Xingyang Bo Li Wenzhong's mansion is located in the bustling place of Dong'anmen Street in Dongcheng, it is the mansion that Emperor Tianyou rewarded Li Wenzhong in the early years, covering an area of 20 acres, according to the building specifications, it belongs to the marquis-level mansion, the mansion is gorgeous, the pavilions and pavilions are readily available, such a mansion is cold and deserted at the moment, and the silence is abnormal.

The night is getting deeper and deeper, the snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the world is silent, only the two lanterns above the two closed vermilion gates that reflect the "Xingyang Bofu" are lit there, and the snowflakes are falling from the night sky dimly.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves and wheels of snow could be heard in the distance. A lamp glowed dimly in the snow, drifting this way.

Not long after, a carriage stopped in front of the Xingyang Bofu, dusted off the snow on the car, inserted a horsewhip, jumped down from the front of the car, walked up and knocked on the knocker: "Open the door!" Open the door! ”

The small door on the left gate opened, and two small men came out, each holding a long stick in their hands, for half a month, the gate of Xingyang Bofu has been closed, and the prince Li Yi has never stepped out of the door of the mansion.

"Someone is coming." The old man walked to the carriage and lifted the thick curtain, and although the light on the carriage was not very bright, and the people in the carriage were wearing cloaks, he could still tell that it was a woman.

The two little guys weren't surprised, this carriage came almost every day these days, and the woman inside was the Oiran of Huancui Pavilion, as for what to do, Li Yi, the son of the world, was restless recently, so he needed someone to comfort him, and the eyes of the two little guys showed envy, hey!

"Please come in!"

The two little guys got out of the way, the old man flicked his horsewhip, and the carriage drove into Xingyang Bo's Mansion.

The two doors of Li Yi's bedroom were wide open, and the silver frost charcoal of the two large copper basins by the window was bubbling with cyan flames from the inside out.

The house was brightly lit and there was heavy snow outside.

At this time, Li Yi stood by the door and let the snow wind blow outside the door, and he was stunned.

Ever since he received the letter from the grassland, he had an indescribable feeling in his heart, not knowing whether he was worried or afraid..... It kept him awake at night.

The butler walked in, stood by the door, and whispered, "Shizi, Miss Ying is here." ”

"Come in." Li Yi's gaze turned to him.

"Yes." The butler sighed lightly and withdrew.

After a while, the butler led the girl Ying from the Huancui Pavilion in, although she was wearing a cloak and a light veil to cover her face, she could still see through the veil that her appearance was very good.

"Miss Ying, please go in!"

The woman walked in, but the butler still stood quietly by the door, bowing his head slightly.

"Come, sit down." Li Yi sat at the table and called to her.

The woman nodded, took off the veil, and was as beautiful as a flower, seeing that the housekeeper was still standing by the door, Li Yi said angrily: "Don't leave yet!" ”

The butler looked up, glanced at him, reached out and closed the door, and then turned and walked out.

Then the sound of the tinkling winter and the woman's coquettish laughter came from the house, and the butler stopped, took a deep breath, and strode out of the courtyard.

Suddenly, the strings snapped, and the sound of the piano stopped abruptly.

The woman stood up: "It's getting late, rest in peace!" As he spoke, he reached out to pull Li Yi.

Li Yi sighed softly: "I'll redeem you." ”

Miss Ying trembled slightly: "No need. ”

Li Yi seemed to be saying to her, and as if he was talking to himself: "This life is mistaken by power, if there is an afterlife, I will be born in a common people's family, serve my parents, and live my life in peace with my wife!" ”

Miss Ying chuckled, and then said, "I think you are stunned, ordinary people's family? Do you know what kind of life they lived? Not to mention the peaceful life, even the safety of the family cannot be guaranteed. ”

Smiled and walked over and hugged him from behind, and soon the lights went out.

I don't know how long later, the door opened, and Miss Ying came out, wearing a cloak and a veil on her face, and she didn't hold anything in her hand, but it was a little wide under the cloak.

"Let's go." Miss Ying walked to the carriage.

"Are you alright?" The old man's voice trembled a little.

Miss Ying said calmly: "The prince has already slept. As he spoke, he lifted his feet and stepped on the low stool, but his feet were so weak that he almost fell, and hurriedly commanded the coachman, "Carry me up." ”

The old man couldn't take care of it anymore, hugged her from behind and sent her to the car, put the curtain down, put the low stool on it again, took out the whip and patted it lightly on the horse's buttocks, and shouted in a low voice: "Drive!" ”

The horse pulled the cart and walked to the gate of the house.

Seeing the carriage coming, the two little men looked at each other and smiled, and while opening the door, they said to the old man, "It's over so soon?" ”

The old man laughed and said, "The prince has drunk some wine and has fallen asleep." ”

"Good! Walk slowly! ”

"There are two more drivers tomorrow night."

As he spoke, the old man flicked his whip, and the carriage drove away.

Out of Dong'anmen Street, Miss Ying breathed a long sigh of relief, and then took out a small burden from under the cloak and slowly closed her eyes.

.............

Li Yi, the son of Xingyang Boshi, died, and it was the head hanging at the entrance of Dong'anmen Street, which made the Shenjing City boiling, until the soldiers and horses came to the door, and the people of Xingyang Bofu found Li Yi's headless body lying on the bed, according to the information provided by the housekeeper, the soldiers and horses immediately went to the West City Huancui Pavilion to get people, but they were told that Miss Ying was ransomed yesterday evening and was no longer in the Huancui Pavilion.

This news was immediately reported to the Heart Cultivation Palace, Zhu Wucheng was furious, and sent people to search for the whole city, while the whole city was under martial law and blocked the news, while Pegasus reported to Juyongguan.

"Everyone is lifting stones to beat people, but our emperor just lifts stones to shoot himself." Jia Jue picked up the tea bowl on the coffee table next to him and took a sip, put it down, and continued: "The news of Li Yi's killing must have spread, this matter will inevitably anger Li Wenzhong, and no one knows what the consequences will be." ”

Liu Wenbin, who was sitting opposite, had already shown his anxious face, and Ding Yuanzhu beside him also showed an anxious look, only Chen Ruiwen was expressionless, drinking there with a tea bowl.

There was silence in the cabinet room.

At this moment, the cotton curtain in the duty room opened a corner, and Dong Shan got in through the crack in the cotton curtain.

They all saw Dong Shan, and they all pretended not to see him, and everyone was still silent.

Dong Shan sighed slightly in his heart, walked in front of Liu Wenbin quickly and softly, and said in a deep voice: "Second assistant, Dongchang found the bodies of the woman and the coachman in Nancheng. ”

Liu Wenbin slowly closed his eyes, Dong Shan was stunned, and had to look at Chen Ruiwen.

Chen Ruiwen: "Things are going to be like this, it's too late to say anything, prepare for the worst." ”

Dong Shan asked anxiously: "Then what should you do according to your old meaning?" ”

Chen Ruiwen raised his head and looked at Jia Jue: "Prepare for war!" ”

Ding Yuanzhu spoke: "Wait?" ”

"Can't hesitate, Li Wenzhong has the secret decree of the Emperor Taishang in his hands, and the entire army is under his control." Jia Jue turned to look at Dong Shan, "Where is Li Wenzhong's army?" Have you ever passed the Juyong Pass?! ”

Dong Shan's white and beardless face turned red: "This, this...... Should..... Probably ....."

"Haven't you been!" Jia Jue slapped the eucalyptus table coldly, startling everyone.

Liu Wenbin couldn't be silent anymore, opened his eyes and looked at Dong Shan, and asked, "Manager Dong, tell the truth!" ”

"Okay." Dong Shan took out a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Wenbin.

Liu Wenbin took the secret letter and unfolded it, looked at it, and his eyes suddenly straightened! A face suddenly turned red, and he couldn't breathe, and coughed violently.

Dong Shan was startled, hurriedly walked over, and asked with concern, "What's wrong?" Are you alright?! While giving him a gentle thump on the back.

Liu Wenbin waved his hand: "No, leave me alone...... Your Majesty! ”

As soon as these words came out, Jia Jue was stunned, Ding Yuanzhu was stunned, and Chen Ruiwen was also stunned.

At this moment, Liu Wenbin raised his head: "Li Wenzhong's vanguard cavalry battalion arrived at Juyong Pass after dusk yesterday, and the follow-up army will arrive tomorrow and tomorrow." ”

Ding Yuanzhu: "Didn't enter the customs?" ”

Dong Shan spoke slowly: "Because Li Wenzhong has the Emperor's edict on him..... It has also been stamped with the Great Seal of the Ministry of War, so Li Wenzhong's pioneer battalion has been stationed in Juyong Pass! As he spoke, he put away the secret letter in Liu Wenbin's hand, and looked at Jia Jue and Chen Ruiwen again, for fear that the two would refute.

Ding Yuanzhu turned his head to look at Jia Jue and Chen Ruiwen: "Old Guogong, Master Jia, what's going on with your military department?" Can something as important as the Ministry of War's defense go wrong? ”

"Shut up!" Liu Wenbin snapped him off, and then turned to look at Chen Ruiwen: "Although I don't know what kind of reaction Li Wenzhong has, we must not let him get close to the capital, there are hundreds of thousands of refugees outside the city, if he starts to go crazy, we will all be sinners of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Chen Ruiwen: "The second assistant means to send troops to intercept Liu Wenzhong's troops at Juyong Pass?" ”

Liu Wenbin nodded heavily.

Jia Jue: "How to send it?" Who to send? ”

Liu Wenbin set his sights on Dong Shan.

Dong Shan expressed his attitude: "Fighting in the Guan, as long as the people are reliable." Husband, what do you always think? ”

Several people understood that the emperor wanted Zhao Sheng to lead the troops, in his opinion, Liu Wenzhong's willingness to directly rebel was extremely low, even if Liu Wenzhong was crazy, other generals would not accompany him, at most it was his own people, and even only the personal guard battalion under his personal control, 3,000 people, this was to give Zhao Shengbai military exploits.

Chen Ruiwen smiled: "Since there is an edict, I won't say anything more." ”

Dong Shan was dumbfounded all of a sudden.

Liu Wenbin: "Without further ado, let Zhao Sheng immediately lead the two battalions of Yangwei and Zhenwei to set off." ”

"Okay." Chen Ruiwen was the first to stand up, and Ding Yuanzhu also stood up, and then Jia Jue suddenly spoke: "Just in case, let the Emperor Taishang order Tongzhou to send 100,000 stone of grain first." ”

Speaking of this, he slowly stood up, arched his hand to Liu Wenbin, turned around and walked out.

Dong Shan: "What do you mean by this?" ”

Jia Jue stopped: "The manager doesn't understand? ”

Dong Shan's brows furrowed, and he only glanced at Chen Ruiwen without squeaking.

Chen Ruiwen smiled bitterly: "Although there are some things that should not be said, but things have reached this point, and I can't care about any etiquette." ”

When it came to business, Jia Jue simply sat down on the chair by the window: "It's all burning eyebrows, what's the use of etiquette?" ”

Dong Shan nodded to Chen Ruiwen and waited for him to say the following.

Chen Ruiwen: "What do you say about Bauhinia Pass?" Are you sure? If you can't control it, something goes wrong! ”

"Be careful!" Dong Shan was taken aback, glanced at Ding Yuanzhu, and said in a deep voice: "This matter is determined by His Majesty, and it is not for you and me to put your beak in the matter." ”

Chen Ruiwen looked at Dong Shan deeply: "Manager Dong, I settled the accounts in the Heart Raising Hall and the Household Department yesterday, and the grain storage in Shenjing can only last for seventeen days, so we can't starve the people to death." ”

Dong Shan understood, and there was silence for a while.

Liu Wenbin: "Don't worry, old man, I'll go and tell Your Majesty about this." ”

Suddenly, a cold wind came in from the thick door curtain, and Han Jun hurriedly walked in.

As soon as he entered the door, Han Jun found that the atmosphere was wrong, and he didn't say much, shook the fold in his hand, and said: "The Gongzhou Mansion is in chaos, Wang Bin's inventory of the army Toda was resisted, and the secretary and soldiers stationed in the Grange were attacked at night, and no one was killed for the time being. ”

Liu Wenbin: "Oh....." then looked at Chen Ruiwen: "Qi Guogong? ”

Jia Jue snorted: "No need to send troops. Where is the Prophet now? ”

Dong Shan: "Prepare for the Winter Solstice Sacrifice Ceremony in the Ministry of Rites. ”

Jia Jue: "Just let the Kong family take the lead in cleaning up Toda, what soldiers will you send?" Labor is wasteful! ”

.............

Li Yi was suddenly killed and disturbed Zhu Wucheng's heart, in the past two days, he can be described as a triumphant song, the harvest is very gratifying, not only in one fell swoop Yangwei three battalions of soldiers and horses in his hands, but also in the cooperation of the Emperor Taishang pinched the lifeblood of the military department - military food, as long as the Tongzhou military grain depot is in his hands, his voice in the military will be increased by two points.

At the same time, with the acquiescence of the military, the military power of Jizhou Town will also be in the hands of the royal family, plus the upcoming Li Wenzhong Ministry, so that after calculation, most of the military power in the Gyeonggi area is in his own hands, and he has military power in his hands, which makes his heart that has been tense a little relaxed, it doesn't matter if this is sent, Li Yi is dead.

Li Yi's killing made him worried, although he concluded that Li Wenzhong did not dare to rebel openly, but he was afraid of everything in case, and secretly scolded in his heart, I don't know who came out to make waves at this critical moment.

If it weren't for such a thing, he would be able to wait for the arrival of Li Wenzhong's army with peace of mind, and then find a way to take a battalion of soldiers and horses from the hands of the Xungui military, as for the idea of the Emperor Taishang taking the opportunity to get rid of Chen Ruiwen, Niu Jizong and Jia Jue and others, he did not approve, Yan Shenggong said well, the civil officials can be overturned and restarted, but the military cannot, without the military's suppression of the world, those cows, ghosts, snakes and gods hidden in the shadows will jump out.

At present, the generals who have defected to the royal family are not yet capable of leading hundreds of thousands of horses to fight, and the royal family still needs them to sit in the military and suppress the world for the time being.

Whether it was sending Commander Lin Lei to serve the Yong battalion to Tongzhou, or letting Zhao Sheng alone lead the two battalions of men and horses north to Juyong Pass, it was an attempt and a demonstration of the majesty of the royal family to the outside world.

Thinking of Juyongguan again, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, hoping that the secret decree could be delivered before it.

............

The sky was covered with snow, and a group of more than ten rode on the snowy official road with difficulty.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and in the vast snow mist, it looks white at a glance, and I can't open my eyes.

Ahead, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in the middle of the official road, blocking the way.

The officer leading the team tightened the reins, and the group stopped, and several forbidden soldiers tightly guarded the eunuchs in the middle, and one by one their faces were tense, and they reached out to hold the hilt of the sword.

With a wave of the officer's hand, the two Forbidden Soldiers galloped over together.

"What's going on? Get out of the way! ”

At that moment, the curtain of the carriage opened, and several firearms stretched out, spewing sparks into the terrified gaze of the two Praetorian soldiers.

In the vast snow and mist, the sound of firecrackers sounded, and after a while, the heavens and the earth were silent.

A man in a cloak took out the edict written by Zhu Wucheng to the general of Juyong from the arms of the eunuch who was dressed in the inner service, unfolded it, and sneered: "With this edict, Li Wenzhong is decided!" ”