Nanjing Kaifeng Mansion, staying in the back house of the Yamen.

Wan Yan Changzhi sighed and placed the letter on the table. Wanyan Ruixian saw that his face was wrong, and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?" What did Daddy say in the letter? ”

Wan Yan Changzhi smiled bitterly, pointed to the letter, and said, "It's all in the letter, do you see it yourself?" ”

Wanyan Ruixian picked up the letter and unfolded it to watch. It turned out that this was a letter written by Wanyan Fushou, which wrote all the affairs of the emperor's decision to appoint the crown prince Wanyan Yungong as the superintendent of the country and the consul of the hundred officials, and warned Wanyan Changzhi that no matter what happened in the imperial court, he must try to stay in Nanjing, do not return to Zhongdu, and if he must return to Zhongdu, he must also leave Wanyan Chen monk in Shandong.

Of course, Wanyan Ruixian will not forget the past of that year, and understands that once the crown prince steps on the throne, his family may not have a good result. Therefore, after writing the letter, I naturally know what my husband is worried about. After thinking for a while, he said: "Don't be in a hurry, I think the prince is in charge of the country, it must not be a good thing?" ”

Wan Yan was stunned and said, "Why did Madam say that?" ”

Wanyan Ruixian said: "If the prince is still hiding in the deep palace, I am afraid it will be difficult to find his mistakes, on the contrary, once the prince is in charge of the country, he must go out of the East Palace and personally deal with the government affairs." The prince was originally a mediocre material, and he was ruling for the first time, so it was easy to find the prince's faults. Therefore, if the prince makes any mistakes, my father will never let go. ”

Wan Yan Changzhi smiled bitterly and said: "Madame is not wrong when she says this, it's just that the prince has been forbearance for the past few years, and there must be someone behind him who is pointing out, and if you want to find his mistakes, I'm afraid it's not easy." And the emperor's illness is getting worse and worse, I saw that the emperor can still avoid strong support during the New Year, and now he can't get up with the meridian bed, but I'm afraid that before we find the fault of the prince, the emperor will die soon. Monk Chen and I are both local officials now, and it's better, I'm just worried that my father-in-law is alone in Zhongdu, and after the prince succeeds to the throne, my father-in-law's situation will be dangerous? ”

Wanyan Ruixian also nodded, frowned slightly, thought for a while, and suddenly asked: "I remember that my husband once said that the illness left by the emperor's southern expedition should be almost better, right?" Is there any basis for what my husband said?"

Wanyan Changzhi: "Yes, because at that time, the ancestor had taken the pulse for the emperor, the ancestor learned amazingly, and the magic skills were world-famous, and he was also proficient in medicine, with him to treat the emperor, it should be fully cured, but I don't know why the emperor's illness will recur again......" He was saying, suddenly a flash of inspiration, his face changed slightly, looked at his wife, and said: "It's so difficult that Mrs. thinks ......"

Wanyan Ruixian did not answer, and continued to ask: "My husband saw the emperor at the beginning of the year, although the emperor was seriously ill at that time, he was still able to serve as a director, and it didn't look like he was terminally ill, and the disease was still good and bad, and my father also asked the imperial doctor, and the emperor could still be diagnosed at that time for at least three or four years." But now only more than three months have passed, and the emperor's sick body is actually bedridden? Don't you think it's strange that it's so difficult for your husband? ”

In fact, this inference is not too difficult, but Wanyan Changzhi has never thought about it in this regard, but after listening to his wife's analysis and thinking about it carefully, he also feels that it makes a lot of sense. So who had the audacity to drug the emperor? I couldn't help but ask again: "Then Madame thinks who will do this?"

Wanyan Ruixian was silent for a while before he asked again: "If the emperor dies in the near future, who will benefit the most?" ”

Wan Yan Chang's heart was shocked, in fact, he had already thought in his heart that there may not be many people who want to murder the emperor, there are people who are dissatisfied with Wan Yan Yong, and there are also fine works in the Southern Song Dynasty, but there is only one person who really has the conditions to do it, that is, the prince Wan Yan Yungong. Because Wanyan Changzhi knew that the emperor's medicine was personally supervised by the prince. Now listening to his wife's analysis from the perspective of stakes, the emperor will die in the near future, and the biggest beneficiary will naturally be the crown prince who will succeed to the throne as the new emperor.

Is it really the crown prince?

Wanyan Changzhi stood up abruptly and walked back and forth in the room a few times, feeling both shocked and angry; I felt both frightened and incomprehensible. Since Wan Yan Changzhi came out, Wan Yan Yong has trusted him very much, so Wan Yan Changzhi also respects Wan Yan Yong very much in his heart, and he can't imagine that the prince is so mad in order to usurp the throne, and he will not kill his father and seize power. And Wan Yanyong can almost be regarded as a generation of Mingjun, but he never imagined that he would be murdered by his favorite son.

Wanyan Changzhi stopped and said, "I want to go back to Zhongdu immediately to expose the prince's ......."

Wanyan Ruixian immediately said, "No, you can't go." ”

Wan Yan Changzhi was stunned and said, "Why?"

Wanyan Ruixian said: "The inference just now is just our private speculation, and there is no evidence. And there are so many imperial doctors in the palace, but they haven't found out that the emperor was drugged, so there are only two possibilities, one is that this medicine is very hidden, and even the imperial doctor can't find out; The second is that all the imperial doctors were bribed by the prince, in this case, what evidence do you have to prove against the prince? ”

Wanyan Changzhi was also stunned, and his feverish mind gradually cleared up, knowing that even if he rushed back now, it would be useless, and if he didn't get it, he would be beaten upside down by the prince, or he would be falsely accused of the prince. "So what do you say you should do?" ”

Wanyan Ruixian still remained calm, and said, "First write a letter to Dad about our inferences, and see what Dad will do to verify the evidence." Even if we can't verify the evidence, we must find some clues, and if the crown prince ascends the throne, if he dares to be unfavorable to us, he will be poked out. ”

Wan Yan Changzhi nodded, and said: "You are right, now you can only do this, I will write to my father-in-law......" At this moment, Wan Yan Changzhi suddenly had a flash of inspiration, patted his forehead, and said: "How did I forget, there is still a teacher?" The emperor has always respected his ancestor, and the ancestor is proficient in medicine, has learned amazing people, and has seen the emperor before. If he could be invited to see the emperor, he would definitely be able to find out the cause of the disease. ”

Wanyan Ruixian was also very happy when he heard this, but he was a little worried, and said, "If the ancestor is willing to come forward, it will naturally be good." It's just that for so many years, the ancestor has not asked about the world, and only showed up once during the southern expedition, will the ancestor come forward this time? ”

In fact, Wan Yan Changzhi didn't have a bottom in his heart, but now he could only give it a try, and said: "This matter is related to the fortune of Dajin Guoyun, and I think the ancestor will never sit idly by." In this way, we will first write to my father-in-law and ask him to think of a way in the court first, and then I will personally go to Huining Mansion to see my ancestor and explain the benefits and disadvantages to him in person, and I must ask his old man to come forward. ”

Wanyan Ruixian nodded and said, "That's fine, I hope this time the ancestor can come forward." ”

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In such a festive and peaceful atmosphere, the entire Jiankang celebrated for three consecutive days.

But except for a limited number of people, no one thought that behind this festive and peaceful atmosphere, there was once a huge conspiracy to subvert Zhao Chen's control. Although this conspiracy has not yet had time to be carried out, it has disappeared without a trace, but it does not mean that the plotters have given up here, on the contrary, they are planning a new conspiracy that is larger, more sudden, and more elaborate, and perhaps in the near future, it will be carried out.

Whether it is Zhao Chen, Yang Yan, or Zhao Qianru, they are not gods, they can only judge and calculate what will happen in the future based on the signs of reality and what happened in the scriptures, and although Zhao Wanru is an insider, it is impossible to expose the matter due to the family relationship with Zhao Hong, and she also believes that Zhao Hong and Zong Tianxuan will never succeed, but she doesn't know that there is another Shi Miyuan around Zhao Hong and Zong Tianxuan.

Therefore, at this time, the entire Great Song Dynasty was almost unaware of this conspiracy lurking in the shadows, and the entire court was in a joyful atmosphere of congratulating the emperor on his birthday.

Zhao Chen's ascension to the throne entered the fourth year, not only repelled the southern invasion of the Jin army and survived the initial difficult situation, but also withstood the pressure, implemented reforms, and implemented new laws, so that the entire image of the imperial court was renewed, and the Great Song Dynasty, which had been deeply suppressed, regained new vitality. And at the end of last year, the Western Xia was defeated, and he had to pay tribute not to the Great Song Dynasty in order to negotiate peace.

Due to this great victory over Western Xia, some countries around the southwest of the Great Song Dynasty, such as Tubo, Jiaozhi, Bagan and other countries were shocked by the military might of the Great Song Dynasty, and took advantage of Zhao Chen's birthday to send envoys to Jiankang with generous gifts, and met Zhao Chen with the gift of vassals. At the same time, the overseas Liuqiu, Dongying, and the countries south of Goryeo also sent envoys to the Great Song Dynasty, and if the Jin Kingdom and the Western Xia were added, this time there were 22 countries to the Great Song Dynasty at the same time, which was a grand occasion that had not been seen in the Great Song Dynasty for many years.

It can be said that although Zhao Chen has been on the throne for less than four years, his achievements have surpassed the first three emperors after the Song Dynasty's Nandu, and even compared with Zhenzong and Renzong, who had a good reputation before Nandu, they did not let it go.

But Zhao Chen is obviously not satisfied with his current achievements, only the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, recovering the lost land, and creating the prosperous era of the Great Song Dynasty is his ultimate goal. Of course, he also believes that with the efforts of himself and his ministers, this goal will definitely be achieved.

And after Zhao Chen's birthday, Zhao Wanru, who had just been canonized as the eldest princess of Yue and was named Yongjing, also agreed to marry Yue Ke. However, although Zhao Wanru agreed to the marriage, she also put forward a condition, that is, Zhao Hong, the king of Deng who is now being raised by Zhao Wanru, has not yet **, so she hopes to wait for Zhao Hong to reach the age of sixteen and be able to take charge of the government independently, and then marry Yue Ke. And after getting married, she will continue to raise Zhao Mi until she grows up and gets married.

This request is also reasonable, and now it is less than a year before Zhao Hong turns sixteen, Yue Ke and Zhao Wanru are still young, and they can afford to wait for this year. Therefore, the two sides exchanged tokens first, which can be regarded as a finalization of this family business. It's over, but a wish of Zhao Chen, Yue Ying and others.

After the marriage was engaged, Zhao Wanru also said goodbye to Zhao Chen, and took Zhao Hong and Zhao Mi back to Lin'an Mansion. Another matter has also begun to enter the stage of discussion. That was the matter of the Great Song Dynasty and the Mongol Alliance.

Two Mongolian envoys: Zha Ba'er Huo and Huo Er Chi lived in Jiankang for more than ten days, although they had no worries about food and clothing, but they always had something to worry about, so they were also very anxious, but they also knew that the emperor's birthday was a major event, so they could only wait patiently. Now that the emperor's birthday is over, he has also come to Yang Yan to ask how the alliance with Mongolia is going?

In fact, Zhao Chen has never forgotten the affairs of Mongolia. In the past few days, I have been carefully reading the Mongolian materials submitted by Yang Yan in the palace, so I also have a general understanding of the situation in Mongolia. At the same time, he had a secret conversation with Yang Yan twice, and then summoned Han Yanzhi, Zhao Ruyu, and Wang Yan, the three ruling ministers, to discuss together.

Everyone thinks that there is a feasible hope for an alliance with Mongolia, but after all, for the specific situation of Mongolia, it is best to send people to follow the Mongolian envoys to the steppe to have a look, meet the Mongolian khan Tie Shuzhen, and have an intuitive understanding of Mongolia, to understand how much strength Mongolia has, how much alliance with Mongolia has, how much benefit it has for the Great Song Dynasty, and so on. So the question then comes back to who to send to Mongolia. Yang Yan still asked to go to Mongolia by himself.

Zhao Chen and the other three ministers also felt that Yang Yan was indeed the most suitable candidate. Because the envoy to Mongolia this time must not only be bold and careful, but also have the power to decide the conditions of the alliance with Mongolia on behalf of Zhao Chen, and only Yang Yan can do it.

Now the entire Yangtze River defense line of the Great Song Dynasty has been arranged, and the commanders of the six imperial garrisons are Shi Jun, the imperial garrison of Xiangyang Mansion on Jinghu North Road, Li Quan, the imperial garrison of De'an Prefecture, Liu Fuwu under the control of Liu Fuwu in the Gwangju Imperial Front Garrison on Zhunnan West Road, Zhang Shiyan under the command of the Haozhou Imperial Front Garrison, Guo Zhen under the command of the Xuyi Army on the Huainan East Road, and Li Gongzuo under the command of the Chuzhou Imperial Front Garrison, and concurrently in charge of the Jianghuai Naval Army. In addition, Bi Zai met the head of the imperial soldiers and horses on Jinghu North Road, who was responsible for the entire Jinghu defense line, and Cao Xun and Gao Zhen were also in Jiankang, so it can be said that the current defense line of the Great Song Dynasty is impregnable.

At the same time, the news that Wanyan Yong was seriously ill also reached Jiankang, and in this case, it was difficult for the Jin State to start a war, so Yang Yan's envoy to Mongolia was also a good opportunity.

But everyone also knows in their hearts that it is difficult to say that the future of this mission to Mongolia will be auspicious and bad. Maybe it's smooth sailing, maybe it's full of danger, so it's a little reassuring to let Yang Yan go. But firstly, Yang Yan insisted on going, and secondly, there was indeed no other candidate, so it could only be preliminarily determined to let Yang Yan go.

After the confirmation, Zhao Chen immediately secretly summoned two Mongolian envoys and inquired in detail about various matters between Mongolia and Temujin. Zha Ba'er Huoren Huo'er Chi didn't hide or exaggerate at all, and answered all of Zhao Chen's questions truthfully. Zhao Chen saw that what the two of them said, which was basically the same as the information provided by Yang Yan, and he was also a lot more relieved. So when the palace was indeed made, Yang Yan was the envoy, and the two went to Mongolia with the two.

After hearing this, the two were also very happy, and also suggested to Zhao Chen, because the Great Song Dynasty and Mongolia did not border, and the grassland was not peaceful, it was best to discuss in the name of the caravan, through Western Xia, to reach the grassland.

Although the Great Song Dynasty decided to take Yang Yan as an envoy to Mongolia, the preparations for the mission to Mongolia still need a certain amount of time, and it is not possible to complete it in a short time. Therefore, the Zha Ba Er Huo and Huo Er Chi consulted, and decided that Tian Zha Ba Er Huo Shi would return to Mongolia first, and tell Temujin the news so that he could prepare for the reception. Huo'er Chi stayed in Jiankang and set off with Yang Yan's brigade.