Pihanjin

Early the next morning, there was still a moment before the morning, and the meeting was about to begin.

According to the usual practice, the ministers who arrived early all concentrated in the Dongchaotang and waited, waiting for the Empress Dowager Liu to lead the young emperor to the court.

The crowd sat or stood, in groups of three or five, discussing in a low voice.

The topics they discussed were naturally inseparable from the celebrity in front of Empress Liu, Xie Changgeng, the envoy of Jiedu in Hexi.

When he arrived in the capital yesterday evening, he handed a book to the palace. The queen mother was sympathetic to his hard work on the journey, so that he didn't have to go to the palace to meet him immediately.

The news has already spread.

Everyone was talking about his achievements in pacifying the chaos of the King of Jiangdu not long ago.

Just as he was talking, a palace servant came in and passed the Queen Mother's words, saying that the court meeting this morning was delayed for half an hour, so that the ministers could continue to wait here.

As soon as the palace servants left, there was a buzzing sound in the Dongchao Hall.

Everyone knows that this must be the Empress Dowager Liu receiving Xie Changgeng alone.

For his audience, even the ceremonial meeting had to be postponed, and he told these people to continue to wait here.

In addition to envy, everyone is also a bit jealous.

So soon, without knowing who started, the focus of everyone's attention changed from the merits of Xie Changgeng, the envoy of Jiedu in Hexi, to a gossip that had just spread to the official circles in Shangjing a few days ago.

At the beginning of the year, Xie Changgeng married the king and daughter of Changsha, who had been engaged three years ago. He didn't want to suffer the chaos of the king of Jiangdu. On the wedding night, he left his sweet wife and left home. This is no secret. At that time, some colleagues went to the wedding banquet, and it was already known to everyone.

But it was probably because he did not appease the bride at the time, and the bride was so angry that she returned to Changsha. Just last month, after the rebellion was quelled, the envoy Xie Jiedu rushed to Changsha without stopping, wanting to take back the princess. Unexpectedly, there was a nose of ash.

Not only did he fail to take back his sweet wife, but it is said that he was humiliated by the young King of Changsha, who had always looked down on him, and finally returned home empty-handed.

The original source of this gossip should have come from the imperial court's supervisor in Changsha.

The imperial court has guards stationed in each vassal state, and publishes a copy every month, reporting to himself the monitoring income of the month. This is the rule that was set at the beginning of the establishment of the vassal state of this dynasty.

Regardless of the veracity of the news, for most officials in Beijing, Xie Changgeng, who was originally from a humble background, was envious and looked down upon. From this standpoint, they all became supporters of Mu Xuanqing, the king of Changsha. Seeing Xie Changgeng eating such a slump and being so ugly, who would be unfortunate enough to rejoice in misfortune after a meal and say a few words?

Now the meeting has also been postponed because of his arrival.

Everyone simply let go and began to whisper. You spread the news you heard word by word, and expressed deep sympathy for what happened to Xie Jiedushi.

At the same moment, Xie Changgeng was waiting outside the Xuanzheng Hall.

Although he was not in the Dongchaotang, at this moment, he knew what the colleagues there were talking about.

This was also mentioned in the secret letter sent to him by Cao Jin last night. Probably because he was afraid of causing him unhappiness, he simply mentioned that the experience of his trip to Changsha had already spread.

Xie Changgeng looked calm and stood outside the hall waiting to be summoned.

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Yang Guangshu, the **** beside Empress Liu, came out of the hall in person, and Empress Dowager Dao summoned Xie Changgeng in.

Xie Changgeng followed and walked in front of Empress Liu, who was sitting in the hall.

Empress Liu was only in her 40s and had been an empress dowager for many years. Ten years ago, the Empress Mu from Changsha passed away. The following year, she was appointed as his successor, and her son was also established as the crown prince.

The emperor had a dark disease and died within two years. The emperor who succeeded the throne was young, so of course, all matters were handled by her who was promoted to the empress dowager.

After she took power, she excluded dissidents. The vassal kings surnamed Zhao, who were entrusted to various places, boasted that the son of the dragon was the grandson of the dragon and the nobleman of Tianhuang.

This is the root cause of the national turmoil that has lasted for many years.

There are too many vassal kings, who united to oppose Empress Liu's ruling, either rebelling here or forcing the palace there. Even if Empress Liu had the means and the power of the mother's family, she would be devastated and devastated.

Three years ago, the rebellion broke out again, and the rebels rushed to Beijing. Empress Liu sent people to suppress the rebellion, but they suffered repeated defeats, and the capital was in danger. Just when facing unprecedented pressure, Xie Changgeng was born.

In the past three years, with his outstanding military talent, he has helped Empress Liu to suppress the turbulent turmoil of the vassal kings several times. Empress Liu's position has been stabilized. Why doesn't she look at him differently?

She asked Xie Changgeng to get up with a smile, ordered the palace people to give him a seat, and said with a smile: "The court case you handed in yesterday, Ben Gong and His Majesty watched it all night, and it was very good. You have made great contributions to the quelling of the Jiangdu King's rebellion. You share the troubles and worries of the court. Although His Majesty is young, he knows to tell this palace that Xie Qing is a loyal minister and a good general. If you want any reward, feel free to speak."

Xie Changgeng said: "This is just the duty of the minister. The minister has been ordered to punish the rebellious, and the empress dowager and her majesty's Hong Fu, and relying on the army's generals and soldiers to serve their lives, will not disgrace their mission. Rong, is already grateful, and no longer has the slightest idea of ​​taking credit.

Empress Liu was very satisfied with his attitude, with a smile on her face.

"Xie Qing, you are young and you have achieved the official position you have today. Although it is because of your merits, this palace is afraid that you will become the target of public criticism. This time, this palace will not confer your title any more. How about changing your mother's appointment?"

Xie Changgeng knelt down and thanked him.

Empress Liu called him to get up and said a few more words, "Because of the chaos of the King of Jiangdu, you are tired of leaving home on your wedding night. Ben Gong feels very guilty. I heard that you went to Changsha last month?"

Xie Changgeng raised his eyes, looked at Empress Liu's concerned eyes, and said, "After pacifying the chaos of King Jiangdu, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to return home to visit relatives. At that time, when I returned home, I learned that my wife had come to my side, and I was unaccustomed to the conditions and health. I'm sorry, I have returned to Changsha, so the minister has gone."

"I see. How is she?"

"There is no serious problem, just need to rest and recuperate. I thank the Queen Mother for her concern."

Empress Liu nodded.

"But how did Ben Gong hear that you were humiliated in Changsha?"

Xie Changgeng looked ashamed.

"This minister does not dare to hide it. This minister is from a rough background and is a humble person. When he first asked for marriage to the King of Changsha, his wife and brother were dissatisfied with the minister. Now that he sees me, he is neglectful and normal."

Empress Liu frowned: "This Mu Xuanqing is very timid, how dare he treat you like this! He knows that you are the person I value highly, and yet he is so arrogant. In the future, is there anything he can't do?"

She paused. "The Mu Clan of Changsha has always harbored ill will towards Ben Gong. Someone once reminded Ben Gong to beware of the Mu Clan. What do you think about this matter?"

She suddenly asked such a question.

Xie Changgeng said: "The king of Changsha is young and vigorous, he acts recklessly, and he is the king of a country. There is a shortage of major generals in Changsha. He is not like other vassal kings. If you dare to make trouble, how big of a splash can you make?"

"Xie Qing, in the future, if this palace wants to get rid of Changsha, how will you deal with it?" Empress Liu stared at Xie Changgeng and asked again.

Xie Changgeng met the two eyes that Empress Liu cast towards him, without blinking, and said, "The ruler wants the subject to die, and the subject has to die. What else?"

Empress Liu was silent.

A few days ago, she summoned Zhang Ban, an internal historian, to discuss the next big plan for the country. When talking about Changsha, Zhang Ban said that Changsha was originally a weak army, and the new king Mu Xuanqing, who took over three years ago, is not only far less capable. His father, the King of Changsha, acted recklessly. I heard that not long ago, he was hunting alone and fell into a crater. If it was not lucky, the searched person found it in time, I am afraid he would have died. And the recent rumors that he did not let his sister go back with Xie Jiedu and even humiliated him in public is even more evidence.

Compared with the Changsha Kingdom, which has little threat, the wily King Lu and the Pingyang King with heavy troops are the real disasters at present. In the eyes of the courtiers, the Changsha Kingdom does not cause trouble, pays tribute on time, and does not rebel. hard evidence. There was a secret in the courtroom that the reason why Empress Dao Liu could not tolerate Changsha was because of the grievances between Empress Mu and her back then. If you deal with Changsha now, it will not only give King Lu and King Pingyang an opportunity to take advantage of, but it will also be suspected of being truthful.

Zhang Ban said that now is not a good time to move Changsha. It is not as good as in the future, when King Lu and King Pingyang are removed, it will be easy to deal with Changsha Kingdom.

Empress Liu felt that it was quite reasonable at the time, and after thinking about it, she decided to adopt it.

Just now, she deliberately asked this question in front of Xie Changgeng just to test his attitude.

After all, he married Princess Mu's.

Now his reply is completely in line with her prediction of Xie Changgeng.

With his background, one side is his wife, and the other side is the imperial power that can grant him prosperity. There is no doubt about how he will choose.

Without himself, he is nothing.

Empress Liu calmed down and said with a smile: "A few days ago, when Ben Gong and Zhang Neishi were discussing matters, they mentioned Changsha. His views are similar to yours. After all, you also married Mu's daughter as your wife. , If it is not a last resort, I don't want you to be embarrassed. In the future, as long as the Mu family is honest, I will not move them."

Xie Changgeng said respectfully, "I thank the Queen Mother for the grace of the Mu family in Changsha."

Empress Liu nodded, pondered for a while, and quickly made a decision in her heart.

After Xie Changgeng left, she summoned Yang Guangshu, a confidant of eunuchs, and said, "Immediately draft an edict for this palace, and send someone to Changsha with the reward."

"Let's just say, Ben Gong thinks about the deep love he had with the Empress Mu sisters in the past, and has a lot of emotion. I remember Princess Mu's daughter Fulan, who lived in the palace ten years ago, and I am old with Ben Gong, and Ben Gong misses her a little bit. She was specially summoned to Beijing to reminisce about the old days, and if she is in a convenient state, she will leave for Beijing."

Eunuch Yang was slightly startled and asked, "The Queen Mother, didn't Xie Jiedu say that she was recuperating in Changsha? Why did you call her to Beijing?"

Empress Liu smiled.

"What Xie Qing just said, do you think it's true? Nine times out of ten, it was he who hit a nail in Changsha and couldn't get back the Mu family's princess. He had no choice but to use it as an excuse to cover up."

"He is from Ben Gong, even if Ben Gong does not move to Changsha now, let Mu Xuanqing know that disrespect to Xie Qing is disrespect to Ben Gong! Xie Qing is now in the capital, and his married man Sister, don't say you're not sick, even if it's really sick to death, as long as Ben Gong sends a word, she will obediently follow Xie Qing to the capital for me!"

Eunuch Yang was stunned.

"What the Queen Mother said is very true. In the past few days, the slaves have also heard some comments. I think those people are jealous of Xie Jiedu, and some words are simply unheard of. Queen Mother, you are killing two birds with one stone. You have warned Changsha Kingdom. , also fulfilled Xie Jiedushi's face. If he knows, he will be grateful to the Queen Mother."

Empress Liu was taken aback for a moment, and then said: "More than that. I heard that the princess of the Mu family has an outstanding appearance and is known as the first beauty in Changsha. Although Xie Qing has shown loyalty to this palace, the so-called beauty town, the hero mound, Throughout the ages, I don't know how many heroes and heroes were planted in the hands of women. Don't look at Mu Xuanqing's attitude now, as long as Xie Qing and Mu's daughter are still husband and wife, in the future, if she listens to others' instigation or hides evil intentions, It is not impossible to separate Xie Qing and Ben Gong. Ben Gong has to see it with his own eyes before he can rest assured. Honestly, that's all, I can't handle characters like Xie Qing. But if it's a wrong person..."

There was a gloomy look in her eyes.

"Then think of a way as soon as possible to solve it for Xie Qing, so as not to leave disaster in the future."

Eunuch Yang said in a low voice, "The queen mother's consideration is really thorough! Although Changsha is temporarily spared, it is really necessary to guard against it. The slaves are going to make up the decree!"