The news of the assassination of the Emperor of Shu finally spread.

I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but the detailed process of the emperor's assassination is difficult to find in the official report.

In response to that saying, the result is more important than the process.

In the eyes of the people of Xizhou, the important thing is that the emperor is dead, and it does not matter how the emperor assassinated him, whether he was injured in the process of assassinating him, and whether he was dead or alive in the end.

In the eyes of the people of the world, the death of the emperor is only a certain point in the long line of the process, and it does not matter whether this point is solid or hollow, whether it is the starting point or the middle point, they only care about their own vital interests, such as whether the taxes will rise this year, when the money for disaster relief will be distributed, and so on.

In their opinion, the news of the emperor's assassination is not as topical and attractive as Wang Xiucai in the village who picked a load of water for Widow Zhao.

More importantly, they know that this emperor is gone, and there is the next one, although the assassinated emperor has no queen, but the people have already spread the news that the emperor made a secret decree between the king of Guangling and the king of Lanling to defeat Xizhou first - in short, as long as there is no chaos in the world, or as long as the chaos does not affect themselves, they are willing to be so ignorant and watch the fire from the other side of the river and watch the tiger fight.

It was late at night when Dou Shuting, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, dragged his tired body back to the mansion, and this was the second time in nearly a month that he was able to go home to rest. The assassination of the first emperor, the ensuing funeral matters and remedies after the death of the first emperor and the disappearance of the quadruple coffin all need to be done by himself, these days he runs between the Ministry of Rites and the inner palace, the sound of those subordinates quarreling and the cry of the queen concubine in the palace, so that his originally restless heart is even more tired, in his early fifties, he seems to be ten years old in this month, his hair is white, and his old age is complete.

However, this was not the only trouble, the two pillars of the imperial court, the emperor and the prime minister, one was assassinated, and the other was assassinated on the same day as he resigned and left the capital. Now that there are no leaders in the entire Dingdu City, and it is difficult to pass the decrees, he has to do his best to deal with the aftermath on the one hand, and on the other hand, he has to work out countermeasures with other ministers on the pieces submitted from various places, whether they are willing or not, they have to review them one by one -- this in itself is already beyond the courtesy, if it is placed in the previous dynasty, he Dou Shuting has ten heads that are not enough to cut off.

"Alas......" sighed in his heart, he took the warm towel handed by the old butler and put it on his face, and rubbed it vigorously twice.

"Master, I heard that Lord Xiao of the Ministry of War ...... today"

The housekeeper and Dou Shuting are small, and the relationship between the two is like brotherhood, although it is just a housekeeper identity, but everyone in the government and the opposition knows that this lord of the Ministry of Rites treats him very well, and basically when he is not at home, he will hand over the things that need to be on the table to the old housekeeper to do.

And this old housekeeper did not shout in Shangshu Mansion because of his identity, in the eyes of the next people, it was like Lao Zhang who was in charge of the vegetable garden, although he didn't talk much, but he was kind and never scolded them; The ladies and sons in the house also have great respect for the old housekeeper, especially Dou Jianzhang, the eldest son of Dou, who is the future head of the old Shangshu family, but he also respects the housekeeper like his father, but whenever the old housekeeper does not serve the table during the meal, he never dares to order the meal, as long as the old housekeeper is present, he never dares to sit and talk to the old housekeeper.

Now the old housekeeper is basically semi-retired, and there are some things that he doesn't have to do, just need to ask the maids to do it, but he can't be idle, especially the things related to Lord Shangshu, he has to do it himself to feel at ease.

Just tonight, when Shangshu went home, as soon as it was past noon today, Dou Shuting asked the little eunuch in the palace to come out to purchase, and told the family to go home and rest at night, Dou Jianzhang happened to go back to the Huaizhou clan to do business, so he arranged for the maid to serve before leaving, and repeatedly asked the old housekeeper to pay attention to his body, and when he was old, he should not stay up until midnight and wait.

The old butler also knew that his health was getting worse and worse, so he agreed. In the afternoon, when the sun was not on top, he went back to the house and went to sleep, and he woke up half an hour ago, and opened up two young maids, and he was busy heating up the water, and chose a few small snacks that the old man loved to eat.

He took the towel handed back with one hand, and the freshly brewed soothing tea with the other, looking at the old man who worked hard for the country, the housekeeper was really worried that he would leave like that Lord Xiao.

"Lao Xiao is so old, and his temper is still as anxious as when he was young......" Dou Shuting took a sip of tea and said slowly, "I heard that he quarreled too much with Lord Liu of the household department when he was discussing whether Tian Gong's generals in Xizhou could be transferred back, and he didn't get angry, and he suffocated his ......."

"That lord is a soldier, and he has always had this temper......

"It's the time for a pot of porridge, and he is fine, and he is very quick to get out...... Tomorrow, I would like to ask you to go over there to condole, Lord Xiao and I are also classmates, and we have worked together in the court for so many years...... It's sad to think about it. ”

Dou Shuting put down the tea, and was about to ask the housekeeper to rest as soon as possible, but saw that he looked like he wanted to speak and stopped.

"What's wrong? What else can't we say? Dou Shuting knew that although the housekeeper of his family did not talk much, his knowledge was not beyond the reach of ordinary people, and sometimes he sighed in private: If it wasn't for his background, even if he was a local official, his ability would be more than enough.

"Don't dare to ......" The old butler bowed down, and did not sit on the chair pointed out to him by Master Shangshu, but sat down nearby.

"I just wanted to play at home when I had nothing to do, and I thought of such a thing." The old butler has always been cautious, whether he is doing things or talking, he tries to do it as well as possible. Although he said this, he didn't wait for Dou Shuting, who was sitting on the upper hand, to say anything, and went on.

"The emperor passed on the secret decree, thinking that he was planning to make a time difference. According to the original he and Zhuang Boyang - no, this is his own idea, since Huang Fuer has gone mad and his muscles and veins are broken, he thinks that his speed should have fallen to the bottom, and if he rushes all the way, the injury is only serious. Therefore, whether it is to walk slowly to recuperate from an injury, or to rush regardless of a serious injury, it is advantageous for the emperor. ”

"The emperor has calculated the time on the road of the emperor and the time when the news reaches the ears of the people of the world after the successful assassination. Speaking of which, the housekeeper asked Dou Shuting for advice.

"It will take at least seven or eight days for the holy decree to reach the hands of King Guangling and King Lanling, but I don't know why His Majesty has not counted this time, but maybe there will be other arrangements to block it when it is counted." What the housekeeper said was basically good, and what Dou Shuting didn't understand was whether the seven or eight days in the middle were originally in the calculations of His Majesty.

If Zhuang Boyang is here, it will not be a problem at all: because the "Mr. Chou" who was used as a chess piece to block the emperor in the original plan did not follow His Majesty's script at all, but directly showed weakness and avoided - of course, His Majesty, who has not been to Yanzhou for more than ten years, must not know that the "Mr. Chou" at this time is no longer the one at that time!

"I guess that's not something we know." The butler took over and continued, "Just because time has not progressed as the emperor originally designed, have you ever thought about the consequences? ”

Hearing this, Dou Shuting's eyes showed a hint of approval, but he soon returned to normal, and asked the housekeeper rhetorically: "What will be the consequences of this?" ”

The housekeeper sighed secretly, thinking to himself, master, you have been in the officialdom for a long time, and when you come to the house, your words are three points true and seven points false. He didn't break it, bowed his head and said: "According to the original ideal result, the news of the emperor's death will reach Xizhou, and Xizhou City will be broken or will be broken in a few days." The current situation is obviously not so smooth, at this time the King of Lanling may have arrived in Xizhou, but the King of Guangling is afraid that even if he travels day and night, he will not cross the border of Huaizhou. ”

"You are overestimating the king of Guangling...... Dou Shuting interjected, "Junzhou is not as good as Zhanzhou's perennial armament, besides, I heard that the team of Xiyue Heqin has rushed from Zhanzhou to Queensland, and as soon as the pressure on that side eases, Song Changgong will be able to go straight to Xizhou when he turns around, and your analysis is correct; Guangling King Song Jixu side, rich and rich, but the soldiers are not good soldiers, he must give up Qingzhou in order to rush to the relatively flat Xiangzhou, and then enter Huaizhou all the way to the west, such a way to not say that the general military generals can not bear it, like the group of soft persimmons in Junzhou soaked in the gentle countryside all day long, can not be counted on - let alone crossing the Huaizhou border, at this time I think it has just entered the Huaizhou border! ”

When he said this, Dou Shuting became more and more excited, and the teacup on one side was knocked to the ground by him.

The housekeeper was about to get up and clean up, when he saw Dou Shuting waving his hand, he had to sit back and continued: "If there is no such holy decree, the fastest way to settle down after the emperor is assassinated is to order Tian Gong to give up the siege of Xizhou, at least to cover the current momentum of the siege, and should not involve the soldiers of Lanling and Guangling again, in this way, even if he can't make up his mind about who to succeed the unification, the ministers of the imperial court can also collectively plan to choose individuals to stabilize the situation first." Right now...... No matter how you look at it, it feels ......."

"What do you think?"

Seeing that there was no clear expression in Dou Shuting's eyes, the housekeeper had no choice but to bite the bullet in his heart: "No matter how you look at it, I think the emperor deliberately left such a mess and tried to make the world chaotic!" ”

He spoke loudly, but he didn't respond for a long time.

"Yang Wei, ah......"

Just when the housekeeper was worried in his heart, the name that came out of Dou Shuting's mouth surprised him.

"Yang Wei, you are really good...... You're good! There was no trace of anger in Dou Shuting's tone, but there was a little irrepressible excitement. He stood up and took a few steps back and forth.

"My lord, you are ......" Butler Yang Wei, a native of Xizhou, is the younger brother of Yang Wu, the current patriarch of the Yang clan in Xizhou, and Yang Wu is the only one among the four disciples of the Emperor Fu who stays by his side all the year round.

"On that day, your family suffered a great change, your brother was taken in as an apprentice by the emperor, and when you went to my house, you were dying of hunger. My mother took you in, and she didn't tell outsiders that you were from my family, nor that you were from Xizhou, but that you were the son of her hometown and sent you to accompany me. Back then, we were all ignorant teenagers, but now you and I are old immortals who know the world well! Incognito for so many years, although Yang Wu has quietly visited around five times, you are grateful for the grace of my family's meal, and you have never taken the initiative to leave, so you are still alone...... I'm also grateful. ”

Dou Shuting suddenly talked about the past, Yang Wei didn't know what he meant, but he still knew that this was a rare expression of true feelings from this adult.

"The kindness of the adult's family, I Yang Wei is unforgettable......," he said, and was about to kneel on the ground.

"It doesn't have to be like this—" Dou Shuting took a step ahead of him and grabbed his arm tightly.

"I already know your determination...... Why do you think I'm coming back tonight? Seeing that Yang Wei was silent, he took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Yang Wei.

"Jianzhang knows your mind, how can I not know......"

This letter was handed to the eldest prince by Yang Wei the night before, and there was nothing else in his heart, only one sentence: Go quickly, don't return!

Yang Wei smiled bitterly, and suddenly exclaimed: "What the adults mean is that there is something ...... in the clan this time."

"It's the word I let people pass on." Dou Shuting smiled, and changed his words: "What do you think of Lord Xiao?" ”

"Didn't you say ...... just now" Yang Wei was halfway through his words, and then reacted: "Lord Xiao was born in the army, and he fought on the battlefield for a long time in his early years, and I heard that there is a skill that others can't compare. ”

"Yes, although this person is a martial artist, he has been a soldier for so many years, and he has long been a soldier, and his prediction of danger has a place for him in the world."

"You mean...... That's too much, isn't it? Yang Wei seemed to have guessed something and asked in disbelief.

"Big? I don't think it's big at all, but it's a big profit. Dou Shuting said, "Personal life and death are not worth mentioning compared to the survival of the family. What's more, everyone is a courtier, and Mingzhe knows how to protect himself, but not necessarily anyone is willing to do it - it's too difficult to be a loyal minister, and there is no way. ”

"That's why the adults asked me to go to condolence tomorrow?" Yang Wei understood, Lord Xiao, the secretary of the military department, was exchanging his own death for the safety of his family, and the people of Xiao Mansion would not have time to leave tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they would leave the capital in the name of mourning.

"It's not just his Xiao family, but also you." When he said this, Dou Shuting's eyes froze and said solemnly.

"Your Excellency, ...... you"

Yang Wei understood what was going on as soon as he heard it, so he asked Dou Jianzhang to go back to Huaizhou first, and then let himself follow......

"Listen to me!" Dou Shuting said word by word, "The master is crazy, and the courtier can't follow the madness." I am aware of what you said, Lord Xiao is aware of it, and others will understand this truth one after another...... However, whether to go or not is not up to yourself, but to the entire court. There is no emperor in the imperial court, there is no prime minister, but there are still historians in the ...... The best thing for us Confucian scholars is to save face, and we will never do anything ......to steal our lives and protect our lives," he smiled.

"It's just a matter of being foolish and loyal by yourself, and there is no need to involve your family...... It takes a lot of control! He Xiao is expected to have a general's son who sits on one side, even if people scold him later, he will fight to be scolded and send out all the family members who can be sent out - who dares to scold, I can't think about whether other people's sons are willing or not? We are different, so this time we will build a chapter, you go back, and my wife and I will wait here. ”

Seeing what Yang Wei wanted to say, Dou Shuting smiled: "Your big brother is really amazing!" ”

"This ...... The eldest brother is amazing, so he will be favored by others......" Yang Wei didn't know why he mentioned his eldest brother, so he had to hold back the words in his heart and respond casually.

"I heard that he became the lord of Xizhou not long ago......"

"Oh, that's nothing. When the eldest brother was seven or eight years old, he was managed by the old man of the family with the study family. Yang Wei still coped.

"Before I went home, I received a military report from the front."

"Oh? Are you from Zhanzhou? Did Beidi want to take advantage of this time to rob? ”

"The Lord of the Clouds is sick, and I heard that he has a cold, and he can't lift this spirit for a while." Dou Shuting looked at the housekeeper who was beginning to be absent-minded, and sighed shortly: "...... from Xizhou It's good news. ”

"Oh, Xizhou...... What the! "Yang Wei finally reacted, good news from Xizhou? It shouldn't be at all!

"Why don't you say that your eldest brother is not simple......" Dou Shuting softened his frowning brows twice, "It actually surrendered in Kaicheng, do you believe it or not?" It's unexpected. ”

"Surrendered? Like who voted for the drop? Song Changgong? When Yang Wei said this, he immediately denied himself: "No, although so many years have passed, I still remember clearly what kind of person my eldest brother is...... Isn't he supposed to be a ......?"

"That's right, he will never surrender to Song Changgong, nor will he surrender to the Xiyue people, he chose a person who didn't want to win the battle at this time - Tian Gong."

Surrendering to Tiangong means that there will never be a "one who will defeat Xizhou first" between the king of Guangling and the king of Lanling, which means that the emperor's secret decree is a few useless nonsense.

"In the final analysis, it's still a matter of this secret purpose......" After being shocked, Yang Wei found the key to the problem. The easiest truth to understand: if it was not said before that whoever would conquer Xizhou first would inherit the unification, then neither King Guangling nor King Lanling would dare to take the initiative to fight for this position in the face of the world's disapproval; Now that there is this will, whoever sits in this position is bound to arouse the displeasure of the other person: what is said by the holy decree, why not according to the holy decree? What right do other people have to say that one is okay and the other is not? You have to fight a dozen, a match!

Of course, the most absolute thing is not only that, the people of Xizhou surrendered at this time, are they attached to be good citizens with peace of mind? It's clearly waiting for an opportunity to be a chaotic people, and I don't know when it will stab this struggling country from behind, and then watch this behemoth collapse with a bang.

"Time is not waiting for me......" Dou Shuting sighed, "You go back to Huaizhou, look at Jianzhang more, he respects you like a relative and elder, and you must also take good care of him." ”

"Don't worry......" At this time, Yang Wei could only agree.

"If Huaizhou can't stay any longer, go back to Xizhou, anyway, you brothers haven't seen each other for decades."

Yang Wei's heart warmed, knowing that this was not just for the sake of the two brothers, but that he had already entrusted the eldest prince of Dou to himself, and the implication was that when you run, let Jianzhang follow you!

"Master Xie......" After the old housekeeper finished speaking, he bowed slightly, and the tea bowls that fell on the ground were not cleaned up, and he retreated directly.

Dou Shuting, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, stood there in a daze, and only came back to his senses after the tea kung fu, he did not go back to the inner hall to rest, but walked straight towards the door.

Selfishness is selfishness, and loyal ministers still have to be ......