All the ministers walked past Fan Xian with strange expressions and exited the Tai Chi Hall, and Fan Xian felt a little uneasy at this moment. He knew what the pattern of the dialogue in front of the imperial court would be like, even if he was the commissioner of the Overwatch Council, he would probably look extraordinarily awkward if he was in it, and his seniority was too young after all—but this is the end of the matter, he He had no choice but to respond calmly, followed behind the old ministers with a little carelessness, and followed the eunuch to the back of the hall.
After three rounds and two rounds, we didn't go very far, and came to a side hall with a partition on the top, so the space didn't seem very spacious, and there was a large row of people-height wooden balances on the left hand side. , the shelves are full of books. Fan Xian secretly looked at the surrounding layout, knowing that this was probably the legendary imperial study room, the smile on his lips faded away, probably thinking of the braiding scene that he often watched in his previous life.
At this time, the emperor had already taken off his dragon robe under the service of the eunuchs, and changed into a sky-washed blue casual shirt, with a jade belt tied around his waist, which looked casual. The emperor leaned on the low couch, stretched out his hand to put the teacup on the table, and waved his hand casually, and the eunuchs hurriedly brought seven round stools with brocade tops into the room. The seven old ministers leaned over to thank them, and sat down naturally.
The crown prince and the eldest prince stood beside the low couch where the emperor sat, although they didn't have a seat, but looking at the expressions on their faces, one could tell that this was the usual rule.
It's just that there are only seven stools reserved here, but today there is an extra young official. The eunuch in the imperial study may have never met Fan Xian, so he is also a little embarrassed. What dignified person.
Everyone was sitting, Fan Xian was alone, and immediately showed him, but his father, Fan Shangshu, was looking at his nose and heart, and didn't even look at him. Fan Xian couldn't help laughing at himself, and moved his inconspicuous position back.
His little move fell into the eyes of the prince, who smiled slightly at him, Fan Xian only dared to return his gaze, but inadvertently saw the eldest prince yawning a little behind His Majesty, presumably The prince just returned to Beijing yesterday, he drank a lot of wine, he is probably very tired today.
Except for the day when we first met at the teahouse by the Liujing River, today was the closest Fan Xian was to the emperor, so close that he seemed to be within reach. He couldn't help raising his head slightly and glanced at him very quickly, but he didn't dare to stare at him. look. After all, the other party was the emperor Lao Tzu. Although there was an official named Mu Tianyan in the Qing Dynasty, no one dared to admire Tianyan like a beautiful woman.
But with this very quick glance, Fan Xian saw the other person's face clearly, but was almost stunned by those eyes that looked back!
The emperor glanced at him, ignoring his direct gaze. Fan Xian looked lucky, but in his heart he had no fear at all. After a while, the second prince who was leading the little prince to study in Xingqing Palace was also invited by the eunuch. When he entered the imperial study, he was still holding the little prince's hand. Looking at the scene of the brothers being in harmony, the emperor nodded slightly, as if he was quite satisfied. The prince had a smile on his face, but he didn't know how many curse words he had cursed in his heart.
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"Bring a seat for Fan Xian." After the four princes had all stood beside the low couch, the emperor seemed to notice that Fan Xian was standing, and ordered casually.
Fan Xian replied slightly startled: "I dare not." With his rank, it was an exception to enter the imperial study. How dare he sit when the four princes are still standing? The six old ministers heard His Majesty giving the young guy a seat, and felt a little itchy under his buttocks. He moved, twisted, and coughed. They were obviously dissatisfied. It took twenty years to get a seat in front of the Holy One, you Fan family boy, you can have a seat in the imperial study for the first time!
The crown prince glanced at the ministers, and respectfully said to the emperor: "Father, Fan Xian is young, and his body is not as strong as those of the old ministers. Seeing his frightened appearance, he should stand still."
These words were extremely upright and peaceful, no matter the old ministers or Fan Xian, they were all grateful.
At this time, the eldest prince spoke again, and said: "I remember that when my father asked us brothers to listen to the adults discussing state affairs, we had to stand, because the sons and ministers will assist His Highness the Crown Prince in governing the country and the world in the future. That student has to look like a student..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already understood. You, Fan Xian, are young and new to the officialdom. What achievements have you made? How could He De let us princes come and arrest you? Treat it like a teacher.
Several old ministers also stroked their beards and shook their heads—this seat may seem ordinary, but the meaning hidden inside is not trivial. They can guarantee that if Fan Xian really has a seat in the imperial study room this time, the news will be heard within three minutes. It will spread throughout Kyoto.
Fan Xian was about to push the boat along the way and say goodbye to His Majesty, but unexpectedly, seeing the indifferent look cast by the emperor, his heart trembled slightly, and he swallowed the words again.
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The emperor glanced at all the courtiers, and then at his eldest son, who was straightforward but a little irritable, and said, "Fan Xian, of course, can't afford this seat...but today he has to sit. To reward their labor, only to reward their merits."
Everyone was puzzled, but since the Holy Majesty spoke, the imperial study room was naturally quiet. The emperor looked at his sons and said softly: "If you can also bring back a cartful of books from Zhuang Mohan's family, I will let you sit too!"
Everyone was silent, knowing what the chariots and horses represented, although they still felt that His Majesty the emperor was a bit paranoid about his literary reputation, but it was difficult to refute it.
The emperor knew what everyone was thinking, and said coldly: "Don't think that this is just a matter of scholars. What are scholars? You courtiers are all scholars. Wenzhiwugong, the way of martial arts, I don't lack, what is lacking is Wenzhi. Things... It is easy to dominate the territory of the world, but it is difficult to dominate the people of the world. If you don't work hard on this, it will not be possible to rely solely on sharp swords and horses."
The eldest prince's face clearly showed a look of disapproval, but his father didn't finish his sentence, so naturally he didn't dare to speak too much.
Hearing the emperor continue to speak leisurely: "You can conquer the world immediately, but you can't rule the world immediately. The way of literature seems to be illusory, but it involves the hearts of scholars in the world. I think that when I went to the Northern Expedition three times, I beat the Wei family into one. It was a mess, who would have thought that the Zhan family could take advantage of the chaos to rise up, but after a few years of hard work, they gathered a large number of talents, and this is how the Northern Qi court is now, preventing our horseshoes from going north... They rely on What? It depends on their orthodox status in the eyes of the scholars of the world! The world is right? This is not something that scholars have figured out... Shu Wu, Yan Xingshu! You are ministers of the Qing Dynasty, but you took the imperial examinations in the Northern Wei Dynasty , why is this?"
Master Shu and Yan Shangshu quickly stood up, panicking.
The emperor shook his hand and said: "Scholars all over the world are like this. Now there is such a bad trend. I don't blame you, and you don't have to doubt yourself. I just want to tell you that the world is right and the scholars return to their hearts. There are many benefits, and there are many talented and talented officials in each county, so they will take advantage of public opinion." He looked at his eldest son and said coldly: "I know what you are thinking, but if you send troops, you can resist less , so that you can reduce the number of deaths of the generals under your command, don't you want to?"
The First Prince was silent.
The emperor said coldly again: "A carriage of old books can attract more scholars for me to travel around the world, and save the lives of countless soldiers for me. Why not reward Fan Xian with this seat?"
Everyone always felt a little weird, it seemed that His Majesty was deliberately showing favor to the world, and why didn't Fan Shangshu come out to replace his son? However, the entire Qing Kingdom was born in the flames of war, and the citizens have an overwhelming enthusiasm and sense of mission for the unification of the world. Since His Majesty has linked the book Fan Xian brought back from this mission with the general trend of unification of the world, who will it be? Dare to say anything more, they stood up one after another and joined Dao Shengshang Yingming.
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What direct relationship can a carriage have with the world? Fan Xian thanked His Majesty for giving him the seat, his face was calm, he was neither arrogant nor impetuous and sat firmly like a mountain, but he was smiling wryly in his heart, not understanding why the emperor insisted on steaming himself on the fire cage.
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The red velvet was pulled open, revealing the large map inside. The map had been reconstructed. The yellow territory of Qing Kingdom was continuously extending to the northeast, and besides the barren land behind her, Already belonged to himself. The expansion of Qing Kingdom's territory was very rapid. Although the Northern Qi in the northeast still looked like a colossus, it looked a bit bloated in front of Qing Kingdom, a beast. Although the Northern Qi Dynasty was also a rising country, it not only inherited the large territory of the Great Wei, but also inherited the corrupt bureaucracy and atmosphere of the Great Wei.
Fan Xian looked at the map and listened to the voices of discussions that kept coming into his ears. Being in the power center of Qing Kingdom, it was only for the first time that he felt Qing Kingdom's powerful style of conduct and wild ambition. I sighed in my heart. After all, the imperial court in the north still has strength, and looking at the thoughts of Haitang and His Majesty the emperor, the world is in chaos, and the people of the world will inevitably suffer again, but they don't know when they will recover.
Although he is not a compassionate pacifist, he really lacks interest in things like war.
The emperor was discussing important state affairs with several ministers at this time, and occasionally heard a few words about the embankment of the great river, and also discussed the annual income and the annual tribute of those small princes. Fan Xian knew nothing about these things, and naturally he would not Interrupt, even if he has thoughts in his mind, sitting on the "tiger stool" at this time, he will not say anything more.
Intentionally or not, everyone forgot him in a corner of the imperial study, so he had the leisure to look at the map that had obviously been improved, and kept staring in a daze, sighing like a disciple of the Mo clan.
Suddenly, a word popped into his ears—Neiku! He frowned slightly, and his heart gradually became vigilant. The emperor kept him, and it really wasn't as simple as giving him a stool and showing him some face.
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"Everyone knows that although the internal treasury is called the internal treasury, it involves many vital points." The emperor said angrily, "How embarrassing the internal treasury has been in these years. It's cold in the north, and I ordered the internal treasury to transfer silver to the national treasury, how could I know... Guanghui treasury can't even get out the silver!"
The Guanghui Treasury is the treasury that specializes in storing money among the ten treasuries of the inner treasury, but the gold and silver should be placed in the carrier warehouse. The emperor's anger seems to be wrong. But no matter how you say it, the transportation depot and Guanghui depot are co-managed by the princess and the household department. Although the household department did not dare to say a word in the past ten years, the household department minister Fan Jian quickly stood up and pleaded guilty.
The emperor waved his hand, not looking at him at all, and continued: "The New Deal came to an end without a problem, but I decided to make a fuss about the internal treasury. I don't want to restore the grand occasion of more than ten years ago, but at least I want to earn some money back for the court every year."
His voice was not high, and his tone was not very intense, but the power contained in it made everyone dare not speak: "The imperial sister returned to Xinyang, and I always need a minister to do this. If you have any good candidates, report to me and listen."
The ministers and the prince in the imperial study knew that this was just a formality, and the people in the capital had known for a long time that His Majesty's favorite candidate was Fan Xian who was sitting quietly in the back at this moment. And His Majesty "borrowed a car to show off" earlier, vigorously supporting Fan Xian to the position, it was nothing more than expressing his attitude to the courtiers first, not to sing against the candidate for the head of the internal treasury later.
But everyone also knows that the situation in the inner treasury is far from as bad as the emperor said. Every year, the goods transported from various workshops in the south of the Yangtze River to the north will earn millions of taels of silver for the court. With the support of his business, Qingguo didn't have enough financial resources to expand around. For a moment, she felt faint jealousy towards the Fan family.
But since His Majesty seems so dissatisfied, no matter who takes over the internal treasury in the future, I am afraid that he will have a headache every year about the amount of money handed over.
Thinking of this episode, all the ministers lightened their jealousy a little bit, but even so, no one was willing to propose Fan Xian at this time—this is a matter of face and economics, no matter how difficult it is to manage the internal treasury, the chief executive The oil and water that people fish every year will not be less. These ministers also receive huge rewards from Xinyang every year, there is no reason why they don't know.
Not to mention the ministers, because of his status, Fan Jian naturally couldn't nominate his son, and the imperial study fell into an awkward silence for a while. The emperor didn't say anything, just picked up the teacup, took a sip, his face remained normal, but no one noticed the chill in his eyes.
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"Recommended by my son..."
"Recommended by my son..."
Everyone in the imperial study was shocked. The silence was broken by two people at the same time, and the two who spoke at the same time, one was the crown prince and the other was the second prince. This situation was wonderful.
The emperor nodded slightly and said, "Let's talk."
The second prince glanced at the prince, smiled apologetically and said: "Since the prince has a good candidate, I will listen with all my ears."
The emperor glanced at him and said nothing.
The crown prince saw that the second prince was modest. As the master of the East Palace, the future emperor of the Qing Kingdom would naturally do his part. He bowed to his father and said, "Father, my son recommends Fan Xian."
Everyone in the imperial study knew that Donggong spared no effort to pull Fan Xian, not to mention that this kind of favor was naturally done. Unexpectedly, His Majesty did not express his opinion immediately, but instead asked the Second Prince, "Who are you going to recommend?"
The second prince smiled shyly, and said, "My minister is also planning to recommend...Fan Xian, Master Fan."
The imperial study was still quiet, but the emperor glanced at Fan Xian meaningfully. Fan Xian's face remained unchanged, and he was about to get up to deal with it. Unexpectedly, the emperor didn't give him this chance at all, and said indifferently: "Since both of you brothers think that Fan Xian can do it, then it's him. After the autumn, I will draw up an order, and there is no need to spread it to all parties. Counties."
At this point in the topic, it was a foregone conclusion. Although this was a matter that was agreed in the palace when Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er got married years ago, it was proposed and approved in the imperial study today, and it was recorded in the book. Naturally, it cannot be changed. Thinking of Fan's father in charge of the national treasury and his son in charge of the internal treasury, everyone will always have a strange feeling in their hearts. There is really no other family in Beijing for such a holy family, such a honor. The princes were all vying to pay Fan Xian, so they knew that the status of the Fan family would probably only go up, not down, in the years to come.
Fan Jian and Fan Xian, father and son, hurriedly got up to thank each other, expressing their panic.
The emperor didn't pay much attention to them, but asked with a smile, "Since it's settled, I'm here to ask you two brothers, why do you like Fan Xian at the same time?"
The crown prince thought for a while and then smiled and said: "I just have a rough idea. Master Fan Shangshu has been very effective in managing the country's financial affairs. Since Fan Xian is his son, he should have some talent in this area."
The second prince also said with a smile: "My minister also thinks the same way. Besides, there are many gold, silver, yellow and white things in the inner treasury. A minister who is clean and self-sufficient is always needed to be the director. My minister said a lie. In the officialdom, greed for ink is rife. Although there are well-known honest and upright officials in various counties, most of them are in the local area. Mr. Fan is a man of great talent, and everyone knows him as a man of high literacy, so it seems appropriate for him to manage the internal treasury."
"Oh?" The emperor's expression remained unchanged, and he asked, "The reason is barely logical, but is there another reason?"
The crown prince and the second prince looked at each other, feeling a little puzzled, could it be that His Majesty took this opportunity to test the two of them. The arrow was on the line and had to be fired, so the prince had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "Second brother is absolutely right, and the supervision of the internal treasury has always been the responsibility of the Overwatch Council. , it will be much more convenient.”
The little prince who came in with the second prince had been standing for a long time, and his feet were a little sore. In addition, he might not be able to understand what these white-bearded ministers were saying to his father. Strange, he smiled and said in a childish voice, "Brother Prince, according to what you said, isn't this Fan Xian monitoring himself?"
He is a child, so his words can be a little presumptuous, and others will only think it is childlike words, but it seems that the words are unintentional, but they directly point to the mistakes and omissions in the previous words of the prince. Although the ministers dared not speak, the Prince's face was slightly sullen.
Fortunately, the second prince was also distressed at this time: "Father, my son really can't think of it."
The emperor didn't blame the prince for a single word, but said lightly: "Can't figure it out? Then why did you recommend him earlier?"
Everyone in the imperial study room saw the Holy Spirit moving here and there. They clearly wanted Fan Xian, but they wanted to trouble the two sons. They really felt that the Holy Heart was unpredictable, so they had to keep their mouths shut tightly, for fear of causing any trouble. Come.
As the person concerned, Fan Xian felt that the "tiger stool" under his buttocks was not only piercing, but also hot ass. At this time, the second prince said with a little anxiety: "Actually... there is another reason, and it is... because my son... has a good personal relationship with Mr. Fan."
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His Majesty looked at his second son quietly, and after a while, he suddenly laughed, the laughter seemed very comfortable, and said: "Thousands of them, only this one is enough... What is this inner treasury? It is the imperial treasury. Since Fan Xian is going to take care of the internal treasury, he naturally needs to be close enough to the royal family, and since Fan Xian has worked in the Taichang Temple, this closeness is enough."
Of course it was enough. No matter how you say it, Fan Xian pretended to be a prince's son-in-law. No matter how you say it, the crown prince and the second prince often called him brother-in-law. The prince listened from the side, and couldn't help but sighed in his heart, thinking that the second child was really good, and he guessed the answer that the emperor wanted, why was he so slow
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Since the army returned for the first time and the border was initially determined, today's discussion seemed a little longer than usual, and it was actually past lunch time. When the emperor looked at the sky, he ordered the eunuchs to prepare meals, and left all the ministers and princes to eat together. It was the first time Fan Xian ate something from the imperial dining room today, and he didn't find it surprising. It was just some vegetables, fish and chicken. What made him even more comfortable was that eating with the Holy One was not as uncomfortable as he imagined. , There is no need to kowtow again before eating.
All the previous words of the crown prince and the second prince fell into his ears, and he knew that he could not hide. When he looked at the middle-aged man on the dragon couch again, he couldn't help but feel a little more vigilance and chill in his heart—the emperor's grace Based on an absurd fact, he didn't think that an emperor would have such a rare thing as family affection.
Fan Xian is not a person who is easy to control. He can kneel, endure, and listen, but when something threatens his bottom line, he will touch his left calf with a smile, and kneel down. Can't, can't bear, can't listen, just fuck you.
The crown prince and princes obediently served His Majesty for dinner, and then went to the side hall for dinner. At this time, the Holy Majesty was chatting with a few old ministers. Naturally, there was no talk of state affairs at the dinner table, so all the discussions were about whose well water made tea well, the watermelon in a certain state was as big as a boulder, and so on. Occasionally, anecdotes from the world were mentioned. Naturally, Zhuang Mohan's death was mentioned, and everyone's voices seemed to be gloomy. Presumably, apart from Master Shu and Yan Xingshu, these high-ranking officials of the Qing Kingdom and even His Majesty had recited Master Zhuang's scriptures during their enlightenment. Policy.
In short, this meal was much more relaxed than the family banquet in Fan's residence. Fan Xian was a bit hungry, and he didn't listen to the conversation over there, he was holding a chopstick and was feeding long soup bean sprouts to his mouth, when he heard His Majesty pointing at him and saying, "Fan Xian, come here. "
Fan Xian put down his chopsticks in a daze, glanced at the fragrant bean sprouts in soup with some reluctance, and with a bright smile on his face, he quickly walked to the low couch of the Holy Majesty, looking at that thin but heroic face , a trace of excitement and sadness appeared in his eyes just right, and he bowed his hands in salute.
The veterans didn't know what His Majesty called him to do, and listened curiously. His Majesty glanced at him with a smile, and said, "Do you still remember what I promised you that day in the teahouse by the Liujing River?"
Fan Xian didn't expect that His Majesty the Emperor would tell the story of that chance encounter in front of these senior officials, and responded with a smile: "I didn't know it was His Majesty that day, but I even slapped the palace commander, offending the holy man." Fuck, it’s really a crime worthy of death.”
Relying on his face as a veteran of the three dynasties, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials stroked his beard and asked self-consciously: "It turns out that the Holy Majesty and Master Xiao Fan have met outside the palace."
When His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom was discussing state affairs, he seemed calm and mighty, but at this moment he seemed very easy-going, he laughed and told all the officials what happened that day. Fan Jian thought to himself that it was ridiculous, so he had to ask His Majesty again to forgive the dog for offending him. The rest of the court elders muttered inwardly, no wonder Fan Xian was so favored, it turned out that there was such an adventure. This kid's luck is too good, and he can't help but wonder what His Majesty promised Fan's son.
"I once said, I want your sister to have a good marriage." The emperor looked at Fan Xian very softly, with a hint of self-promotion that an emperor should never have, "Now Miss Fan promised Jing Prince Wang, what do you think of this marriage?"
Fan Xian's heart was worse than eating Coptis chinensis, but his face was full of emotion, and he thanked his father repeatedly. After being slightly startled, the veteran ministers beside him also started to flatter their horses. It is really a good story through the ages to say that your Majesty met a courtier by the riverside and made a marriage.
The voice was a bit loud, and it reached the ears of the princes who were eating in the next room. The eldest prince frowned, but the prince smiled slightly, feeling more wise about his decision to win over the Fan family, and subconsciously went to see the second prince However, he found that his expression had not changed, and he was still as slow as he had been in these years—even chewing food slowly and continuously in a weird way, and he could not help scolding this guy for hypocrisy from the bottom of his heart.
Inside and outside the palace where the imperial study was located, there was a sound of laughter and praises. Who knew Fan Xian's troubles and sufferings.
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And when Fan Xian stepped out of the palace gate in the afterglow and looked at the eldest son riding on the horse at the entrance of Xinjie, his worries were even greater. Prince Jing's son Li Hongcheng greeted him with a face full of joy, and his face also showed the joy of reunion after a long absence, completely missing the true emotions deep in his heart.
At that time the sun was setting, and night was approaching.