Shengshichun

Chapter 378 The future of the country is more important (asking for monthly tickets)

After meeting Yang Yi that night, the emperor returned to the palace and the lights in the Qianqing Palace remained on all night.

Except for the guards, none of the palace servants had ever seen Yang Yi when he was young, and had no idea what the situation was like between the emperor and his son.

But judging from the situation when the father and son met at night, Yang Yi's attitude towards the emperor could definitely not be described as "filial" and "obedient". Although the emperor was kind, he was, after all, a king who had won the world on horseback. When he was young, he was decisive and ruthless in killing, and he was not ambiguous at all. When would he allow anyone to be so presumptuous in front of him?
Not to mention he is his own son!

So everyone thought that the emperor might not be able to withstand this shock, and he dared not leave for the past two days.

Unexpectedly, the emperor remained silent for only one day. On the second night, after sitting under the lamp for half the night, he not only did not show any signs of dejection, but when he finally got up, he inexplicably looked more energetic than before.

The eunuch was terrified and quickly called the imperial physician to come and take the emperor's pulse. Unexpectedly, the emperor told him in a loud voice to call the Minister of Rites. After the imperial physician came and took the emperor's pulse, he actually looked happy.

"Your Majesty's blood and qi are flowing smoothly, your vitality is abundant, and you are in a very auspicious sign."

The eunuchs then realized that the meeting between the father and son was not a bad thing but a good thing. The emperor was in high spirits because of the happy event!
If you think about it carefully, the emperor's journey from rising up in rebellion to founding the country and ascending the throne was not easy, but he took steady steps one by one. Later, when he encountered a border dispute with Dayue, he also gritted his teeth and overcame it with the help of everyone in the court and the public. It can be said that he overcame the biggest difficulties. But at this critical juncture, the deposed prince, who had been cultivated as the crown prince since childhood, actually did something like killing his brother and forcing the emperor to abdicate. Isn't this equivalent to breaking the leg bones of the Great Zhou?

The deposed crown prince should be executed, but after executing him, the emperor still suffered a heavy blow. His illness recurred for several months, and people were always worried that he would not be able to hold on for much longer. How could it not be frustrating to spend most of his life building a dynasty, but in the end there was no suitable successor?
At this moment, the appearance of the eldest son Yang Yi is the hope of the Great Zhou. His strong physique can at least cope with the heavy government affairs and perform the duties of the monarch; and his concern for the situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty also shows that he has a minimum sense of responsibility for the Great Zhou.

Regardless of whether he can become an accomplished emperor, at least he is more suitable to sit in this position than the Prince of Yan.

It seems that the emperor had already thought of this, which is why he instantly recovered his energy and spirit as if he had taken a panacea.

Although it seemed that things might not develop as the emperor wished from the eldest prince's perspective, the palace servants were still very excited. They reported the results of the imperial physician's diagnosis to the court and to the empress. Then, according to the empress's decree, they instructed the imperial kitchen to adjust the recipe of the medicinal food.

While everyone here was busy with the emperor's change, the emperor himself summoned all the guards who were responsible for going out to look for Yang Yi early in the morning.

First, he scolded them and asked why they had not found Yang Yi after all these years, when Yang Yi was obviously still alive and well.

When he was cursing, someone outside said Pei Zhan wanted to see him for an urgent matter, so the emperor sent someone to find Chen Song and He Zhao who were by Yang Yi's side.

Yang Yi now regards the emperor as an enemy with whom he will never have any contact. How could it be easy to find Chen Song and He Zhao who follow him closely?
Besides, didn't he know his own son clearly? How could Yang Yi let this white-browed and red-eyed Xuan go to the guards beside him?

The two guards who were ordered to do the job decided to take an unconventional approach.

Fu Zhen rushed to the Yang family without stopping, just in time to see Yang Yi and Chen Song talking about something anxiously in the yard.
When he asked, Chen Song said, "Madam General, He Zhao is missing!"

Fu Zhen was also confused by this nonsense: "Why did he suddenly disappear?"

"I don't know. The lord sent him to Wanbin Tower to look for Madam Ning this morning, but he didn't come back for a long time. So I went downstairs to look for him, but he wasn't in Wanbin Tower, and the people in Wanbin Tower said he hadn't been there either!"

This is strange. Fu Zhen was puzzled: "Why would a person suddenly disappear? Could he have gone somewhere else?"

"impossible."

Yang Yi and the other two said in unison, "Over the years, he has never made a mistake. He will only do what his master tells him to do. Besides, he has nowhere else to go."

Fu Zhen also felt that the matter was serious, and hurriedly said, "As long as he is in the capital, he will definitely be found. Besides, it is impossible for him to leave the city without a reason. Don't worry, I will send the guards to look for you everywhere."

Although Yang Yi felt that it was a bit of a waste of effort, after all, He Zhao was closer to him than his own family, so he accepted her kindness.

Only then did I remember: "Why did you come here in such a hurry?"

"It is indeed an urgent matter!" Fu Zhen said, and then told the purpose of his visit, and then said: "Minzhi has already entered the palace. I estimate that we have to leave at the latest in the evening. Brother Yang should also pack up and prepare for action."

Yang Yi did not expect Lian Yang to act so quickly, but since it has come to this, there is no need to waste time. The most important thing is to set off as soon as possible and rush to the northwest to deal with the final details of the war with the two countries of Dayue.

"I don't have much to pack. It will be enough for me to leave in the evening. I will go and write a letter to my mother. Please wait here for me. When I finish writing, you can take it to the palace for me."

After Yang Yi finished speaking, he turned back to the backyard.

Chen Song was left standing there, still muttering, "Where did He Zhao go? Where on earth did he go?..."

……

Pei Zhan's meeting with the emperor went very smoothly. After he reported the matter, the emperor only thought for a moment and agreed to his request. He ordered him to lead 5,000 cavalry to the northwest to capture the important criminal Lian Yang.

There are still 100,000 soldiers guarding the border in the northwest, which is more than enough to deal with possible wars. However, the soldiers stationed in the northwest cannot be transferred at will, and the whereabouts of Lian Yang are not yet clear, so 5,000 more people are needed to deal with Lian Yang and his gang.

After the emperor sent Pei Zhan and the ministers of the Ministry of War away, he ordered the guards who had been waiting outside to come in.

"Where are He Zhao and the others?"

The guard turned around and went out to bring He Zhao in. As soon as the emperor saw his face, he immediately left the imperial desk and came before him.

After carefully examining He Zhao, the emperor nodded deeply:

"You guys are great. We have been looking for Yi'er for so many years, but we still haven't found his exact whereabouts. You and Chen Song have made great contributions."

He Zhao knelt on the ground: "I beg the emperor to forgive me."

"What are you guilty of?"

The emperor reached out his hand and helped him up. "If my guess is correct, you have spent so much effort over the years to prevent me from finding it. Besides Yi'er being upset about what happened back then, there must be another reason, right?"

He Zhao raised his head, pursed his lips and said nothing.

The emperor put his hands behind his back and said, "He refused to see me. On the one hand, he was resentful of me, and on the other hand, he must have been wary of me. Is he worried that I have been looking for him for all these years, but I don't want him to live in this world?"

"Your Majesty..." The emperor turned his head and looked at him, his eyes deep: "Especially after he knew that the second brother had set up a trap against him behind his back, he didn't want to see me even more, right?"

He Zhao lowered his head.

"How miserable he must have been these years." The emperor looked at the rising sun outside the door. "I can totally imagine that after being betrayed by his own father, he finally mustered up the courage to go to the capital, but he almost died at the hands of his own brother whom he had never met. This was such a cruel reality for him. He hated me and blamed me, and it was all right."

"My Lord, he has never..."

"I know he doesn't hate me." The emperor took a deep breath, "But honestly, if these things happened to me, I might be even more ruthless than him.

"After all, he inherited his mother's kindness. He just blamed me and didn't get close to me. When we met again, he just accused me.

"If it were me, I probably wouldn't even say a word. I wouldn't even give my father, who had harmed me, a chance."

He Zhao thought of how he killed the deposed prince without saying a word, and he pursed his lips again.

The emperor in front of him was no longer the majestic, tall and strong King Zhou of the past. The years had left many marks on his face and body. He was still tall, but too thin, and not as powerful as before.

However, through his aura of majesty without even getting angry, people can still recall his first half of life when he was a man of war and influence.

It was precisely because of his impressive thunderous methods that Yang Yi kept his distance from him after he realized in Huzhou that he had been betrayed by his own father.

Before meeting Ning Bochi, Yang Yi was resisting the idea of ​​recognizing his parents from the bottom of his heart, but he still held out a glimmer of hope at that time. After all, the battle in Huzhou was crucial, and Yang Yi knew it well.

Even if the emperor did something detrimental to his own son at that time, it was indeed out of maintaining the overall situation.

So under Ning Bochi's suggestion, he finally decided to go to Beijing. However, he never expected that when he went to Beijing, his own brother was actually waiting to deal with him!
Since then, Yang Yi has been disheartened. How could he still have expectations for his royal family?
Even if there was some understanding about the Huzhou incident, it was all gone after that.

After all, even his own brother who had never met him could harm him. Who could guarantee what the emperor, who had already cheated him once, was thinking?

It would not be a good reputation if he pushed his own son out as bait in order to seize the imperial power.

Otherwise, why are there so few people who know this inside story from the time of the incident until now?

The purpose of keeping the news strictly secret is naturally to maintain the emperor's majesty.

"But why should I find him and kill him?"

When He Zhao was thinking about this secretly, the emperor seemed to see through his thoughts and continued, "He has disappeared for so many years. In fact, if I don't want to recognize him, then even if he shows up and says he is the eldest prince, I just need to say he is not, and he is not. Then why should I go to the trouble of finding him and then dealing with him?"

He Zhao followed Yang Yi all the way here. He witnessed every hardship Yang Yi had gone through and felt the same way. Now he thought the emperor was just quibbling and had no intention of listening any further.

"My lord has made up his mind. I'm afraid it's impossible to ask him to forget what happened in the past."

The emperor looked at him and said, "I didn't let him forget it either. I just want my son to come back and be the crown prince, and then be the emperor of the Great Zhou in the future!"

"Excuse me for being blunt, but the Lord will never agree to this. No one can convince him."

"Others may not be able to convince him, but I know you, who have followed him through thick and thin for so many years, can do it."

He Zhao lowered his head again: "Your Majesty thinks highly of me. I am just your lord's attendant."

The emperor turned around and said to him, "I heard that you already have a wife and children. Are they in Luoyang?"

He Zhao was startled when he heard this, and his body suddenly straightened.

"Your wife's surname is Huang, and you have been married for fifteen years. You saved her life, and then she followed you wherever you went. Later, you got married and had two children. The eldest son is twelve years old, and the youngest daughter is eight years old. They are both very smart."

He Zhao was shocked: "——How do you know them?"

The emperor was calm and composed: "Didn't you live in the village at the foot of the mountain where Concubine Li was found to have failed for many years? Someone in the village has proved that you once had a wife and children.

"Besides, the guards I sent out over the years were not there to do nothing. Since they have found some of your traces, they have naturally collected a lot of clues.

"In Luoyang, they just happened to find a woman of this kind."

He Zhao fell to his knees with a plop, his teeth almost breaking: "Your Majesty, please let them go!"

"As the Son of Heaven, I can let them go if I want. But you should also know that I have conditions."

He Zhao raised his head with difficulty: "My lord has lived a miserable life, and the only people he can trust are me and Chen Song. Does the emperor really want to force me away from him, so that he will end up alone and helpless?"

"I am an emperor. Ever since the day I started the uprising, I have been responsible for the country and the people. This has never changed."

The emperor looked at him deeply and said, "I know that the bond between you two is as strong as gold, but for me, personal feelings are never as important as the future of the country.

"General Pei will lead his troops to the northwest tonight, and Yi'er will go with him. I have given them a month.

"As long as you can convince Yi'er to come back and become the crown prince and the new emperor of Great Zhou within this month, I can guarantee that your wife and children will be safe."

"Please forgive me for being unable to help..."

"I forgot to tell you that half an hour ago, a guard had already gone to Luoyang to pick up your family. If all goes well, they will arrive in the capital in half a month."

The emperor said word for word, "That is to say, after you complete your mission in the northwest, you can eat the meals cooked by your wife and enjoy the happiness of family life with your children."