The fourth day of the second month of the ninth year of the Xuanli calendar.
We will set off tomorrow, and the list of people going to Wu Dynasty to attend the literary meeting has been finalized.
There were eighty students in the academy, and Fu Xiaoguan filled in one of them himself: Dong Xiuhuai, the son of Dong Shulan's second uncle, and the remaining nineteen places were given to his colleagues in the Secretariat.
This greatly increased Fu Xiaoguan's favorability among his colleagues.
Yan Beixi said that he was ridiculous. Shang Yu was just having fun. He also stuffed in a grandson named Shang Liang. He failed to be admitted to the Jixia Academy last year and studied at the Jinghua Academy in Shangjing.
The Ministry of Rites has made all necessary preparations. Tomorrow at 1 a.m., everyone will gather at the Honglu Temple and set off at 7 a.m.
Fu Xiaoguan has already heard the instructions from His Majesty and the Empress. He does not need to go to court today and is at home now.
He was a little anxious.
A few days ago, Qin Chengye said that the trial production of the red cannon was successful, and asked Xishan Express to send one to the capital. If it didn't arrive today, he would have no chance to bombard Prince Hui's mansion.
After waiting for so long, he didn't see the red cannon, but instead waited for someone that Fu Xiaoguan never expected -
The fourth prince Yu Wenshu!
Yu Wenshu was wearing a plain robe, and behind him was a woman in green carrying a knife.
Led by the doorman, he walked in leisurely.
The two looked at each other in the backyard for a few breaths, and then Fu Xiaoguan took him to Li Chenxuan.
"Originally, I planned to meet you after the Nanshan Hunt on February 2nd, if you were still alive. Unexpectedly, the incident at the Imperial Tomb caused the Nanshan Hunt to be cancelled, and you're leaving tomorrow, so I chose this time."
Fu Xiaoguan brewed some tea, looked up and smiled, "I've heard of the Fourth Prince for a long time, and I've longed to see him. A few days ago, I only caught a glimpse of him in the Empress Dowager's palace, and it left me with a loss of appetite and sleepless nights. I truly didn't expect the Fourth Prince to come in person; this meeting was very different from what I imagined."
Yu Wenshu raised the corner of his mouth slightly and asked, "So, what kind of scene do you envision for the meeting?"
Fu Xiaoguan lowered his head, touched his nose, and poured a cup of tea for Yu Wenshu. "There are two possibilities. Either it's under the moon and flowers, or... I'm afraid it's in the cold wind and rain."
"How can I enjoy the beauty of flowers and the moon?"
Fu Xiaoguan poured himself another cup of tea. This time, he lowered his head and thought for a moment before slowly speaking, "You're not going to believe me, Fourth Prince, but I truly don't have any grand ambitions. I've told many people this, but they don't seem to believe me. I hope you can believe me. I just want to be a comfortable small landlord, chatting with the farmers about farming, or perhaps traveling around this vast country with my wife and children. That's all."
The Fourth Prince's straight brows knitted slightly, "But you came to Shangjing."
Fu Xiaoguan shook his head and sighed, "It's not my wish, but the situation forced me to do so. Too many people want me dead, and want the Fu family to be wiped out..." He raised his head, stared at the Fourth Prince, and said, "Even ants are greedy for life. I dare to ask, Fourth Prince, if someone wanted you dead, would you also struggle?"
He leaned back and smiled again, "So I'm just trying to survive. But there are always people who think I'll be a stumbling block to them and ruin their plans. They always want to get rid of me. I can only struggle and resist, and that's how we ended up in this situation."
"If you return now, I will ensure you a lifetime of wealth and prosperity."
Fu Xiaoguan looked at Yu Wenshu again, and their eyes met again. After a long moment, Fu Xiaoguan laughed heartily, "Fourth Prince, please have some tea."
Yu Wenshu's eyes flashed, he naturally understood the meaning of Fu Xiaoguan's smile.
"Yu Wentian has already gone east. He will never return to Shangjing. The fifth son has practiced martial arts since he was young. He has no intention of competing for the throne. Father only has three sons. I don't need to do anything now. I will become the future emperor. Don't you believe me?"
Fu Xiaoguan didn't answer him, but instead asked, "What kind of role does Nun Bu Nian play in your Yuhuatai?"
"A spy, she only serves as a relay for intelligence, not the core."
"How did she get into Yuhuatai?"
"What's the point of you asking?"
Fu Xiaoguan slowly lowered his eyes, wondering if Yu Wenshu didn't know the true identity of Master Bunian?
"I'm just curious. If the Fourth Prince doesn't want to talk about it, then it's fine."
What Yu Wenshu was thinking in his heart was, could it be that Fu Xiaoguan also knew the true identity of Master Bunian?
Yu Wenshu did not respond to this question, but said: "I ordered your kidnapping last year. You can make any request you want, and as long as I can do it, I will definitely agree to it."
Fu Xiaoguan looked at Yu Wenshu again. This guy was very straightforward.
But he smiled and said, "You are the Fourth Prince. There is no need for you to take the blame for others. That was a small matter. It has long been in the past. Let's not talk about it again."
Yu Wenshu's heart sank. From his understanding of Fu Xiaoguan, he knew that this kid was vindictive. He said it so simply, but who knew how much thunder and lightning he was hiding behind the scenes.
I extended so many olive branches, but he didn't accept any of them. It seems that this trip was a failure.
He took a sip of tea, sighed, and stood up.
"The journey to Wuchao is long, and there are many bandits in the Qishan area. You must take care of yourself."
Fu Xiaoguan also stood up and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Fourth Prince. His Majesty has sent a Black Armor Knight to accompany him, so I hope he is safe."
"That's great!"
He walked towards the door, his face as cold as ice.
The woman in green behind him glanced at Fu Xiaoguan sideways, the knife on her back ready to move.
But he didn't move.
Because the three disciples of the Taoist temple are in this mansion right now.
Fu Xiaoguan smiled and escorted the Fourth Prince to the front hall, but he did not expect that someone from Xishan Express would arrive.
A dark cannon was placed in the front hall, next to a box of ammunition.
Fu Xiaoguan was overjoyed. He walked over and touched the cold cannon. Suddenly, he said to the Fourth Prince, "Your Highness, if you have some free time, would you like to go with me to see a play?"
Yu Wenshu stopped, turned around, looked at the thing, then looked at Fu Xiaoguan, "What play?"
"Bombard the Prince's Palace!"
Yu Wenshu frowned, then smiled and pointed at the thing: "Is this a cannon?"
"Yes, this is the cannon!"
There are cannons in this world, but due to the limitations of fire and powder, cannons have not been developed and are still in their most primitive state - inaccurate, with poor range, difficult to move, and dependent on the weather.
Therefore, this thing is also not applicable on the battlefield. At present, only a few doors are installed on some city walls, and they need to be maintained every day, which is not liked by the soldiers in the army. This makes the Ministry of Industry's Firearms Bureau have no motivation to improve this thing.
However, Fu Xiaoguan carefully told Qin Chengye the importance of this thing and also proposed directions for improvement.
If this gun can meet the original design standards, it will surely be epoch-making.
Fu Xiaoguan ordered his men to cover the cannon with a red cloth, have it pulled by a horse, and led a group of people towards March Alley.
Yu Wenshu invited Fu Xiaoguan to ride in the same carriage with him. Inside the carriage, he looked at Fu Xiaoguan leisurely and said with a smile, "You are truly audacious."
"So I can only ask Your Highness to go with me."
"Since we're leaving tomorrow, Prince Hui will have already arrived in Lingnan by the time you return. We'll never have the chance to see each other again in this lifetime. Why do you have to do this?"
Fu Xiaoguan lifted the car curtain and looked outside.
"This is Changjie. The sun that day was not as warm as today. I am very grateful that I can still bask in the sun today, otherwise I would have been lying in the cold ground that day."
He lowered the curtain, looked at Yu Wenshu, and said seriously, "If you do something wrong, you must pay the price. I have always adhered to one principle: if others do not offend me... I will not offend others!"
Yu Wenshu was silent for a long time, then smiled, "So I still think it's better to be under the moonlight."
"I thought so too. I wanted to turn my heart to the bright moon, but it only shines on the ditch. Your Highness, can you tell me what secrets are hidden under that dilapidated temple in Confucius Temple?"
The smile on Yu Wenshu's face gradually faded, and the murderous intent of the woman in green beside him suddenly surged.
Fu Xiaoguan looked at the woman in green, completely ignoring her murderous eyes. "Nan Batian, who was that young man you sent away from Prince Hui's mansion that day?"
“clang…”
Nan Batian unsheathed his long sword, but Yu Wenshu lightly tapped it, forcing the sword back into the sheath and also dispelling Nan Batian's murderous intent.
"You think you know a lot, but in fact, what you know is just the tip of the iceberg. It seems that you and I can't be together under the moon and flowers..." Yu Wenshu took a deep breath and sighed deeply, "Then there will only be cold wind and rain!"
Fu Xiaoguan laughed heartily and patted his knees, "Your Highness, this is very interesting."
Nan Batian frowned, thinking that this guy... is boring!
The carriage arrived at the gate of Prince Hui's Mansion. Fu Xiaoguan ordered people to place the cannon on the street and point the muzzle at Prince Hui's Mansion.
He excitedly adjusted and calibrated it himself, and then had someone load the shells.
"Your Highness, do you know why I bombed his prince's mansion?"
Yu Wenshu just glanced at him and thought, isn't this nonsense?
"Revenge for that Chang Street incident is actually secondary. After all, I won the battle and drove Prince Hui out of Shangjing..." He carefully aimed the crosshairs, adjusted the height of the muzzle, and raised his hand with a thumbs-up. He added, "You probably don't know what I said to one of his men that day..."
He took out a tinderbox, lit the cannon's fuse, and said his last words: "I'm going to blow this prince's palace to smithereens!"
Then he covered his ears. Before the Fourth Prince understood what was happening, he saw the fuse sparking and quickly burning out.
Immediately afterwards, there was a deafening "BOOM...!"
A puff of black smoke came out of the muzzle and a shell flew out.
After a while,
Another loud "boom!" was heard, and the prince's mansion was suddenly engulfed in flames, followed by screams, cries, and wails.
Fu Xiaoguan ignored his noise and asked someone to load another shell, refill the gunpowder and fire it again.
"I told you I'm going to blow this prince's mansion to smithereens!"
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