Chapter 28: See You at Taibai
Everyone in the court was in an uproar because the emperor was going out on a border patrol, but Xu Yun's side was as calm as ever.
It’s not that Xu Yun doesn’t care about these things at all, but he vaguely felt that something was wrong in this matter.
The news of the Oirat invasion was not recent, and it was even less likely that it had only recently reached the emperor's ears. However, such a big move happened just after the emperor ordered Princess Shunde to return to Beijing.
Xu Yun couldn't help but wonder if Princess Shunde had left someone in the capital to deliberately exaggerate the news of the Oirat harassing the border, luring the emperor to take the bait and go to the border, leaving the capital empty. Otherwise, the princess's inappropriate question would not have appeared so openly in front of everyone.
Xu Yun knew very well that Princess Shunde did have the intention to serve the country and the people, but she was definitely not a fool who only knew how to rush around, so this question was most likely written on purpose.
But after thinking about it, Xu Yun still didn't understand something.
What's the point of doing this? The emperor is leading a large army to patrol the border. It's not like he's throwing meat buns at a dog. Can he just go and never come back?
Despite this guess, Xu Yun could understand from the actions of the people in the court that Wang Zhen was the most active executor of the emperor's border patrol.
In other words, letting the emperor patrol the border was part of Wang Zhen's plan, probably to establish the emperor's and his own authority, but Princess Shunde's memorial did indeed promote this event.
Unfortunately, this matter was of almost no use except delaying the meeting between Princess Shunde and the Emperor.
But Xu Yun knew that Princess Shunde never did business at a loss.
After thinking it over and over again without any result, Xu Yun decided to observe the celestial phenomena at night and make a divination.
In order to advance his career, he learned a wide variety of things, including fortune-telling.
But the result was unexpectedly bad.
Mars entering the Southern Dipper foreshadows disaster for the emperor.
The Zizhi Tongjian once wrote: "Before, Yinghuo entered the Southern Dipper, left and returned, and stayed for sixty days. The emperor followed the proverb: 'When Yinghuo enters the Southern Dipper, the emperor will leave the palace and flee.' So he left the palace barefoot to ward off the evil spirit. When he heard that the Wei lord had fled, he was ashamed and said, 'Can the barbarians also respond to celestial phenomena?'"
Although this astronomical phenomenon did not occur on Emperor Wu of Liang, it foreshadowed the division of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which shows the power of "Mars entering the Southern Dipper".
Xu Yun was a little unsure, so he went to find Peng Deqing, the director of the Imperial Observatory, and the two agreed to meet in a teahouse.
Although Peng Deqing was Wang Zhen's man, the two had a good relationship thanks to Xu Yun's intentional friendship.
When Xu Yun asked about recent celestial changes and whether it was appropriate to start a war, Peng Deqing said with a nonchalant expression, "Who can say for sure what's going on in the sky? It's up to His Majesty to say what it is."
Xu Yun was a little surprised and asked, "Brother Peng, what do you mean? Is there really some strange phenomenon?"
Peng Deqing sighed and said, "I didn't say that. Brother Xu, please don't talk nonsense..." He walked to the window and door and looked around. Then he walked back to the table and said to Xu Yun, "Brother Xu is very knowledgeable. You must have heard of the story of Mars entering the Southern Dipper, right?"
Xu Yun nodded repeatedly, then asked, "Could it be that this time... If that's the case, why didn't Brother Peng tell His Majesty and Eunuch Wang and wait until he patrols the northern border again?"
Peng Deqing sighed and said disapprovingly, "If it were someone else, it would be fine, but why would Your Majesty be asked to wait for celestial phenomena?"
What he didn't say was that the border patrol was decided by Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen together. If he tried to stop it, wouldn't that be walking into trouble?
Xu Yun already understood what Peng Deqing meant and said, "Then...Eunuch Wang still wants to go after he knows about this?"
"Ah," Peng Deqing said with a serious face, "Your Majesty is the true Dragon Emperor. Why should you avoid these astrological signs? Besides, these astrological signs are just for reference. Can you take them seriously?"
"this……"
Peng Deqing looked mysterious and said, "I heard from the former Supervisor that when the late Emperor was seriously ill, he issued an edict allowing Princess Shunde to enter Taoism and practice. On that day, Taibai was visible in the daytime. You know, although Mars represents civil strife, Taibai represents military power... In the fifth month of the ninth year of Wude, Taibai was visible in the daytime. In the Xinmao month of the third year of Tianxi, Taibai was also visible in the daytime. If this doesn't refer to Princess Shunde, who else could it be?"
If Xu Yun had heard these words normally, he would definitely not take them seriously. But things are different now. One of the protagonists of the incident is Princess Shunde, whose reasons for playing the cards are unclear. Any mysterious things seem to make extra sense.
Xu Yun asked cautiously, "Then why didn't the late emperor react at all..."
In the ninth year of Wude, Taibai was seen during the day three times in a row, which was a precursor to the Xuanwu Gate Incident during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. In the third year of Tianxi, Taibai was seen during the day, which led to the conclusion that Empress Liu of Emperor Zhenzong was "dominated by women". She could indeed match up with Princess Shunde.
For the emperor, seeing Taibai in the daytime was not a good thing.
Peng Deqing said nonchalantly, "So what if you know? Nothing happened that day, so how can it be considered a prophecy?"
Xu Yun just kept this matter in mind, and now he understood what Princess Shunde was thinking.
During the previous expedition to Luchuan, Princess Shunde had personally observed the celestial phenomena to determine the wind direction. Now it seems that Princess Shunde might have predicted the current celestial phenomena long ago and acted in this way.
If not for this, Xu Yun would not have guessed why Princess Shunde suddenly lost her mind.
The eldest princess practices Taoism, maybe she will really believe in it as she practices?
Seeing that he was distracted, Peng Deqing waved his hand in front of him.
Xu Yun came to his senses and hurriedly apologized to Peng Deqing. He then said, "Eunuch Wang seems to be preparing enthusiastically and can't wait. Are you really going to set off on July 16th?"
"We've been preparing for quite some time now. If it weren't for the Ghost Festival, Master Wang would have wanted to leave even earlier."
Xu Yun couldn't help feeling a little worried and remained silent.
Even if it is a border patrol, setting off in such a hurry, I am afraid the preparations are still not complete.
But now, both the emperor and Wang Zhen had lost their minds. Except for Wang Zhi who held out for a few days and then gave up, almost no one else dared to persuade them.
On July 15th, the emperor sent Prince Wei Zhu Zhanzhen to offer sacrifices at Changling, Xianling, and Jingling. On July 16th, the emperor sent officials to offer sacrifices to the Taimiao and the altars of grain. On the same day, the imperial procession officially departed from the capital.
The sky was clear and the air was fresh that day. It was the autumn harvest season, and the scene of busy farmers was everywhere, full of vitality, which made people feel relaxed and happy just by looking at it.
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