Chapter 4: The Line Between Life and Death
"What's your name?"
"The last general will be Luo Yang."
Outside the gate of King Xin's mansion, Zhu Youzhen boarded the carriage, looked back at the brocade guards sent by Xu Xianchun to 'protect' him, didn't say anything, and opened the shroud and got in.
Outside the carriage, Wang Chengen raised his voice.
"His Royal Highness King Xin."
Luo Yangxing straightened his waist, and when he raised his hand, hundreds of brocade guards surrounded the carriage and slowly drove towards the direction of the palace, and behind the carriage were hundreds of Donglin Party members led by Qian Qianyi and Zhou Yanru.
Xinwangfu is located on East Chang'an Street, not far from the palace, here used to be the standard camp, later the Jingying Rongzheng became more and more relaxed, the standard camp was abandoned, Wanli year was transformed into the residence of the princes.
Zhu Youzhen is young, and now he is only seventeen years old, so he has no fief, and Zhu Youxiao also loved Zhu Youzhen very much before his death, so he built the Xinwang Mansion here, which is close to the palace and can be summoned into the palace at any time.
There are many residents on East Chang'an Street, but at this time it is a little deserted and scary, on the street, there is only the sound of Zhu Youzhen and his party's chariots and footsteps.
The palace is getting closer.
Wang Chengen, who was guarding outside the carriage, couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Outside the Chengtian Gate, the fan of the East Factory of the First Standard greeted him.
At this moment, the Jinyi guards around the carriage were also holding waist knives under the leadership of Luo Yangxing.
A tense atmosphere suddenly permeated.
"Jinyiwei Qianhu Luo Yang, under the command of Jinyiwei General Xu, escorted His Royal Highness King Xin to hold the edict of the first emperor and enter the palace to succeed to the throne!"
Luo Yangxing shouted and pulled out his waist knife at the same time: "Those who come will stop, otherwise, they will be killed." ”
The leader of the Dongchang stopped and raised his right hand at the same time, and the people behind him stopped one after another.
"Dongchang is in charge of the execution of thousands of households Zhai Jian, and on the orders of Duke Wei, he has come to welcome the king."
Fantou reported to the door, and then knelt down in front of the carriage, and paused: "Knock on His Royal Highness King Xin." ”
Behind Zhai Jian, hundreds of Dongchang fans also bowed down one after another, and the voice of the king of the letter spread throughout the entire Chengtian Gate.
Zhu Youzhen didn't show up, who knows if there are assassins here, in case he shows up and is shot to death by a dark arrow, wouldn't he cry without tears.
Therefore, only the sound comes out.
"Zhai Qianhu is loyal, and Gu naturally believes in it, since he is specially ordered by Father-in-law Wei, he will enter the palace with Gu."
"Yes, Your Highness." Zhai Jian knocked his head respectfully, then got up, led people to get out of the way, and after the carriage passed, he obeyed outside.
The carriage passed through the Chengtian Gate all the way into the palace, and more and more people gathered around.
"The last general, Xu Xianchun, come to escort."
"Wei Qianlang, who is in charge of the West Factory, and An Yuandao came to pick up the car on the order of Wei Gonggong."
"Jin Yao, the commander of the Soldiers and Horses, came to escort him."
"Minister, Zhu Chunchen, the commander of the Beijing camp, came to escort him."
"Minister, the assistant Jingying Rong Zhenglu has come to escort him after completing school."
More and more people gathered around, but only two people were vassals.
One is Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo and the Governor of Beijing, and the other is Lu Wanxue, who is the assistant of Jingying Rongzheng.
The people of the military finally came forward.
Zhu Youzhen was also completely relieved, and walked out of the carriage with the courage to do so.
"It's hard work to become a prince." Zhu Youzhen strode in front of Zhu Chunchen, so excited that he had tears in his eyes, and supported Zhu Chunchen with both hands and said emotionally: "Qing is here, and the lonely heart is really down-to-earth." ”
Zhu Chunchen said loudly: "Please rest assured, minister, I am willing to die for Your Highness." ”
To die?
When Li Zicheng entered Beijing, it was also your dog who tied up the prince Zhu Cihong and rushed to offer flattery and persuade him to enter.
The indifference in Zhu Youzhen's eyes flashed away, and tears burst out.
"Okay, good, Chengguo Gong deserves to be my biggest loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty."
"Yo, listen to His Royal Highness, except for the Duke of Chengguo, there are no loyal ministers in the Manchu Dynasty?"
At this time, a sharp and piercing voice sounded, and Zhu Youzhen could clearly perceive that when this voice sounded, Zhu Chunchen's arm muscles were obviously tightened.
Turned.
Twenty steps away, on the side of His Majesty Dan in the Imperial Palace, an old eunuch with a gloomy face was looking at him.
Behind the old eunuch were dozens of strong brocade guards.
Memory reminds Zhu Youzhen, this old eunuch is called Wei Zhongxian!
The Wei Zhongxian, who called for wind and rain at the end of the Ming Dynasty and was known as nine thousand years old.
Zhu Youzhen let go of his hand, turned around and walked over.
"Lord Wang, be careful." Wang Chengen stopped him, but he didn't stop him, so he could only quickly follow Zhu Youzhen to Wei Zhongxian.
Behind him, Luo Yangxing glanced at Xu Xianchun, who shook his head slightly.
In this way, the nobles of the Fifth Military Mansion, the assistant governor of the Beijing camp, and the thousands of people from the Donglin Party and Jinyiwei all turned to Zhu Youzhen's back, watching the latter walk towards Wei Zhongxian step by step with slow but firm steps.
A smile appeared on Wei Zhongxian's face, dispelling the chilling gloom.
Behind the side of the body, Tian Ergeng, the left governor of the Jinyi Guard, whispered.
"Chitose, do you want to ......?"
Assassins had already been arranged on both sides of the palace, and now Zhu Youzhen came alone, as long as he Tian Ergeng gave an order, Zhu Youzhen would be shot by random arrows on the spot in an instant.
Wei Zhongxian turned his head and glanced at him, and the frightened Tian Ergeng hurriedly lowered his head and took half a step back.
This idiot.
Wei Zhongxian scolded in his heart, is the arrangement of manpower to assassinate Zhu Youzhen? That's to save his life, he can't get rid of Zhu Youzhen before he enters the palace, what's the point of doing it at this time.
No longer looking at Tian Ergeng, Wei Zhongxian turned his head to look at Zhu Youzhen, who was getting closer and closer, and then walked a few steps forward to meet him, and wanted to kneel.
"Old slave Wei Zhongxian knocked on the letter king ......"
"Father-in-law Wei, hurry up and excuse me."
Zhu Youzhen hugged Wei Zhongxian, held the latter up and said in a voice that only two people could hear: "Thanks to you, Gu can be safe and sound now." ”
The smile on Wei Zhongxian's face did not diminish in the slightest: "Wang Ye Ji people have their own natural appearance, how can something happen to a little illness." ”
"Lonely hope, you can also be auspicious."
"The old slave is a person who is crippled in the world, and this blessing is naturally not as good as your lord."
"There are a lot of assassins around." Zhu Youzhen glanced left and right, then looked at Tian Ergeng behind Wei Zhongxian, and retracted his gaze to stare at Wei Zhongxian: "I'm here now, if you don't do anything and wait for the lone to enter the palace, you won't have a chance." ”
Wei Zhongxian raised his head and smiled.
"The prince knows that the old slave is just a dying person, and there is nothing to be afraid of at this moment."
"Well, that's right." Zhu Youzhen nodded very agreeably: "There is a way that an open gun is easy to dodge, and a hidden arrow is difficult to defend, you are an open gun, everyone knows that you want to kill Lone, and now that Lone has entered the palace, I really don't have to worry about you anymore." Looking forward to the lonely death is the group of people who are shouting for escort behind the lonely body. ”
A hint of exclamation flashed in Wei Zhongxian's eyes: "The prince is wise." ”
"They are looking forward to the death of the lonely, and they are looking forward to you killing the lonely." Zhu You said: "In this way, they will have an excuse to make trouble, and when the power is reshuffled, everyone will have the opportunity to be the master of this country." ”
"The wisdom of the prince far surpasses that of the first emperor."
Wei Zhongxian breathed a sigh of relief visibly with the naked eye, and said in a pitiful and even humble tone: "The old slave is willing to be driven by His Highness, and he will not hesitate to go to the soup and fire. ”
Zhu Youzhen looked down at Wei Zhongxian, who was leaning down, and shook his head slightly after a long time, but he actually refused.
"You have to die, you don't die, they can't sleep, they can't sleep, they won't let Lone sleep."
Wei Zhongxian looked up in disbelief.
Just now, he even thought he had survived.
Because since Zhu Youzhen can see through the minds of Zhu Chunchen, Xu Xianchun, and the Donglin Party, he can understand how important it is to be a living self, but now, why should Zhu Youzhen refuse his own surrender.
That doesn't make sense.
"If the old slave dies, Your Highness, Da Ming will die."
Wei Zhongxian suddenly grabbed Zhu Youzhen's sleeve, this action made everyone at the scene instantly nervous, and the needles could be heard in the square of the palace group of Nuoda, and thousands of people even stopped breathing.
Luo Yangxing stepped forward and took half a step and was pulled by Xu Xianchun.
Zhu Chunchen only raised his eyelids.
Lu Wanxue, who was beside him, quietly flicked the fingers behind him a few times.
Tian Ergeng raised his hand slightly.
There was no need to deliberately search for it, the sunlight had already reflected the cold glow reflected by dozens of cold arrows.
Wang Chengen held his breath and stepped forward to block Zhu Youzhen's vest, with a resolute determination to die on his face.
In the Shura field, at this moment, only Zhu Youzhen maintained a calm and calm manner.
He let Wei Zhongxian catch him and responded at the same time.
"Lone knows that after you die, Daming will definitely die, but if you don't die, Daming will die faster, you have manipulated power for so many years, but you don't understand politics at all.
Lone hopes to keep you alive more than you, but the group of people behind Lone are unwilling, Lone has no power in his hands at the moment, so he can only watch them forcibly force the palace to carry out military admonitions in the name of Qingjun's side, or in the name of you holding Lone hostage.
When the time comes, you will still die, and loneliness will be abolished, and at that time, they can be greedy for children for a long time, don't you understand this truth?
So only when you die, they can sleep, and Lone can sleep. ”
Wei Zhongxian laughed miserably and nodded: "Yes, the prince is right, only if the old slave dies, they will not force the prince, but the prince, now that this knife is still in the hands of the old slave, aren't you afraid that the old slave and the prince will die together." ”
"Of course I'm afraid." Zhu Youzhen didn't hide it at all, and said frankly: "Lone doesn't want to die, but Lone believes that you won't kill Lone, because you don't like the group of people behind Lone." ”
Wei Zhongxian smiled: "It's all come to this point, if you can pull His Highness on your back, the old slave is not unjust." ”
"No, you're wronged." Zhu Youzhen leaned into Wei Zhongxian's ear and said: "Your three younger brothers, adopted sons, and nephews are now either marquis or uncles, and your Wei family relies on you, full of princes, glory and wealth."
If you live alone, your old Wei family can still enjoy your blessings, but if you die alone, your hard work for so many years will be in vain.
If you don't care about your family, why have you dragged them into the whirlpool of officialdom all these years. ”
Wei Zhongxian looked at Zhu Youzhen's eyes and narrowed his eyes: "Lord Wang, this is the old slave." ”
"Your nephew Wei Liangqing, who is also your adopted son, doesn't know a single word, but he is ranked as the third duke, with the title of Taishi, and the Duke of Ningguo." Zhu Youzhen glanced at his side: "Look at them, the ancestors assisted in the founding of the country and Fengtian Jingjing, and they are not as good as your adopted son until now."
People do not suffer from widowhood but unevenness, and they have long been holding back their thoughts to eat the flesh of your old Wei family and drink the blood of your old Wei family.
When the first emperor was alive, you could still keep it, but now that the first emperor is in a big business, there is a vacuum in imperial power, what do you take? ”
"Can you keep it, prince?" Wei Zhongxian sneered: "If you can keep it, why can't you keep the old slave from breathing." ”
Zhu Youzhen said without blushing: "So Gu asked you to help Gu, you helped Gu stabilize the throne, and Gu protected your family." ”
"Hahahaha." Wei Zhongxian looked up to the sky and laughed, the laughter broke the suffocating silence, and also made everyone's hearts leak, almost on the spot.
Stopping laughing, Wei Zhongxian whispered viciously to Zhu Youzhen: "The prince is really shameless, taking the life of the old slave to help you stabilize the throne, but instead he said that he was helping the old slave, since ancient times, the king has no faith, why should the old slave believe you." ”
"Do you need your faith?" Zhu Youzhen also lowered his eyes, and looked down at Wei Zhongxian from above: "Either you order to kill Gu now, or, watch Gu walk into the Imperial Palace and read the edict of the first emperor."
At that point, you don't have a choice. ”
"Don't you dare to be an old slave?"
"You and I will die together today, and we will do our best to get rich and cheap and cheap the insects, think about it, who is more hateful than Lonely, compared to the first emperor."
"Don't mention the First Emperor!"
Wei Zhongxian bullied Zhu Youzhen's face, with a hideous expression: "The first emperor is dead, the old slave wants to bury the first emperor, these messy things have nothing to do with the first emperor." ”
"It's up to you." Zhu Youzhen nodded: "If you expect those people in the Donglin Party to use the treasury money to operate, it will be impossible to sell the money alone, and if the money is not enough, you will sell the Xinwang Mansion to make money." ”
Wei Zhongxian finally let go of his hand, and for a moment he seemed to be a teenager old, leaning over to the side, muttering.
"No, the old slave has money, and the old slave has money left."
With this whisper, Wei Zhongxian left without looking back, Tian Ergeng glanced at it incredulously, hurriedly pulled out his legs and led people to follow, and when he passed by Zhu Youzhen's side, he smiled flatteringly.
"Chentian Ergeng, I have seen His Royal Highness King Xin, Wanfu Jin'an."
Wei Zhongxian left, Tian Ergeng also left, and the assassins in ambush withdrew cleanly.
The terrifying clouds that shrouded the sky above the Imperial Palace were swept away, and the autumn sun was sprinkled on Zhu Youzhen.
Zhu Youzhen looked back at Zhu Chunchen and his group, and then looked up at the sky.
Finally, a smile appeared on his face.
"Well, the weather is nice."