Looking at the mountains and rivers

Chapter 11

The peace talks between Dazhao and Yanyu finally came to an end, and the vast land west of Anyang—the former Qi Fan Kingdom, and later the Northwest Protectorate—all belonged to Yanyu.Yan Yu's army retreated, and King Mu's chariot hurried back to Jian'an, six thousand miles away, accompanied by his eldest son Yang Dai.Outsiders only know that his injury is serious, but no one can tell how serious it is.

There were even rumors in the market that King Mu died on the way, and the eldest son kept his funeral secret because he was afraid that the princes in the capital would inherit the throne before him. After all, King Mu had never established a son.

In the second year of Yong'an, on the [-]th day of the seventh month, a team of chariots and horses entered from Ding'an Gate on the west side of Jian'an City. The chariots and chariots were all red sandalwood, covered with red gold leaf, and the roof of the chariot was the mark of Prince Mu's Mansion.

The news of Mu Wang Yang Ye's return to the mansion quickly spread throughout Jian'an City. At that time, there was a lot of traffic outside the gate of the Wang Mansion, and there was an endless stream of people who came to visit. Leading these distinguished guests to the side hall to serve tea, he refused to talk about King Mu's condition.

This was prevaricated for a few days, until the Ghost Festival passed, a bright yellow chariot parked in front of the main gate of Prince Mu's mansion. Now, apart from the emperor, only the elders of the royal family—Yong Wang Yang Sui can enjoy this chariot.On this trip, besides King Yong, he was also accompanied by his censor Xie Gui. The palace had already received the news, and Yang Dai came out to greet him personally, and helped King Yong, who was over sixty years old, out of the car.

"I heard that Eldest Uncle has been in poor health for the past few days. If there is anything that needs to be done, he can just send someone to give instructions. Why did he come in person?" Yang Dai treated the Elder very respectfully, and helped him all the way to the main hall.

Yang Sui coughed a few times: "My old bone is used to many illnesses and disasters all year round, but Lao Qi has always been healthy, why did he get hurt like this when he went to the border?" His eyes were half-opened and half-closed. After asking, he opened most of his mouth, looking straight at Yang Dai's face.

Xie Xie also whispered beside him: "Both inside and outside the court are very concerned about His Royal Highness Mu Wang's injury. This humble job is also following the emperor's order. I want to ask the eldest son for advice. I don't know how the prince's injury is?"

Yang Dai straightened up and took a look at them. One of them was a highly respected old prince, and the other was an important member of the court. They came here this time, but it was obviously not an ordinary visit, but rather a questioning of their own teacher. coming.

He lowered his eyes and sighed softly: "Uncle, Sir Xie, since the two of you are so worried about your father's injury, why don't you follow me to the inner room to see your father?"

What he said was exactly what the two of them wanted, Yang Sui stood up without even saying any polite words, and motioned for Yang Dai to lead the way.

The guards inside and outside Yang Ye's residence were not ordinary domestic servants, but the soldiers of Zuo Xiaowei. When these soldiers saw Yang Dai, they knelt down to pay respects together, but Yang Dai only waved his hand, motioning them to step aside. .

"Father, His Royal Highness Prince Yong and Master Xie are ordered by Zhongshu to come and visit you." Yang Dai knocked on the door lightly and said loudly into the room.

There was no response from the room, and Yang Dai didn't care, he pushed open the door and walked in slowly.The inner room of King Mu was lit with soothing incense, and it was quiet everywhere. The maids who served in the room withdrew early, and the room seemed extraordinarily empty.

Yang Dai stepped forward and carefully lifted the silk-woven bed curtain, first bowed his head to the bed and said hello: "Father." Then he turned to King Yong and nodded slightly to him.

Xie Ao was only an outsider, so he didn't dare to rush forward, and stopped a few steps away.Yang Sui walked forward with a stick without any hesitation, lifted the bed curtain and looked, obviously surprised: "Lao Qi, you..."

Yang Ye, who was lying on the sickbed, didn't lose much weight, but his spirit looked very poor. His sharp eyes were now dull, and Yang Sui was almost not sure if he saw him.

"Is it Big Brother?" Yang Ye said in a low voice, his chest was heaving, and it was very difficult to speak.

Seeing that he recognized him, Yang Sui breathed a sigh of relief, he responded, and sat down leaning against the edge of the bed.Yang Dai rolled up the curtain at the side, then lowered his hands, still very respectful: "Uncle and father are talking, nephew is waiting outside."

Seeing him so obedient, Yang Sui was a little surprised, he nodded, and said to the following: "Master Xie, go and wait outside, I will come out after a few words with Lao Qi."

Xie Xie immediately responded, and followed Yang Dai's footsteps and walked out.

When he was outside, Yang Dai suddenly turned his head and said to Xie Ao: "Master Xie's visit this time is not only following the emperor's order, but also the intentions of the four great families of Zhao, Li, Kuang and Lu?"

Xie Ao was startled for a moment, raised his eyes to meet Yang Dai's narrow and sharp eyes, and quickly smiled: "His Royal Highness Mu Wang is the humerus of the country, who would have expected such an accident, and the adults of several aristocratic families are naturally very concerned about this matter. Take care."

Yang Dai also gave a low laugh: "Why, in the eyes of the family members, am I, Yang Dai, a sinister person who wants to kill his father and king?"

Xie Yao changed color slightly, and forced a smile again: "Young Master, this joke is a little too much."

Yang Dai shook his head: "I know the worries in the hearts of the adults. It is indeed my idea to conceal my father's injury. That day my father fell from the carriage, and he couldn't even stand up the next day. There was also something wrong with his eyes, and he couldn't see sometimes. Something." He said in a low voice, "If father's injury had been announced to the world early, what do Lord Xie think the situation of Dazhao would be like now?"

Xie Xie was startled, of course he could guess what the consequences would be. There is no need to elaborate on the struggles among the various factions in the court. If King Mu was not around, the emperor would not be able to suppress it at all.The two provinces under the superior Zhongshu sect have a bunch of political enemies to deal with, let alone take care of the affairs of other factions.Furthermore, if Yan Yu knew that King Mu was seriously injured, he might not easily withdraw his troops from outside Anyang, and might even take advantage of the situation to start a war.

"Young Master is far-sighted." Xie Ao made a deep bow to him, and said, "I don't know if the prince's injury has shown signs of improvement these days?"

Yang Dai's expression was somewhat gloomy, and he slowly shook his head: "I'm afraid I will have to take care of him for a while longer." He looked at Xie Yao and said helplessly, "Master Xie must also understand that now I am more worried about my father than anyone else. something happened."

When leaving Prince Mu's mansion, King Yong returned with Xie Ao in the same chariot. Xie Ao secretly watched the expression of the old prince, and saw that his gray eyebrows were tightly frowned, and he looked thoughtful.

"Lao Qi is not good," Yang Sui sighed in a low voice, "Emperor Ruizong fell off his horse while hunting, and it was the same situation. I'm worried that he won't be able to survive."

Xie Xie laughed and said: "King Mu is still in his prime, so he may not be able to survive." He thought for a while, and then said, "Before, the adults were worried that Mr. Dai had plots, but now it seems that this is not the case?"

Yang Sui sneered: "I said earlier that the older the old people, the less knowledgeable they are. Although Lao Qi has no son, everyone can see that the only one who can inherit the throne is his eldest son. As long as he is not a fool, he will not Thinking of doing something against his father, from a righteous eldest son to a sinner who killed his father."

Xie Xie hurriedly claimed yes, and said again: "I don't know if His Royal Highness Mu Wang has mentioned the matter of establishing a son?"

"He got bored after a few words, so he didn't mention it," Yang Sui shook his head and sighed, "Actually, I don't know what Lao Qi is thinking, and I have been unable to see through this younger brother since a long time ago. "

"Speaking of which, Mr. Tai is also thoughtful and a little elusive."

"He does look a bit like Lao Qi when he was young. I heard that although they came back this time in a hurry, they brought another Donghu army to Jian'an to be incorporated into Zuo Xiaowei."

Xie Xie was slightly startled, and said in a low voice: "Young Master Dai is here to cultivate his own strength. Presumably, he has already secured the position of the hereditary King Mu." It’s still hard to stop Donghu’s power, if you know that King Mu’s successor is the eldest son of Donghu’s lineage, the ministers will definitely be very disappointed.”

Yang Sui smiled again, he was already old, and he was not very interested in the power struggles of these juniors, so he just said leisurely: "I know they want to make the third son of Prince Mu's mansion a prince, but the Lu family has The power is weak, I'm afraid I can't protect this grandson. Besides, if that Yang Jue is a few years older and calmer, he can still compete with his elder brother. If he wants to fight hard now, he is afraid that he will hit the stone with an egg."

"The old prince has a clear understanding of the situation in Prince Mu's mansion, and he really admires his humble position." Xie Ao straightened his clothes and bowed to King Yong.

Yang Sui laughed a few times, and asked: "Lord Xie is also a well-behaved person. I remember that you became an official during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong. With your knowledge and family status, why should you be promoted to the Minister of Zhongshu? Why are you still a censor?" job?"

Xie Xie smiled wryly: "During Xiaozong's reign, he lost his dignity in front of the imperial court and was demoted out of Beijing. He only returned to Jian'an in recent years."

It is not a glorious thing to make a mistake and be demoted, and it is inconvenient for King Yong to ask more questions, so he just laughed it off.

In the evening, Wei Changxuan finished his saber practice as usual and returned to the other courtyard. Unexpectedly, he bumped into a young Confucian scholar in long gown outside the courtyard. There are very few guests in common clothes in this mansion, and this person looks very unfamiliar. Wei Changxuan said with some vigilance, "You are?"

The young man looked at Wei Changxuan for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your Excellency must be Mr. Wei."

Wei Changxuan was taken aback: "My surname is Wei, I'm not a son, just a servant of the palace."

"Master Yan doesn't treat you as a servant." The young man shook his head and smiled.

Hearing him mention Yang Yan, Wei Changxuan finally came to his senses: "Are you... that Mr. Han?"

"Under Han Ping." After the young man finished speaking, he looked into his hand, "In your hand, is this a saber?"

Wei Changxuan was a little surprised: "Sir, you also know knives?"

Han Ping nodded: "I've seen such a knife when I passed by the border." He stretched out his hand and gently touched the handle of the knife in Wei Changxuan's hand, "Learning such a knife doesn't seem like it's for walking around the market. , Do you want to go into battle to kill the enemy?"

Wei Changxuan looked at him in surprise, only to feel that the young man's gaze was as calm as water, but there seemed to be an ability to read people's hearts in it. He clenched his knife tightly and answered vaguely.

"If you're going to the battlefield, it's not enough to just practice your sword," Han Ping smiled softly. "It's just a man's courage to fight alone. In real battle, you need to know the word 'scheming'."

Seeing Wei Changxuan's puzzled expression, he laughed again and said, "If you are interested in marching troops, you can go to the library of the palace to read some military books to relieve your boredom."

When Wei Changxuan heard that he wanted to read, he couldn't help showing a bit of embarrassment on his face: "If I don't understand the art of war, can you come and ask sir?"

Han Ping shook his head lightly: "I will leave Jian'an from tomorrow, so I can't come to my house." He looked up at the increasingly dark night, and said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter if you can read or understand military books." It's important, when you really go into battle one day, you will understand for yourself."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Wei Changxuan asked again: "Sir, if you leave like this, won't you teach the third and young masters to read in the future?"

Han Ping shook his head again: "There are rising waves in this palace, where is there a place to study." After he finished speaking, he smiled slightly and left.

"Yexi, I saw that Mr. Han when I came back just now," Wei Changxuan said while wiping his knife, "He really looks like a learned man, but why did he just leave like that?"

Yang Yan was lying on the table with a book in his hand. He didn't open it, but stroked the cover, and gave an absent-minded "hmm".

Wei Changxuan noticed that he was uneasy, so he sat down beside him after wiping the knife, and said in a low voice, "What's wrong with you, are you worried about your father?"

Yang Yan raised his face slightly, with a dazed look on his face: "I heard the news from my servant that my father's spirit is getting worse and worse, and I can't even speak." He touched the corner of the book with his fingers back and forth. , "I want to see my father."

"But isn't the eldest son not allowing others to go to the prince's inner room?" Wei Changxuan sighed, "I heard that the third son was blocked several times when he went there, and he almost broke in."

But Wei Changxuan also knew that most of Yang Jue desperately wanted to see King Mu because he wanted to ask about his son.But Yang Yan was different, it was just a lonely child's nostalgia for his father.He gently stroked Yang Yan's head: "Don't worry, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a while, and the eldest son will always ask you to kowtow to the prince on such a day."

Yang Yan probably felt that what he said made sense, so he nodded slightly.

"By the way, if... if something happens to the lord, what will you do in the future?" This was Wei Changxuan's worry for many days, and it was only at this moment that he plucked up the courage to ask.

This question obviously pierced Yang Yan's heart, his expression was a little trembling, he bit his lip and said: "Probably, he is going to my fief."

Only then did Wei Changxuan realize that Yang Yan was a son with a fief, he was stunned and asked, "Where is your fief?"

Yang Yan shook his head: "I don't know, my father only left the fief for the second brother before, and the others haven't mentioned it yet."

Wei Changxuan didn't ask any more, just patted Yang Yan's head: "No matter where it is, anyway, I'll go with you." He had a vague feeling in his heart that their lives would be easier after leaving this palace.