The Yizheng Pavilion in the Purple Palace is located in a small courtyard in the northeast corner of the Imperial Study. Taken literally, these three words have a slight connotation of high mountains; However, the reality is always detached from the imagination and rumors of the common people in the market, and this central cabinet residence, which almost set the direction of the Northern Yan Dynasty's progress, is just an ordinary courtyard that can no longer be ordinary.

There are no heavy guards, no open posts and secret posts, no wine ponds and meat forests, and no gold bricks and jade tiles.

After the early dynasty was dispersed, the chief eunuch Tang Fuquan signaled the two cabinet elders and the six Shangshu to be counselors in the Yizheng Pavilion an hour later; Extra work like this kind of overtime has almost become a routine in the past two months. His Majesty returned to the imperial study to change clothes and take a rest, but these eight pillars of the court had no intention of leaving the palace at all; Anyway, the council pavilion was not far from the imperial dining room, so they simply stayed in the palace to eat, so as to avoid the toss of entering and leaving the palace.

Including the self-proclaimed new Nankang Dynasty, any group composed of people, after the initial hard struggle, will inevitably fall into a vicious circle of factional strife; It is better to say that it is the inherent self-interest of human beings, or to say that it is due to the animal nature that has not faded; All in all, whether it is a monarch or emperor who seems to have become a vested interest; is still a person who personally went out to fight, such as the two party leaders Cai and Wang of Beiyan; These people are all aware of this senseless futility, but they can't get out of it.

A light meal was hastily served, and the adults, who had eaten and drunk, sat around the cabinet; Some people lit a dry tobacco pouch, and some people brewed kung fu tea for everyone, but what they discussed had nothing to do with the general trend of the family and the country, and Huayu.

"Elder Cai Ge, I heard that my wife who is an Guoxian's nephew has recently added an extra young master to the house, right? There is such a big happy event at home, why didn't you inform your colleagues about it, so that everyone could be happy together? ”

The person who spoke was Qian Qiyong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites; And the "Anguo" he said in his mouth is the expression of Cai Ning, the current governor of Zhongzhou Road, and it is also the eldest son of Cai Xi and Cai Youxiang.

"Guzin is always so well-informed! Indeed, an extra man has recently been added to the old family, and when the moon is full, I sincerely invite all my colleagues to have a banquet in the cold house! All the time, please be sure to appreciate the light, don't brush the old skin! ”

Cai Ning and his wife were born in the same year, and the two have been close for nearly 20 years, and now they have both studied for forty years, but they have never made a difference. Cai's family was also sick and rushed to the doctor, from Mr. Zhen to a fake doctor, from a real monk to a fake immortal, but no one said a meridian; And this strange incident has always been Cai Xiangye's major heart disease.

Unexpectedly, at this time last year, Mrs. Cai, who was already nearly forty years old, went to Zhongzhou to visit her husband, and actually sent someone back a letter announcing that she had a son! About ten days ago, Cai Ning and his wife rushed back to Yanjing City from Zhongzhou with the Cai grandson! Holding the big fat grandson with eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose, who were the same as Cai Ning when he was a child, he almost didn't give Cai Xi's old couple a crooked mouth.

Hearing this good news, Wang Zuocheng, who had been dull and silent, also smoked a few big puffs of cigarettes; Then he stood up, cleanly untied a saber from his waist, and slapped it heavily in front of Cai Xi, making a crisp sound of "snap":

"Cai Donkey, are you still a gentleman? Look at your virtue, if you want to be happy, you will be happy! What's wrong? After holding back twenty thoughts, I can finally show that your Cai family has a future, right? ”

After complaining, Wang Fang took another puff of his cigarette pouch and sat back in place with a cigarette and a puff of smoke. Cai Xi looked at the broken knife he slapped on the table, and pulled out a strange smile:

"I said Wang Paozhan, we are all so old, your fiery temper should be restrained, right? Big guy, let's talk about it, as far as Wang Pao's method of sending things is concerned, who can say that he is half a sentence? Your gift is simply a blind man lighting a lamp, in vain! ”

The eight courtiers present are all veterans of the two dynasties of the Northern Yan Dynasty, and they are also very familiar with Wang Fangqi's temperament. Everyone present knew in their hearts that although his war knife was worthless, it was the war knife that Wang Fang wore when he led the troops to fight and fought in the bloody field in his early years; It was also this broken knife that supported Wang Fang from a small charging camp until he entered the cabinet to pay respects. Since he abandoned literature and joined the Northwest Army, this knife has a history of more than 40 years.

Even though the blade, which was not sharp in the first place, had already burst out of countless gaps in the enemy's bones, and even though the scabbard was covered with old blood stains that could not be cleaned up, Wang Ge Lao still hung it around his waist at all times, always alerting himself; Even Emperor Tianyou was particularly gracious to this knife, and the king allowed him to wear a sword to the palace.

Today, this Beiyan standard saber, which has accompanied him for more than 40 years and has made great achievements in Western Xinjiang, is officially owned by the grandson of the Cai family. Although this congratulatory gift is not worth a copper plate, it also contains the deep affection of Wang Fang, the sworn enemy of the Cai Party.

The general did not hang the seal of the marquis, and often had a bloody knife hanging from his waist.

Just when the ministers of the cabinet were talking to each other, the great eunuch Tang Fuquan hurriedly walked in. After he finished his salute, he first glanced at Wang Zuocheng, who was sitting by the door, only to see that the other party took a deep breath of his cigarette pouch, waved his hand at him casually, and then ran directly to Cai Ge Lao's side and whispered in a low voice.

Cai Xi nodded while listening, and after Tang Fuquan finished explaining, he replied softly, "The old minister's decree", and then got up to send him off, and after the other party left the cabinet, Cai Youcheng stood in place and thought for a long time, then cleared his throat and said:

"Gujin, you should now rush back to your Ministry of Rites, select two men who are able to do the work, and order them to prepare all the things that can be used to send to the foreign countries, and be ready to be on standby. The old man can also give you a word in advance, all the way to the western frontier, and you must not stay on the ground of Sanqin for a moment on the way, so you have to pick a hard bone whose knees will not bend; On the other hand, it is the fat difference of Nankang, and it is necessary to choose a shrewd person who is quick to think and distinguish between advantages and disadvantages. ”

Qian Qiyong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, looked dignified after listening to his instructions, and quickly left the council hall. Anyone knows in their hearts that Cai Youxiang said that he was the first to do it, and now he chose this tone to order errands, which is obviously not what he Cai Xi meant.

After Qian Qiyong returned to the office, Cai Xi turned his head and cast his eyes on the head of the household book, Cheng Yicheng:

"Youling, I bother you to go back immediately to collect the big and small accounts, sort out the details of various income and expenditure balances in the past two years, and predict the total amount of silver that can be raised in the next three months, half a year, and one year, which can be predicted according to the intensity of wartime fundraising! Remember, this matter comes out of my mouth and into your ears, and you must not leak the rumors, so as not to cause trouble. ”

Cheng Yi nodded in agreement, and replied in a low voice:

"Under the pretext that His Majesty will routinely check the accounts, the lower officials will definitely avoid leaking the news."

Immediately, Cai Xi looked at Zhu Shangshu again, and his originally tense face suddenly burst out laughing. This somewhat inexplicable smile immediately startled Zhu Shang to fidget, and the wrinkles on his face began to tremble. Seeing that his frightened face turned pale, Cai Xi hurriedly shook his head and waved his hand to explain:

"The old decay laughing has nothing to do with Brother Dezu, so there is no need to be so nervous. Lao Yu thought that for a period of time after that, Brother Dezu might be the busiest among all his colleagues; But now there is no imperial mission to do, it's really a quiet tight! ”

Lord Zhu was not in good health, and when Cai Xi smiled like this just now, he almost had a heart attack on the spot. Now after listening to his explanation, although he didn't think it was funny, he reluctantly smirked a few times and agreed:

"Our courtiers are all worried about Your Majesty and the people, and they are all the same in the morning and in the evening...... Same. ”

"Hmm...... I wish my brother really saw it thoroughly, so please go back to the house to rest and wait for the call. ”

As soon as the three Cai Party disciples in the Council and Political Pavilion left, only Wang Fang and three henchmen were left in the house, as well as a lonely Cai donkey.

When Cai Xi received the order and commanded his party members to go out on business, Wang Fang watched coldly and never said a word; After the three Shangshu adults left the Cabinet one after another, he knocked out the cigarette pouch with the soles of his boots, and said something like this without a head:

"Your Majesty wants to move Zhu Shang?"

"There is no explicit purpose, but in my opinion, eight or nine are not far from ten. God it rains, and if someone drinks water, someone has to resist the thunder. It's just that the thunder this time is too loud, and he has to wish Dezu. ”

Wang Fang pondered for a long time when he heard this, and then threw out an even more brainless sentence:

"The situation is so dangerous?"

"I'm afraid it's even more dangerous than you and I might expect......"

Wang Zuocheng turned around and beckoned to the three behind him:

"You three soldiers, listen to me! One for me to step up the recruitment and training of sergeants and civilians from all over the country, each battalion and each army must be fully staffed, and the armor and ordnance must be counted out of the warehouse; One, let me go to recruit death row prisoners who have been hooked but not yet executed in various places, and form several battalions of daredevils; And you Lao Ji, throw all the rabbit cubs under your command to the border line! All the walls of the border passes have been carefully and thoroughly inspected by me! ”

As soon as Ji Lin, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, heard his workload, a cold sweat immediately rolled down to the ground:

"Enxiang, this east, west, north and south borders, where should my subordinates start?"

After Wang Fang and Cai Xi exchanged a look, they groaned for a long time and waved their big hands:

"According to my estimate, the two southwestern lines may be the first to be tightened, and they should be investigated first. However, you don't have to be in a hurry, as by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, your Ministry of Industry will receive specific instructions from the Cabinet. Alright, get out of here! ”

When the three royal disciples heard this, they also knew what was going on in it, and they hurriedly retreated. Wang Fang walked outside the door and commanded the sword-bearing guard in front of the door:

"Pass on my Wang Fang's words, and invite Zhou Changyong, the assistant director of the household department, and Zhou Chang'an, the king of Anping, to come to the cabinet to serve in the council."

In fact, the discussion above the court meeting was just a show of a king and his courtiers ruling the world together; With the change of the nine-person conference to the five-person meeting, the entire Northern Yan court basically entered a state of pre-war preparation. And the reason why they were so agitated had nothing to do with the two shocking black accounts of Xilin Mansion, but because of the folding fan given by the emperor......