In the evening, Gao Gong returned to the mansion and sat sullenly in the study.

He has already felt the Son of Heaven's neglect of him, today the Son of Heaven decided to go to Renshou Palace in Qizhou, West Beijing, tomorrow, accompanied by Yang Su, Su Wei, Liu Shu, Yang Xiong, etc., and even Yang Jun, the third son of the emperor who was deprived of his official position by the Son of Heaven last year, and only retained the title of King Qin in the palace of the king of Beijing, and repented behind closed doors was named to accompany him, but he, the head of the hundred officials, was asked to stay in Daxing City this time. On the surface, the Son of Heaven asked him to stay and assist the crown prince in handling the affairs of Beijing on behalf of the Son of Heaven. But Gao Gong knew very well in his heart that this was the expression of the Son of Heaven's indifference and dissatisfaction with him. There is no need to guess, he also knows that this is very likely to be related to the defeat of his previous army in Goryeo.

But can he be blamed for this?

Gao Gong felt very wronged. At the beginning, he was against the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, and at that time, the Son of Heaven insisted on the Eastern Crusade, Yang Su agreed, Su Wei agreed, and even the King of Jin and the King of Han agreed. But in the end, despite his opposition, the Son of Heaven insisted on the eastward crusade, and it was so hurried. The most terrible thing is that the Son of Heaven gave him a very bad commander, and even made a young prince Han Wang, who had been in the country of Gangzhi for less than two years, the commander of the 300,000 Eastern Expeditionary Army. Although he also knew that the Son of Heaven was very suspicious of his courtiers, and the Eastern Expedition to lead the army must be reused by the royal family. In the early years, the Son of Heaven used his fifth brother Wei Wang Shuang to command the troops to attack the Turks, and later used the second son of the emperor, Jin Wang Guang, to command the troops to level Nan Chen, although many times, the emperor's younger brothers and princes were just a commander. But if it was the King of Jin instead of the King of Han who was in command of the Eastern Expedition this time, Gao Gong felt that the situation would definitely be much better than now. Even if you lose, you won't see the enemy yet. I will be defeated, and there will be no one in ten.

Although the King of Han is very favored by the Queen of Heaven, Gao Ying really doesn't like this King of Han. If it weren't for the fact that this little prince was anxious for success and profit, he forced him to send troops in the scorching heat in advance. The soldiers could have contracted the plague all the way. If we don't send troops in advance and wait until after autumn, we can not only avoid the heat and rainy season, but also prepare more adequate food. But this little prince has the majesty of his marshal everywhere, and he doesn't understand military affairs but still prefers to point fingers everywhere, which finally makes the Eastern Expeditionary Army defeated by epidemics and lack of food and grass.

After coming back. He couldn't help but want to explain this situation to the Son of Heaven several times, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed again. Inseparable. King Han is very fond of the two saints, how can the Son of Heaven believe it when he says this. Even if you believe it, will you still favor him, an outsider? He didn't know until today. He saved face for the King of Han. But King Han not only didn't appreciate it, but he had already stabbed him. The Eastern Expedition was defeated, and as soon as the King of Han returned to Beijing, he immediately entered the palace and told the Empress Dugu that he had miscommanded several times, and also fabricated lies, saying that he had taken the opportunity to harm him several times in the army and wanted to kill him. It's obviously a lie at first glance, but Queen Dugu actually believes it. even told the Son of Heaven that the Eastern Crusade would fail. It's all because I don't care. And he even used his opposition to the Eastern Crusade before the war as evidence.

This is a sin of desire. There are no words.

Back then, Gao Gong's father Gao Bin was also Dugu's confidant, so he was also given the surname Dugu by Dugu Xin, Queen Dugu's father. After Dugu Xin was given to die, the Gao family did not break off contact with the Dugu family, and later Yang Jian became the prime minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Gao Gong also immediately went to support Yang Jian and give him advice. At the beginning, Yang Jian and Dugu relied on him a lot, and often affectionately called him Dugu Gong, even if Yang Jian later restored his Han surname after the establishment of the country, he often called him Dugu. How much did his father and son serve the Dugu family's father and daughter, and couple. Once, Gao Gong felt that Yang Jian had made him a prime minister for eighteen years, which was a model of knowing each other between monarchs and ministers. But now it seems that this trust has finally come to an end. In the end, he sat in the phase for too long.

Li Delin, Su Wei, Yu Qingze, Yang Su and several other people who once served with him, except for Yang Su, Li Delin had already been degraded, and after the destruction of Chen, he had been completely demoted from the central government, and died in the local government seven years ago. And Su Wei was also dismissed several times, and he was beaten by the Son of Heaven very tame. And Yu Qingze, who entered the center as a military general, was finally executed last year because of the speculation of the Son of Heaven, and even had his house raided. Yang Su has not been in the center for a long time, and he is against him everywhere, he wants to drive Yang Su out of the court several times, but the Son of Heaven always defends him. Thinking about it now, he finally understood that the Son of Heaven defended Yang Su, and he never really trusted Yang Su. The Son of Heaven used Yang Su, just to drive the tiger and devour the wolf, this is against himself.

I'm not wrong, it's just that I've stayed in phase for too long.

Eighteen years of prime minister, starting from the founding of the country, has been sitting until now, with the aging of the Son of Heaven, he finally can't help but replace himself.

Sitting in front of the bookcase, he thought about it carefully, and felt that the snub of the Son of Heaven was not for no reason, and he felt that the Son of Heaven wanted to replace him, not just because of suspicion of him. He is loyal to Yang Jian, which is clear to the Son of Heaven. He thought about it again and again, and still felt that the change in the attitude of the Son of Heaven would never be due to the defeat of the Eastern Expedition to Goryeo, it could only be regarded as a superficial reason for the Son of Heaven to snub him. Although he has also served as a supervisor several times, he is still only a civil servant in the end, with no soldiers in his hands and no generals and subordinates of the military. And although he has been sitting in the phase for eighteen years, the Gao family is not one of those deep-rooted and intertwined Guanlongmen lords. Thinking about it, he felt that the real reason for the change in the attitude of the Son of Heaven towards him was still the crown prince.

As soon as he thought of this, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

His son Biaoren married the daughter of the crown prince Yang Yong, and he and the prince were still in-laws. Even one of his sisters is Gao Liangdi, one of the four favorite concubines of the crown prince Yang Yong. The Gao family and the crown prince have long been firmly tied together, speaking of which, when the son married Yang Yong's daughter, this matter was not because he had to climb the dragon and attach the phoenix, but in fact, it was arranged by Yang Jian and the Dugu couple. Even Yang Yong married his sister Gao Liangdi, and this matter was also arranged by the Son of Heaven and his wife. At the beginning, the Son of Heaven arranged this way, naturally in order to consolidate the position of the crown prince. But now, everyone knows. The Son of Heaven dislikes this prince more and more. Inside and outside the palace, gossip was flying all over the sky, especially after he came back from Liaodong this time. I have heard many such rumors, and they have said that the two saints have the meaning of changing the reserve. And the biggest basis for this rumor is another rumor that the Son of Heaven is preparing to make King Jin the crown prince.

However, there have been too many rumors in Daxing recently, and the rumors that the Son of Heaven is ready to change the prince are naturally the most, but the rumors about who will be the crown prince are not the same. It is said that Yang Guang, the king of Jin, will be replaced. Some said that they were ready to change Yang Xiu, the king of Shu, and some said that they were ready to change Yang Liang, the king of Han, and even a year ago he was dismissed from his official position because he was too extravagant. Qin Wangjun, who repented in the palace, was also said to be a candidate for the new crown prince.

However, Gao Gong did not believe all these rumors. The so-called groundless wind has a root. Even if he is the prince's in-laws. But you know. This prince is indeed too disappointing. has been the crown prince for eighteen years, and he is in his thirties, but he is still so ignorant, especially compared with the famous Jin Wang Guangyi, it seems that he is inadequate. In fact, the second saint already had the idea of changing the reserve, but it was only an idea, and this kind of idea would not form a decision for a while. After all, the prince is the foundation of a country, as long as Yang Yong does not make too many mistakes. The Son of Heaven also dares to change his savings.

The second saint once mentioned to him about the change of storage, but he was pushed back by him with a righteous and stern speech. Whether it's because of the identity of the prince's family. is still the status of the prime minister of a country, and he will never support the replacement of a prince who has been in office for 18 years without obvious fault on the part of the prince.

The failure of this Eastern Crusade is afraid that the Son of Heaven's desire to change the reserve will become heavier and heavier. At the beginning of the discussion of the Eastern Crusade, Yang Guang was supportive, but in the end he suddenly changed his attitude, from supporting the Eastern Crusade to supporting the Eastern Crusade, but the imperial court needed to carefully consider the operation, whether it was the selection of the Eastern Crusade commander or the timing of the Eastern Crusade, they all proposed that they should be carefully considered. But he was very cunning, and he seemed to be not optimistic about the Eastern Expedition for a long time, so he cleverly found a reason for himself not to withdraw from leading the army. even got rid of Yang Su and others who had already thrown themselves at him from this matter, and the result was that now he was responsible for the failure of the east, while the people of the Jin royal family, such as Wang Guang of Jin and Yang Su, the right servant, suddenly became capable ministers with accurate vision, who had already seen that the Eastern Expedition would fail, and had made measures to save the Eastern Expedition in advance.

It can be said that after the failure of the Eastern Crusade, both the prince and the Han dynasty suffered a lot of losses, but Yang Guang, the king of Jin, not only did not lose anything, but also profited from it. Yang Guang, the king of Jin, also won many good impressions in front of the Son of Heaven because of this, and faintly became the best candidate for the crown prince.

Thinking of this, Gao Gong's heart gradually sank.

Yang Guang, the king of Jin, has also wooed himself many times, but he directly refused. It can be said that the relationship between him and King Jin is not harmonious. Once King Jin seizes the throne, I am afraid that the Gao family will have to face liquidation in the future.

The chips of the Gao family have all been bet on the prince, and he can only continue to call, no matter what, he has to keep the prince's storage position.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, and the third son, Gao Biaoren, who stayed by his side, came.

A fair-skinned young man in his twenties stood in front of him and greeted him.

"How's the message gathering?"

"Collected quite a bit." Gao Biaoren's reaction was a little sluggish. He is the son-in-law of the crown prince, if the prince can succeed to the throne, he will be a colt in the future, plus his father is a left servant, his future is unlimited. Just like the concubine Liu Shu of Princess Lanling, the fifth daughter of His Majesty, as soon as he married Princess Lanling, he had been promoted to a high position like the secretary of the military department within a few years, and even accompanied the holy driver all day long. It's just that now the prince's position is in jeopardy, and his father's position is also unstable because of a defeat, so he panicked, not only does he have no ability to adapt, but he also has no ability to think. He has never had to think, and he doesn't like to think, except for a good pair of skins, he is just a golden jade, and he is just ruined. Now standing in front of his father, he doesn't know what to say.

"Exactly?" Gao Gong looked at Mu Ne's son with some dissatisfaction. He also saw that among the three sons, this one had the worst qualifications, so the eldest son and the second son had already arranged to go out to become an official, but the third son stayed by his side, and finally let him marry the daughter of the prince. just didn't expect him to be able to make any difference, he just hoped that with his Yu Yin and the identity of the prince's son-in-law, he would be rich and noble in the future. It's just that at this time, he was still a little disappointed in his heart after all.

"Oh, some time ago, there was a sudden rumor about that Yi Feng outside, some people said that he was the son of the prince who died sixteen years ago, but he was replaced by Li Dai Taozhuang at that time. And now it's finally there. Some people also say that this Yi Feng is actually the illegitimate son of Yang Guang, the king of Jin, and now he has finally recognized his ancestors and returned to his ancestors. Of course, there are still people who say. This Yi Feng is actually the illegitimate son of the Holy One."

"I'm not here to listen to this nonsense, to say it's important." Gao Gong dissatisfiedly stopped his son's talking. "First of all, what is the reaction in the palace?"

"Oh, I asked the princess to go into the palace to inquire, it seems that His Majesty and the queen both think that this child is the child of the crown prince and the concubine who died young, they seem to have some evidence, and they are sure of it. Exactly because of this. Therefore, the Son of Heaven originally named that Yi Feng as the commander of Huaihuang County and the general of Huaihuang Town last time, but later immediately changed his will, and suddenly sealed that Yi Feng as the governor of Wuzhou and the history of assassination. The general and the duke of Changning County also gave him the power to act cheaply. Oh, by the way, I heard that the Son of Heaven also specially called the prince into the palace for this matter. I asked about it in person. ”

A glint flashed in Gao Gong's eyes. "Then how did the prince tell the second sage?" He asked, his tone a little hurried.

"I asked the prince later, and the prince didn't admit that the child was his in front of the second saint at that time, but he didn't deny it, but just said that after so many years, he didn't expect it. He also said that he would only dare to confirm it when he met someone. ”

The prince seemed to mean that he did not admit that the child was his. Why is he so sure? ”

Gao Biaoren's eyes flickered slightly, and Gao Gong's eyes widened. Gao Biaoren immediately softened and whispered: "I drank with Tang Lingze, the son of Zuo, the day before yesterday, and I asked him after drinking, and he vaguely said that Yi Feng was actually born to King Jin and Concubine Yuan. ”

Gao Gong's eyes widened in disbelief.

"This is true, I didn't believe it originally, but Tang Ling said that in fact, before Concubine Yuan married the prince, she first met King Jin, but the two didn't know each other's true identities at that time. Later, the Son of Heaven, who was still the prime minister at the time, designated the Yuan daughter as the princess, and as a result, the Yuan family married the current prince with a pregnancy, and it seemed that the Yuan concubine did not know that she was pregnant, but after the child was born, the prince still knew. ”

With Gao Gong's cleverness, he immediately decided that this was the truth, a shocking secret. Intuition told him that as long as he handled it well, this secret that had been sealed for many years could change his current unfavorable situation.

"My lord, this is unbelievable." Gao Biaoren shook his head and smiled.

"It's not funny, keep your mouth shut, if this thing gets out, your life will be lost." Gao Gong said coldly.

"Ah, my lord, that may be a good thing. If it spreads, how can King Jin keep his status as a virtuous king now, with this scandal in his body, how can the Son of Heaven let him be the crown prince? Gao Qingren said with some pride.

Gao Gong snorted coldly, "This is a stupid way to lose both, this matter spreads, although it can make the King of Jin angry, but it will also hit the prince very hard." Don't forget that there are five sons today, and all five of them are the sons of the same mother. As he spoke, Gao Gong suddenly paused, he was stunned as if he was frozen, and after a long time, he slapped his palm on the table and shouted, "Why didn't I think of going here, it's great, it's great." As he spoke, he stood up and paced the room continuously, his beard shaking with excitement.

"What did you think of?" Gao Biaoren asked.

"Go and call someone to prepare the car, I will go to the East Palace immediately and see the prince." Gao Gong shouted.

In the East Palace, the crown prince Yang Yong was lying on the couch a little decadently, and the most favored Yun Zhaoxun was sitting on one side, and he did not avoid Tang Lingze, the prince's left concubine in the palace, and other close ministers of the East Palace. While drinking the grape wine handed to his lips by Yun Zhaoxun, Yang Yong watched the team of dancers in the hall who were only dressed in light gauze clothes dance, and a group of musicians in the corner of the hall were playing the piano and blowing the flute.

A group of East Palace officials such as Li Baiyao, a scholar of the East Palace, admired the beautiful dancing queen, with a smile on their faces, but the prince washed the horse Li Gang couldn't stand it, he was very uninteresting like a fly to teach the prince and admonish him how he should be, but no matter how this fifty-year-old loyal courtier admonished, Yang Yong just smiled casually, and continued to stare at the seductive dance of those exposed dancing girls, and did not take the courtier's advice to heart at all. This kind of behavior finally made the upright and loyal prince wash the horse Li Gang unbearable, and finally brushed his sleeves away.

As soon as Li Gang left, Yang Yong clapped his hands and smiled, "As soon as this sour Confucian leaves, Lonely is just having fun, come, drink wine together, and continue to watch the beauty singing and dancing." ”

At this time, Li Gang went and returned, Yang Yong's face sank, and he was about to scold, but Li Gang had already said straightly, "The left servant shoots Gao Gong outside, asking to see His Highness." ”

As soon as he heard that Gao Gong was coming, Yang Yong's little debauchery and frivolity were all put away at once, and he hurriedly clapped his hands, signaled to stop singing and dancing, and asked Yun to retreat. Then he said, "Hurry up and ask the left servant to shoot up to the temple." ”

Gao Gong entered the hall, swept the hall, and immediately guessed the scene in the hall just now, and his heart was a little unhappy. But he remained silent and stepped forward to salute. Then his eyes signaled, and Yang Yong willingly asked Li Baiyao and the others to retreat.

After only Gao Gong and Yang Yong were left in the hall, Gao Gong immediately said: "I heard that the Second Holy Majesty was summoned into the palace a few days ago to ask about Yi Feng, can I ask about it?" ”

Yang Yong frowned and nodded.

"I heard that His Highness didn't recognize it?" Gao Gong asked again.

Yang Yong was even more unhappy, "If there are rumors that it is Lone's son, and Lone admits it, then how many sons does Lone have?" ”

Gao Gong didn't pay attention to it, but continued: "I think that His Royal Highness should enter the palace immediately and explain to the second sage that Yi Feng is the child who was lost in sixteen years, and he is the eldest son of His Royal Highness and Princess Yuan. ”

"What!" Yang Yong's voice was sharp and shocked.

"Your Highness should show Your Highness that Yi Feng is the son of His Highness, and he is the son of Concubine Yuan." Gao Ying said again.

Yang Yong didn't think that Gao Gong was here to joke with him, and after the initial shock, he also began to be stern, "What are the plans of the left servant, please tell me in detail one by one!" ”

Seeing that Yang Yong was finally on the road, Gao Gong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, this prince was really stupid. A great opportunity has always been there, and he has never known how to take advantage of it. Fortunately, there is still some room for him to make amends, and then it depends on how he plans and operates. (To be continued......)