Devil’s Advent

"Why don't you die?"

The prince's childish voice seemed a little ethereal at this moment.

Especially the word "you", with respect, connotation, and an official tone.

Xu Qingshan froze in place,

He didn't expect

What was waiting for him was this sentence, and he did not expect that this sentence came from Chu Jun's mouth.

The prince is half a prince.

The king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die.

And sometimes, the prince wants you to die, but it is actually more difficult to live than the "jun".

When the emperor is angry, he wants to impose a death penalty on people, and he will be executed after the fall. If the surrounding relations are active, and the officials suggest, if the emperor wants to beat or change his mind, there is a high probability that you will keep your head.

Politics is a game. All processes and forms are designed to make the game look more solemn and sacred. Everyone is a participant and has their own way of playing.

Inquiry will, one after another;

Those who were waiting for Xu Qingshan were supposed to be transferred back to Yanjing, and after a period of cold sitting, they began to look for reasons to "follow the vines" to punish a serious crime with a small mistake.

After all, the imperial envoy was selected by the emperor, and the imperial envoy represented the will of the emperor. To directly issue an edict to punish the crime in a grand manner is equivalent to slapping the emperor himself in the face. It is equivalent to the emperor proving himself. He, too, will make mistakes.

Xu Qingshan is going through this process, so he is still an imperial envoy;

But when the prince said this, he knew that his political career, no, his life, was gone.

The prince has no real power. The prince is not in charge of any yamen now, and he has not even officially opened the East Palace. There is no so-called princeling. No matter who he is, someone can help him charge and cover.

Unfortunately,

The status of the prince is precious.

He said you should die,

If you don't die,

Let Guoben's face, where to put it?

Your Majesty will weigh it, because the crown prince let you die, but you are still alive, will you hold any grudges when the crown prince takes the throne? Or, do you want to join Seize the Inheritance to abolish the Crown Prince in the future?

These are all things for later, because you can't wait for the future at all.

political and physical double negation,

Xu Qingshan's body began to tremble.

He knew that he had messed up his errand this time, and he also knew that his career would be useless in the future, and whether he could keep his family would depend on his luck, but before that, he still had a sense of dignity.

Decentness is given to you by the Tian family, it is the halo of the Tian family, which supports him not to kneel when he sees King Pingxi, and he does not need to kneel when he sees His Royal Highness;

But when all your support is borrowed from you by others, in fact, you have already lost, and when they take it away, you will realize how desolate and powerless you really are.

"Plop!"

Xu Qingshan fell to his knees on the ground, devastated.

It's ridiculous,

really ridiculous,

The crown prince of a country asked in front of everyone, in front of all the officials in Suzhou City, why are you still alive?

You have committed such a great crime, why do you still have the face to live?

You still want to be decent, you still want to go through the process?

How shameless you must be,

Still standing here?

But anyone who wants to lose face should have done it by himself long ago.

Shameless, shameless, shameless!

There are no taboos in children's words, but "jun" has no jokes.

Xu Qingshan seemed to have lost her soul,

At the corner of the mouth, even white foam began to overflow.

The Yan State is not like the Qian State, where the culture of scholar-bureaucrats is so heavy. In the Yan State, it is even possible to switch between civil and military sequences according to needs, but after all, it is a system inherited from the Great Xia;

This kind of shocking feeling of being completely denied the value of one's own existence by the monarch, no, it is necessary to deny the existence, is enough to make an orthodox official like Xu Qingshan go crazy.

Zhou Furui couldn't stand it anymore, and glanced behind the Suzhou prefect, the Suzhou prefect understood, and stepped forward to help Xu Qingshan, Zhou Furui himself also stepped forward to smooth things over.

But at this moment,

From the handsome chariot, a heroic figure stepped out.

Zhou Furui and the prefect of Suzhou immediately stopped, and then knelt down in unison:

"Greetings to Prince Pingxi, Prince Fukang!"

Behind him, the group of Suzhou officials who had just stood up earlier also knelt down again at this time:

"Greetings to Prince Pingxi, the prince is thousand years old!"

The sound is neater and louder than before;

After all, the crown prince is too young, Yanjing is a bit far from here, but Prince Pingxi is right in front of him, and at the same time, the prince's army is also here.

No matter how you compare it, King Pingxi's "identity" at this time is undoubtedly the most important in the audience.

Zheng Fan's eyes fell on Xu Qingshan who was slumped on the ground, then moved away, nodded slightly to Zhou Furui, and finally looked at the prefect of Suzhou,

Opened the mouth and said:

"The king is hungry."

...

The reception banquet is naturally ready.

The largest restaurant in Suzhou City was booked out today. At the same time, a large number of yamen servants and soldiers from the patrol department in the city had set up guards early on, so that no one else could come near.

But the preparations are all preparations, the prefect of Suzhou, Wang Yan, really did not expect that the prince would really come to the city for dinner.

But since people want to eat, they naturally have to prepare and accompany them at the same time.

Shuai Lian entered the city of Suzhou, and King Pingxi led the crown prince and eldest son, accompanied by Zhou Furui, Wang Yan and other Suzhou officials, and walked into the restaurant together.

After being seated,

The prince sits on the left hand side of King Pingxi, and Tian Tian sits on the right hand side.

Zhou Furui and Wang Yan sat with him, and on the table were some prominent local figures in Suzhou City who were similar to Xiangxian.

Ren Juan stood aside, as an earl, he should have a place here, but he resolutely refused to sit;

This made the group of people sitting with them feel like they were sitting on pins and needles.

Zhou Furui and Wang Yan tried their best to liven up the atmosphere, asked the prince about his hard work, and then introduced the local specialties in Suzhou, but the prince leaned back on the chair and supported his forehead with his hands after he took his seat. , covered half of his face, and didn't respond at all, as if he had fallen asleep.

"Brother, eat fish, it's delicious."

"Thank you brother, brother eat this snack."

"Well, it's delicious."

"hey-hey."

The two children had a great time eating. After all, during the march, although Zheng Fan was more particular about food, he didn't pay attention to what the soldiers below and the top must eat as much as the Zhenbei Hou Mansion, but the conditions were limited after all;

There is a large table in front of them and the delicious dishes are still being served, which really makes the two children very happy.

But this made it difficult for the officials who were sitting with them. They could only help serve the two young masters with a plate, or pick up a dish that they couldn't reach, and they couldn't talk about the rest.

Can you chat with the two children about romance, can you chat with the two about life insights?

Furthermore,

The previous "combat power" of the two children also really shocked everyone.

Who can guarantee that when you are chatting with them, the prince or the prince will not say something abruptly:

"Hey, why are you still alive?"

Therefore,

The atmosphere in the private room at the main table was extremely depressing. Many adults couldn't help rubbing their toes on the soles of their boots to distract themselves.

There are many accompanying tables outside, the restaurant has four floors, and on a table on the third floor, there is a blind man waiting for someone.

Fan Li ate very happily and gorged himself;

Xue San is also welcome, take whatever you eat;

Ah Ming drinks as usual and does not eat vegetables;

The blind man ate slowly, and he didn't forget to tell He Chunlai and Chen Daole to wait at the front door halfway.

"What are you waiting for?" Xue San asked while gnawing on the duck leg.

"Wait for the news of someone's death."

"who?"

"Imperial envoy." The blind man picked up a turtle shell, brought it to his mouth, and lightly nibbled on the edge.

"Will you die?"

"It's going to die."

"suicide?"

"yes."

"No one will stop it?"

The blind man smiled, put the turtle shell into a bowl, picked up the handkerchief, wiped the corners of his mouth, and said:

"Even help."

Xue San squatted on a chair to eat. At this moment, he leaned back slightly and looked around and the officials below.

The blind man continued;

"Don't look at these people who are eating happily now, but in their hearts, they are actually counting for a long time. Xu Qingshan's political life has been terminated because of the defeat of Liangdi. A person without political life, in the officialdom It is equivalent to losing all value, and even the body is a bit of an eyesore.

Furthermore, an imperial envoy came down with his axe. If he didn't rely on local help, how could he really be able to do things?

Suzhou City is very close to Sushan Daying, and it is also pinching the lifeblood of Sushan Daying's food and grass. Earlier, Xu Qingshan used the method of breaking the grain road to force Chen Yang to submit, which completely angered Chen Yang.

Here, officials from all over Suzhou, large and small, must have contributed a lot.

What the prince said on the chariot was actually not Chen Yang's happiest, but the Suzhou officials in front of him.

Xu Qingshan 'suicide' means that the matter is over, and they will not be implicated in the future;

Therefore, Xu Qingshan is bound to 'suicide'. "

"There are so many twists and turns." Xue San curled his lips and picked up a shrimp.

"This is political language, and it is also a political exchange. Next, the army will gather at Nanmenguan, and the subsequent mobilization will have to rely on the system of Suzhou City.

Didn't King Jingnan let Yingdu go up and down the bureaucrats of the old Dacheng Kingdom?

Besides, in this world there is no distinction between guilt and innocence, only what is useful or not.

A useful person, even if he commits a heinous crime, will still be fine;

Useless people, even if they walk on thin ice tremblingly, will still be considered an eyesore. "

The blind man poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip,

road:

"We didn't have much time in the officialdom, we were in the army all the time, and then we got our own territory and started from scratch, it's just that we took a different route;

When we look back, our strength can already override this system. There is no need to study or learn, but look, it is quite interesting. "

As soon as the blind man spoke, he saw Chen Daole and He Chunlai coming up in a hurry, and behind them, a group of soldiers patrolling the city appeared in a hurry.

"It's not good, the imperial envoy has hanged himself! It's not good, the imperial envoy has hanged himself!"

…

box main table;

After the news that Xu Qingshan hanged himself in Xingyuan, everyone present looked relieved.

Even Prince Pingxi, who seemed to be dozing off before, finally sat up straight, raised his glass, and said:

"A toast to Master Xu, and remember Master Xu."

Everyone looked a little embarrassed, but fortunately, they were all veterans in the officialdom, so they immediately covered it up and raised their glasses.

But because they couldn't figure out Prince Pingxi's "preferences", so no one took advantage of it at this time, crying and wailing.

King Pingxi pointed to the Captain of the Inspection Department of Suzhou City who was kneeling on the ground,

road:

"You just said that Mr. Xu left a suicide note?"

The captain of the inspection department was stunned for a moment, but he didn't say anything.

At this time,

Zhou Furui said, "My lord, I will deliver the suicide note later."

Zheng Fan waved his hand,

road:

"No need, just submit it to His Majesty."

talking,

Zheng Fan reached out and touched the crown prince's head, saying:

"Inheritance."

The prince immediately put down his chopsticks, stood up respectfully and left the table:

"Godfather?"

"Prince, he is the crown prince of a country, where the country is based."

While talking, King Pingxi glanced around and continued:

"Xu Qingshan's crimes were exposed by the prince, and he committed suicide in shame and indignation. Presumably, there will be a confession of guilt in the suicide note."

"Yes Yes Yes."

"There must be."

"The prince said so."

Prince Pingxi nodded, picked up the empty wine glass, and helped pour the wine every day.

"Everyone, have another drink. Everyone should be aware of the reason why I came to the Southwest of Shanxi Province. After this battle, I still need you to help me take care of it.

After this king defeats the little thief of Ganchu and triumphantly returns, he will personally ask His Majesty for credit for all of you! "

What this sentence means is that the matter of the imperial envoy has been overturned. If everyone handles the next battle well, then continue to be Hemeimei as before.

All of a sudden, all the adults got up:

"Willing to serve the prince!"

"Willing to serve the prince!"

…

King Pingxi's chariot stayed in Suzhou City for three days.

On the first day, the left-behind soldiers and horses of the Sushan camp did not come out. On the second day, they still did not come out. On the third day, the two left-behind generals mobilized the remaining soldiers and horses and came to the outside of Suzhou City to ask for help. Enlisted.

King Pingxi still didn't show up, but took them in according to the previous rules for receiving other soldiers and horses.

immediately,

Shuai Nian left Suzhou City and started heading south towards the South Gate.

…

It rained all night yesterday, and it hasn't stopped until now.

The Nanmen Pass in the distance stands tall and majestic, standing there quietly.

In terms of majesty, it cannot compare to Xueguan Pass, and in terms of the importance of the situation, it cannot compare to Zhennan Pass, but at this time, it has become the weakest link in the Three Jins under the rule of Dayan.

The army's camp is just behind, stretching as far as the eye can see.

At this time,

Under a thatched hut on the hillside, Liu Dahu was making tea;

The Juggernaut sat beside him, not dozing off habitually, but helping to prepare the tea set.

under the grass shed,

Just this pair of father and son, plus a prince sitting there quietly.

In the distance, there was the sound of horseshoes.

The leader is Ren Juan, and behind Ren Juan are Chen Yang and several generals under his command.

Ren Juan was in armor, Chen Yang was in casual clothes, and the generals behind him were wearing armor.

The Juggernaut took the cup of tea his son had just made with his left hand, and Longyeon with his right hand.

Ren Juan and the others reined in their horses when they were still some distance away from the grass shed, and then dismounted and walked.

At the same time, there was a signal fire from the rear, followed by the sound of a horn.

This means that the city gate of Nanmenguan has been opened. According to the prearrangement, after the South Gate is closed and opened, the army will directly enter and take over the gate.

Chen Yang didn't talk about conditions, and directly opened the south gate. This is an attitude.

The Juggernaut felt a little boring, and said, "The city gate at Nanmenguan has opened again."

"hehe."

Zheng Fan smiled.

The last time the South Gate was opened, it was opened by Yu Ciming, the King of Jin who is now the King of Jin in Yanjing.

The Sword Master sighed, and said, "I've been thinking, if the Emperor Jin hadn't opened the South Gate to lead the Yan army in, what would the land of Jin be like now?"

Zheng Fan replied unceremoniously: "Do you think the so-called coalition forces of the Helian family and the Wenren family back then could defeat the cavalry that suppressed the northern and southern regions jointly led by Lao Tian and Li Liangting?

Even if you don't go around the south gate, even if you fight upright along the Horseshoe Mountain, do you think those two can win? "

The Juggernaut is an honest person, he shook his head upon hearing this.

The Jingnan Army back then was the product of Tian Wujing's ten years of sharpening his sword. Its combat effectiveness was at its peak. In the next few years, the Southern and Northern Wars were fought. It is down.

And the Zhenbei Army back then had just been transferred from the desert, and the sand on their beards might not have been cleaned up, so there was no doubt about their combat effectiveness.

The most important thing is that the two Lord Marquis personally lead the army, looking at it now, it is simply too extravagant.

Zheng Fan clapped his hands, and said: "Yu Ciming didn't open the South Gate on his own, because the Yan army would die a lot more, but the Jin people would die more, several times, even ten times.

The land in the west of Jin, like the east of Jin, will be almost reduced to a piece of white land. "

"So, I was thinking, if everything is for survival, what's the point of morality?" asked the sword master.

"Daoyi can only be used for decoration when your fist is big enough. When your fist is not hard enough, morality is just a fig leaf. Everything in this world, it seems, always gives people a feeling of affection, but in fact , can never escape the iron law of the jungle.”

Liu Dahu listened to the prince's words very carefully, and was still reciting silently in his heart.

At this time,

Ren Juan, Chen Yang and others walked outside the thatched shed.

Ren Juan, Zheng Fan ordered him to go to Nanmen Pass, he could be regarded as a lobbyist, after all, they all came from the Jingnan Army system, so it can be said that they are old acquaintances and old robes.

at this time,

Ren Juan turned away,

Chen Yang took five generals under his command and knelt down in the mud.

"The last general pays homage to the prince, the prince is a thousand years old!"

"The last general pays homage to the prince, the prince is a thousand years old!"

Zheng Fan didn't get up, didn't even look over there, but sat there holding a teacup, drinking tea, as if in a trance.

The rain became heavier again, hitting the armor with a crisp sound.

As for Chen Yang, who was wearing casual clothes, his body had long been soaked in a large amount of mud.

Those who kneel still kneel; those who sit still sit.

Probably, more than half an hour passed.

finally,

King Pingxi stood up and walked to the grass shed.

Chen Yang lowered his head even lower.

He was not convinced, he was forced by the situation, because unless he betrayed the country and defected to Ganchu, he could only open the city gate and bow his head unconditionally, and the rest of the road was a dead end.

Xu Qingshan's death will offset most of the official culpability.

This undoubtedly reassured the generals under Chen Yang's command that they would not think that they were "completely clean", but even if it was just a chance to "take the blame and make meritorious service", it was excellent for them.

Zheng Fan looked at Chen Yang,

Opened the mouth and said:

"Li Fusheng, dead."

Chen Yang raised his head slightly, opened his mouth, took a breath, and said:

"The last general, I didn't know that things would turn out like this."

"If you knew, do you think you still have the opportunity to kneel here and speak?"

"yes."

"On the way here, I planned to punish you on the day when the drums were beating and the generals would gather. I would personally hold a knife and cut off your head!"

Chen Yang said:

"The last general is not afraid of death."

"I know you are not afraid of death, but I can pour dirty water on you, kill you, and then tell the world that it was you, Chen Yang, who cheated on Qianchu and betrayed his robes, causing Li Fusheng to die in battle and almost wiped out the entire army!

you say,

The people of Dayan,

Believe me, or believe you?

What will Huanghuang Qingshi write about you? "

Chen Yang raised his head and looked at Zheng Fan with disbelief in his eyes.

"Don't be afraid of death, hehe, don't be afraid of death, if you say you are not afraid of death, do you really think that you can be fearless?

Damn it is Qiu Ba who crawled out of the pile of dead people,

Laozi is now the prince,

You're still just a uncle,

Lao Tzu is the head of Guizhou, and you are the chief soldier!

It is my own ability to be able to sit in this position, otherwise, why would Prince Jingnan support me instead of you? Is it the prince who is playing favoritism and cheating, deliberately partial?

On fighting,

You, Chen Yang, are no match for Lao Tzu,

On means, on scheming,

You are no fart in front of Lao Tzu! "

Zheng Fan lifted his foot and kicked directly on Chen Yang's shoulder. Chen Yang was thrown into the mud and water, and immediately knelt down again.

"Kick it, hit it, I only ask you for one thing, and the general only asks for one thing, my lord!"

"Being a pioneer?" Zheng Fan asked.

"yes."

"You think it's so beautiful?"

"I beg you, my lord, to make it happen!"

Several generals behind Chen Yang also said in unison: "I hope the prince will do it!"

Chen Yang clenched his fists and almost roared:

"I can't die, please give me this chance to finish this battle, if I don't die in front of the battle, after the teacher returns, I will kill myself in the army village, and I will never live!

As for these people under my command, it is up to you to be demoted or punished. I just hope to ask for their lives. They are all Dayan’s fighting heroes. Even if they are an auxiliary soldier, they will be able to fight for Dayan in the future. .

They did nothing wrong, they just followed me, an idiot! "

Zheng Fan said, "Do you know why I changed my mind and didn't intend to kill you?"

Chen Yang remained silent.

Zheng Fan smiled,

continued:

"Xu Qingshan, I forced him to die. I could have kept my hands clean. According to His Majesty's temper, he will definitely not end well after he returns to Beijing;

And even Xu Qingshan, plus you, Chen Yang, and those kneeling behind you.

Even if I cut it all off,

I still don't think it's enough! "

Zheng Fan's chest rose and fell,

The voice was particularly depressing in the rain curtain:

"My old brother has only one hobby in his life, he likes to kill people!

How many heads of you, the heads of an imperial envoy, are not enough for him to have fun down there.

Ben Wang,

This time I'm going to give away a large piece, a large piece of head that can't be counted;

Let my brother, the king,

under,

You can also shout a lot of fun! "

Zheng Fan grabbed Chen Yang's neck, but Chen Yang didn't resist, and was pulled to stand up;

"Do you know where you are worse than this king?"

Chen Yang opened his mouth and replied, "I..."

"Isn't it interesting to fight the imperial envoy? Hehe, if you directly cut down that shit imperial envoy and directly raised the flag to rebel, I will still respect you as a man!

But what are you doing?

Where you learned the tricks of working as a civil servant of the country, saying that you are sick at home, I am ashamed of the old prince, how could he raise such a waste like you under his hands! "

Zheng Fan stretched out his other hand,

Slapping Chen Yang's face,

This was an extremely insulting gesture, but for some reason, looking at the expressions of Zheng Fan and Chen Yang in front of them, they didn't feel ashamed, but rather ashamed.

"Face, I've already lost it. Next, you open your eyes wide and show me a good look..."

Zheng Fan pushed Chen Yang away, and Chen Yang fell to the ground, splashing a piece of mud;

"Look at my king,

How to throw you out of face,

earned it back! "