After the court retreated this morning, His Majesty the Emperor was different from holding a small court meeting in the past. He only asked the eunuch Song Tanglu, the supervisor of ceremonies, to stop Zuo Sanqi's regular attendant Chen Wang. , the result had to stand still.
Because Zuo Sanqi's regular servant is an important minister in the center, and his position is quite high in the so-called Jinluan Hall, so every time he retreats from the court, by the time Chen Wang steps out of the hall, the civil and military officials outside the hall are often flooded. Back scattered clean.
But because there were too many unfamiliar faces in this early court, including Song Daoning, the Marquis of Huaiyang, Gao Shi of the State of Yan, a large group of officials and nobles gathered here, which made the originally very spacious hall look crowded. So when Chen Wang stopped walking, there were still people passing by this well-deserved "First Minister of Xiangfu". Even Song Daoning, who gave the officialdom in the capital the impression that he didn't care about world affairs, took the initiative to exchange greetings.
A few elderly officials who once formed a team with the former Grand Master of Western Chu and Sun Xiji, the former left servant of Liyang, were even warmer as if they were treating their son-in-law. The veteran who needs to be carefully supported in daily life seems to be able to stand here and chat with Mr. Chen for half an hour.
Standing together with Song Tanglu, who was wearing a big red python robe, Chen Wang and Song Tanglu gradually walked away from inside and outside the hall. Chen Wang did not rely on his friendship with the emperor and his ministers, which is far superior to the civil and military affairs of the same dynasty, to ask the eunuch who is the head of the eunuchs in Liyang The reason, always shut up. On the other hand, after a long silence, Song Tanglu took the initiative to say softly, "I have to trouble Mr. Chen to wait for a while."
Chen Wang hummed.
Faced with Mr. Chen's lukewarm response, the eunuch in boa robes, who made the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty fearful, did not feel dissatisfied in his heart. After Song Tanglu took over the supervisor of ceremonies from Han Shengxuan, the human cat, he caught up with the change of old and new from the emperor to the courtiers in Liyang, and he seldom respected a certain official. His ranking was only behind Qi Yanglong, Gu Jiantang and Huan Wen, and ahead of Zhao Youling and Yin Maochun. Chen Wang, who came from a humble family background, is really too similar to an old man. Whether it is personal ethics or career history, they are exactly the same, and even make people feel jealous.
Chen Wang's mind traveled so far that he was patted on the shoulder before he regained his senses. He turned his head to look, smiled helplessly, and bowed lightly.
The young emperor didn't wear a dragon robe, but changed into an unsuitable casual dress, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Wang at the top of the steps. And Song Tanglu had already walked backwards, his footsteps were small and silent, making room for this pair of Xiangfu monarchs and ministers who were destined to leave their names in history.
Chen Wang saw a few eunuchs working together to move a long ladder in the distance, and couldn't help asking curiously, "What is your majesty doing?"
The emperor smiled and said: "First accompany me and wait for someone."
When Chen Wang saw that the ladder was carefully erected on the eaves of the Jinluan Hall, Chen Shaobao, who was somewhat aware of it, suddenly couldn't laugh or cry, hesitant to speak. For Chen Wangshen, the young emperor pointed to two people in the distance, wearing a vermilion python robe, obviously a great eunuch with a status not inferior to Song Tanglu, and another wearing the clothes of an ordinary Confucian scholar. As they got closer, Chen Wang finally saw the appearance of the two clearly. The eunuch, the supervisor of ceremonies, Bingbi, a very old eunuch, was walking next to the young man slightly in front of him, bowing his waist slightly, One palm stretched forward, and the other held the cuff, as if leading the way. The latter closed his eyes and walked slowly.
When the eunuch Bingbi walked up the steps first, Chen Wang vaguely heard the old eunuch say: "Mr. Lu, be careful with the soles of your feet, we are about to climb the steps."
The emperor turned his head and smiled, "Can you guess who is sacred?"
Chen Wang nodded and said: "Mr. Lu Xu of Qingzhou, the thirteen strategies submitted by King Jing'an in the last years of Yonghui, people with discerning eyes in the capital actually know well that they were written by Mr. Lu who is behind the scenes."
The emperor suddenly felt a little melancholy. Taking advantage of the distance between the two sides, he lowered his voice and said, "Lu Xu's chess skills are extremely strong. I guess the two of us will be chopped up and cleaned up."
Chen Wang couldn't help laughing, and joked softly: "Why don't you win the ten-level chess master Fan Changhou? If not, doesn't your majesty still have Qin Tianjian and Xiaojian to support you? The four of us are going together, and we are afraid that we won't be able to win against Lu Xu If it really doesn’t work, then there’s Wu Congxian who claimed to only lose to Fan Guo. If it still doesn’t work, let’s fight each other and take a long test to see how long Lu Xu can hold out, and I’m not afraid that he won’t make foolish moves.”
The young emperor lightly bumped Chen Wang's waist with an elbow, and scolded with a smile: "Bullying Mr. Lu has bad eyesight, and it's fine to find Mr. Fan and be our dog-headed military adviser, but even use it in wheel battles? Can we show some face?"
Chen Wang played a rogue and said: "The face of a humble official is not worth a lot of money anyway."
The emperor raised his elbow and was about to strike again, Chen Wang hurriedly moved away a few steps.
The eunuch, the supervisor of ceremonies, Bingbi, led Lu Xu to approach the emperor and Mr. Chen, and when he was about ten steps away, the emperor walked down the steps quickly, took Lu Xu's hand, and said with a smile: "Mr. Inviting you into the palace in a hurry is rude."
Lu Xu didn't show any expression of fear and fear, and said calmly: "It's a pity that Lu Xu is blind and can't see the magnificent scene of the palace."
The eunuch Bingbi who bent over and lowered his eyebrows saw this scene, his eyelids trembled.
After the young emperor climbed to the top of the steps with Lu Xu, who was still a white man, Chen Wang greeted Lu Xu with a smile: "I'm sorry, Chen Wang, I'm honored to meet Mr. Lu."
Lu Xu made a bow and said, "Lu Xu pays homage to Mr. Chen."
Chen Wang accepted it calmly.
That obeisance was the first and last time Lu Xu saluted to a Liyang official until the end of his life after entering Beijing.
Many years later, Lu Xu died of illness quietly, and the first assistant Chen Wang stood in the deserted mourning hall where only one white-haired old woman was, and paid today's obeisance.
The emperor said to Song Tanglu and the eunuch Bingbi in a deep voice: "I want to climb the ladder with the two gentlemen. One of you will keep everyone away and the other will guard. Remember! Within a stick of incense, I want to be in the view of the roof, in the palace. There is no one in sight!"
The aged eunuch Bingbi left quickly, he naturally didn't dare to compete with Song Tanglu for the position of guarding the ladder.
Under the undeniable instruction of the emperor, Chen Wang had no choice but to go up the ladder first, followed by Lu Xu, and the young emperor and Song Tanglu supported the ladder for the two of them.
Song Tanglu didn't look up, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the young emperor who was raising his head.
An emperor with a good reputation in the court and the public is escalating a ladder for a young courtier and a poor man in white. On the emperor's head, there are two pairs of boots.
Song Tanglu's eyes suddenly turned red.
When the three of them got on the roof of the majestic hall, the eunuch's head was completely gone. Song Tanglu didn't dare to let go of the ladder with both hands, but raised his sleeve slightly and wiped his eyes.
Chen Wang helped Lu Xu to sit down near the ridge of the roof, leaving the middle seat for the young emperor.
After Zhao Zhuan sat down, he asked with a smile, "Is this the first time you see the scenery of the capital here? Haha, me too."
I.
Consciously or unintentionally, the word "Zhen" is no longer used.
Zhao Zhuan put his hands on his knees, sat upright, looked at the North and South Royal Streets, and said slowly: "When I was the fourth prince, I heard that there were two tallest buildings in the world in the capital, even the Tongtiantai of the Qintian Supervisor in Tai'an City was taller than that." No, one is the Queyue Building in Daxueping, Huishan, and the other is Tingchao Pavilion in Beiliang. I have been to Daxueping, and it is very tall. Xuanyuan Qingfeng is a wonderful woman, so she won't let me enter the building , at that time, Chen Wang, you were by my side, and we ate together behind closed doors, so I felt a lot better when I revealed my faults by myself. No matter what happens in the world, it is always much easier to have two people to carry it. "
Chen Wang smiled.
Zhao Zhuan stretched his waist and shook his neck, "It's a pity that I haven't been to Chao Pavilion, but I really want to go there one day to climb the tower. After all, my wife is from Beiliang. She is a woman, no matter who she is married to." , as long as you are married well, you will always want to go back to your natal family. This is the same as us men who think about being rich and not returning home like a night walk in brocade clothes. Although my wife doesn't say it, I will inevitably feel that Pretending to be this matter. But now the imperial court and Beiliang are in a tense fight, not to mention that my father-in-law was scolded bloody in private letters by his peers in Beiliang, and even his brother-in-law, who is a good brother with Xu Fengnian, was here last time Qingliangshan Beiliang Prince's Mansion also failed to see Xu Fengnian's face. This time Xu Fengnian came to Beijing to avoid suspicion, and my brother-in-law didn't go to the Mawei Post House. Actually, I don't mind at all if we meet. I would mind, I feel guilty towards their Yan family."
Zhao Zhuan rested his elbows on his legs and rested his chin with both hands, looking at the royal road that stretched all the way to the south, as if it could reach the coast of the South China Sea. But in my opinion, whether you are a minister or a son, you can't escape the bottom line of being a human being. Remember the past and remember your kindness. Tai'an City, especially the so-called Golden Palace under our buttocks, what is the most? There are the most officials! There are many officials who are capable of being officials, and they are able to get everything right and wrong, but they are capable of being a human being. As long as the state is not harmed, those who sit on the dragon chair like the first emperor and I will turn a blind eye and close our eyes. When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Sometimes we even have to personally help them, but this does not mean that we are not happy Tired, day after day, year after year, listening to shouting long live long live, listening to singing praises, it is really a very boring time."
Zhao Zhuan suddenly couldn't help laughing out loud, and said helplessly, "I'm not afraid of you two jokes when I say it. Several times in my sleep, the words I said in my sleep were all the words "Pingshen". ridicule."
The blind man Lu Xu raised his head, the sun was not high yet, and the breeze was blowing on his face, which made him very comfortable.
Chen Wang said suddenly: "It is very tiring to face the mountain of memorials every day."
Zhao Zhuan sighed and said with emotion: "As long as you want to be a good emperor, you can't stop for a day. This is the most tiring thing. When I was young, I often complained to my mother that I couldn't see my father. It's strange that a man who is an emperor must be the emperor. Do I have to meet my son so many times throughout the year? At that time, I vowed to my mother that when I grow up, I don’t want to be an emperor. I must play with my children all day long and watch them little by little. grow up, and then marry each other... "
Chen Wang sighed.
Zhao Zhuan smiled brightly, and pointed to the south, "I know there is a river and lake outside the temple, especially in the past hundred years, it has been very exciting. Earlier, there was Li Chungang who held a sword on a green mountain, and there was also a spring and autumn thirteen. Invincible in the world, after Huang Longshi scattered the remnants of the Spring and Autumn and Eight Kingdoms into the rivers and lakes, top masters have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. In the past few years, I occasionally thought, if I am not a prince, but a young man in the martial arts of the rivers and lakes. Is it impossible to be on the martial arts review? Even if there is no first-grade master, it is not difficult to be a little master who can dominate the state and county? Not to mention, just rely on my good determination to review memorials every day without frowning, How should you make a name for yourself?"
Lu Xu smiled and said: "For ordinary masters, if they want to gain a great reputation in the martial arts, it is not as easy and easy as they are in the officialdom."
Zhao Zhuan nodded and said, "So, if I'm just Zhao Zhuan, then I actually envy Xu Fengnian."
The young emperor paused for a long time, "I also admire Xu Fengnian."
Lu Xu said softly: "In a small place called Yongzi Lane in Qingzhou, I played chess with the King of Beiliang and won him a lot of money. So I generally know that it is very difficult to get into the eyes of the King of Beiliang. There are only a handful of civil and military officials in this dynasty. But at the same time, it is also very simple, maybe a trafficker or a pawn, so I have eyes with him, and I am willing to treat him as a friend."
Chen Wang said with a smile: "If it wasn't for the money from the King of Beiliang to buy poetry and prose, which allowed me to scrape together the money to go to Beijing to catch the exam, I would probably be working as a private school teacher in Beiliang Road now."
Zhao Zhuan said calmly: "So, if it wasn't for him, Xu Fengnian, the three of us wouldn't be sitting here today. Maybe it will take me five, ten, or even twenty or thirty years before I can sit with other people. Chat here. I want to thank Xu Fengnian, and I also want to thank you."
Lu Xu said calmly: "If someone else is the emperor, I, Lu Xu and Mr. Chen, will not be able to sit here for the rest of our lives. So you don't need to thank us two."
The implication of the blind scholar's words is self-evident.
Zhao Zhuan was not annoyed, and said softly: "The Xu family's 800 riders drove all the way from Beiliang Road straight into the land of Gyeonggi. I asked someone to send him into the capital with an imperial decree, and asked the Minister of Rites to guard the gate of the city, because this is for the Central Plains. The 300,000 Beiliang iron cavalry in the country deserve the treatment. He, Xu Fengnian, was in the Xiamawei Posthouse, killing all directions, attracting countless masters to join hands, and the succession of peak battles, can be called the swan song of the world, I ignored it, because this is He, Xu Fengnian, as the great master of Liyang Martial Arts, deserves the treatment. Before coming here, I heard that he went to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites wearing a vassal king's python robe. Not only did he beat the left servant Jin Lanting, but even our Jin Sanlang's beard was pulled out. Now, I am still not angry, because he is the most powerful vassal king in Liyang, I, Zhao Zhuan, can take another step back for him, even if he cleans up the old Shangshu Sima Puhua, I can still bear it. The first emperor can bear Xu I can tolerate Xu Fengnian as much as I can, and it doesn't matter even more. Because I sit on the dragon chair and he guards the country for me."
Zhao Zhuan clenched his fists with both hands, propped them on his knees, narrowed his eyes and said, "But he is going to the Qin Tianjian, to my Liyang Zhao Shi's Longxing Land, to destroy countless people's hard work, I can't bear it." I would rather he come to the palace, pointing at Zhao Zhuan's nose and yelling at me when no one is around."
Zhao Zhuan stood up, turned his head to look at the Qin Tianjian, and said in a deep voice: "I transport more than 8 million stones into Beijing every year by water from Liyang. Excluding the indispensable amount of the capital, I originally planned to open a hundred stones a year for Beiliang Road. Wanshi! Under this premise, every time Beiliang kills 150,000 Beimang people or every 50,000 frontier troops, I will give him another 500,000 shi! Since Gu Jiantang of the Liangliao can't kill people, as long as he returns If you can kill those of you in Beiliang who are in my territory of Liyang, then I will give you food and money!"
Then Zhao Zhuan said expressionlessly: "Qin Tianjian, Li Shou Guo, Li Chang'an and his son had 1,400 armored men, 100 masters of copper fish bags from the Ministry of Punishment, 300 Imperial Forest Army, plus 1,000 soldiers who have already sent to Qin Tianjian. Two hundred cavalry troops are a total of 3,000 people. According to what I said earlier, with the one million shi per year, plus the merits of killing the enemy and the compensation for the death in battle, he now has more than 3 million shi in Beiliang to transport grain and grass by water. When the wind leaves Beijing, it will be continuously sent along the Guangling River to Beiliang Road. However, in today’s Qin Tianjian, every time he kills one person in my Tai’an City, I will leave a thousand stone water transport for Liyang and the court!”
The food from the Central Plains buys the heads of Beimang, and also buys the lives of Beiliang.
Lu Xu was indifferent.
Chen Wang hesitated to speak.
The young man who was rushing to Qin Tianjian was either Xu Xiao's son or Wu Su's son. They looked the same, but they were quite different.
Whether it is the king of Beiliang who owns 300,000 cavalry, or Xu Fengnian, the master of martial arts, they look the same, but they are still very different.
The only standing young emperor said calmly: "So if you, Xu Fengnian, have the ability to kill three thousand people, then go for it."