Volume 7: Ma Mingfeng Xiaoxiao, The Young Man Raises His Sword
night.
The crescent moon is like a hook, and there are few stars.
Although it has fallen into the night, the heat of the day has not dissipated at all. There is not a sound or a shimmer in the entire old Zhang city. It is extremely hot and stuffy.
The heat wave rolled in and filled the air with the darkness. On the night of May, there were insects chirping, but for some reason, Jiuzhang was so quiet that even the chirping of insects disappeared.
Probably because even insects are afraid of the unbearable heat.
There were many trees, but not even their branches were shaking. They were listlessly silent in the darkness, with not a breath of wind blowing.
Old Zhangxing Yuan.
In the main hall, the lights were dim.
Xiao Yuanche and Guo Baiyi sat face to face silently, with solemn and sad expressions on their faces.
Perhaps it was too hot, but there was no sound in the entire main hall except for the occasional sound of two people shaking their cattail fans.
The two of them had been sitting like this for who knows how long. Guo Baiyi was the first to speak: "My lord...it's better not to think about this matter and rest early. Shen Jizhou may attack one day." .. ....”
Xiao Yuanche remained silent, with a slight flicker of light in his eyes. He looked at the dancing candlelight, sighed, and said, "Bai Yi... Do you think that boy Su Ling will get better... ..."
Guo Baiyi was startled at first, then lowered his head and said slowly: "Master, Ding Yan and the others will definitely do their best to treat him... Su Ling's body is already strong..."
Xiao Yuanche suddenly waved his hand and did not let Guo Baiyi say any more. He said sadly: "Baiyi, can't Su Ling survive?"
"Lord..." Guo Baiyi choked, not knowing what to say.
Xiao Yuanche's face was full of sorrow and he said slowly: "Baiyi, don't comfort me anymore... I know Su Ling's condition... that is, in the past two or three days. Something happened..."
After saying that, Xiao Yuanche suddenly raised his head, looked at the sky, and burst into tears.
"My lord...My lord, my condolences! Things haven't reached that point yet, anything can happen..." Guo Baiyi said tremblingly.
Xiao Yuanche cried silently. After a long time, he stopped his tears and said word by word: "Bai Yi... If Su Ling dies, I want to bury him with the rites of a prince... .”
Guo Baiyi's body trembled, and he raised his head in shock. Seeing Xiao Yuanche's serious expression, he thought he had made up his mind.
Guo Baiyi could only shake his head slowly and said slowly: "My lord... you are finally willing to tell the truth..."
"I......"
Guo Baiyi cupped his hand and said, "Master, if you don't tell me...actually, Baiyi already knows..."
After Xiao Yuanche heard this, he glanced at Guo Baiyi and asked: "How did you know..."
Guo Baiyi did not hide anything and said: "This matter must start a few years ago. Before the Battle of Wanyang, the lord sent the eldest son Xiao Mingshu to Wanyang to contact the Shadow Division, Wanyang and Yang branch heads. The Lord has never forgotten what happened to Han Zhijie..."
Xiao Yuanche nodded and said: "Of course I remember that if I didn't let Ming Shu go, he wouldn't... I won't be hesitant in choosing my successor now... ..”
Guo Baiyi nodded and said: "My Lord, do you still remember Bai Yi's attitude back then?"
"you......"
Guo Baiyi raised his eyebrows slightly and said: "Back then, I strongly opposed the eldest son's going... Wanyang is dangerous, and the poisonous scholar Gao Wenxu is in charge. I really can't figure out why the lord would send the eldest son to be single.
If you are in danger, even though Master An Zhong and Kui Jia are with you, it is still too dangerous. My lord can just let Boning go..."
Xiao Yuanche was silent, his eyes moving, as if he was thinking about something.
Guo Baiyi continued: "However, in the end I agreed with the eldest son to go and did not insist on my opinion... Lord, do you know why?"
"Why?..."
Guo Baiyi said calmly: "Because the eldest son told me a secret thing. Only he can go there personally, or he may be able to complete it... After hearing this, I could only give up and not let him go."
The idea..."
As he said this, Guo Baiyi glanced at Xiao Yuanche thoughtfully.
When Xiao Yuanche heard this, his eyes shrank slightly, and then he seemed to wake up and said: "I see, Mingshu actually told you this matter a long time ago..." Guo Baiyi nodded and said: "That's right.
, the eldest son told me that when he went to Wanyang, the most important thing was to contact the local Shadow Division and tell him to surrender Sun Xiao. There was also a secret mission, but it was you who gave it to the eldest son..."
Guo Baiyi glanced at Xiao Yuanche calmly and said: "This secret mission is to secretly find a person with a bracelet. That bracelet was when your mother was dying when you were just General Fenwu.
For you...and the one who wears this bracelet..."
"He's my illegitimate son... He's my Xiao Yuanche's illegitimate son..." Xiao Yuanche stopped the words and said in a deep voice, one word at a time.
Hearing this, Guo Baiyi lifted up his clothes and knelt down and said: "I, Guo Baiyi, am guilty of death..."
Xiao Yuanche waved his hand and said: "Get up, there are no secrets between you and me, nothing about death or death..."
"Thank you, Lord..." Guo Baiyi stood up again and asked tentatively: "My Lord, what is the secret here? Can you tell Bai Yi..."
Xiao Yuanche let out a long sigh, and there seemed to be memories of the vicissitudes of life in his eyes, and said slowly: "Baiyi, since you know this matter, I can no longer hide it from you... so I will tell you everything about it.
Let me tell you..."
Xiao Yuanche fell into deep memories, and said with a vicissitudes of life and a gentle voice: "The matter must start from when I was the captain of the Yue Cavalry School. Baiyi, you know that my background is not good, I
My grandfather Xiao Song was the great eunuch beside the late emperor, and he was deeply relied upon by the late emperor in the palace just like Qi Shizhai back then. This is the reason why I have not touched Qi Shizhai for so long..."
"My lord knows that he is a fake, but because of the good relationship and support between the real Qi Shizhai and my lord's grandfather, my lord will definitely not touch him as long as he does not make mistakes." Guo Baiyi said.
Xiao Yuanche nodded and said: "That's right...my father Xiao Ji was born before my grandfather was alive, but he had no choice but to do so. The family was really poor, so my grandfather had no choice but to leave the palace and enter the palace.
When my father was a boy, he was very talented and learned the best in his hometown. He was only seventeen years old, so he passed the Jie Yuan exam early. At that time, my father was full of ambitions and studied hard, hoping to pass the high school exam when he went to Beijing to take the examination.
..."
When Xiao Yuanche said this, he let out a long sigh and said with some helplessness and anger in his eyes: "It's just that at that time, my grandfather had not yet established a foothold in the palace, and was just an ordinary Huangmen...
So my father went to Longtai with full confidence every time, but failed every time. My father thought it was because of his own strength.
It didn't work, but I later found out that the reason for this was not because of my father, but because my grandfather was a eunuch, and my family's background was too humble... Baiyi should also know that he was arrogant when he founded the country.
Since then, although examination centers have been set up, the most talented people in the world can pass the imperial examination.
Although he wanted to be an official, he still had filial piety and honesty, and the method of selecting talents was in parallel. The root of the Great Jin Dynasty did not lie in the emperor, but in the hands of the noble families who had deep roots and passed down the tradition for decades or even hundreds of years.
. Ordinary people study hard for ten years in a poor family, and even in high school, they are nothing more than teaching Hanlin studies.
At most, a scholar is only a doctor of Taixue. If he is actually awarded a place, he will be sent to a remote county to serve as a small county magistrate. However, those children of wealthy families have been idle for several years.
When you reach adulthood, you can rely on the kindness of your ancestors to make a fortune..."
Guo Baiyi nodded and said: "Baiyi knows that Baiyi also hates these nobles and nobles, so he came to the lord as a scholar. The lord doesn't think that Baiyi comes from a humble background and entrusts him with important responsibilities. Only then can Baiyi know how to do it."
You will die!"
Xiao Yuanche patted Guo Baiyi on the shoulder and said, "Yes, but the atmosphere in the Jin Dynasty is like this. How much can I change if I practice it personally and don't select talents according to their origins?"
When Xiao Yuanche said this, he shook his head helplessly and said: "Why is Shen Jizhou so famous in the Jin Dynasty? Isn't it because his Shen family is the fourth generation of the three nobles? In fact, in terms of talent, learning and ability, how much does he have? Bai Yi, he is already in this world.
in this way
, not to mention the time of my father's generation? In the end, my father said that he was depressed, unable to express his ambitions, and failed to realize his talents. I was only thirteen years old, and my father died in depression. He died in front of my grandfather...
..”
Guo Baiyi sighed and said: "The world is like this and the world is dark. What can we do?"
Xiao Yuanche's eyes were full of vicissitudes of life, and he sighed and continued: "The bad news reached the ears of my grandfather in the palace, and my grandfather was weeping and working hard. He and Qi Shizhai at that time relied on each other, so they worked step by step and worked hard.
He finally became the late emperor's personal attendant, and his power was unparalleled for a while... Later
When I was in my twenties, the imperial court issued an edict to recruit officials from a wealthy family to serve as officials in the imperial court. Due to my grandfather’s influence, I was also recruited. Also recruited at the same time as me was the current general Shen Jizhou.
, his half-brother Shen Jigao, and by the way, Xu Youzhi, his current adviser."
Guo Baiyi nodded and said, "Baiyi has also heard of these in the public."
Xiao Yuanche added: "When I first served as an official in the Longtai Order, I worked conscientiously and devoted myself to serving the country and the people. However, I was never promoted in this Longtai Order. Later I found out that it was because I was a eunuch.
It was not tolerated by the family, and even more criticized by Qingliu! Until the death of the late emperor, General He Situi launched a coup and blocked Longtai. The main executor of the blockade of Longtai at that time was me, the Longtai Order.
"
"Because of my meritorious service, I was appreciated by General He Situi. Together with Shen Jizhou and others at that time, I was promoted to one of the five captains of the Beijing camp. I am the Yue Cavalry Colonel, and Shen Jizhou is the Xiaoqi Colonel.
....From then on, I, Xiao Yuanche, began to move towards the center of power in the Jin Dynasty..."
Xiao Yuanche spoke slowly, and Guo Baiyi also listened carefully.
"It's just that even though I have become one of the five captains of the Beijing camp, I am still often looked down upon because of my humble background. I am also ridiculed by Shen Jizhou, Kong Hechen, Wu You and other famous families. They have never looked down on me. .Although I often walk around with Shen Jizhou, he just makes fun of me... Yang Wenxian is the only person in the whole court who has never despised me and always treats me sincerely. This is why Long Huang Regarding Taiwan, after I read the letter he left in tears, I originally planned to kill Yang Shuzu, but then changed my mind." Xiao Yuanche's voice was low, but Guo Baiyi heard it clearly. Until now, the sound in Xiao Yuanche's voice Still filled with anger and injustice.
"Although I am not valued by the aristocratic family, I myself disdain to collude with them. I am even more determined that one day, if I have power over the world, I will definitely reverse this situation. But I also know that if I want to reverse this situation, I must temporarily devote myself to it. Famous people, fight for fame. So, by chance of marriage, I met the daughter of the Ding family of the Jin Dynasty, who is now the biological mother of Mingshu, Jianshu, Sishu and Cangshu..."
Xiao Yuanche said slowly.
"So that's it..."
Xiao Yuanche smiled bitterly and said: "As for the Ding family, at first, I valued her family's reputation more than my feelings for her... That's why, relying on the Ding family's reputation, I gradually He became a vigorous general of the imperial court... But at this time, some wealthy families could not sit still. They wanted to protect their inherent interests with all their strength. Therefore, under the instigation of those so-called aristocratic families, there were some Corrupt scholars who don't know the truth are making trouble, saying that my ancestor, Xiao Yuanche, was just a eunuch. How can I be such a vigorous general? But they made noises and made noises. I just suffered a little loss in reputation, so what? But Only the so-called Confucian concessioner at the time slandered me. He not only scolded me, Mrs. Xiao, but also criticized my grandfather. My grandfather had been dead for many years, but these self-proclaimed scholars did not even care about the dead. Let it go! It’s really annoying and hateful!”
Guo Baiyi suddenly nodded and said: "It turns out that this is the reason why my lord risked the disapproval of the world and wanted to kill Fang Rang!"
Xiao Yuanche nodded and said: "Yes, I was already a Fenwu general at that time. I have endured it for so many years. Those famous families didn't know how to advance or retreat, and they still wanted to sit on my neck and shit. How could I spoil them! It's the world. If you object, I will also kill Bian Rang, who is just trying to gain fame! With his blood, I will sacrifice the banner that I used to declare war on the noble families of the world!"
"But my lord lost the hearts of the people in the world because of killing Bian Rang. Not only did he suffer infamy, he was also forced to leave the court and go to Chongzhou." Guo Baiyi said.
"That's right... If you kill Bianjang, you will have to bear the consequences, so I can only lead Chongzhou Mu as General Fenwu and go to my hometown Chongzhou to temporarily avoid the limelight. However, if I leave, the entire Ding family will In Kyoto, you can't leave no matter what. So she stayed alone in the capital, while I left for Chongzhou." Xiao Yuanche sighed.
Guo Baiyi nodded and said: "Right and wrong are reversed, the world is difficult, and above the court, flies and dogs live in chaos, but the true soldiers who serve the country have their blood gradually growing cold!"
Xiao Yuanche smiled bitterly and shook his head: "This is the greatest sorrow in this world..."
He paused and then said: "It was when I was in charge of the state that I met a woman who I will never forget in my life. She is also the woman who I, Xiao Yuanche, have wronged the most in my life..."
"Oh? She is?"
"Her name is Jing Niang...she is Su Ling's...biological mother..." This chapter has been completed!