Chapter 416: Flying snow sends someone away (5k)
What a mean Duke...
Pieces of goose feather snow were scattered on everyone. After Zhao Duan said these words calmly, the whole house fell silent for an instant.
There was silence.
The beard on Cao Mao's face spread out like a hedgehog. There was a moment of confusion on his face, as if he couldn't believe it. Then, the anger in his eyes almost burst out, and he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: < br>
"You said...what?"
Zhao Duan pretended to be confused and said with a smile:
"I praised Duke An Guo for his good sword. Didn't the Duke hear clearly?"
Cao Mao's chest heaved, his fists hanging in his sleeves creaked, and he closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened his eyes again, his eyes calmed down.
He suspected that Zhao Duan was deliberately irritating him, especially at this sensitive juncture.
If this was Jubei City, anyone who dared to talk to him like this would definitely not survive for the next quarter of an hour. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.
So, he chose to endure it.
"Okay, very good," Cao Mao said slowly. He raised his right hand, pointed at the large number of officials in the courtyard, and drew a semicircle with an indifferent expression: "What does this mean?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Don't misunderstand me, Duke. It's just that our imperial office received news that someone was suspected of interfering with the judiciary in the past few days and issued orders to many yamen in the city.
The imperial office has the responsibility of supervising hundreds of officials. After I learned about it, I followed the clues and didn't expect the clues to lead to Duke Anguo's mansion. I came here today just to ask questions. I didn't want the people below to give the wrong answer and end up in such trouble. ”
Interfering with the judiciary... Cao Mao's face trembled, and he said to himself that you could just print the words "nonsense" on your face.
It's as if you are not the one who greets the major yamen and issues private orders.
"This matter has nothing to do with me. Zhao Jisi should find another place." Cao Mao said calmly.
Zhao Duan shook his head and said seriously:
"This is not how the case is handled. Why doesn't the Duke invite me to sit in the hall?"
Cao Mao was silent for a moment, then turned around and walked back to the back hall, followed closely by Cao Kedi.
"Sir..." Qian Kerou cast a questioning look, but Zhao Duan shook his head slightly. He looked around at his subordinates and said:
"You guys, just stay here and everything will go according to plan."
Putting aside these words, he took steps to follow the father and son. The rest of the people in the Duke's residence were stared at by the Jin Yis and did not dare to move.
……
Back hall.
Cao Mao stepped into the room and sat on the main seat with an expressionless face. Cao Kedi stood beside him and did not sit down.
The father and son stared at Zhao Duan who entered alone. The latter did not close the door after entering.
There was heavy snow falling outside, so he left the double doors open and dragged a chair out as if it were natural, placing it grandly in the center of the back hall, then Shi Shiran crossed his legs and sat down.
There was still a smile on his face: "Don't you give some tea when the prince is treating guests?"
Nonsense, the maid has been controlled by your people, do you still want me to pour you tea?
Cao Mao's temples bulged and he said in a cold voice:
"If you have anything to ask, please finish it quickly and get out."
Zhao Duan smiled and was not angry. He stretched out his hand and touched the "jacket pocket" and then remembered that he was wearing ancient clothes. He felt very regretful. Thinking about this scene, he took out a pen and paper to take notes, which would be more consistent with the scene. feel.
Shaking his head, he suddenly stared at An Guogong's temples and said:
"How old is the Duke this year?"
Cao Mao stared at him: "What does this have to do with you?"
Zhao Duan innocently said:
"Don't be so angry. I have admired An Guogong for a long time. I have heard people mention it before. The Duke was deeply trusted by the late emperor and had been in charge of Jubei City for many years. According to the laws of Dayu's dynasty, military generals There is a time limit for leading troops, but the Duke did not follow it. ”
The more Cao Mao listened, the more something was wrong. He interrupted rudely:
"What exactly do you want to say?"
The old man with deep nasolabial folds has cold eyes:
"If you come to ask about a case, just ask. If you are here to pass a message on behalf of someone, just pass it on. I have been in the army for many years and do not understand or want to understand the false and true words of your Beijing officials, and I am too lazy to beat around the bush. Either speak up if you have anything to say, or...defeat the enemy and prepare to see off the guests!”
Still impatient... Zhao Duan smiled helplessly and sighed softly:
"I wanted to be more respectful to the Duke... That's all. I am here today. I can only give you a word of advice. When the Duke goes to court today, he should also see that the civil and military affairs of the entire court have changed into many new faces.
As the saying goes, times have changed, and His Majesty is sympathetic to the old age of the Duke, and intends to ask the Duke to stay in Beijing and enjoy his old age. As for the military power in the north, it should be given to young people, and it should be let go. Do you think that is right? ”
The right to withdraw troops!
At this moment, although he was already prepared in his heart, An Guogong, who was sitting in the Grand Master's chair, was still shocked.
Finally...it's here!
Of course Cao Mao knew that after the Empress' throne was stabilized, she would gradually take back military power and entrust the troops to the generals newly promoted by the Empress.
But this day came much sooner than he expected.
Even though he had confirmed that the empress was going to take action against him before in the Jinluan Palace, she came so directly to ask him to hand over his military power. It was still so simple and crude that he was distracted for a moment.
How dare she...? Where is her confidence?
How come the capital has become so unfamiliar in just one year?
Cao Mao couldn't understand.
Zhao Duan leaned back and sat on the back of the chair, folding his hands and looking sincerely: "Originally I didn't want to speak so directly, but since the Duke wants to get straight to the point, I have no choice but to do as you wish."
Cao Mao's voice was slightly hoarse and his expression was unusually calm:
"What if I don't want to?"
Zhao Duan stared at him without saying a word, then shook his head gently after a moment, as if facing a stubborn prisoner:
"A prince should be a wise man during his military life. A wise man knows how to advance and retreat.
Now the case of Lang Shiba is about to be retried, but the choice of how to try it and to what extent it will be tried is not in my hands, nor in the hands of His Majesty, but in your hands. ”
He didn't say it clearly, but how could Duke Cao still not understand?
If he cooperates in handing over military power, the empress is willing to give him a relatively decent ending.
But if he doesn't want to, this old case that has caused an uproar will make him, the Duke of the country, completely infamy for thousands of years.
As long as you are willing to dig deeper, this case will be enough to implicate the entire Cao family with many crimes. By then, many crimes will be exposed to the world, and the entire Anguo Palace will be ruined by this major case.
Cao Mao suddenly realized that he finally understood the entire purpose of the drama in the Jinluan Palace.
Not only to win over the morale of the army, but also to use him as a bargaining chip to control him, give him a light sentence or a heavy sentence. It depends on how he chooses.
However, Cao Mao shook his head. He suddenly looked down at Zhao Duan with a slight sneer:
"Do you know what makes a distinguished person a distinguished person? How can my title of An Guogong be stable from generation to generation?
No, you, an upstart, don’t know that His Majesty has only just ascended the throne, and it seems he doesn’t understand me well. You want to depose me? Even the late emperor never accomplished it, so you think it’s okay? ”
Zhao Duan's eyes were full of pity:
"Cao Guogong doesn't want to tell me that the nobles in Beijing will help you."
Cao Mao was silent.
Zhao Duan sighed and said with a headache:
"Yes, of course you would think so. Not to mention nobles, even the noble families in those places also know the principles of marriage and alliance to protect themselves. But Mr. Cao Guo, you don't really think that this relationship is so unbreakable, do you? ”
Cao Mao said nothing.
Just at this moment, outside the open door, in front of the courtyard with falling snow, there was a noise.
Zhao Duan did not get up, he just turned his head on the chair and said with a smile:
"People are coming."
Who?
Cao Mao and his son raised their heads, looked past Mr. Zhao and past the drifting goose-feather snow, and saw an old man walking slowly, leaning on a dragon-head crutch, with hair as pale as snow. Although he was thin, he was wrapped in expensive clothes.
There was a woman supporting him beside him.
Most people in the capital did not know this person.
However, no one would ignore that the purple gold royal belt around the old man's waist was inlaid with eighteen jade stones.
Cao Mao stood up in shock and exclaimed, "Mr. Chen Guo?!"
Another prince!
But he is a Duke with a very special status. He does not control the military power, and there are not even many people in the family who hold real power. He is extremely low-key in the capital and is almost a withered noble.
Because he was too low-key, even though Zhao Duan had been making trouble in Beijing for a year, this was the first time he saw this special Duke.
When Chen Guogong was at the height of his fame, and when the late Emperor was still a child, Zhao Duan did not know much about this man's past, but he knew that he had a very high prestige in the circle of nobles.
Although everyone knows that as long as this old Duke, who has only a short life span, dies, Chen Guogong's palace will completely fall from the ranks of nobles.
But similarly, as long as he is still alive, even if he is an old emperor who has not died, he must be respected.
He is also the soul figure who maintains the entire Xungui Group.
"Why are you here?" Cao Mao had a bad feeling in his heart.
Chen Guogong, who was very old and had already stepped into the coffin with more than half of his feet, but still holding his breath, walked to the door, having long ignored the world.
On his face full of wrinkles and spots, a pair of cloudy eyes stared at Cao Mao, and he said the first sentence in a very soft tone:
"Tang Daren found me a few days ago."
Cao Mao's heart trembled and he opened his mouth: "He slandered me again?"
Chen Guogong shook his head slowly, looked at Cao Guogong with complicated eyes, although he was old, but much younger than himself, and said the second sentence:
"He told me that Zhao Shixiong never returned to Beijing."
Cao Mao was stunned for a moment. Then, Chen Guogong coughed violently, causing the woman next to him to gently stroke his bony back. No one made a sound, only the sound of falling snow and the old man's cough echoed in the hall.
Finally, Chen Guogong stopped coughing and said the third sentence:
"When it's time to let go, let it go."
Cao Mao's heart sank to the bottom.
He didn't know what happened specifically during this period, but he already understood that he was abandoned by the Xungui Group.
Chen Guogong leaned on a dragon-head crutch and turned around. He glanced at Zhao Duan, who was already standing respectfully aside, and looked at him carefully for a moment, as if he was studying his appearance.
After seeing that he was indeed a good match for the empress, he nodded lightly with satisfaction, without saying anything, and just tremblingly, with the support of the woman, he walked out of the back hall again and left the Duke's Mansion.
It wasn't until he watched him disappear that Zhao Duan turned around again, dusted off his robe, sat back in the chair again, looked at Cao Mao who also sat back in the chair, and said with a smile:
"Now, has the Duke agreed?"
Cao Mao said nothing for a long time before he calmly said:
"You guys have indeed colluded together for a long time. No wonder you are going to visit the prison of the Ministry of Punishments to get the oral testimony of Beidi Xue Dao. No wonder Tang is supporting you, thinking that he has joined forces with His Majesty and wants to sell me. , in exchange for his own stable position.”
No...you're quite capable of making up your mind...Zhao Duan laughed dumbly.
How to say? You guessed everything wrong in the whole process, but got everything right in the end?
Cao Mao shook his head. He seemed to have made a decision, his eyes were cold:
"Even though the nobles in the city won't help me, what if I still don't agree?"
His face finally showed the ferocity that a Northland wolf king should have, and his hands tightly clasped the brown armrests of the Grand Master's chair, almost making ten fingerprints out of the wood!
He leaned forward, stared at Zhao Duan, and slowly grinned:
"If you want to get rid of me, you can, but who are you going to let take over my position? Do you believe it or not, as long as I don't nod, no one in the entire Yu Dynasty can safely take over the northern frontier army!"
Finally, he finally expressed his greatest support in person.
It is also his biggest source of confidence, the territory that he has worked hard for many years!
Who can pick it up?
No one can answer!
What does it mean to support one's troops and respect oneself? This is called supporting soldiers with self-respect!
This is what Cao Mao doesn't understand the most - could the empress be dazzled by success and really think that local military power can be transferred by an imperial edict?
If there is no turmoil in the Yu Kingdom, it is very likely that the prince will successfully succeed to the throne.
But Xu Zhenguan is not a prince, and the current Yu State cannot withstand too much turmoil.
How dare she?
Cao Mao is laughing.
Zhao Duan was also laughing.
The pity in his eyes was not concealed, as if sharp arrows were about to penetrate Cao Guogong's heart.
Zhao Duan shook his head and smiled. He sighed again, but not for himself, but for the stubborn old man in front of him:
"Mr. Cao Guo, it seems that you really despise His Majesty from the bottom of your heart. Otherwise, how could you ask such a stupid question?"
He sneered and said: "Or do you think that His Majesty has established public opinion, arranged a case that is enough to try you, and removed the noble helpers you had placed your hope on, but you missed the most critical move?"
Zhao Duan slowly stopped smiling, and finally lost his last patience. As he calmly uttered a few words, the smile on Cao Mao's face suddenly froze.
"Brother Cao, the Duke is asking you, after he removes his armor, who can inherit the military power?"
The words fell.
In the room, Cao Kedi, who had always acted quietly as the background, finally walked slowly from his adoptive father's side to Zhao Duan's side.
Then... he slowly turned around and calmly looked at Mr. Cao Guogong in the hall.
The deputy general of Jubeicheng, who is accustomed to wearing dark armor and has two eyebrows as thick and straight as knives, smiled and said: "Father, what do you think of me?"
boom!
At this moment, even though it was the middle of winter, Cao Mao seemed to hear a thunder explosion in his mind.
His whole body seemed to be struck by thunder, his face turned pale and his eyes were as wide as bells.
Staring in disbelief at his adopted son in Jubei City, whose military reputation was second only to him and better than his biological son, he said something from his throat:
"You... betrayed... me?!"
Cao Kedi shook his head seriously and corrected:
"Father... No, Duke Cao, you are wrong. I have never betrayed you."
After a pause, in the latter's blank eyes, Cao Kedi explained seriously:
"Because I have never been yours from the beginning to the end. In other words, since I entered Jubei City ten years ago and served as a low-level military attache, my mission has been to gain your trust at all costs, so as to gradually control Jubei City. The defense of the Beicheng border troops is preparing for today.”
spy!
Not a traitor, but a spy!
After hearing this answer, Cao Mao was not angry, but was filled with huge confusion:
"Ten years ago...how could it be possible...she was still a princess at that time..."
"Prince," Cao Kedi calmly gave the answer:
"Ten years ago, His Highness the Crown Prince arranged for me to enter Jubei City. At that time, His Highness the Crown Prince had already seen that you would become a hidden danger if you stayed in the north for too long, so he placed a group of shadow guards, including me, in the north. < br>
However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not expect the current changes in the past. After the Xuanmen Coup, His Majesty took over the palace shadow guard and was able to re-establish contact with us. ”
Cao Kedi paused and said with some emotion:
"The prince did not expect that I would be able to achieve the position of deputy general. In His Majesty's expectation, you will gradually hand over the military power to your sons. As an outsider, even if I am adopted as your adopted son, I will do the same. Not high.
But no matter what, the son you had the highest hopes for at the beginning died in the hands of Lang Shiba because he could not control his selfish desires. Then, even if you went to support the other two sons, those two were even more unable to hold up the wall. You I can only be allowed to take charge of part of the military power...
But you don't trust me, so even if you go to Beijing, you have to take me with you, not your two biological sons.
You told me that it was to cultivate me, but in fact, how could I not see that you were worried that if you left, you would leave me in the north and take away your power? ”
Cao Kedi shook his head and sighed:
"But what difference does it make? Let me make it clear to you that no matter whether you give up military power today, His Majesty will not allow you to leave Beijing.
And I will return to Jubeicheng to take over the military power, and your two young masters have also been lurking with the Shadow Guards around them. At this time, if there is no accident, they have been controlled. As for the life and death of the two young masters, it depends on you. Chosen. ”
He said this in one breath.
As a shadow guard, Cao Kedi, who unexpectedly became a lieutenant all the way, seemed to have finished venting the words he had been holding back. He turned his head with relief, glanced at Zhao Duan, raised his hands and said with a smile:
"The Ministry of Punishment has offended many people in the past few days, and Mr. Zhao still hopes to see Haihan."
Zhao Duan laughed:
"Cao... no, you should change your surname back from now on. General Naluo, congratulations in advance."
Luo Kedi cupped his hands and smiled.
After many years of being a shadow guard, how could he not be happy once he rose to great heights?
The two of them smiled and exchanged greetings, completely forgetting about Cao Guogong who was sitting aside, as if he had withdrawn his soul.
Zhao Duan turned around, glanced at Cao Mao, took out a blank folder from his sleeve, walked over, bent down, and gently placed it in front of him.
Then he put a pen into the hands of Cao Mao, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant and had his spine broken, and said:
"Mr. Cao Guo, we are waiting for you outside the door."
……
Zhao Duan and Luo Kedi walked out of the room and closed the door behind their backs.
The two of them stood under the eaves, looking at the increasingly heavy snow outside and waiting in silence.
"Master Zhao, do you think he will take the initiative to resign?" Luo Kedi suddenly asked.
Zhao Duan looked at him with a smile: "Shouldn't you know better than me?"
Luo Kedi shook his head and said: "In the past ten years, I have not been able to see through Cao Mao."
Zhao Duan smiled and patted his shoulder and said:
"People are not that complicated. This kind of person is a coward."
Luo Kedi was stunned.
About a quarter of an hour later, Luo Kedi pushed open the door and entered the room. He immediately walked out holding a memorial requesting to be dismissed and returned to his hometown, with a strange expression.
"What am I talking about? Such a selfish person is unwilling to risk everything."
Zhao Duan put the memorial into his sleeves, shook his bright red cloak, and said with a smile:
"As General Lauro handles the follow-up, I will go to the palace to report back to His Majesty."
"Please."
Zhao Duan walked lightly and told everyone in Lihuatang to go back first. He walked out of the Duke's Mansion, got on his horse and went straight to the palace.
At this time, at noon, as Qin Tianjian said, the snow was getting heavier and heavier.
There were almost no people on the streets, and the entire capital was shrouded in white snow.
Zhao Duan entered the imperial city.
He got off his horse and walked alone in a red cloak along the deserted Meridian Gate Square, which was covered with snow, towards the Empress's palace.
The sky is filled with flying snow, the dark red palace walls are all alone.
The sky is filled with snow, sending one person away.
……
Typos should be corrected first
(End of chapter)