The Child Emperor

(Thanks to the reader "Yan Runqing" for the reward.)

The emperor spoke suddenly, which surprised everyone more than Liu Jie being dragged away by soldiers. Yang Feng turned around abruptly, and it was too late to stop him.

Han Ruzi didn't want to sit on the sidelines anymore, he knew he was just a puppet, powerless, no one would listen to what he said, but he still wanted to say something for Liu Jie, because this eunuch had publicly given him the seal , even if it is a play, it should have a beginning and an end.

"I... want to know who the assassin is and why he did it. Liu Zhangxi is a minister in the palace, so let's interrogate him here. Ministers... are also qualified to know the truth."

There was a dark tide surging in the room for a moment, with evasive eyes, rippling skirts, mouths that were hesitant to speak... Han Ruzi was both nervous and amused. After waiting for a while, no one responded, he sat down. Down, lowered his eyes, "Of course, this is just me...just my humble opinion..."

Zuo Jitie, who was guarding the door of the Nuan Pavilion, listened to the door for a while, and said loudly: "The queen mother has an order, and what the emperor said is very true. I will interrogate Liu Jie here immediately, and I must find out the facts."

As soon as the Queen Mother spoke, there was no objection, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Shangguan Xu called in a civil servant and read out the confession of the assassin's accomplices.

The clerk came from the southern army. He never expected that one day he would speak in front of the emperor and many ministers. He was terrified and knelt on the ground, his voice trembling all the time, as if he was an accomplice of the assassins, "The traitor...Shen Sanhua, forty... ...Forty-three years old, from Linzi, Qi State, height..."

Shangguanxu became impatient, "Forget about these, and just talk about the content of the confession."

"Yes, yes." The clerk continued with his finger across a few lines: "The traitor Shen Sanhua said, 'In the summer of the thirty-fifth year of Emperor Wu Zhongmiao, Qiu Jizu entered the palace and gave me five taels of silver, please take care of me'——Your Majesty , My lords, Qiu Jizu is the name of the assassin——"Since then, Qiu Jizu has given gifts from time to time. In the past ten years, he has accumulated more than 340 taels of silver. Work. On the fifteenth day of this month, Qiu Jizu told me, told me...'”

"Don't be vague, say what you have." Shangguan Xu encouraged.

"Ah? My lord, it is the traitor Shen Sanhua who said 'Tell me' twice." The official was too nervous, and indeed said "Say what you have to say".

Shangguan blushed, bowed to the emperor and the empress dowager, and said, "The confession is cumbersome, please choose a brief one."

The imperial concubine agreed, "Please Prime Minister Yin to read the confession."

Yin Wuhai took the confession tremblingly, and flipped through it one by one in front of his eyes. His movements were stiff, but he read it quickly. After reading more than ten pages of the confession, his expression changed drastically. He raised his head, looked around, and finally looked at The imperial concubine came and said in a serious voice: "The assassin Qiu Jizu claimed to Shen Sanhua that he was ordered by the King of Qi to lurk in the palace. So far, for ten years, all the bribes and gold and silver have come from the support of the King of Qi. He took the order a month ago to assassinate the new emperor. Disturb the court so that King Qi can take the opportunity to cause chaos!"

As soon as this remark came out, the whole room was in a state of alarm, disregarding etiquette, discussing with each other, and every word was inseparable from "King Qi", except for Han Ruzi, when everyone was quiet for a while, he asked: "What does this have to do with Liu Jie, the chief seal? Did he take advantage of the assassins?"

Prime Minister Yin Wuhai bowed to the emperor, then looked at the eunuch Liu Jie, and said coldly: "Whether Liu Jie has received benefits, there is no evidence to prove it, but Liu Jie made trouble in the Qinzheng Hall at noon yesterday and provoked the ministers The mother-child relationship between His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, followed by Qiu Jizu's assassination in the second watch of the night, once it is done, the crime of regicide will be attributed to the Empress Dowager, it is extremely insidious."

Liu Jie's face was pale, and he didn't say a word. Many years of experience told him that he was doomed this time, and he raised his head and said, "Qiu Jizu is a handyman in the Xifu prison. If he is really an assassin, Liu has a crime of ignorance. Death. But I have absolutely no intention of treason, loyalty and courage, the sun and the moon can learn from each other, Your Majesty..."

Han Ruzi was thinking about how to use his extremely limited power to keep Liu Jie, when there was a commotion outside, a voice shouted "Assassin", the assassin actually appeared in broad daylight, all the officials were shocked, Shangguanxu strode out, loudly shouted Order after order.

The imperial concubine said to Yang Feng, "Take the emperor away."

Yang Feng bowed and said yes, grabbed the emperor's wrist, and dragged him into the Xinuang Pavilion. The king of Donghai followed him two steps, and stopped again. Seeing that this was a golden opportunity, he took advantage of the chaos and walked towards his uncle Cui Hong.

There are already two people in Xinuang Pavilion, one is Meng E, guarding in front of the window, and the other is an ugly court lady who used to protect the imperial concubine in the Taimiao, standing quietly in the corner, like a statue forgotten by the master, the two People don't bow down when they see the emperor, and they turn a blind eye to Yang Feng.

"Will Liu Zhangxi be killed?" Han Ruzi asked, when the two court ladies did not exist.

"If Your Majesty stands up for him again, Liu Jie will definitely die." Yang Feng said seriously, not caring about the two of them.

There was a lot of noise outside, but Han Ruzi was not worried about the assassin, "I don't think Liu Jie is a bad guy, he..."

Yang Feng interrupted the emperor with a more severe voice, "I said before that those who need your majesty's protection are not worthy of protection. If your majesty wants to show off your temper for a while, you can do it yourself. You don't need to ask my opinion. If your majesty For a long-term plan, you need long-term people. Liu Jie protects the seal alone, he can be called a warrior, but he is not the person His Majesty needs right now."

Han Ruzi was at a loss for words for a while, before he asked, "Do I still have a chance to use a warrior like Liu Jie?"

"Don't ask for promises from anyone." Yang Feng said in a slow tone, "What His Majesty has to do is to wait quietly. If the opportunity does not come, no one can help His Majesty. When the opportunity comes, His Majesty must be able to grasp it."

Han Ruzi turned to look at Meng E, "Same as her?"

Meng E is good at waiting, indifferent to all disturbances around her.

Yang Feng nodded, and when he was about to turn around and go out, Han Ruzi stopped him, "Wait, tell me the truth."

"Please, Your Majesty."

Han Ruzi was silent for a while, every word he said here would definitely reach the Queen Mother's ears, but he had to ask, "Is there really an assassin? Is King Qi really going to rebel?"

"If your majesty wants the truth, it's useless to ask me. I don't know more than others. Your majesty might as well think about other things. If the neighbor's house is on fire, if you have the ability, you can save it with a bucket. If you can't, you can take care of your own home, or fish in troubled waters." , is also a choice." Yang Feng paused, "It is precisely because of King Qi that His Majesty was able to ascend the throne smoothly."

Han Ruzi's eyes widened, but he didn't understand what Yang Feng meant.

"When the first emperor passed away, both your majesty and the king of the East China Sea were likely to succeed to the throne. There was no conclusion for several days. It was I who went to see Cui Hong, the chief commander of the southern army at that time, and told him that it was rumored that the king of Qi was recruiting troops to help the clan. , Cutting off the relatives in the name of rioting, if the throne is not established early, the court will be uneasy, and the Cui family will be in trouble. Cui Hong is willing to hand over the seal and ribbon, and give up the position of the Southern Army Chief Sima to Shangguanxu. Decided to elect His Majesty as emperor."

The transaction between the Cui family and the Queen Mother must be more than that. Han Ruzi didn’t ask any more questions. He understood one thing. Yang Feng is a fisherman in troubled waters, and now it’s time for muddy waters. No more confusion."

The emperor showed self-knowledge, which is rare for a boy of the same age, and Yang Feng admired it, "Now is not the time for His Majesty to show his strength, let me pave the way for His Majesty first."

Han Ruzi hummed, vaguely feeling that the two had reached a deal.

Yang Feng is like a busy broker, wandering between different forces, helping all parties to reach a compromise, Han Ruzi is a little puzzled, Yang Feng spares no effort to wade in the muddy water, what fish is he trying to fish for?

The door opened, and the King of the East China Sea walked in with a face of reluctance, "The assassin committed suicide, that's good, there's no proof of death..." Seeing Meng E and another court lady, he hurriedly shut up.

"Your Majesty, please listen more and talk less." After saying this, Yang Feng returned to the noisy crowd. The emperor needed to wait for the opportunity, but he wanted to plunge into the whirlpool.

"Yang Feng is so bold, he dared to speak to the emperor in a lecturing tone, and you are not angry?" In contrast, the tone of Donghai King was even more disrespectful, "It's nothing to listen to, anyway, King Qi is not a good person, and he will assassinate him for rebellion." It is definitely not unjust to place the crime on him. Now it depends on whether he dares to send troops to revolt. The palace is really chaotic, and the assassin is very powerful. He killed seven guards and passed three palace gates before committing suicide. Lurking in the palace for a full ten years! During this period, three emperors died... Hehe, I wish you good luck."

Finding that the queen mother did not specifically target the Cui family, the king of Donghai was much more relaxed.

Han Ruzi didn't make a sound, he was really listening, listening to the voices outside, he understood the meaning of Yang Feng's last instruction: the time may never come, if it does come, he must ensure that he is a qualified emperor, From now on, he has to use every opportunity to learn the art of the emperor.

Assassination, rebellion, clan, relatives, ministers... Da Chu is facing a huge crisis, and the chaos outside is his excellent study material.

Several ministers were acting, and Han Ruzi heard it. Their panic and righteous indignation were all avoiding responsibility, waiting for others to make a decision, and acting on their own. The most trustworthy person has nothing to do with the assassin and Liu Jie.

Han Ruzi suddenly realized that the person he needs to pay attention to the most is not the ministers and eunuchs, but the empress dowager in the warm pavilion opposite. At this moment, she is facing a rebellion on behalf of the emperor. There are not many options that can be taken.

What would you do if you were replaced by yourself? Han Ruzi thought while listening, and found it really difficult.

The king of the East China Sea has already found a place to sit down. In his opinion, the matter is very simple, "I really don't understand what they are fighting for. Sending a general to lead an army of 100,000 is enough to pacify Qi. King Qi's assassination plan failed. I guess he didn't If you don’t dare to make trouble, it’s almost as good as committing suicide and apologizing.”

"How do you know whether the general you sent is going to attack Qi or to join hands with King Qi?" Han Ruzi expressed his thoughts.

The King of the East China Sea frowned, "Then send a few more generals to supervise each other, or send Shangguanxu, he is the queen mother's brother, he should be trustworthy, but unfortunately he is a fake general and can't fight at all."

Han Ruzi shook his head, the queen mother would not send her brother, let alone a group of suspicious generals.

The outside suddenly became quiet, and a strange woman's voice said: "Only one side of the story, we can't confirm that King Qi is rebelling. Cui Taifu has ruled the army for many years, and he is a good general of the country. Let Cui Taifu lead the army and go to Qi to find out the truth."

The King of Donghai jumped up from his chair and said in a low voice, "The queen mother actually sent my uncle to kill Qi. What does she think?"

Han Ruzi immediately understood the queen mother's intention.

(seeking collection and recommendation)