When Cao Hao urged the horse to Xizhimen, the concubine's car had already left the city, and he saw the city gate closed again from a distance.

The fourth elder brother squinted his eyes, the concubine's trip will inevitably cause speculation among those who are interested, and it may cause new panic, and it seems that the inner city needs to be strengthened.

The third elder brother thought differently, originally thought that staying in Beijing to be the main brother was a decent thing, but now it seems that he has become an outcast.

Cao Hao looked at the city gate that was gradually closing, and then looked at the two people in python robes under the city gate, did not come closer, and turned the horse's head and walked aimlessly when everyone did not notice this.

"Childe?" Wei Bai saw his silence, and was a little worried: "Where are we going, if the son is tired, let's go back to the house first!" ”

Cao Hao shook his head and did not speak.

For most of the next day, Cao Hao focused on his errands, and led the people in the military camp to pass through the homes of those who had found epidemic patients. In the four mortuary sites, the number of new deaths was counted, and the areas that needed to be strictly prevented were demarcated by district and area. He went to Prince Ciyong's mansion again, and handed the various figures, conclusions, and suggestions he got to the fourth elder brother and asked him to decide.

At the end of the day, it was like a marquee, and there was no free time for a moment. Until late at night, Cao Haofang returned home. In order to be prepared, Cao Hao went out to check the epidemic and asked someone to sort out two rooms by the gatehouse. Whether he himself or the few who go out with him, every day when he comes back, he first bathes and changes clothes here.

After Cao Hao finished bathing, he wore his hair loosely, tightened the robe on his body, and looked a little depressed.

He walked very slowly, and he didn't want to go back to Wutong Garden for a while, and it was really difficult to pretend to smile at the moment.

There was a light in the study in the front hall, and Cao Hao walked in a few steps, and it was Mr. Zhuang who was there. He stood in front of the bookcase, looking down at something. No matter what his identity is, in the past two years, Cao Hao has gradually regarded him as a mentor and friend, and he is in such a depressed mood as he is today, and he also wants to talk to him.

Hearing the footsteps, Zhuang Xi raised his head and said to Cao Hao with a smile: "Hao'er is back, if you are free, how about a drink with the old man?" ”

Cao Hao noticed that a table was set up on the kang next to him, on which some wine and food and two plates of noodles were placed. When it came to the aroma of the wine and food, Cao Haofang remembered that most of the water had not been touched, and he was already hungry.

After asking Mr. Zhuang to sit down first, Cao Hao also sat cross-legged, raised the wine jug to fill Mr. Zhuang and himself, and then raised it: "Sir, Cao Hao toasts you first!" As he spoke, he raised his glass, handed it to his lips, and drank it all with his head up.

Although Su said that he didn't like the contents of the cup, Cao Hao was a lot more comfortable at the moment, and he only felt that the wine melted into his stomach and intestines along his throat, dispelling the chill all over his body.

He filled the wine glasses of the two of them again, and said to Mr. Zhuang with a smile: "I can't complain that the world loves the contents of this cup so much, it is indeed a good thing!" ”

His smile couldn't hide his frustration or sadness, Mr. Zhuang sighed in his heart and said, "You'er is like this, you have already made a decision!" ”

Cao Hao put down the wine jug, nodded slowly, and said with a little helplessness: "Although I had this plan for a long time, it wasn't as urgent as this, but after so much, I'm a little timid!" I'm afraid that one day I won't be able to help it, I'm afraid that I will be hot-headed and unable to control myself, and say or do something 'indecent', if it affects my family, it will be too late to regret it! ”

Mr. Zhuang shook his head: "Hao'er, why do you have to suffer yourself, although the epidemic was discovered later this time, it was under control since then, and it is not as terrible as before, which is due to you." You've done your best, don't think about it so much! ”

Cao Hao drank another glass of wine and said, "I don't want to, it's not interesting to think about it anymore!" I just want to do this errand well, and control the epidemic as soon as possible, so that a few fewer people can die than anything else! As for myself, I am going to consult with my husband, I can't stay in this capital, I can't go back to Jiangnan, although the world is big, I am like duckweed, I don't know where to go! ”

"Since Hao'er has a plan, do you have any plans in your heart?" Mr. Zhuang asked.

"If I talk from the heart, I want to go to Guangdong to see and understand, but my parents are now old, and I can't rest assured that my son is so far away. The rest, Shandong, Henan and Huguang are closer to Jiangnan, where to go, I haven't thought about it! Cao Hao replied.

Mr. Zhuang nodded: "It's rare for Hao'er to be so filial." Filial piety comes first, you are so filial, it is not easy to take into account your parents and relatives in advance! Where to go and where not to go to these three places, it is still necessary to figure out the officialdom entanglements in the provinces before making a decision. Here in the capital, Hao'er has to finish properly. Through this epidemic, coupled with the siege of the Ten Elder Brothers' Mansion, I am afraid that you will be marked as the Fourth Elder Brother! Although the fourth elder brother is not low, he has rarely participated in the power struggle over the years, and he is a 'lonely' elder brother, even if the storage position is unstable now, but if he wants to take the position, it is not easy. ”

"What does Sir's opinion of the fourth elder brother?" Cao Hao couldn't help but be a little surprised, but then he was relieved, not only Mr. Zhuang, but also many people treat the fourth elder brother like this. Is it that the fourth elder brother does not have the heart to seize the prince at this time, or is he well disguised?

Mr. Zhuang sighed slightly: "If it is old and decayed, although the fourth elder brother is not as favored as a few younger elder brothers in recent years, and there are not as many people as the third elder brother and the eighth elder brother, he can indeed be called a practical elder brother." It's just that looking at his methods in the household department, it is inevitably a little more aggressive, which is completely different from the generosity of Banzai's stay, which is difficult to recognize in Banzai! ”

Cao Hao listened, and couldn't help but want to refute Mr. Zhuang, if the fourth elder brother is also "generous" and "generous" in the household department, I am afraid that Kangxi is not only a difficult problem to recognize, but it is difficult to say whether he can tolerate this son. However, these are just thinking about it, I am not interested in fighting for the merits of the establishment, nor am I interested in revealing the true face of the fourth elder brother to set a "hurdle" for him.

Cao Hao smiled casually: "I'm just doing this for an errand, if I am slandered because of this, then I really didn't say anything." Anyway, I don't plan to stay in Beijing, whether it's the fourth elder brother or the other elder brothers, where will I have the opportunity to get along? I just learn from my father, just do things in a down-to-earth manner, and let him do the rest! When my parents are 100 years old, I will resign from my official position and become a rich man! ”

Mr. Zhuang's face was full of disapproval: "How old is the fang?" Although he should not be a teenager, he does not dare to lose his enterprising spirit! ”

Cao Hao smiled: "I'm just saying that, where is everything as you like?" I can't say that I will be crowned in the future and pay homage to the prime minister, and I will also leave a name in history! ”

The two drank a pot of wine, and Cao Hao's mood gradually calmed down. This capital is really difficult, I just hope that God will rain a few more times to alleviate the drought and curb the epidemic.

Cao Hao didn't know if there was only a wry smile left, a good atheist, he actually pinned his hopes on God.

The departure of the concubine made the atmosphere in the inner city strange, and various rumors began to rise. Every day, more and more people went to the Nine Gates to find opportunities to go out of the city, including the prince Baylor.

Tuo Heqi resisted for two days, and he was a little unbearable, and he really couldn't do anything, just like the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother asked for help. Where will the third elder brother get his hands? The fourth elder brother had to keep an eye on the epidemic in the outer city again, and in the end, it was the thirteenth elder brother who came forward.

On May 16, the little elder brother in the third elder brother's mansion fell ill and died; On May 18, Zhang Yushu, a college scholar who had been bedridden for half a month, died of illness. These two, one is the grandson of the emperor and the other is the prime minister, but they both died of the epidemic.

The third elder brother didn't know if he was really sick, or he wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of the relationship, so he directly sued the illness, guarded the mansion and didn't come out, and ignored everything.

Although the number of deaths in the inner city is declining and the epidemic prevention is very effective, no one believes that the epidemic will pass. Not only the powerful families wanted to leave the city, but even the more wealthy people were clamoring to go out of the city for refuge, and more and more people were waiting for an opportunity at the city gate, and there was even a tendency that they could not be dispersed.

The manpower of the nine gates of the inner city has already increased by three or four times, but the atmosphere is still getting more and more tense. On May 20, the taut string finally broke, and a clash broke out at Deshengmen.

The situation was so critical that hundreds of civilians stormed the gates of the city and tried to get out of it. The officers and soldiers guarding the gate drank several times, and they did not retreat. During the pushing, two people were pushed to the ground by the officers and soldiers, and I don't know whether they were really injured or deliberately acted, so they only lay on the ground and wailed, which intensified the conflict, and some people in the crowd began to attack the officers and soldiers.

When the thirteenth elder brother got the news and brought people over, the scene was already in chaos. If it is an ordinary person, where can they have such courage? The thirteenth elder brother looked at the young man who was not lacking in the middle, and knew that this was someone who was helping the trouble.

His original reluctance to bear the people turned into anger, and immediately ordered the officers and soldiers to surround the people, and shouted that everyone should disperse immediately, otherwise they would be convicted of treason.

Because of the large number of people, everyone holds the idea of "the law does not blame the public", except for a few people who obey the order to leave, most of the rest are waiting, and others are still clamoring to go out of the city for fear that the world will not be chaotic.

The thirteenth elder brother was anxious by them, where is he in the mood to lay out the facts and reason with them, knowing that if this matter is not severely punished, Ming'er and Hou'er are afraid that there will be more and more people who have the idea of luck, and everyone's courage will become bigger and bigger.

The thirteenth elder brother directly ordered to take down the dozen or so people who were the most fierce and made trouble, and beheaded them in public mercilessly.

How far the human head rolled out, the plasma splattered all over the ground, and the scene was immediately silent.

The thirteenth elder brother also ordered these heads to be sent to the other eight city gates, hanging on high poles, to deter those who were about to move, and if anyone approached the city gate for no reason, and still went to the former after being drunk, it was like this, and there was no mercy.

When Cao Hao heard about this, there was no one in front of the nine gates, only a few heads hanging on the high poles. He couldn't help but admire the thirteenth elder brother, such courage, if he was someone else, he might not be able to do it even if he wanted to! This is indeed an effective method, so that even if some people still refuse to settle down, they will not dare to dare to break into the city again.

And at the same time of admiration, Cao Hao was a little worried about the thirteenth elder brother, I heard that among the people who were cut off, there were three yellow belts - one favored the prince of the country, and two favored the general Feng'en, which will be investigated after the epidemic, and no one will be willing to reward the credit of the thirteenth elder brother, but someone will definitely come forward to denounce this crime.

* Thinking of this, Cao Hao is naturally not the only one who is worried about the thirteenth elder brother, and the fourth elder brother is full of anxiety at this time and admonishes the thirteenth elder brother: "Even if you want to kill a hundred people, you don't have to be so ruthless, more than a dozen lives, thirteenth brother, even if you have great merit, you can't get past it!" ”

The thirteenth elder brother just smiled: "Fourth brother, don't worry, my younger brother is not afraid, and my younger brother is not rare in the credit of this Laoshizi!" ”

The fourth elder brother shook his head, very dissatisfied with his attitude: "You hurry up and write a confession, and I will think of a way to explain the matter before others sue him." It must be explained that the situation is indeed urgent, and there is no other way to make this decision! ”

The thirteenth elder brother was silent for a long time, and Fang slowly spoke: "The matter has come to this point, does the fourth brother think it is still necessary to do this?" We have never guessed Huang Ama's thoughts, but he wants to say the word 'benevolence'. ”

The fourth elder brother understood the meaning of the thirteenth elder brother's words, no matter what the reason, someone must be responsible for this matter to maintain the dignity of the emperor's father "Renjun". He closed his eyes tiredly, but soon opened them again, and said with a straight face: "Since this is the case, I will write this confession excerpt." You were an idle brother, and you had no errands on you, but I asked you to come out and let you stick to the city gates! You're just following my arrangement, and it's not your fault! These two days, you stay in the house and do things, and I have everything for you. ”

Hearing this, the thirteenth elder brother Huo Ran stood up from his seat and said loudly: "Fourth brother, is my younger brother still a child?" What does my brother know and what can't he do?! Since he chose to do so, his brother has nothing to regret and complain about! I won't push these to the fourth brother! ”

"Old Thirteen!!" The fourth elder brother's voice was also a little annoyed: "What are you stubborn? Is this the time to be angry? Could it be that you want Huang Ama to snub you for ten or eight years, or even ...... Even...... circled you, are you satisfied? ”

"Fourth brother, the younger brother asked you, in such a situation today, if the fourth brother is replaced, how will the fourth brother deal with it?" The thirteenth elder brother stared at the eyes of the fourth elder brother and said.

The fourth elder brother was stunned for a moment, and said solemnly: "Even if there is only this way, it should be done by me as an elder brother, after all, I still have an errand to supervise the epidemic, at most it is just an errand to punish the household department!" ”

"What have I been afraid of? What else do I have to fear? The thirteenth elder brother's voice was full of anger and excitement, "The fourth brother did it, why can't I do it?" Could it be that the fourth brother, like others, also treats me, a brother who has fallen out of favor, as a waste? ”

"Thirteenth brother......" The fourth elder brother finally sighed and didn't say anything more.

The thirteenth elder brother turned his head and looked out the window, the clouds in the sky were gradually closing, and it seemed that it was going to rain again.

(To be continued)