Yanjing, the capital of the Great Wei Dynasty, is the Lanling Palace of the Imperial City. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Lanling Palace is located in the southeast of the inner garden of the imperial city, is a large and deep palace, is a typical pattern of the front hall and the back bed; There is a water pavilion in the middle, which is connected with the apse corridor. After the corridor is a wide hall, out of the hall to the left, through the hanging flower door, is the back room dormitory.

On the east corner of the dormitory in the back room, there is a carved low table of nanmu lacquered gold, on several platforms is a lying cow silver candlestick, on the eight scattered silver holders, the thick palace candles occasionally burst the candle flowers, and the orange candlelight swayed to the ground. The room is dimly lit, but the furnishings inside are extravagant.

On a large and exquisite soft couch in the south center of the room, a man of about forty reclined on it. Although he had a square face and sword eyebrows, his expression was a little gray and withered, like a melon that had deteriorated over time, and the folded and undulating skin wrapped around the rotten inner pulp, emitting a moldy smell.

The carved lattice of the wooden lattice is ajar, and the light yarn hangs long, and occasionally a hint of breeze blows, and the light yarn sways slightly.

Through the faint light of the light veil, you can see vague figures walking outside the carved window lattice, and from time to time there is a slight sound of armor. Several palace maids stood quietly around the bed, and the room was silent.

The man closed his eyes in some doubt at first, and then bit his thin lip lightly, as if hesitating about something.

"Close the window and call Xu Jiang in." After the man finished speaking, he opened his eyes, and the dark eyes that had just been dark suddenly shone brightly.

After a while, when a thin old eunuch with an eagle nose and eyes came in, he was not even startled by the dust on the ground, like a silent ghost.

"The old slave has seen Your Majesty." The old eunuch had two deep nasolabial folds under his nose, which closed with the corners of his mouth. His expression was blank, and his lifeless face looked a little gloomy.

"Don't worry about me, you won't be able to die all of a sudden. Let them all step aside! The man on the soft couch waved his hand vigorously, his tone was extremely light, and his face was no longer depressed.

"Your Majesty......"

The old eunuch's face finally had a hint of concern. The man on the sickbed was Wei Jing, the emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, who was in his prime, but he unexpectedly suffered from a kind of suspicion - fear of light, fear of water, and pain in the bones around his body. It's okay when you don't have an attack, but once the disease starts, you can't say anything, the pain that pierces the bone marrow makes people feel a kind of despair that is worse than death.

Not only are there many imperial doctors in the palace, but even Langzhong, who is a little famous among the people, has also recommended a lot, but he has not been able to find the root of the disease, and he has been tossing inside and out for more than a month, and Emperor Wei's illness is getting heavier and heavier.

"Xu Jiang, did you transfer the forbidden army here? I've been sick these days, but it's still peaceful outside? Emperor Wei obviously heard the sound of the armor on the armor outside the window, and glanced at Xu Jiang with some suspicion.

Xu Jiang knew the emperor's doubts. Although he is the head of the harem and has an unshirkable responsibility for the safety of the emperor, it is also a very suspicious act to transfer the forbidden army into the inner garden. Xu Jiang hurriedly knelt on the ground and said: "This is the old slave's idea, Your Majesty has been sick for more than a month, and the officials outside the palace are confused and the people are uneasy, and the old slave should also prepare early, just in case, please understand the old slave's heart." ”

It is no wonder that Emperor Wei has been groggy and critically ill a few days ago, and he is basically in a semi-coma. Even today, for some reason, I have a little soberness. Emperor Wei closed his eyes for a long time before he sighed thoughtfully: "I have been sick these days, and it is inevitable that some people will have a suspicious heart. Get up, I won't blame you. ”

Xu Jiang paused, and after a long time, he mustered up the courage to say: "According to Your Majesty's will, since the crown prince has been in charge of the country, all major affairs in the court and China have been decided by His Royal Highness the crown prince and the ministers, which is nothing. It's just that His Royal Highness, the second prince, is a little unusual these days. ”

"Oh——, I know that Dingwang Weiji has always led the royal forbidden army, and you are a little uneasy?" Emperor Wei pondered for a moment, "What else have you discovered?" ”

"The secret spy department under the old slave found that during this time, His Royal Highness King Dingwang and Yasukuni Gong wrote frequently. Shu Pengju, the Duke of Yasukuni, is the core figure in the Jiangmen, and the emperor must not be careless. ”

"I'm not dead yet, what do Wei Ji and Shu Pengju want to do? Ahem-" Emperor Wei's hand holding the edge of the couch trembled slightly, his face full of anger. In this hurry, I couldn't stop coughing.

Xu Jiang was silent for a long time, and when he saw that Emperor Wei was relieved, he was a little unbearable, but the emperor was sick in the harem, and he rarely cared about the affairs of the court, so it was not easy to hide it. As the commander of the secret spy department, he is the eyes and ears of the emperor, and he has the responsibility to control the ministers and hundreds of bureaucrats. So he continued: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is known for being merciful and generous, and he is not good at calculation, and the old slave is very worried. The other princes are good, but the emperor knows the temperament of His Royal Highness Dingwang, not only decisive, but also quite scheming. The old slave is worried that at this moment, the king will inevitably have the heart to compete for the crown. ”

Emperor Wei restrained his emotions and was speechless for a long time. After a cup of tea, Emperor Wei seemed to say to himself: "Among the three princes who have reached adulthood, the eldest son, Wei Qin, was established as the crown prince many years ago, but he is cowardly and kind-hearted. The second Wei Ji was originally the most like me, but my Great Wei Dynasty has gone through three dynasties, and in my generation, it has expanded its territory the most, resulting in an empty treasury and a loss of money for the people. If he is established by Wei Ji, he will inevitably use troops like me, once the country cannot support it and the people cannot support it, will the national fortune of my Great Wei be worried? Therefore, I would rather let Wei Qin do nothing in his life, than let Wei Ji take risks with the national fortunes of Great Wei. As for the third prince Xinwang Weiche, in addition to a group of nerds around him, he is accompanied by singers and singers, this unscrupulous son! ”

"Your Majesty, according to the old slave, His Royal Highness King Xin is not as unbearable as the emperor said. King Xin has never liked the government and has no intention of court, so there are some willful and free-spirited. ”

Foreign ministers generally avoid talking about the family affairs of the emperor's house, let alone comment on the princes, Emperor Wei was deeply surprised by Xu Jiang's performance today, this old guy has always been impartial, but somehow there is obvious praise and criticism today.

Although Emperor Wei was a little displeased, the current situation did not allow him to care about these trivial matters at all. Emperor Wei pondered for a moment, as if pondering how to use words, "You sent someone to spread my will: to revoke the promotion of the Yulin Army of the Imperial City of Dingwang Weiji. The Xiao Cavalry Battalion of the Forbidden Army was stationed in the inner garden of the Imperial City, and Wei Chixiong, the commander of the Xiao Cavalry Battalion, was in charge of the Imperial City Guards. King Wei Che was the king of Annan County, and he went to the fiefdom on the same day. ”

"The old slave obeys! Your Majesty, the Duke of Yasukuni is the maternal uncle of King Ding, and he has deep roots in the middle of the court, and His Royal Highness King Ding has his maternal uncle Jingguo Gong outside and his mother-in-law Shu Guifei inside, and I hope that His Majesty will plan early. "Xu Jiang seems to be a little reluctant to King Ding today.

Emperor Wei didn't answer, just looked up at the dim roof of the palace, like looking up at a pool of deep night sky. After pondering for a long time, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you worried that King Ding will misbehave with the help of his relatives?" ”

"Your Majesty, since the dragon's body is not safe, the seemingly calm in the DPRK and China is actually surging. Among the Jiangmen, most of them were headed by Shu Pengju, the Duke of Yasukuni, and most of them were attached to the subordinates of King Ding, and the ministers of the court and the central government were extremely jealous.

Although the crown prince has a respected status, his strength is still a little thin. Since the dynasties, the battle for the heir is bloodstained, and the old slave, as the head of the palace, has been raising the secret spy department, trembling and walking on thin ice all the time.

Anyone with a discerning eye in the court can see that the prince relies on a wealthy family in the court, and His Royal Highness the king relies on the people in the gate. Although the people in the gate have always been far away from the court and power struggles, they can often make a final decision on the current situation. The old slave said a word today, and the future Great Wei world may not necessarily fall into the hands of the prince! ”

"Do you think the situation is already so serious?" The gaze from the bed was as sharp as a knife.

"Just last night, His Royal Highness King Ding broke into Yong'an Gate at night and was stopped by the old slave. If he wasn't an old slave last night, King Ding would definitely be able to drive straight to the inner garden. ”

"What is he going to do? This brute! I, I-" Emperor Wei clutched the corner of the brocade quilt tightly, and the green tendons on his forehead jumped violently.

"Don't be angry, the emperor can only ease a little now by transferring the cavalry camp into the palace, and the Yasukuni Gong holds the military power of the empire, which is the key."

Yes, Shu Pengju is the commander of the Western Army, the rank of duke, holding more than 40% of the heavy troops of the Great Wei, and is the most powerful military minister of the Great Wei. I was terminally ill before I had time to uproot this big tree, and if I took a dose of strong medicine now, not only would it not help, but it would most likely make the situation worse. Therefore, now is not the best time to cut off Shu Peng's power to raise troops, once he jumps over the wall, Dawei will no longer have a day of stability and peace. Emperor Wei understood that the most important thing now was to stabilize the situation, and he was sick on the bed, and stability was above all else.

Emperor Wei retracted his thoughts and said a little depressedly: "What do you want me to do?" ”

"Suppress the king and stabilize the Yasukuni Gong. His Majesty can give the Duke of Yasukuni a first-class duke as a sign of favor, and then slowly make plans to gradually dilute his military power. Since His Majesty has chosen the crown prince, he must suppress King Ding. Otherwise, the courtiers have different thoughts, and if they form a party to kill each other, it will not be the blessing of the Great Wei Society. Xu Jiang believes that Shu Pengju is a powerful opponent, and in Great Wei, except for the emperor, there is no one who can argue with him. The current emperor is lying on the sickbed, and the current situation is delicate, and it seems that he is a little powerless to deal with Shu Pengju, a tiger, even the emperor.

"I don't have much time left. If you rush too quickly, it will be self-defeating, and too slow will not help. Go and summon the master and the prime minister into the palace, and I will meet them here. ”