Invincible son

Pei Cheng's argument was too straightforward, but Xiao Jin was not in a hurry to refute it.

In all fairness, he didn't want to involve Pei Cheng in the conflict between the palace and Prince Jin's residence.For this junior who had placed high hopes on him, the most important thing now is to consolidate the foundation of the army, step by step to train the garrison division into a strong army that is not weaker than the imperial army.

Although Pei Cheng has made a lot of contributions in Hucheng, and also contributed to suppressing the rebels and guarding the palace after returning to Beijing, these qualifications are not very prominent in the army, especially in the two national wars where many meritorious ministers emerged. Who doesn't have the feat of annihilating a large group of enemy troops?If Pei Cheng can't show his ability to train soldiers, but intervenes too early in the court power struggle, I am afraid that the commander of the garrison division will be the end of his official career.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Jin said calmly: "You need to remember that we are courtiers, so naturally we must strictly follow the orders of the palace. This is the duty of a courtier."

Pei Cheng said with a little disappointment: "Master Hou, since you said that we are subjects, shouldn't we obey His Majesty's will? Could it be that Lord Hou has not discovered that the assassination case of the Dingguo Mansion has nothing to do with His Majesty, which means His Majesty has nothing to do with it." Willing to persecute King Jin, this matter is clearly done by the Empress Dowager and some important officials in the court!"

A cold light flashed across Xiao Jin's eyes, and he said quietly, "How do you know that His Majesty doesn't know? How do you know that His Majesty doesn't want to?"

Pei Cheng was stunned.

Xiao Jin continued: "The complexity of people's hearts is far beyond your imagination. I know what you mean. It is nothing more than the queen mother intervening in the government and gaining the support of most of the courtiers. Coerced by huge power, after all, he did not have the prestige of the late emperor, and he could not completely control the court. But have you ever thought that even though the frontier army defeated the Wu and Zhou countries one after another, and the southern army regained their homeland, the world does not think that these illustrious The credit has too much to do with today, they only regard Gu Liang and Pei Yue as the backbone of the country."

He raised his eyebrows and looked at Pei Cheng, and said lightly: "Do you think His Majesty has any strange feelings in his heart?"

Pei Cheng shook his head and said, "How is this possible? Your Majesty is the Emperor of Liang, and this world is—"

Xiao Jin interrupted him neatly, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is also a human being, and he also has emotions and desires. From his insistence on keeping Princess Qinghe of the Southern Zhou Dynasty as a noble concubine, it can be seen that he is just like you and me in many cases. Love, hate, sorrow and joy, naturally there will be envy and jealousy. You have to remember that emperors have been different from ancient times to the present, and not every king can be as ecstasy as the first emperor."

Pei Cheng remained silent.

He suddenly let out a foul breath, and said slowly: "Master Hou, in the rebellion in the capital last year, the imperial army, the garrison division and the Beijing battalion killed each other, and the blood flowed and the bones were piled up. I don't want to see that scene happen again. This is not only out of brotherly affection for King Jin, but also because of the justice in the heart of the last general."

Xiao Jin asked a little tiredly: "What do you want me to do?"

Pei Cheng stared into his eyes and said frankly: "Although the general is the commander of the garrison division, without the support and care of Lord Hou, it would be difficult for him to command this army with his qualifications. The general knows very well in his heart. After the rebellion last year, Lord Hou laid the foundation and framework of the garrison division. Many generals in the army were also brave generals brought out by Lord Hou. If Lord Hou had orders, these people would not obey the orders of the last general. "

Xiao Jin did not refute this.

Pei Cheng solemnly said: "But as long as the general is still the commander of the garrison division, he will act according to the principles in his heart. If King Jin has evil intentions, the general will be loyal to Daliang even if he dies in battle. But if he doesn't have that ambition , on the contrary, the court is aggressive and even wants to use swords, and the final general will never sit idly by!"

Xiao Jin knew very well that the young man in front of him was very stubborn, and he was sure that even eight cows would not be able to pull back.

Looking at Pei Cheng's resolute face, he asked suddenly: "What if His Majesty removes you from the military?"

Pei Cheng raised his head slightly and said: "The last general still has this life."

Xiao Jin felt a little uncomfortable being blocked by him, and said helplessly: "It's not like this."

Pei Cheng said: "The young general is rude and stupid, he doesn't understand the turbulence in this city, the worst is to fight to the death. But Hou Ye has the kindness to know the young general, I really don't want Hou Ye to go into this muddy water , and please Hou Ye be careful again and again, don't be a knife in the hands of others."

Xiao Jin stared at the afterglow of the setting sun outside the window, until Pei Cheng got up to say goodbye and left, he did not give a definite answer, and of course he did not tell Pei Cheng how many guests had quietly come to the door during this period.

The sky was getting dark, Xiao Jin was still sitting in the same place, his eyes were dim and difficult to understand, no one knew what was going on in his heart.

……

At night, Jin Wangfu.

A courtyard in the front house was brightly lit and guarded extremely tightly.

Since the assassination case in Dingguo Mansion, Beiwei Camp has taken over the defense of Yongrenfang under the acquiescence of Xifu. As for Qingfeng Street where the Wangfu is located, the entire territory is under martial law, and no idlers are allowed to approach.Inside the palace, there are two sets of guard systems, light and dark, which have always been in the hands of Ye Qi, and she presides over the arrangements.

This courtyard named Huaiqiu is an important place in the palace. Pei Yue's personal soldiers have three steps, one post and five steps and one sentry. Not even a bird can approach it quietly, because this is where Pei Yue discusses matters with others. The place.

In the side hall, Pei Yue was sitting in the teacher's chair, flipping through the secret scrolls on the case, beside Tang Linfen, Deng Zai, Feng Yi and Qi Min who was supposed to be in the southern border, there was a middle-aged man who was not in a hurry report slowly.

"...Yesterday at the first quarter of this hour, Wu Cunren, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, secretly met seven members of the hall in the mansion, all of whom were disciples of Mr. Mo back then. At about two o'clock, the head of the Liu family in Ruifang Lane went to Pudinghou's mansion in disguise, and met with him. Marquis Puding and Chen Huan had a secret talk for about an hour. Today at noon, former Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Ning Huai'an, secretly visited Xiao Jin, Marquis of Xiangcheng. After Ning Huai'an left, there were also six close ministers waiting in his residence."

This middle-aged man is Taishi Taige Zuo Lingchen Jingchu. Although the current Taige cannot be compared with the past, and Jingchu does not have the absolute power of Mo Moyun, but before Shen Moyun passed away, he was Taige. The head of the Kun Department is responsible for the details of the city of Kyoto.The nails on the Taige's mansions in the capital are all in his hands.

"Undercurrents are surging, and each has their own ghosts." Pei Yue commented blankly, and then asked: "Although Fan Yu is dead, the dead men of Luan Yiwei are still there. I asked Wen Yu to let her know The news tells you, have you found out the details of this manpower?"

Jing Chu said in shame: "I have failed His Highness's entrustment, and the lower officials haven't found out yet."

A smile appeared on Pei Yue's face, he shook his head and said, "Lord Mo's city is unrivaled in the world, and the dead men he cultivated will naturally not be exposed easily, and I always have a feeling that Fan Yu is not the real leader of these dead men, more It's like a chess piece on the bright side. Otherwise, it's hard to explain one thing, the person whom both Emperor Xiandi and Mr. Mo took a fancy to, would be such an unbearable character."

Jing Chu nodded in agreement, and said, "His Royal Highness, judging from the situation in the palace, His Majesty is no longer able to control the situation. After losing the loyal dog Fan Yu, the Empress Dowager has become more and more extreme."

Pei Yue said calmly: "There are only two ways in front of her, either ignore my existence, or find a reason to kill me. Judging from the signs you mentioned, the latter is the choice of those people. "

Tang Linfen frowned and said, "Do they really dare to risk the displeasure of the world?"

Pei Yue lightly smiled and said: "Maybe it's because the result of the Dingguo Mansion case stimulated these loyal ministers, so that they believed that I had the intention to usurp the throne. But that's fine, there is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. I Do you remember clearly the arrangements I told you earlier?"

Tang Linfen stood up and replied: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely remember it in the end."

Pei Yue nodded, and said to Jing Chu: "There must be a lot of eyes and ears in the palace in the pavilion, so you don't come here for a while. Now that you know what those people's plans are, I don't want you to expose them." itself."

Jing Chu hesitated to speak, but finally said gratefully: "Yes, Your Highness."

After less than half an hour, everyone retired after receiving the task, and only Pei Yue and Qi Min were left in the hall.

Qi Min sat with half of his buttocks, touched his forehead and said: "Your Highness, the brothers in the south have asked the villain to pay his respects to His Highness. They miss His Highness very much, but they dare not leave the station without permission and return to Beijing. I heard that the court on the way The villain feels uncomfortable and angry about His Highness's actions, and can't figure out what kind of pig-headed these people are, don't they see clearly that His Highness is the pillar of the beam?"

Pei Yue put down the pen and paper, raised his eyes and looked at him with a smile, and said leisurely: "That's right, the skill of flattering has improved a bit."

Qi Min smiled awkwardly.

Pei Yue stopped joking, pushed the piece of paper on the table forward, and asked, "What's the status of the fleet?"

Qi Min said solemnly: "Returning to Your Highness, the fleet arrived at the port of Songning Mansion in Qinzhou four days ago. According to Mr. Xi's order, they stopped moving forward and took a rest on the spot. General Luo said that all arrangements have been made, and we only need to wait for His Highness's order. "

Pei Yue raised his hand and tapped on the table lightly. After a while, he looked at the paper and said, "Go back and tell Luo Kedi to master the speed of your progress according to this time."

Qi Min stood up and looked over, and said sternly, "Follow the order!"

He saluted and left, and his figure quickly disappeared into the vast night.

Pei Yue Shi suddenly got up, looked at the piece of paper on the table, and casually pressed the jade paperweight that Pei Jue had given back then on it.

There are eight vigorous characters on the paper: the ninth day of September, the day of offering sacrifices to heaven.