Madam Gong grabbed the Prime Minister's arm and said, "Does the Prime Minister really want to enter the palace? You might fall into a trap if you go."
She was worried that the Prime Minister would never come back.
"There is no other way now. Resistance and disobedience are even more punishable by death." The prime minister said with a clear heart, "Don't worry, the emperor will not touch me for a while. Yunlan Kingdom and other surrounding countries will not be touched."
The small country is already plotting to attack the southern end. It is the time to recruit people, so the emperor can only endure it."
The Prime Minister was only annoyed that he had not made preparations in advance and was trapped in the capital, otherwise he would never have given in easily.
The only reason to blame for all this is that Chu Yunning was too treacherous and quietly plotted against himself.
It's not a gentleman not to take revenge, but for now, this debt can only be tolerated for the time being.
"Pack your things as soon as possible, take some light things with you, and leave the capital with a few children as soon as you have the chance. Without you being tied down, you are not afraid of anything!"
The Prime Minister was very reluctant and said that sooner or later he would let Chu Yunning have a taste of being on tenterhooks!
In desperation, Mrs. Gong could only nod her head: "Don't worry, Mr. Xiang."
After saying this, the Prime Minister of the Palace walked alone on the street, slowly walking towards the palace. He happened to meet the escort flag general on the way. The two stopped for a moment and looked at each other: "Is the Duke going to the palace?
"
It is a great honor for the prime minister to be promoted to the title of Duke and to inherit the title from generation to generation.
The Prime Minister glanced at General Biaoqi lightly: "I haven't congratulated General Protector yet. This is a real general."
Both of them saw the sarcasm in each other's eyes, and entered the palace side by side to thank the emperor. General Biaoqi said: "The Prime Minister's promise was not fulfilled before, which caused the emperor to be suspicious of Biaoqi Mansion, and we caused the Imperial Guards to suffer damage."
Quite a few, the emperor not only did not blame us, but promoted you and me, what does this mean?"
"General, why bother pretending to be confused? You are here to thank me."
The current Prime Minister doesn't believe anyone. How can he be sure whether General Biaoqi is an enemy or a friend? Maybe he was sent by the emperor to confuse him.
"Prime Minister, you and I are always in the same boat. Even if the Emperor doesn't move you and me now, what will happen to you and me when the situation stabilizes?"
General Biaoqi was very upset. He was also confused by the Prime Minister in the beginning, which led to today's situation.
The Prime Minister kept his lips shut, and no matter what the general said, he refused to respond even a word. The pace gradually quickened. The General did not know what was happening, so he quickly chased after the Prime Minister and said to the Prime Minister: "Master Prime Minister
, the plan for now is just the two of us staying together, maybe we can make the emperor afraid."
Suddenly, the Prime Minister stopped and stared at the escort general with a solemn face, as if he was trying to see through this man. However, the other person only looked a little panicked and allowed him to look at him.
"Since ancient times, kings have been suspicious. Originally, I had an army of 30,000 people. Now it's better. I only have an inflated title of general protecting the country, and nothing else. The guards around me have all been relieved of their swords. The prime minister still can't understand this situation.
?”
Perhaps he was moved by the words of General Biaoqi. The Prime Minister looked around to make sure there was no suspicious person around him, then lowered his voice and said: "It is not the emperor who plots against you and me. What kind of character does the emperor have? If he has this
I won’t endure the humiliation till today.”
This sentence directly reminded the general: "Are you talking about Chu Shang Palace?"
For more than half a year, Emperor Mingwen had only one Chu Shanggong around him. He first took care of the harem, and then went in and out of the political affairs hall from time to time. He also saw the changes of Emperor Mingwen little by little.
"Has the general been in contact with Chu Shanggong?" The prime minister was very surprised. The other party was the first to suspect that he was in love with Chu Yunning.
General Biaoqi nodded: "It was Jingniang from Yihonglou who secretly sought out my wife, and then joined forces with Jing Zhaoyin to set a trap for Jingniang, forcing Jingniang to hide in the palace, and finally died tragically in the palace.
.”
He had never underestimated this woman, but she was only limited to scheming between the harem and women, but he did not expect that she would be so skillful in fighting between men, which was really impressive.
The Prime Minister touched his chin and fell into deep thought.
"Prime Minister, will we be detained when we enter the palace?" General Biaoqi asked worriedly.
The Prime Minister immediately stopped and walked back. Regardless of whether the guess was true or false, it was always right to be cautious. An hour later, the Prime Minister changed his clothes, wearing plain clothes, with a hemp rope tied around his waist, and carrying dozens of
The slaves rushed to the palace in a mighty manner, beating gongs and drums. The leader of the slaves also held a tablet in his arms, with the memorial tablet of his beloved daughter Gong Shuer written on it.
…
"This old fox!" Chu Yunning snorted. Concubine Shu was not charged with any crime when she died, so it was not wrong to mourn for Concubine Shu.
Originally, she planned to let the Prime Minister enter the palace in the name of the death of Concubine Shu, but she did not expect that the old fox would delay entering the palace on the grounds of being seriously ill.
Now that King Huai has not caught him, Emperor Mingwen cannot easily move the prime minister, nor can he even question him.
If the Prime Minister entered the palace in such a grand manner, if he died in the palace for no reason, Emperor Mingwen would have no way to explain to the Prime Minister's subordinates, which would also arouse King Huai's suspicion that it was a trap before.
Therefore, the Prime Minister cannot act rashly.
"This old fox!" Emperor Mingwen angrily put the tea cup in his hand on the table, his heart hurting with anger: "We have finally arranged all this, are we going to let him escape in vain?"
Chu Yunning frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the plan for now is to appease the Prime Minister to prevent him from taking any drastic action. We have limited troops and try to reduce losses as much as possible. We will deal with foreign troubles first, and then eliminate internal troubles when everything is stable.
"
Both cannot be solved at the same time.
Emperor Mingwen had no choice but to issue a decree to make Concubine Shu his queen and give her a grand burial.
"I guess that the Prime Minister's entry into the palace this time is not just a matter of gratitude. I am worried that he will cause some trouble."
Emperor Mingwen raised his eyebrows.
"If King Huai hears any disturbance, he may come back at any time. If that is the case, it will be difficult. The capital's troops are less than 50,000. If we go head-to-head, we can only hurt the enemy by 1,000 and lose 800 by ourselves. It is really not cost-effective.
"
So we have to think of a way to have both sides, and be shameless when necessary.
"You can let people release various signals so that King Huai can't tell whether they are true or false and dare not act rashly."
She has never studied Prince Huai's character, so she can only give it a try now. As long as Prince Huai does not enter the capital and goes further, she will not be afraid of the threat from the Prime Minister.
"Find beggars all over the capital and spread the news along the way. In this way, King Huai will not be able to find the source."
Emperor Mingwen nodded: "I'll do it your way."
As soon as he finished speaking, news came from outside that the Prime Minister and the General of the Guards and Flags had entered the palace together to have an audience. Emperor Mingwen just recovered his mood and said in a deep voice: "Xuan!"
After a while, the two of them entered the government hall together. When the palace minister saw Emperor Mingwen, his eyes were red, and he complained of grievances with tears and runny nose. "Your Majesty, I am old, and my health has been bad recently. I heard that my daughter suddenly
I couldn't bear the blow, and I couldn't recover from the failure, so I haven't been able to thank the emperor for a long time, and I asked the emperor to severely punish the old minister."
As soon as he finished speaking, General Biaoqi also knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, this general is incompetent. He was betrayed by his lieutenant, and he almost lost his life. Thank you for your trust in the general, I am really ashamed to be the general who protects the country."
Please ask the emperor to revoke my title."
The two of them were crying and complaining, looking as aggrieved as possible. Those who didn't know it thought they were really being wronged.
Emperor Mingwen yawned and stood up slowly, helping the two of them to their feet: "I have deep faith in my two dear friends, and I will never listen to slanderous words and wrongfully accuse you."
He said to the Prime Minister: "The imperial concubine has been in the palace for many years. Over the years, she has been considerate to me and managed the harem for me. She died suddenly and suddenly. I am also very heartbroken. Gong Aiqing, the white-haired person sends the black-haired person to express my condolences."
As soon as he said this, the Prime Minister immediately shed tears. The tears were full and crystal clear, and even the circles under his eyes were red. Chu Yunning was stunned by the look in his eyes. He was definitely at the level of a movie king.
"Your Majesty, I have only two daughters in total..." The Prime Minister burst into tears and knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Emperor Mingwen: "It's the two of them who are unlucky and can't always be with the Emperor. I don't blame the Emperor. The whole south end is.
Your Majesty, if you want your ministers to die, they must die."
This style of painting is a little off-base. He said that he is not to blame, but the implication is that Emperor Mingwen forced the palace family to death.
Emperor Mingwen pretended not to hear it, and said: "Before she died, Concubine Shu was still talking about the Prime Minister and his wife. I have invited monks from the national temple overnight to save Concubine Shu. I plan to let the Prime Minister and his wife stay in Yi together."
Kun Palace until the salvation is over."
The Prime Minister of the Palace was shocked and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, my wife is not in good health. I am only worried that my wife will miss her. She really cannot bear this blow. Please show me your kindness."
"My dear, Madam, don't you even want to see the imperial concubine for the last time? This is the imperial concubine's last wish. I have already promised the imperial concubine. How can I, as the emperor, break my promise?"
Emperor Mingwen bent down and put his hands on Prime Minister Gong's shoulders, pulling him up. Prime Minister Gong slowly stood up and met Emperor Mingwen's eyes. Suddenly, he was startled by the dark abyss in his eyes.
"this……"
"Don't worry, my dear, I will enlighten the lady in the palace to express her condolences. Come here, take the prime minister to Yikun Palace. After a while, the lady will come, you don't need to come to the political palace, I will go to visit the lady."
The meaning of these words is to tell the Prime Minister that the person is already on the way and there is no point in refusing.
For some reason, the Prime Minister subconsciously looked at Chu Yunning. He always felt that the woman in front of him was like a monster with a big mouth. No matter what decision you made, she would eat it in one bite without leaving any room.
"Don't worry, Prime Minister, if Madam has a headache or fever, I will arrive as soon as possible and will never delay Madam." Chu Yunning looked at the Prime Minister's inspection and smiled at him.
The Prime Minister of the Palace hummed: "I won't bother Chu Shang Palace anymore."
After saying that, the prime minister left the political hall. As soon as he left, the general of the escort flag panicked inexplicably. He pretended to be calm and looked up at Emperor Mingwen; "Your Majesty, I heard that someone deliberately took refuge in the name of the general.
King Huai, he almost harmed King Huai when he entered the city. Fortunately, General Chu was resourceful and noticed something was wrong in time to stop the damage. I beg the emperor to punish you."
"You did it unintentionally. How can I blame you? The general's injury is getting better?" Emperor Mingwen changed his seriousness and looked at General Biaoqi up and down. He asked Eunuch Mo to go to the warehouse to get a lot of valuable medicine with concern.
Let him take it back.
"Your Majesty, General..." General Biaoqi was stunned. The boxes of tonics were like heavy bombs in his hands, ready to explode at any time.
"General, go back to your home and have a good rest first. When you feel better, I will use General again."
Emperor Mingwen said.
However, General Biaoqi's heart was in a state of confusion, and he immediately said to Emperor Mingwen: "Your Majesty, the general's injuries have almost recovered. I beg the emperor to let the general make atonement for his sins, otherwise the general will feel guilty and uneasy.
"
After hearing what General Biaoqi said, Emperor Mingwen hesitated for a moment and then said: "In that case, I will send you to Lianshan. I sent someone to transport a batch of supplies passing by Lianshan a few days ago and they were robbed by a group of bandits.
, you go and find this group of supplies."
"yes!"
"I will give you five thousand imperial troops from now on, and ask you to go to Lianshan to find supplies."
All the imperial guards gave it to him?
The general of the escort flag was surprised and delighted. He immediately knelt down on one knee and raised his hands to Emperor Mingwen: "The last general will definitely live up to his mission."
"Then General Lao will be here." Emperor Mingwen helped the general to stand up and watched him leave the political hall. As soon as he left, Emperor Mingwen's face suddenly became heavy.
"Your Majesty, Madam Gong didn't cooperate at first and was forced to come to Yikun Palace. The people below reported that Madam Gong almost escaped with the gold and silver, but the two young masters of the Gong family were nowhere to be found. They searched the entire palace.
I found my home too." The guard reported back.
Emperor Mingwen frowned: "Keep looking for any secret passages or something like that."
In all likelihood, these two people are no longer in the capital. Most wealthy families will have secret passages leading outside the capital, which are very secretive.
Madam Gong was just a step too late to escape and was caught.
…
Yikun Palace
Madam Gong was forced to kneel on the futon, kneeling and kowtowing in front of Concubine Shu's coffin. Her wrists were tightly strangled, and blood was oozing out from them. Madam Gong's face was pale in pain, and she gritted her teeth to endure it.
"Prime Minister, how long will the Emperor keep us in detention?" Mrs. Gong was annoyed. She almost entered the secret passage and was caught by the guards.
How irritating!
The Prime Minister knelt on the futon without saying a word. In his ears he could hear the monks chanting sutras and the sound of tapping wooden fish, which only made people irritated. The Prime Minister frowned and said, "It's Qiqi to save time for the Queen."
On the 49th, the emperor plans to trap us in the palace in the name of salvation, which is justifiable and no one can say anything."
"So long?"
The current Madam Palace has long been impatient. Every minute and second longer is torture for her, and it is very likely that she will be secretly executed in the next second.
Madam Gong looked at Prime Minister Gong anxiously: "Prime Minister, can we just sit back and wait for death?"
She now puts all her hopes on the Prime Minister, waiting for him to think of a way to solve all this.
"Wait a little longer." The Prime Minister closed his eyes tightly. He felt very aggrieved. Emperor Mingwen still respected him and would not beat or punish him, and even treated him with courtesy. This actually made things difficult for the Prime Minister. No one was reasonable.
reasons to disobey.
His subordinates had no reason to find fault and redress their grievances. They could only wait and wait for the other party to stabilize the situation little by little, and then turn against them.
The Prime Minister let out a long sigh: "Don't be anxious yet, I have my own sense of proportion."
"Okay." Mrs. Gong became much more honest, with tears on her face, pretending to feel sorry for her eldest daughter.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed and a message came back from Lianshan. General Biaoqi led his troops to dig a gold mine in a rare deep mountain in Lianshan.
General Biaoqi was stunned. He looked at the gold mine in front of him and swallowed his throat. This was a huge fortune.
But when he commanded his men, he discovered that the Imperial Guards had lost control and did not take his words into consideration at all. A deputy general appeared and commanded the Imperial Guards to surround the entire gold mine and report to the court along the way.
"Can't repay..."
"Is the general going to rebel? If such a large gold mine is not reported, it will be a rebellion!" said the deputy general.
Looking at the large number of Imperial Guards, General Biaoqi realized that he had been deceived. This was not trust, it was use.
There are no gangsters at all in Lianshan. Emperor Mingwen must have discovered this gold mine long ago, and he only used his reputation to dig it and then tell the world about it.
These five thousand imperial troops were obedient along the way, but they lost control when they reached the gold mine. This was obviously the order of Emperor Mingwen.
"That's not what I meant. It's just that it's inappropriate to report it rashly before we've investigated clearly. What I meant is to see if there are any other findings around." General Biaoqi explained helplessly.
However, the deputy general did not listen to the other party's words at all. He took care of his own command, divided the work in an orderly manner, and controlled the gold mine in the shortest time. Some weapons even appeared from nowhere, including archers, bows, arrows, and ammunition.
"Immediately notify the nearby officials and send people to dig as soon as possible and register them. Each miner who comes will be given five taels of silver a month."
"yes!"
Soon on the next day, a total of nearly two thousand people were gathered. Where each family lived and who was in the family were clearly written down. Those who were unclear were eliminated directly, just in case someone caused trouble.
"Don't take any chances. Your positions are different every three days. Once you enter the gold mine, don't even think about sneaking it out. Once discovered, you will be imprisoned for ten years together with your family. If you escape midway, your family will be imprisoned."
For thirty years, no one will be allowed to take the imperial examination again. If they work well, everyone will have wages and will never be in arrears."
The deputy general's voice was loud and his face was majestic, which made everyone present feel scared. When everyone thought that he was here to make money, five taels of silver was not a small amount. After one year of service, he would be given one hundred taels. This made many people feel that he was here to make money.
Everyone was very excited.
The escort general on the side could only watch helplessly as these workers received their own work uniforms, with numbers written on them. Each number corresponded to a person's name, approximate appearance and other specific information, making it impossible for others to imitate them.
"If there is a landslide and the person dies, two hundred taels of silver will be paid to his family. Cowards who are afraid of death can go back now."
A group of people were screened, and those left behind were those who were brave and used to hard work. In just one day, a group of workers were digging with tools, while another group of people quickly set up tents and set up a fire food camp.
, methodical, and the speed is staggering.
Work officially started the next day, and the gold that had been collected was continuously sent to the military camps in various places.
The local military and horse camps were headed by Emperor Mingwen's most trusted subordinates. Notices were posted in the city to recruit soldiers and horses. Those selected were trained for a month and each received three taels of silver. Those who failed were advised to return. If they returned from the battlefield, the survivors would be
One hundred taels, two hundred taels for the dead, and additional credits for those who have merit.
As soon as this move came out, it attracted the attention of many people. Everyone signed up enthusiastically, and tens of thousands of people were gathered in just a few days.
Every move of Lianshan was under the eyes of Emperor Mingwen. He looked at a thick stack of personnel rosters in a box and was very excited.
"Thank you for this idea." Emperor Mingwen could no longer use the word "trust" to describe Chu Yunning.
She can use existing resources to create maximum benefits, and use gold mines to create soldiers and horses for herself, solving the source of the shortage of soldiers and horses.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister wants to see you."
Emperor Mingwen raised his hand in a good mood: "Xuan."
The prime minister, who had been hiding the truth, didn't know what was happening outside. He just came over in a hurry with a sad look on his face: "I beg the emperor to let my wife go back to the palace. She looks at the coffin of her beloved daughter every day. She is so sad that she has already
I have fainted many times. If this continues, I am worried that I will not be able to bear it anymore."
Mrs. Gong did faint several times, not because she was overly sad, but just pretending. It was because Prime Minister Gong felt that the time was almost up, so she came to report.
Emperor Mingwen waved his hand: "In that case, let Madam go back to her home to recuperate. I have also honored Shu'er's last wish."
The Prime Minister originally thought that he would have to spend a lot of time, but he didn't expect to agree so quickly, leaving him unable to say the words he had prepared. He choked for a long time, but he felt uneasy about Emperor Wen.
Just at this time, the guard came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the general escorting and flag wants to see you."
"Haha, let people come in." Emperor Mingwen couldn't help laughing and went to the door to greet him personally.
General Biaoqi was escorted back with a sad face. When he saw the Prime Minister, his eyelids twitched even more for some reason.
"My dear, you are finally back. I never thought that you are my lucky star and can discover the gold mine in Lianshan Mountain."
The words "Lianshan Gold Mine" directly impacted the Prime Minister's eardrums, and his head exploded with a buzzing sound.
"What gold mine?"
Emperor Mingwen pretended to be ignorant and said: "You don't know, the prime minister, that the general led his troops to discover a gold mine in the Lianshan area, which directly solved the emptiness of the national treasury. The prime minister said, how should I reward the general who protects the country?"
The Prime Minister of the Palace swayed, and raised his eyes to stare at the general. It was like a cold knife tempered with poison, and he wanted to cut him into pieces.
"Prime Minister, I..." General Biaoqi opened his mouth, but Emperor Mingwen suddenly didn't know how to explain it in front of him.
"Your Majesty, this is a great event, and the general should indeed be well rewarded." The Prime Minister lowered his head and swallowed back the sweetness in his throat.