Jiuxi

Chapter 500 Chapter 498 [The Way of the Emperor]

Beicheng, Yongningfang.

A man in his thirties who was simply dressed walked leisurely as usual and walked into an alley. After twists and turns, he entered a very ordinary-looking house.

After closing the door, his expression suddenly became solemn and he walked quickly into the inner room.

"got it?"

A man slightly older than him stood up to greet him, his tone slightly urgent.

The man nodded, took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it over, whispering: "This is the prescription that Emperor Qi used recently. Our people have been watching Tan Dongping secretly, including today when Bian Yin sent people to Xinglin Our people are also watching from the outside during the process.”

These two are the chief craftsmen arranged by Emperor Jing in Yongjia City.

They came here very early, ten years ago. Not only did they get married and have children, they also had regular jobs in the city.

Although they are from Jinglian and are descendants of the royal family Ali He, at least on the surface they are no different from the Qi people.

The older one is now named Liu Zhao, and the other is named Chi Youzhi.

Liu Zhao looked at the prescription on the paper, frowned slightly and said, "There's something wrong with this prescription."

Chi Youzhi knew that he was quite knowledgeable in pharmacology, so he asked, "Why?"

Liu Zhao pondered and said: "From the information we have gathered during this period, we know that Emperor Qi was indeed ill before, but he has improved as before, and there is no problem on the surface. In fact, this is normal, after all, Emperor Qi is only in his forties. , Not yet old. But this prescription is for terminally ill people. If Tan Dongping did not cheat, this medicine was indeed used by Emperor Qi, wouldn't it be a contradiction? "

Chi Youzhi also had a headache after hearing this.

They had received a secret order from Emperor Jing to find out the health status of Emperor Qi, and they could even use Bian Yin, an internal agent hidden in the heart of the other party.

The two immediately divided their work. Chi Youzhi went to Bian Yin and asked him to find out the secrets of Taiyin Hospital at all costs, while Liu Zhao ventured outside to collect various fragmentary information in an effort to piece together a clear answer.

However, two completely opposite pieces of information are now in front of them. If they are sent back to Dadu like this, who knows if His Majesty will be angry?
Liu Zhao was silent for a long time, and finally made up his mind: "Your Majesty is eager for a reply now, so we can only send all the news back as quickly as possible, and then respectfully ask for the Holy Inquisition."

"That's all we have to do."

Chi Youzhi nodded.

Liu Zhaodao: "You have been walking around a lot recently. Please protect yourself. I will arrange to deliver the letter immediately."

Chi Youzhi did not hesitate: "Okay, please brother."

The two discussed for a while and then parted.

……

Harem, Wenhe Hall.

In Dongnuan Pavilion, Prince Li Zongben was reviewing the memorial.

This is actually a very rare scene.

Even the palace maids knew that there was no family affection in the Tian family, and it was especially difficult to be the prince.

If you are too introverted and humble, follow everything and do not do it right, and advocate the golden mean, you are likely to be looked down upon by the emperor.

But if you perform too outstandingly and win unanimous praise from both the government and the public, you will not be far away from being deposed.

From a certain perspective, the emperor and the prince are both inheritance and rivals.

It’s about the word authority.

Like this dynasty, all the officials in the East Palace are elites in the dynasty, and the prince can even review memorials in the Wenhe Palace. It is indeed an incredible situation.

Li Zongben knew why this happened.

His father had chosen him as the crown prince from the very beginning, which almost caused turmoil in the court.

Now the authority is gradually handed over to him because of the reason that he can't bear to think about.

Thinking of this, Li Zongben couldn't help but lose consciousness.

Several coughs sounded in his ears.

Li Zongben came to his senses, looked at the emperor who was leaning on the couch, and said with fear and fear: "Father, I am distracted."

Li Duan looked at his self-reproaching expression and said with a smile: "You have read the memorial for a long time, are you tired? Let's take a rest."

Li Zongben quickly shook his head and said, "My son, I'm not tired."

"You can't finish the memorials. Even if you stay up all day long, more memorials will be sent to the palace the next day."

Li Duan spoke in a gentle tone, and then said: "Come, talk to me." "Yes, father."

Li Zongben took the round stool from the palace maid, and then sat respectfully beside the couch.

Li Duan said slowly: "I know you are under great pressure during this period. You have not had much contact with government affairs before, and you have to learn from scratch in the past six months. The burden on your shoulders is very heavy. On the surface, you are willful and willful, but in your heart You are extremely proud and don't want anyone to look down upon you, so you never complain in front of me, and you desperately want to master the art of governance as soon as possible. I heard from Concubine You that in the past six months, you have devoted yourself to political affairs, even the Crown Princess. Were you left out?"

Li Zongben said with a slight embarrassment: "Father, the son did not neglect her. The mother and concubine just cared too much about the son. The so-called caring is chaos, but in fact the son knew it well."

"Your mother-in-law has always had an indifferent temperament. In the past twenty years, she has only mentioned you in front of me very few times."

Li Duan smiled and said sincerely: "It's great that you have this intention, but haste makes waste in this world. I know you are worried, lest you fail to live up to my expectations of you. The more you do, the more you must Meditate and don’t rush for success.”

Li Zongben was silent for a moment.

He raised his eyes and looked at the emperor, and said sadly and guiltily: "I know in my heart that my father has done a lot to pave the way for me. How dare I let my father's hard work go to waste?"

The corners of Li Duan's lips raised slightly: "Then tell me, what exactly have I done?"

This is obviously a very kind test.

Li Zongben thought for a while and replied: "My father put down the rebellion in the capital. This is to weaken the power of Jiangnan clans and avoid the situation where clans control the court in the future. My father asked Lu Chen to stay in the capital after solving the Shazhou problem. Using the power of the border army to deter the Beijing army also allowed the Beijing army and the border army to reach a balance. On the one hand, the implementation of the border law continued to leverage the foundation of the Jiangnan clan, and on the other hand, it also enriched the national treasury. The emperor...the plan my father made is to defeat Jingjun in a battle so that they will not dare to go south within a few years, so that they will not threaten the sons and ministers——"

At this point, he could no longer continue, and the grief on his face was clearly evident.

Li Duan sighed happily.

Li Zongben could appreciate his good intentions, which proved that his choice was correct, not to mention Li Zongben's true feelings at the moment.

He said softly: "Prince, I don't know whether this position is a help or a burden to you, but I want to tell you that this position is not easy to sit in. I hope you can remember this sentence."

Li Zongben lowered his head and said, "My son, I must keep this in mind."

"I will tell you now how to secure this position and make some achievements."

"Yes, father, please tell me."

Li Duan was full of expectations and said carefully and gently: "Controlling power and knowing people and appointing them are the most important means you need to master. As an emperor, you don't need to do everything personally. After all, the situation you will face in the future is different from mine. The situation is different now, and your starting point should be higher. If you put each official in the right position and control their upward or downward destiny, you will have won half the battle. You have to understand that no one is perfect. , You must know how to tolerate some shortcomings of your ministers that have nothing to do with the bottom line, but you must not ignore these shortcomings and give them the power to display their ambitions. Only one or two strikes from time to time are enough. "

Li Zongben listened carefully and engraved every word in his mind.

"Know right from wrong and be decisive in killing. Although the emperor needs the skills of managing people the most, you can't leave everything to the officials below. Power is a very interesting thing. If you ignore it, it will stay away from you. Listen more and learn more Look, don’t listen to others, see clearly what’s right and wrong among the people below, don’t be stingy when it’s time to appease, and don’t hesitate when it’s time to kill. Only by making them respect and fear you will the power in your hands not slip away.”

"Yes, Father."

"Be diligent in political affairs and set an example. I'm not too worried about this. You have a round temperament and a high spirit. You won't accept being looked down upon. That's why I chose you to succeed. But you also Don’t follow me, the longer an emperor lives, the more stable the government will be.”

When Li Zongben heard this, he felt extremely sad.

Of course he knew why his father was so ill. It was entirely due to fatigue.

Li Duan smiled and continued: "The last one is to rule the country by all means. Let me give you the simplest example. Before the Beijing army rebelled, I did not kill all the Jiangnan clans. Instead, I promoted two The eldest son of a prime minister, am I afraid of them so I dare not take action? "

Li Zongben shook his head without hesitation.

Li Duandao: "The reason is very simple. The Jiangnan clan is indeed a threat to the imperial power, but they are very important to the stability of Jiangnan and can also play a big role in the court, so I will continue to use some of them. I want to use them They will not give up the idea of ​​​​implementing the Jingjie Law. This is the original intention of governing the country. No matter who, what force or what method, as long as it is beneficial to Da Qi, you must have the magnanimity to embrace all rivers. "

Li Zongben nodded solemnly and said, "I understand."

Li Duan slowly exhaled and said with a smile: "In the final analysis, the emperor seems to be the most noble person in the world, but in fact he is just a paper framer."

At this moment, Li Zongben saw deep fatigue in his father's eyes.

In the silence, the respectful voice of the great eunuch Lu Shizhou sounded outside: "Your Majesty, Shanyang Marquis and Sutra Weaver Qin Tiju are asking for an audience."

"Xuan."

Li Duan responded, and soon saw Lu Chen and Qin Zheng entering hand in hand.

He looked at the rare excitement on Qin Zheng's face, then smiled and asked, "Is it done?"

Qin Zheng briefly described what happened at Xinglin Pavilion, and then said: "Your Majesty, Bian Yin has given the recipe to Xi Zuo in the north."

Li Duan then slowly sat up straight.

Li Zongben had already stood aside. He clearly felt that the tired and heavy aura on his father's body disappeared, replaced by a sharp aura.

Li Duan looked at Lu Chen, who had a calm expression, and said word by word: "Tell Li Tianrun the news."

Lu Chen understood the idea in his heart, cupped his hands and said: "I obey your order!"

(End of this chapter)