and the princes of the clan gathered here, everyone flipped through every letter that was newly submitted, and from time to time there were many people in and out, inquiring about every message.

The news of the defeat of the Qing army, they have long known, but it is not enough to know, because they only understand a big aspect, but the details are not clear, but they know one thing, that is, Emperor Kangxi is really unconscious. It's just that there has been no news back from before.

It wasn't until the back that the army passed the news to Jingshi, and at that time, when Kangxi had just woken up, the army had already arrived in Jinghai County, but he did not return to Jingshi, but stopped directly in Jinghai County, and only called the university scholars Ma Qi and Xiao Yongzao, and the others were not notified, and they did not even reveal any news, which made everyone feel very confused.

Prince Yong's face was pale, he walked into the Yamen of the General Political Envoy as soon as he walked in, and when he looked up, he saw the third elder brother Yinzhi, the eighth elder brother Yinzhen, the ninth elder brother Yinzhen, the tenth elder brother Yinzhen and others, all of whom were also sitting on the chair at this time, their faces were a little ugly, and from time to time someone came to read it with a thick stack of chapters.

"Now Huang Ama has other news?" Prince Yong Yinzhen saw that everyone was noisy, and he was a little impatient in his heart.

As soon as Prince Cheng Yinzhi saw the fourth child coming, he didn't dare to slack off at the moment, he quickly got up and said: "Fourth, you can count it as coming, cough, the gang of waste slaves at the bottom are looking around, and I don't know anything, now the emperor is stationed in Jinghai, you and I brothers, you might as well ride a fast horse to see, what is the situation." ”

Prince Yong's heart moved, but he shook his head and said: "But don't be so nonsense, at the moment Huang Ama has not issued an order, you and my brother must not leave the capital at will, otherwise how will I explain to Huang Ama in the future?" ”

These words came out, but they were polite and courteous, but they made the faces of several elder brothers sitting dark, and the ninth elder brother Yinyu had never been convinced by Prince Yong, but now he said in a strange manner: "The fourth brother is not going to succeed, but the fourth brother is now in charge of the errand of the military department, and he still has a firearm battalion in his hand, but there is no need to go to this business." But my brothers don't have any errands on them now, so let's go and see how Huang Ama is doing? This is also a filial piety, isn't it! ”

"Lao Jiu, do you know what it is to leave the capital without asking for a decree? What's more, now that Huang Ama is in Jinghai, for the safety of Huang Ama, no one can rush out of the city! Roncodo! ”

A short man came out of the crowd, and when he saw all the elder brothers, he suddenly felt a little bad, and knelt on the ground.

"Back to Prince Yong, the slave is here."

"Long Keduo, you are in charge of the errand of the Nine Gate Admiral's Yamen, but you have to know in your heart, from now on, as long as Huang Ama has not returned to the city, no one will be allowed to enter and leave inside and outside the capital, and the curfew will be strictly enforced every day!"

Prince Yong's voice was as cold as iron, but the faces of the several elder brothers present were pale, but everyone had no way to deal with it, because before this expedition, Kangxi had determined that Prince Yong would be in charge of the country, and theoretically he could indeed issue martial law in the whole city.

Prince Cheng Yinzhi is a literati, and now seeing that Prince Yong is so tough, he has no intention of hard topping, but instead plays haha, "The fourth child is also for our brothers, and we have to think about the fourth child more, right..... Seeing Huang Ama is not in a hurry at this time, when Huang Amma's holy decree arrives, we can naturally go to see Huang Amma. ”

Eighth Elder Brother Yinxi sneered at this time: "But what is the situation of Huang Ama now, none of us knows, who knows whether the news of Huang Ama in Jinghai County is true or false?" Now that the fourth brother asked me not to wait to find out, then I can naturally not wait, but in this world, the mouth of all living beings, the fourth brother is afraid that he can't stop it. ”

This is said a little ruthlessly, pointing out that Prince Yong deliberately concealed the facts and wanted to usurp the throne. It's just that at the moment, everyone is still communicating with the political envoys, but some people listened to it and quietly looked over. On weekdays, Eighth Elder Brother Yinxi would still be afraid of the face of the court, but now that he feels that his opportunity has come, he is a little impatient.

Prince Cheng Yinzhi's face sank, and he slapped the table fiercely, "Old eight, why are you talking like that?" The face of the court, the face of the royal family, do you want it anymore! ”

Seeing these elder brothers fighting a war of words here, Prince Yong Yinzhen felt a burst of inner exhaustion, and now he was worried about internal troubles, and Huang Ama was unclear outside, which really made him feel a little anxious.

"Third brother, eighth brother, now is not the time to quarrel, my Qing Dynasty is already in danger, haven't you found out yet?"

"Now if the internal friction continues like this, my Qing Dynasty will really be over. If you are angry in your hearts, you can wait for the emperor to come back and complain, and this king is willing to bear it, but for now, don't blame me for ignoring brotherhood. ”

"Hmph." Several elder brothers stopped talking, but looked at the big and small officials in the general envoy with a gloomy face, but it made everyone feel a tremble.

After such a dispute, Prince Yong didn't want to continue to stay in the Tongzheng Envoy to waste time, so he immediately had a gloomy face and took the car back to the palace, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the troops, so he immediately called his cronie Wu Sidao over and informed the other party of the situation in the Tongzheng Division.

"At the moment, only Tian Wenjing is in the army, but there is no news to come back, this king is really a little worried, and he asks Mr. Wu for advice."

Wu Sidao pondered for a while before he slowly spoke: "What the prince did today is really what he should do, and he must not let the eighth master and them go to Jinghai County, but the more important section at the moment, the prince did not do it." ”

"How?" Prince Yong was a little silent.

"At present, the imperial army is newly defeated, and rumors are rolling in the city, but it is very harmful to the people's hearts! The prince should immediately draw up an edict with Hanlin, who is on duty in the south study, announcing that our army has achieved a great victory in Anqing, and Wuchang will be captured in a few days! ”

Prince Yong is a straight man, he only has black and white on weekdays, and now he sees Wu Sidao want to turn this black into white, but it makes him feel a little weird, "The army has suffered extremely heavy losses, and every household in the Eight Banners of the Beijing Division is wearing linen and filial piety, if this battle is also called for a big victory at this time, isn't it fooling the people of the world?" ”

"Hmph, Lord Wang, what's wrong with this great victory? The emperor's army marched south to Huguang, fought with Anqing for a long time, and suffered a great setback to Chu's reversal, and now the army is preparing to advance west in Anqing, and Wuchang will be captured in a few days. He also said that the emperor worked hard in the war, and occasionally felt the wind and cold..... Don't let yourself be self-defeating. ”

Wu Sidao smiled, "We have to treat the funeral as a happy event, and only when the hearts of the people are stabilized can the prince be invincible, and in the future, when the emperor knows about it, he will only praise the prince for his ability." ”

"What the gentleman taught me is that it is this king who is in love." Prince Yong's face was a little embarrassed, he was much more honest in this regard.

"As for the moment, the prince should be more worried about the fourteenth master. He is now with an army of 150,000 and is heading all the way to Henan, if he knows the news of the emperor's defeat, when the time comes, in the name of King Qin, he will lead the army to attack the Beijing Division, the prince should pay attention! ”

Prince Yong's face was a little gloomy in an instant, the situation at this time was really not good for him, although the emperor handed over the power of supervising the country to him before the personal conquest, but this is just a name after all, the original soldiers of the Fengtai battalion followed Kangxi's southern expedition, and now there are more than 20,000 old and weak left, how can they resist?

Although there are still 50,000 horses in Shaanxi, but these 50,000 people can't save the fire from far away for a while.

"Sir, do you have a good plan?" Prince Yong's face was a little unpredictable.

"At present, there is no other way except for the strategy of decentralization, but it is best for the prince to stabilize the fourteenth master and ask the emperor to let him enter the capital, so as to relieve him of his military power."

Prince Yong's face was a little hesitant, "But if the old fourteenth returns to Beijing, there will inevitably be many ministers who support him, but it is not conducive to my succession." ”

Wu Sidao said sympathetically: "The prince is too worried, now Long Keduo is our person, he holds the nine admirals in his hand, plus the firearms battalion led by the prince himself, if the fourteenth master really enters the capital, he will be completely in the cage, and it will be easier to do when the time comes." I'm afraid, I'm afraid, when he comes with an army of 150,000, then the prince will be really difficult to deal with. ”

"Huang Ama's side?" Prince Yong had actually accepted this proposal in his heart, but he just asked it on purpose.

Wu Sidao sighed softly, "We don't know much about the situation on the emperor's side at the moment, but Ma Qi and Xiao Yongzao, who are called over at the moment, are both members of the Eight Masters Party, if we want to gain the initiative, we must find a reliable person in the center, and then we can ensure the smooth succession of the prince." ”

"Pivot..... At the moment, there is only one Zhang Tingyu who can be used, but this person is good at protecting himself, and I am afraid that he will not be on our side at a critical time. Prince Yong thought for a long time, and finally sighed.

This is really something that can't be helped, he has always been the image of a lonely minister in the early years, and there are few ministers who have anything to do with him, let alone help him ascend to the throne. Those ministers have always been on the crown prince and the eighth prince, so at this time, Prince Yong will be more passive.

Wu Sidao's face showed a hint of ruthlessness, and he waved down fiercely with his hand, "If the emperor has an accident, the prince will have to make up his mind at that time." ”

"If the emperor has an accident, the matter of opening the edict will fall on a few ministers, that is, Ma Qi...... And Zhang Tingyu! The prince should give an order immediately! Secretly monitor Ma Qi's Mansion and Zhang Tingyu's Mansion, if we can win over, we will do our best to win over, if not, we will gamble with their family's net worth and life! ”

"In addition, if there is a change at that time, the prince can send someone to contact Long Keduo, and ask him to immediately lead the Nine Gate Admiral Yamen to block the Nine Gates, and never let anyone enter or leave!

"Next, the prince can send someone with a token to invite the thirteenth master out, and then ask the thirteenth master to quickly go to the Fengtai camp to transfer troops, and then the situation will be in my hands!"

Prince Yong's face showed a fierce look, and he told himself that only when he became the emperor could he save the Qing Dynasty, as long as he could save the Qing Dynasty, even if he sacrificed more people, he would not hesitate.

............................................

Tongguan, tens of thousands of horses are slowly passing, only to see a team of cavalry with a whistling, but it is passing by the army, when the horse's hooves step on the mud puddle, the splashed muddy water makes the surrounding Qing army coated with a layer of sludge, provoking everyone to scold.

The cavalry did not hesitate to do anything, and galloped all the way to the camp in front of them, and then the first of them hurriedly dismounted, and headed for the largest camp in the middle.

At this time, there was only one old man in iron armor in the tent, who had a hooked nose and a silver knife in his hand, and was cutting the leg of mutton on the table.

The cavalry passed through the tents along the way, and then entered the big tent, knelt down and said, "Lord Qiyu, there is an urgent report from the Jingshi. As he spoke, he handed over the secret letter in his hand.

The old man didn't care at first, and opened the secret letter like this and glanced at it, but when he saw the back, the more he looked at it, the happier he became, and when he saw it, he hissed and inserted the silver knife in his hand directly into the leg of mutton.

"Hahahaha! Tong Fahai, this damned evil seed, is finally dead today! The old man had a strong look of joy on his face, and after seeing the news of Tong Fahai's suicide, the whole person was in good spirits.

This old man is no one else, it is Tong Fahai's elder brother, Tong Guogang's eldest son Oro Dai. The relationship between Oro Dai and his younger brother Fahai is very bad, and the situation is the same as fire and water, because Fahai was born to Tong Guogang's humble maid, so Oro Dai has always looked down on Fahai, after the death of Fahai's biological mother, Oro Dai did not even allow him to be buried in the ancestral grave, and the brothers became enemies of each other.

Seeing Fahai commit suicide and martyrdom, Oro Dai not only did not feel a little sad, but was very happy, he smiled, but spread out the letter and continued to look down, but the more he looked down, the more solemn his expression became.

Soon, Oro Dai didn't continue to look at it, but immediately collected the secret letter, and then went out of the tent to find the fourteenth elder brother Yinyu, for him, the biggest opportunity at the moment has arrived.

"The old man is dying....."