Jiuxi

Chapter 781 779 [The Final Blueprint]

Jingchao, Dadu.

The first snow this year came a little early.

It was only late October when a light snowfall suddenly fell on the earth.

The icy chill intertwined with the solemn and murderous atmosphere in the city, making people even more uneasy.

Ever since the emperor was injured, the city has been under martial law for more than two months. Tens of thousands of elite soldiers have controlled the nine gates and other important roads in the city. Spies from the Ministry of Music have been closely monitoring various mansions, using this high-pressure situation to deter anyone with ill intentions.

The fourth prince Alihehaige committed suicide out of fear of punishment the day after the rebellion. Only half a month later, Emperor Jingdi issued an edict to appoint the third prince Wuyan as the crown prince. While many people were still hesitating and waiting, the overall situation gradually stabilized.

Even so, the palace was still heavily guarded inside and outside, and anyone entering or leaving would be subject to multiple checks. Anyone found to be slightly abnormal would be immediately captured by the Hezha warriors and thrown into jail to await interrogation.

There is a secluded palace between the front court and the harem, where Qing Yu Huaijin is temporarily staying during this period.

In order to avoid unnecessary rumors, Emperor Jing specially asked his second daughter, Princess Jincheng, to move in and live with Qing Yu Huaijin.

Every day at 2:30 am, Qing Yu Huaijin and Princess Jincheng would go to the Huairen Palace where the emperor lived to pay their respects.

The same is true today.

"Jincheng retreats, Yongping stays for now."

The emperor's calm voice came from behind the curtain.

"Yes, Father, I will take my leave."

Princess Jincheng, who was gentle in character and unlike Jing Lian's aristocratic style, glanced at Qing Yu Huaijin and walked away with a little reluctance.

Qing Yu Huaijin roughly understood the meaning of her look. It seemed that he was finally going to leave this majestic and dreary palace.

The next moment, the curtain was removed.

Qing Yu Huaijin suppressed the impulse in his heart and did not look up immediately.

After staying in the palace for more than two months, she finally realized how naive she was at the beginning. Her little thoughts could not be hidden from the discerning emperor.

That day in the royal hunting ground, she was not acting on impulse. She wanted to use herself as a hostage and also wanted to observe the emperor's injuries closely. However, she had never seen the emperor's face in more than two months. Every time, she could only hear his voice through a thick curtain.

Until now.

Emperor Jing said slowly: "Raise your head."

Qing Yu Huaijin moved his eyes upwards little by little, and saw that the emperor sitting on the dragon throne looked the same as usual, and did not look like he had been seriously injured, except for a very obvious scar on his left cheek.

But upon closer inspection, you can still find some differences in their expressions.

It's the look.

In Qing Yu Huaijin's memory from childhood to adulthood, the emperor's eyes could look down on the world or be as deep and dark as a pool, but they were not like now, with a bit of oldness and decline, just like many elderly people in their twilight years, with a clearly visible gloomy air.

"I'm afraid my health won't improve."

Emperor Jing's calm tone woke Qing Yu Huaijin from his thoughts.

She said quickly, "Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, so these minor injuries will be of no concern to you."

Emperor Jing looked into her eyes and said with a half-smile: "If I die, you should be very happy."

This is really hurtful.

Qing Yu Huaijin calmed down and said calmly, "Yes."

The palace maids and guards serving around couldn't help but look sideways.

Emperor Jing was not angry.

Qing Yu Huaijin continued, "From the perspective of the Qing Yu clan, if His Majesty is gone, the crisis of the Qing Yu clan will be resolved, and I will not worry day and night, fearing that His Majesty's imperial decree will make the Qing Yu clan follow in the footsteps of the Jiagu clan. When His Majesty granted the marriage between the Fourth Prince and me, the Qing Yu clan felt relieved, but they did not expect that this was just an ambush by His Majesty. His Majesty has long suspected that the Fourth Prince is the real murderer who murdered His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but he has been holding back, just wanting to use him to completely solve the Qing Yu clan."

These words are extremely bold and explicit.

However, Emperor Jing just listened quietly.

Qing Yu Huaijin took a deep breath and continued, "But from my personal standpoint, I hope Your Majesty will live a long and healthy life, because in my heart you are the closest elder besides my father."

Emperor Jing sighed softly and said slowly: "You have grown up."

Qing Yu Huaijin knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Qing Yu family has never had any intention of rebellion, and heaven and earth can bear witness to this."

Emperor Jing did not comment. He looked at the young woman who had watched her grow up, and did not talk about the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. He just said calmly, "Get up."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Qing Yu Huaijin stood up and solemnly.

Emperor Jing pondered for a long time, and finally said with a bit of sadness: "Go back and tell the prince that in view of what you said today, the past will be written off."

Qing Yu Huaijin's heart trembled, and he bowed his head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Emperor Jing looked at her leaving figure, suddenly coughed, raised his hand to stop the palace people from shouting nervously, and then said with a breath: "Jiao Lu."

"I'm here!" A fierce general responded from behind the curtain.

Emperor Jing calmed down his anxiety and said, "Lift the martial law at the Nine Gates."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Jiao Lu naturally didn't ask any more questions and just strode away.

About half an hour later, an important official was summoned to the palace. When he arrived at the Huairen Hall, the emperor was already sitting in the wheelchair. He said to him, "Come with me for a walk."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The person who came was Wu Yanshu, the garrison commander of Nanjing Road.

Following the emperor's instructions, he pushed his wheelchair slowly in the palace, gradually approaching the Taihua Lake, which was filled with a cold and tranquil scene.

The first snow has stopped, and pure white can be seen occasionally.

The palace maids and guards followed from a distance, and Wu Yanshu pushed the wheelchair carefully.

Emperor Jing put his hands in front of his abdomen and suddenly said softly, "I have about two years left to live."

Wu Yanshu clenched his hands suddenly, and sadness and fear appeared on his face.

Emperor Jing looked at the Taihua Pool that appeared in his sight and smiled slightly, saying, "That scholar is really good at this."

Wu Yanshu asked angrily, "Your Majesty, was the hidden weapon poisoned that day?"

"That's it."

The wheelchair stopped by the pool. Emperor Jing adjusted his sitting position slightly, then said calmly: "It's not poison in the traditional sense, otherwise the imperial doctors would not have failed to notice the abnormality. It's more like the hatred that the scholar had accumulated for decades. When you just received my order, those days were the most dangerous, and I unfortunately caught a cold. Perhaps it was God's mercy, or the reward for my diligent martial arts practice every day for decades, I finally survived."

When he heard the word "cold", Wu Yanshu's face changed.

As a general, he certainly knew how terrible this disease was. Some soldiers were injured and infected on the battlefield, and less than 10% of them survived after falling ill.

He said nervously: "Your Majesty will recover as before if you take care of yourself."

"Some things in this world cannot be reversed, such as the life span of a person and the fate of a country."

Emperor Jing shook his head and said calmly, "Facing the scholar's fatal attack that day, no one in the court could have survived except me and Qing Yugong. This injury has not yet healed, and I have caught a cold. Although I survived by chance, my vitality has been destroyed by these two injuries. From now on, I can only rely on the foundation of decades of hard training to survive. Of course, two years is the worst plan. Maybe I can live a little longer, but it is not important."

Wu Yanshu gradually understood why the emperor summoned him to the palace, and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder what I can do?"

Emperor Jing smiled and said, "Although my fate is already determined, Da Jing's fate will not be similar. I will never allow this to happen. Since God has not taken my life immediately, I can still arrange everything."

Wu Yanshu hesitated to speak, and Emperor Jingdi said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Wu Yanshu said thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, after I returned to the capital, I learned about everything that happened in the royal hunting grounds that day. The poison used by the fourth prince and the gunpowder used by the scholar cannot be said to have nothing to do with the Changshan County Prince. As far as I know, the Changshan County Prince was the only one in the army who used gunpowder to attack the city in the past two years, and only the people under the county prince knew how to configure gunpowder with sufficient power."

"It does not matter."

To Wu Yanshu's surprise, Emperor Jing said calmly, "I have not touched the fourth brother because I want to kill the rabbit by grabbing the grass and get rid of Qing Yugong at the same time. Qing Yugong may have noticed something, even if he secretly provided some convenience to the scholar, this is also human nature. For me and Qing Yugong, the previous game of chess is over, so there is no need to worry about it. If we must fight to the death, I am not sure that I can kill Qing Yugong without causing civil unrest, and he also does not have the confidence to kill me and then control the overall situation. Seeking temporary pride will only benefit others."

Wu Yanshu could not help but remain silent.

From his point of view, since the emperor was facing a complicated situation after being injured, it would be better for him to directly surround and kill Qing Yugong with a large army to eliminate the trouble forever, even if it would cause unpredictable civil unrest.

Emperor Jing seemed to know what he was thinking. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the waves in the pool. He said softly, "The Jiagu clan must be destroyed, otherwise I will not be able to intimidate others. But if the Qingyu clan is forced to rebel at this time, the other three clans and even those small and medium-sized tribes will definitely not sit idly by. Of course, I know what to do to save my worries and feel the most comfortable. However, if I want to maintain the overall situation, I must know how to be patient and restrained. Throughout the dynasties from ancient times to the present, constant compromise and struggle are the eternal mainstream."

Wu Yanshu said with a guilty conscience: "I will learn from your advice."

Emperor Jing smiled and looked at him expectantly: "Besides, I am not at the end of my rope yet, so I don't need to fight to the death. Now Dajing is facing internal and external troubles. I can solve many problems, but there is one thing I need you to share my worries with."

Wu Yanshu bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, please give your orders."

Emperor Jing said calmly, "Once Southern Qi hears the news of my injury, they will surely be in chaos for a while, and maybe even put on a good show. During this time, you must help me put down Ge Shukui's ambition. I have not mobilized the elite troops in the northwest border because I am waiting for you to take charge there. Remember, I will give you one year to completely defeat and cripple the new forces of Dai. I don't need the barren land of the northwest plateau for the time being. I just want Ge Shukui to be unable to move."

Wu Yanshu took a deep breath, accepted the order and asked again: "Your Majesty, should I make extra use of Xiashan Army?"

He knew that the 30,000 elite main forces of the Xiashan Army had been stationed in the northwestern frontier.

The so-called special reuse naturally has another meaning.

Emperor Jing shook his head, his eyes becoming more profound, and said, "No need, just treat them equally. Mie Gudi is Qing Yugong's right-hand man and a veteran general who has been on many battlefields. If you treat him differently, he will definitely notice it in time. You must remember that crippling the Dai army is my only requirement, and don't act on your own and hinder the overall situation."

Wu Yanshu immediately responded: "I understand, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Emperor Jing looked at him and said, "Your qualifications are sufficient. With the military merits of this battle as a foundation, you can become a minister who assists the new emperor in the future."

Wu Yanshu quickly thanked him, feeling sad at the same time.

Wu Yanshu did not ask why the emperor decided to attack Dai first, nor did he ask about the emperor's subsequent arrangements.

He only knew one thing, that even though Emperor Dajing was sitting in a wheelchair, he still had the ability to change the world.

It is still unclear who will win.

(End of this chapter)