Winner in life

The white horse passed by, and another five years passed.

While Ruihe was working hard to train troops and explore the situation of Xijue, many things happened in Yanjing City. In the past five years, Gu Huaiyu and his wife Wan Mingyi gave birth to two sons. The old lady is in good health. After giving birth to her great-grandson, in her daily life, she not only waits for letters from her eldest grandson from far away, but also waits for her grandson-in-law to bring her children to pay her respects. Enjoy family happiness.

Last time when Ruihe returned to Beijing to report on his duties, he went to the Buddha Temple before entering Yanjing City. The queen did not see him and only accepted the gifts he brought. In the past five years, the queen continued to stay in the Buddha Temple and did not return to the palace. Concubine Hui was implicated and grounded by the third prince. The third prince died of illness in the sixth year of his exile in Yucheng, and Concubine Hui followed her without being able to breathe.

In the court, the fifth prince and the seventh prince fought fiercely with the eighth prince. In the year when Ruihe returned to Beijing to report on his duties and then returned to the border town, the fourth prince who was repairing the imperial mausoleum finally received the order and was able to return to Yanjing City.

The next year, the fourth prince revealed that the assassination in Jinlan Paddock was also related to the seventh prince, who had framed him. The old case was retried, and the seventh prince was deposed from the throne and withdrew all positions. One day, the fourth prince was assassinated, and the murderer pointed directly at the seventh prince. With conclusive evidence, the seventh prince confessed and was sentenced to imprisonment by the clan. The fourth prince's face was disfigured and he stopped fighting for the throne.

This year, the scandal of Xu Bin's affair with a guard was exposed. The emperor was furious and gave Xu Bin a cup of vermilion poison, and removed all the adult male members of the Xu family from their official positions. The eighth prince was also implicated and lost all his jobs.

The fifth prince turned out to be the final winner, the emperor's health began to deteriorate, and there was a wave of requests for a prince in the court. This time the emperor could no longer shirk, and asked the cabinet to draft the decree, open up the public channels, and let the ministers recommend candidates suitable for the crown prince. At this moment, a shocking thing happened in Yanjing City, and people were talking a lot.

"What? The second prince actually has a son and grandson, and his illness has healed?" Qingyue City and the village are still as out of control as before. After Ting Ruihe finished speaking, he said in surprise, "Is this, is this an opera? "

Rui He said with a smile: "What about singing? The second prince is not an actor."

"The second prince is in his forties, almost fifty, right? Two eldest sons and six grandsons suddenly appeared. Isn't it more exciting than singing?" Zhuang Yu hissed, "This is too much to hide. I have been raising a foreign wife for more than 20 years, and I am a son of a dragon and a phoenix, and I won’t let anyone laugh to death if I tell you.”

Zhuang Cheng glared at his younger brother: "You're talking nonsense, please shut up!" He looked at Ruihe and said, "Shan'er, what's your purpose in telling us this news?"

Although they are far away in the border town, the local generals with dignity will pay attention to the news in Yanjing City. Especially in recent years, the emperor has become older and older, and everyone is very concerned about the results of seizing the throne. General Yongding's mansion is no exception. Their mansion also has a concubine. The news about Shan'er's cousin came faster than them, but did the second prince's news have any meaning that needed to be "relayed"? They will also know in a few days.

"Cousin Cheng, do you think this is just a confusing joke? At this juncture, the second prince revealed a secret that he had hidden for more than twenty years. Do you think it was just to add laughter to everyone?"

Zhuang Cheng was stunned.

"Dragon son and phoenix grandson, why are you hiding your head and tail? You two cousins ​​only need to think about it, and you will understand who is calling the loudest for the neutral prince."

"Yes, it's the fifth prince - the second prince also intends to seize the crown prince! Yes, the second prince has a reputation far and wide. In the past few years, he also took the lead in building a library and a stele of scriptures. He has an excellent reputation among literati. Unfortunately, he is not in good health. He has no heir, so no one thinks he can be the prince." Zhuang Cheng was confused, "Shan'er, you mean that the second prince is pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger? But hiding the heir for more than 20 years is really a bad move. As soon as the news came out, I believe most people found it as funny and absurd as Zhuang Yu and I. This will definitely bring damage to the reputation of the second prince. What is he trying to do? "

"It must be profitable." Rui He smiled faintly, "Look, didn't he hide the issue of his heir and remain invisible for more than 20 years in the turmoil over the inheritance? His brothers failed one by one, and he What I want to do is oriole.”

Zhuang Yu rubbed his arms: "The second prince is quite scary. He can bear it so well. But it doesn't matter to us how the princes rob him."

"You two cousins ​​have forgotten? The princess born to Empress Zhuang was married to the eldest grandson of the Right Minister of Hubu's family a few years ago, and the third daughter of the second prince was married to the sister of the Right Minister of Hubu, who is the wife of Jin Guogong. Your grandson. The second prince is in poor health and has been employed in the Ministry of Revenue. Do you still think that the second prince’s matter has nothing to do with you? "

Before Zhuang Yu could react, Zhuang Cheng stood up with a look on his face. He glanced at Ruihe gratefully and strode out.

"Brother? Brother?!" Zhuang Yu was confused. He shouted a few times but saw that Zhuang Cheng had disappeared. He asked Ruihe strangely, "Shan'er, what kind of riddles are you playing with my brother?"

Ruihe told him clearly.

Zhuang Yu couldn't help but say a dirty word spoken in the border town: "Our general's mansion won't be involved, right? My father said he would never participate in seizing the reserve!" He hurriedly left, and took the time to turn back to Ruihe. After saying "Cousin, I'm going home first!", he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Qingyue City is not far from Sanyu City, and it can be reached in one hour. General Yongding was a little worried after listening to his son's retelling, but he quickly comforted himself and his sons: "The relationship between the wealthy families is complicated, and it is not a big problem to always be related. Our whole family is in the border city, and no matter how many troubles there are, they will not involve our family." At this time, he felt a little sad that His Majesty suppressed the military generals. Although he was the general of Sanyu City, the military power was dispersed among three people. If he wanted to mobilize the troops of Sanyu City, the three of them had to take out the tiger talisman at the same time, and then inform the pacification envoy to stamp it for verification. In this way, the old requirement for generals to send their wives and children to Beijing as hostages was gradually relaxed, and later it was no longer a hard rule, so he could keep all his wives and children by his side.

"My son thinks so too." Zhuang Cheng had figured it out on the way home, "I think Shan'er told us this news for a purpose."

Zhuang Yu was confused again: "Brother, why can't I understand what you are saying? Why is it for a purpose?" He scratched his head, his eyes confused.

Staring at his silly brother, Zhuang Cheng was somewhat helpless: "You, if you could spend a little more energy on your brain, that would be great. Shan'er wants to remind us whether our aunt has cooperated with the second prince in Yanjing City."

General Yongding was stunned: "It's impossible. Your aunt is timid and has been cautious all these years. Last year, I returned to Beijing to report on my work and sent things to the palace. Your aunt asked the eunuch to pass on the message that she was "all well". The eunuch was your aunt's confidant. He said that she rarely went out since the princess was born. She chanted in the Buddhist temple every day-"

"I remember that the princess's marriage was very good. At that time, you, father, also lamented that your aunt was not very favored and His Majesty did not care about the princesses. Fortunately, the queen was virtuous and virtuous, and the prince consort she chose for the princess was superior in both family background and talent. Now that I think about it, the princess's marriage is very good. Something is not right. There are so many princesses, except for the most favored Princess Ninghe, the marriages of the other princesses are very ordinary. It can be seen that the Queen Mother chose the princesses according to the procedures, and there is nothing wrong with it. Why can our princess cousin get such a good marriage? Besides, the Queen Mother has retired to the Buddha Temple in recent years and practiced in seclusion. It is better to say that the marriage of the princess cousin was arranged by the three ladies in charge of the harem than by the Queen Mother. The mother of the second prince is the virtuous concubine, one of the four concubines. "

The eldest grandson of the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue is a real young talent. He is destined to be a Jinshi in the same list as Shan'er. Later, Shan'er passed the first place in the imperial examination, and the eldest grandson passed the second place. After three years in the Hanlin Academy, he was sent out to serve as an official. He went to the rich and prosperous Jiangnan area as a county magistrate. After his term of office, he heard that he was promoted to the right governor. It can be seen that there is unlimited future prospects. After the princess was sent out with her husband, she lived a much better life than other princesses.

General Yongding's heart suddenly started beating wildly. He raised his hand to stop his son: "Don't say anything yet, let me think about it." No one in the study said anything. Seeing his father and eldest brother's serious expressions, Zhuang Yu was anxious but didn't dare to speak.

"It's just that the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming and we have to send gifts to the palace. The things have been prepared long ago, so let's send them to Beijing in advance!" Finally, General Yongding slammed the table and made a decision. It can't be said that my sister is related to the second prince's faction just because of a few marriages, but this matter can't be ignored. If the speculation is true... What can my sister use to trade with the second prince? Only his brother! Silly sister, what help can his brother give to the second prince if he defends the border city? He has to write a letter to his sister to remind her before he can feel at ease.

After sending the news to the brothers in Zhuangcheng, Ruihe didn't care anymore. It was also his people who stayed in Yanjing who accidentally discovered that Concubine Zhuang had a deal with the second prince's faction.

The second prince is doomed to fail. If General Yongding's mansion is dragged into the water, it will be an unprovoked disaster, so we have to remind General Yongding's mansion. It's just that spying on the prince's concubines can't be put in the open, so Ruihe can only hint.

The border town is far away, and it takes at least ten days for the news from Yanjing City to be delivered by horseback. If pigeons are used, it can be shortened by two days. Ruihe has cultivated an intelligence line over the years, so the intelligence can be obtained a little faster than others. After sending the two brothers from Zhuangcheng away, Ruihe went to the martial arts training ground to watch the training of the Wei family army.

Five years later, the scaled Wei family army looks like excellent and mature soldiers. This is the result of his huge investment in training.

The best training conditions, the best living conditions, and the best military equipment. The appropriation of the court is actually not enough, Ruihe fills it with his own private property.

In his early years, he had done business in the capital. Because he had something hidden in his heart, he did not stop making money after coming to the border town. After he had the Wei family army, he also started a caravan from Dayan to Xijue and Pozhen. After Xijue, it is Pozhen, a big country with developed trade. It has a very harmonious relationship with the surrounding big and small countries, but it rarely has exchanges with Dayan. The reason is simple. Pozhen and Xijue need to go through Xijue for trade. In the early years, Xijue was strong and fierce, and the caravan was often attacked. There was no choice but to let the Xijue people act as intermediaries. Pozhen and Dayan traded through Xijue, a transit station, and there was an extra layer of tax for nothing, which increased the transaction cost. Later, Pozhen did not know how to introduce a group of craftsmen from Dayan, and no longer needed to buy silk and ceramics from Dayan at a high price, so this trade line was ruthlessly cut off. When Xijue was defeated forty years ago, the Xijue people did not dare to pinch the caravans of Pozhen and Dayan, but because there was not much profit, the caravans were not willing to go.

Seven years ago, Ruihe built a ceramic kiln in Suicheng. The old lady sent him a group of craftsmen from the capital. Ruihe studied the culture of Pozhen country and drew several patterns himself. The finished products had great characteristics at the same time. A characteristic of Yan and Po Zhen culture, the porcelain vase looks like its lines are flowing in the sunlight, which is very beautiful and was named Liu Jin Ping. That batch of porcelain passed through the territory of Xijue and was sent to the Po Zhen Kingdom. The product of cultural fusion was indeed in line with the aesthetics of the Po Zhen Kingdom, and it was also in line with the Po Zhen people's respect for the cultural heritage of Dayan. It was a hot seller and the supply exceeded the demand. With the help of the golden bottle, Ruihe successfully pulled up a caravan, and the Wei family army accompanied him. Over the past few years, the caravan grew and grew, earning a lot of profits, and raising the Wei family army to be "fat and strong". Not that no one could see it. A letter was sent to Yanjing City to impeach him for "taking advantage of his position to obtain wealth privately."

Using the Wei family army to protect private property caravans is using power for personal gain!

There was no need for Ruihe to argue, the emperor just refuted the statement. In the box specially placed for secret papers, Rui He's paper expounding on the use of caravans to cover up the Wei army's activities to detect the Xijue was also buried.

In this way, no one in the border town would dare to gossip about Ruihe using the Wei family army to run the caravan. Of course, gossiping in secret is still inevitable. As long as it is not brought up in front of him, Rui Hequan pretends not to have heard it.

More than a month later, Zhuang Cheng rushed to Qingyue City on horseback. He dismounted and strode in. He ignored the reception from the concierge and steward and walked straight forward. After receiving the notice, Ruihe was a little confused as to why Zhuang Cheng was so excited. He put down the map and walked out of the study to greet him.

Seeing Rui He, Zhuang Cheng's eyes seemed to light up with fire: "Cousin, the fifth prince was deprived of the throne and demoted from the capital. Did you know?" m., please remember:,.