At the beginning of the year, hundreds of civil and military officials wandered around, and the Qi Wangfu was full of guests. The collection is close to the general courtiers, and almost the princes and military generals in Beijing are gathered. The palace of the king of Qi is like a camp of a million troops, and there are seventeen Wuhou alone. Up to General Sanpin, down to the commander of the Kyoto garrison. One-fifth of the powerful generals present pushed the cup, especially the generals who were born on the northeast border. The banquet of hundreds of people, King Qi sat on the throne, and he was already overwhelmed by the wine.

This group of generals drank too well, and several people from the Ministry of Rites and Rites of the Ministry of Industry had been drunk by those generals and fell asleep on the desk. A few Xiao Si beckoned the maids to take care of the ministers, and one of them entered the study. Flipping out a booklet, a man in his thirties walked from behind him and said, "Meet His Royal Highness King Qi." ”

Looking at the names on the booklet, the first name turned out to be Lin Xie, followed by Liu Ce and then Shuangshang. Each person on it holds a lot of power, either a general or a party. The small county order is enough to be on this roster, especially at the end, it is written Changfeng Army, Tianshui King.

King Qi said: "Zhou Jin, let's see if the Changfeng Army can master it this time." ”

The man picked up the booklet and flipped through a few pages, marking a few names on it. I added a pen and wrote down a few names, and then wrote another name on the other side of the paper. said: "I learned from my father that these people are going to resign, after all, they are old. After the opening of the court, the officials will make documents, just wait for His Majesty to sign and seal, and these positions may be able to be fought for. ”

Picked up the paper in his hand and looked at the five names on it, most of them were officials. There was only one name of the assassin, and the king of Qi put down the paper and asked, "What does your father mean now, and the meaning of this king is not clear?" ”

Zhou Jin shook his head and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Qi, the ancestor has always been strict, and the juniors in the family are involved in party disputes, and the father, as the official of the ministry, controls the promotion of official positions in the world. There is an old ancestor at home, no one dares to approach His Royal Highness King Qi and the crown prince casually, and the father has always tried his best to avoid it, and he will not choose anyone unless he has to. ”

King Qi raised his pen and drew a heavy stroke on Zhou Yingxiang on the roster, and said: "Zhou Jin will give you two more years, if your father can't win it over, this king can only find a way to change people." ”

Looking at King Qi's eyes with a hint of anger, he couldn't wait for this matter. Once the king of Qi does not get the support of the Zhou family, it is not certain whether he will be able to have the title of Shangguo Zhu in the next few decades. The Zhou family is different from the Meng family's fiefdom, which is thousands of miles away and has an army in hand, and the Lin family in Shuzhong is the maternal uncle of the King of Qi after all. The Li family already has an army on the border, and the Zhou family only has one uncle, a military general, which is not a high official position. If you want to gain a foothold in Daliang and occupy the head of the four major families, you can only follow the new emperor.

King Qi opened the booklet and stared at Lin Xie fiercely, and said, "You are still not the king's uncle, what can you do to help me once." The Lin family still didn't believe it, and they couldn't find anyone who was willing to continue in the army. ”

Suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhou Jin and asked, "Is there a person's name missing from this?" ”

Zhou Jin carefully flipped through it several times, and even compared it with other documents and said: "There are basically people with real power in the court, and only the commander of the border army has everything else." ”

King Qi picked up the pen and wrote a Liu Zhixing next to Liu Ce, Zhou Jin didn't understand that a concubine of the Liu family was not worthy of King Qi at all. Even if you care, it should be Liu Zhiming and not Liu Zhixing, King Qi said fiercely: "Do you know why Your Majesty wants to establish a thirteen battalion outside the Changfeng Battalion, such a heavy task is not a general with qualifications or outstanding military achievements." On the contrary, a young man who has only been in the army for a year and a half, has His Majesty's Encouragement and is directly under the command of the commander like the Changfeng Battalion, and even in some things, His Majesty's Grace can cross the commander and cut it first. ”

Zhou Jin said: "Your Highness is saying that Your Majesty is afraid that the Changfeng Army will be dominant. No, it should be afraid that His Royal Highness and the crown prince will fight for the Changfeng Army to install people. King Qi smiled lightly and said, "It seems that you are not stupid. ”

At the beginning of the new year, the third prince was not in the East Palace, but he was cultivating in a separate courtyard, and not a single official visited him. Standing in the wind pavilion wearing a white sable cloak, standing behind him was a scholar dressed in ordinary clothes. In his early thirties, he is tall and tall, not at all like a madman in the eyes of others. As the prince looked at a hundred-year-old dead tree, sparrows chirped in the book.

Suddenly, a man in black knelt down on one knee and said, "Your Highness, the Qi Palace's gate is full, and all the officials who are about to be in Taiping have gone." After drinking, I saw someone in the study, and this time the people in the Qi Palace's mansion saw clearly that it was Zhou Jin. ”

After handing over a list, it disappeared from view, and the prince didn't even look at it and threw it directly to the scholars next to him. The scholar just looked at it and tore up the list directly, still looking at the sparrows in the tree. It's as if the sparrow in the tree is a spy, reporting important military information to the two.

said: "Your Highness's people can move, but Your Highness can't interfere, and you still need to intercede with Your Majesty at the right time." ”

The crown prince smiled lightly and said, "You look at who you need to recommend for this matter of the commander of the Changfeng Army, and who Your Majesty will choose in the end." ”

The scholar looked at the dead tree and said, "First, it can't be a member of the Meng family, this will violate Your Majesty's taboo." Moreover, His Royal Highness still needs to get closer to the Meng family, so that King Qi mistakenly thinks that he still wants to recommend the Meng family, and try to get closer to Meng Xinqiao in Beijing. Wu Peng was already unexpected, and this time His Highness had no choice. ”

"If Your Majesty asks?"

The scholar said a person's name very calmly: "Lin Xie." "A person who is impossible to return to Nanjing, a person who the Manchu civil and military forces are reluctant to mention. And it is no longer possible for Lin Xie to return to the army. continued: "Your Highness just say, let the Manchu Dynasty civil and military people not want to be people. As for the commander of the Changfeng Army, His Majesty must have already chosen a candidate. The person who should be most concerned in the Changfeng army is that person, although he can't decide the position of the commander, now the King of Qi should have seen it. ”

"It's not a fight, but his father will definitely stop it."

The scholar said: "You must fight with King Qi, but you don't have to take it too seriously." This person could not be tried, and His Majesty would not allow anyone to set foot in the Thirteenth Battalion. The young man doesn't think much, this is also what His Majesty likes, as long as His Highness successfully ascends the throne, he will naturally be loyal to His Highness. ”

Nodding silently, he glanced at the signal and continued, the scholar took the opportunity to say: "You can't ignore Liu Zhixing, King Qi will not let go of such a person." Your Highness doesn't need to give heavy gifts, and now that the Changfeng Army has not yet completed its establishment, it will encounter a lot of setbacks. His Royal Highness will do a little favor at the right time, and as long as Liu Ce knows what he says, he doesn't need to do anything else. ”

The wind was a little strong, and the sparrows chirping on the dead trees seemed to be very strong, and the prince grinned and walked out of the pavilion, picked up a piece of dry soil on the grass, and threw it at the dead tree. A dozen sparrows instantly fell silent and flew away far away. The prince walked along the bluestone path towards the house, followed by the scholar. He entered the house and sat down by the charcoal stove, and the boiling water on the stove was just enough to block the servants who were boiling the water.

Seeing the prince coming, the scholar followed him, and the servant poured a full teacup for the two adults and retreated. The prince sat down very casually, and the scholar sat down without any restraint. Picked up the teacup and took a sip and suddenly stared at the prince, only to see that the prince's eyes were confused. Since the return of King Qi has a lot of meaning, he has been retreating. The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty had an illusion that the King of Qi was powerful, and His Majesty did not suppress the King of Qi, and even chose the King of Qi in some matters and missed the decision of the crown prince.

Over the years, the prince's voice in the court has become less and less, and there is only one household department loyal to the prince of the six departments of the court. The Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Rites are very close to the King of Qi, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Officials have never been inserted. King Qi's heavy salute and promise to the secretary of the military department were a little loose, and the emperor directly pushed Liu Ce to the position of the secretary of the military department. As for the criminal department, there is no one to deal with, and the upright Shangshu allows the law. The crown prince King Qi wanted to save people many times, but the old man never let it go once, and it has always been a hard bone for the two.

The scholar said, "I don't know if His Highness still remembers a person." The prince suddenly looked up at the scholar.

Smiled lightly, put down the teacup, and the scholar said: "Half a year ago, the old thing had a birthday in the Zhou Mansion, and the young man who apprenticed in front of everyone. ”

"It's a bit of an impact, and I dare to stand up in front of many courtiers to apprentice. Courage is commendable, and sharp words should be full of poetry and books. The words are like a debate, and if you stand in the same position, the young man may be able to be tough. ”

The scholar suddenly knelt down and said: "The grass people recommend this person to His Highness, as long as you can enter the top three in this year's imperial examination, you must have real talent and real learning." If it can be included in the command of His Royal Highness, there will be one more general to deal with the King of Qi in the future. In the past six months, I have learned a lot from the old things, and if His Highness can give a platform for a few years, it will definitely be a great help. ”

just nodded and said: "You can take a look, if you enter the top three as you said, you can consider it." ”

Liu Zhixing carried an altar of ice spirit spring and pushed open the yellowed wooden door, and the blue-clothed young man sat on the ground with a pop. Looking at the boy who seems to be much taller, it seems to be much taller than the last time we met. I used to be half a head taller, but now I seem to be up to my shoulders. Liu Zhixing smiled at the boy and threw the snack in his hand to the boy. Strode towards the inner courtyard, there were few servants at home. The young man hurriedly closed the wooden door and pointed at Liu Zhixing with his heart and scolded, it seemed that it had become a habit, and he was not used to scolding a few words every time he met.

Walking into the inner courtyard, the old man was lying on a wooden chair, holding a book that had been turned over I don't know how many times, and it looked thick. The old man didn't know whether to read the book in his hand or not, as if he was pretending to be basking in the sun. There was always a jug of wine on the table next to it, and some dried fruit. As always, his shaggy hair is black and white, and he has a goatee. When Liu Zhixing was a child, he liked to braid his not very long beard into small braids, which looked like a Taoist priest.

Carrying the wine jar, he sat next to the old man very casually and said, "The old man and boy see that you are here." ”

The old man didn't look at Liu Zhixing, put down the book, and directly picked up the wine jar, sniffed it and said: "This is Bing Lingquan, the army has made great contributions and has the money to buy such a good wine." Even if you kid has a conscience, and after earning money, you still know how to buy good wine and honor me, an old man, but it's not like Wenzheng who knows how to study to death. I don't know how to steal some good wine from home to honor the old man, and I don't know where to read all the books. ”

Holding a snack and staring at his husband with anger, where do you have time to go home if you live here all year round. Every time I go home, the money given by my father and mother is forced by the old man to buy wine and drink, and he still talks about these useless things here. Liu Zhixing said: "You should know that I entered the palace and said a lot of things that shouldn't be said. My heart is very chaotic now, and my family wants to say it but doesn't dare to say what is in my heart. Can you talk to me for a while, the old man is talking to you, don't you hear? Shuangshang poured wine into the quilt in one go, and he had already drunk two glasses in such a short time.

Shuangshang looked at Liu Zhixing with a smile and said, "You can hear your old man drinking old man." ”

Sitting on the steps said many words from everything that happened in the palace. Then there is the scolding of the father at home, and the brother's explanation. Yang Chen's conversation, and the establishment of the thirteenth battalion. As long as he could say anything, he confided in the old man, and the old man took the wine jar and got another glass without saying anything else. After drinking the wine in the cup, he went back to the house and took a Taoist scripture and threw it to Liu Zhixing.

said: "Look at it when you are upset, and think about it at a young age." Your father is right, don't think too complicated and pretend you don't know. When he mentioned the wine jar and wanted to take a sip, he found that it was empty, and tilted his head to look at the old man. The old man smiled at Liu Zhixing, like a child.

He glanced at the book in his hand and said, "Fellow writers, when did you study Taoism?" Do you want to go up to the mountain to be a Taoist priest in a few years, and that day you will go and tell the boy that you will add some incense money and have a wine to drink during the New Year's Festival. ”

was about to stretch his legs, but he saw that Liu Zhixing was holding the book and had already dodged, and said with his hands attached to his hands and a little grandmaster: "Go to meet your husband tomorrow, and leave after the fifth day of the new year." If you leave late, you will not get involved in party disputes, and if you can, don't come back, and take your soldiers with you in the army. ”

finally saw the old man look serious, and gave the gift of the juniors. Shuangshang looked at the sky and said: "If the Taiping City is not peaceful, it will not be able to live in peace for decades." ”