Six days later, the imperial court issued an edict to all officials and people in the world, and the prince died.

This news immediately aroused a fierce reaction from both the government and the opposition.

People didn't care much about the death of the crown prince. In the eyes of many people, the death of the crown prince is a matter of time, and there is no need to be surprised, let alone alarmed. Ever since he fainted suddenly for a few days in February last year, there have been various predictions about his condition; It has long been realized that he will probably not live much this spring. Now, as expected, he didn't struggle to see the summer sun after all. It is precisely because this incident was expected by people that the news of his death did not cause any fluctuations in the government and the opposition. People all calmly accepted this fact.

However, the news of his death did cause a shock. People can't help but start speculating that with the death of the crown prince, who will become the next owner of Ganquan Palace? The selection of the crown prince is closely related to the national throne, and it is closely related to the career and future of officials, and it is impossible for people not to observe, not to experience, not to think, not to speculate and not to discuss.

The crown prince died, who will be the next person in charge of Ganquan Palace? People's eyes immediately focused on the king of Jinan and the king of Chengdu. The princes who were usually summoned the most by the Holy Monarch were the two of them; From the news that came out of the inner court before, the Holy Monarch also praised them a lot, presumably the new prince could only be one of them. In an instant, all kinds of gossip about the king of Jinan and the king of Chengdu spread all over the city. The temperament of the two princes, the past of their teachers, and the gains and losses of the two princes have all been carefully analyzed, and the words of praise that the Holy Monarch had given them in the past have also been broken and rubbed into the experience word by word, and even the influence of their mother and concubine and her mother's family have been brought out and compared repeatedly. Privately, people are also talking, offering their opinions to others, listening to others, and then closing the door and thinking about it over and over again. Just two days before and after the imperial court issued the edict, many people were looking forward and worried. This fact is so important that one wrong step could be overturned. This fact is too important, and the slightest loss of attention will miss the opportunity; You can't help but be cautious!

Of course, those who want to win this "meritorious service" are basically middle and high-level officials who have not yet risen to the top of their positions and still have room for progress in their careers. Like the seven-grade, eight-grade, and nine-grade officials in the six departments, people are soft-spoken, and this kind of dragon that falls from the sky can't take their turn, so they don't worry about it, but hide next to it with a lively mentality and quietly make some discussions. As for ordinary people, they don't care about these things at all. They simply obeyed the instructions of the yamen, did not wear brightly colored clothes, and nailed a strip of white cloth to the neckline or sleeve, and did what they were supposed to do.

Shang Cheng is also among the people who don't care. He is now the general of the Shangzhu Kingdom, and looking at the entire Great Zhao, there will be no more than ten people holding this title at the moment; The last time the hussar general of the next rank was awarded was forty or fifty years ago, and it was still posthumously. Therefore, he never thought that he would be a hussar general while he was alive. Title, he didn't think about it either. He is already the county lord of Shifeng, and he wants to go to the next level to become the marquis of Shifeng County, unless he destroys the Tu Yi Yi, which is obviously impossible. He wanted to wipe out the Turpentaries; But the reality is that he doesn't even know where the main force of the Turquoise is now, and he can't find an opponent if he wants to fight. So he doesn't care at all who will be the next crown prince. It doesn't matter who will be the prince, it won't be his turn anyway; Since it wasn't his turn, he didn't bother to eat salty radishes and worry about it!

Now, he sits in a side hall of Ganquan Palace. Before that, he had already paid homage to the dead in the mourning hall. According to the ancient rites, the family of the deceased should invite those who come to pay their respects to sit at the table. He is now waiting for his master's arrangement. Also sitting in this side hall were Zhang Pu and Zhu Xuan, as well as several other deputy ministers in the prime minister's office. Yang Du, Gu Shi, Yan Gu and Shangguan Rui, these generals in the army are also here. Because of the death of the crown prince, the court boycotted the court for five days, and they all came to attend the funeral. Among these people, only one middle-aged man was not an important minister of the current dynasty. This is the eldest son of Zuo Xiang Tang Xing, who came to mourn for his father who was too sick to go to the ground, so he also sat on this side hall.

The weather in March was not too hot, but today it was a cloudy day, and the wind drove the gray clouds and filled the sky everywhere. It was nearly noon, a tight gust of cold wind whimpered, through the closed door and window lattice, swept through the empty side hall, grabbed the white curtain covering the screen mountain in the hall, rolled and fluttered, and rushed out of the instrument door behind the hall again. In the distance outside the hall, there was another cry of pain that suddenly rose up. With the cry, the sound of the already sparse magic weapon suddenly became louder. The sound of cymbals and the brass horns of the clattering clatters are intertwined, and occasionally you can hear the dull sound of the Dharma vertebrae hitting the wooden fish, and the Buddhist names chanted by the monks who practice the ritual rise and fall as if they were chasing each other.

No one spoke in the side hall, and everyone sat silently. Occasionally, someone coughed and deliberately lowered their voices, so the hall seemed very quiet. Those who can sit here are all outstanding people who are outstanding in quiet sitting and cultivating energy. Like Shang Cheng and these generals in the army, all of them are deep in the essence of movement, their stillness is like stopping water and their movement is like a tiger, looking at the flaws deliberately sold by the enemy can sit like a mountain, and this kind of scene in front of them is naturally even more indifferent. Like Zhang Pu and Zhu Xuan, these civil officials are even more amazing, what they pay attention to is "gentleman's tranquility", and what they pursue is "non-tranquility can not go far", so when they sit in the chair, they look at their nose and nose and mouth and care, as if the old monk is settled. Only Tang Xing's eldest son is an exception. He had probably never experienced such a scene, and he could not stand the terrible atmosphere in the side hall where he could hear his own heartbeat in silence, and hot sweat was constantly dripping from his forehead and ears; Every now and then, he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and then swallowed desperately. Even the subtle sound of his throat rolling when he swallowed saliva made him feel terrified.

Shang Cheng sat for a long time, and he was also a little impatient. He and the prince had only met twice, and they had no dealings or impressions, and they didn't want the prince's family to do anything, so they couldn't help but look east and west. Seeing that the boss of the Tang family was so restrained that he was about to sit still, he smiled at him and nodded slightly, signaling that he didn't have to worry about being afraid. You are sitting with a bunch of prime ministers Zhu Guo, what is there to be afraid of? Compared to what they were worried about, this little bit of shock you suffered is a piece of.

Yes, all the people in this side temple, including himself, were anxious about one thing: what to do next?

The crown prince is dead, and these people are about to encounter a big problem: who will be the prince one by one? None of them can escape this question; Even if they have a way to get out, others will push them back to the forefront of their positions and status, and they will not be allowed to avoid them at all! Even if they got out temporarily, as long as Emperor Dongyuan said a word, they could only lower their heads and search their stomachs to think about the answer. This answer is not easy to find, if you want to not offend both ends, the possibility is infinitely close to zero: there will always be an offend person, either the king of Jinan or the king of Chengdu; Even if you rack your brains to come up with a way not to offend the two of them, you may be going to offend them when you turn around, and the emperor asks you to help choose one of the two, and you kick the ball back with your backhand, isn't this a clear betrayal of the emperor's trust? If this matter is light, it is slow, and if it is heavy, it is a bully; It's okay to say slowly, it's a big deal to take a little court staff, if you bully the king, the end will be unimaginable...... Thinking about it, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Look, there are many things when the official is small, and there are many troubles when the official is big, so well, everything has its two sides; So we need to look at everything dialectically. As for how to make him understand things correctly, such as how to solve the difficult problem of "choosing one of the two", he still needs to think carefully.

He thought, should he go back to Gu Shi to discuss? Old man Gu can't fight, but he is an expert at dealing with these things. He should have a good idea, right?

He was big, and he was half a head taller than others when he sat in the seat, and he quietly glanced at Gu Shi with the corner of his eye. I happened to see Gu Shi tilting his head and whispering to Yang Du. In an instant, the two fellows sensed his inquiring gaze, and in the blink of an eye, they were already seated upright.

Shang Cheng muttered an unpleasant word in his heart. Damn, I don't call myself for a small meeting!

However, this is also normal, Yang Du is his sworn enemy, not a deep hatred in the sea of blood, it is better than a deep hatred in the sea of blood; Gu Shi is a person who wears a pair of pants with Yang Du, and he dares to pull a bias in front of Emperor Dongyuan, and he is also most of his enemies! and Yan Gu, who sat next to him; When he entered the door just now, this guy was cold to himself, and he didn't lift his eyelids from beginning to end, as if he didn't see himself, it seems that this grudge has become so thick that it can't be dissolved; And this Shangguan Rui here...... Oh, forget it, Shangguan Rui was quite polite to himself, he saluted as soon as they met just now, and the general grew up and greeted him several times, so he was not counted. and Zhang Pu and Zhu Xuan, who were sitting opposite, had nothing to do to do "Tell the Nuclear Land and Mu of Acres" and investigate the hidden households in the plotted fields, which obviously wanted to get along with themselves! I have only been a big landlord for a few days, and I haven't found the feeling of a local tyrant or a bad gentry, and I haven't figured out where the feudal country is, so these two people can't wait to jump out and fight against themselves, which is obviously quite meaningful......

Gee! He smacked his lips and sighed. In this side hall alone, there are five of his enemies; Ha, he Shang Yanshan single-handedly fought against the two prime ministers of Shangzhu Kingdom, such a combat power, can he be called the first in Dazhao, right?

He was thinking boredly when the master's house finally came. The princess's family came over and invited them to the banquet.

He immediately stood up.

It's finally time to eat. Eat first, eat first, and get out of here as soon as you're done!

He is now "recuperating from his illness", and coming to mourn today is also "coming with illness", so he does not have to be like Zhang Pu and Gu Shi, who have to watch after eating. Not only are they to keep the vigil until the time of the lamp today; It will continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. He didn't have to come over again, after all, his "illness" still needed "recuperation".