Some people are old, both in body and mind. Such people look like dead wood at a glance. If you are close, you can even smell the 'old' smell on them.
There are also people who are old, just old, and it is easy to ignore their age when you stay with them. Such people are also dead trees, but at a glance, what you see are the flowers blooming on the dead trees. .
It's easy to tell the difference between the two. Just look at whether their eyes are chaotic or clear, and you can probably tell which type of 'old' they are.
The woman who came in behind Empress Dowager Wei was obviously very stooped, and her skin was wrinkled, as if she were a book turned by a diligent student, but her eyes were so bright. .
Liu Bang took one look at it and could never forget the look in the old woman's eyes. He had seen many strangers in his two lives, but it was rare to see someone like this old woman.
I also noticed that the group of ministers either breathed a sigh of relief or became a little excited after this one came in... Especially Zhao Huan and the Queen Mother, they seemed to be shocked and no longer panicked. feeling.
All these things made Liu Bang curious about her.
"Who can survive without his own brothers and feet..."
She walked straight towards her, and when she got closer, she didn't even say hello, let alone salute, and directly helped Zhao Huan, who was lying on the ground, up.
"Wherever there are obstacles that cannot be overcome between brothers, even if there is a conflict, the door should be closed and the matter should be discussed. It is not a joke to let others see it."
"When we were in Tokyo, of all the sons your father gave birth to, only the eldest brother and the ninth brother were the most capable. The eldest brother was the beginning of counting, and the ninth brother was the ultimate son. They were both dragon sons and dragons. They are all outstanding people, and they are all descendants of the Zhao family. Even if your eldest brother is not good in all ways, he is still your eldest brother."
She spoke in a clear and coherent manner, and her articulation was clear and tight. She also saw Zhao Huan, a middle-aged man, acting like a child in front of this man, as if a child who had suffered great grievances had finally found someone who could help him. The adults you rely on are like adults.
As soon as Liu Bang let go of his hand, the faucet guillotine fell together without anyone holding it, making a loud clang sound that echoed in the lobby.
He didn't say anything and called Lu Zai twice. The old man had already known about the matter from the forbidden army. He was just suffering from the fact that the emperor arranged him in the Plum Blossom Hall. He didn't dare to leave his post without authorization, but his heart was itchy. Well, now that the emperor called his name, he quickly handed the work in his hand to Lu You, and he ran over happily.
As soon as he came, he saw several Zhao family members standing in front of the lobby. The old man was a little confused, and he bowed to the woman first.
"It alarms you..."
Before he finished speaking, Liu Bang pulled him by the collar and dragged him to him. He asked in a low voice:
"Is this your mother?"
Lu Zai was stunned: "The official...what are you talking about?"
"If it weren't for your mother's arrival, you wouldn't even recognize me as your father."
Only then did the hostess realize that the official was scolding him. He also thought that saluting this person first was a rule set by the emperor himself. His face twitched:
"You shouldn't have forgotten this one, right?"
"Talk about it."
Come on, Lu Zai cleared his throat and replied:
"This is the eldest princess of Qinlu Kingdom, the tenth daughter of Emperor Renzong."
Liu Bang calculated further and found that the three sons of Emperor Renzong Zhao Zhen all died early, so he adopted Zhao Shulai from the lineage of the Shang king, who was also the Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty.
In terms of seniority, this old woman is the same generation as Ying Zong, and Ying Zong is the grandfather of Huizong Zhao Ji. After all, the old woman is four generations older than herself.
She really has a long life, no wonder everyone has such an expression when they see her.
But if it’s just a matter of seniority…
Everyone standing here is not a fool. If they pay attention to those things, they should stop when the Empress Dowager comes forward. Are they so naive that they think this old woman can really dig it out? What waves are coming?
After thinking about it, Liu Bang stared at Zhao Huan, who almost shrank into the arms of the old princess. The latter looked like a beaten cat, with all the hair on his body. He neither dared to look at Liu Bang nor looked at her. Don't dare to take a step forward.
"If you kill someone, you must pay for it with your life. This is true for the royal family and relatives. Everyone should be aware of this matter."
"Although this man is my eldest brother, he has violated this rule. Even though I can't bear it, I still have to punish him so that I can give an explanation to the people."
"Otherwise... wouldn't this be breaking the rules and breaking the laws of heaven?"
With that said, he wanted to grab Zhao Huan's hair again, but was blocked by the old princess who took a step forward.
If this old woman is not surprised, it is definitely a lie. Back then, she was traveling south in a carriage with Zhao Guan's family, and her son was also killed by bandits on the way to escort him. Just these people He has never lost face in all kinds of personal affairs, not to mention that he is so many years older than him.
In the past, whenever they met, this person would salute to her. Today, not only did he not do it, but his eyes were full of disdain and contempt... She had spent eighty-three percent of her life in vain. After all, she could still tell whether a person was cold or hot.
Even I think so, not to mention other people. Most of the officials standing in the lobby were personally summoned by the Zhao Guan family from the prefectures and counties to come to the court. Most of them consider themselves direct descendants of the official family. Now seeing him First he disrespected his own mother, the Queen Mother, and then he still refused to give up after the old princess came forward.
Many people are sighing, are they really following Jie Zhou?
The old princess stared at the emperor for a long time, and finally said:
"Does the official really want to do this?"
"really!"
"Is there no room for negotiation anymore?"
"No!"
The old woman sighed softly: "That's it, but I thought about it more."
"Back then, Emperor Gao, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, wanted to make Liu Ruyi the crown prince but was unable to do so. He finally composed a song and said: 'The swan flies high, flying thousands of miles. The feathers are already there, crossing the four seas.'"
"Now the official family has become a swan with full wings and flying high. You are the king of the world and you should conduct the affairs of the world. Naturally, you have no need for old people like us."
"In this case, the officials will take my life as well."
As soon as the old princess said this, everyone clearly saw that the emperor's face turned red and white. Some people thought that he had changed his mind and was ashamed by the old princess's words.
Only Liu Bang himself knew that he was provoked by the old woman's words and remembered some unpleasant things.
"Are you threatening me?"
The old woman did not answer, but stood firmly in front of Zhao Huan and expressed her position.
Liu Bang didn't have much affection for her, and he was indeed murderous at this time. He just heard him say:
"The protector should be..."
"Official!"
Before he finished speaking, Zhao Ding and Xin Ciying shouted at the same time, and within a short while, several central ministers gathered around him.
"If the princess comes forward, the matter is over. The officials should not talk about anything else."
Zhao Ding has never persuaded the emperor, but at this time, he had to stand up... If the Zhao family is really acting recklessly... Yes, in the eyes of Prime Minister Zhao, killing his brother is not considered acting recklessly, and disobeying his own mother is not Not really, but if it involves this old princess, then it's nonsense.
If he was allowed to continue like this, the consequences would probably be much more serious than killing ten Emperor Xiaociyuan.
Xin Ciying and Hu Quan, Liu Ziyu and Su Fu, plus Lu Zai next to him, even Wan Qixi, who never liked to cause trouble, and many, many others began to persuade each other at this time.
The attitudes of these people are ten times, a hundred times stronger than those just now!
Liu Bang was a little confused...
The national conditions of the Song Dynasty and the methods here were beyond the scope of his experience and understanding; such an experienced woman was actually more worthy of protection than an emperor.
What's the point?
After a pause, he stopped all these people:
"You good sons, you are really very filial. You are marrying your own mother!"
The emperor scolded her like this, but everyone couldn't get even the slightest bit angry because of the princess' seniority, and the officials themselves were included in the scolding.
"Get away...Zhao Ding, tell me."
Everyone placed their hope on Prime Minister Zhao again and dispersed to the side, looking at the two people with eager faces.
"The official family..."
"Why did you stop me?"
Zhao Ding looked around and took the emperor aside. After he was far away from everyone, he introduced the eldest princess and what was behind her in detail in a voice that only the two of them could hear. .
It turns out that this person was married to Qian Jingzhen, the former young master and Prince of Kuaiji County.
The old princess is not scary, and the dead Qian Jingzhen is not scary either, but the Qian family must be afraid of her.
This is the lineage of Qian Liu, the king of Wuyue. After Qian Chu, the last king of Wuyue, returned to Song Dynasty, he has always had a close relationship with the Zhao family... Among the kings of the subjugated country in Zhao Da Zhao's hands, only the Qian family Life is the best. He has been favored by generations and has countless marriages with the Zhao family. No matter when, he has never had second thoughts.
If the Tushan family is the first family with a foreign surname in the Jin Dynasty, then the Qian family should be the first family with a foreign surname in the Song Dynasty... Back then, someone wrote "Hundred Family Surnames", and the character Qian came after the character Zhao. .
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Qian family has made a fortune in Huainan. By the time of Qian Liu in Wuyue, the descendants of the Qian family had spread out in the southeast of Jiangnan, from Linlianghuai to Liangzhe, from Fujian to Guangnan, everywhere. They are all descendants of wealthy families.
With such a network of contacts, several generations of business operations in the south, and the unprecedented maritime trade of the Song Dynasty, the Qian family has already accumulated a mountain of wealth... Take the Emperor Nandu as an example, if it weren't for the Qian family's talents and efforts , sent out ships and paid money, when the city of Kaifeng was destroyed, the Song Dynasty could be regarded as dead.
Although the country became more stable later, the Qian family still played a role. Half of the ships in the Song Dynasty were in the hands of the Qian family. The annual taxes they paid alone were enough to support hundreds of thousands of troops and horses in the two Huaihe Rivers. .
And Lin'an City... Qian Liu built this city from a small city into a city with elegant houses, beautiful rivers and mountains, and beautiful lakes and seas. It is comparable to Chang'an and Luoyang in the past, and is a rare big city in the world. Although the King of Wuyue spent all his money The wealth of the land of Wuyue, even he himself said, "Thousands of years later, those who know me will use this city, and those who sinned against me will also use this city." However, it is the predecessors who suffer, and the descendants enjoy it... The surrounding counties of Lin'an County, among these natives of the south, which one doesn’t care about the Qian family?
All these things are the old princess's confidence, and the reason why Zhao Ding must not let the emperor mess around.
It doesn't matter if he kills Zhao Huan, but if the relationship with the Qian family breaks down... no one can afford the consequences, at least not the current emperor, nor the current Song Dynasty.
Zhao Ding had made his words quite clear, leaving no room for the emperor at all. This was not a choice between killing or not killing. The Zhao family had only one choice.
Just give up.
Mr. Zhao believed in his emperor and believed that he was a person who could distinguish the important from the important. After revealing all the details of the old princess, how to deal with it...that was the matter of Zhao Guan's family.
He stepped aside and looked at the questioning expressions on everyone's faces. Prime Minister Zhao nodded gently. In this way, everyone's hearts were completely relieved.
Everyone just looked at Guan Jia, who was still standing there with his head lowered, as if he was making an extremely difficult decision.
Also, since Liu Bang became the emperor of the Song Dynasty, it has been smooth sailing most of the time. He can kill whoever he wants and sleep with whomever he wants. Nothing has ever been able to change his mind.
Now, facing the Qian clan that Zhao Ding talked about, he really felt the pressure... He was stronger than the First Emperor, and he didn't kill all the nobles of the six countries. However, he was stronger than himself, and he had to consider many aspects at many times. Interests.
The Qian family...
He took a deep breath and looked back at Wang Xiaoer who was bending over in the lobby. The faces of Ji Wu and Lao Wangtou flashed through his mind. Finally, the song rang in his ears. The old woman only said the first two sentences of the song "Honghu Song" that he wrote personally, but now in his ears, the last two sentences kept ringing.
"Across the world, what can be done?"
"Although you have a lot of money to pay, how can you still do it?"
Even if you have a sharp arrow, what can you do to it? What can you do to it? !
He had already grasped one of his hands, his knuckles turning white from the pinching. After a while, he finally made a decision.
Everyone saw Zhao Guanjia walking up to the old princess, holding her wrist and saying with a smile:
"What you are saying is that I was rude, I didn't think about it, and got carried away for a moment. Fortunately, you came in time and woke me up, which prevented me from making a big mistake."
The old princess's originally bright eyes were now brighter and brighter. She gently took out a hand and gently patted the back of the emperor's hand:
"The prodigal son will not be able to exchange for gold even if he turns back, and he can still become a Buddha immediately when he puts down the butcher's knife. Brother Jiu wakes up early, which is a blessing to the Zhao family and the Song Dynasty."
"It's true that I lacked a lot of etiquette when I spoke just now. Brother Ninth, please don't blame me."
"It's too late to thank you, so there's no point in blaming..."
Liu Bang smiled so warmly. If someone didn't know what happened in front of him, and saw this scene, they would think it was a warm family relationship.
She also saw that the emperor had been flirting with her parents for a while, asking her how she was eating and how she slept. If Liu Bang hadn't restrained himself with all his strength, Liu Bang would have wanted to tell her about a marriage...for example, Xin Ciying , although the person is older, in front of this person, she is more than thirty years younger than her. He is a serious fifty-year-old young man, and indeed a young man. It is such a coincidence that one of them is dead. Husband, my wife is dead.
When Xin Fuyin saw the emperor staring at him, his scalp immediately went numb and he felt uncomfortable all over, but he didn't know what happened.
"Then this big brother..."
After all, the old princess is a noble, a serious noble who has lived for almost a hundred years. From Fan Zhongyan to Qin Hui, she has never met anyone or seen anything. She is getting older, but her mind is clearer. very.
The reason why the emperor wants to put his eldest brother to death is, at best, the emperor's concern; at worst, it's just because he is too small to tolerate people... No matter what, this man has spent so many years in the north, and there is nothing wrong with him. , is not a reason to take his life.
Therefore, she said to Liu Bang:
"There is no room for two masters in the country. I know this, and so does my eldest brother. It's just that he has always had an elegant temperament. He is lucky to be back alive this time. How dare he think about other things."
"In this case, it is better to let him follow me to Linhai and recite Buddhist scriptures every day, so as to pray for Brother Jiu and all the people of the Song Dynasty."
Speaking of Buddhist scriptures... There is a poem from the Tang Dynasty that said "four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty". Today, this number is indeed no longer an imaginary number. Even the total number of places in the south of the Yangtze River is only a lot more.
Just the incense money that is not kept in the accounting books and not taxed is already an astonishing amount, and most of it still belongs to the Qian family.
There was no way, the land where the temple was built basically belonged to the Qian family. It would be abnormal for the Qian family not to pump some water.
Liu Bang looked down at Zhao Huan. The latter still had the courage to look him in the eyes. He just turned his head to one side. He wanted to say some bad words, but he endured it in the end.
He caused such a big fight today. Not only did he not vent his anger, but if he just let it go, he would undoubtedly lose a lot of face in front of the people.
But... to be honest, he has experienced more frustrating times than this. He knew that someone was going to kill him but he still had to lick his face and go wine and dine with him. Even though he became the emperor, he no longer had to endure many things.
But if you really want to endure it, it's not impossible.
"Now that you have opened your mouth, I can naturally do anything, but I also have one thing that I need your help with."
The old princess had a smile in her eyes: "How can an official help? Your request will be accepted by me and the Qian family without hesitation."
"Well," Liu Bang nodded, "The Northern Expedition is a national policy. There is no possibility of peace between Song and Jin. But you also know that this war only costs money. Once the divine arm bow is sent out, there will be a hundred The money is gone."
"To tell you the truth, the first thing I do when I open my eyes every day is thinking about how much money I have left. The first thing I do when I close my eyes is thinking about how much money I spent today."
"Thinking about it, I feel a lot more haggard."
From what he said, the old princess had actually guessed what he was thinking. There has indeed been no bloodshed in the Qian family since the Northern Expedition.
But for her sons, the Emperor's Northern Expedition had already caused the greatest loss to the Qian family.
After all, no one has more ships than them, and no one is more affected than them.
What is supposed to come will come. If money can solve the problem, it is not a big deal.
The old princess nodded slightly:
"This is a matter of personal responsibility. At that time, King Wu Yue left ten instructions for running a family, and one of them said, 'Don't love money, don't worry about security.' You can pick it up yourself.”
She was so generous that Liu Bang felt a little embarrassed:
"It doesn't take much, just give me eighteen million in silver."
Although the old princess was old, after hearing these words, the skin and flesh on her face seemed to have regained its vitality.
Started to become twitchy.
Ten million taels of silver is one million taels of gold.
No matter how rich Qian was, if he really followed the emperor's words, he would still have to beg for food.
What kind of concept is this? Let's put it this way: ten thousand yuan is equal to ten guan of money, which is equal to ten taels of silver.
Ten taels of silver can buy you a beautiful girl to serve you tea and water, and she can also give you a son.
This money is enough to buy a million beautiful women like flowers and jade.
If they were to put on armor and kill the enemy, they would be exhausted to death.
She was choked for a while before she said:
"Brother Ninth is really joking... I have to go to the God of Wealth to ask for 18 million taels of silver... Well, for 100,000 taels of silver, I can still control the money."
"It's a deal!"
Liu Bang was not a meat-eating person, so he certainly knew what the money meant.
The ten million taels of silver were originally offered for her to make a counter-offer. Although it was still a bit outrageous, who made him scream even more outrageously?
While listening, Zhao Huan saw that Lao Jiu was finally relieved and his life was finally saved. For a moment, he felt filled with emotion, and the tears that had been frightened back flowed out again.
When Liu Bang saw it, he felt really bored, but he still held his hand and said:
"You look like this, people who don't know would think I've done something to you."
"His Majesty……"
"Come on, give me a smile."
Zhao Huan hurriedly wiped away his tears and finally forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Not enough, not festive enough."
Liu Bang shook his head, and Zhao Huan quickly opened his mouth again, revealing his two rows of teeth, and kept making a "clucking" sound, like a hen laying eggs.
"It's still not enough. It seems that you are not happy in your heart, and your smile is a little fake."
The old princess couldn't bear Zhao Huan's appearance and wanted to say something to persuade her, but she heard the emperor say:
"Okay, then let's see something fun."
Everyone didn't understand what he meant, but they saw that he called Wang Qi over, gave a few instructions in a low voice, and the latter left in a hurry.
"The stage is set up, let's forget it. How can we live up to all the interested judges?"
Zhao Huan kept saying that he was his ninth brother who was supporting him. Soon, a group of people, led by Wang Qi, arrived at the government office.
Everyone is holding a human head in their hands and arranging them from left to right, there is exactly one.
As for the one in the middle, his head is still connected to his body. Among these heads, he inevitably looks a lot more abrupt.
"Zhao Shicheng!"
If it’s not the Prince of Yongjia County, then who is he!
What Tang Hong was most worried about happened. Zhao Guan's family really would not let that person go... Also, how could such a big charge of rebellion be ignored like this!
Just thinking about his daughter, he panicked for a moment.
Fortunately, Lu Zai saw him, and the old man whispered a few words in his ear. Tang Shaoqing blushed and turned pale for a while, but finally settled down.
Similarly, the old princess lived a long time and had deep friendships with the elders of the Zhao family. Zhao Shicheng was the son of King Yi, so he was a generation older than the two emperors here.
They stayed in Liangzhe, and he walked with her quite frequently. He called her "grand aunt" every time on weekdays. After all, he was a filial person.
He didn't learn well and embarked on the road of rebellion.
Although the old princess couldn't bear it, she also knew that the emperor had already given in a lot. She opened her mouth, but no words came out after all.
She didn't say anything, but Zhao Shicheng recognized her clearly and knew where her energy lay. After spending a day and night with the heads of his ten brothers, he was already on the verge of collapse.
At this time, there was life, and he was unwilling to let it go, shouting loudly:
"Auntie, save me, Auntie, save me!"
"Shicheng is aware of his guilt, great aunt, great aunt!"
"All my brothers have been killed, which is enough to repay Shicheng's sins. My aunt, please save me~"
After all, she was a junior, and these calls for help reminded her of her old friends. The old princess sighed and was about to speak, but was interrupted by the emperor.
"You have to think carefully, do you still have so much money?"
"One hundred thousand taels of silver..."
Just as she was thinking about it, she gritted her teeth and tried to use her private money, but it was not impossible to get it out, when she heard the emperor say:
"No, no, no, his head is worth one million taels... no matter the price."
This time, her mouth was completely blocked.
Liu Bang sneered and said loudly:
"Everyone already knows what this person did, so I won't say more."
"Whatever you do, you have to bear the consequences. Everyone understands this."
"I didn't see what I wanted to see today, so let's see what happened to this person. It's a worthwhile trip."
As he said that, he nodded towards Wang Qi. Xiao Yasha understood what he was thinking and pulled the guillotine over, but instead of hitting him, he let the two of them stuff his legs as they had agreed before. Go in.
Then, he looked at the Yongjia County Prince with greed on his face, and let him scream and beg for mercy... The louder the louder, the more excited Wang Qi became.
Seeing that this kid was obsessed again, Liu Bang was a little angry:
"You bitch, hurry up!"
Wang Qi woke up quickly and gently released the hand holding the guillotine...
Not to mention that there are many skilled craftsmen in Song Dynasty, but with just a click, his legs separated from his body.
Blood splashed on Wang Qi's face, and Xiao Yasha almost jumped with joy. After the prince struggled for a while, he stuffed his hand into the tiger's head guillotine again.
"Brother Ninth, let's give him some pleasure."
"Ten thousand taels of silver."
Even though the old princess was just a piece of wood, she was a little angry at this time:
"I'll give him 20,000 taels to make him happy!"
Liu Bang was overjoyed. He didn't expect the dead man's business to be so easy to do, so he immediately agreed.
Wang Qi raised the knife and lowered it, and the heads of King Yi's eleventh son were finally placed neatly together.
The old princess kept shaking her head and was about to leave, but the emperor stopped her:
"Don't go, there are still a lot of good shows today, so just come with me and have a good time."
"Everyone, let's take a look together!"
With that said, he ordered Xin Ciying to continue the trial of the case.
Those who sue Wang Xie's soldiers, sue one, and the people from Lin'an Prefecture will go and get one. When the person admits his crime, he will ask them to hand over the money they looted, and then...
Just use three guillotines to understand their lives.
At this time, the emperor no longer distinguishes which one is which, and the guillotine only kills the emperor's relatives and relatives. Those who do not exist are all killing people and making the best use of everything.
Watching the heads fall off one after another, the next one was thrown aside casually as if someone were throwing a ball away. The pile had already become as high as a hill, and the lobby of Lin'an government office was also full of piles. There was blood, and the fishy smell permeated everywhere.
No one dared to leave, not even thinking. They were afraid that the emperor would kill him and kill them too.
Liu Bang looked at these people and finally felt a sense of pleasure in revenge.
But, this is just not enough.
Zhao Huan is not dead, everything else is fake.
The old princess watched all this happening in horror. At first she could recite a few words of 'Amitabha', but when she found that the emperor was also reciting it, she never uttered a word again.
She just became a little doubtful, wondering whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that she had waded into this muddy water.
Looking at the emperor on one side, and then on Zhao Huan who couldn't help but tremble, it finally turned into a sigh in her heart.
(End of chapter)
