Yesterday, the little emperor urgently summoned Xu Zongren and informed him that tomorrow the Tai students might go to besiege Meng Yuanyi and the embassy because of his assassination. As the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, he was naturally aware of the seriousness of the students' troubles, which would have an impact on the formulation of the imperial court's policies, and was also a bellwether for public opinion. What's even more serious is that there are still thousands of people in Lin'an City in Beijing, and these people are the best among the scholars from all over Jiangdong.

According to the three-year examination of the imperial examination system of the Great Song Dynasty, all the lifters participate in the township examination in the autumn of each year, and the middle township lifters will gather in the capital at the end of winter, and in the spring of the following year, the Ministry of Rites will preside over the national unified examination. Because of the recovery of Jiangnan last year, the emperor ordered the opening of Enke, the township examination in the spring, and the examination of the middle lifters in the autumn, so now Lin'an City gathers a lot of people who rely on their backs. If you make a fuss with the students of the country, it will be a big problem.

Therefore, Xu Zongren was very nervous after hearing the news, and wanted to send someone to persuade him, but was rejected by the little emperor, but he wanted to let things develop, and then he would deal with the aftermath. He was very puzzled, with the reason that it was better to extinguish the fire before it burned, presumably a child would know it, and of course the little emperor would not understand, but he did the opposite!

But when the little emperor said the reason, Xu Zongren smiled. Thinking that from Qiongzhou that year, Liu Mengyan and Wang Jiweng went to persuade them to surrender, but not only failed to complete the task, but were also fooled by the little emperor, and the two thought that Xingchao had formed an alliance with Annan and Zhancheng to fight against Meng Yuan. As a result, Kublai Khan launched a war against the two countries that lasted for three years, not only spending a lot of troops and money, but also killing several generals such as Instigation Du and Ashu, and also making the king of Zhennan disgraced.

The war initiated by Meng Yuan involved almost all the troops of Yunnan Province, Huguang Province, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, which greatly reduced the pressure on Qiongzhou, won them precious time for respite and development, and created conditions for today's counterattack on Jiangnan. At the moment, the little emperor wanted to repeat the old trick and continue to fool Liumengyan, one was to find out who was stabbing him; The two are to drive a wedge between him and Chen Yizhong, after all, internal and external collusion is the most difficult to deal with.

Last time, the little emperor personally went out, and with the cooperation of the Affairs Bureau, he fooled Liu Mengyan and Wang Jiweng, and Wang Jiweng was able to succeed in 'contributing'. The boy was not only short-tempered, but also overjoyed, and it turned out that on the way to Japan, he was killed by his unbearable entourage because he drunkenly beat his subordinates. Liu Mengyan is more calm and cunning than Wang Jiweng, and it is much more difficult to deal with, and now he is wary of the little emperor, and it may be difficult to succeed by him.

Xu Zongren has always given the world the impression that he is outspoken, fair and honest, but he is not a confidant of the little emperor, and he happens to be in charge of this matter, and he was once a colleague with Liu Mengyan. So he was taken by the little emperor and decided to let him come out to face Fu Liumengyan, and in order not to be seen by him, he decided not to stop the behavior of the Tai Student, and then he appeared in the form of a life-saving straw afterwards to deal with the aftermath, and took the opportunity to say some 'truth' and bring him into the pit......

"This increase in troops in Taixing will not be Hanmou's idea, right?" Seeing that Liumengyan was silent for a long time, he drank two glasses of wine and sulked, and Xu Zongren poured it again.

"This ...... This is not my idea, but Sange's idea, otherwise who can mobilize a large number of troops! "Liu Mengyan knows that he can't take the responsibility on himself, and he can't say that it was Chen Yizhong's idea, otherwise he won't admit himself, and he can only push it on Brother Sang at the moment.

"Oh, I see, Brother Sang is also confused, he can't understand such a simple thing, if Han Mou presides over the peace conference, there will definitely be no such naïve problem." Xu Zongren smiled.

"Don't say that, otherwise you'll ......," Liu Mengyan waved his hand to stop after hearing this.

"Huh!" Xu Zongren laughed dryly twice and drank all the wine in his cup.

"Do you think there is any hope for this peace conference?" Liu Mengyan was also quite embarrassed, but he still hoped that he would give him a thorough explanation, and he diligently poured wine for Xu Zongren.

"It's hard!" Xu Zongren took a sip of wine and said.

"There's no room for mitigation?" Liu Mengyan frowned, he knew that the more anxious he became, the other party would put up a shelf and raise the price, so he pretended that it would not work.

"Han Mou, rest in peace for a few days and then return to Jiangbei, now the students and the people have just besieged the post house, and the people's sentiment has been raging, who dares to mention the matter of peace again, if they are not killed as traitors, they will also be impeached!" Xu Zongren raised his glass and smiled, as if saying goodbye to him.

"That's the only way, but I also ask my heart to return to the book as soon as possible, and I will return to my life as soon as possible!" Liu Mengyan nodded and said, drank all the wine in the cup, and seemed to have made up his mind.

"Okay, when I go back, I will ask Your Majesty to give royal approval as soon as possible, and issue a Guan Wen to send you back, Han Mou can wait with peace of mind, but don't leave the pavilion if you don't have anything important, so as not to cause trouble!" Xu Zongren happily agreed to his request and gave advice.

"Then please ask for your heart!" Liu Mengyan regretted it a little when he agreed, he was just testing the truth just now, but he made it true. Of course, it can also be seen that the Song court has no intention of continuing peace talks. Thinking that he returned in vain, not only Brother Sang couldn't let him go, but the Empress Dowager Nanbi didn't have a good face, and her life would be difficult. I couldn't help but sigh.

"It's a good thing that Hanmou can return home sooner, so why sigh?" Xu Zongren was puzzled.

"I don't know what I wanted, I sent an envoy this time in the hope that the two countries could stop the sword soldiers, but unexpectedly, the heavens did not fulfill people's wishes to suddenly send disasters, and someone actually assassinated the king and destroyed everything overnight." Liu Mengyan put on a sympathetic look, and said sadly.

"Han Mou's words are wrong!" Xu Zongren put down his wine glass and said, "If it weren't for your plot to assassinate Your Majesty, how could there be such a result." Your Majesty is merciful, otherwise you will be imprisoned long ago! ”

"Asking for the heart has wronged me, and I never know about the assassination, otherwise how could I stay in the post house and suffer this unjustified disaster!" Liu Mengyan hugged and said, "This may be someone who wants to frame the matter of our dynasty in order to sabotage the peace talks!" ”

"The assassin has already confessed, it was sent by Meng Yuan to assassinate His Majesty, and the confession was sent to the front of the emperor, and the words were conclusive, will you still be wronged!" Xu Zongren said angrily.

And he secretly said in his heart that this guy was really treacherous, so he pretended to leave first, so as to repeatedly test his hole cards. Fortunately, he was reminded by the little emperor in advance to deal with it freely, and now he thought he had a plan, and began to go around and around to continue the peace discussion. But at this moment, the initiative is in his own hands, but he has to embarrass him, otherwise he will not believe it easily, to paraphrase the words of the little emperor: it is cheap, and it is not good if you don't cheat.

"Don't be annoyed, drink." Seeing this, Liu Mengyan hurriedly raised his glass and drank this cup, and when he saw that his face was a little slower, he smiled and said, "I don't suspect that there is a falsehood in it, but I am the deputy envoy of the peace council, and I don't know anything about the assassination, even if I am afraid of it, I don't believe it, but this is the case, so I suspect that it was done by others and blamed on my dynasty." ”

Listening to Han Mou, it seems that this is possible. Could it be that Han Mou heard something beforehand? Xu Zongren pondered for a moment.

"I have met a few former colleagues, and I have heard that some of them seem to be dissatisfied with His Majesty's suppression of the old officials of the imperial court, so they want to be unfavorable to His Majesty. But I didn't know the details, and I didn't expect them to be so bold, which shocked me! Liu Mengyan sighed.

"Yes, since the founding of the country for three hundred years, there has never been an assassination of the emperor on the top of the main hall." Xu Zongren felt the same way, "Han Mou knows about this, can he know who is the mastermind?" ”

"I laughed at my heart, how could such a confidential matter be leaked to others, let alone told to me. And at the beginning, I only said that it was a rumor, and I did not inquire in detail. Liu Mengyan shook his head with a wry smile.

"Han Mou, you're not trying to deceive me to divert your attention, are you?" Xu Zongren said suspiciously.

"Please don't misunderstand, I mentioned this matter only to say that there are still doubts in it, if it is determined that it is our court's doing, it will be too hasty, and it is a pity that the peace agreement will be frustrated!" Liu Mengyan hurriedly explained.

"Having said that, when Your Majesty is furious and the government and the opposition are boiling, it is almost impossible to reopen the peace talks." Xu Zongren thought about it and shook his head.

"If you ask for your heart, if you write to Your Majesty at this moment, it will be ...... to restart the peace conference."

"Is Han Mou trying to ruin my reputation and trap me in unkindness and injustice!" Without waiting for Liu Mengyan to finish speaking, Xu Zongren took the case and said angrily, and turned around to leave.

"Hehe, I'm old, why are you still in a temper, it's not too late to listen to my words before leaving." Liu Mengyan smiled, and left his seat to stop him, "Ask for your heart, now that the Empress Dowager Nanbi is bent on seeking peace, and you are also interested in peace with the emperor, you and I are promoting this matter, isn't it a good thing that is not only in line with the holy will, but also in line with the will of the people, and the best of both worlds?" ”

"This ......"

"Please, sit down and have another drink." Seeing Xu Zongren's hesitation, Liumengyan pulled him to sit down, and ordered someone to remove the remnants of the table and rearrange it.

"What do you think?" After the arrangement was completed, Xu Zongren did not let him smack alone, he also poured himself a drink, and disturbed. After a long while, Liu Mengyan asked with a smile when he saw him put down his wine glass.

"Han Mou's words are not unreasonable, it is also the duty of a courtier to worry about the king, and it is not impossible to negotiate peace, but Han Mou also needs to promise me a few things." Xu Zongren is colorful.

"Please, please!" Liumengyan sat down in his clothes.

"First, as soon as possible, you will write in the name of your court's prayer and envoy, indicating that the assassination of Your Majesty was not committed by your country. and willing to send the prince as a hostage; second, to publish statements in various newspapers in Beijing to clarify the matter in order to eliminate the hostility of the people; Third, reduce the garrison in the north and south of the Yangtze River to show sincerity. If I can say yes, I can negotiate peace with you! ”

"Please, I've thanked you first!" Liu Mengyan raised his glass and drank first, "I also know that sending the prince into the quality and reducing the garrison along the river is beyond my ability, and I still need to inform the imperial court, and the rest of the things can be implemented immediately." ”

"Okay, if Han Mou can do it, I will write to His Majesty and the Queen Mother, and contact my colleagues to try to promote this matter!" Xu Zongren also said happily. The good thing was done, and the two drank happily until the evening. Liu Mengyan helped the slightly drunk Xu Zongren to the sedan chair, and sent the sedan chair to the door of the pavilion.

"I didn't expect it to fall on him in the end, why bother with it today!" Liu Mengyan looked at the distant sedan shadow and smiled bitterly. Think about it, although the conditions proposed by Xu Zongren are harsh, they are all out of public intentions, without any self-interest, and they are in line with the actual situation and feasible. On the other hand, Chen Yizhong and his gang are all for their own selfish interests, and they actually do such a rebellious thing, which is simply to the point of madness.

After thinking about it for a while, Liu Mengyan felt more and more that Chen Yizhong was too insidious and selfish, not only would he take the opportunity to blackmail himself, but he would betray himself once the incident happened, and he would take the opportunity to escape. It seems that Xu Zongren's side is more reliable, and it is better to stay away from Chen Yizhong for the time being and not to contact him......

…………

Chen Yizhong paced anxiously in the room, and the lunch on the table was still there, although it was sumptuous, he had no intention of enjoying it. Since the last meeting with Liumengyan, he felt that he was in danger, and he managed the water bamboo courtyard and lived in a three-entry house west of the royal street in the city. Although it is in the center of the city, there are all official offices nearby, and the guards are the most tight, but most of the middle and low-level officials live in West Street, and the investigation is not so strict.

The most dangerous places are often the safest, and this is also the experience that Chen Yizhong has summed up after many years on the run. And it is close to the yamen everywhere, which is also convenient for inquiring about news. But since the assassination of His Majesty, the investigation here has been tightened, and he has not dared to go out for many days. However, what annoyed him at the moment was that Yao Liangchen and Wei Tianzhong were grounded at home, which not only cut off the source, but also cut off his financial route. Now it is beyond his means, and he has to sell the bamboo courtyard he just handled to relieve his eyebrows. He even began to secretly sell his official position to some rich landlords to raise funds.

"Is it dead or alive?" And none of this seems to be a matter in front of him, and the doorman who inquired about the news came in and couldn't wait to ask.

"My lord, a certain family found a monk who participated in the book ceremony that day to inquire about the situation, and he said that the little emperor dodged the blow of the tiger at that time, and then was shot in the knee by the guard with a crossbow arrow and fell to the ground, and was captured, but he was not killed on the spot. Soon after, the little emperor reappeared in the main hall, saying that the assassin had confessed that he had been sent by Meng Yuan to carry out the assassination. The doorman replied.

"Are you dead or not?" Chen Yizhong yelled angrily.

"My lord, the villain found out that he was being held in the barracks of the Guards Brigade, which was heavily guarded, and at least one team of soldiers was guarding day and night, and no one could be seen without the token in the palace. Even if someone from the Criminal Department goes for interrogation, they will be searched before entering, they will not be allowed to wear a sword, and they must be accompanied by the commander of the Imperial Guard Battalion to meet ......"

"So he is still not dead, how did you promise me that he would die within three hours of taking the poison, but why is he still alive? Could it be that the medicine he took was fake? Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yizhong interrupted him and said hatefully......