Emperor Qin is a birthday and celebrates the four seas.

Within the territory of the country, although there are many disasters and bandits, but after all, it is the land of Anbang, the yellow sky is above, it is inevitable that the official dynasty will meet and welcome, as early as a few months ago, the news of the Qin Emperor's celebration of Tianchen came out, the development of the emperor's grand meeting is naturally grand, after a long time of preparation, finally launched on this day. It's just that although most of the officials are welcome, there are not many sincere greetings.

A banquet was held, and hundreds of officials of all sizes were placed on both sides of the hall, which were the positions of civil ministers and military generals. Among the generals, the three generalissimos are naturally the leaders, but today the three of them are all because they can't come because of guarding the frontier, although they have given their own valuable gifts, but it is still inevitable that people can see the meaning under the surface, and the Qin Emperor's control over the three generalissimos is getting weaker and weaker.

Among the Wenchen, the prime minister Wen Yuan was the leader, followed by the six important ministers, as well as the capital Yin Cheng, the county guards, and the others were good, but Wen Yuan, who was known as the backbone of the literati of the Qin Dynasty, was extremely displeased, if it were not for the persuasion of several good officials, he should not want to see such a large-scale event of erosion and luxury in this troubled world.

"Wen Xiang, I don't know why His Majesty hasn't appeared yet? Our hundred ministers can't sit still. As the largest family in the capital of the Qin Dynasty, the Bian family can only compare with the Luo family and the Li family, and the position of the official secretary is only lower than a few people.

Wen Yuan had closed his eyes to recuperate, but when he heard such a voice, he noticed that Bian Cheng had come to him, and he said angrily: "The royal highnesses sitting in front of him have nothing to say, those of us who are courtiers are waiting, if we provoke Long Yan to be angry again, maybe we will have another plan." ”

"Wen Xiang, you should be quiet, some ministers have begun to impeach you in the past few months, although His Majesty the Emperor may look at your high position and will not be easily suspicious, but such words are listened to by people with hearts, and it is going to give birth to great things. Another minister sitting next door reminded in a low voice that he was Yin Cheng of the capital, and he was also very high in the official position, but when he said these words, he was only cautious, and he didn't dare to let others see him open his mouth.

Wen Yuan snorted angrily: "I, Wen Yuan, have been in the dynasty for more than 30 years, and I am now nearly seventy years old, and I am an old minister who assists the three dynasties, even the first emperor can't scold and scold, Your Majesty is now dizzy and deceived by the demon concubine, I'm afraid that I haven't come down from the hotbed at this time!" In this troubled world, there are endless bandits, wars are endless, how many people die in the country every day, His Majesty has never cared, how many defeats Pang Lu has fought in Jiaozhi City, he has no time to care, and even Yu Kongsang privately captured the ten barbarian commander Gan Yaliu caused a war in the barbarian land, these will cause major events of the national war, and there are only two sentences in the court, and if it goes on like this, where are there still loyal ministers in the dynasty?"

"Alas, Wenxiang, you better stop talking nonsense. Bian Cheng's face was a little bitter, and he said in a low voice: "Your Majesty may have other considerations, those demon concubines are inevitably more serious when they disrupt the country, which will inevitably cause Your Majesty to be angry." As courtiers, we must contribute our useful bodies to useful places, and if we are still only thinking about the speed of the moment, I am afraid that the decline of the dynasty will be accelerated. ”

Wen Yuan also sighed, Bian Cheng can be regarded as the only person he can say in this court, but it is a pity that their Bian family has secretly taken refuge in the Seventh Prince, although this is also a helpless move, but Wen Yuan has many things that he can't say clearly. He looked around, most of the civil ministers and generals were recruited by the princes, and the plan of the emperor was made by His Majesty the Emperor in order to restrain the princes from forming a party for personal gain, but now this situation has not been suppressed, and has developed to a normal state, even he can no longer say whether this is right or wrong.

"That's it, I won't say any more. Wen Yuan sighed heavily, with infinite regret spit out of his mouth, he used to be a model for all the literati of the Qin Dynasty, assisted the three princes to rank in a high position, and did many things for the benefit of the people, but helplessly, when he was about to act, he no longer had any right to speak.

At this time, all the princes have almost arrived, the eldest prince Qiuling is naturally in the first place, followed by the five princes who have no influence in the court, the seventh prince Qiujue is behind it, and there are eight princes, eleven princes and so on. The Sixth Prince and the Ninth Emperor have borne the brunt of Luanlai's conspiracy back then, and they have been locked up and not allowed to go out so far, so naturally they have no chance to participate in this kind of grand event. The third prince Qiu Tong was killed because he went to the enemy country Nine Provinces Alliance, and the fourth prince Qiu Jue was degraded and was not allowed to return to Jiangling County, so the hundred officials were all common princes.

At this time, Qiu Ling asked the great eunuch beside Emperor Qin about some things, and then walked towards Wen Yuan's side, the etiquette was used decoratively, and he arched his hand and said: "Wen Xiang, today's Tianchen grand meeting of my father and emperor can't miss the time, and now it's almost a good time, I want to ask Wen Xiang to go to the harem with me to remind my father." ”

Wen Yuan said indifferently: "His Royal Highness the Great Prince, it is really not good for this kind of grand event to let the hundred officials continue to wait, but Weichen cannot accompany His Royal Highness, the harem is a forbidden place for the emperor, although it is led by His Royal Highness the Great Prince and his father-in-law, but I am not a blood relative of the royal family, which is not in line with the etiquette law." Moreover, the day before yesterday, because of this grand event, the minister had already refuted His Majesty's face once in the court, and he didn't dare to show up easily to displease His Majesty. ”

Qiu Ling's face was cold, although Wen Yuan's words were extremely tactful, it was not difficult to hear that he didn't want to be with him. Wen Yuan is not biased towards any prince now, he has always implemented the law of not being a prince and not being humble, and he has no intention of being close to the other princes, with this attitude it will not make Qiu Ling annoyed, but it makes him worried.

Qiu Ling said with a smile: "Wen Xiang's words are serious, court disputes are a common thing, and Wen Xiang is a unique important minister in the court, and his father will naturally not blame Wen Xiang." I came to call Wen Xiang this time, although I have some ideas to let others pay attention, but more to make my father's Tianchen grand event smoothly, I think as the head of the Chinese courtiers of this dynasty, Wen Xiang also does not want to see what problems will arise in this grand event, right?"

Wen Yuan said: "Your Highness is wrong, the minister originally did not support this grand event, and now the dynasty is full of devastation, we have a big banquet here, but I don't know how many people are starving outside the capital, if His Royal Highness can join me to advise Your Majesty and ask for the abolition of this grand event, the minister is naturally willing to accompany him." ”

When Qiu Ling heard this, his face twitched unconsciously, if these words fell into the ears of the emperor, he was afraid that it would cause Long Yan to be furious, but Wen Yuan was able to say it quietly and calmly, just like an ordinary greeting, how not to shock Qiu Ling. This old guy is really stubborn! Qiu Ling scolded secretly, knowing that the original plan could not be carried out, he bowed slightly towards Wen Yuan and returned to his seat again.

After Qiu Ling left, Wen Yuan was still that calm color, but Bian Cheng, who had been listening to the conversation between the two beside him, sighed, he knew Wen Yuan's temper very well, and the literati temperament that would rather bend than bend was clear in him, but in this court, this kind of character is not easy to settle down, if it really provokes the emperor because of these words, then it will no longer be able to be rescued.

Qiu Yuan saw Qiu Ling eating deflated from a distance, and took advantage of Qiu Ling to sit back in place angrily, so he smiled and said: "Brother Emperor, it seems that Wen Xiang doesn't appreciate your kindness very much!"

Qiu Ling glanced at Qiu Yuan vigilantly, and said casually: "It's none of your business, we as courtiers, we should do our duty today, flatter what should be flattered, and give congratulatory gifts that should be given!"

Qiu Yuan said: "Brother Emperor, I heard that you originally planned to transport the birthday gang of the capital, but the mountain road in the south was robbed by mountain bandits, is there such a thing?"

Qiu Ling said coldly: "There is no such thing, the congratulatory gift I gave is not the birthday gang, but other valuables, don't worry about the seventh brother, I can still find a good congratulatory gift." "Heyuan book

Observing the change in the expression on Qiu Ling's face, Qiu Yuan knew that his information was not wrong, in order to cover up the loss of his birth gang, Qiu Ling used a large number of sword soldiers in the place to almost annihilate several mountain bandit assembly places near the accident site, but he just didn't find the birth gang, so he showed this look at this time to cover up his mistakes.

Qiu Yuan smiled slightly, as if he did not forget to show an expression that was indisputable with me, and said: " Brother Emperor, the birthday gang is not an ordinary thing, but you don't have to take it to heart, after all, some time ago the fourth brother sent a congratulatory gift also on the road There was a problem, now the bandits are rampant in the dynasty, there is nothing unusual about these problems, as long as they are recovered, after all, the birthday gang dedicated to the father of the emperor, that is not a small amount, if the eldest brother is short of manpower, you might as well tell me that my bandit team has cleared the bandits around the capital, as long as you get the permission of your father, it is also very convenient to want to go south to suppress bandits. ”

Qiu Ling was suddenly a little annoyed, Qiu Yuan can be said to have led the topic to the place he didn't want to talk about the most, the loss of the birth gang was originally the incompetence of his subordinates, but he still had no whereabouts after looking for a few days, if he let others know, he was afraid that he would think that he was also a mediocre and incompetent prince. Although the congratulatory gifts sent by the four princes were also robbed, Qiu Jue seemed to have foreseen it, and notified the escort team to assist the officials along the way, so that even if something went wrong, it was the responsibility of these officials along the way, and Qiu Jue stood on the absolute commanding heights, using this method not only to comply with the emperor's order not to let him return to Kyoto and form a party for personal gain, but also to push the responsibility for the loss of the birthday gift to other officials, this method is much more clever than him. But Qiu Ling didn't know, not only the current situation, Qiu Juebu's situation was far more than he thought, and even the war between the Qin Dynasty and Wohua Mountain, and the secret intervention in the war, but few people knew about it.

Because Qiu Yuan won the emperor's favor a few days ago, he asked for the name of a bandit general, suppressed bandits near the capital in the name of justice, and accepted these officials, which can be said to have earned both fame and actual talents, how not to make Qiu Ling greedy. On the other hand, in addition to relying on his mother's family, he won the favor of the head of the household, and there were almost no other important ministers to support him, and he originally wanted to rely on some small means to gain the favor of Prime Minister Wen Yuan just now, but there was no accident in exchange for an obvious refusal, at this time, Qiu Yuan's words were like a mockery, which made his already irritable mood difficult to calm down again.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Akigaki stopped mocking in moderation. He glanced at Prime Minister Wen Yuan, although he had the intention to solicit him, but this important minister of the three dynasties seemed to look down on this kind of action between the princes at all, and he couldn't achieve half a result by using all means, and the results were almost the same as today's Qiuling.

Gao Xinlin told him that Wen Yuan was arrogant, and he was an old minister of the Three Dynasties, and he was highly respected, so he could never be solicited by ordinary means, and he would not accept anyone's solicitation. In Wen Yuan's eyes, he only valued the entire dynasty and the people, and the king was much lighter in his eyes, and his character was very easy to provoke the hatred of the king. It is unlikely that he will be subdued, and the only way is to use his own means to sit on the throne of the Qin Dynasty and prove to him that he can become a generation of emperors, so that Wen Yuan will have no spare strength to assist and become the minister of Zhenhai of the new dynasty.

Qiu Yuan remembered Gao Xinlin's words, but also remembered that there was another possibility, if Wen Yuan provoked the emperor's anger, he would no longer be the prime minister of this dynasty, and it was very likely that he would not survive, but how could Qiu Yuan stop him? It was best for him not to get close to Wen Yuan at this time, and he also hoped that he could successfully survive until Qiu Yuan became the emperor of the Qin Dynasty, which would be the best ending.

After the hundred officials waited for a long time, the pot-bellied emperor finally wore a nine-clawed golden dragon robe, and walked up to the court under the support of Concubine Dan Mi.

"The ministers are exempt. ”

After the announcement and presentation of a normal event, the hundred officials had a banquet and the emperor talked about it.

"Why are these only the sons of the widow here today?" said the emperor.

The chief eunuch of the inner palace beside him reminded: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? His Royal Highness the Third Prince was unfortunately killed by the people of the Nine Provinces Alliance State, and His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince was also demoted to Jiangling County by His Majesty's order the year before last, and has not been ordered to return to the capital, and His Royal Highness the Sixth Prince and the Nine Emperor Princes are all closed to His Majesty and cannot go out, and they are unable to come to the meeting today, but they have sent congratulatory gifts. The rest of His Highnesses are here. ”

The emperor thought slightly, raised his hand and touched his forehead, and the concubine Dan Mi next to him immediately stood up and slowly massaged the emperor's forehead, looking at Dan Mi's alluring appearance, the emperor's indulgent eyes rippled with a lot of laziness, and after massaging for a while, Dan Mi slowly hugged him, completely indifferent to the fact that His Royal Highness and all the officials were still there, and said in a low voice: "Concubine Ai should sit down, although this kind of massage can make the widow more comfortable, but it is really unbearable to watch Concubine Ai's hard work, and then let others press it after the event is over!"

Dan Mi is worthy of being a demon concubine, her face is only twenty-eight years old, but her body is already extremely slender, and both her facial features and limbs show a natural coordination, just like a beautiful jade made of heaven. It's just that she is now accompanying the emperor of a country, the emperor is almost not confused, whether it is appearance or energy is not as good as young people, although Dan Mi has been uniquely favored by the emperor, accompanied by laughter every day, but in fact, his heart is not so happy.

Dan Mi said with a smile: "Your Majesty is compassionate, Dan Mi will definitely live up to his grace and serve His Majesty well." ”

Although Dan Mi's voice was small, His Royal Highness still had many ministers hear it, most of them didn't dare to face it, but there were also many people who secretly scolded the demon concubine, Wen Yuan was even more angry, and didn't seem to care about the rules that the courtiers avoided, glancing at Dan Mi from time to time, and raising a glass from time to time in order to extinguish the dissatisfaction in his heart.

But I heard the emperor say: "Xiao Liu and Xiao Jiu have been in the capital, although it is closed, but after all, they are waiting for good food and drink, but they can't communicate with the outside world." But the widow is worried about Xiao Si, Xiao Si was weak when he was young, and he has been relegated to Jiangling County for a few years, and he should have suffered a lot, he didn't make any big mistakes at the beginning, the widow thought, let Xiao Si return to the capital, what do you think?"

Qiu Yuan was shocked when he heard this, the emperor mentioned Qiu Jue so abruptly, and suddenly made a decision to let him return to the capital, didn't that disrupt his own plan? Although there was Gao Xin's secret suggestion that Qiu Jue actually shaped him in Gangneung County, Qiu Yuan still didn't want Qiu Jue to come back and become an obstacle on his way to success.

However, Akigaki was not easy to come forward on his own, so he made his eyes look at several ministers who were vassal of him, and motioned for them to admonish. Among the military generals, several people stood up and knelt down under His Royal Highness, and one of them said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that this matter should be considered in the long run, after all, the Luanlai conspiracy incident involved a lot, if you decide to take back His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince so rashly, I am afraid that it will make some people in the capital who have uneasy tendencies become restless again, which is not conducive to the governance of the capital." Moreover, now the southern counties are now seriously troubled by bandits, and returning to the capital at this time will undoubtedly make His Royal Highness the Four Princes the target of mountain bandits, if you want to make a decision to let His Royal Highness the Four Princes return to the capital, you should also consider the situation of Wohua Mountain and all its bandits before making a decision, I hope Your Majesty can think about it a little. ”

The one who spoke was also an important civil servant in the six ministries, and he admonished together with several other officials, which undoubtedly made the emperor's decision hesitate again, and he thought that someone would come out to speak, but there was no follow-up for a while.

Qiu Yuan was secretly thinking on the side, among the important ministers in the court, there were not many people who supported Qiu Jue, even if there were hidden officials, but they didn't dare to support it openly, it can be seen that his own means still suppressed the actions of many princes during this time. As for Qiu Ling and the others, they naturally also had the mentality of reducing trouble, and they didn't want Qiu Jue to return to the capital, and they even wanted to let Qiu Jue die in Jiangling County.

At this moment, Wen Yuan suddenly stepped forward, held the wat board high above his head, and said: "Tell Your Majesty, the minister thinks that His Royal Highness the Four Princes have both talent and virtue, and the old sins have been forgiven, and it is time to return to the capital now." ”

As soon as these words came out, all the officials were shocked.