Frustrated Qu admittedly heard this, and looked at the direction where Li Ke was going, and suddenly felt a sense of annoyance for no reason.

At this moment, he had the urge to rush up and beat Li Ke violently, and the sequelae of Puzhou came out, If he really let the Western Qin army build a city on Emei Plateau, he would really be passive.

Fuqu admittedly did not let Fu Yuan return to Heyang, but let him follow him into Luoyang, and then sent an order to Qingzhou, ordering He Basheng to lead 30,000 troops to Luoyang to rendezvous.

Before coming to Luoyang, Min Shiyuan granted Fuqu the Confession of the False Festival, so the Fuqu did have the right to transfer troops on his own, and then he asked the horse to report the situation to Yecheng, hoping that Zhao Zhao, the assassin of the state, could lead the army south from Jinyang, and the two sides would meet in Puzhou to recapture Puzhou.

Fu Yuan had no objection to this, but couldn't help but remind: "The general is desperate to recapture Puzhou, but if Nanqi takes the opportunity to attack at this time, how can he resist it?" ”

According to Fu Yuan's analysis, more than 60,000 people can be summoned near Luoyang to remove the soldiers defending the city, and if Qingzhou He Basheng comes with troops, the two sides will have 100,000 troops, which is enough to besiege Puzhou, but Luoyang must be empty, Liu Renye is now under the false festival by Xiao Ju, and he can send troops on his own, without reporting to Jiankang, so that the time to conquer Puzhou must be controlled within ten days.

After leading the army to attack Puzhou, an army surrounded Tongguan, an army forcibly crossed the Yellow River, and our army built a pontoon bridge on the Yellow River to maintain east-west contact, so that the main figure of our army was to contain the Puzhou defenders, and when Zhao Zhao came from Bingzhou, he attacked it in one fell swoop. ”

Just when the Eastern and Western Qin were preparing for the battle of Puzhou, in the Southern Qi Taicheng City, Xiao Ju was vomiting blood day by day, and his body was getting weaker and weaker.

Wei Ran then let Xiao Ye live in Shangyuan Palace day and night, serving Xiao Ju day and night.

Yang Lan also called Wei Ran for this matter, blaming him Xiao Ye for being just a child, how could he serve Xiao Ju, it was better to let him rest.

Wei Ran retorted: "Xiao Ye is the crown prince, now that His Majesty is seriously ill, the prince should serve by His Majesty's side day and night, in case Your Majesty has a case, the prince must also be the first witness, no one else, even I rarely go to Shangyuan Palace in order to avoid suspicion recently." ”

Yang Lan was speechless, so she had to nod.

However, although Wei Ran did not live in Shangyuan Palace, he lived in Zhongshu Province all day long, just to ensure that when Xiao Ju died, he could be at the scene as soon as possible.

Wei Ran returned to Zhongshu Province and summoned Pei Shu, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, to inquire about the construction of his mausoleum.

Hearing that everything was going on in the mausoleum, Wei Ran was relieved and said to Pei Shu: "Your Majesty's mausoleum is the number one major event in Daqi today, you can't make a mistake, the matter is done, you have your own reward, if there is any accident, don't blame the king for being ruthless." ”

Pei Shu Nuo nodded, and Wei Ran immediately said with relief: "This king is also worried about the matter behind His Majesty, don't take it to heart." ”

The reason why Wei Ran was polite to Pei Shu was because Pei Shu was not a scholar, but a person who was proficient in construction among the people, so he was appointed by Wei Ran as the director of the Ministry of Works, and he worked conscientiously on weekdays, and was later promoted to the secretary of the Ministry of Works.

Wei Ran looked down on the scholars who were literate, but he still respected those who had real talents and learning.

Pei Shu thought of something at this time, and suddenly said to Wei Ran: "King Qin, the budget for building the mausoleum, I think it's inappropriate?" ”

When Wei Ran heard this, he said directly: "Your Majesty's request for frugality, if it is not enough, how much is lacking and open it directly, this king will order the household department to allocate funds." ”

Pei Shu hurriedly waved his hand, shook his head and said: "The budget should be enough, but recently I found that the stones and labor used every day are different from those given by the Ministry of Households. ”

As soon as Wei Ran heard this, he knew that there was corruption again, but it was not appropriate to kill again at this time, so he said: "Now Your Majesty's matter is the top priority, Master Pei will make a record of it himself, and when he is done, this king will settle the account." Now, if we kill in vain and delay the construction period, you and I can't afford it. ”

That night, Xiao Ju woke up from a coma and saw Xiao Ye lying on his bedside asleep.

He wanted to call people at the moment, but at this time he found that he was speechless, and he could only make a gurgling sound in his mouth, Xiao Ju's pupils instantly dilated, and at this moment, Xiao Ju suddenly understood that it was time for him to leave this world.

But he still has a lot of unwillingness, there are still so many things that have not been completed, he has not created a prosperous era for Daqi, he has not waited for Xiao Ye to become an adult, and he has not even taken back the land of Henan.

Xiao Ju's movements woke up Xiao Ye in his sleep, and Xiao Ye saw that after Xiao Ju woke up, he kept shaking.

He immediately asked, "Father, are you awake?" ”

When Xiao Ju heard Xiao Ye's voice, he suddenly stopped, silently turned his head to look at Xiao Ye, and then wanted to reach out and touch Xiao Ye, but suddenly found that he couldn't exert his strength all over his body.

Unable to speak, and unable to move his body, Xiao Ju felt unprecedented despair at this time.

Xiao Ye also sensed that something was wrong, and immediately shouted: "Someone! What's wrong with my father! ”

The father-in-law, who was on duty at the door, immediately entered the palace and called, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty? ”

Xiao Ju could only make a slight gurgling sound at this time, and his father-in-law stepped forward to hear Xiao Ju make a faint sound, but he couldn't speak, so he cried urgently: "Your Majesty has lost his voice!" ”

Then the father-in-law rushed to the outside of the palace and called a little eunuch: "Go and pass the imperial doctor, and then go and inform the queen." ”

Not long after, Yang Lan and the imperial physician rushed to Shangyuan Palace almost at the same time, and the imperial physician immediately stepped forward to diagnose and treat Xiao Ju, Yang Lan was at a loss in a hurry, but at this moment she couldn't do anything else except be in a hurry.

After a long time, the imperial doctor got up and shook his head at Yang Lan: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid you won't be able to survive tonight." ”

Yang Lan looked at Xiao Ju, Xiao Ju, who was only thirty years old, is now as old as a fifty-year-old person, full of white hair, walking on thin ice in the early stage, suffering great disasters in the middle stage, and exhausting himself in the later stage, in this life, he has never been comfortable.

Xiao Ju looked at Yang Lan, but kept blinking her eyes, Yang Lan ignored it for a while, and then with Xiao Ju's gaze, Yang Lan found the box placed on the dragon case.

After Yang Lan opened the box, she only saw a holy decree and a piece of paper in the box.

It was written on the paper that if I was sick, I would need to be present by the King of Qin, the sacrificial wine, Shang Shuling, Dazai, and Sikong.

Yang Lan didn't hesitate after seeing it, and immediately asked the five people to be summoned.

Wei Ran and Cui He themselves temporarily lived in Zhongshu Province, and rushed to Shangyuan Palace as soon as they got the news.

At this time, Xiao Ju's life had come to an end, and when he saw Wei Ran coming to the palace, he immediately motioned for Wei Ran to step forward.

Wei Ran stepped forward and fell to his knees with a thud: "Your Majesty! ”

Xiao Ju couldn't speak, just looked at the cabinet that had allowed Wei Ran to take the secret edict in the past.

Wei Ran understood, and immediately said: "Your Majesty rest assured, the minister will live up to Your Majesty's trust." ”

At this time, Shang Shuling Dazai and the others had not yet arrived at Shangyuan Palace, Xiao Ju sighed in his heart, he couldn't wait.

Xiao Ju then struggled and looked at Xiao Ye, his eyes full of expectation.

However, if he knows about the ridiculous things that Xiao Ye has done recently, I am afraid that he will be directly angry.

In the end, in unwillingness, Xiao Ju closed his eyes forever.

The bell rang loudly in Taicheng, resounding throughout Jiankang, and the people of Jiankang in their sleep were awakened by the bell.

The young people didn't understand what the bell meant, only the old man said, "The bell doesn't stop, I'm afraid Your Majesty has died." ”

In the Shangyuan Palace, everyone cried bitterly, Wei Ran knelt on the ground in pain, no one knew Xiao Ju better than him.

Xiao Ju should have been a generation of Ming Jun, the only light in the troubled times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but God is jealous of the talent, Xiao Ju was in the prime of life, but he passed away, which is undoubtedly the tragedy of this dark era.

At this time, the rest of the people rushed to the Shangyuan Palace, but the focus of everyone's attention was no longer Xiao Ju's death, but Xiao Ju's edict, how important this edict was, and how important it was to determine the future fate of Nanqi.

Yang Lan took out the edict and made Cui Huan read it.

"Fengtian carries the emperor's edict and says, I know that the destiny of heaven is not long, so I hereby make an edict. The crown prince Xiao Ye inherited the throne, the Qin king Wei Ran was the regent, the wine was sacrificed Cui He, the Shangshu Ling Zhang Zemao, Sikong Yuan Qi, and the Dazai Chen Xiaokuan was the auxiliary minister. ”

This simple edict is equivalent to handing over all the rights of Southern Qi to Wei Ran, Xiao Ju used the last edict to make a big bet with Wei Ran, he bet that Wei Ran would abide by the promise between the two of them and would not usurp Xiao Ye's position.

But the rest of the people don't think so, now that the lord is weak and the ministers are strong, the ministers will inevitably have careful thoughts in their hearts

Wei Ran took the edict, and then asked the ministers in Beijing to go to the Shou Banquet Hall on the second day to pay tribute to Xiao Ju.

Wei Ran then asked Xiao Ye to prepare the clothes of the Son of Heaven, and said to Yang Lan: "The matter is urgent, although I have been prepared for a long time, but the matter has come to this point, it still makes people feel stamped, and tomorrow the prince will succeed in front of the spirit." ”

When it was dawn, all the ministers came to the birthday banquet hall where Xiao Ju's coffin was stored, Wei Ran read out Xiao Ju's edict in public, and Xiao Ye ascended the throne as emperor on the spot.

Subsequently, Si Tianjian gave Xiao Ju the nickname Ming, which was for Emperor Qi Ming.

After a series of cumbersome processes, Xiao Ju was finally buried, the simplicity of the mausoleum is unbelievable, because Xiao Ju asked not to have the treasures to accompany the burial, so compared with the splendid Xiao Heng mausoleum, Xiao Ju's mausoleum is simply different from cloud and mud.

On the Humble Administrator's Hall in Taicheng, Yang Lan pulled Xiao Ye to sit on the dragon chair and accept the congratulations of hundreds of officials.

Wei Ran sat on the throne below the dragon chair, which was a seat specially arranged for the regent.

Xiao Ye also began an eight-year puppet career.

Wei Ran said: "Now the first emperor is unfortunately dead, the prince is young, and the king is temporarily appointed to act on behalf of the government, this is His Majesty's trust in the king, and the king also knows that there are many people in the court who are not satisfied, but now it is a troubled time, and the troubled times should be used as a model, the king only wants to complete His Majesty's wish for the Northern Expedition, if everyone can work together to assist the king, the king can lead the troops outside, and expand the territory for me. ”

Wei Ran's words are clearly a statement to everyone, although I am appointed as regent, as long as everyone is obedient, I will not be autocratic, but if the persecution is too much, then Wei Ran will have to dictatorship.

Then Wei Ran said: "The kings who rebelled before are now trapped in the cold palace, and the royal blood is withering, which is not a good thing, Xiao Gui, the king of Chu, has a good attitude of admitting his mistakes, you can release him and give him a mansion outside the healthy city, which can be regarded as an example for the clan, can this matter be meaningful to the ministers?" ”

Because Xiao Ruyu served Cui He, what Wei Ran promised at the beginning must be fulfilled, and this time in the name of amnesty to the world, Xiao Gui was released, and everyone had nothing to say.

Then Wei Ran said: "Xiao Yin, the king of Zhao, is the younger brother of the first emperor, the uncle of His Majesty, was bewitched by Hengzhi at the beginning, and started a rebellion, Xiao Yin was still young at the time, and now he is an adult, and there can be no one without a clan in the court. ”

In the end, Wei Ran said another piece of news that made the ministers feel earth-shattering, and transferred Xiao Luan's son, Xiao Ziyin, the king of Linhai, to Jiankang and named the emperor's brother.

This matter was opposed by everyone, not to mention that Xiao Ziyin is the son of the traitor Xiao Luan, but now that Xiao Ye has just succeeded to the throne, he has appointed Xiao Ziyin as the crown prince, Wei Ran is what his intentions are.

Even Yang Lan was quite displeased, didn't she curse Xiao Ye to die early.

Wei Ran explained: "In the past, when His Majesty was not born, the first emperor raised the King of Linhai in the East Palace, and the intention is self-evident. ”

Seeing that everyone was still discussing, Wei Ran immediately shouted angrily: "Now that Your Majesty is young, and the first emperor has no other heirs, he has to do this." This king knows what some people think in their hearts, this king chooses a person who is almost an adult as the emperor's brother, but also for the sake of the community, if this king wants to be autocratic, why not find a baby from the son of the clan, there is nothing to do every day in the cold palace, and there is more than one son born! ”

After saying a few words, he blocked the mouths of the people, and everyone no longer objected, for fear that Wei Ran would really find a baby to be the emperor's brother in a fit of anger.

After dealing with the internal affairs, Wei Ran took out another fold, got up and said to everyone: "The Eastern and Western Qin are fighting in Puzhou, the Eastern Qin wants us to attack Wancheng and other places, and the Western Qin wants us to attack Luoyang, what do you think?" ”

At this time, Shang Shuling said: "His Royal Highness the King of Qin, now that I am in mourning for the country, it is not appropriate to use troops externally, and this matter cannot be done." ”

Everyone also refused to let Wei Ran send troops on the grounds that it was not in accordance with the etiquette system, and Wei Ran wanted to agree immediately.

At this time, a young general said: "The first emperor wanted to go on the Northern Expedition, and now is a good time to help Western Qin attack Luoyang and contain the Eastern Qin army. Besides, Xiqin takes Xichuan as a reward, killing two birds with one stone, why not do it? ”

Wei Ran looked at it intently, and the person who spoke was the grandson of General Yangkan, Yang Jian.