Chapter 380: Chapter 380 Curse!
Chapter 380: Chapter 380 Curse!
Sun Shangshu's old face showed a kind of decadent and gray. He looked deeply at Wang Shoufu and said sadly: "Chuzhou City is gone..."
Boom!
A thunderbolt hit Wang Shoufu's head.
The Dali Temple added with great sorrow: "Zhenbei Wang is dead..."
Boom!
Two thunderbolts hit Wang Shoufu's head, shocking him.
Another fourth-rank official said indignantly: "Zhenbei Wang massacred the city..."
Boom boom boom!
Wang Shoufu felt that his forehead was hit by thunderbolts, and his mind gradually became blank. He had no thoughts and even lost the ability to control his expression.
In the eyes of Sun Shangshu and others, Wang Shoufu sat behind the table, his eyes were sluggish, his expression was dull, like a lifeless paper man.
Chuzhou City is gone?
Zhenbei Wang is dead?
Chuzhou City was massacred by Zhenbei Wang?
Why am I the last one to know such important news?
After a long time, Wang Shoufu's brain recovered from the downtime and regained the ability to think. One by one, doubts automatically emerged in his mind.
Wang Shoufu, who had been in the political arena for many years, took a deep breath, his eyes were painful and sharp, "Tell me in detail, Lord Sun, start with you."
Sun Shangshu nodded, but did not speak, but looked outside the study and shouted: "Captain Chen!"
Captain Chen stepped over the threshold and entered the study.
Sun Shangshu sighed and said: "Let the parties speak."
Dali Temple heard this and shook his head and laughed: "You and I think the same thing."
He immediately left the study and asked the servants of the Wang Mansion to call in the Dali Temple Secretary who was waiting outside the mansion.
When the Dali Temple Secretary entered the study, Captain Chen saw that Wang Shoufu was staring at him, nodded slightly, and immediately clasped his fists towards all the officials and said:
"Sir, Sir, all the lords, we were not safe on the way north. When we were in Jiangzhou, we were ambushed by three fourth-rank masters of the barbarians. At that time, there was only one fourth-rank master in the delegation, Yang Jinluo."
Wang Shoufu was stunned and looked at him: "How did you escape the ambush?"
Captain Chen replied:
"In fact, the delegation was almost destroyed on the official ship. At that time, Xu Yinluo suddenly called us together to discuss and said that we should take the land route instead. He claimed that if we didn't take the land route, we would be ambushed when we passed the Flowing Stone Beach tomorrow. After a dispute, we chose to listen to Xu Yinluo's opinion and take the land route. The next day, Yang Jinluo took a boat alone to explore and was ambushed. The ambusher was Tang Shanjun of the Jiao tribe of the northern demon tribe."
Wang Shoufu nodded slightly: "This person is thoughtful and as sharp as a cunning rabbit. When he was chosen as the chief officer, most of the officials in the court actually recognized his ability."
"Unfortunately, we still couldn't avoid being ambushed, and we were finally found by them. At that time, three fourth-rank officials surrounded the delegation, and Yang Jinluo couldn't hold on alone." Captain Chen said this, showing gratitude:
"At the critical moment, it was Xu Yinluo who stepped forward and blocked two fourth-rank officials with his own strength, giving us a chance to escape. It was after that time that we parted with Xu Yinluo, and we didn't meet again until the destruction of Chuzhou City..."
Wang Shoufu raised his hand, interrupted him, and asked: "What was the reason for the barbarians to ambush the delegation? Where did Xu Qian'an go?"
Captain Chen frowned and said uncertainly: "It seems to be for the princess. As for Xu Yinluo, he left the delegation, went north alone, and acted separately from us."
"It seems?" Wang Shoufu narrowed his eyes, with a slightly questioning tone
"This is Xu Yinluo's inference, not mine." Constable Chen clasped his fists and emphasized.
Wang Shoufu nodded slowly, the doubts in his eyes dissipated, and he seriously thought about the reason why the barbarians robbed the princess.
Seeing this, Constable Chen continued: "Then we arrived in Chuzhou City. Because of Que Yongxiu's obstruction, we got nothing for many days. Until that day......."
In Constable Chen's narration, Wang Shoufu learned about the shocking battle that took place in Chuzhou City that day.
In a long silence, Wang Shoufu said: "Where was Xu Yinluo during this process?"
When he asked this question, his eyes were looking at the Dali Temple Secretary.
The Dali Temple Secretary understood and bowed:
"Xu Yinluo sneaked into the northern border alone, cooperated with Tianzong Saint Li Miaozhen, and found the only survivor, Zheng Buzhengshi. When the battle broke out in the city, he should have just separated from Zheng Buzhengshi not long ago."
Wang Shoufu said "hmm" and looked at Chen Buzhengtou: "What does Xu Yinluo speculate about the identity of the mysterious master?"
The Prime Minister attaches great importance to Xu Qian'an's speculation. When I mentioned the princess just now, he stopped questioning it as soon as I said it was Xu Yinluo's speculation...... Chen Buzhengtou replied:
"When mentioning the mysterious master, Xu Yinluo said something with a sneer." Including Wang Shoufu, the officials present immediately looked at Chen Buzhengtou. Taking a deep breath, Captain Chen whispered, "Xu Yinluo said: All the officials in the court are demons and monsters."
This sentence was undoubtedly disrespectful to the adults present, so Captain Chen lowered his head, not daring to speak again, nor to look at the expressions of the Prime Minister and
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Xu Qian'an meant that he suspected that the mysterious master was a person in the court, or was related to a certain person in the court...... Minister Sun was startled and a little creepy. He had been an eunuch for many years, and he thought he had a clear view of the court situation and the people in the court.
But Minister Sun just went through it in his mind, who could "drive" such a top master? He didn't find a candidate.
Xu Qi'an's words just now meant that he was quite sure, but he was only sure that the mysterious master was involved with someone in the court. He couldn't confirm who it was... Wang Shoufu's eyes flashed, and he suddenly thought of Xu Erlang. Si Mu had a good impression of him, and perhaps he could test Xu Qi'an through Xu Erlang.
"Could it be Wei Yuan?" Dali Temple Minister whispered.
Wang Shoufu and Sun Shangshu's faces changed slightly, while other officials, Chen Butou,
Dali Temple Secretary and others showed confusion.
Wei Yuan was just an ordinary person, and I don't know why Dali Temple Minister said this.
"This is obviously impossible." Dali Temple Minister then shook his head.
What he meant was that Wei Yuan had never left the capital, and he had attended a small court meeting in the imperial study a few days ago. And with the court officials and His Majesty's familiarity with Wei Yuan, there was no possibility of someone else disguising himself as a
substitute.
Some people can imitate Wei Yuan's face, and some people can imitate Wei Yuan's appearance, but they can't imitate Wei Yuan's taste.
"Why didn't the cabinet receive the documents from the delegation?" Wang Shoufu looked at
the Dali Temple Secretary.
The latter bowed and said, "The delegation believes that this matter should not be sent
urgently. This will give your majesty time to think about how to exonerate the King of
Zhenbei."
The delegation has met with your majesty, but I still haven't received any news, which means that your majesty has issued a gag order...... Wang Shoufu sneered and said:
"In this way, your majesty will not be helpless?"
He laughed at the not-so-clever countermeasures of the delegation and sighed, "In this case, the identity of the mysterious master does not need to be considered for the time being. What we should consider is what purpose we want to achieve through this matter. And how to deal
with this matter."
A sixth-rank official said in a deep voice: "The King of Zhenbei massacred 380,000 people in Chuzhou City. If this matter is not handled well, we will be recorded in history and be infamous for thousands of years."
Another official added: "Forcing your majesty to convict the King of Zhenbei is not only
worthy of the sage books we have read, but also can make a name for ourselves, killing two
birds with one stone."
The last official said expressionlessly: "This official is not for anything else, just for the sake
of my heart."
These officials must have been brought to me by Zheng Xinghuai through running around... Wang Shoufu exhaled and said:
"Go and find out and verify the news quickly. When the duty time is up, go and unite with the others to go to the palace to see the emperor."
Just after lunch, under the leadership of Wang Shoufu, the officials gathered and went
straight to the north gate of the imperial study, but were stopped by the Yulin Guards.
It seemed that they had expected this to happen long ago. Checkpoints were set up in advance
at the entrance of the palace, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. The officials were
stopped outside without any surprise.
"Get out, we want to see the emperor."
"The King of Zhenbei is so cruel and despicable that he deserves to die, but his affairs after
death have not been decided yet. We want to seek justice for the 380,000 people in Chuzhou
City."
An official shouted loudly, righteously, as if he was the embodiment of justice.
"As a prince, he slaughtered the people, and his death is not a pity. The King of Huai should be demoted to a commoner, and his body should be exposed in the wilderness to give an explanation to the world."
The crowd was excited, and the beasts in official robes of various colors began to rush to the
checkpoint.
"How dare you!"
The captain of the Imperial Guards stared at the ministers and shouted, "If you dare to enter
the palace, you will be killed without mercy!"
"Bah!"
The gray-haired Zheng Buzheng spit a mouthful of thick phlegm at him. Not only was he not
afraid, but he was furious: "I will stand here today. If you have the guts, you can chop me with
a knife."
The captain of the Imperial Guards avoided the spit and his scalp was numb.
He really didn't dare to draw a knife to chop people. Although trespassing into the palace was
a capital crime, rules were rules and reality was reality. There were also examples of ministers breaking into the palace when they were angry in the past.
The right thing to do is to stop them at all costs. It is better to be beaten than to really draw a
knife against these old Confucian scholars, otherwise the end will be miserable.
Who are these people in front of me?
The prime minister, the six ministers, the assistant ministers, the nobles of the Hanlin
Academy, the six departments of the Censor-in-Chief... these are the people who are
described. Fortunately, the soldiers were strong and healthy, and it was no problem for them to stop these old guys. They were spit on, kicked, and slapped, but they just didn't retreat. However, what was a headache was that the more the Yulin Guards refused to give in, the more violent the civil officials became. At first, it was still a dozen bigwigs in the court who
were making trouble, and gradually, other small officials in the imperial city government also joined in the fun.
There was a commotion at the city gate, and the two sides were deadlocked.
At this time, an elegant carriage stopped on the street in the distance, and the door curtain
was lifted, and a handsome young man with red lips and white teeth came out.
"Erlang..."
A woman's gentle voice came from the carriage. Wang Simu leaned out her beautiful face and whispered, "Although this move will offend His Majesty, it is a good opportunity for you to truly become famous. Besides, the adults gathered at the palace gate are also thinking the
same thing.
"Just speak freely. If you can make the court and the people praise you and make my father
change his view of you, why don't you worry about not being able to rise to prominence in the
future?" After being deliberately spread by many parties, everyone in the imperial city government knew about the massacre of the King of Zhenbei.
After hearing this, Wang Simu gave advice to Xu Erlang and suggested that he also get
involved.
Whether your father should look at me or not is none of my business... Xu Erlang muttered in
his heart and said seriously, "I came here not to become famous, but for my inner belief and for the people."
Wang Simu smiled and was about to speak when he suddenly heard Xu Erlang stuttering, "Big, big brother?!"
Miss Wang was startled, opened the curtain a little, and followed Xu Erlang's gaze. Not far
away, Xu Qi'an, wearing a silver gong uniform, walked slowly.
"Brother, why are you here?" Xu Erlang was shocked.
"Why are you here?" Xu Qi'an asked back, turned his head, and glanced at Wang Simu.
The latter reluctantly gave a polite smile and quickly lowered the curtain.
Xu Qi'an took off his sword, slapped Xu Erlang on the butt, and said angrily: "Xu Cijiu, you are
amazing. Brother is still alone and worried about not being able to marry a wife, but you are so good that you hooked up with the young lady of the Wang family." "Brother, what nonsense are you talking about," Xu Erlang said with a little irritation and
embarrassment, blushing:
"Miss Wang and I are friends through poetry, talking about the past and the present, and we are gentlemen."
Is this how a gentleman's friendship works? It's the friendship between Guan Yu and Bao
Bao... Xu Qi'an complained in his heart, "Let's talk about her when we get home, why are you
here?"
Hearing this, Xu Erlang's face became serious: "I just heard that the delegation returned to Beijing and brought back the body of the King of Zhenbei, and that he was promoted to the
second rank and massacred the city for his own selfish desires. Big brother, tell me, is it true?" Xu Qi'an restrained his careless attitude and nodded silently.
Xu Erlang felt a pain in his heart, staggered back two steps, and his eyes were instantly red.
He didn't believe it at first, but the scene in front of him, the abuse from the civil servants, and the words of his big brother, all told him that everything was a bloody fact. Xu Qi'an patted his little brother on the shoulder and looked at the ministers: "Look at what
the person in the palace means, it seems that he doesn't want to convict the King of Zhenbei.
The civil servants are good at writing, but their mouths are not good enough." "Wait for me, big brother. I'll be back soon."
Three hundred and eighty thousand lives, slaughtering his own people. Throughout history,
there are very few people who are so cruel and brutal. If I can't speak my mind today, I, Xu
Xinnian, will have read the books of sages for nineteen years in vain...
Finally, when he came to the outside of the crowd, Xu Xinnian's energy sank into his dantian,
his face was slightly ferocious, and he shouted angrily: "Get out of the way!"
The noise suddenly disappeared, and the scene became quiet.
The civil officials frowned and turned around. It turned out to be Xu Cijiu, a scholar from the
Hanlin Academy.
Many people unconsciously recalled the scene when Xu Cijiu was sharp-tongued and angered
the Buddhist master Jingchen.
The crowd silently made way.
Wang Shoufu slightly tilted his head and looked at Xu Xinnian expressionlessly. Although his expression was cold, he did not move his eyes away, as if he had expectations of him.
Xu Xinnian ignored the eyes around him, took a deep breath, and said loudly: "I heard that the
King of Huai, for his own selfishness, massacred the city and exterminated the race. His mother was really unhappy, so I came here..."
Time passed by, the sun gradually moved westward, and at the palace gate, only Xu Erlang's
voice was left.
This scolding lasted for two hours.
And he cursed very well. He cursed in classical Chinese and recited the manifesto on the spot;
he cursed by quoting classic sentences and could recite them backwards; he cursed in a
roundabout way, in vernacular, and in a weird way.
His rich vocabulary was astonishing. But he avoided the sensitive point of the royal family
very well and left no room for criticism.
More and more civil officials gathered, from old ministers to new nobles, looking at Xu Erlang
with respect.
Eye-opening!
If the court had a subject to test cursing, they would like to call Xu Xinnian the top scholar.
Even Wang Shoufu, who had experienced decades of verbal criticism in the court, had the idea of "taking this boy under his command, and there will be no rivals in the court." The Yulin Guards lowered their heads one by one after being scolded, their faces full of
decadence, and they prayed in their hearts that this guy would leave as soon as possible. "Lord Xu, moisten the tea..."
A civil servant served him tea. In the past two hours, Xu Xinnian had moistened his throat
several times.
The civil servants willingly served him tea and water, just asking him to continue. If Lord Xu
left because of thirst, it would be a huge loss for them.
Xu Xinnian took a sip, handed the teacup back, and was about to continue speaking, "Shut up, don't curse anymore, don't curse anymore......"
At this time, the old eunuch rushed out with a group of eunuchs in a rage.
"You, you, you... You are simply presumptuous. Dafeng has been established for 600 years.
How can you be so arrogant? You blocked the palace gate and cursed for two hours?" The old
eunuch jumped in anger.
Xu Xinnian said lightly: "Don't talk to me, eunuch. I hate nonsense the most. " The sharp-minded civil servants could hardly hold back their laughter. The corners of Wang
Shoufu's mouth twitched, as if he didn't want to see Xu Xinnian continue to offend the companions around Emperor Yuan Jing. He immediately stepped out and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, are you willing to see us?"
The old eunuch nodded and said, "Your Majesty said that only the Prime Minister will be seen.
The rest of you should leave immediately and not gather at the palace gate." The civil servants were quite excited and showed joy on their faces. For a moment, there was more recognition and appreciation in their eyes when they looked at Xu Xinnian than before.