When Pang Ying came back from the Queen Mother's Palace, the sky was full of sunset, and the red light fell from the sky, casting a layer of bright colors over the entire palace.
Song Zheng didn't quite realize how beautiful the scenery was. The vermilion palace gates and bulging red walls were bathed in the red glow of the sky. They looked like they were stained with blood.
In Song Zheng's eyes, the palace city is a big prison. Not only do the people inside have no freedom, they also rack their brains to plot against each other. The most magnificent place in the world covers the ugliest and dirtiest crimes. He But he didn't expect that the friendship between him and Pang Ying would be bathed in the red light of the palace city, and he didn't expect that the mother-son tenderness that Pang Ying had just gained would already cause him and Song Zheng to appear in certain matters. had different opinions.
Song Zheng saw the smile on Pang Ying's lips and thought that Pang Ying had gained a lot from the discussion with the Queen Mother, but he didn't take it seriously.
"Your Majesty, the health of the Queen Mother is not that important." b Time Travel Novel: b
"It's nothing serious, but I'm just not in good spirits. I think it will be better if I take care of it for a while." Pang Ying sighed softly, and then ordered Qian Mangan to light the sandalwood on the cabinet.
The dense aroma rose, and Pang Ying took a deep breath: "Come, Master Song, sit down, I'll have someone pass the food around, and we can drink and chat."
Pang Ying liked to have dinner with Song Zheng very much. When other ministers came to Xizhai, they were all trembling with fear. Only Song Zheng talked and laughed as usual, just like ordinary friends. Pang Ying cherished this friendship.
The dishes were put on the table, the wine was served, and the cabinets were filled with money. The two of them were filled with wine, and they stood aside solemnly. Song Zheng was not polite. The food in the palace was naturally more exquisite than that in the Song Dynasty. Song Zheng moved his index fingers and couldn't eat it. A little, Pang Ying was young and strong, and his appetite was not bad.
When she was half full, Pang Ying raised her cup: "Come, Master Song, I wish you a safe return with this cup."
The emperor toasted, and Song Zheng naturally followed. After the two had a drink together, Song Zheng began to describe his experience of the mission to Shu, from the initial assassination in Zigui, to the couplets at the head of the river in Fengjie City, and then to Marquis Wu of Chengdu Prefecture. There was a fight in the temple, until the final incident on Mount Qingcheng.
The journey was exciting and exciting, causing Pang Ying to applaud from time to time.
Of course, if I really wanted to talk about it in detail, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to finish it until dawn. Song Zheng had mentioned many places in just a few sentences. Even so, he still talked for a whole hour and drank seven or eight bottles of wine. Pang Ying He was half drunk.
"Okay, Master Song, you went to Shu alone and did such a big thing, which saved the country of Shu for life!" Pang Ying was jumping around, wishing she could not experience those things with Song Zheng.
"If you are a minister, Your Majesty, you should do better than a minister."
Pang Ying pointed at Song Zheng and said with a smile: "You can also use these words to coax me."
Song Zheng laughed loudly: "Your Majesty, the center of operations, has decided to secure Xijing. I don't know how much harder it is than I am. Although I encountered some dangers on this trip, I was able to see the magnificent scenery of Bashu, travel around the mountains and rivers, and play songs every day. It is indeed nothing. What."
"Don't say any more, you are really greedy?" Pang Ying said with a smile, and finally put down the wine glass: "Xiao Guizi, please take the things away and let someone bring some tea. You can also go and eat some food."
After clearing the banquet and driving out the other serving eunuchs, Song Zheng knew that the young emperor wanted to tell him something private.
"Then how did Jiang Kui die?" After drinking two sips of strong tea, Pang Ying's eyes returned to clarity.
"This is exactly what I want to report." When Song Zheng was narrating, he deliberately omitted the section about Jiang Kui. With Pang Ying's intelligence, he knew Song Zheng's unfinished meaning.
"Speaking of which, the most dangerous time for me was not on Qingcheng Mountain, but when I had a secret meeting with Jiang Kui." Song Zheng was still a little scared when he thought of breaking into Longtan alone. If Jiang Kui had desperately wanted to kill him at that time, I'm afraid it's really difficult for me to escape.
After burning the incense, Pang Ying was stunned by what Song Zheng said: "I didn't expect that Jiang Kui had such an origin. No wonder he wanted to be involved in Lang Boyan's rebellion. It seems now that even though he was there at that time, If Jiang Ning is not discovered, he will defect."
"That's right." Song Zheng sighed: "This guy can be regarded as a temporary hero, what a pity! I was born at the wrong time." b Time Travel Novel: b
"It's not that he was born at the wrong time, but he met Master Song." Pang Ying smiled and suddenly asked: "In the past two years, there have always been rumors that Jiang Kui stole the Shuguan information, which led to the death of Han Zhong that year. Defeat, is that so?"
"The information was sent by Jiang Kui, which is true. However, he did not steal the information, but someone gave it to him."
"Who, it can't be the emperor's uncle."
Song Zheng shook his head: "No, he mentioned someone, but..."
"It's just nothing." Pang Ying's face turned cold: "No matter who it is, he actually did such a treasonous thing and caused tens of thousands of our soldiers to be killed or injured. This person should be cut into pieces by a thousand swords."
"If what Jiang Kui said is true, he should be cut into pieces, but I don't know if he is talking nonsense and deliberately trying to trick me."
Pang Ying became a little impatient: "Who is it? Master Song, please don't hesitate."
"If Jiang Kui is talking about the Duke of the country, will your Majesty believe it?"
"What, old Duke, how is this possible?" Pang Ying screamed.
"I also think it's impossible, so I don't believe it at all." Song Zheng said extremely firmly.
"It's such a scourge, and I'm going to bite you again before I die." Pang Ying said angrily.
Song Zheng said hurriedly: "I also reprimanded him in the same way, and I refuted him speechless on the spot."
Pang Ying cursed a few more times and said hesitantly: "Master Song, do you think it was really the old man who did it?"
Song Zheng was amused in his heart, but his face was extremely serious as he said: "The old man has high moral character and high respect, and he would not do such a thing."
Pang Ying looked at Song Zheng's face carefully: "I don't believe it was him, but when it comes to Han Zhong, it's really a bit troublesome now." After recounting what happened in the court today, Pang Ying said : "Master Song, tell me how we can find a reason to vindicate Han Zhong."
"This is not difficult." Song Zheng thought for a moment and then said: "The Holy One can directly say that he received a secret report from the minister, saying that Jiang Kui admitted the affair of passing through Shu before his death, so he wanted to review the Han Zhong case. From now on, it is logical. .”
Pang Ying nodded: "That's very good, Master Song, you are the person I value most, why not let you check it out."
Song Zheng was stunned: "Your Majesty, I am just a doctor in the Ministry of Rites. It seems inappropriate to investigate Han Zhong's case."
"If I let you investigate the case, I will naturally give you a new position. How about Zuo Situtong?"
"Go to Zuosi."
"Yes, Duan Ren has been missing for half a year. Zuo Si is actually controlled by Huan Xing. In my opinion, it is better for him to be an honest supervisor."
Pang Ying has never been too fond of Huan Xing. Last year, Huan Xing went from being the governor of Taiping Prefecture to becoming Zuo Si Jianzheng, which shocked many people. b Time Travel Novel: b
Song Zheng was indeed very interested in Zuo Si Dutong's position. The Han Zhong case was easy to explain. The key was that Shen Huaqing was in Huan Xing's hands. As long as he was caught, the 280,000 taels of silver that Huitong Trading Company was wrongly accused of would be returned. Point to what was recovered from him.
"The Han Zhong case is just a cover. I asked Master Song to go there because I wanted Master Song to keep an eye on things in the army." Pang Ying did not hide his true intention: "In the past six months, the army has changed too much. The control of the Guards Army and the Du Guards Army has been changed, so I'm not too worried."
Song Zheng hesitated for a moment: "The bad habit of empty pay in the army has been around for a long time. If we really want to investigate, I'm afraid no general can escape it."
"Yes, those who go down are detestable, but those who rise up are not necessarily clean." Pang Ying sighed slightly.
Pang Ying took advantage of the free salary incident, not only because of anger, but also to eliminate Prince Pang Hui's influence as soon as possible. However, this change was too drastic, and many things happened that Pang Ying couldn't help himself. Huan Xing took action Pile upon piles of information related to the free wages were submitted, coupled with the instigation of Duke Pang Tong and the Queen Mother, forcing Pang Ying to frequently raise her machete.
The Queen Mother and Pang Tong seemed to be doing Pang Ying's best, helping him control the army as soon as possible, which made it difficult for Pang Ying to say anything. Even Pang Ying believed that Pang Tong and the Queen Mother were trying to stabilize their throne, but such a large-scale Pang Ying always felt uneasy when he deposed generals.
"I would like to take the post of Commander-in-Chief of Zuo Si." The emperor had said this. It would be too pretentious for Song Zheng to pretend any more.
"I knew Master Song would help me." Pang Ying was very happy.
Song Zheng touched his nose and smiled bitterly: "It is the duty of a minister to be loyal to the Holy One, but I am afraid that the Queen Mother will not agree. Her old lady's impression of me is not very good."
"Don't worry about this. I will go and tell my mother about it. As long as the Han Zhong case doesn't involve too much, my mother won't say anything."
"Wei Chen is well aware that the Han Zhong case is aimed at redressing the case. As for the pursuit of accountability, the culprit Jiang Kui has been executed, and there is nothing left to pursue."
"Okay." Pang Ying laughed and said: "When Master Song sends off the envoy to Shu, I will take office immediately. I will handle the Han Zhong case beautifully so that everyone in the world will say this, so that no one will call me a fool." .”
"The Lord's words are serious." While Song Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, he also thought about it in his heart. Today, Wang Zhaogeng proposed to rehabilitate Han Zhong, but Pang Ying calmly refused. Jiangning City must soon be Rumors emerged that the emperor did not want to vindicate Han Zhong, and many versions were derived from this. Pang Ying did not want to stand on the opposite side of public opinion, so he asked Song Zheng to take the lead and preside over the matter. While gaining prestige, he also put Song Zheng Compared to Wang Zhaogeng, Pang Ying is indeed willing to share the credit with those close to her.
After deciding on this matter, Pang Ying felt a little better. Finally, Pang Ying mentioned the market for sale between Qi and Shu: "The queen mother's suggestion is to only set up one in Shu. There is no need to pretend here in Daqi, just like we did with Jin Guo, I talked to her for a long time, but she gave me a lecture."
Song Zheng secretly cursed the old woman who had an affair with the monk, but there was nothing he could do. Although Huang Jiao did not regard the court now, she controlled the political power, making Pang Ying shackled.
After saying this, it was time for the palace gate to be locked.