Chapter 66 Concubine Cui’s secret
Zheng Yuantao proclaimed himself King of Yan. This matter was hotly discussed not only in the court, but also among the people.
Some yelled, some were filled with righteous indignation, some were filled with admiration, and a very small number of people, for some unknown reason, actually went to join us, just to fight for a better future!
Taverns, teahouses, brothels and other places were all filled with people discussing the matter.
"The King of Yan stood on his own initiative. This is the first time that Yu has been established for more than 300 years!"
"What can those gentlemen in the court do?"
"What else can there be? It's just a rebuke. Does the imperial court really dare to go to war with the puppet Yan?"
"Tsk... just by those gentlemen from the Forbidden Army?"
"The Forbidden Army is almost in ruins! Two years ago, Yang Ni rebelled and clashed with the Royal Forest Army. All the elites of the Forbidden Army died."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, today's Forbidden Army, if there are only two or three thousand warriors who can burn incense~"
"Hush...the master is going to court!"
"There's new news! The imperial court is leading the battle and actually wants to summon soldiers from the four prefectures around the capital to form a forbidden army!"
"Form the Imperial Army? I wonder if I can do it?"
"I've heard that Tian Yiguang, who ranked fourth in the martial arts examination, is now a captain of the Imperial Army and is recruiting troops!"
"Captain of the Forbidden Army? What a step to the top!"
"The number one scholar in the martial arts examination is now a guerrilla army in Binzhou, with thousands of people under his command!"
"The second best person in the martial arts exam, the best in the list. I heard that he is now the commander of the Shenji Battalion and he is also recruiting troops! I heard that the conditions are very harsh, as long as he is strong and has strong archery skills."
"Shenji Camp? What is that for?"
"I don't know. I heard that they are directly under His Majesty's personal army!"
"Recruiting troops, why are you still recruiting troops? The court has so much money?"
"Shhh...you forgot, His Majesty ransacked Yang Ni's house. I heard that hundreds of millions of taels of silver were confiscated!"
"How did I hear that more than one billion yuan was copied?"
"The situation has become smaller. My neighbor's aunt's brother's concubine's second uncle's son is working as a eunuch in the palace. I heard from him that 10 billion were copied!"
"Wow~!"
There are all kinds of news flying around among the people, there are many rumors, and there is a different story almost every day.
Some of this information is real information, while some is a cover used by people with ulterior motives.
There were Emperor Zhengyong, fake Yan spies, and people from other forces. Almost all gathered in the capital, which was very lively.
"The fake Yan is plotting rebellion. We, Dayu, should mobilize heavy troops and destroy them with the power of thunder!"
In the Hanlin Academy, the new Hanlin editor Wang Anshi stood up and said excitedly, shaking his hands as if to vent his anger.
Next to him were Cui Xiawu, the newly appointed editor of the Hanlin Academy and the number one scholar in the literary examination, and Li Ziyang, who was second in the list.
The three of them were in the same class and entered the Hanlin Academy as officials at the same time. They had a friendship as classmates, so they often got together to discuss national affairs.
Today's news about Puppet Yan's self-reliance has already aroused heated discussions among countless colleagues, and the same is true for the three of them.
A large number of Hanlin Academy officials and doctors gathered together to discuss. After the meeting, the three of them gathered together again.
Among the three, Wang Anshi was born in a poor family, but he had long known the sufferings of the people, so he hated the puppet Yan's self-reliance and advocated for its suppression.
The other two, however, had different views.
"What to suppress?"
Cui Xiazhao shook his head and said: "Now there are civil unrest in the six states in the north. The imperial court has been suppressing it for two years but it has not been completely eradicated. Now that the puppet Yan has established itself on its own, causing more chaos in the north, what can the imperial court do to suppress it?"
"The Forbidden Army has not recovered due to Yang Ni's rebellion. Do they rely on soldiers from Yunzhou County? Or soldiers from other counties?"
"In my opinion, the imperial court might as well recognize the throne of King Yan, use King Yan's hand to exterminate the rebels, and then go to Canglong River to join forces with General Xu to resist Wu Kingdom. This is the best policy!"
"Recognize the fake Yan as king?"
Wang Anshi frowned and said: "In this case, where is the legal principle of the court?"
"If we admit King Yan, what should the other princes do?"
"Both Prince Ning and Prince Qing have already reached adulthood. In addition, His Majesty's uncles, Prince Jin, Prince Chen, Prince Shu, Prince Jiang, etc., if they all want to stand on their own, what will happen to the court?"
Wang Anshi gritted his teeth and said: "Have you forgotten the chaos among the kings in the early days of the founding of the Yu Dynasty?"
More than three hundred years ago, when Dayu was first established, the founding emperor Zheng Mingsen divided the kings and defended the capital.
Unexpectedly, after his death, the kings started a rebellion and besieged the capital in order to fight for power.
Fortunately, King Wu was born at that time, destroyed all the kings, drove out foreign tribes, and stabilized the entire Yu.
From then on, King Zheng Wu issued a royal decree that no one without the surname Zheng could be king, and the feudal kings had no military power or political power, only the right to support the local fiefdom.
But now, the false king Zheng Yuantao actually wants to use this to blackmail the court and make him the king of vassals.
If this happens, the world will be in chaos!
"This is an expedient measure."
Cui Xiazhao let out a long sigh and said: "Only after relying on the King of Yan to quell the civil unrest, can he be revoked as king. That's all..."
"If this happens, the world will be in chaos!"
Wang Anshi sneered and said: "How can you have the nerve to take back the princes who have been enfeoffed? Brother Cui, you are so naive!"
Cui Xiazhao said bravely: "Brother Wang, now King Yan must be your Majesty's brother, as long as..."
"Huh..."
Wang Anshi snorted coldly, shook his head and said: "Such a compromise, where does it put the face of the Dayu court?"
"Today in the court, I heard that Brother Cui's grandfather actually advocated for peace. Doesn't he know that once this matter is carried out, it will be a great national disaster for us!"
"Da Yu has reached such a difficult situation, and you are still thinking about party struggle!"
"Brother Wang!"
Cui Xiazhao shouted angrily, but was stopped by Li Ziyang on the side: "Two eldest brothers, don't worry, we are just discussing this matter, why should it escalate to a party dispute?"
"All the princes in the imperial court are ministers of the imperial court. How can they not see what we can see?"
"We are only a junior official of the sixth or seventh rank now. If one day who can become a senior official of the first or second rank, or even enter the cabinet for discussion, wouldn't you have the final say on this matter?"
Among the three, Li Ziyang is the youngest and has been known as a child prodigy since he was a child.
He was from a Jiangnan clan, had a lot of wealth, and had a lot of influence in the court.
He chuckled and continued: "By the way, the DPRK is going to let me and three other people go to Chang'an County to observe the government. Have you two brothers figured out where to go?"
"Alas..."
Cui Xiazhao shook his head and said: "There has been a drought in Chang'an County for three years. I heard that the situation is very miserable. My father said that the three of us going to Chang'an County to observe the government are His Majesty's orders. We cannot refuse."
"If I go there, I will definitely choose the Chang'an County government office. I will use my knowledge to help An County provide disaster relief and save the people from the fire and water!"
"Chang'an County Government?"
Wang Anshi's eyes were even more disdainful: "Where Brother Cui goes, is it safest to visit the Chang'an County Yamen?"
"You...!"
"Brother Wang!"
Li Ziyang quickly grabbed Wang Anshi and said, "I'm going to Weinan County. I heard that there are red dragons turning over and demons appearing here, so I'm going to check it out."
Wang Anshi thought for a moment and then said: "I'm going to Yanchang County!"
"Yanchang County!"
The two of them were surprised and looked at Wang Anshi.
Yanchang County is the place with the most severe drought in Yongzhou!
It is said that there are millions of people affected by the disaster, the rivers have dried up, and the people have exchanged their children for food. It is very miserable.
Vaguely, there was already a civil uprising.
Wang Anshi stood up and said with extremely bright eyes: "This is my great wish, and I will chase it to the death!"
The two of them said in awe: "Brother Wang is righteous!"
Wang Anshi replied: "But fortunately, your majesty understands the righteousness and has already rejected the puppet Yan's request for self-reliance. It is really my great fortune."
"The revival of Dayu depends entirely on His Majesty!"
"If I have the chance, I will do my best to serve my emperor!"
The two of them stood up one after another and said: "The same is true for us!"
……
Late at night, Cui Mansion.
Cui Jinghao called his confidant butler and said in a deep voice: "Return all the things sent by Yancheng. Remember, don't keep any of them!"
The butler immediately said: "Yes, sir. But those things..."
"Huh? Does what I say have no effect?"
"No sir, there are ten thousand-year-old purple ginseng among those things, which are holy nourishing products. Sir, your body bones..."
Cui Jinghao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Thousand-year-old purple ginseng..."
"That's all, keep the thousand-year-old purple ginseng and give away all the other things!"
"I have already spoken kind words for them in court, and these ten thousand-year-old purple ginseng roots are the reward."
"Your Majesty has made up his mind to fight. As a cabinet minister, I should stand with Your Majesty."
"Yes, sir."
After the butler left, Cui Jinghao shook his head and returned to the hall.
In the hall, there were also seven or eight officials waiting for a long time. They were all third-rank officials who followed the Cui family in the court.
Cui Jinghao waved to everyone to sit down.
The maid served tea, and someone immediately asked impatiently: "Mr. Cui, your Majesty is now leading the battle, what should we do?" Cui Jinghao closed his eyes and thought deeply: "Your Majesty has rejected the fake Yan, now what you have to do is Go back and prepare for the next battle!”
"Alas, there's going to be another war."
"Zheng Yuantao, the third son of King Yan, what on earth did he think that he actually established himself as King of Yan?"
"Now I am wondering whether King Yan was assassinated by him!"
"Hush...shut down, this matter cannot be discussed."
The people below were talking a lot, but Cui Jinghao said indifferently: "Everyone, I know that Puppet Yan has already sent a large sum of money to your mansion. Listen to my advice and leave as soon as possible."
As soon as the words fell, the ground was silent for a few minutes. Finally, someone spoke up and said, "Uncle, my Cui family's family and a large amount of property are very close to the Yan region, and there are also many disciples in the family who have trade relations with the Yan region."
< br>
"If you retreat rashly, you will suffer huge losses, which is worse than..."
This person is a member of the Cui family, and he is an official in the Third Grade Salt and Transportation Department. Although he has little power, he is a fat job!
"What if not?"
"The longer this battle goes on, the better it will be for our business, whether it's the puppet Yan or the imperial court, as long as it can be delayed..."
Cui Jinghao closed the ceremony and meditated, and no one else dared to disturb him. After the tea time, he finally opened his eyes and said: "Your Majesty is working hard, and the fake Yan is bound to win. There will be a big war after the beginning of spring."
"Three months...I can last three months at most, and let my men finish the business quickly."
"Whether His Majesty is victorious or the puppet Yan is independent, my Cui family will benefit from it, do you understand?"
"Yes! My uncle was thoughtful!"
Cui Jinghao shook his head again and said: "Your Majesty is so militaristic, and the world is about to be in chaos."
"Bing'er doesn't know why, even though she is a noble concubine, she still doesn't have a son or a daughter in her belly."
"If Bing'er can give birth to a prince for Your Majesty..."
Everyone was talking in the hall, but outside the hall, in the dark corner, an ordinary young man dressed as a family member was leaning against the paper window and listening carefully.
After many officials left, he carefully remembered the appearance of several officials, and then secretly returned to his residence.
He took out special paper and ink from under the fire bed, and quickly wrote on it: "On February 6, the fifth year of Zhengyong, Cui Guangting, the director of salt transportation, and the minister of Guanglu Temple conspired at the house of Lord Cui Jinghao..."< br>
After writing it, hide it in the collar.
The next day he took leave and went out, and put the secret letter he had written on the back of the statue of Earth God in the Chenghuang Temple.
Not long after, a beggar came here, took the secret letter away when no one was paying attention, and sent it to a secret place.
This secret letter went round and round, and finally flowed into an institution in the south of the city close to the palace.
Jinyiwei!
It has been two years since the Jinyi Guards were established, and they have already seen all the mansions of many high-ranking officials above the sixth rank in the city.
Especially for officials of the second rank and above, there are at least three or four Jin Yiwei spies in a mansion.
Jinyiwei knew exactly which concubine's room these officials slept in at night, what they ate, and even what obscene clothes they wore.
The reason why they haven't been touched yet is simply because the time has not come yet.
And tonight, in the Qiankun Hall, Zheng Yi was looking at the booklet in his hand.
This was the intelligence gathered by the two Shadow Guards who monitored Concubine Cui's every move after he left the capital and went to the Golden Emperor Summit.
Zheng Yi turned it over to check, and his eyes gradually shifted from calm to strange, then from strange to guessing, and finally turned into doubt.
"In the fourth year of Zhengyong, November 21st. Concubine Cui washed herself at Yinshi, went to sit quietly outside Jiaofang Hall, had a meal at noon, and went to bed at Xushi."
"On November 22, the fourth year of Zhengyong, Concubine Cui washed herself at Yinshi, went to sit quietly outside Jiaofang Hall, read and practiced calligraphy at Chenshi, and went to bed at Xushi."
"..."
"On November 28th, the fourth year of Zhengyong. Concubine Cui washed her hands at Yinshi, went to sit quietly outside Jiaofang Hall, read and practiced calligraphy at Chenshi, ate at noon, and went to bed at Xushi"
"..."
Looking at these records, Zheng Yi frowned into the character "Chuan".
These contents like a running account...are they a day in the life of Concubine Cui?
It’s too regular!
Yinshi washed up, then sat quietly outside Jiaofang Hall, and then Chenshi read and practiced calligraphy. He was worthy of being from a scholarly family.
Um?
wrong!
Zheng Yi's eyes suddenly moved and he checked the records carefully.
"Basically, I get up at four or five in the morning and meditate, but... what about eating?"
"She only eats one meal a day?"
"Besides, you only eat one meal every four or five days? What's going on?"
In these records, Concubine Cui spent most of her time sitting quietly, reading, practicing calligraphy, and occasionally went for a walk in the Imperial Garden and other places.
But the most important thing for people is eating, which happens very rarely.
Basically I only eat once every four or five days, and the food is very simple.
Zheng Yi knew that no matter whether he was a low-grade warrior or a high-grade warrior, he must eat to ensure that he was energetic and full of qi and blood.
Some warriors can even eat twenty kilograms of beef in one meal!
Only by eating well can the essence of food be transformed into one's own Qi, blood and energy.
And this Concubine Cui is not a warrior, she does not need to eat too much.
But you can’t eat so little!
There are so few...people have already starved to death!
"Unless..."
"Bigu!"
Zheng Yi remembered something. Only the legendary immortal cultivators do not need to eat ordinary food regularly. They only need to breathe in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Like the old Celestial Master Zhao Xizheng, he stayed in seclusion for several years without even needing to eat a bite of food.
He went out to eat just to satisfy his appetite.
Moreover, he also has Bigu Pill, and taking one pill will ensure that you will not be hungry for seven days.
"Could it be that... Concubine Cui is also a cultivator who can only eat one meal every four or five days by using Bigu Pill or other methods?"
"And I fell asleep for no reason that night. Was it her fault?"
"Use a cultivation object to make me fall asleep?"
Until now, Zheng Yi could only guess this way.
"Fortunately, she didn't mean any harm to me, otherwise something would have happened to me that night."
Concubine Cui is a monk!
This matter is undoubtedly huge news for Zheng Yi.
As for whether it is good news or bad news, it depends on Concubine Cui's purpose.
But now it seems that it is not bad news.
"Concubine Cui...she is a monk, hiding in the palace, what secrets does she have?"
"Hidden in the city?"
"Wrong!"
Zheng Yi frowned and said: "According to Mr. Zhao Xizheng, the harem is located in a commonplace and has thin spiritual energy, so it cannot support monks in their cultivation..."
"Huh? No!"
"My pure Yin energy!"
"Chen Liancang and Prince Xian can rely on pure Yin energy to break through to the innate realm. As a monk, how could she not notice it?"
"Unless..."
Zheng Yi murmured: "Concubine Cui is a young monk as a monk? Is she a rookie?"
"Did she accidentally obtain the inheritance of cultivation? And because of her status as a noble concubine, she had to stay in the harem?"
"And it has been four years since she entered the palace. Everything has been normal. She doesn't look like a monk at all. She lives in seclusion..."
"If that's the case, it all makes sense."
Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He had been searching for immortals for two years but found nothing.
Unexpectedly, there is a cultivator hiding beside me!
Concubine Cui!
"First of all, make sure that she will not murder me. Does she want to live in peace with me?"
"Or are you reluctant to give up the glory and wealth in the world?"
Zheng Yi has slowly figured out how to deal with Concubine Cui.
He is just a rookie cultivator, his strength is at most the same as Chen Liancang and others, and he has no ill intentions towards himself.
You can definitely get in touch with this kind of person gradually.
After all, his identity is that of a noble concubine!
The emperor's concubine!
"No, something may still happen. I have to improve my strength first!"
Zheng Yi immediately said: "If I advance to a strong Xiantian realm, with Chen Liancang by my side and ten Blood Moon Gu, I don't need to be afraid of Concubine Cui."
"Draft...!"
"Use the talent show girls to improve your own strength!"
Zheng Yi said with bright eyes: "It seems that we need to urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Why is it so slow to choose a show?"
"After the new year, the harem will be sealed and beautiful girls will be allowed to enter the palace!"
"I don't know if there is any woman among these beautiful women who satisfies me."
"Baihuamen wishes Wanwan?"
"Cihang'an Qin Qingxuan?"
"Nanyue Yuechan?"
"And the female crown who was born in Taiyi?"
(End of chapter)