bookcurios Chapter 193: Strategy, 9 Niang's Death
Chapter 193: Strategy, 9 Niang's Death
It is also said that when the imperial edict was issued, Lu Lingxuan wanted to enter the Eastern Palace to find Crown Prince Gao Wei, hoping to plead with Gao Wei and Queen Hu to reverse Gao Zhan's edict to deprive her of her title. However, as soon as she arrived at the door of the carriage, she was told by the palace guards that His Majesty had issued an edict ordering Lu Lingxuan not to enter the Eastern Palace again.
Lu Lingxuan was very angry but dared not say anything. She had to return to her Lu Mansion in disappointment. Only then did she learn about the three imperial edicts issued by Gao Zhan.
"You stripped me of my title without even giving me a chance to defend myself. It seems that His Majesty really no longer trusts me!"
Seeing Lu Lingxuan mumbling to herself with a gloomy and unpredictable expression, Mu Ti Po felt a little frightened.
"Mother, what should we do now?"
Losing the emperor's trust means that all the power she once had will be taken back, and he, the son who gained power because of his mother, will become nothing.
Lu Lingxuan endured for a long time, but finally couldn't contain her inner resentment and overturned the Saeki paper on the table.
These papers were filled with her analysis of the people in the court and her loyalty to the emperor. They were the memorials she planned to present to Gao Zhan after careful consideration of each word.
“Oh, do you think that I have lost just because Gao Zhan has taken my power? No, my Bu Liugu clan is not without successors…”
"Gao Zhan is now using Xie Zhen in order to use him to fight against the Han families in Yecheng and the Xianbei nobles in Jinyang. He wants Xie Zhen to be his loyal and faithful minister. But if Xie Zhen has a faction that is dependent on others, Gao Zhan will inevitably become suspicious and dissatisfied. By then, his fate will be even worse than mine!"
"So, we have to find flaws in him and make him lose Gao Zhan's trust in him. We must make him lose Gao Zhan's trust..."
At this time, Lu Lingxuan was mumbling to herself, her expression was quite distorted, and she seemed very uncalm. Mu Dipo felt a little scared, and unexpectedly heard her laughing in a low voice:
"Yes, we still have the crown prince. As long as we keep him firmly under control, once Gao Zhan dies, we will have a chance to return to the court!"
"Mother……"
Mutipo was so frightened that he quickly knelt down and advised: "Mother, please be careful with your words, lest there are ears on the other side of the wall!"
Hearing this, Lu Lingxuan slowly tightened her fists, suppressed the jealousy in her heart, and said to herself: "Yes, the more times like this, the more I should be calm. A temporary failure is nothing. Even if I fall countless times, I can stand up!"
After closing her eyes and concentrating on thinking for a while, Lu Lingxuan asked again: "How is the thing I asked you to do going?"
Mutipo said happily: "It has been done, but I don't quite understand why mother did this? I am just an abandoned child..."
"Nothing, I just wanted to make things difficult for the Princess of Lanling."
Mu Ti Po was silent for a moment, then whispered, "But there is one more thing. A spy planted by the Dali Temple reported that Xie Zhen brought a woman to the Dali Temple to see that Chen last night. I don't know what they talked about, but Chen went a little crazy. She kept shouting "Princess Lanling" in prison, and was whipped countless times by the jailers. It was not until 12:00 today that she fell into a peaceful sleep!"
Lu Lingxuan's expression changed and she asked, "Girl? What kind of girl?"
"I heard that she claims to be the Princess of Lanling!"
……
Gao Zhan brought Xiao Jinyu to the Eastern Palace of Crown Prince Gao Wei, and explained along the way: "Xie Qing is extremely talented. I want to hand over the crown prince to Xie Qing for teaching, but the crown prince is young and has no opinion, so I promise Xie Qing the position of the crown prince's preparation commander, and you can mobilize all the guards in the Eastern Palace. From now on, Xie Qing can enter and leave the Eastern Palace freely."
Xiao Jinyu replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust and kindness!"
Having said that, she was reluctant in her heart to teach Crown Prince Gao Wei. It was because the original owner's resistance and hatred towards Gao Wei was too deep, so deep that she felt disgusted and disliked the moment she heard the name. The absurd things done by this emperor who led to the demise of Northern Qi were so jaw-dropping and difficult to describe.
Gao Wei, who was timid and introverted, did not like meeting with court officials. He was keen on lust and pleasure. He called himself the Carefree Emperor, ignored state affairs, and even allowed beautiful women to lie on the ground for ministers to admire.
Nanyang King Gao Chuo liked to raise dogs. He once used his dog to eat a baby in a woman's arms to vent his dissatisfaction. When he saw the woman crying, he ordered his dog to bite her to death. Gao Wei heard about this behavior, but instead of blaming him, he agreed with him and looked for more brutal entertainment, such as stinging people with scorpions and watching them twist their bodies in pain.
This person is almost bad to the core!
He favored treacherous and corrupt officials, killed loyal ministers at will, was licentious and cruel, even worse than Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang!
When he entered the East Palace, Crown Prince Gao Wei was playing hide-and-seek with the young palace maids. Suddenly, he grabbed Xiao Jinyu's sleeves with both hands. Xiao Jinyu quickly dodged. Gao Zhan was furious and shouted, "Asshole, what are you doing?"
Gao Wei took off the cloth covering his eyes, and when he saw Gao Zhan, he knelt down with a plop: "Father! I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong!"
Although Gao Wei was only eight or nine years old at this time, he had already appointed Princess Hulugu, the daughter of Hulugu Guang, as the Crown Princess. After all, Hulugu Guang was the representative of the Xianbei nobles and a first-class military and political force in Jinyang. Therefore, as soon as Gao Zhan succeeded to the throne, he decided that Hulugu Guang's daughter would be the Crown Princess for Prince Gao Wei, in order to win over the Xianbei nobles.
Although the Jinyang Xianbei forces and the Yecheng Han clan forces have been in a state of mutual struggle, in terms of military strength, the Jinyang Xianbei are more capable of defending the country and deterring the enemy. Since Gao Huan came to power, the Northern Qi Dynasty has always wanted to balance or even integrate these two forces, but it has never been effective, and the contradiction between the two has even intensified.
Xiao Jinyu also knew the reason why Gao Zhan wanted to use her now. Apart from the fact that she saved his life by blocking the arrow for him, he probably wanted to use her to balance the two powerful forces. In other words, he now just wanted a lone minister who was loyal to him, the emperor.
And training an heir to the throne is the most crucial step.
Perhaps he once wanted to hand this important task to Lu Lingxuan...
"I haven't been to the East Palace for a long time. Today I see the Crown Prince like this? Is this how Lu Lingxuan taught you?"
Gao Zhan was so angry that he pulled out a guard's sword from the side and slashed at the little palace maid who had just been playing with Gao Wei with the sword. The little palace maid fell to the ground and died before she could even scream. The blood splattered all over Gao Wei, who was frightened and screamed.
Xiao Jinyu also widened her eyes in horror.
"When my brother Emperor Wenxuan was alive, he used imperial prisoners to teach his son Gao Yin in order to temper his weak character. I think you are no different from Gao Yin now!"
"Go, take this sword and kill her!"
Gao Zhan was referring to another little palace maid who had just had a great time playing with Gao Wei. The little palace maid was already frightened to the point of being pale and trembling, kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.
Gao Wei didn't dare to pick up the sword. He raised his head and glanced at "Xie Zhen" who was looking at Gao Zhan with surprise.
Xiao Jinyu secretly clenched his fists and whispered, "Your Majesty, I think that in order to temper the prince's character, this method is not necessary, and the prince is young, it may be counterproductive!"
"Then according to Mr. Xie, what method should be used?"
"Your Majesty, Confucius said that a gentleman has nine thoughts, all of which are to constantly think and improve oneself in life, so as to become a virtuous person. Similarly, if you want the prince to become a brave and resolute strong man who can stand alone, you should also practice more in life and gain experience among the people."
Gao Zhan thought about it, but didn't quite understand, so he asked, "Do you mean to release him to the people?"
When Gao Wei asked this question, he became anxious. He had never been out of the palace before and was very afraid of the world outside the palace. Especially when he heard that his father was assassinated as soon as he left the palace, his fear of the unknown world became even deeper.
Xiao Jinyu gathered his sleeves and replied, "Your Majesty, please give me some time and let me try!"
"Well, I'll just wait and see the result!"
After Gao Zhan finished speaking, he sternly told Gao Wei to stand up, pointed at Xiao Jinyu and said, "From now on, this Minister Xie will be your teacher, and he will teach you your lessons!"
"What about my sister? Where did she go? Why not let her teach me?"
The sister Gao Wei was referring to was Lu Lingxuan, and Gao Zhan became displeased when he heard the three words Lu Lingxuan.
"From now on, her name is not allowed to be mentioned in the East Palace, and she has no right to teach you!"
Gao Wei wanted to defend Lu Lingxuan, but was caught by Gao Zhan's displeased look and swallowed back the words he was about to say.
After saying this, Gao Zhan took Xiao Jinyu away from the Eastern Palace and handed her the military token of the Imperial Guards to mobilize the Eastern Palace guards.
"In a few days, the envoys from Zhou will arrive in Yecheng. We have not yet found out the details of the assassination in Yecheng. In order to avoid any mishaps in the peace talks, I need Minister Xie to entertain the envoys from Zhou on my behalf!"
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
"In addition, from now on, you will be in charge of dispatching the secret spies of our Qi State..." As he spoke, he took out a jade token from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Jinyu, "This is the token for dispatching secret spies. From now on, you will keep it!"
"Yes!"
"As for the matter about Dugu Luo you mentioned, I'll let Commander Liu take you to see this person!"
……
It turned out that Dugu Luo was also imprisoned in a very secluded courtyard in the Beigong Palace. The Beigong Palace was already in ruins with many broken walls and very little repair. The courtyard where Dugu Luo lived was even more rudimentary, with only a couch and a table.
Seeing "Xie Zhen" and Liu Taozhi coming, the young and handsome man seemed a little scared and wanted to hide, but Xiao Jinyu said gently: "Don't be afraid, we are here to let you out! From now on, you are free!"
The man was about the age of an adult, but his expression was as pure and innocent as a child, and he was even afraid of strangers. This was probably because he had been imprisoned here for many years and had no contact with anyone.
"Go out? No, I don't want to go out. It's good to live here!"
According to Ling Ye, Gudu Luo has been imprisoned here with his mother since he was a child. The only people he may have seen in his life are his mother and the people who occasionally visit him and monitor him.
Therefore, his ability to deal with people is very weak and he hardly dares to talk to anyone.
To him, a noble person like "Xie Zhen" was someone he never dared to hope to meet in his life, nor did he dare to expect these noble people to lend him a helping hand. But now, this noble person walked up to him very friendly and said in a soft tone: "In a few days, your old friends from Zhou will come to Yecheng. I heard that one of these envoys is your brother. You can meet your relatives and even follow him back to Zhou!"
The man smiled bitterly after hearing this: "I don't have any old friends. I grew up here as far as I can remember, and my mother and I depended on each other for survival. To me, this is my home, and my only relative is my mother. Now that she is dead, I have no other relatives."
Xiao Jinyu could understand this feeling: having been abandoned and ignored for about twenty years, until now the so-called biological father had never thought of welcoming his son back. Probably no one would be willing to recognize such a father!
"Okay, then it's up to you!"
"General Liu, give him all the reward money that His Majesty gave me. Let him buy a house and food and clothing, and live a good life!"
Liu Taozhi responded with an expressionless "OK", then ordered the two guards who followed him to hand the reward money that was originally intended for Xiao Jinyu to Gudu Luo.
Gu Du Luo looked at Xiao Jinyu in surprise, but Xiao Jinyu didn't look at him again, and just said, "Let's go!"
But just as Xiao Jinyu and Liu Taozhi stepped out of the courtyard, Dugu Luo suddenly shouted, "Wait, who are you?"
"He is the most talented man in Qi State, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, the Chief Commander of the Crown Prince's Guard, and the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, Xie Zhen!"
Dugu Luo obviously didn't understand the meaning of these multiple identities. He just looked begging like an idiot and asked, "Can I go with you? I'm really scared of this place, but I don't know where to go or what to do."
Xiao Jinyu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay!"
……
Seeing Xiao Jinyu bringing back a strange man, the women in Prince Lanling's mansion were very surprised.
Xie Yuxuan, in particular, couldn't help but ask curiously: "Who is he? Why did you bring him back?"
"Gudu Luo, the son of Gudu Xin, the great general of the Zhou State!" Xiao Jinyu replied, "He is also a pitiful man!"
Xie Yuxuan had also heard that Gu Duxin had such a son, so she asked, "What do you want to use him for?"
"If I say that I just let him out because I feel sorry for him, would you believe me?" Xiao Jinyu said jokingly.
"I do not believe!"
"Manager Liu, arrange a place for him to stay and let him do something in the Xinghua Yanyu Tower first!"
"Yes!"
After Manager Liu took Gu Du Luo away, Xiao Jinyu noticed that Xie Yuxuan, Madam Wei, and Princess Tanyang all looked unhappy, so she asked, "What's wrong?"
Ah Xiu replied, "Princess, that Chen, the concubine of Prince Hejian, that is, Xiao Jiuniang, committed suicide in the Dali Temple Prison early this morning. Some people rumored that it was you, Xie Zhen, who went to the Dali Temple Prison and forced Chen to commit suicide!"
Xie Yuxuan angrily continued: "I'm afraid this was spread by that woman Lu Lingxuan again!"
Is Chen dead?
After hearing the news, Xiao Jinyu was silent for a moment, then said, "Let her spread the news if she wants! Our most important task now is to help King Hejian transport the medicine and cotton clothes to Jinyang smoothly, before the Zhou envoy arrives in Yecheng!"
Seven days later, Gao Xiaowan was ordered to lead a guard and baggage to Heyang, Luozhou. Gao Yanzong and Gao Xiaoheng went to see him off. At the same time, Gao Yanzong moved a batch of medicines to one of the carriages and asked Gao Xiaowan to take them to Jinyang to give them to the soldiers stationed in Jinyang.
Ever since Xie Zhen came into the mansion and beat him up last time, Gao Xiaowan has been thinking about a question and was very puzzled. Taking the opportunity to talk to Gao Yanzong privately, he carefully asked: "Yanzong, tell me the truth, is this Xie Zhen her?"
Gao Yanzong pondered for a moment, and finally replied: "Since you have the answer in your heart, don't ask anymore, so don't be unwilling. Although the right chancellor of the Xingtai is sent out, it is thousands of miles away and can always avoid some troubles. Moreover, if you follow Dugu Yongye to establish military merits, it will also be beneficial to you in the future."
In the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Xingtai was a temporary government agency established in the place where the emperor was stationed when he went on an expedition. It could set up government offices and was the emperor's
He delegated power to the ministers around him and allowed them to act independently, which was similar to a temporary small court, and the emperor in Yecheng had no control over it.
Gao Xiaowan nodded, but he was quite shocked and grateful. After talking with Gao Yanzong for a few words, he led hundreds of soldiers to leave Yecheng. At this time, Gao Yanzong handed a brocade bag to Gao Xiaowan and whispered in his ear: "This is what my fourth sister-in-law asked me to give you. Open it when you get to Luoyang. Take care on your journey, third brother. You must also strengthen your defenses and be careful of any attacks, especially those from Lu Lingxuan!"