Jiuxi

Chapter 476 Chapter 474 [Return]

The wind is blowing, the rain is thin, and autumn sorrow is added slowly.

In Yongjia City in the drizzle, the houses and pavilions were stained with a layer of gray mist, like a hazy and deep picture.

"I'm afraid it's going to rain for a while."

In the official office of Zhongshu, Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan sighed softly.

After the rebellion subsided, he rarely appeared in the court, and Zhongshu was basically in charge of Xue Nanting.

During this period, due to the outbreak of war across the board in Jiangbei, Xue Nanting was too busy to return home. The various offices in the imperial court were in an unprecedentedly busy state, and the emperor was in poor health. Li Daoyan had no choice but to drag his old body and sit in charge of the post.

As the weather turned cold, fine charcoal was burned in the duty room to prevent the two prime ministers from catching cold and getting sick.

Xue Nanting put down the tea cup and said with concern: "The winter rain is getting cold, so the old prime minister should take care of himself."

"I can still persist, but you have to pay more attention. Just leave some things to the people below. How can you handle it if you have to do everything yourself?"

He paused for a moment and said softly: "These things are complicated and all are more important than the other. The people below don't even have a chance to be lazy. As the Right Prime Minister, I cannot be an exception."

Naturally unable to move.

The emperor has canceled the two synodic dynasties in the past month, but the usual dynasty is still the same as before, so it did not cause turmoil in Beijing.

Li Daoyan knew his character very well and knew that Xue Nanting would not change his style, so he skipped this section and asked, "Is the money still enough?"

Xue Nanting's eyes narrowed slightly.

Ordinary officials only thought that this was the emperor's attempt to avoid red tape during the national war, and many people took the opportunity to write letters of praise. The emperor kept all these memorials full of disgusting words, and then asked Lu Shizhou to reprimand several officials on his behalf, and then Stop this flashy atmosphere.

The four families of King Guo and Ningle conspired to rebel. It was natural for the court to confiscate their homes and execute them. No one could find fault with them. However, if the court attacked other honest Jiangnan families without asking questions, they might not wait until the Jinglian people from the north came to fight. , Daqi’s interior was already in chaos.

Xue Nanting sighed softly and said: "Dingzhou and Jingzhou were attacked by enemy troops one after another. Now it is the severe winter season. The soldiers at the front are not careless about their weapons, armor, winter clothes, food, grass, pay, silver and pension. The evaluation of officials in various places in the south of the Yangtze River has also been carried out. With the results in hand, the specific personnel adjustments are also an urgent matter. His Majesty asked about the preparations for the Economic Border Law a few days ago. After all, it is related to the economy and people's livelihood next year. "

Li Daoyan looked at his slightly stooped eyes with a slightly worried look on his face.

Xue Nanting's tone was gloomy, and he said softly: "I originally wanted to invite my uncle to come to Beijing. Maybe he could give some help to the imperial hospital and try his best to recuperate His Majesty's body. But he asked his personal attendant to tell me that Duke Huai'an's health It’s not good either, and now that he has to command the Jingzhou frontier army, my uncle can only stay with him day and night, unable to leave him at all.”

Li Daoyan raised his hand and nodded at him, then leaned back on the chair and said slowly: "I entered the palace yesterday."

Xue Nanting also laughed, and then said: "Anyway, the Li family of the old Prime Minister is setting an example in front of me. I will just follow his example."

After hearing this, the old man had a heavy and regretful look on his face, and said quietly: "Li Tianrun is only forty-six years old this year."

However, both he and Li Daoyan knew that with Li Tianrun's temper and character, they could never sit back and watch the Daqi border fall into crisis while they went to a beautiful place to recuperate.

Li Daoyan smiled and said: "Don't forget, your Qingyuan Xue family is also among them."

"When the court is really in trouble, these high-ranking families have to show something."

Li Daoyan naturally knew that his uncle was the miracle doctor Xue Huaiyi, the junior disciple of Taiyuan Hospital.

Xue Nanting sighed: "My uncle said that the Duke of Huai'an suffered an old injury when he was leading troops on the Jinghe line of defense. He has never been able to have leisure these years, and he worked too hard and caused an old disease. If you want to cure this disease, It’s not too difficult. All you need to do is put aside all your mundane duties, choose a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to rest for a few years, and then take the medicinal soup prepared by my uncle on time. "

In the entire capital, except for the second prince who had been canonized as the crown prince, only the two prime ministers on duty at this moment knew that the emperor's condition was gradually getting worse.

For generals in the military, this age is at their peak.

A smile appeared on Xue Nanting's lips, and he nodded: "Fortunately, the treasury is still quite strong, otherwise I would really have to ask the old prime minister for help. Speaking of which, even if those four families don't have fixed assets such as fields and shops, they only have gold and silver. More than 10,000 taels of snowflake silver gave the court a big sigh of relief. I had joked with His Majesty before that if a few more people came, they would probably have the military pay for the second Northern Expedition, but it’s a pity that they can’t move it.”

But in this way, Daqi finally fell into a precarious situation after finally looking forward to a brighter future.

The health of the emperor and Li Tianrun was worrying, and Jingjun's full-line offensive also put great pressure on the court.

Li Daoyan looked at the unconcealable tiredness in Xue Nanting's eyes and said without any doubt: "The situation is difficult, you must cherish yourself. Well, today you go back and have a good sleep, and I will leave Zhongshu's affairs to the old man."

Although he has continuously delegated power in the past two years, Xue Nanting is definitely inferior to him in terms of his handling of government affairs and his prestige among officials.

Xue Nanting subconsciously wanted to refuse, but when he saw the old man's deep and determined eyes, he changed his words and said: "Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for taking care of me."

Li Daoyan waved his hand and said: "There is no need to talk about this between you and me. Zhang Xian, the fate of the country is closely related to you, so you must stand firm in the court. In addition, you can also add more burdens to Zhong Cheng. He will He is your most powerful helper.”

Xue Nanting was slightly startled.

He didn't dare to say that he knew the old man in front of him well, but he had been an official in the same court for so many years and had the experience of working together in Zhongshu. At least he knew that Li Daoyan would never make a mistake.

This sentence clearly refers to the future layout of the court.

Li Daoyan looked at his face and laughed at himself: "An old guy like me will eventually abdicate in favor of talents. I only hope that more and more young talents will emerge in the court."

At this moment, a member of the Zhongshu House cautiously walked into the check-in room, came closer and bowed: "Two Prime Ministers, Marquis Shanyang has returned to the capital." Lu Chen returned to the capital so soon?
Li Daoyan and Xue Nanting looked at each other, and they both realized at the same time that the emperor had sent someone to urge him back.

After all, according to the news sent from Chengzhou, Lu Chen and the army he led should still be in Hezhou at this moment.

Li Daoyan asked calmly: "Where are the others?"

Shiren replied: "The Marquis of Shanyang led his cavalry to return to the capital in advance. After entering the city, they went directly to the palace."

Li Daoyan responded, bowed and left knowingly.

Xue Nanting asked slightly uneasily: "Old Prime Minister, Your Majesty is anxious to summon Lu Chen back to the capital, will you..."

He hesitated to speak, and Li Daoyan mused: "No, no matter what happens, His Majesty will not hide it from You and Qin Zheng, and you don't have to worry about causing chaos. However, as the Prime Minister of Zhongshu, you and I, You need to be mentally prepared for some things.”

Xue Nanting's expression darkened and he nodded slowly.

……

Within the imperial city, the sound of rain was pattering, swaying in the wind, like a slightly messy song.

Thousands of raindrops fell on the flat bluestone ground, splashing countless broken water splashes.

Lu Chen held an umbrella and walked in the spacious and lonely palace square, led by the eunuch Lu Shiyi in front of him.

Amid the rain, the two walked quickly.

When they arrived at Wenhe Hall in the harem, they saw the second prince Li Zongben waiting in person in the corridor.

Lu Chen stepped forward and said, "Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Zongben raised his hand to support him and said succinctly: "No need to be polite, my father is waiting for you in the inner hall."

He knew that now was not the time to ask for help, so he didn't mention Lu Chen's trip to Shazhou.

However, Lu Chen did not immediately walk towards the inner hall. Instead, he stood outside to disperse the rain from his body.

Li Zongben couldn't help but secretly praise him.

Lu Chen naturally didn't want the rain to affect the Emperor's health. Another point was that the expression of the prince in front of him was very calm, which meant that the Emperor's health was not in a very bad state yet.

After cleaning up, Lu Chen entered the inner hall, while Li Zongben remained in the outer room. This was obviously the emperor's arrangement.

The light in the hall is very soft, and there is a light fragrance.

Li Duan leaned on the couch and raised his eyes to look at the young minister he was most satisfied with.

Compared with two months ago, Lu Chen had not changed much, except that his cheeks were thinner. After all, he traveled thousands of miles non-stop.

His eyes were still clear and calm, with a hint of maturity and stability far beyond his years.

"Your Majesty, Lu Chen, pays homage to your Majesty!"

Lu Chen came to pay homage.

This time Li Duan did not deliberately stop him. After Lu Chen saluted, he said gently: "Ping Shen."

Lu Chen slowly stood up straight, and then looked at the emperor's face as before.

Li Duan smiled and said: "I didn't expect it to be so smooth in Shazhou. You did a great job and didn't let me down."

If it were any other minister, he would probably have to say something heartfelt at this time, but Lu Chen didn't say anything, and just looked at the emperor blankly.

In just two months, the emperor seemed to have aged five or six years, and his face looked a little more tired.

The memory of the Emperor of Qi defending him in front of all the ministers of the court, standing in front of the Duancheng Hall and personally beating drums to cheer for the Forbidden Army soldiers, and bathing in the morning sun as if he were a god, seemed to be an impression left many, many years ago, and now it is in his mind. There was only a frail patient in sight.

"His Majesty……"

Lu Chen knew that he shouldn't act so pretentious, but the bitter emotion filled his heart, making it impossible to say what he had prepared.

Li Duan looked at him steadily, smiled gently and said: "No one in this world can live forever. I am also a human being, and I will die naturally. There is no need to be sad."

Lu Chen lowered his head and didn't answer.

Li Duan slowly sat up straight and said slowly but firmly: "But you should understand that I have persisted for fourteen years, how can I give up so easily?"

Lu Chen raised his head and saw a face with an extremely tough expression.

(End of this chapter)