At the court meeting, Xiao Ju looked at the ministers with a gloomy face, and then said: "Cui Xianjiu and Tingwei have investigated the matter clearly, although there is no direct evidence, but the initiator is most likely Northern Qin. ”

There was an uproar from top to bottom, but except for a small number of young officials who advocated war with Northern Qin, most of the officials chose to remain silent and watch from the sidelines, as if everything had nothing to do with them.

"Your Majesty, the matter of the prince is related to the country, and now the ambition of the wolf son of Northern Qin is vainly trying to attack and kill the prince, this is the hatred of the country and the family, how can it be easily tolerated." Wei Ran stood up at this time and said, and then Wei Ran looked around at the ministers: "Now that all the ministers don't say anything, if your son encounters such a dangerous situation, will you still be silent?" ”

The ministers suddenly shuddered, and Zhou Pu got up and took the lead and said: "What the King of Qin said is reasonable, since it was done by Northern Qin, we naturally want to ask Northern Qin for an explanation, the prince is the prince of our country, if it really suffers, our dynasty will inevitably rise again." ”

"According to this king, why do you need to ask for an explanation, and directly raise troops to attack Qin." Wei Ran spoke loudly, and suddenly the court was silent.

"Your Majesty is willing to take the Tianxiong army as the main force, and at the same time send the troops of the feudal kings from all over the country to assemble in Jiangling in the autumn, and at the same time order the current Xichuan Assassin Shi Hengheng to attack Jiameng Pass, and Weichen personally lead the army to attack Wancheng."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked, especially Hengzhi, and his face changed.

In this way, the strength of the Heng clan relied on, only the Shu army of Xichuan Hengheng, and part of the Xiangfan army, Wei Ran actually wanted to attack from the direction of Xichuan and Xiangfan, and most of the troops used at that time were Heng's soldiers, which was to weaken the military power in the hands of the northern scholars.

"Your Majesty, the vassal kings of all regions are guarding one side, and their troops should not be taken lightly. Otherwise, what should I do? Under Hengzhi's instructions, Xu Bufan said: "And the court has just been stable for a few months, if the vassal king is dissatisfied, it will definitely be a headache." Weichen suggested that if the Northern Expedition was really going on, the Tianxiong Army, the Huainan Army, the Three Wu Soldiers, and no less than 100,000 soldiers and horses would be enough to attack Wancheng. Jiameng Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Hengheng's men and horses may not be able to fight. ”

When Wei Ran heard this, he was immediately furious and said, "You are a civil official, and you dare to talk about martial arts. How can the battle between the city be easy to deal with now? If Jiameng Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, why did Jiameng Pass be lost to Northern Qin a year ago? ”

Xu Bufan was about to reply, but Wei Ran opened his mouth and scolded again: "You are poor, the Tianxiong Army, the Huainan Army, and the three Wu soldiers have been using soldiers for many years, and it is not easy to recuperate. Do you treat them like livestock? They will stay at Jingkou and be ready to cross the river at any time to attack the land of Huainan. This king has already made arrangements, how can you let something that is not as good as a pig and a dog be noisy here. ”

After a few words were output, Xu Bufan was suddenly angry, and directly spurted out a mouthful of old blood, and fainted on the spot.

"The King of Qin is arrogant, when the court insults the three-rank officials of the court, is no one allowed to speak in this court?" Another official of the northern faction, Zhang Jing, said: "Your Majesty, the King of Qin acts like this, who will dare to discuss the government in the future, it is better for His Majesty to discuss directly with the King of Qin if there is anything, and we will do it directly, why bother to hold this court meeting." ”

When the ministers saw that there was such a brave man, they all agreed. There is a great tendency to criticize Wei Ran.

Xiao Ju only spoke at this time: "King Qin is quite anxious, everyone should know about this matter. What the King of Qin said is indeed not unreasonable, the taxes of the imperial court do not support idlers, and the soldiers of the vassal king are also the salaries and silver issued by the imperial court, so what is wrong with me levying and transferring? If the vassal king thinks it is inappropriate, then let them pay their own salaries. ”

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this move will make the vassal kings angry."

"Joke, according to this lord's meaning, the soldiers in the feudal king's fiefdom are the private soldiers of the feudal king? The imperial court cannot be transferred? Or was the vassal king's own fiefdom a separate court? It's not under the jurisdiction of our Daqi? Wei Ran said sharply at this time: "This statement is really ridiculous, the palace has its own guards enough to protect itself, can't the soldiers and horses be controlled by the imperial court?" ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was speechless and didn't know how to answer.

Heng Xian had no choice but to sigh in his heart at this time, what should have come is still coming, Wei Ran is really going to start weakening the strength of the vassal king.

Hengxian was helpless, so he had to say: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what King Qin said is not unreasonable. If we set a precedent now, and we don't call the troops of the vassal king, or we still need to give benefits, then what is the difference between us and the Zhou royal family? ”

Seeing Heng Xian come out to speak, Xiao Ju's heart was also quite relieved. Heng Xian is now the head of the hundred officials, and it is naturally excellent to be able to speak at this time.

Hengzhi obviously didn't expect Hengxian to support Wei Ran's proposal, so he looked at Hengxian with suspicious eyes.

Although Hengxian noticed it, he didn't take it to heart. Now the situation is obvious, Xiao Ju and Wei Ran are going to centralize the imperial power, and the southern scholars are now almost cleaned up, so only the vassal king and the northern gate valve are left.

Now that they are ready to clean up the vassal king, is the northern gate valve still far away? And as the Dazai of the current dynasty, the pressure on Hengxian is not small, Xiao Ju does not discuss with him whenever he makes an important decision, but trusts Yuan Muzhi, Cui Huan and others, which obviously does not regard Hengxian as his own person.

This is an extremely dangerous signal for Hengxian, in case Xiao Ju beats the city into a party of Hengzhi, he will not suffer out of thin air.

So after thinking about it, Hengxian felt that he should still stand by Xiao Ju.

Xiao Ju then calmed down and said loudly: "Then send a decree to the vassal king, I want to count the number of soldiers in the vassal king's fiefdom and use it to requisition the Northern Expedition." At this time, it will be handed over to the King of Qin. ”

Xiao Ju then said to the ministers: "In this matter, the meaning of King Qin represents my meaning, can you understand?" ”

After the next dynasty, Heng directly invited Heng to come to the house.

Heng said straight to the point: "How can my nephew be like this, you and I are both members of the Heng clan, if Wei Ran is cut down in the name of Wei Ran today, how to ensure the interests of our northerners in the next step?" ”

Heng Xian said in surprise: "It turns out that Heng Gong also saw it? ”

Hengzhi said with a wry smile: "This is a yang scheme, how can I not see it." If you are unwilling to send troops, you will resist the order, and if you send troops, you will annex it. ”

"Since Heng Gong knows everything, why bother with King Qin and His Majesty?"

Heng Zhi only sighed when he heard this, and then said: "There are more than two million people in the Northern Shi Clan, all of whom are headed by our Heng family. If I take the lead in submission, how can I obey the people? ”

Heng Xian just shook his head and comforted: "Heng Gong's words are very ridiculous, the whole world is not the king's land. The army that led the land was none other than the king's ministers. Now it is no longer the post-dry period, and today's northern gate valve is not the northern gate valve of the past. The unification of His Majesty's imperial power is already the trend of the times, and unless he does something rebellious, there is no possibility of reversal. ”

Hengzhi listened to it and was silent for a long time. Heng Xian knew what he was thinking, so he said: "Heng Gong must not kill himself, and there is no turning back when he opens the bow." I know that you are in Xichuan, Xiangfan and other places, and there are about 100,000 soldiers and horses that can be controlled, plus King Zhao's Jiangzhou. But Heng Gong asked himself, if the war starts, what are the chances of victory? ”

Heng Zhi's face changed greatly when he heard this, and he looked at Heng Xian with unkind eyes.

Heng Xian noticed Heng Zhi's gaze, but he pretended not to see it, and just said, "Of course, it doesn't mean that you will definitely lose to Wei Ran. But in this way, it completely pushed the northern gate valve into the land of no return. How could Wei Ran not figure this out, he is now laying heavy troops around Jiankang, and frequently hoarding grain, grass and equipment in Jiankang Jingkou and other places, do you think it is to guard against Northern Qin? ”

Heng Zhi was even more shocked when he heard this, and after receiving a definite answer, Heng Zhi got up and said, "It seems that I have to go to Wei Ran." ”

Wei Ran had already returned to the palace at this time, and when he heard that Hengzhi was coming to visit, Wei Ran just sighed and said, "Sure enough, it's still here." Then he ordered someone to prepare tea in the study.

Hengzhi was already quite old at this time, and his physical condition was not as good as before.

Helplessly, his son Hengxuan still can't take on the big responsibility, so everything in the family is supported by him.

After seeing Wei Ran, Hengzhi just said: "A few years ago, King Qin was exiled to the Southern Dynasty. can still remember who paved the way for the King of Qin to the court and let the King of Qin take charge of the army. ”

"Naturally, it's Henggong."

"When Jiankang changed, who should cooperate with the outside to help King Qin become famous."

"Naturally, it's still Henggong."

"In that case, why does King Qin have to get along with his father now. You are your courtier, I am my gate lord, why can't we join forces with each other to ensure wealth and prosperity together? ”

"Heng Gong thinks about the common wealth, and this king thinks about the promise to Heng Gong in the past. Once he stepped on the north of the river, he divided his homeland to Henggong. ”

After hearing this, Hengzhi suddenly fell silent. Indeed, he and Wei Ran once agreed that once the world was unified, they would divide their homeland Yecheng to the Heng clan.

"Even if there was such a promise the day before yesterday, why should King Qin press it step by step. Now that the southern scholar clan is weak, the king of Qin will immediately bring disaster to the vassal king, and he will come to my northern gate valve soon. ”

Wei Ran didn't intend to continue to fool Hengzhi, just nodded and said: "What I want is the military power in the hands of the vassal king, but for the northern gate lord, I just want to remove your privilege of exempting from taxes." I don't intend to touch your military power. That's all I say, Heng Gong can think about it for himself. ”

"The privilege of the northerners is a privilege of the previous dynasty, and even Taizu and Emperor Wen have not abolished it."

When Wei Ran heard this, his heart immediately became angry. He stood up straight and said to Hengzhi: "Indeed, this is a concession from the previous dynasty. But the Qianchao Dynasty has already fallen to the country. In the past, the northern gate lords who were exiled to the south had a population of hundreds of thousands, and now there are more than 2 million people, not including hidden households. These people don't have to pay taxes and are moths for the state. ”

Hearing Wei Ran compare his northern gate valve to a national moth, Hengzhi didn't give Wei Ran a good face: "King Qin's words are too radical, and we are also guarding the territory of the Southern Dynasty, why do you only say moths?" ”

"Most of the Huainan army uses Huainan people, and there are not too many people from Yong and You, and the Xiangfan army uses people from Jingzhou, indeed, among these armies, there are indeed many people from the north, but they do not obey the order, and they are all personally commanded by the people of Henggong, is this the king wrong?"

"Whenever there is an extremely dangerous war, Henggong's army is always the rear army, never as a vanguard, but the equipment and war horses are of the highest quality. When I first arrived in Gangneung, I thought I found out about it, but I didn't get to the bottom of it. Now that I am bent on the Northern Expedition, all the soldiers and horses of the whole country must be united. ”

Then Wei Ran walked to Hengzhi's side and said: "The Jiangnan Shi clan is in a safe corner, and the vassal kings of various places only care about their own pleasures. I thought that you should have a homeland in your heart. But decades later, instead of being ashamed, you began to trample on the foundation of Jiangnan. I know that Heng Gong is not such a corrupt person, but if you look at your protégés, you look at how many fields and properties your northern clansmen have embezzled and how many female dependents have been purchased. ”

Hengzhi was speechless by Wei Ran's criticism and stood in place.

"This time the prince was assassinated, Heng Gong can go back and ask your second son Heng Mo, ask the King of Han in Xichuan, and ask Heng Heng!" Wei Ran suddenly said sharply: "I really think that things are done seamlessly, and my father can't find out the beginning and the end?" ”

"Zhong Kan once served under Hengheng, and Gonggong Wu once accompanied the King of Han in the palace. Now that all the future of your Heng clan is pinned on Heng Xuan, how can your second son Heng Mo be willing? Heng Mo is Xiao Yin's childhood playmate again, all kinds of details, do you need this king to continue to say more? ”

Wei Ran then threw the file to Hengzhi and said to Hengzhi: "Hengheng and King Han, this king will deal with it." Heng Mo is the son of Heng Gong, I respect Heng Gong, this is your family matter. In this regard, we are gracious. ”

Yuan Shu saw Hengzhi who had left the mansion in despair, and hurriedly ran to the study.

I saw Wei Ran in the study sitting behind the desk, constantly wiping the Taiping Sword.

Yuan Shu hurriedly said: "Fell out with Henggong? ”

"It's a matter of time. It's just that it's all out today. Wei Ran didn't care, just continued to wipe the sword in his hand, and then said: "Zhong Kan served under Hengheng in his early years, guarding Jiameng Pass, and when Jiankang changed last year, Xichuan was empty, and Zhong Kan couldn't hold Jiameng Pass, so he returned to Chang'an to ask for guilt. His Majesty remembered his bravery, so he stayed in the palace and appointed him. ”

"Xiao Liang, the king of Han, the fiefdom of Xichuan, is familiar with Hengheng. Hengxian was reused, and although Hengheng also sent troops to help His Majesty capture Xiakou, he did not receive too many rewards, so he was dissatisfied. united the second son of Heng Gong, who was also depressed, and wanted to take the opportunity to assassinate the crown prince so that King Zhao could succeed to the throne in the future. ”

"Has Your Majesty ever known about this matter?"

"I didn't tell Your Majesty the truth, Your Majesty is not safe now, if you know that the matter involves your uncle and younger brother, I'm afraid you will be in a hurry."