Imperial Palace, Imperial Hall.

"Dongfang Shuo is still kneeling outside?"

As the Emperor closed the last of the submissions, he asked the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch bowed: "Back to Your Majesty, yes." ”

"It doesn't cost a single soldier to ambush the rebels, but it's just the death of the widow's three sons, why does he kneel outside and beg to see him?" the emperor said, looking outside the door of the main hall.

Hearing this, the eunuch bowed more and more.

Although the tone was very calm, the eunuch who accompanied the emperor all the year round was not difficult to hear the deep meaning contained in it.

Because of this, none of the eunuchs dared to answer.

"Take these things with you, and the affairs of the state must not be delayed. ”

The emperor pointed to a eunuch at random, and gave such an order.

Immediately, the eunuch stepped forward, picked up the stacked folds, turned his head and hurried out of the main hall.

As for the other eunuchs, they still kept their heads down and did not say a word.

"You don't talk anymore, you like to talk to widows the most on weekdays. Feeling the dead silence in the hall, the emperor finally spoke again.

But there was still no answer.

So he got up and walked up to the nearest eunuch.

"Tell me, why is he kneeling outside?"

The emperor asked.

With a plop, the eunuch fell to his knees and fell to the ground.

Not to mention talking, I didn't even dare to tremble too much.

The Emperor laughed coldly, and then turned and walked in front of the other eunuch.

But the result is still the same.

After repeating several eunuchs, the eunuchs in the whole hall fell to their knees in unison, and no one dared to say anything.

Then, the smile on the emperor's face became even worse.

"Yes, well, you don't even listen to me anymore. Are you afraid that one day Dongfang Shuo will take over the dynasty alone, and he will cut out the tongue of the person who said bad things about him, right?" At this point, the smile on his face was retracted, "He has only been in power for a few days, but he justifiably killed the widow's three sons, how can he turn the sky upside down? Don't forget, the widow is still here!"

"Your Majesty has no borders. ”

All the eunuchs bowed their heads in unison and said in unison.

Seeing this scene, the emperor sneered coldly: "Longevity without borders? It is really the same as Dongfang Shuo's remarks." ”

As soon as the words fell, he flicked his sleeves and turned back to the dragon chair to sit down.

"Do you think that the widow does not want to kill him?" said the emperor, after a pause, "but he has made meritorious deeds, again and again. If the widow wants to kill him, the crime can only be unwarranted, and the widow can't kill him. If he is killed, will not all the loyal and brave men of the world be chilled, and who will support the widow again?"

"Your Majesty is wise, and Fu Lu Yongchang. ”

The eunuchs prostrated again.

The emperor has long been tired of hearing this kind of talk.

So, he took his hand and sighed: "All retreat, Xuan Dongfang Shuo to see you." ”

As soon as the words fell, the eunuchs got up one after another and exited the hall in an orderly manner.

After a while, Dongfang Shuo, dressed in simple cloth, walked in barefoot from outside the main hall.

Looking at Dongfang Shuo at this moment, the emperor's eyes couldn't help but flash a trace of bitterness.

"The guilty minister knocks before your majesty. ”

Dongfang Shuo leaned over, his voice louder than any official at any time.

The emperor said: "Dongfang Aiqing is not guilty, and he is flat." ”

"If the minister is guilty, please ask Your Majesty for permission to kneel down and listen to the holy oracle. ”

While speaking, Dongfang Shuo had no tendency to get up.

Looking at it like this, I don't plan to get up at all.

The emperor's eyes were a little closer, and he asked, "Where did the widow come from?"

Dongfang Shuo heard this, and then got up.

He knelt down and looked up at the emperor on the dragon chair, and said: "Your Majesty, can you know that the second prince, who is far away in a remote place in the north, can have the courage to unite the third and fourth princes to send troops to rebel? Even if the three roads are merged, the capture of the imperial city will inevitably be greatly damaged, what is it that gives him the confidence to win?"

"What is it?"

"In the humble opinion of the criminals, the greatest trouble of the empire is not in the north, nor in the east, but in the south. ”

Dongfang Shuo kowtowed.

There was a bit of confusion in the emperor's tone: "Why do you say this?"

As soon as he asked, Dongfang Shuo took out a slightly wrinkled letter from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"This is the criminal minister sent someone, from the second prince's account to search for the first-hand evidence of the southern officials colluding with the second prince to try to rebel, this letter is the second prince's courage to rebel, the evidence is conclusive, please Your Majesty Holy Judgment. ”

Dongfang Shuo said.

The emperor narrowed his eyes: "Present the ......"

When the words came to his lips, he realized that the eunuch had been removed by him, so he had to get up and walk in front of Dongfang Shuo.

Taking the belief with one hand, he looked at it carefully, but in fact he did not look closely.

And Dongfang Shuo immediately kowtowed again: "The criminal minister asks for the crime to make meritorious service, and is willing to lead the 80,000 armor soldiers who have been incorporated from the princes to the south, and preemptively take the head of this thief and hand it over to Your Majesty!"

The voice was loud and resounded throughout the hall.

When the emperor heard this, he folded the letter that he had not even looked at a few times.

So, he bowed slightly: "Dongfang Aiqing, please get up, please get up." He picked up Dongfang Shuo, who was kneeling on the ground.

And this time, Dongfang Shuo did not insist anymore, but got up according to the emperor's wishes.

"The widow ordered you to be the marshal of the Southern Expedition, and with this letter as evidence, the widow gave the widow a charm to clear the frontier for the empire to support the emperor's cause. When he got up, the Emperor said so.

Dongfang Shuo immediately saluted: "Thank you, Your Majesty." ”

"However, the East loves Qing, the north and east of the empire are far away from the flames of war, and the soldiers recruited by the second and others are probably mostly old and weak. In the south, most of them were brave men who fought for a long time, and it was difficult for 80,000 northern soldiers to drive straight in. The emperor's tone revealed a little worry.

Hearing this, Dongfang Shuo didn't look up, but there was a little surprise in his eyes.

What does the emperor mean by saying this at this moment?

"For the prosperity of the empire, even if the battle is fought to the last soldier, the criminal minister should do his best. ”

As Dongfang Shuo spoke, he made a gesture to kneel down again.

But the emperor was quick and helped him.

When he looked up, he saw the emperor shaking his head.

The emperor said: "The meaning of the widow is not to let you go hard. When you are brave, you are brave, and when you are broken, you are broken. The widow wants to write a decree for you, allowing you to draw troops from the cities and counties along the way, so as to strengthen your own strength. It's a pity that the situation is forcing you to come up with so many armor soldiers in the Imperial City. ”

At this point, the voice fell.

After a few breaths in the entire hall, the silence suddenly fell into death.

After being stunned for a moment, Dongfang Shuo suddenly raised his head and looked at the emperor.

The two looked at each other, and in each other's eyes, they saw something different.

At this moment, Dongfang Shuo seemed to understand something.

"Minister, you will not disgrace your mission!"

Dongfang Shuo knelt.

(End of chapter)