But I saw Qiao Shangshu pacing back and forth in the living room, looking tired, and when he saw me coming in, he hurriedly greeted me and said, "Lord Dudu, something happened to Jingshi, do you know?" "What's wrong?" Why did Lord Shangshu come here late at night? "I feel at ease.

Qiao Shangshu said in a low voice: "The emperor is critically ill!" "What? The emperor is critically ill? "I can't believe it. The man I was drinking with a few months ago was sick, and he couldn't afford it.

Qiao Shangshu nodded, and still said in a low voice: "It seems that adults really don't know!" I have already received a report from the Emperor in Beijing, saying that the emperor is in poor health and that we should strengthen our vigilance in Nanjing. And I privately learned that after the emperor returned to Beijing, he suddenly fell ill and had been lying in the leopard room for more than half a month.......

I know that Qiao Shangshu's words behind him clearly mean that Zhengde may have accidents. I really don't believe it in my heart, although that kid is thin and weak, he has always been very strong, but thinking that Qiao Shangshu is such a stable person, he will never lie to me, and Zhengde has not contacted me recently, thinking that he is really in trouble, his head is dizzy, and he slumped in the chair unconsciously, and sighed halfway: "This is a big thing, hey, how can this be?" His nose was sore, and tears welled up in his eyes.

After a long time, Qiao Shang said: "The emperor is seriously ill, and my generation is also like a thunderbolt from the sky, the Governor and the emperor have a deep friendship, and everyone in the world knows it, but this is not the time to be sad." ”

When I heard this, I hurriedly wiped away my tears and said, "What Lord Shangshu said is that if you come here late at night, you will have a teaching!" ”

"Lord Governor will return to Beijing immediately! Maybe you can see the emperor again. Qiao Shangshu suddenly straightened up, and cut the railway.

"Without a will, I can't go back to Beijing without permission!" Qiao Shangshu asked me to go back to Beijing, which surprised me a little, and I couldn't help but have some doubts in my heart.

Qiao Shangshu smiled indifferently and said, "I believe that the Holy Decree is on the way, but you should go ahead, the sooner the better!" I hesitated a little and said, "If you leave your post without permission, it will not be easy to check the checks at all passes!" ”

Qiao Shangshu said: "My Lord Dudu, who are you?" Governor of Jinyi Guard, have you forgotten that you have the jade plate given to you by the emperor, and you must not be blocked from all passes. What's more, you are the assistant to Jiangnan, and you are also the emperor's dictatorship. "I was shocked, in order to facilitate access to the palace, Zhengde did reward me with a jade plate, it can be said that I can go anywhere in the future. But I rarely used it, only once outside Nanjing, in order to help Wang Shouren meet Zhang Yong. No one else knew about this matter, so I unconsciously asked, "The matter of the jade plate was told to you by Lord Wang!" ”

"Yes, it is indeed Lord Wang who said it, he heard that there has been a change in the capital, and he thinks that Lord Wang is deeply favored by the emperor, and he can't help but go back. Let me bring you a message, the safety of the capital is closely related to adults. Adults are pure-hearted, and they will be able to do their best for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Wang Shouren relied on his own strength to quell the rebellion of King Ning by strategy, and at the same time, in order to ensure the peace of Jiangnan, he handed over the credit to Jiang Bin, handed over the military power himself, and hid in the mountains to practice. This person is rich in learning, has many disciples, and has long been famous all over the world. Although I have a lot of dealings with him, I always feel that I am a rough person, and I have always respected him, and the person who persuaded me to return to Beijing turned out to be him, and I couldn't help but be grateful, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that Lord Wang really favored me!" ”

"I came here late at night, it was commissioned by Lord Wang, he felt that if the emperor was unexpected, the Ming Dynasty would be turbulent, the Ming Dynasty had been in a miasma over the years, and then there was turmoil, the people of the world were subjected to the seedlings, the Ming Dynasty was stable in the capital, if the Lord returned to Beijing to guard, with the prestige of the Lord, he would be able to deter bad intentions."

When I heard this, I was feverish, and said, "Lord Wang has always been like a god, and I am deeply touched, since I trust me so much, I will return to Beijing immediately." It's just that here, please take care of your lords. ”

Qiao Shangshu smiled and said: "Lord Dudu's kindness to Jiangnan, we can see it, you can rest assured, it will be handed over to us here, and it will be foolproof." However, adults need to be quick to return to Beijing. Therefore, I transferred ten captains of the Nanjing Military Department, took my seal, and escorted the Governor to Xuzhou, first, the various passes of Nanzhili will not be blocked, and second, if they encounter the remnants of King Ning, they can also mobilize all kinds of sergeants. In short, the Governor must be escorted to Beijing. ”

I didn't feel moved, and I bowed deeply: "Lord Shangshu is so kind to you, I'm really grateful for it!" ”

Qiao Shangshu hurriedly returned the salute and said: "Lord Governor is a good official, he has always benefited Jiangnan, this little thing is not enough to worry about, just from Shandong to Jingshi, along the way, adults should also be careful." He lowered his voice again and said to me: "Lord Wang specially said, after you return to Beijing, you must guard against two people, one is Jiang Bin, what he wants to do, you know how well, I heard that he has deployed heavy troops outside the capital city; Another one is the cabinet Yang Gelao. "I know that Jiang Bin always wants to make some great achievements, so he persuades Zhengde to travel outside the Saiwai all the year round, and he is a domineering person, and his sergeants are even more fierce, and they often cause trouble. He and I are both wary of each other. That Yang Ge Lao is Yang Tinghe, a member of the cabinet, Zhengde is not in the capital, it is all up to him to maintain the stability of the capital, and the major affairs of the country are also handled in an orderly manner.

When I searched Ning Wang's mansion, I found the account book of King Ning's gifts to court officials, including a list of gifts to Yang Tinghe, which was worth a lot of money, and at the same time, Qian Ning also confessed, the reason why King Ning was able to restore the guard army was also supported by Yang Ting, and what is even more terrifying is that Sun Sui and others in Jiangxi have already noticed that King Ning is going to rebel, and the relevant chapters have also been reported to the cabinet, with Yang Tinghe's ingenuity and many years of experience, he can't help but perceive King Ning's thoughts, but he pressed down and did not report to the emperor, so that Sun Sui and others died tragically at the hands of King Ning, which inevitably makes people not doubt what Yang Tinghe did.

When dealing with the account books, I directly asked people to burn them, so that many people can settle down, Wang Shouren was also present at the time, and he praised this very much, saying that Jiangnan was turbulent, and if he continued to punish the relevant officials, he was afraid that the Ming Dynasty would never have peace.

I can't help but be surprised that Wang Shouren actually asked me to be wary of Yang Tinghe. Qiao Shangshu didn't say anything else, but got up to say goodbye.

After sending Qiao Shangshu away, I said to Guo Zheng: "There is such a big thing in the capital, Xiaobai didn't tell me!" Guo Zheng also didn't believe it, and said: "It is said that Xiaobai will not know, but recently, there has been very little news from outside to us." There is no news from the capital. I was very surprised and said, "Why didn't you say it earlier?" Guo Zheng was ashamed and said: "I see that you are not too happy every day, so I didn't tell you, but I sent someone to investigate." I nodded and said, "It's like this, there's no need to pursue the fault anymore, hey, the emperor's dragon is not in good health, I have to go back early." ”

Seeing that the light was gradually getting outside, I began to pack my things and prepare to go back to Beijing. Jiang Li helped me clean up, but he was not without worry: "My lord, you have to be careful on the road, you might as well take more people away." Then he sighed: "I heard that martial law has begun in the capital, and you should think of a good strategy." I nodded, and couldn't help but complain again: "There is such a big thing in the capital, and the Zhenfu Division has no news at all, so you really don't take me seriously!" Jiang Li said: "The whole of the Zhenfu Division is an adult brother, it is impossible for them not to know, this is also what I am worried about, I am afraid that the Zhenfu Division will change." It's very risky for adults to go back. When she said this, her brows frowned slightly, and the whole person looked anxious, I couldn't help but take her hand and said, "You don't have to worry, I have my own plan." However, when I'm not here, you and Angelica Angelica should be more careful. This time I returned to Beijing, different from the past, if something extraordinary happens, you must cherish it. ”

Jiang Li listened, with tears in his eyes, and forced a smile on his face: "Adults are always joking, how many times have you been out, and when did you not return safely, Jiren has his own natural appearance." ”

I felt a dull ache in my heart, and I just hugged her into my arms, but I didn't know what to say.

At dawn, I led Guo Zheng and four Jinyi Guard captains and ten sergeants to ride horses, bid farewell to Jiang Li, left Yanbo Villa, and went straight to the official road.

Sure enough, as Qiao Shangshu said, all the checkpoints began to be under martial law, checking the passers-by, especially the pedestrians in the north, although we wore civilian clothes, pretending to be merchants buying medicine, but still obviously felt that the investigation was tight, thanks to the ten captains in the south, the state capitals of Nanzhili were released all the way, we rushed to five or six days, and gradually came to Xuzhou, crossed the Yellow River, which is the realm of Shandong.

Xuzhou, known as Pengcheng in ancient times, Huaihai in the east, the Central Plains in the west, Jianghuai in the south, Qilu in the north, has always been a place where soldiers must fight, and was destroyed many times because of war, but it was destroyed and then built. Emperor Taizu built a new city, set up Xuzhou Wei and Xuzhou Left Guard, and later because Beijing was upgraded to the capital, Xuzhou is in the middle of the two capitals, which can be described as the throat of the north and south, therefore, successively increased to the seven guards, and the garrison is as many as more than 10,000 people. And here is the throat lifeline of the North-South Grand Canal, where the tribute since the Jianghuai and the things of the four Yi go to Beijing, because of this, thousands of ships, day and night. And the people here are fierce, and people who are brave and brave abound.

It's the eighth day of March, and the farther north you go, the colder it gets. The ten lieutenants did not wear much, and after crossing the Yellow River, it was the realm of Beizhili. I rewarded them heavily and asked them to go back to Nanjing. The six of us still rode horses and entered Xuzhou City. It was already noon, so I found a hotel for dinner. There is really a big hotel next to the official road, and there are a lot of people coming in and out, so I simply went here.

As soon as we entered the hotel lobby, Xiao Er came to greet us, and before we could speak, he said, "But Master Zhu in the capital?" I was stunned and shook my head, and the little two looked left and right, and said suspiciously: "How could it be wrong?" Obviously, you are here today? ”

I have seen many people although they are dining, but their eyes are gathered on us, knowing that someone is waiting for us, and they want to turn around and go out, I am afraid that it is inappropriate, so I smiled slightly and said: "The contemptible surname is Zhang, it is indeed a person from the capital, but there is a seat?" The shopkeeper seemed to have received someone's acquiescence, smiled all over his face, said yes, and led us up to the second floor. It was a suite, but it was also next to the window, Guo Zheng went in to take a look, turned around and whispered to me, "There are people staring at us outside!" ”

Who could it be? I thought about it, so I simply sat down calmly and said to Xiao Er: "Even if you arrange the dishes, by the way, we don't drink, and we will have to hurry for a while!" The shopkeeper answered, turned around and went out.

Guo Zhengdao: "My lord, who will it be?" I shook my head slightly, but nodded again: "It must be someone we know, calculate our itinerary well, everyone should be careful." ”

After a while, the shopkeeper brought the dishes, and we were also hungry, regardless of thirty-seven twenty-one, we were full. Guo Zheng was a little hesitant, afraid that the dish would be poisoned, so I smiled and said, "You have forgotten our identity, when you are not an enemy or a friend, no one will be poisoned!"

Someone "snapped" and applauded outside the door, and then a voice said: "Master Zhang is open-minded, so trusting others, how can we poison it?" ”

Guo Zheng and the others put down their rice bowls and gathered around me, I coughed lightly and said, "I don't know where my friends are here, why don't you show up?" ”

The visitor smiled, pushed open the door, and walked in. I fixed my eyes and saw that it was a middle-aged man, with a white complexion, a slight beard, a pair of triangular eyes, revealing a bit of coldness, followed by several big men, one of whom turned out to be Min Shisan, the chief teacher under King Ning and the leader of the Poyang Lake bandits. This person has been crisscrossing Poyang for 30 years, blocking the road and robbing passing ships, which can be described as killing people and stealing goods. Because of the protection of King Ning, the government had no choice. I infiltrated King Ning's mansion, and Min Shisan has always been wary of me, saying many times that I am a secret agent of the imperial court. It also took me a lot of twists and turns to gain a firm foothold in King Ning's Mansion.

Wang Shouren defeated King Ning at Poyang Lake, and we pursued Min 13 with all our might, and I even got rid of his two villains with my own hands, but he disappeared without a trace. Now, I met him here. Guo Zheng had already touched the short sword in the package, I was secretly surprised in my heart, but my face was as calm as water, and I just got up very politely to greet him.

"Commander Li Cong, the commander of the lowly and mighty regimental battalion, see Lord Jinyi Weidu!" The man's voice was loud and gave me a deep salute, and I hurriedly stepped forward to hug each other and said, "Polite, polite, I have always heard that Master Li is capable of literature and martial arts, and is erudite and talented, and I am surprised and happy to see him today!" "This Li Cong and Zhou Nai, the chief soldier of Tongzhou, are Jiang Bin's henchmen, and the rumors are very cunning, I don't feel vigilant, and Guo Zheng is also standing beside me, staring at these people.

We sat down with the guests and hosts, Li Cong glanced at everyone, motioned for Min Shisan and others to wait outside the door, and said with a smile: "People say that Jinyiwei is Senluo Palace, and Lord Dudu is the living king of Yama. ”

Although I didn't understand what it meant, I also smiled and said: "The world has a deep misunderstanding of our Jinyiwei, and we don't bother to explain. I have seen the soldiers of the regiment and battalion, and it is really magnificent. ”

Li Cong looked at me and said, "Lord Governor looks good, and he has worked hard all the way. ”

It seems that they all know my whereabouts, glanced at Guo Zheng, sighed lightly, and said: "The emperor's dragon body is not good, I am very concerned." So I was in a hurry, and I didn't want adults to know my itinerary very well. ”

Li Cong smiled and said: "Lord Governor doesn't have to mind, we have no malicious intentions, my lord is the emperor's righteous brother, managing the world's brocade guards, we can't make friends if we want to, how dare we have other meanings?" The general has always respected you, so this time the emperor is sick, and he specially asked me to come to see your lordship! ”

I didn't know what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd, but his face was still calm, and he said, "The major affairs of the imperial court are not something that people like me can participate in!" The general really thinks highly of me! ”

Li Cong laughed, and his laughter made me feel familiar, "Why is Master Li laughing?" I couldn't help but ask.

Li Cong restrained his smile and said: "Lord Governor, it is a major event for the court to welcome the new monarch, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Wen of Song in the past, how many important ministers of the court are eager to go to greet him, don't you want to get the merit of Yingli?" ”

I was forced to read "Zizhi Tongjian", and naturally knew that the king of Changyi in the Han Dynasty was unscrupulous, and was deposed by the ministers, and Liu Heng, the acting king, was renamed as the emperor, and it was Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. During the Liu and Song dynasties of the Southern Dynasty, ministers Xu Xianzhi, Tan Daoji and others abolished Emperor Shao of the Song Dynasty and set up Liu Yilong as the emperor, which was Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty. It's just that these Yingli ministers didn't end well. But I couldn't say this, I just pretended to be angry and said, "When the son is just a dragon with a poor body today, how can you say the words of welcoming the new king, isn't it a great rebellion?" ”