Chapter 123 chaotic Jiangnan
Qingli ten years late winter, Qingzhou victory, general Li Hong success in the world, was called back to the capital, will be the year of the establishment, served as vice ambassador of the Privy Council, the honor is incomparable. However, those who sing the praises of the great Qing dynasty in Kyoto, naturally very clearly see, the position of the Privy Council deputy envoy, in fact, is just an idle position, in the Ye Chong’s suppression, the son of Li Hongcheng no longer possible as in the city of Dingzhou, like that, have completely their own force. And no one forgets, the previous so young to ascend to the high position of the Privy Council deputy envoy, is Qin Heng, and that one’s end is not how honorable.
Li Hongcheng after returning to the capital, naturally in the first time into the palace to see the driver, His Majesty did not vent a trace of anger to him in the imperial study, but only very calmly talking about the scenery of the Western Liang, however, the son looked at His Majesty beside the Fan Ruoruo, the mood is low to the bottom. Out of the palace, went to the Privy Council to hand over the errand, set a good date to return to the hospital, Li Hongcheng went back to the royal residence, met with the prince of Jing who had been under house arrest in the palace for many days and had just been released, as well as his own weak and pitiful younger sister, a family of three sitting with each other without a word, the old prince sighed and sighed again and again, and patted Li Hongcheng’s shoulder and said: “Good thing there is no mess, you can hold out until today before returning to Kyoto, it is also considered to give an explanation to that side.”
Having said that, Li Hongcheng still went to Fan Mansion in person that night, knowing how deep Fan Xian’s expectations of himself were, and although he had stubbornly resisted His Majesty’s will and the pressure of the Palace Ceremony in Dingzhou, and dragged on for a few more days, he was still summoned back in a sorry state, and he would always have to give an explanation to Fan Xian in person.
No one knew about the conversation between this pair of friends in the study in the back garden of the Fan mansion, and it was thought to be nothing more than an expression of apology to each other, and the palace didn’t seem to be very interested in this conversation either, since no one had prevented Shizi Hongcheng from entering the mansion.
“I also didn’t think that things would turn out like this.” Fan Xian let out a bitter laugh, stood up, hugged him, gently patted his back, and sent him out of the study.
Before Li Hongcheng left the study, he turned around and gave him a worried look, saying, “Deng Ziyue should have escaped. But the people in your Qiyan group, I’m only afraid that several of them died in Xilang Road, after all, this is a matter within your courtyard, and I don’t know the inside story, so I hope that you can control your emotions.”
“I do not know who the betrayer is, maybe just one of the three joints, was the people in the courtyard to find out the wind, after all, …… this time is the speech Bingyun personally go to sit in the town, in the face of this person, I do not have much confidence.” Fan Xian’s expression was a bit somber as he said, “But don’t worry, I’ve never been too interested in such things as revenge, I’m just feeling a bit flustered.”
“If even you feel flustered, then I advise you to be more honest these days.” Li Hongcheng shook his head, rejecting Fan Xian’s intention to send him out of the mansion, patting his shoulder as hard as his father would comfort him, and with a lift of his lapel, he headed out of the mansion.
Watching Li Hongcheng’s slightly lonesome figure disappear into the Winter Garden, Fan Xian was silent for a long time before he turned back and sat down again on the taiji chair in his study. Hongcheng previously relayed the Palace Din’s evaluation of him, that evaluation let Fan Xian also can’t help but feel a touch of bitterness in his mouth, hostage barbaric self-importance? If you really want to dig deeper, Fan Xian’s arrangement in Dongyi City and in Xiliang did have some of this meaning, and this meaning was undoubtedly untenable on a moral level.
A man should not use the blood and lives of his soldiers as a bargaining chip! However, who can really understand Fan Xian’s thinking, he did not want to let too many innocent people in the world to die because of the war between himself and His Majesty the Emperor, so he chose to choose this kind of arrangement at the moment.
The Qingzhou victory was a perfect manifestation of His Majesty’s far-sightedness, whether it was Hu Ge’s feint or Shan Yu’s reaction, it was all a foundation that the Supervisory Authority, or Fan Xian, had spent a great deal of effort on, and which had been ruthlessly yet calmly utilized by His Majesty.
Fan Xian did not have the slightest feeling of closeness to the Hu people on the grasslands, and the dead bodies and burned houses on the Xiliang Road tundra only made him applaud the great victory of Qingzhou, but the problem was that this great victory had easily torn down all of Fan Xian’s setups on the Xiliang Road, and Li Hongcheng was looking for death if he still wanted to delay returning to the capital in this situation.
Fan Xian was deeply chilled and deeply impressed by His Majesty’s means and abilities, and his heart actually gave birth to a timid thought that was difficult to resist.
“You’ve heard it all, this matter has nothing to do with me.” Fan Xian pressed his hands on top of the desk and closed his eyes somewhat wearily.
Back in the Central Plains, Haitang Duo Duo, who had redressed in that flowery cotton jacket, appeared behind him. After the battle of Red Mountain Pass, she and the group in Dingzhou City had moved at about the same time, and Li Hongcheng had returned to the capital extremely quickly, but was still a day behind her. Now that the palace’s surveillance of the Fan residence has been relaxed a lot, and how could it stop the Northern Qi Holy Maiden from quietly entering the residence.
Has not been seen for a year, Haitang silently looked at the young man in the master chair, thinking in his heart actually counting the other party’s age is not very big, but why now looks like it has become a bit old and dull, with a touch of weariness on his face how can not be brushed away. Thinking of the things that had happened in Nanqing in these days, thinking of that dead head of the Supervisory Academy, Haitang suddenly understood why Fan Xian looked so tired.
“But because of the words you asked Hong Yiqing to bring me, many people died on the grasslands.” Haitang said.
Fan Xian opened his eyes and said with a cold smile, “I only asked the royal court to agree to Hu Ge’s troop dispatch, but I didn’t think that that Shan Yu would actually want to take advantage of the situation.”
Haitang was slightly stunned, and without explaining to him that he had tried to suppress the ambitions of the Sibylline, he said indifferently, “But in the end, it was still you, Nanqing, who took the big advantage.”
Fan Xian was silent, said after a long time, “How the news leaked out can be left alone, I sent two people to Xiliang Road, Hong Yiqing’s side has not been able to collect the manpower of the original four places, it is obvious that Zi Yue was targeted by the courtyard when the handover took place …… ”
Speaking here, he took a deep breath, suddenly thought of the young general of the Ye family mentioned on the intelligence, it is rumored that that young general is now leading four thousand light cavalry to kill into the grassland to chase after the remnants of Shan Yu’s royal court, Fan Xian also could not help but somewhat admire this person’s courage, however, thinking of the winter cold, and deep in the middle of the grassland, I’m afraid that these four thousand cavalry will never come back alive again.
“Do those barbarian horsemen …… who moved from the north to the grasslands still listen to your orders today?” He looked up at Haitang and said, “After all, you are the daughter of the Snowy Plains King, and you are honored by the monarch in the grasslands and have a high status, so I think you can have some power.”
Haitang frowned slightly, her eyes that were as bright as the North Sea flushed with a hint of anger, and said coldly, “At this time of the year, you’re still worried about the death of those four thousand light cavalry? It really deserves to be a powerful minister of the Southern Qing Dynasty …… Why don’t you think about those tribes on the grasslands that have lost all their youth and strength and have no resistance?”
“I’m a Qing, then I’m a Central Plains man, and finally I’m a man.” Fan Xian bowed his head and responded, “As you have said, Speed Buster is too ambitious this time, taking away a large number of young men from the tribes, and the prairie is already empty of power. After the Qingzhou Grand, four thousand light cavalry killed the grasslands, and as long as those Snow Plains barbarian riders left in the western part of the grasslands keep their distance from them, maybe they might actually come back.”
“Western Hu is finished, if the timing is right, those clansmen you migrated from the north to the grasslands might be able to capitalize on the momentum.” Fan Xian lightly tempted Haitang, “You must accept this reality and then utilize it.”
“I’m not like you, there are many things that I know are in the interest, but they don’t coincide with the guidelines in my heart, so I can’t do them.” Haitang slightly lowered her eyes and softly responded, “On the contrary, your words at this point really surprised me a bit, you are clearly a ruthless person who holds barbarians to himself and does not prioritize the interests of the Qing Kingdom, so why do you have this kind of request?”
“If I really didn’t consider the interests of the Qing Kingdom and even the entire world, why would I still be suffering in this mansion today? Whether it’s to throw hot blood or to hide the world, I would have done it long ago.”
“When did you become a saint?”
“I’m not a saint, it’s just that life has reached a certain stage, when the highest level of desire such as the desire for power has been satisfied, I will be more inclined to spiritual considerations …… and I don’t like to be viewed as a cold blooded and heartless scum who only knows how to utilize the blood of the generals and soldiers. ”
“After all, you are still a hypocritical and selfish person.” Haitang said as she looked at him, then placed the small knife in her arms in front of him.
Fan Xian’s face was expressionless as he responded, “If this counts as hypocrisy and selfishness, I think the people of the entire world would be very thankful for my hypocrisy …… I know that your emperor’s majesty is a daughter, so let’s just say that I’m blackmailing you.”
Haitang’s body shook slightly, looking at him for a long time without speaking.
Fan Xian also retained his silence, and the entire study was immersed in an oppressive atmosphere. After a long time, he opened his mouth somewhat sadly and asked, “Actually, there are many times when I need someone to help give some advice, and it was originally Yan Bingyun and Wang Qinian who acted as this kind of role, and now that Yan Bingyun is doing his pure ministers to go, and the old Wang Tou is arranged by me to go away, there’s no place to go to to ask to go to …… I’m not a goddess, either. Facing him, simply do not have a trace of confidence, and no one to help themselves, really some helpless.”
“This is in front of me to play poor?” Haitang sarcastically exited, but was slightly stunned and said after sighing, “What do you want to ask?”
Fan Xian gently clapped his hands together and earnestly asked Haitang to sit down beside the desk, then he drank a mouthful of cold tea to moisten his throat, stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, and said with a straight face, “My own sister is in the palace, my family is in Kyoto, and those loyal subordinates who are dependent on me and have faith in me are in the shadows of the country, so I have the power but it’s difficult to shake the cornerstone of this imperial court, and I don’t want to shake this cornerstone. I don’t want to shake this cornerstone, thus letting all the moss ants sunbathing rabbits on it fall to their deaths, while my opponent possesses great power, cold rationality, extraordinary planning ability, and he possesses the allegiance of the vast majority of the people on this piece of land……. The most crucial thing is that, although I know from the slightest news coming out of the palace after that rain in the early fall, he is gradually moving away from the altar. , he gradually walked down from the altar of God, gradually began to become like a mortal, leaving some emotional empty doors, but I still believe that his blood is cold enough, his heart is hard enough, once I really struck out, these people I want to protect, will really …… no longer exist.”
“I used to be afraid of death, but nowadays I’m not so afraid of death.” Fan Xian continued to summarize seriously after saying a long paragraph, “But I am afraid that the people I love and the people I protect will die. Can you help me with this problem?”
Haitang didn’t stay silent for long and said very directly, “I can’t.”
Fan Xian spread out his hands and let out a long sigh. Saying, “See, there was originally no one in this world who could help me solve this problem.”
“What do you mean when you say he walked off the altar?” Haitang was clearly interested in this matter, and she wondered where Fan Xian got this judgment of Emperor Qing from.
Fan Xian gently placed his right hand on the spot where his heart was, and said with a smile, “After all, father and son are connected, and there are some small changes that you can’t notice, but I can. …… He let me stay in the mansion to do all this maneuvering, and then shattered them one by one for me to see, and although it showed that a monarch was mighty, but don’t you think that it’s actually quite troublesome? There are too many ways for him to make it all dissolve into nothing, yet he didn’t do it, he …… was gambling with me, gambling with Chen Pingping, gambling with my mother.”
“A person who originally had no meridians, no veins, no feelings, and no justice has now learned to gamble, don’t you think that he has become more and more like a normal person?” Fan Xian shook his head and laughed bitterly, “I guess this is also the consequence that the old cripple went to his death trying to cause.”
“But you still have no way to change this trend.” Haitang sat on the chair and slightly lowered her head, “You’ve been sitting in Kyoto withered in the past few months, yet you’ve thrown the cause of the chaos to all sides of the world, your thoughts are actually very simple.”
She raised her head to stare at Fan Xian’s bloodshot eyes with her bright eyes, and said heavily, “I think this is also Chen Pingping’s arrangement for revenge, first fixing up the world to flutter, taking advantage of the chaos to force the palace, and then striking …… with a thunderous blow, it’s just that you haven’t gained the Qing Emperor’s trust as he envisioned you to today, and it’s a result of your That little bit of pitiful vanity is at work, at the same time you don’t have the means to really move hard on this world, this is your little bit of pitiful hypocrisy at work.”
“You should understand very well that your temperament seems to be gloomy and stern, but in reality, you are not a great open-minded lord after all, there are many things that you cannot do.” Haitang blinked slightly, converging the intimidating cold light in his eyes, and calmly said, “In that case, all this you are doing now, in addition to naivety and childishness, there are no more words beside it to describe it, because at the end of the day …… you still don t have the confidence to confront him head on. ”
Fan Xian was silent for a moment and said, “Who can have this confidence? These past few months I’ve only been knocking on the door, trying to warn him, thus maintaining a situation that could break at any moment, and defending those around me as much as I can ……If it wasn’t for His Majesty’s consideration of the fact that I hadn’t broken the pot, and hadn’t plunged half of Qing into turmoil, do you think that Yang Wanli, Cheng Jialin, and the ones in one place would have survived? ?” He raised his head and stared at Haitang, “I had to prove my power in order to keep these people alive. Not bad, at that final juncture, I still have to fight His Majesty face to face, and I am not that confident …… so I have been waiting for someone to return.”
“Blind Master.” Instead of inquiring, Kaito spoke the name, which seemed to carry magical powers, quite directly.
“You can’t always put your hopes on these ancestors who once supported your growth, whether it’s your mother, or Chen Pingping, or Lord Fan Shangshu, they’ve already done too much for you.” Haitang looked at Fan Xian, and a trace of pity suddenly grew in her heart, “Have you ever thought that if Master Blind never comes back, what is the point of you tormenting yourself in this Kyoto?”
Haitang advised Fan Xian with a straight face, “Many things always have to be done on your own, whether you have this confidence or not, but the current situation has already forced you to this point, and since it is impossible for you to be indifferent to the deaths of your mother and Chen Pingping, you can never play the role of his good subject, his good son again.”
Fan Xian suddenly felt that these words stung his ears, he frowned and raised his hand, stopping Haitang’s words, and said in a low voice, “You haven’t personally experienced how powerful he is, so you can easily say the word confidence.”
Haitang sighed and said, “But how long can you wait? The commotion that you and His Majesty made in Cangzhou City, he didn’t move to consider it at all, but instead, he directly swung his troops westward, and easily wiped out all the hidden dangers over there. Then it is Jiangnan, it is Dongyi City …… No, maybe he will not pay any attention to Dongyi City at all, but directly northward, once the current situation develops to that day, all your power has been uprooted to the cleanest, in addition to nesting in Kyoto like an idler, watching him step by step towards the peak, watching him sneer at the souls of your family elders, you What else can you do?”
“He can’t move Jiangnan, if he moves in that place, I have to move, and when I move, the whole of the Qing Kingdom, including him, will feel the pain.”
“I don’t know what you’ve moved in the inner treasury, but I believe that a character like Emperor Qing won’t care about any losses for the sake of the obsession in his heart.” Haitang said.
At this time, a voice rang out from the shadows of the study, icy cold to the extreme: “The emperor, this scumbag, is not a human being in the first place, so how would he know what it feels like to be in pain.”
The one who spoke was Shadow, the one who had been floating around Kyoto like a shadow these past few months. Immediately after that another direct and steady voice rang out, seemingly also trying to convince Fan Xian, “I don’t know much about things like confidence, but if it’s really a matter of getting out of the sword …… I’ll tell myself that I have to be confident.”
The one who said these words was Wang Thirteen Lang, the sword-hearted and resolute shut-in disciple of the Sword Lodge, who remained this calm, this persistent, even though he was facing Emperor Qing, the unfathomable Grand Master.
As Fan Xian had analyzed before, His Majesty the Emperor or the Qing Empire, the biggest destiny lies in the extreme lack of cutting-edge personal force, those who were once powerful characters have all died one by one in the internal conflict of the Qing Empire, and nowadays a large portion of the strongest Ninth Grade under the heavens are standing in Fan Xian’s camp, a strength that even the Qing Emperor would not dare to underestimate.
If Eunuch Hong, the Qin family and their sons, and Yan Xiaoyi were still alive, then today’s Qing Kingdom could truly be called a camp made of iron.
Fan Xian was silent for a long time, and instead of directly answering the persuasions of these three supreme powerhouses in the study, he frowned and said, “I don’t want all of you to die in his hands …… And, after all, this is my business.”
Fan Xian in the deep winter of the 10th year of the Qingli reign was like a wild beast trapped in a blizzard, anxious, gloomy, and restless. He had watched the powerful Emperor’s Majesty slice off his right and left arms one by one with a sophistication that far surpassed his own, and he had watched the Qing court move methodically towards the feat of unifying the continent, but he was unable to do anything about it.
In front of Emperor Qing, Fan Xian, who had always been good at concealing himself, finally became unconfident for the first time, and he didn’t know how he could defeat such a powerful figure. So he waited, but didn’t know if the one he was waiting for would return. And in order to ensure his own safety as well as the safety of those around him during the time he waited, he was trying to do something.
However, Kyoto was unexpectedly calm, and according to the information that the Moon Embracing House had worked very hard to obtain, that Fan Wusu, the once second prince’s strategist in the residence of Da Daoshi He, had been injured in a surprise attack and had been unknown ever since, while He Zongwei had not been implicated by the incident. While Fan Xian was slightly disappointed, he also finally realized that the old fox, Grand Maester He, was not such a good person to utilize.
What made Fan Xian feel even more frustrated was that news had finally arrived from Jiangnan, bad news.
This era of information transmission is always so slow, slow to anger, waxing moon Fan Xian received the news, in fact, has been a month ago.
The inner treasury transit division received the palace’s secret order, according to the plan began the preparation work of the coming spring opening treasury bidding, however, this year’s inner treasury bidding process has a shocking change – change the preparation of the silver bidding bidding for the imperial court evaluation statement bidding – this a Changes, very directly the power of the treasury investment by the court and businessmen to negotiate, completely into the court on the one hand arrangements, in other words, next year, the treasury bidding, the court wants to win which is which is the winning bid.
In this way, Xia Qifei presided over the Ming family, even if there are two major investment money bank and Taiping money bank’s secret support, but also do not see to continue the past glory, which is undoubtedly the strength of the Fan faction of a heavy blow.
The rules of the inner treasury bidding from the year after the completion of the three major workshops will be fixed, whether it is the old Ye family or later the inner treasury, no one dares to lightly move this rule. This winter’s change was undoubtedly a humiliating setback, and everyone knew that His Majesty the Emperor’s decree would have a bad impact on the commercial activities of the whole of Jiangnan, which was difficult to assess.
However, to the surprise of many, the giant merchants of Jiangnan did not group together to resist this dim decree, instead the Xiong family of Lingnan and the Sun family of Quanzhou both remained silent, while a few salt merchants began to jump at the chance – it was a well-known fact that the sons and daughters of those salt merchants had had several deaths at the hands of Lord Fan Jr. because of the Chunxin exam case that year.