The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

Jinling City, Song Family.

King Jing and Song Qingyun were drinking and playing chess.

At this time, it was raining heavily outside the window, and the raindrops fell on the banana leaves in the yard, making a ticking sound. Not only was it not noisy in this quiet rainy night, but it had a unique mood.

After Song Qingyun settled down, he raised his eyes to look at King Jing sitting opposite.

"Your Highness, His Royal Highness King Chu's body has never been found. I'm afraid the capital will not believe it."

King Jing played with the chess piece in his hand and was not in a hurry to drop it.He raised the corners of his mouth and smiled playfully: "Do you think it is really that important whether or not King Chu's body is found?"

Song Qingyun was slightly startled, with a slightly astonished look on his face.

"Your Highness, do you mean that it is not important that King Chu's body cannot be found?"

"The news of King Chu's death has been spread back to the capital. Those who believe it will naturally believe it. Those who don't believe it will naturally not believe it."

Song Qingyun was a little confused by what King Jing said.He asked with a confused look on his face: "Your Highness, do you believe this? You want to see people alive, and you want to see the body after death. Others will not say, the prince and the Duke of Zhen did not see the body of King Chu. They Do you believe that King Chu was assassinated?"

"That fool, the prince, will definitely believe it. As for my good uncle, he will definitely not believe it." Mentioning the prince, King Jing's eyes revealed an undisguised look of contempt, "That fool, the prince, wishes that King Chu would die. He heard that King Chu The news of the assassination will only make me very happy." It must be said that King Jing knew the prince's temperament very well.

"It's useless for the prince to believe that King Chu was assassinated. It's useful for the Duke of Zhen to believe it." Song Qingyun didn't take the prince seriously, but the Duke of Zhen had to be on guard. "Your Highness, what I mean is that we have to find King Chu's body and send it back to the capital so that everyone can believe that King Chu is dead."

When King Jing heard this, he raised his eyebrows slightly, "Are you trying to use a fake corpse to impersonate King Chu's corpse?"

Song Qingyun nodded slightly: "Yes, we need to let the capital see King Chu's body, so that Duke Zhen and others will completely believe that King Chu is really dead."

"Do you think I haven't thought about it?"

Song Qingyun saw King Jing's unconcerned look and asked with a puzzled face: "Your Highness, do you think this trick is not working?"

"Of course not. If we really use a fake corpse to impersonate King Chu's corpse, not only will it not work, but it will be counterproductive." King Jing put down the chess piece in his hand, and then said to Song Qingyun with a deep look, "Can't find it. The whereabouts of King Chu is the best thing to do, and that will make my good uncle uneasy."

Song Qingyun didn't quite understand what King Jing meant, "Your Highness, wouldn't it be beneficial to many people if King Chu died?"

"Then it depends on when he dies. King Chu cannot die at this time, do you understand?"

Song Qingyun didn't understand what King Jing meant, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

King Jing did not directly tell Song Qingyun the reason, but asked instead: "I can obviously report to the capital that King Chu is dead, but I said that King Chu was seriously injured and sank into the river, and his whereabouts are unknown. Why?" ?”

Song Qingyun thought for a while and said, "Because we didn't find King Chu's body, we can't be sure whether King Chu is really dead."

King Jing glanced at Song Qingyun helplessly, "You are really naive in your thoughts."

"Please give me some advice, Your Highness." Song Qingyun personally poured a glass of wine for King Jing.

King Jing picked up the wine glass, lowered his head and drank a few sips gracefully, and then said in a leisurely manner: "Why did King Chu go to Pengcheng?"

Song Qingyun replied without hesitation: "To investigate the matter of stealing copper."

"Who is the mastermind behind the copper theft?"

"The prince and the Duke of Zhenguo." All the ministers in the court knew that the prince and the others were behind the copper theft. Although there was no evidence, everyone thought so.

"King Chu's departure from Pengcheng means that he has found out the truth about stealing copper. Do you think it would be a good thing if he died at this time?"

After hearing this, Song Qingyun finally understood, but he still didn't understand.

"The death of King Chu is a good thing for the prince and the others."

"The death of King Chu means that the truth about stealing copper will soon be buried. This is not a good thing for King Dai and Marquis Xuanping." King Jing did not directly respond to Song Qingyun's previous words, and said to himself, "Stealing copper But King Dai and the others will never miss this good opportunity to remove the prince."

"What you mean is that regardless of whether King Chu is really dead or fake, King Dai and the others will use the death of King Chu to bite the prince." Song Qingyun said with a look of surprise, "If King Chu is really dead , Dai Wang and the others directly said that it was the Crown Prince and they sent people to kill the King of Chu. If the King of Chu is not dead, the King of Chu will return to the capital with the evidence of stealing the copper, and the Crown Prince and the others will not be able to defend themselves. "

"You missed one thing." King Jing picked up a chess piece, flicked it up with his thumb, and then reached out to catch it, "Li family."

Song Qingyun's eyes suddenly widened, and then a look of admiration appeared on his face.

"Your Highness, this move of yours is really great." No wonder His Highness just said that whether King Chu is dead or not is really not that important.

"The Li family will cooperate with the news sent back to the capital by me, and believe that something happened to the King of Chu." King Jing raised his lips and smiled meaningfully, "Even if there is no evidence to prove that it was the prince who did it, everyone will think that it was the prince and the others who did it. The Li family There is support from most of the scholars in the world. If they think that the prince killed the King of Chu, what do you think will be the consequences?"

"Your Highness, why are you so sure that the Li family will cooperate with you?" This is what Song Qingyun doesn't understand.

King Jing poured himself a glass of wine and drank it leisurely.After a while, he asked: "Do you think the Li family will think that the King of Chu is dead?"

"The Li family probably doesn't believe it." You want to see people alive, and you want to see corpses when you die.Before seeing King Chu's body, the Li family would definitely not believe the news that King Chu had been assassinated.

"Since the Li family doesn't believe it, why do they cooperate with me?"

"Is it to deal with the prince and Duke Zhen?"

"No, it's to allow King Chu to return to Beijing safely."

Song Qingyun looked surprised, and then said with conviction: "So that's it, Your Highness is really smart."

"If I guess correctly, King Chu has found all the evidence and is on his way back to Beijing."

"What, King Chu has found it?" Song Qingyun was suspicious at first, then denied, "No way, King Chu can't find it. We have done so many things for the prince and the others, but so far we have not found anything stolen from Pengcheng. The whereabouts of copper.”

"Just because you can't find it doesn't mean that King Chu can't find it." King Jing was very confident in King Chu's ability.

"Your Highness, our family has cooperated with the princes for so many years and has done many things for them, including helping them transport copper out of Pengcheng." Song Qingyun said with a serious look, "The copper transported out of Pengcheng is no longer available. From Jinling to other places, our family spent a lot of effort to find out where the copper was finally transported, but we never found it.

He continued: "Our family still has some power and means in Jiangnan. We can't find anything shipped out from Jiangnan. The King of Chu is capable, but does the King of Chu have power in Jiangnan? Even if he There are powerful people in Jiangnan, can they compare with us? What we have been looking for for several years can’t be found, but the King of Chu can easily find it?”

King Jing didn't speak.

"Your Highness, the matter of stealing copper is very important to the prince and the others. It is related to their wealth and life. Do you think they will let others find it easily?" Although the prince is stupid, the Duke of Zhen is not a stupid person. "Once these stolen coppers are found, the prince will be deposed, and the Zhenguo government will probably destroy the three clans. Furthermore, as you just said, if the King of Chu is capable, then the prince and the others will not be able to Maybe I won’t be wary of King Chu anymore.”

Song Qingyun's words make some sense, but some things cannot be judged by common sense.

"The King of Chu may not be able to find him, but where is my father?"

"Your Majesty?" Song Qingyun exclaimed, and then he thought of something, with a look of astonishment on his face, "Your Highness, do you mean that the Emperor knew the whereabouts of the stolen copper and sent King Chu to find it?"

King Jing nodded lightly: "It's not impossible, otherwise my father wouldn't have sent King Chu to investigate this matter."

"If the emperor knew, why did he send King Chu to investigate?"

"Of course it's for the King of Chu to collect evidence." After King Jing finished speaking, he thought of something and said with a half-smile, "Of course, my father also had another purpose in doing this, which was to pave the way for the King of Chu to bring down the prince. .”

Song Qingyun believed what King Jing said.He gasped in shock: "This...if this is really the case, the emperor thinks too highly of King Chu."

King Jing sneered: "My father's main purpose in doing this is to depose the prince and the prince."

"Your Highness, the common people are confused about something."

King Jing guessed what Song Qingyun wanted to ask, "You want to say that the prince and Duke Zhen have never done anything treacherous. Why does the father want to deal with them like this?"

"Yes, although the matter of stealing copper is very serious, it has not reached the level of treason. Perhaps the prince and the others will use the copper to do daring things in the future, but after all, the prince and the others have not done anything yet." Song Qingyun added, "As for what the prince and the others did in Jinling, it was not serious enough to commit rebellion. Why did the emperor target the prince and Duke Zhen in this way?"

King Jing glanced at Song Qingyun and suddenly asked inexplicably: "When you mention the prince, who do you think of first?"

Song Qingyun hesitated for a moment and said: "The Duke of Zhenguo."

"So do you understand now?"

Song Qingyun's eyes showed a hint of confusion at first, but soon the confusion in his eyes was replaced by shock. "Because of the Duke of Zhen?"

"To be precise, it's because of the Xie family." King Jing said with a sarcastic face, "That stupid prince relies on my good uncle for everything. Rather than saying that he is the prince of Dazhou, it is better to say that he is the prince of the Zhenguo Palace. , do you think my father will allow the entire Zhou Dynasty to be controlled by the Zhenguo government in the future? If it were you, would you be willing?"

"Of course not." Song Qingyun sighed, "No wonder the emperor would target the prince and Duke Zhen like this." After he finished speaking, thinking about the relationship between Prince Jing and Duke Zhen, his expression turned strange. "Then, Your Highness..."

"This king is different from that stupid prince. I will never rely on Duke Zhen for everything, let alone listen to him for everything." When he thought that Duke Zhen only helped the prince and not his close nephew, King Jing Hatred could not help but appear in his heart, and a sinister look flashed across his eyes. "Besides, I am not close to the Duke of Zhenguo."

"This is probably the reason why His Highness is favored by the Emperor." Song Qingyun didn't dare to say anything. The Emperor was obviously trying to sow discord between the Crown Prince and Prince Jing.However, even if the emperor does not separate, the relationship between King Jing and the prince will not be good.

"I know that my father is using me to deal with the prince and the Duke, but I don't care." King Jing knew very well, "Even if my father doesn't let me do this, I will still deal with the prince and them. I If the king wants to take the position of crown prince, he must get rid of the prince and the prince."

"Your Highness, the common people have something they don't know whether to say or not."

"Go ahead."

"Your Highness, our Song family can only help you do things in Jinling, but we cannot help you do things in the capital." The Song family can be said to be extremely powerful in Jinling, but in the capital, they are nothing. "If you want to sit in that seat, you need the support of the famous family in the capital, and the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion is your best backing."

"I said that I would get rid of the Crown Prince and the Duke of Zhen, but I did not say that I would eradicate the Duke of Zhen's Palace." Of course King Jing knew that he would still need the support of the Duke of Zhen's Palace in the end. "As long as the Prince and Duke of Zhen are gone, the Palace of Zhen will be destroyed." The Duke's Mansion will be put to my use."

Seeing the scene, the king understood and Song Qingyun didn't say any more.

"Your Highness is wise."

"We don't need to worry about King Chu's affairs." King Jing deliberately sent the news of King Chu's assassination back to the capital, in order to cause chaos in the capital and so that the prince and Duke Zhen would not have time to focus on Jinling. "The county examination has ended, but we still can't be careless. We need those people to mark the examination papers honestly. Before the results are released, no information should be leaked. Do you understand?"

Song Qingyun's heart trembled, and he said solemnly: "The common people understand." As soon as he finished speaking, he remembered something, "Your Highness, after the county test results are released, are you going to return to Beijing?"

"I have no intention of returning to Beijing."

"You don't plan to return to Beijing?"

"I plan to return to Beijing after the college examination." King Jing knew in his heart that returning to Beijing after the county examination would be dangerous.With the methods of the prince and Duke Zhen, they might cause him to die unexpectedly on the way back to Beijing. "The county examination is the first test of the imperial examination. I successfully held the county examination in Jinling, which gave Jinling a good start for the imperial examination. I don't want to give this credit to others, so I naturally want to take over. The next two imperial examinations have been held."

"The grassroots originally planned to persuade His Highness to stay, but it seems that there is no need for it now." Song Qingyun had the same view as King Jing. It would be a pity to go back now.

"I have written to my father, begging him to let me stay in Jinling and continue to be responsible for presiding over the next government and college examinations." During this period, King Jing not only did his best to hold the imperial examinations, but also secretly Deal with the prince and the Duke of Zhen.Of course, the most important thing is that he got to know many young people from poor families.He used to look down on these children from poor families. Although many of them were talented, because they were from a lowly background, it was difficult for them to have the opportunity to become officials, so he did not pay attention to them.

But things are different now. Children from poor families can take the imperial examination.As long as they are really talented, they can stand out from the imperial examination and become officials.So it was now necessary for him to get to know them and make them useful to him.

Everyone felt that his father held the imperial examination just to deal with the aristocratic family.In fact, it is not just that, the most important thing is to select talents for the court.

With the emphasis that my father placed on the imperial examination, all ministers in the court would have to pass the imperial examination in the future.My father was afraid of aristocratic families and would definitely re-appoint ministers who came from poor families.Get to know these poor kids before they pass the exam and help them.When they go to high school and serve in the government in the future, they will definitely support him.

Also, the Queen Mother is right.He was in charge of the imperial examinations here in Jinling. To the children from poor families in Jinling, he could be regarded as their mentor.Regardless of whether they support him in the future, they will be grateful to him.

"Your Highness, don't you plan to preside over next year's provincial examination?" Song Qingyun said, "Compared with this year's three examinations, next year's provincial examination is the most important."

"I understand that I will ask my father for next year's provincial examination." Of course, King Jing does not want to miss next year's provincial examination. If possible, he also wants to be responsible for next year's national examination.However, given his qualifications, his father would definitely not agree to him being responsible for presiding over the examination.However, he can still win the Jiangnan Provincial Examination next year. Of course, the prerequisite is that he successfully holds the three imperial examinations this year.

"Your Highness, would you like King Wei to..." Song Qingyun didn't finish his words, but the meaning was obvious. "The King of Wei is now seriously injured in Pengcheng. This is a good opportunity to take action. If you miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to find such a good opportunity to get rid of him in the future."

"King Wei?" King Jing sneered, "Who is he?"

"Your Highness, King Wei is the crown prince's right-hand man."

"A capable general? You really think highly of him." King Jing said with disdain, "He is just a dog beside the prince. If he doesn't need us, the prince and Duke Zhen will use him as a scapegoat. .”

Song Qingyun thought so too.

"You'd better deal with Li Jue and the others." King Jing threw the chess pieces in his hand into the chess box, stood up and looked at Song Qingyun condescendingly, "You have been showing mercy to them, they may not accept your mercy. If you don't If you have a soft heart and a soft hand, you will be the one who will die when the time comes."

"Your Highness's words... the common people have remembered it." Song Qingyun stood up, took a few steps back, and then saluted King Jing, "Your Highness, don't worry, the common people will not be soft-hearted again."

King Jing glanced sideways at Song Qingyun and said in an indifferent tone: "You'd better keep your word."

Song Qingyun's heart tightened and his face became solemn: "The ordinary people will definitely be able to do it."

King Jing took a deep look at Song Qingyun, turned around and left without saying anything else.

Meng Gang, who was guarding the door, saw King Jing coming out and hurriedly held an umbrella for King Jing.

"Go to Gongyuan." The place where the imperial examinations are held is called Gongyuan.The county examination has ended, but the examiners are still reviewing the examination papers in Gongyuan.

There was already a carriage waiting at the door of Song's house.King Jing got on the carriage and asked Meng Gang, "How is the situation in Gongyuan?"

"Everything is normal." Meng Gang said respectfully, "Gongyuan is heavily guarded, and no one dares to cause trouble in Gongyuan or nearby."

King Jing nodded lightly and immediately leaned on the carriage to rest.

After a while, King Jing's carriage arrived at Gongyuan.

The Gongyuan was brightly lit, but very quiet.

The soldiers guarding the door saw that the person coming was King Jing, and bowed respectfully.

When King Jing saw that the soldiers were all wet, he ordered Meng Gang to prepare ginger soup.Although the weather in Jinling was hot during this period, it was still a little cool at night because of the rain these past two days.If you get wet, you will easily get cold.

The soldiers were busy saluting and thanking him.

When King Jing walked into the Gongyuan, he heard the examiners arguing very loudly.His heart sank slightly and he hurriedly walked over.

What the examiners argue about is whether this article is well written and that article is wonderfully written.

They told King Jing that most of the students who took the county examination were very talented and wrote excellent articles, which shocked them greatly.

King Jing picked up an exam paper at random, saw the article on it, and found that it was indeed very well written.

Jiangnan deserves to be full of outstanding people and talented people.

Seeing King Jing coming, the examiners asked him among these examination papers, who should be ranked first, who should be ranked second, and who should be ranked third.They had a fierce quarrel just now because they felt that these three examination papers were all very well written and could be said to be comparable. They didn't know who should be ranked first.

Because the names on the examination papers were obscured, King Jing did not know who the owners of these three examination papers were.

"Before I came to Jinling, my father had specifically told me that the imperial examination would not only test whether the articles were well written, but also whether they could handle things." After he finished speaking, he looked at the master carefully. The top three papers selected by the examiners.He found that these three students wrote excellent articles, but they were lacking in practical things.

"My lords, please take a look at the policies they wrote for local governance."

The examiners took the exam papers and looked at the answers of the three students in detail, and found that the writing on this aspect was indeed not very good.

"My lords, my father holds the imperial examination to select talents, and these talents must be pragmatic, do you understand?"

"Thank you for your advice, Your Highness. I understand."

"Then take a closer look."

King Jing accompanied the examiners to review the examination papers for a while.Before leaving, he repeatedly warned them not to engage in malpractice for personal gain, otherwise they would not be able to bear the consequences.

In a house somewhere in Jinling City, Zhao Yao looked at the seriously injured King Wei and sighed angrily: "Bago, even if you are going to be injured, there is no need to make yourself so miserable."

King Wei stared at Zhao Yao and was too lazy to pay attention to him.

"Bago, your small body is already weak, and you are seriously injured this time. Do you still want to do it?" If Bago wants to put on a show, there is no need to injure himself so seriously. "Bago, your injury this time is almost as bad as that one."

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