The old lame man squinted and waited for Fang Jie's answer, with some expectation in his eyes. He became more and more interested in this waste-looking mess boy, because if you look carefully in this teenager, you will always find a lot of things to like.

Fang Xie is an interesting person, he understands better than anyone when he should understand, and he is confused by everyone when he should be confused, he will not deliberately pretend to be an idiot and stupid to show weakness, maybe he is disdainful, or maybe a person like him pretends to be an idiot even if he pretends to be an idiot. Or maybe he doesn't feel like he's qualified yet.

Some people may like to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger, but this teenager deeply understands that he is not a pig, so he can't pretend to be a tiger. In this world, pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger is a game that only people who are so fierce that there are almost no taboos can play it.

Fang Xie pinched a piece of cooked meat and put it in his mouth, and muttered for a while, sorting out the words in his heart.

"If you analyze it according to common sense, this matter is actually not difficult to guess."

He washed the meat in his mouth with a mouthful of Northwest Roast, reminiscing about the hotness of Northwest Roast.

"That person is the only prince who has always stood by His Majesty the Emperor's side among the seven sons. For that chair, perhaps he is also the only prince who has never coveted it. This is something that all the people of the Great Sui know, and if you ask an old man on the side of the road, he can tell the past clearly. ”

"When His Majesty was still the fourth prince, he was actually not favored by the first emperor. At that time, the most promising person to take over the jade seal in terms of prestige was the third prince. The third prince Yang Ji is a good friend and can argue, not to mention that in the court, even on the rivers and lakes, there are many heroes who are willing to die for him. He is stingy and never stingy with the privileges in his hands to help others. So in the imperial court, among the people, Yang Ji's reputation has always been very good and high. ”

"Another hot prince who can compete with Yang Ji for the throne is the eldest son**. He was the eldest son of the Empress of the Shogong, and the Empress was particularly fond of him at that time. has the support of the descendants, and his subordinates are naturally indispensable to assist him. The descendants have great prestige in the army, so the eldest son of the emperor is more confident than Yang Ji, who has a wide range of connections, to inherit the throne. ”

"But ** this person is very arrogant, and he doesn't know how to restrain himself with the support of his descendants. So much so that later the emperor gradually became more and more disgusted with this eldest son who bullied men and women behind his back, and it was the queen who worked hard to prevent ** from falling completely. ”

"Because of the emperor's dislike of **, the third prince Yang Ji is becoming more and more outstanding."

Fang Xie took a sip of wine, smiled and said, "This story is known to the people of the border city of Fangu. But no one can say how much of them are true and how many are false. But it is undeniable that the Great Sui Emperor will never hide the matter of choosing the crown prince, and he prefers his children to fight with their true skills. Therefore, there are a lot of stories that have been circulated, unlike the previous dynasty, where everything was done in secret. ”

The old cripple smiled and said, "Most of these things are true, as you just said. The biggest difference between the royal family of the Great Sui and the royal family of the previous dynasty is that they will not flaunt benevolence and morality but do some dark and cold things behind their backs. The successive emperors of the Great Sui chose the crown prince, and they all chose the best heirs in a dignified manner. The emperor even encouraged the princes to fight, but only on the surface of the real ability. ”

Fang Xie nodded and said, "There is no doubt that no one was optimistic that the current emperor would be able to sit on that chair at that time. The first emperor was seriously ill, and before his death, he had not yet chosen who the crown prince was. The eldest prince, who was leading the troops to guard the eastern frontier and negotiate and plan the border of the Eastern Chu State, learned that the first emperor was critically ill, and rushed back from the starry night in Eastern Xinjiang with 5,000 soldiers. ”

At that time, the three princes were already in control, and even the most favored ministers in front of the first emperor's sickbed were also on his side. Knowing that the eldest prince had returned with his troops, the third prince sent His Majesty, who was also on his side at the time, to lead people to intercept him. His Majesty went straight to the Taiji Hall of the Forbidden Palace and took away the Tiger Talisman for the transfer of troops. The elite soldiers of the Zuo Wuwei who transferred the sixth army of the Son of Heaven went out of the city to intercept the eldest prince, and were caught up by the seventh prince Yang Qi on the way, no one knew what Yang Qi and His Majesty said at that time, but His Majesty may have made up his mind at that time. ”

"His Majesty took Zuo Wuwei's elite soldiers to intercept the eldest prince halfway, and detained the eldest prince on the grounds of disobeying the emperor's order and returning to Beijing without authorization. Then immediately led the troops back to the imperial capital, the three princes ordered all the gates of the imperial capital to be closed, and it was the seventh prince with two hundred and sixty slaves who guarded a city gate and held on until His Majesty returned with his troops. In that battle, out of 260 house slaves, only 19 survived. The Seventh Prince was seriously injured in thirteen places, three of which were transparent in front and back. ”

"Your Majesty led the troops straight into the Taiji Hall and trapped all the courtiers. Old Nayan Su Wei asked in front of the sickbed of the former emperor who would inherit the throne. At that time, His Majesty happened to enter the door with armor, and the first emperor glanced at the three princes and then at His Majesty, and then stretched out his hand to His Majesty. ”

"Although those old ministers prefer to let the three princes succeed to the throne, the last emperor's will cannot be violated. So His Majesty ascended the throne, and the three princes were demoted to concubines, and they were assigned to Ning'an Tower. The eldest prince was demoted to disobey the order, and he was not allowed to leave the city for a single step in Xinshui City, southern Xinjiang. Luo Yao has been guarding the southern Xinjiang, and he may not have failed to monitor the mission of the eldest prince. ”

"The Seventh Prince Yang Qi ...... It's the owner of the red sleeves, right? ”

After saying this, Fang Xie glanced at the old lame.

The old lame man sighed and said, "These things are by no means something that a random old man on the side of the road can say...... How do you know? ”

……

……

Fang Xie knew that Li Xiaozong had mentioned it to him. In the border city of Fangu, there is only one person who can sit down with Li Xiaozong to drink, chat and talk freely. Although Li Xiaozong is only a child of the Li family, it is not too difficult to know these inside stories. At that time, the seven sons were so lively, which family could stay out of the matter?

In fact, to put it bluntly, the prince is still fighting for the strength behind himself.

And the reason why Li Xiaozong knew so much was because Li Chao, the general of Zuo Zhenwei, was one of the few people who stood beside the fourth prince Yang Yi.

If this were not the case, it would be difficult for Li Chao to bring the Li family into the ranks of first-class families with his military exploits.

Your Majesty has always been a person who has a kind to repay his kindness and revenge.

When Li Xiaozong first told Fang Xie about this, he didn't expect that one day he would become a mortal enemy with Fang Jie. At that time, he was still bent on cultivating Fang Xie into his own henchmen. Li Xiaozong is a man with great ambitions, and although Fang Xie is young, he definitely has the ability to make him tempted.

So this is no longer a secret story, and he can show that he trusts the other party very much when he tells it.

Fang Xie explained to the old lame, and then said with a smile: "Speaking of which, at that time, it is indisputable that His Majesty was able to become the person chosen by the First Emperor at the last moment, and the greatest credit was attributed to Yang Qi, the Seventh Prince. If it weren't for Yang Qi's lonely run and killed two war horses to catch up with His Majesty, if it weren't for him and his domestic slaves guarding the city gate, Your Majesty would ...... Not Your Majesty. ”

He said this in a low voice, and he did not dare to let anyone else hear it.

This kind of thing, nonsense is listened to, who knows if it will cause any trouble?

The old lame man hummed and said: "After Your Majesty ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to crown the Seventh Prince as Prince Zhong, ranking first among all princes and ministers, three times as many as other princes, ten times as many fiefs as other princes, and even three thousand soldiers who were completely obedient to Prince Zhong. The grandeur of this grace is the only one in the 100-year history of the founding of the Great Sui. Even the nineteen house slaves who survived the battle against the city gate were all given the title of county magistrate! Children and descendants will never serve in the military and pay no taxes! ”

He paused and continued: "But no one thought that on the third day after His Majesty ascended the throne, Prince Zhong resigned from all military positions, did not enter the court to participate in politics, and did not return to his fiefdom, but opened a song and dance shop called Red Sleeve Moves in Chang'an City. The emperor issued seven decrees in a row to let him enter the court, but he resisted the decree and disrespected it. The queen even personally set up a drink to persuade him, the queen toasted a cup and he drank a cup, the queen toasted sixteen cups, he drank sixteen cups in a row, half drunk and half awake, but refused to go to the palace again. ”

Fang Xie sighed with emotion: "There is no one with great wisdom in the world. ”

But his influence was too great, and during the period of the first emperor, Prince Zhong led his troops to several expeditions, and won many battles, and no one was invincible. And...... He is the younger brother of the eldest prince, and after the eldest prince loses power, the descendants can only pin their hopes on him. So...... Inevitably, there will still be suspicion, even if the decisions he has made have already made his attitude clear. ”

Fang explained: "So I said, on the surface, it seems that Prince Zhong left Chang'an ten years ago and disappeared without a trace, and the Red Sleeve was expelled by His Royal Highness the other prince, and this matter has nothing to do with Your Majesty." If Your Majesty is thinking about love, how can he not ask a word about the Red Sleeves? ”

When the old lame man heard this, he couldn't help frowning slightly and asked, "You mean, it's just a superficial thing?" ”

"What I have heard over the years, although Your Majesty is the most gentle-tempered person among the emperors of the Great Sui Dynasty, but he is by no means a person without courage, if he wants to do something to Prince Zhong, he will not use this trick to make people disappear so naïve, and then immediately can't wait to drive Prince Zhong's property out of the imperial capital, don't you think it's too obvious to do so?"

Fang Xie thought of the scene he saw in the town outside the imperial capital where the red-robed priest of the Dao Sect fell to the ground with a finger, and he was even more sure that his idea was right. How could an emperor who had no last resort make such a low-level mistake in the first place?

"If he wants to get rid of Prince Zhong, he will definitely get rid of it...... Moreover, I will not use such a substandard method. ”

The old cripple was stunned, thought for a while and said, "Prince Zhong's family has been living well, and the fief has not moved. Every year, His Majesty will have a lot of rewards, although there is only a group of old slaves left in Prince Zhong's fiefdom. I always thought that this was the emperor's guilt......"

"Guilt?"

Fang Xie smiled: "How can someone who can really do such a thing feel guilty?" ”

The old lame man snorted, his face a little ugly.

Fang Xie pondered for a while and said, "When the Red Sleeves were forced to leave the Imperial Capital City, it was done by another prince. The emperor didn't stop it, maybe the emperor didn't have time to stop it at all. That prince was pressed by Prince Zhong, even if Prince Zhong did not go to court or participate in politics, it would not be his turn to come out, so after Prince Zhong disappeared, he thought that he had seized the opportunity. It was too late for the emperor to think about it again, and in order to protect the face of his other younger brother, the emperor could not invite back the red sleeves who had been expelled from the imperial capital. ”

After thinking carefully in his mind, he said: "Maybe this is the truth, the dismissal of the Red Sleeves is just an idiot done by a certain idiot prince in order to show his loyalty and to get on the throne, he thought that Prince Zhong was gone, and the emperor would take the opportunity to get rid of Prince Zhong's strength, but he didn't expect it...... The sycophants were not filmed well. ”

The old lame's face changed, and he hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems to be ...... The prince who expelled the red-sleeved move from the imperial capital back then, His Majesty has not used him all these years. Although he is still a prince, he is really an idle person with no power. ”

"Everything, as long as you are willing to look at it with your heart, you should be able to see it clearly."

Fang Xie summed up very stinky fart.

When he said this, the wine was drunk dry, the meat was eaten, and the words were exhausted, just right.

"Tomorrow morning, you come to the backyard with red sleeves, and I will pass you a knife."

The old lame man got up, slightly drunk, so he walked a little shaky.

Fang Xie got up, he was not drunk, and he still walked steadily.

But those who are slightly drunk are actually not drunk, and those who do not seem to be drunk are really drunk.

For that kind of knife, Fang Xie didn't just spend a lot of brains, he was never a person who could drink, such a big wine gourd, empty.

The thrush glanced at Fang Xie who had walked away, and then at the old lame man who was burping.

"Want to help him?"

She asked.

The old lame man smiled: "Pitch to fate, right temper...... He's a waste who hasn't cultivated, and he can't be beaten into a pig's head casually in the martial arts academy competition? Anyway, I came out of Fan Gu, and I was beaten to cripple by losing one game at a time, and I was also embarrassed...... A knife, I haven't used it for a long time, and it's time to see the light. ”

"It's a big deal."

Xi Thrush said seriously.

The old lame man waved his hand indifferently, leaned against the door frame, and soon fell asleep. Muttered a few underestimates, and his voice was very soft. I don't know if it's drunk talk or dream talk, but it's a little intriguing after all.

"The ground is dry and the soil is cracked, no wonder the seedlings are crooked, water more and sprinkle manure on it...... And salvation. ”