There are rights and wrongs inside and outside the imperial city, especially above the imperial court, it seems to be a puddle of sewage, no one can understand it, it is not clear to see the mystery in it, and no one knows how deep the pool is, how filthy it is, and only makes people drown in it.

Far away on the border of the Great Xia Empire, Shang Gong is recuperating from his injuries, in fact, he is injured there, but he is hiding here, he knows that once he returns to the imperial city, he will inevitably be questioned by the emperor, he can't answer, this little life is afraid that it will be lost in the imperial city, this expedition, five million troops went back but 500,000, only one-tenth of them went back, this is a fiasco, such a defeat, the empire has almost never eaten, there must be a saying, what is the saying, that is, to take their group of generals to open the knife.

Shang Gong is actually not so useless, at least when others don't look at the soldiers coming, at least he fought, isn't this much better than the Yuan Yuan hiding behind the gate lord nobles, but if it wins, the honor is also Shang Palace's, if it fails, the price is also Shang Palace's, but unfortunately this time it was a failure, the defeat was very complete, maybe it was because those gate valve nobles saw the true face of this war clearly, and knew that it would fail, so they would not be able to shrink.

Shang Gong is now sitting on pins and needles, the hot tea has been cold many times, hot many times, Shang Gong sat there, waited for a long time, he was waiting for news from the empire.

"General, the people from the Empire are here. At this time, a small guard finally sneaked into the lobby and told Shang Gong everything.

"Okay, please. Shang Gong straightened up his clothes, and his face instantly radiated, as if he had been reborn.

The person who came was dressed in civilian clothes, young and fair-skinned, not like a man at all, but a eunuch.

"General Shanggong, our family has received the order of the noble concubine, and we have come here to visit the general. The person said.

"Father-in-law Li, please sit down, please sit down, I don't know if my sister sent you this time, but what is the good news?" Shang Gong is quite polite to this person, Gonggong Li is a big celebrity in front of Shang Guifei, and Shang Guifei's relationship with Shang Gong is not very close, and even Shang Guifei is not close to any Shang family, this is because the Shang family once desperately sent Shang Guifei into the palace, and since then the deep wall compound, Shang Guifei has been locked up and free, and she has always held a grudge against the Shang family, but the blood and family affection make Shang Guifei have to help the people of the Shang family, if not, do you want to watch the Shang family die?

Gonggong Li sat down and looked at it for a week, then said: "The concubine said, although the general can rest assured, although the emperor is above the court and the general is angry, but the thunder is loud and the rain is small, so the general doesn't have to worry." ”

As soon as he heard this, Shang Gong's face turned blue with fright, "Gonggong Li, you're not joking, the emperor is in the court, scolding me, it can be seen that he is really angry, I don't have to worry about it?"

Gonggong Li smiled slightly: "General, you don't know, look at you now, aren't you alive and well, the emperor knows that you are in this small city, although he scolded you in front of the Manchu Dynasty, but he didn't send someone to take you back, that's just acting with the ministers again, if not, how can the emperor explain to the world." "Gonggong Li's words got to the point at once, and many ministers also saw this, but they didn't dare to speak, this is the emperor, the king is like a tiger, no one knows what the emperor is thinking in his heart.

Shang Gong paused, probably thinking about Gonggong Li's words, and after a while, he finally figured it out, and instantly laughed loudly: "Hahaha, yes, Gonggong Li can be said to be in one sentence, which makes me feel relieved." ”

"Shang Guifei's meaning is very clear, let you stay in this small city for a while, and when the emperor's anger disappears, Shang Guifei will personally go to help the general make it clear, now the empire is silent in this defeat, the emperor's temper is not too good, and he may not be guilty of the general, so the general is not doing anything now, it is better than doing something, the environment here is also very good, the general is here to relax. Gonggong Li said.

"Yes, I also asked my father-in-law to tell my sister that I had worked hard. Shang Gong said gratefully, if it weren't for the Shang Palace having such a sister who was a concubine, it is estimated that she would have been killed by the emperor's decree, and now Shang Guifei, but the deputy master of the six palaces, even the queen is a few points inferior, she is the most favored person around the emperor, if she says a word, the entire harem will be uneasy, but the usual concubine is well hidden, never talk about the government in front of the emperor, this is a taboo in the harem, the affairs of the empire, the harem is not allowed to interfere, the rules of the past dynasties here, that can not be broken, because once the harem interferes in the government, it will evolve into a crisis, after all, the emperor is also a mortal fetus, if there are often concubines around to blow the wind, Governance up, will also be affected, these are lessons from the past, the back is not daring to be arrogant, especially the emperor, because they all know that once the emperor does too much, those who will bring themselves up may also step on themselves, is the real power of the Great Xia Empire in the hands of the emperor, the answer is yes, no.

The real power of the Great Xia Empire is these clans that divide power, among which the four major families are the largest.

If all the gate valve families are united, the emperor will not be able to fight.

Therefore, many emperors are looking for ways to concentrate power and take the power of the Great Xia Empire into their own hands, even if they can't control it all, at least they must have the power to suppress the gate valve family when they resist.

Now this emperor, that's it, he is not only weakening the power of the gate valve family, but also consuming the power of the nine major sects, he has to hold the power inside and outside, and the effect is not bad, now the strength of the four major families is less than one-third of the emperor, and the financial resources have also dropped significantly, and the other small gate valve families have also become weaker under the emperor's pull and blow, and now there is not much strength to fight against the emperor.

But the emperor will not give up, as long as the four major families still exist, it is a threat to the imperial power, so the emperor is still trying to weaken the power of the four major families, although the four families know, but they are helpless, because now these gate valve families are not united, and they all want to watch each other die in the hands of the emperor, which leads to the fact that any of them cannot confront the emperor, otherwise there is a risk of being completely killed by the emperor.

Most of the talents in the empire are also in the hands of the four major families, let's take the outstanding disciples of the nine major sects every year, more than half of them are taken in by the gate valve family, and the remaining part has only entered the imperial military department, there is no talent available around the emperor, so he will not easily execute the talents on his side, Shang Gong is a talent, and it is a member of the Shang family, the Shang family was originally just a small family, and it has suddenly grown in recent years, and even has the strength to fight with the Nanning Mansion, which is ranked lower among the four major families, and Shang Guifei is still a person on the emperor's side, so the Shang family is naturally also interested in the emperor, and the emperor can control the Shang family, but he can't fully control Nanning Mansion, so this is the main reason why the emperor didn't directly kill Shang Gong, he needs Shang Gong to help him do more things, and compared with the defeat of the external war, the emperor values the concentration of power within the Great Xia Empire more.

Shanggong also understands this, and many people understand the emperor's thoughts, so today's four major families are each prepared for danger in times of peace.

"General, our family has already brought the words, the time is not early, the mother is still waiting for our family to reply, besides, I have been gone for too long, the mother's life will not be used to it, so our family is leaving, I don't know what the general has to say, I want to ask, wait for our family to come next time, but I don't know when, either things have taken a turn for the better, and the turn may be the general's death, and the general please take care of yourself." Gonggong Li stood up and turned around to leave.

"Slow, Gonggong Li, you have come all the way here, and you are busy with my Shanggong, my Shanggong is not a person who does not know how to repay kindness, this is a little meaning, please laugh at my father-in-law." After speaking, Shang Gong asked someone to bring a small box.

"What is this?" said Gonggong Li curiously.

The box is boxy, the wood is extraordinary, just wood, coupled with the extinct master carving lines of the wood, so that the price of this small box has reached a sky-high price, not to mention carrying the contents of the small box.

"This thing, but the night pearl of the deep sea, warm in winter and cool in summer, put on the body, can remove all kinds of diseases, grind into powder, after eating, can also ensure the permanent youth. "Shang Gong is really open this time, he really doesn't want to take out such a valuable thing, but if he doesn't take it out, this life is estimated to be gone.

"Could it be that this is the legendary Nanhai Ye Ming, it is really a good thing, it is said that there is only one thing in the world, how dare our family accept it, such a good thing, the general should present it to the emperor." "Gonggong Li really doesn't dare to accept this thing, as long as he doesn't want to live, he can't accept it, the more valuable the thing, the more taboo it is, think about it, this thing doesn't even have the emperor, if someone else gets it, and doesn't pay tribute to the emperor, then if it reaches the ears of the emperor, is there still life to live?

"Although the father-in-law is under his hands, it doesn't matter, if the father-in-law is worried, then the father-in-law can give it to the emperor or others, so it is also the favor of the father-in-law, isn't it?" Shang Gong said.

Gonggong Li nodded, looking extremely satisfied, "Then our family will accept it?"

"Take it publicly, and you will inevitably have to bother your father-in-law in the future. Shang Gong smiled.