Chapter 136 The Imperial Garden

At the end of the first year of Baoqing of the Great Song Dynasty (1225), Huzhou Prefecture was on the way to the outside of the country.

Qin Tianxi's face was gloomy, and he was followed by more than a dozen followers, all of whom were just like him, and occasionally pedestrians on the road would dodge when they saw their appearance.

They had just done a big thing and were in a hurry to leave Huzhou and return to Lin'ancheng.

"Once this matter is over, Xianggong will no longer have any worries." An attendant muttered in a small voice.

"That guy didn't kill himself, and the minister doesn't have to worry." Another attendant smiled and said, "Such a trivial matter, we can come originally, why bother Mr. Qin!" ”

They are all Shi Miyuan's cronies, and they came to Huzhou this time to do a big thing: to force the former prince Zhao Hong to commit suicide.

Although the former prince was defeated and left Beijing in the battle for the throne, Shi Miyuan did not forget him. When a group of bandits coerced him with the intention of rebellion and was put down, Shi Miyuan immediately sent Qin Tianxi and his party.

When they first came, they were still a little apprehensive, after all, this was out of Lin'an, but after arriving in Huzhou, Qin Tianxi showed a killer idea, an edict, forcing Zhao Hong to hang himself.

"Shut up." Qin Tianxi said coldly.

The attendants knew his temper, looked at each other, and closed their mouths.

Glancing around, Qin Tianxi's expression became even more cold, and he felt uneasy in his heart from the moment he received the order to come to Huzhou. Since he was put into Shi Miyuan's disciple as a guest, he controlled the intelligence of all parties for Shi Miyuan, and dealt with some problems that the dignified prime minister was not good to come forward in person, and his natural sensitivity made him save the day in several crises, such as Luo Riyuan's assassination of Shi Xianggong at the beginning, and later Hua Yue's plot to kill Shi Xianggong, these things were solved because of his action.

Originally, he thought that this uneasiness came from the former prince Zhao Hong, but when Zhao Hong died, his uneasiness was still there.

Why is it that when the big thing is decided, my heart is becoming more and more uneasy?

Returning to Lin'an from Huzhou, it is just a day and a night's work, and now it has passed the Anji Dusong Pass, as long as you enter Lin'an City, you must be fine. Thinking of this, Qin Tianxi turned around and shouted, "Hurry up." ”

At the moment when he turned around, three people suddenly jumped out of the grass on the side of the road.

"Avenge King Ji!" The person at the head shouted loudly, and then rushed towards them with a knife, seeing these three people, Qin Tianxi's heart was calm: what made him uneasy was this.

There were more than ten people with him, and there were only three people on the other side, and he was accompanied by the guards in front of the palace, and these three people seemed to be just ordinary people, no matter what......

His thoughts came to an end as an arrow from his crossbow pierced his body, piercing his throat and eyes. Even the soft armor under his cloak could stop the arrows that shot at his heart, but they could not stop the sharp arrows that shot at his throat and eyes. His corpse shook slightly on the horse, and the horse neighed and jumped.

The sound of crossbows rang out from both sides of the road, and most of the crossbow bolts missed their targets, but they still kept the guards scrambling. After all, they were well trained, and realizing that they were in an ambush, immediately drove their horses forward, not stopping at all.

The assassin did not chase either, and after they left, a man wearing a straw hat came up and turned over several corpses on the ground, Qin Tianxi had the most crossbow arrows on his body, and six of them were firmly nailed into his body. The man first probed under Qin Tianxi's nose, afraid that he would still hold his breath and pretend to be dead, and then pulled out his waist knife and cut off his head. The rest of the Assassins drew their swords and stabbed each corpse.

"Withdraw!"

With a wave of his hand, all the Assassins retreated silently, moving swiftly as the wind, not at all like the layman who missed his opponent. It took more than half an hour for the guards to return with a group of forbidden troops, but all they saw were cold corpses and pools of blood.

Seeing that it is about to be the Neutralization Festival, everything begins to grow, the cold north wind is gradually replaced by the warm south wind, this time of the year, as the weather warms, the laughter in Lin'an City will be more and more. However, this year's atmosphere is not happy, some time ago, Huzhou thieves embraced the emperor's brother Zhao Hong to make a rebellion, although it was immediately wiped out by Zhao Hong himself, but the ensuing shock, but the court and the people were shaken. At this time, no one could have imagined that a few months after the throne had already been vested, a new storm was brewing.

"That group of assassins said they were avenging King Ji?"

Lin'an City, Prime Minister's Mansion, Shi Miyuan, who heard the news, changed color.

He hadn't been so angry for a long time, even when he heard the news of the thieves in Huzhou.

At the same time, in the Jujing Garden, Zhao and Ju, who had changed their names to Zhao Yun again, were sitting opposite Zheng Qingzhi, and there were several dishes on the stone table between them.

"Your Majesty doesn't go to Fujing Garden, Yanxiang Garden, and Jifang Garden, but you want to come here to gather in Jingyuan." Zheng Qingzhi is no longer a small Guozi supervisor, but has been promoted to a living room, serving by the side of the Son of Heaven every day, because of the relationship between the two when Zhao and Ju were still the heirs of King Yi, although he is respectful and polite, he can also talk to Zhao and Ju.

Jujing Garden was originally more important in the imperial gardens of the Great Song Dynasty, but it has fallen into disrepair and decay over the years, and it is far worse than the rest of the gardens mentioned by Zheng Qingzhi, so that some people chant poems and say that "the official plum blossoms are wild plum blossoms" here.

"The rest of the garden, though beautiful, is not as comfortable as here." Zhao Youju said with a smile.

As the Son of Heaven, he did not wear a crown of court clothes, but often dressed up, and the two sat on the stone bench, and in order to ward off the cold, they spread a woolen blanket from Liuqiu on the stone bench. On the plate on the stone table, there was also food from Liuqiu, such as sunflower seeds, potato chips, and cooked corn kernels, Zhao Youju stretched out his hand and signaled: "Zheng Qing, please use it, on the day of the emperor's great trip, Zheng Qing was unpleasant to eat, and he didn't know the taste of these things." ”

Zheng Qingzhi smiled and thanked him, ate two sunflower seeds, and chewed a few grains of corn, and he said: "Some other things, the minister has never heard of Liuqiu." ”

"Hehe, Zheng Qing always has something he doesn't know, when Qing was my professor, I thought Qing knew everything." Zhao Youju made a joke about him.

After a pause, Zhao Heju said again: "With Qing's talent, the position of Julang is too wrong. ”

"Don't dare, now that there are many Confucians in the court, how can the ministers compare to them!"

Zheng Qingzhi's words, not humble, since the new emperor ascended the throne, because the throne has been somewhat tortuous, in order to attract people's hearts, Shi Miyuan led Confucianism into the court to strengthen the prestige of the new emperor. Like Zhen Dexiu, Wei Liaoweng, Hu Mengyu, Hong Zhikui, etc., are all temporary choices.

"Qing is too humble, Zhen Jingxi, Wei Huafu, Hong Shunyu, etc., are poor and learn from the ancients, and have a strong temperament, they can be Hanlin Ke, and they can be the governors of the state government, but they can't be assisted by the world." Zhao Youju shook his head and said, and then said: "Don't talk about them, just talk about these beleaguered products, Zheng Qing, today I invite you to eat these beleaguered products, but not just for eating." ”

Zheng Qingzhi's mind has not yet turned around, and he can hear the meaning of the words of the Son of Heaven, and it seems that he is known for his talent as Zai Fu, but he attaches more importance to it than Zhen Dexiu, Wei Liaoweng and others. For the Son of Heaven to praise him so much, how can he not be happy, although Shi Miyuan once promised him in his own position, but which is more true than the meaning of the Son of Heaven!

Shi Miyuan can't just give up his position now, after Shi Miyuan's death, whether he Zheng Qingzhi can sit in this position or not, it completely depends on the mind of the Son of Heaven.

He turned his mind, so he didn't pay attention to Zhao Heju's words, Zhao Heju asked a few words, and he came to his senses: "Minister...... The minister is rude, and the minister doesn't know. ”

"I heard Huo Guangliang say that among these things, this corn can be sown in poor soil and hillside land, and the yield is far better than that of rice and wheat. There is also a kind of sweet potato called potato, and the yield per mu can exceed 1,000 catties. I come from the people, and I often think about the suffering of the people, and the pain of the people is no greater than that of the hungry. Zhao Heju sighed: "The people are not hungry, and the world is peaceful." ”

"Is there such a thing?" Zheng Qingzhi was shocked, the grain crops that yield thousands of catties per mu, if the Son of Heaven hadn't told him about this matter personally, he was afraid that he would have to take a bite to go back.

"I also don't believe it, so I want to choose a place to test it." Zhao Heju pointed to this Jujing Garden, and said with a slight smile: "Although the garden is good, it is just a place for Youye, and I saw that this place was deserted, so I wanted to go ahead of this." ”

"The Son of Heaven is really a blessing to all the people, and His Majesty's benevolent heart has never been seen since ancient times!" Only then did Zheng Qingzhi understand Zhao Youju's intentions, and he smiled and said, "Your Majesty should choose the old farmer to plant it." ”

"I'm afraid that our old farmers in the Great Song Dynasty have never planted such things, but they are not beautiful. I want to ask Huo Guangliang to find some farmers to come and cultivate in this garden of the garden, one is that this place was originally deserted, even if it is not successful, it will not miss the agricultural time, and the other is to ask for customs, and I am afraid that the Great Song Dynasty is different, and they will gather here, so as not to surprise the people. Zhao Heju's face suddenly felt a little hesitant: "It's just that the princes of the court, if you hear about this, I'm afraid you will blame me for losing the monarchy." ”

"Your Majesty, why should you worry, the Son of Heaven is a heavy farmer, and he is the lord of the Holy Ming, who dares to put his beak in his beak!" Zheng Qingzhi said angrily, as soon as the words came out, his heart moved again, the Son of Heaven told him about this matter, naturally not to listen to such words, he thought about it, immediately understood, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, if you don't think that the minister is not talented, I am willing to serve Your Majesty." ”

"Since this is the case, Qing will go to find Huo Guangliang, if I come forward, it will definitely be a big fanfare, but it will be inappropriate." Zhao Youju also smiled: "You can know my intentions." ”

If the Son of Heaven asked Huo Chongcheng to find a stream and ask people to farm, it would inevitably be said that the Son of Heaven would work hard and lose money, and if he failed, it would not look good on the face of the Son of Heaven. But if Zheng Qingzhi does it, it is not, although Julang is an important position, it does not mean that there is no leisure, he will fail if he comes forward to do it, and no one will blame the Son of Heaven. Thinking of this, Zheng Qingzhi thought that he already knew Zhao Heju's plan, this is indeed an opportunity to make meritorious contributions, if it is really as Huo Chongcheng said, the yield of these grains per mu can reach 1,000 catties, then this merit alone is enough for Zheng Qingzhi to save the capital to stand tall in the court.

"Where Shi Xianggong is, I will go to Guan and let him allow you to act cheaply." Zhao Youju added.

"Obey." Zheng Qingzhi bowed to the leader's order.

He left Jujingyuan and immediately went to Shi Miyuan's mansion, and after supporting him, he is now one of Shi Miyuan's most trusted people. When I arrived at the Shi Mansion, I felt that it was wrong, because Xuan Xuan, Xue Ji and other important members of the Shi Party were all here.

"Qin Tianxi was killed." When he asked questions, Shi Miyuan gritted his teeth and said.

Qin Tianxi's importance to Shi Miyuan is definitely no less than anyone here, and even surpasses it. Not only because he is loyal to Shi Miyuan, but also because he has many dark lines in his hands, and some characters that Shi Miyuan is inconvenient to contact in person are all controlled by Qin Tianxi. As soon as he died, it was equivalent to cutting off Shi Miyuan's ears and eyes!

Even if Shi Miyuan finds another cronie to take over Qin Tianxi's affairs, he may not be able to get started for a while, and more importantly, this person may not have the same means as Qin Tianxi.

Thinking of the gloomy and cold feeling that Qin Tianxi gave people, Zheng Qingzhi couldn't help but feel a little happy in his heart while being stunned. In that person's eyes, there was no one except Shi Miyuan, it was Xuan Xuan and Xue Ji, and he was cold-faced, not to mention him Zheng Qingzhi.

"The assassin shouted to avenge King Ji...... Hmph, they used a hand crossbow, and Ben Xiang had already sent someone to check the origin of this hand crossbow. Shi Miyuan said with a sneer.

He didn't believe the assassins' shouts at all, and avenged King Ji - if King Ji Zhao Hong had such a guest, Qin Tianxi and his party would not be able to force him to death. This must have been an assassin sent by some people in the court who were enemies of his history, and after the assassination, they deliberately confused the public!

But Shi Miyuan also had something to understand, that is, why these people who were enemies of him wanted to assassinate Qin Tianxi. Although Qin Tianxi is important to him Shi Miyuan, he is not an important person himself, and if the assassin wants to assassinate him, he should also come for him Shi Miyuan.

"From today onwards, you must be more careful when you go out, bring a wide range of guards, and do not walk at night." Thinking of this, Shi Miyuan commanded everyone.

Everyone obeyed the order, and after everyone dispersed, Shi Miyuan left Zheng Qingzhi alone.

"Uncle Wen, I heard that you and Your Majesty went to Jujing Garden today?" Shi Miyuan stared at Zheng Qingzhi: "I don't know why Your Majesty got into the garden?" ”

"What is the joy of visiting the garden, Xianggong, Your Majesty's benevolence and virtue are extraordinary, which is really beyond the reach of people!" Zheng Qingzhi commented on the Son of Heaven's evaluation of Zhen Dexiu, Wei Liaoweng and others, but did not mention his praise for himself, but directly talked about the Son of Heaven's intention to attract good seeds.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Shi Miyuan was not surprised by Zhao Youju's "benevolent" heart, on the contrary, he was used to it. As soon as the Son of Heaven ascended the throne, he issued an edict to give the courtiers the seat of the middle-aged sixtieth birthday, and he happened to be sixty years old. In November last year, the Son of Heaven consulted with him again, issued an edict to find good doctors in the world, set up churches in various prefectures and counties, and provided free medical treatment for the poor and sick of the people for three days a month, and the Huangzhuang subsidized the expenses.

As long as the Son of Heaven does not intend to take power in person, such things can be done. Shi Miyuan's current energy is completely focused on finding the political enemy who assassinated Qin Tianxi and dealt with him behind his back.

Note 1: Zhonghe Festival is a festival established by Tang Dezong's order, every year on the first day of the second lunar month, the people give each other seeds in green bags, and sacrifice to the god of Gomang, who is in charge of plant growth, and the hundred officials present agricultural books to the imperial court.

Note 2: Jujing Garden, Fujing Garden, Yanxiang Garden, and Jifang Garden are all royal gardens in the Song Dynasty, which can be seen in the Song people's Zhou Mi "Wulin Old Things".