Chapter 293: Being the right person

There have been frequent incidents in Yingtian, the capital.

After Ji Gang became powerful, the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei, he showed a standard villain's face and began to eliminate dissidents in the court and cultivate his party members. Zhu Yunwen was a little dissatisfied with the whine of some ministers. In addition, Xiao Fan was not there, and Ji Gang was once Zhu Yunwen's life-saving benefactor, so Zhu Yunwen always turned a blind eye to Ji Gang's actions. His idea was actually very simple. Maybe Ji Gang could teach the ministers a lesson. The Ming Dynasty's surname was Zhu, so he didn't need those pedantic and sour scholars to point fingers at him.

However, Zhu Yunwen, who lives in the deep palace, didn't know that he wanted to teach his ministers a lesson, but Ji Gang almost forced them into a desperate situation.

From Ji Gang's rise to power to the present, half a year has passed, and ministers have been arrested, exiled, and even killed by Ji Gang for various reasons. Ji Gang got the veins of Zhu Yunwen. Now it was the time when the imperial army quelled the rebellion of the vassal kings. Zhu Yunwen was very sensitive to the word "father king". Therefore, as long as Ji Gang casually carries a charge of "secret communication with the vassal kings", Zhu Yunwen will usually be furious. This charge hurts his fragile nerves, dismissal, exiled, or killed. Zhu Yunwen is not ruthless and has no doubt that Ji Gang has concealed him to exclude dissidents.

The ministers in the capital lived in dire straits and were in panic all day long.

But last night, a loud bang from Ji Gang's mansion alarmed the whole city. Many ministers hurriedly climbed to their attic and saw the rising mushroom cloud above Ji's mansion, dazzling, beautiful, sweet and sad...

Who did it? It’s so fucking to relieve your hatred!

The ministers who were well-read about poetry and books all swear, which was very satisfying.

The ministers raised their sleeves, wiped their tears of happiness, and watched the firelight and riots in the Ji Mansion excitedly, which looked like watching fireworks on New Year's Eve, with a festive look on their faces.

Other ministers gloated and celebrated each other, Ru Wei, the Minister of War, also stood in his attic, watching the riots in the Ji Mansion from afar. No one knew who did it, but Ru Wei knew clearly because the letter he asked Xiao Fan for help was originally sent by him to Zhending Mansion.

This old official who had been struggling and rolling in the court for more than 20 years was bursting into tears at this moment. Mr. Xiao was really righteous! Less than a month after sending the letter of help, he responded immediately, and it was the most direct and shocking response. It was really a blessing for everyone to have such a loyal leader. Ru Wei deeply felt that he had not followed the wrong person and that Xiao Fan was worthy of his life.

On the night of the explosion in Ji Gang's mansion, all the civil and military officials in the capital had insomnia. They were happy and nervous. There were two questions in their hearts: Who did this? More importantly, was that bastard Ji Gang killed?

These two questions were finally revealed during the morning court the next day.

The court was like a river and lake, and news could not be hidden at all. The ministers gathered outside Chengtian Gate to wait for court during the period when they were waiting for the court. They whispered to each other, and all the answers came to the surface.

Xiao Fan!

It turned out to be him! Thinking of the explosion of Ji Mansion, Qi Tai, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was released from the Jinyiwei Zhaozhuo, and all the ministers finally understood that this was Xiao Fan's warning to Ji Gang! Mr. Xiao was unhappy when he dared to reach out to the traitor in the court.

When they learned this result, the ministers were secretly happy. The kind ministers secretly praised Mr. Xiao for his righteousness. With this warning, Ji Gang's bastard would be calm for at least a while and let the ministers take a breath. The unkind ministers also said to themselves: The evil people really need evil people to be beaten. What is this called? Use poison to fight poison.

In the morning court, Zhu Yunwen also asked about the explosion last night. This time, even the censors who usually claim to be justice and wisdom did not say anything, and they acquiesced to the terrorist attacks Xiao had in the capital.

Zhu Yunwen summoned Ji Gang and asked. Ji Gang, who was usually domineering, seemed particularly depressed today. His expression was a little scared. He knelt in the golden palace and stuttered for a while. Finally, he explained slowly that I always liked Qihuang alchemy. When I had nothing to do, I wanted to refine a few furnaces of immortality pills at home and presented them to His Majesty's steps. Unexpectedly, the fire was not controlled well and half of the house was blown up...

After this far-fetched explanation, many ministers in the court immediately burst into laughter, all of whom said that Ji Gang is today, and there is finally someone in the civil and military affairs of the court who can cure you.

Xiao Fan, thousands of miles away, stretched out his hand from a distance and slapped Ji Gang hard, which was crisp and loud, and it hurts so much.

Zhu Di and Xiao Fan are preparing for negotiations.

The negotiation location is located in Xingtang County, which is affiliated to Dingzhou, and is just between Zhending and Baoding Prefectures. The terrain here is open and has four plains, which is beneficial to both parties to the negotiation.

The theme of the negotiations is of course about Zhu Di's surrender.

But it is obvious that no one took this matter seriously. Zhu Di secretly had a ulterior motive, and Xiao Fan was not much better. The two of them were half a dozen.

At the end of September, the Southern Army and Yan Army urgently dispatched troops. The Yan Army left Baoding to the south, and the Southern Army left Zhending to the north, and the two armies slowly moved closer to Xingtang County.

The vanguard of the Southern Army, Ping'an, led 50,000 troops to camp fifty miles south of Xingtang, and Qiu Fu, the vanguard of the Yan Army, led 30,000 troops to camp fifty miles north of Xingtang. The two armies were a hundred miles away and confronted each other. It was originally a negotiation about surrender, but it had a sense of tension before it even started.

Two days later, a banquet was set up in the third halls of Xingtang County.

——Hongmen Banquet.

Unlike the Hongmen Banquet during the Chu-Han period, both parties in the negotiation regarded themselves as Xiang Yu.

At noon, the county magistrate, county magistrate, yamen runners and others were driven out of the yamen and were not allowed to enter the gate. Hundreds of people from both sides controlled the yamen separately. The entire yamen was completely closed and even a mouse was not allowed to stay inside.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, two groups of people and horses rushed over from Xingtang County, one south and one north, and the sound of horse hooves rumbled like thunder and passed through the simple streets of the county town and drove directly to the county government.

Two groups of people stopped in front of the yamen at the same time. Xiao Fan threw the stirrups off the horse. Today he was wearing a formal scarlet official uniform with a kilin patch on his chest. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang advocated the restoration of the Central Plains etiquette. The color of the official uniforms corresponded to the ranks of the ranks. There were strict regulations. The civil servants and military generals of the first rank to ninth ranks all had their own suffixes. The court's Zhonggong, Hou, Bo and other lords must all have suffixes. For example, Xiao Fan, he is the first-class Chengyi Marquis, and the marquis' official uniforms are embroidered with kilin patches. However, he also has the honorary title of "Ronglu Dafu". Ronglu Dafu is an empty title and belongs to the first rank civil servants. Therefore, in fact, Xiao Fan also has a set of official uniforms for the first rank of the crane patches.

After dismounting the horse, Xiao Fan threw the whip back casually. Cao Yi reached out to catch it steadily. Xiao Fan looked at Zhu Di in plain clothes and immediately smiled.

"The prince is in a good mood today, his face is rosy and vigorous, and his skin is smooth as greasy. The subordinates are envious..."

Cao Yi almost spitted out when he heard this. Looking around the world, he would probably only be Xiao Fan, who dared to eat an old tofu with a prince with a hundred thousand soldiers in his hand.

Zhu Di obviously didn't have that good temper. Seeing Xiao Fan's smile and slouching look, Zhu Di felt that this smiling face was particularly annoying and wished he could slash him alive. If this treacherous and shameless guy had stood in front, the Yan army would have probably already entered the capital.

With a heavy hum, Zhu Dili ignored Xiao Fan. He took the lead and lifted the hem of his clothes and stepped into Xingtang County Government with an unkind look. Daoyan, who was following Zhu Di, glared at Xiao Fan with no intention and followed Zhu Di into the government government.

Xiao Fan curled his lips and said dissatisfiedly to Cao Yi: "Look, what is his attitude? Is this what he wants to surrender? Those who don't know think I surrender to him..."

Cao Yi comforted: "I feel unhappy when I lose the battle. If he is ignorant, please give in more..."

After Xiao Fan and Cao Yi walked into the yamen, the gate was immediately closed. According to the agreement between the two parties, no soldiers and guards were allowed during negotiations, only one entourage was allowed.

Zhu Di and Daoyan had already entered the three halls first. Xiao Fan and Cao Yi walked behind. Cao Yi whispered: "At midnight last night, I had ordered people to arrange a hundred swords and axe players and ambush them outside the three halls. Just wait for you to throw the cup as a trumpet, and they would rush in, capture Zhu Di alive, and kill Daoyan."

Xiao Fan nodded, suddenly sniffed, frowned and said, "Brother Cao, have you smelled it?"

“What do you smell?”

"murderous look."

Cao Yi was puzzled: "No, right? Why didn't I notice it?"

Xiao Fan thought about it, then said angrily: "Could Zhu Di also ambushed the sword and axe master? He wouldn't be so despicable, right?"

Cao Yi was stunned for a moment and said, "Why can't he be so despicable?"

"I really hate dealing with such people. My character is too questionable!" Xiao Fan said angrily.

"Are you talking about yourself or Zhu Di?"

"Zhu Di!"

A banquet was set up in the three halls. Zhu Di and Xiao Fan sat down at the table, one south and one north. Daoyan and Cao Yi did not take their seats and stood behind the two.

Xiao Fan picked up the wine glass, stood up and said to Zhu Di, "Prince, I will give you a cup first."

Zhu Di said lightly, "Why do you respect me?"

"The prince's glass of wine toast the king. In the 19th year of the vassal of Beiping, he defended the country's gates and conquered Mongolia several times, led a hundred battles to the border troops to resist the strong enemy outside Shanhaiguan, so that the Ming Dynasty would not lose every minute of the territory. The king's contributions were in the country and the country."

Zhu Di raised his eyebrows, was silent for a moment, and laughed: "I will take the initiative to take this glass of wine!"

After saying that, Zhu Di brought the cup and drank it all in one go.

Xiao Fan smiled quietly, picked up the glass again, and said, "Prince, I will still toast you with this second glass of wine."

"Why respect again?"

"The prince Xiaguan Jing has 100,000 troops, and is surrounded by tigers and occupies the world. He is worthy of being a hero in the world. What is even more rare is that under the rule of the prince, the people of the Beiping Prefecture lived in peace and desolate life. The prince advocated agriculture and sericulture, promoted water conservancy, built roads and bridges, and spread benevolence and virtue. He was very good at the prince's contribution to the people of Beiping."

Zhu Di laughed boldly: "Everyone in the world said that I, Zhu Di, is a traitor, but my biggest enemy understands that I am not useless. Is it possible that only you, Xiao Fan, deserve to be my confidant in this chaotic world? It is difficult to be a confidant in life, and what is even more difficult is that such a loyal confidant is a powerful enemy of each other. The arrangement of creation is really wonderful. Haha, I will not let this glass of wine!"

Zhu Di's heroic tone was filled with sadness, and Xiao Fan couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Everyone said that Zhu Di was ambition and just wanted to usurp the throne and become the emperor. But did Zhu Di really just want to be the emperor? Apart from usurping the throne and becoming the emperor, is there no other reason? We have a rich country and strong army and creating a prosperous era. Who can guarantee that his ambition and greed does not contain such passionate ideals?

It is also a trend, but unfortunately, his identity is wrong. These ideals should not be fulfilled by him. He has surpassed the rules. Good is good, and evil is evil. Ideals cannot be an excuse for usurping the throne and rebelling. Ugly is covered with the cloak of righteousness, and its essence is still ugly.

Xiao Fan held the cup again, but his eyes staring at Zhu Di changed a little.

"I can't respect you for the third glass of wine."

“Why?”

Xiao Fan stared at him and said word by word: "This glass of wine, toast to Zhangde, Runan and Qinzhou's innocent people who died under the sword of the Yan army. The prince captured the three cities and slaughtered the city and looted the city. The people died and injured countless people. Thousands of miles of fertile land, and the souls of the wrongs were not dispersed. Who will compensate for the murder committed by the prince?"

Zhu Di's expression changed when he heard this and finally he endured it again.

After Xiao Fan said that, he slowly poured the wine in the glass on the ground.

Zhu Di picked up the cup, stared at Xiao Fan, and sighed before he could speak.

The young man in front of him was only in his early twenties. At such an age, he was studying poetry and books at home and seeking fame. Who would have expected that this young man was not only at the prestigious position in the court when he was young, but also repeatedly fought with him, a powerful prince with heavy troops, and blocked his moves countless times. If his ambition was like a raging flame, he Xiao Fan was just a basin of cold water. No matter how vigorous the flame was burning, if a basin of cold water was poured down, everything would be stopped.

He lost, but Zhu Di was very unwilling to accept it.

Some people are born with loyal friends, while others are born with irreconcilable enemies. Zhu Di and Xiao Fan belong to the latter.

What a pity, if this young man had been in his camp back then, why would the world have to worry? What Zhu Yunwen can give you, can't I, Zhu Di? Why do you have to follow the cowardly grandson who can't do anything?

"Xiao Fan, what did Zhu Yunwen give you? I made you so devoted to him?" Zhu Di was puzzled by this question.

Xiao Fan smiled, he understood what Zhu Di meant.

"You can't afford it because you lack it yourself."

Zhu Di said unwillingly: "Although I am governing a corner of Beiping, I can find all the treasures, golden beauties, silk and satin as long as there are those in the world."

Xiao Fan smiled sarcastically: "Prince, do you have feelings?"

"What kind of feelings?"

"Family, friendship, love, these things are invisible and intangible, but they are actually filled around us. Prince, do you have these feelings? Have you ever given others such feelings? Power, gold, silver, and beauty are just passing by. In a flash, only these feelings in the world are eternal and unchanging, like mellow wine, the more fragrant it becomes. Prince, the life with emotions is alive, and what the emperor gives me is eternal and unchanging feelings. Prince, you can't afford it."

"Family, friendship, love..." Zhu Di murmured to himself, then widened his eyes in surprise: "Is it love given to you by the emperor?"

Xiao Fan was covered in black lines: "...friendship."

…………

…………

Zhu Di picked up the glass and greeted Xiao Fan: "Xiao Fan, I will toast you with this glass of wine..."

As he said that, Zhu Di looked proud and said, "Apart from you, no one deserves my respect today, you are the exception."
To be continued...