Just after the hour of Mao, Ji Yuan, who was lying on his side on a straw mat and covered with a smelly, dirty and torn quilt, was awakened by the sound of a door opening.
The sound came from the iron door at the end of the corridor, followed by footsteps.
Soon, more than a dozen night watchmen appeared in the sight of Ji Yuan and the officials of Yunzhou.
"Get up, I'll take you out to bask in the sun."
A Tongluo took out the key and opened the chain wrapped around the fence door.
Ji Yuan was roughly pulled up by a taciturn Tongluo and pushed out of the cell.
This was his third day in the night watchman's dungeon. The dry straw mat and torn quilt saved his life and prevented him from freezing to death in the cold dungeon.
But he had been pampered since childhood, so how could he have suffered such a punishment?
In just two days, his hands and feet were covered with frostbite, his face was blue, his lips were bloodless, and his hair was messy.
In the past two days, he regretted taking over the role of the peace envoy all the time.
Ji Yuan is knowledgeable and eloquent, these are genuine talents, but he is a pampered nobleman who lacks certain social experience and experience in the world. .
Talent does not mean strong ability to withstand pressure.
The experience of the past two days and the fear of the future have put him on the verge of emotional collapse.
The only hope is that he still has value. Xu Qian'an should not kill him, but use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Yunzhou.
It is this hope that supports him to grit his teeth and persevere.
It's good to bask in the sun. If I continue to stay in prison, I will freeze to death sooner or later... Ji Yuan staggered in the dark corridor, and more than 20 Yunzhou officials followed him.
After leaving the dungeon, the air was cold but sober, and the sun hung in the sky without anger, bringing a hint of warmth.
Ji Yuan stopped, raised his head, and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on his face.
The Tongluo behind him kicked him on the buttocks and knocked him to the ground.
Ji Yuan struggled to get up and cast an angry and aggrieved look at the Tongluo.
"What are you looking at? Believe it or not, I'll dig out your eyes."
The Tongluo pressed the handle of the knife with one hand, with no expression on his serious and rigid face, and said:
"Aren't you very arrogant? You need the Minister of Rites, the Prime Minister of the current dynasty, and the prince to go out of the city to welcome you before you are willing to enter the city.
"Didn't you scold the officials in the Golden Palace, suppressing the civil and military officials in the court.
"Didn't you use a little trick to make the people in the capital question Xu Ningyan's reputation.
"You continue to be arrogant. "
Ji Yuan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth to endure.
When the iron hoofs of Yunzhou conquer the capital in the future, he will personally destroy the night watchmen's office, and all the night watchmen who have a relationship with Xu Qian'an will be tortured to death.
At this time, a middle-aged silver gong came over and swept his eyes sternly over the crowd.
The copper gongs straightened their lapels and adjusted the position of the copper gongs on their chests. After confirming that everything was symmetrical and there was no problem, they said respectfully:
"Boss."
The middle-aged silver gong nodded slightly, withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, and did not look at Ji Yuan, whose hair was disheveled and whose prison uniform was dirty and wrinkled.
"Let's go, don't waste time."
Let's go, where to go? Ji Yuan's heart trembled, and he wanted to ask, but he felt that he was destined to get no answer, but would be beaten up instead.
The taciturn copper gong escorted Ji Yuan out and said casually:
"Boss, Ning Yan wants to drink with us tonight. "
The middle-aged silver gong was silent for a moment:
"Golan or Jiaofangsi?"
"Golan, he said he won't go to Jiaofangsi anymore." Tongluo answered.
The middle-aged silver gong was slightly relieved:
"A promise is worth a thousand gold, he always keeps his word."
Li Yuchun knew that after Fuxiang died, Xu Qian'an promised not to go to Jiaofangsi anymore.
Zhu Guangxiao was silent for a moment, and added:
"He said he could invite all the courtesans of Jiaofangsi to the golan."
.....Li Yuchun didn't want to talk anymore.
Walked through the back of the yamen, walked out along the corridor, and then walked through the office halls and courtyards, and finally arrived at the yamen gate.
At the yamen gate, there were prisoner cars parked.
Zhu Guangxiao looked at Ji Yuan and said lightly:
"Go get some sun. "
Ji Yuan's face was stiff, and he stood there in a daze.
......
A new notice was posted on the notice walls of various government offices in the capital, and on the notice walls at the inner and outer city gates in the early morning.
Notices are an important channel for the people of the capital to obtain official information on weekdays.
Ordinary people would not pay special attention to the notice walls in the past, unless something big happened recently.
The biggest thing in the capital right now is peace talks.
"What does the notice say? "
As soon as the notice was posted, the people around rushed over, either discussing or asking the clerk who posted the notice.
An hour before the notice was posted, there would be a clerk responsible for "reading the list" to inform the people of the content.
After all, among the common people in the market, there are still a few who can read and write.
And the reading threshold of this kind of official court notice is very high. Even if people who can read cannot understand the content without a certain education.
In the end, it will become a situation where "every word is known, but I don't know what it means when it is put together."
"It must be the content of the peace talks. The court lost the battle and Qingzhou was lost. I heard that it seems to be ceding land to seek peace."
"It's just a bandit state, but it's so arrogant. Since the new king ascended the throne, the people's lives have been getting worse and worse, and corrupt officials are rampant."
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't talk nonsense."
"What are you afraid of? There are no soldiers around, and everyone is cursing like this. "
As they talked, the topic shifted from "peace talks" to the loss of Qingzhou.
"Didn't Xu Yinluo defend Qingzhou? He was the strong man who wiped out the 200,000-strong army of the Wushen Cult with just one sword at Yuyang Pass."
"I've heard this question countless times. Who knows? It's been a long time since I saw Xu Yinluo in the capital."
"I heard that the Supervisor died in Qingzhou, and Xu Yinluo was no match for the Yunzhou rebels."
"Alas, no wonder Xu Yinluo is so low-key. There's nothing he can do. He can't beat them. "
After venting their emotions for so many days, most people were still angry, but they were no longer angry. They still cursed the court and Yunzhou for the peace talks, but they were powerless.
The opposition sentiment was not so high.
Especially after the fall of Qingzhou and the Yunzhou delegation's entry into Beijing, a series of rumors fermented and spread. The people of Beijing gradually figured out the whole story and learned that the guardian god of Dafeng, Jianzheng, died in Qingzhou.
Although in their eyes, Jianzheng's prestige was far less than Xu Yinluo.
In the eyes of the lower-class people, Jianzheng was just a title, a concept.
At this time, the clerk standing next to the notice said loudly :
"In ancient times, the ruler of the country focused on protecting the lives of all people, and could not bear to let those who feed people harm others......Since I ascended the throne, I have not been able to govern the country well, which led to the uprising of the Yunzhou rebels, the nine states were in turmoil, the overall situation was in danger, the people were in distress, and the lives of all living beings were destroyed. I feel ashamed of my ancestors...
"The eldest princess Huaiqing is virtuous and tolerant, much better than me...The eldest princess Huaiqing will ascend the throne, and Xu Qi'an will assist her, support the country, quell the rebellion, and serve the world. Isn't it noble? I decree this. "
The notice was more than 400 words long. After the clerk finished reading it, the people around were dumbfounded, like statues frozen in place.
"What, what does it mean?"
"It seems that...the emperor abdicated to the eldest princess?" The person who spoke suddenly widened his eyes:
"The eldest princess wants to be the emperor?"
The crowd was in an uproar.
The content of the notice had a strong impact, shock and confusion on the people.
This made them no longer care about the trouble coming from their mouths, and they started a heated discussion.
"How can a woman be an emperor? Isn't this nonsense? Is she embroidering with an official?"
"Does the princess know how to read? Why did His Majesty give up the throne to the princess? A woman is an emperor, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?"
Their first reaction was resistance, anger, and inability to accept it. They just felt that it was the most absurd thing in the world.
Then someone said:
"Have you listened to books in a teahouse? It seems that there was a woman who was an emperor before. What was her name?"
"Empress Dayang?"
"Yes, yes, you have heard of it too."
The noise subsided for a while. Obviously, many people have heard similar content in restaurants, teahouses, brothels and other entertainment places in the past few days.
Then, someone else said:
"The notice said that the eldest princess ascended the throne with the assistance of Xu Yinluo."
Oh, Xu Yinluo assisted her.
The voices of opposition became smaller, but some people still murmured:
"Why did Xu Yinluo assist a woman to become emperor? Isn't this nonsense? Dafeng has been founded for 600 years, but there is no precedent for this."
"Yes, I really don't understand what the official and Xu Yinluo are thinking. On the one hand, they are negotiating peace with Yunzhou, and on the other hand, they are supporting the princess to become emperor."
"Xu Yinluo is confused."
The people who originally regarded Xu Qi'an as a hero and a protector were disappointed with the loss of Qingzhou, and regarded the peace talks as a shame. Although no one publicly accused Xu Qi'an, they were definitely disappointed in their hearts.
As soon as the notice was posted, the disappointment fermented immediately and turned into dissatisfaction.
Suddenly, a noise attracted the attention of the people around the notice wall.
Following the sound, they saw a line of prisoner cars slowly approaching, followed by a large group of people, who kept throwing stones and spitting at the prisoners in the prison cars.
Some people even carried toilets and threw feces at the prisoners in the prison cars.
Among the leading riders, a night watchman sat high on his horse, beating a gong and shouting:
"According to the order of Xu Yinluo, the rebels of Yunzhou will be paraded through the streets."
On both sides of the street, the crowd was excited. Some of the people who heard the news joined in the fun, some pointed and cursed, and some clapped their hands and sang, which was very gratifying.
Ji Yuan's head was covered with blood, and his heart was dead.
The accompanying Yunzhou officials trembled and cried bitterly.
........
At dusk.
In the imperial study, Huaiqing sat behind a large desk covered with yellow silk. In the hall were the two party leaders Liu Hong and Qian Qingshu, as well as the Minister of Rites.
The Minister of Rites bowed and said:
"Your Highness, the preparations for the enthronement have been completed."
Huaiqing, wearing a simple palace skirt, nodded slightly.
After the Minister of Rites returned to his seat, Liu Hong stepped out and bowed:
"Today, the whole city is boiling. The people are still resistant, but not serious. Xu Yinluo's reputation has also improved. Most of the people in the capital still love him."
After Liu Hong finished speaking, he couldn't help laughing:
"With Xu Yinluo's current reputation, it is the most suitable to escort Your Highness. No one in the court is more popular than him."
The aristocracy is actually more likely to accept the princess's enthronement than the people. As long as the benefits are in place and then coerced by force, there will be many people who surrender.
The most important thing is that in the eyes of the ruling class, although Huaiqing is a woman, she is of royal blood after all.
It is an exception for a woman to become emperor. The next new monarch will still be the royal family of Dafeng.
This greatly reduced the resistance of the ruling class.
But the common people don't care about these. To appease the people and convince them, Huaiqing's prestige is not enough, and the prestige of the officials is not enough. Only Xu Qian'an can do it.
Qian Qingshu echoed:
"Whether His Highness can rally the people's hearts depends on tomorrow."
Huaiqing lowered his head, reviewed the memorial in his hand, and said "hmm" without looking up:
"It's getting late, my dear ministers, please leave first."
The three bowed and left the imperial study.
The memorial in Huaiqing's hand was handed over by the cabinet. The content was all matters after ascending the throne. There were a lot of trivial matters, but one of them was extremely important, that is, to summon the governors and commanders of each state to return to Beijing to report on their duties.
This was actually a negotiation and a solicitation to do ideological work for the bigwigs of each state.
......
The next day.
The atmosphere in the capital was extremely strange that day. From the princes and nobles to the common people, everyone knew that this was a day destined to be recorded in history.
Because the eldest princess Huaiqing ascended the throne today, it was a precedent that had not been seen in Dafeng for 600 years.
The emperor ascended the throne, and ordinary people had no chance to see it, but that did not prevent them from paying attention and discussing it.
Different classes had different opinions. The students and Confucian scholars of the Imperial College were deeply saddened by Huaiqing's ascension to the throne. Even if the Yunzhou delegation was paraded through the streets, they could not win their favor.
At most, they would not scold Xu Qian'an.
The opinions of the common people were the most mixed. Some could not accept it, some did not care about it, and some chose to believe Xu Yinluo.
In the Xu Mansion, the aunt also expressed her views on behalf of the noble ladies.
"Master, Ning Yan is making a fuss. How can a woman be an emperor? I dare not go out, for fear of being recognized as Xu Ningyan's aunt. What if someone hits me with rotten eggs?"
The aunt was as beautiful as ever, and the years seemed to be particularly kind to her.
Although she was sitting with her daughter, she no longer looked young, but she did not look old. Her face was tender and white, without any wrinkles.
Uncle Xu lowered his head to eat, not expressing his opinion.
"Big brother knows his limits."
Compared to her mother, Xu Lingyue admired her big brother's feat.
Auntie saw that her topic had fallen into a lull, and sighed:
"Qingzhou has fallen, and Erlang has not been heard from. Lingyin is practicing in the Gu tribe, and I don't know when she will come back. Will she be bullied by the barbarians in southern Xinjiang?
"Xu Ningyan, this conscienceless bad guy, returned to the capital, and didn't even go home to visit his family."
As she was speaking, Auntie's eyes froze, and she stared straight out of the hall.