Zhu Gou smiled, looked at Wei Ziheng and Zhong Ren and said, "The two of you are Lord Wei and Zhong Ren, the first swordsman of the Yue Kingdom, right." I've been hearing about it before, but today I saw that the two of you were really personable, thank you for assisting my father, you two have worked hard. ”

Yue Wang Bushou raised his head and looked at Zhu Gou and said, "Aren't you in the old city?" How did you come all the way to Langya? ”

Zhu Gou said very worriedly: "My father doesn't know, I was originally in Huiji to deal with political affairs, and the month before I went north to train the Vietnamese army in the eastern coastal land. Yesterday, I heard that there was a change in Langya City, so I came overnight. ”

"I see, you've worked hard." King Yue thought about it for a moment, and as if it was true, he responded.

Zhu Gou looked at his father's expression, and couldn't help but say sadly: "There are some things that I have heard from other ministers, and I am extremely angry with the assassins, and I also asked my father to give me an order to chase the assassins with my own hands." ”

King Yue raised his head and looked at Zhu Gou, and said: "No need, these things are being handled by the general Li Ran, I see that you are not in good spirits, so you came overnight, after all, you are a little tired and sleepy, you go to rest, it's not too late to talk about it when you have time." ”

"Okay, let my father say so, then I'll retire for the time being." Zhu Gou saluted directly, bowed again and again, and then retreated and left.

Wei Ziheng still looked surprised at this time, and he quietly said to Zhong Ren beside him: "Isn't this prince a little old?" ”

Zhong Ren also saw Wei Ziheng's doubts in his heart, so he said: "It seems that you don't know, this prince Zhu Gou is actually not the son of King Yue, he is the son of King Yue's brother. His father died on the battlefield in the early years, when the prince was still young, so he passed on to the current King of Yue.

But when the king of Yue is not alive and succeeds to the throne, according to the succession system of our Yue country, every king of Yue must appoint a corresponding person as the crown prince since he succeeds to the throne. Generally, it is implemented in accordance with the primogeniture system of Zhou Li. For example, when he succeeded to the throne, Goujian, the king of Yue, was not born at that time, so the prince was his own brother, and when Goujian, the king of Yue, was born, the position of the prince was automatically passed to the hands of Goujian, the king of Yue.

In the same past, there was also a king of Yue, because of the war, all three of his parents and sons were killed. The crown prince passed to his brother's son.

The same crown prince Zhu Gou, in fact, he is the son of Yue Wang Bushou's brother, but when his brother left behind, he passed his son to Yue Wang Bushou, at that time Yue Wang Bushou was very young, and your age is the same. When he saw his brother die in battle, his heart was filled with grief. He had no choice but to take care of his brother's son, and at the same time, according to his brother's wishes, he passed on his son to himself.

Although it is only a passive, but from the perspective of human feelings, Zhu Gouqi is indeed the son of King Yue's longevity, but he is not a parent. In fact, King Yue is not long, he does have descendants, but he is only five years old, but he lives in Huiji, after all, this Langya is located close to the Central Plains and the northern Qi country, and some awareness of distress and prevention is still needed. ”

After Wei Ziheng listened, he suddenly realized, and finally said curiously: "I see that King Yue seems to be the same age as me, I don't know how old he actually is." ”

Zhong Ren looked a little embarrassed at this time and said: "The reason why King Yue looks young is that he often uses some women to maintain things, he looks very young, and he is actually 28 years old. This crown prince Zhu Gou, 17 years old. The difference between the two is 11 years. ”

Wei Ziheng once again refreshed his cognition, he thought that this King of Yue might be twenty-one or twelve years old, but he didn't expect that he was already 28, and he was about to enter thirty. He couldn't help but look at the Yue King again.

But it is also such a matter of inheriting the throne, Wei Ziheng has gradually become serious, and the Zhou ceremony, which was originally full of morality and ethics, has now collapsed for a long time, perhaps the crown prince Zhu Gou is a good example. Even if it is a succession, it should not be him as the crown prince. The inheritance of the eldest son has a long history, and from the past to the present, in this era of princely strife, some of the systems advocated by Zhou Li have been broken.

Since King Ping moved eastward, the etiquette collapsed, and the original primogeniture inheritance system was not well implemented, and different inheritance methods were adopted in various countries, such as the way that the Lu State adopted the method of succession between father and son and brother to brother; The state of Chu was a way of choosing a prince, and the son of the young lady often became the heir; The Song Kingdom of the Central Plains adopted the method of the king's will, and the king appointed which son to serve as the crown prince; The Qin state in the west is more focused on ability and strength in the selection of princes, and every son of the king of Qin is very hard-working; At the same time, in the Western Qi State, they are more moderate in the choice of the crown prince, usually the eldest son system, but the changes in the national situation are often held by the second son; In the Jin Kingdom, a large country in the north, the destruction of the etiquette system is actually equally serious, and the Quwodaiyi of the Jin Kingdom is a good column. As for other small countries choosing princes, it is even more unruly.

Wei Ziheng was also lamenting this world of propagating etiquette at that time, and at the same time destroying the etiquette system so seriously. The power of the Zhou kings has gradually declined, and their binding power on the vassal states is becoming less and less. I don't know if it's the incompetence and comfort of the Zhou royal family, or the combination of the princes.

Alas, how can this world be so complicated?

The next day, the early dynasty will carry out two major matters, that is, the re-election of a new prime minister, and the announcement of the assassination of the Yue Guo Palace, in order to unite the people of Yue and their patriotic enthusiasm.

However, this first thing became a little troublesome, in the matter of choosing the prime minister, King Yue did not have any good ideas, so he could only ask the opinions of the ministers and determine the candidates through a simple election. After a heated discussion, three people were nominated by the ministers. One is a high-ranking minister, a minister from a nearby city, who is delicate and perfectly arranged. It is deeply respected by some ministers. The second name is Lu Li, far-sighted, very administrative, often able to have some whimsical ideas to deal with some things, and has received some praise from the crown prince Zhu Gou and other ministers. And this third person is an important person under the former prime minister, whose name is Mu Renhe, who was once a powerful person under Xiang, with a steady style like the prime minister, taking into account the overall situation, and being thoughtful, he is the first person to recommend the group of people who once supported the prime minister.

These three people, Lu Li and Mu Renhe, are all rare outstanding talents in the court, and these three people are relatively young, and they are all Tianjiao who can be given important tasks.

Mu Renhe spoke very confidently, there was a large group of supporters of the prime minister behind him, and he supported him with all his might, and his speech was very domineering: "King Yue, the position of prime minister has always been quite important, I have followed Prime Minister Luo Su, dealt with large and small incidents, and I have enough experience and ability on how to take on this important task." I also hope that the ministers of the DPRK and China will be able to support it. ”

As soon as the words fell, a group of ministers who supported the prime minister applauded. Because there were not a few people who supported the prime minister in the past, and this time the call for Mu Renhe to be the new prime minister is the highest.

King Yue saw it in his eyes, and he was also thinking silently in his heart, and he couldn't make up his mind for a while. Wei Ziheng also felt that he should tell King Yue some of his opinions on this matter as soon as possible, and then leaned down and whispered in his ear: "In my opinion, King Yue, although the prime minister has no ill will towards you, the huge force formed with the prime minister as the center has actually become a major reason for hindering the government. If this group of people is not stopped, I am afraid that there will be some obstacles in the decision-making of certain major matters in the future. That's a fact. If Mu Renhe does not have the background of the prime minister, he deserves to become the next prime minister with his style and ability. Wangyue Wang Haosheng thought. ”

Yue Wang Bushou responded directly: "I know this, Yue Wang Bajian is also reminding me that in fact, this big force behind the prime minister is not the prime minister's personal will, and his ability cannot prevent such a formation." The next step is for me to uproot them with my own hands. It also gives the government a fresh air. ”

At this time, the ministers in the audience were discussing, in order to calm the chaos, the prince Zhu Gou stepped forward and said: "Everyone is quiet, above the court, don't make noise." In dealing with various government affairs, Lu Li showed extremely clever administrative means, and dealt with many complex problems in an extremely simple way, such as floods, droughts, reclamation of wasteland, development of maritime industry, etc., Lu Li's efforts can be seen in heaven and earth. Such a pillar of talent is really the best candidate for the position of prime minister. ”

Soon, those ministers who also supported Lu Li stood up to speak, but Lu Li, as the party concerned, was relatively low-key, and there was a posture of showing the mountains and not revealing the water.

King Yue was a little more than a little overwhelmed, he turned his head and said softly: "Lu Li, this person does have some talents, and the prince's recommendation is very reasonable." I don't know what Ziheng thinks. ”

Wei Ziheng stood on top of the court, his eyes were a little erratic, he lowered his head and whispered: "Narrating with objective facts, the talents of the three are comparable, although they have their own characteristics, they are all talents who do things and make decisions. It should be measured in other ways. If you really don't make up your mind, you can put it off for the time being. After all, the choice of the prime minister's position is quite important, and you must have someone close to you. ”

This last sentence suddenly woke up King Yue. Yes, the prime minister, as an important minister in the court, should have a good relationship with himself, and he can consult with each other at the same time, and his character should be easy-going and obedient to himself. Soon, he set his eyes on the high man, and from the beginning to this time, he had barely spoken, except that he had been elected by some ministers. As an administrative minister in the city near Langya, he had some intersections with himself before, and he also knew some habits and temper of this person.

King Yue asked: "The three talents are outstanding, and it is not easy for me to choose King Yue." Now I have a way to choose who of the three of you can be the prime minister? I wonder what the three of you think? ”

"Exam questions?" Mu Renhe said in a low voice.

"This should be the final test." Prince Zhu Gou said to Lu Li.

The high man raised his head at this time and looked at King Yue who was sitting on a high seat, his eyes were full of anticipation. Perhaps he has long felt that if he only relies on word-of-mouth publicity, he will not have an advantage at all, maybe this test will help him to dominate the group.

King Yue Bushou looked at the courtiers below very seriously, and then turned his head to Wei Ziheng beside him and whispered: "Ziheng, hurry up and help me think of an exam question to test them." ”

"Ahh Wei Ziheng looked shocked, without any preparation, what kind of routine is this Yue King? This Manchu civil and military is standing very seriously below. Wei Ziheng couldn't shirk it in person for a while, so he had to take it head-on, and said, "Okay, uh, I want to think about it." ”