Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

"The official family was poisoned by rebellious officials and thieves!"

In the Sanqing Palace, Cao Tai's shrill voice came, panting and impatient.

Jinzhan, who was kneeling helplessly in front of the statue, immediately stood up from the futon in surprise, and turned to look at Cao Tai. Anger and anxiety alternated on her face, making her cheeks turn red instantly.

"I'll go and have a look." Jinzhan immediately left the Sanqing Hall.

When it came to the Long Live Hall, a group of imperial doctors were brought in front of Queen Jinzhan, and they were still arguing.

Lu Lan and several imperial doctors denied that Guo Shao was a symptom of poisoning based on the pulse condition. But the order of the Imperial Medical Office insisted: "You just don't have much experience. It is a rare poison that is slowly taking effect. The old man saw a person who was poisoned once in his early years. The pulse and signs of poisoning are the same as what the official shows now! It is said that the rare poison came from outside the Great Wall."

Immediately, the old imperial physician concurred, and said in a disdainful tone: "Miss Lu has the reputation of a miracle doctor, and she is quite skilled in medical skills, but she is too young after all, and how many roads and bridges have she crossed..."

Jinzhan was in a very complicated mood at this time, and her mind was in a mess. She took a long breath and said coldly: "Cao Tai, immediately seal the Long Live Hall, and send someone to see everyone here!"

Cao Tai hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "I would like to obey Yi's order."

When the imperial doctors heard this, their discussion stopped for a while, and they all looked sideways.

Jinzhan then asked the order of the Imperial Medical Office: "Is there an antidote?"

The old man frowned and said, "I think I have traveled a lot and seen a lot, but I only saw it once in my life. I don't know how to detoxify it... It is said that this poison comes from an ancient tomb. It is colorless and odorless. Ordinary people don't know it. It will only happen after a long time."

Jinzhan asked: "What happened to the poisoned person you saw before?"

The old man lowered his head and said helplessly: "Back to the empress, when it was found out that it was a murderous poisoning case, the victim had already been poisoned into the five viscera and died."

After hearing this, Jinzhan frowned and said, "You must find a way to detoxify the officials!"

"Here..." Everyone responded in low voices one after another.

Jinzhan immediately got up and left the main hall, and quickly walked into the side hall with a group of entourage. Seeing that a group of eunuchs and maids have been driven here to gather together, seeing the queen come in, some bowed down, some knelt down and said, "I pay my respects to your empress."

Without saying a word, Jinzhan walked up to Li Shanggong, the leader of the maid, and stood there for a while. Li Shanggong squatted halfway, looked down at the floor, his body gradually trembled, and after a while, his body went limp, and he fell to the ground with a "plop": "Your servant is negligent in his duty, he deserves death!"

The side hall became completely silent, and everyone lowered their heads tremblingly, for fear of being noticed. Jinzhan walked slowly in front of everyone, looking at them very carefully with bright eyes.

After a while, Yang Shiliang and Jingniang came in, and they greeted each other with fists in their hands.

Only then did Jinzhan turn around and glance at them, and left the place without saying a word to the people on the spot. She came to visit Guo Shao's bedroom, and then Yang Shiliang Jingniang and others followed in.

Jinzhan sat by Guo Shao's bed and said without turning his head: "You follow the order of the palace and do not avoid concubines, eunuchs, and female officials. You can search and interrogate them. Find out who is harming the officials!"

"yes!"

Yang Shiliang said in a low voice: "I have something to do..."

Jinzhan turned her head and looked at him coldly, "Say."

Yang Shiliang pondered for a moment, then bowed and said: "Not long ago Concubine Li Xian (Li Yueji) met some party members from the northwest at the palace gate, and my servant sent someone to listen secretly. Those party members wanted Concubine Li Xian to speak well in front of the officials... I have reported this matter to the officials, because the party members didn't say anything else, so we didn't pay much attention. Now that I think about it, it seems a bit strange."

Cao Tai immediately glared and said, "Didn't the imperial doctor say that the poison came from outside the Great Wall?! Besides Concubine Li Xian, who else in this palace is from outside the Great Wall?"

Yang Shiliang nodded and said: "That's why the slaves feel strange. Moreover, the official's attack on Pingxia was the enemy of his father Li Yiyin; recently, Da Xu's troops attacked the Dangxiang tribe again...Whether Concubine Li Xian has a grudge against the official, who knows?"

Jinzhan said anxiously: "Immediately send someone to Li Xianfei's palace to find out what happened, find out the truth as soon as possible, and force the way to detoxify to save the officials first!"

She looked at the tall roof of the Long Live Hall, as if there was a layer of haze above her head, making it hard to breathe. She immediately said to Cao Tai: "You go and prepare, and change the official house. My second sister and I will serve as personal servants, and no outsiders will be allowed to come near."

...

The news that the emperor might not be seriously ill, but poisoned, has not yet spread to the outer court outside of Xuanyou Gate; but because this incident has already alerted the Imperial Medical Office, all civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty knew that the emperor was bedridden and unconscious.

The civil and military ministers and government officials are still on duty, and the various institutions of the imperial court seem to be operating on the surface, but people have long since lost their minds about their work. In this turbulent time, who still has the mind to care about government affairs?

A large number of memorials were piled up in Jinxiang Hall and Zhengshitang, and were either ignored or processed slowly. Even the prime ministers went to the political affairs hall every day to go through the motions, mainly to inquire about the emperor's condition.

Everyone bows and bows to each other, pretending to be calm and polite, but no one knows what the other party is thinking about or how he is planning the situation in front of him.

"Boom..." Suddenly a bell sounded. Prime Minister Fan Zhi noticed that Wang Pu, who was sitting across from him, trembled all over.

Seeing this, Fan Zhi looked up at Wang Pu, and said meaningfully: "Listen, the drum is beating too, it's just the bell at You hour."

Wang Pu let out a breath, and said with a bit of embarrassment, "It's time to be on duty."

The two stood up, solemnly bowed to each other, "Fan Xiang announced his resignation." "Wang Xiang announced his resignation."

Fan Zhi went up and down as usual, and went home by carriage. As soon as he arrived at home, a literati in a cloth robe and a Futou hurriedly saw him, and Fan Zhi led him in, and went straight to the secret room of the inner house.

The scribe stepped forward and said in a deep voice: "Just now at the entrance of Yijing Alley next to Maxing Street, Luo Yanhuan, the protector of the country, met with Zuo You, the assistant minister of the cabinet."

"Oh?" Fan Zhi was slightly surprised.

The scribe whispered in a low voice: "Now the court is in turmoil, and Li Chuyun is leading the army outside. It is not clear what will happen... If there is something wrong with Li Chuyun, Luo Yanhuan will definitely be involved. These two people are friends in times of trouble. No one knows..."

He paused and said again, "But why did Luo Yanhuan go to Zuo You?"

Fan Zhi said calmly: "Back when Guo Shao was in his twilight years, Luo Yanhuan was recommended to him by Zuo You. It is reasonable to say that Zuo You is kind to Luo Yanhuan."

"So there is such a thing in the past." The scribe suddenly said, and he frowned again and muttered, "But... Zuo You is Guo Shaozhi's confidant, and the friendship with him must be deeper than that with Luo Yanhuan."

Fan Zhi sneered: "If Guo Shao is still here, not only Zuo You, Luo Yanhuan and Li Chuyun are also his people?"

The scribe paused for a moment.

After the two sat opposite each other for a while, Fan Zhi got up and moved away a pair of bookshelves, and a white cloth hung on the wall. He lifted up the white cloth, and saw that there was actually a tablet enshrined in the dark wall, and the inscription: The throne of Emperor Ruiwu Xiaowen of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Fan Zhi lit three sticks of incense, knelt down in front of the spiritual tablet with the scribes, and prostrated several times.

Fan Zhi knelt there, his expression alternately sad and angry, and he remained silent for a long time.

Scenes of the past flooded his mind again. Fan Zhi, who was hiding in the ruined temple in the heavy snow, was found by Guo Wei, the Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"A scholar dies for his confidant..." Fan Zhi's voice was sad and humiliated, "I deserved to die back then."

The scribe looked solemn, and persuaded cautiously: "If Duke Fan takes his life lightly, it will not help the matter."

Fan Zhi said painfully: "The late emperor entrusted the lonely old ministers. The old ministers watched the strongmen bullying the orphans and widows and their mothers to usurp the throne, and even joined the country's thieves. How will we face the Taizu and the late emperor in the future?"

The literati also advised: "Your residence as an official in the Xu Dynasty is not for glory and wealth, but just waiting for the opportunity. The ancestors of the Taizu Emperor Ruoquan knew and observed the loyalty of the Duke. At that time, the national thieves colluded with each other at home and abroad, holding heavy troops in their hands, and then eliminated dissidents. Both internal and external powers are in the hands of their party members. If you act rashly, you will only lose your life in vain. What good will it do? If the loyal officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty are so useless, they will be wiped out, and there will be no hope of restoring the country..."

Fan Zhi was persuaded, but suddenly became even more ashamed and angry. He gritted his teeth and said, "The national traitor not only usurped the throne, but even married the late emperor's widow. This kind of humiliation is simply insane! God is angry and people complain!"

He looked up at the tablet and said solemnly: "I swear before the late emperor that I will never be ungrateful and steal my life! It is an expedient measure to wait for the right time. At this moment, the time has come for us to repay with our lives!"

The two kowtowed devoutly again, and then stood up.

The scribe said: "Even though it is turbulent at this time, our strength is too weak, and the road ahead is quite worrying..."

Fan Zhi sighed, gritted his teeth, and said, "Even if it's a sea of ​​swords and a sea of ​​flames, or hell, we have to jump into it. Just because of such a turbulent opportunity, I'm afraid we won't be able to wait any longer!"

The scribe bowed solemnly: "Fan Gong's words are very true."

Fan Zhi paced back and forth a few steps: "How are you preparing for the army over there?"

The scribe said: "Everything is as usual. I haven't received any news yet. There should be no accidents."

Fan Zhi nodded, looked at the scribe and said, "I have something to ask."

The scribe was surprised and said, "Why did Mr. Fan say that? Just order something."

Fan Zhi glanced at him, and pondered: "We are so weak that we are like hitting a stone with an egg, and we have to win over some old ministers... To receive the favor of the Taizu and the late emperor, we must have real power."

The scribe thought for a while, then asked in a low voice, "Wang Pu?"

Fan Zhi stared at the scribe's eyes and nodded slightly.

The scribe's expression changed drastically: "Wang Pu has been bribed by the 'national thief' long ago, and has really changed his appearance."

Fan Zhi said in a deep voice: "Of course I know, but as long as the national traitor dies, the friendship between Wang Pu and Guo Shao will be gone... This man came from a humble background, and the late emperor treated him well. The Privy Council has great military power, even if we risk our lives, we will try to win over Wang Pu!"

The scribe frowned: "Wang Pu is an old fox, the only way for him to choose us is to convince him that we have the best chance of winning!"

Fan Zhi shook his head and said, "That's wrong. A real old fox doesn't choose the side with the best chance of winning."

The scribe clasped his fists and said, "Please teach me, Mr. Fan, that is..."

Fan Zhi sneered and said, "The best way is to manage with multiple parties and leave places everywhere."